Guild Wars 2

Hello people,i’m flipping about these 3(4) professions…and i really can’t seem to decide.
I’d like to focus about one and one only profession,but whenever i think i’ve found mine,i ALWAYS have regrets (if there would be a 9th profession,with 100% godmode,but lacks stealth,i’d have regrets for not choosing a thief.so LOL…)

The,most,even,absolutely,whatever,important thing,to me,is to be able to swap playstyles in a blink of an eye (or both,or 2 blinks at least).
Wich means a profession should either have complementary traits and weapons,so i’ve found those 3(4) professions to fit the most.
I also like to be deceptive (thus thief),to be able to support well and to have many tricks in my arsenal at any time (thus ele and necro).
But before i start going hot,why i didn’t simply include the engineer in the “list”?
Because i don’t strictly consider kits as weapons,plus while having a lot of variability by simply swapping kits the engi wouldn’t have it by swapping traits,wich means the engineer doesn’t respect my requirements but still exploits them.

Anyway,the hot noisy part.
Thief:
+ Stealth,lots of stealth
+ Can spam smoke fields
+ Venom utility/support builds ROCK with a decent party
- AoE? I call it sorcery
- “Natural” damage mitigation? Stop insulting thieves!
- Little to no smoke fields without a pistol secondary (wich limits variability)
- Smoke fields aint gonna stop a boss from smashing your face to little pieces in a very cruent and grueful way
In general:
+ Single target damage
+ Stealth (troll potential over 9001)
+ Cheesy smoke fields
- AoE
- Damage mitigation
- Boss fights presence

Elementalist:
+Today i feel fiery…or wet…or flying…nah i’m stoned
+ Conjured weapons are sexy,very sexy
+ Auras,i love auras
+ C-c-c combo fields!
- Only one weapon,like fire attunement? too bad cause air one is Kitten
- Conjured weapons aren’t as good as sexy
- Aura builds can’t be used until late game
- C-c-c combo finishers? Lacking
- Many build rely on dagger
- Too much water attunement training,they’re like water baloons
General:
+AoE
+Support
+Combos
-Solo play lacking a bit
-Dagger often needed (reduces variability)
- Splashy health pool
- Holy patootie dem cooldowns…are so…overwhelming

Necromancer:
+ AoE? That’s my 2nd name
+ Minions are cute and lovely (not rly) <3
+ Death Shroud,when traited,doesn’t give a crap about weapons,increased variability.
+ Tons of hp,easy solo gameplay
+ Great in a group,conditions!
- Single target isn’t amazing
- Minions are pretty much useless after a certain level,except flesh golem
- No scapegoats,extra hp bar,but you take all the damage thrown at you
- Burst damage? Holy patootie! Forgot to include that lol!
General:
+AoE
+2nd hp bar
+Group presence
+Condition control
-Single target
-Scapegoats lacking
-Burst damage

Engineer:
+Kits
+Can do it all,one at a time
+Perma swiftness from level 20
+Combo fields and finishers
-Godkitten it i lost my 2nd weapon slot at home
-Can do it all…but a little of it and one at a time
-Kits or skills?
+/- Underestimated
General:
+Kits
+Somewhat does it all
+Combos
+/-Underestimated
-One thing at a time
-One weapon

If you’ve reading this: THE GAME.
Lol jokes aside,i simply can’t choose,do it for me,ty <3

Please, tell me what you enjoyed in other games, not what the professions in this game do. I know what they do, I don’t know what you enjoy.

Could you give me more information regarding how you play your elementalist? I could be mistaken, but it sounds like you’re only using one attunement rather than switching between all of them. Also, are you having issues staying alive on it (judging by the fact that you said solo play is lacking)?

Falunel.7645:

Could you give me more information regarding how you play your elementalist? I could be mistaken, but it sounds like you’re only using one attunement rather than switching between all of them. Also, are you having issues staying alive on it (judging by the fact that you said solo play is lacking)?

I pick a weapon (or two,depends :P) then start from fire and use the skills in a somewhat logic way (no reason to use meteor storm when fighting 1vs1 a pig),then as all the skills/suitable skills of an attunement are on cooldown,i swap attunement and repeat.
However,OFTEN,after doing the entire rotation of ALL the attunements,i come back to the first and yet some skills are on cooldown,when this happens i feel like having a magnetic patootie in the land of metallic kittenes. (to keep it poetic)
I’ve NO issues surviving,at least not early on.
As Staff water 1 heals me as much as 2 enemies hits,but i can’t simply do that all the time,there will be a day i’ll be forced to say “ok,arcane shield is now stuck on my utility bar” and when that day comes it’ll be a sad day.

Esplen.3940:

Please, tell me what you enjoyed in other games, not what the professions in this game do. I know what they do, I don’t know what you enjoy.

Mmm…
league of legends> Fizz and Veigar
diablo(2/3) > Necromancer/witch doctor and wizard
Torchlight (1/2) > Engineer/ember mage
Borderlands (1/2) > Siren/Zer0
The elder scrolls > Stealth mage
Dungeon defenders > mage
MNC > assassin
Team fortress 2 > Spy/Pyro,enjoy medic too
Shadowrun returns > Rigger/Shaman,also tried a decker and liked it
Wakfu > Xelor
Dofus > Foggernaut

In general: i like stealth,being deceptive,magic and advanced technology.

Then play a Mesmer.

Esplen.3940:

Then play a Mesmer.

How did you come up to that conclusion? :x

Out of that list only 3 have magic-related summons and only one has technology-related summons.

Plus,mesmer feels like a weird mix of magic and stealth as stealth is limited,but much more present than on many professions.
This means that if i’d pick a mesmer for deception/stealth,i may prefer thief and if i’d go mesmer for magic i’d rather go necro or ele.

While it may be a good option,i’d rather start out with another profession: Mesmer’s balance and effectiveness seems very fragile to me.

ButterOfDeath.2873:

Falunel.7645:

Could you give me more information regarding how you play your elementalist? I could be mistaken, but it sounds like you’re only using one attunement rather than switching between all of them. Also, are you having issues staying alive on it (judging by the fact that you said solo play is lacking)?

I pick a weapon (or two,depends :P) then start from fire and use the skills in a somewhat logic way (no reason to use meteor storm when fighting 1vs1 a pig),then as all the skills/suitable skills of an attunement are on cooldown,i swap attunement and repeat.
However,OFTEN,after doing the entire rotation of ALL the attunements,i come back to the first and yet some skills are on cooldown,when this happens i feel like having a magnetic patootie in the land of metallic kittenes. (to keep it poetic)
I’ve NO issues surviving,at least not early on.
As Staff water 1 heals me as much as 2 enemies hits,but i can’t simply do that all the time,there will be a day i’ll be forced to say “ok,arcane shield is now stuck on my utility bar” and when that day comes it’ll be a sad day.

You’re playing staff, then… admittedly, I hate staff and avoid using it outside of WvW or situations where I need to freeze/stun/cripple large numbers of enemies (Ascalon fractal). I used it early on because I thought it was the only appropriate weapon for a caster, and it made my life miserable. Switched to daggers around level 23 and enjoyed ele a lot more ever since I did.

Have you tried daggers yet? I haven’t had any issues with cooldowns on weapons other than staff. I should also say that I rarely use every skill in an attunement before switching, but just note the situation and jump to the attunement that has the skill best suited to it.

Example: I’m fighting a melee veteran (using dagger/focus). I open in water attunement, hit him with number 3 to chill him, and then jump to fire to do higher damage with number 2. I notice that the chill’s wearing off, so I move to earth even while fire 2 is casting (it doesn’t interrupt it) and use earth 2 to cripple and bleed him, then earth 3 to root him. Then I move to air and knock him down with 5 once he recovers and move close to attack with 1 while he’s down. By this time, water is off cooldown and I can chill him again. Sometimes he still gets too close, so I move to fire, use 3 to dash past him, and then move to earth and cripple him while he’s turning.

There’s no pattern- I’m not just using fire attunement, then water, then air, then earth, then fire again, but rather using my skills depending on the circumstances, moment by moment. In this way, ele is actually a very strong solo class.

EDIT: This is an old video with lots of mistakes, but hopefully it sheds some light on how I play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMec3mSGPzg&feature=youtu.be

ButterOfDeath.2873:

Esplen.3940:

Then play a Mesmer.

How did you come up to that conclusion? :x

Out of that list only 3 have magic-related summons and only one has technology-related summons.

league of legends> Fizz and Veigar
diablo(2/3) > Necromancer/witch doctor and wizard
Torchlight (1/2) > Engineer/ember mage
Borderlands (1/2) > Siren/Zer0
The elder scrolls > Stealth mage
Dungeon defenders > mage
MNC > assassin
Team fortress 2 > Spy/Pyro,enjoy medic too
Shadowrun returns > Rigger/Shaman,also tried a decker and liked it
Wakfu > Xelor
Dofus > Foggernaut

Crossed out = never played or (in Diablo and torchlight’s case) generic caster/beatdown classes.
Name | Playstyle
Fizz | Annoy, Harass, Avoid, Escape
Veigar | Quick, clumsy CC (clumsy in regards to plop it down, but can easily miss) and huge, clumsy burst
Siren | Supportive. Build becomes trait oriented.
Zer0 | Stealthy Assassin
Stealth Mage | Must I say more?
Spy | Stealth with potential to nuke.
Pyro | Strong supportive presence and large presence on the field.
Medic | Stronger supportive presence.

Plus,mesmer feels like a weird mix of magic and stealth as stealth is limited,but much more present than on many professions.
This means that if i’d pick a mesmer for deception/stealth,i may prefer thief and if i’d go mesmer for magic i’d rather go necro or ele.

While I might agree in regards to not picking Mesmer for one attribute, keep in mind that Mesmer has all the attributes that the OP wants.

While it may be a good option,i’d rather start out with another profession: Mesmer’s balance and effectiveness seems very fragile to me.

And this is where I shine… cracks knuckles

Mesmers are a jack of all trades, master of none, when you first pick them up. Without traits, they are a weak, underpowered useless profession. But what’s that you’re telling me? Mesmers dominate in WvW, sPvP and are useful in Dungeons (PvE)? How is that if they’re terrible?! Because they, without traits, have no refined power, they are incompetent. Once you start to trait them, your powers become more defined and you can utilize yourself in any fashion.

Stealthy mage? Check. Stealth builds are potent, albeit not so much AoE Stealth Presence (compared to Thief, that is). In fact, Stealth builds are ridiculously strong with the recent “diversity” patch.
Nukey assassin? Check. Shatter-cat allows you to get in their face and burst them down. You can even start with an untraited stealth to get in close.
Support? Check. While most people don’t realize, Mesmers have access to some of the strongest heals in the game. 3000 AoE heal every 3 seconds BEFORE healing power.
More support? Check. Boon Removal, Condition Removal, Boon Sharing, Reflects, Mobility, AoE Quickness, AoE Vengeance, Portals.
CC? Check. Diversion for instant daze (especially when combined with traits to allow yourself to count towards it for a truly instant interrupt), Signet of Domination for a long stun. Various Pulls, Pushes, and Dazes in weapon skills.

Esplen.3940:

Mesmers are a jack of all trades, master of none, when you first pick them up. Without traits, they are a weak, underpowered useless profession. But what’s that you’re telling me? Mesmers dominate in WvW, sPvP and are useful in Dungeons (PvE)? How is that if they’re terrible?! Because they, without traits, have no refined power, they are incompetent. Once you start to trait them, your powers become more defined and you can utilize yourself in any fashion.

Yes, I can second this. Mesmer is a brutal class to level in the early stages, even moreso than ele. They get a LOT better when you trait them, in both effectiveness and fun.

I have a mesmer myself, but haven’t been able to play him much due to being too used to ele (i.e. I go into twitchy fits when I don’t have four weapon bars’ worth of skills to hit or am not perpetually moving at 25+% speed).

Esplen.3940:

-snip-

You’ve missed the most important part: Build variability without having to change trait lines and (eventually) equipment.
Like how you’ve told me,mesmer is something like:
Do one thing (AND ONE ONLY,sacrificing other aspects),then go to a trait npc,change build and specialize into one single thing.

Based on your answer,the mesmer is like setting up audio filters (couldnt find something better to compare LOL sry): If you turn up the basses,you’ll hear them pretty well but the other sounds will get a penality for that.
If you spec to be a stealth assassin,you’ll miss a great part of the other faces of the profession.

I’l play a little with the trait thingie,let’s see if trait lines are connected to more builds

edit
i don’t seem to see that trait versatility i’ve seen on other professions-like i’ve feared.
Plus,i feel when traiting an elementalist,every trait is a big sacrifice yet a big advantage,same go for thief and necro (minor issue on the engineer tbh),while on the mesmer i feel like “where could i spend these extra points?”.
Sometimes,i think it may be a question of feeling too :x

@ButterOfDeath, but with any build, you have a main focus with that build and then you can do a few variable tweaks.

You’re not going to get a Berserker Full DPS Warrior that’s capable of providing AoE support to his group. He’d have to sacrifice some of his DPS.

With Mesmer, on the other hand, you trait into your playstyle/weapon skills moreso than your utilities. Your utilities are just what they shound like, utility skills. With other professions, your utilities are what define your build. As a Mesmer, your utilities accommodate and accompany your build.

Esplen.3940:

@ButterOfDeath, but with any build, you have a main focus with that build and then you can do a few variable tweaks.

You’re not going to get a Berserker Full DPS Warrior that’s capable of providing AoE support to his group. He’d have to sacrifice some of his DPS.

With Mesmer, on the other hand, you trait into your playstyle/weapon skills moreso than your utilities. Your utilities are just what they shound like, utility skills. With other professions, your utilities are what define your build. As a Mesmer, your utilities accommodate and accompany your build.

That’s not what i’m trying to say: I’m saying that i have the necessity to change my build every now and then,if possible without having to carry more weapons with me.
This is super-easy with the engineer,the necromancer is OK as it still needs you to change weapons,the elementalist does a great job,as all trait lines either affect your attunement or utilities: if you don’t have the right trait to change utilities,then spec around the attunement you’ve most trait points spent in.

Example: specced 30 in fire magic and 30 in earth for an aura build? screw it,now you’re signet,or screw it,now you’re condition build.

edit
another example: Engi can swap from 4 kit to an elixir-focused build without changing trait lines.

There are a few swap builds. They’re typically 0/20/20/0/30 or 0/20/0/20/30.

Esplen.3940:

There are a few swap builds. They’re typically 0/20/20/0/30 or 0/20/0/20/30.

However,both of those setup rely on either sword primary or pistol secondary,plus the 30 points on illusions is pretty much ok with any build really.

Maybe it’s just i can’t get to like mesmer’s traits:
On-interrupt ones seem garbage to me and mantra ones are scattared all around,either removing options for other builds or making a mantra build more restricted :x

Plus ones like the extra bounce,clone on dodge and shatter on yourself seem almost necessary :£

Actually no, the first build is main Staff, the second is main X/Focus.

Your post is mostly just bias in terms of build, you said it best yourself that certain

ones seem garbage to me

That’s just how it is. The best way to see it is that there are more viable builds than you know, you just can’t play them.

That’s not to say that you’re bad, it just means that they don’t fit your playstyle.

Esplen.3940:

Actually no, the first build is main Staff, the second is main X/Focus.

Your post is mostly just bias in terms of build, you said it best yourself that certain

ones seem garbage to me

That’s just how it is. The best way to see it is that there are more viable builds than you know, you just can’t play them.

That’s not to say that you’re bad, it just means that they don’t fit your playstyle.

Of course,if i’m running a interrupt or mantra build then those are extremely valuable,the mantra’s heal on cast is good for sure as it’s a 2k+ heal every 3 seconds with mantra of pain.

Anyway,i’ve 5 character slots,so if i wish to make a mesmer i’ll always have time and space for that.

Between the 4 professions i’ve listed above,wich one do you think would suit me more?

If it was me,i’d pick an engineer with death shrowd,attunements and stealth on demand,but hey that’d be an abomination! XD

Engi stealth isn’t quite on-demand. I’d recommend Engi or Ele as they have higher skill ceilings than the other classes, which means that you can keep learning for a lot longer.

Esplen.3940:

Engi stealth isn’t quite on-demand. I’d recommend Engi or Ele as they have higher skill ceilings than the other classes, which means that you can keep learning for a lot longer.

That also means if i’m going to make a 2nd profession (i plan to do them all ;D) i’ll also have a better starting ground…i like the idea.

I’d say i’m between Engi,Ele and Thief then.
as:
All 3 have many different builds
All 3 can keep the same trait lines to accomodate more playstyles
All 3 have a rather high skillcap (yes the thief too,i’d not be a terribad HS spammer OFC!)

(I’m including thief in the list cause stealth on-demand isn’t nothing to joke about…i mean,the thief has countless downsides,but all that stealthing is REALLY attractive,but so are conjured weapons,kits,turrets,elixirs…)

Go for Engi. Most versatility, fewest weapons in your inventory, and can try different builds out without too much loss from not retraiting.

Honestly, it does seem like you’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. You want a profession that can do everything, and with a single trait point allocation set-up, allowing you to respec without paying for retraiting. You’ll be better served paying the 4s to reset your traits and earning it back gathering 20 mithril nodes. Then you won’t be limiting yourself.

Seras.5702:

Go for Engi. Most versatility, fewest weapons in your inventory, and can try different builds out without too much loss from not retraiting.

Honestly, it does seem like you’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. You want a profession that can do everything, and with a single trait point allocation set-up, allowing you to respec without paying for retraiting. You’ll be better served paying the 4s to reset your traits and earning it back gathering 20 mithril nodes. Then you won’t be limiting yourself.

Probably MY profession doesn’t exist.
Every profession claims to do,good or bad,pretty much any role in the game.
However such thing is achieved with too different tools.
A thief can tank? Sure thing! But he does that in an evasive way,wich is what makes a thief tank damage for himself and himself only.
I’m not looking for the perfect profession,i’m looking for a profession that’d give me no regrets.
If the thief had some kind of true damage mitigation and a few AoE skills,it’d be my main already.
Also,a few AoE skills and a little of damage mitigation,then properly counterbalanced,wouldn’t make the thief OP,just a little more proficient in more roles.

Aaanyway,i’ll try off the engineer,i must agree it’s a more solid “starter” character.