Thief, Warrior, or Ranger
Hi, welcome to the game!
On the topleft of your screen you should be able to see two crossed swords, these will take you to the Heart of the Mist, the PvP-lobby of this game. If I recall correctly you need to level any toon to level 22 for it to become unlocked for your whole account. In Heart of the Mist all toons are level 80 regardless of level. At the top of your screen in the middle you should be able to see a Helmet, here you can adjust your characters set-up. This is for sPvP only and puts you on the same level as anyone else (though certain traits/skills are locked at first, but most are available.) I recommend you try out any class you think you might enjoy and jump into some Hotjoins or Practice Games.
For PvE/WvW you’ll need to level your toons to play at full effectiveness. Sadly you won’t quite experience the full class until you’re max level or at least near it. Hence I recommend to jump into sPvP straight away (since you said you’ll most likely be PvPing anyway.) Each day you log in you’ll get a reward, once a week you’ll get something called a Tome of Knowledge, granting 1 level to your character. By playing sPvP you’ll also often get these tomes. Before you know it you’re drowing in them and you can get an alt to level 80 easily, so I wouldn’t spend ‘too’ much time making a choice. It’s not difficult to change.
To help your initial choice how-ever:
Thief: Your typical stealthy, high mobility, high burst class. You will mainly be reinforcing fights to outnumber the enemy or cap empty points. Your focus will be on enemies that are squishy (and often high threat) and then move on to the next place you’ll be useful.
Warrior: Warrior can be specced in various ways but are mainly played as teamfighters. In a build focussed around the Hammer (Hambow) you’ll be able to stack some Might to improve your teams damage and you’ll be able to stun/CC enemies whilst being rather dureable. Another popular build is the ‘shoutbow’ which is amazing for smaller scale fights, providing decent heals, condition cleanses and okish damage (once it stacked it’s might) and carries greater mobility. You can be decent at holding side-points as long as they are capped for your team due to high survivability, definitly long enough for your team to reinforce you if needed.
Ranger: Multiple popular builds, they have strong Ranged Damage to take out any threat whilst being a bit more survivable than a Thief at the cost of having no-where near it’s mobility (hence you’ll mainly focus on staying at the teamfights and defending your home-point.) Pets can be a bit annoying to get used to, their F2 skill has a bit of a delay and can be annoying to land, their other skills (which include a Knockdown and Immobilize) are semi-random, you’ll also have to provide some micro and be careful to not use a melee-pet when you’re on a ledge as it won’t reach the enemy. I personally don’t mind this mechanic at all, but some people do.
Elementalist Similar to a Warrior they can make excellent teamfighters (when you swap to Earth you provide Protection for allies near you, Water you heal, you can stack Might for increased damage) and you’re very capable of holding points 1 v 1 due to good survivability. The biggest difference is that you juggle more skills and it takes a bit more to be a good teamfighter (though 1 v 1s I find them considerably easier.) Warriors are also quite a bit better at finishing off enemies / rezzing allies (as your healing comes from pressing buttons a lot, unlike a Warrior.)
Also I recommend having a look at: http://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki when you wonder what other classes are throwing at you. Quite some decent guides in the useage section aswell. Traits can be a bit overwhelming at first.
(edited by Nova.3814)
IMO only, Ranger and Warrior are both good options for first character.
Thief requies a bit higher skill, especially in WvW or PvP.
Ranger (primarily ranged) can melee very well.
Warrior (primarily melee) can range very well.
Warrior can provide more group support than ranger, so that would be better if you are a sociable type.
Rangers got the short end at game launch and people seem slow to adjust/accept to the DPS strength that it can offer.
Both can be played pretty mindlessly (hehe, like while watching tv) unlike other classes.
Did I confuse your decision?
Note: WvW (and I think PvP) is now level gated. I think 18 is the magic level before we cn enter those realms. At least for first characters on an account.
(edited by Cuzican.1087)
I always mainly loved Rangers/Hunters
There’s your answer
Current 80s: Ranger, Mesmer, Guardian, Elementalist, Revenant, Necromancer.
Working on: Engineer
Working on: Engineer
(edited by SupremeLegacy.7638)
I really want to start leveling, but I unfortunately have to pay for a VPN since my apartment blocks the ports required to play GW2 -.-
Trying to justify paying $40 for a year to just play 1 game lawl
Edit: The VPN just dropped $9 lawl…guess that’s my answer
At least gw2 isn’t sub-based or you’d surpass that $40 a year easily.
Sharpen your justice. Dust off resolve. Brace your courage. The Guardian dragonhunter approaches.