Guild Wars 2

With a new expansion coming out I am thinking of, “Maining”, something else, something different than my current, class (Druid). So once again I am wanting to ask the community to help me center in on something.

The class I want should be good at the following:
1. Mobility. (I hate, absolutely loathe slow moving, classes that feel like your walking through a swamp with them.)
2. Fractal worthy. (By, “worthy”, I mean something that I won’t have too much of a problem getting into PuG groups, and even “Farm” groups with, this include top-tier fractals.)
3. Solo/Small-group WvW Roamer. (When I am not “PvE’ing it up”, I like to roam by myself or small group in WvW, I find it a nice change from just beating up AI, lol.)
4. Raids. (I’ve never raided, but I would like to, and well, it would be nice to be able to be a desired class.)

Beyond that, things like flexible builds, aesthetics, and alike are also important. I know for the most part, I want to run power-based builds and as far as looks go, I feel heavy/light are more attractive to the eyes, then the “Trenchcoat” class(s), lol.

Thank you for your time, and help!

Happy adventures!

Weaver….. Ele is the only class thats consistently Meta due to wide variety of purpose builds, and would be the only class to meet your insanely broad requirements. Keep in mind that Meta rejects things which aren’t min/max, and Especs purposely trade design weaknesses in exchange for build strength….. which is why Druid, which is marginally useless in 90% of the game, achieved meta status because it hamfistedly has access to a unique and powerful damage buff.

I would advise against trying to force yourself into a “main” that does everything, for the sake of your sanity, as the game has gone out of its way to eliminate that opportunity whenever it can. Guardians used to be the whole game’s meta….. now its not even a must pick for most hard content, and only really gets taken for 2 or 3 situation specific skills, rather then its build performance.

Instead, I would recommend running 3 characters, each configured to slot into certain roles as its main setup, so you don’t have to struggle finding variety in game play. If anything, it makes you better player, as you gain perspective into build craft in a way that never could by sticking to only one profession.

Even though I would love having a main class, GW2 is not the type of game for that, since it is not very main friendly.
That’s why it is so alt friendly, no class is really viable everywhere, so I predict you will have a character for every game mode.

Here’s the thing about GW2: You can do most things with most classes, but people will get upset and boot you on PUGs unless you use one of the proven cookie-cutter builds on Metabattle. Find friends who don’t care about the meta and you’re fine.

That being said, it looks like you’re wanting something that can:
-Go Fast
-Provide acceptable support for Fractals/Raids while maintaining solid DPS
-Not die when slapped with a wet noodle in WvW

Elementalist is one of the strongest buffers in the game, and its DPS is quite nice when built properly. It also has a number of movement-boosting skills for crossing the open world, and can be quite survivable when geared and traited for WvW roaming. If you want to cut down on gear, grab a general-use Celestial set with boon duration Sigils and you should be able to handle most of the game in most any trait configuration you need. Also Weaver looks awesome in a way Tempest never really did for me.

Mesmer is also a strong contender for multipurpose character. It’s a strong solo roamer when played right, offers a strong support spec for Raids/Fractals with Chronomancer, and has a pretty good amount of survival options when solo. I had a lot of fun running HoT content with my Chrono, and I’m holding out that Mirage is going to be pretty fun once it’s tweaked just a hair and the community learns how to exploit it.

I’m personally going to main Engineer and Guardian this time around, because I love the concepts behind Holosmith and Firebrand and will enjoy playing them regardless of their place in the game’s power hierarchy. Firebrand looks like an axe-wielding, fire-blasting, quickness-inducing scholar-knight with a deep tie to lore. Holosmith makes your Engineer into a supercharged, wire-fighting kung-fu swordmaster with weapons literally made out of sun-stuff. Those are objectively pretty darned cool.

You may also have an easier time with slower characters soon. I haven’t had a chance to play with Mounts yet, but if they sufficiently bump your speed when going from place to place, then hey- All you have to care about is combat.

Mercurias.1826:

Here’s the thing about GW2: You can do most things with most classes, but people will get upset and boot you on PUGs unless you use one of the proven cookie-cutter builds on Metabattle. Find friends who don’t care about the meta and you’re fine.

That being said, it looks like you’re wanting something that can:
-Go Fast
-Provide acceptable support for Fractals/Raids while maintaining solid DPS
-Not die when slapped with a wet noodle in WvW

Elementalist is one of the strongest buffers in the game, and its DPS is quite nice when built properly. It also has a number of movement-boosting skills for crossing the open world, and can be quite survivable when geared and traited for WvW roaming. If you want to cut down on gear, grab a general-use Celestial set with boon duration Sigils and you should be able to handle most of the game in most any trait configuration you need. Also Weaver looks awesome in a way Tempest never really did for me.

Mesmer is also a strong contender for multipurpose character. It’s a strong solo roamer when played right, offers a strong support spec for Raids/Fractals with Chronomancer, and has a pretty good amount of survival options when solo. I had a lot of fun running HoT content with my Chrono, and I’m holding out that Mirage is going to be pretty fun once it’s tweaked just a hair and the community learns how to exploit it.

I’m personally going to main Engineer and Guardian this time around, because I love the concepts behind Holosmith and Firebrand and will enjoy playing them regardless of their place in the game’s power hierarchy. Firebrand looks like an axe-wielding, fire-blasting, quickness-inducing scholar-knight with a deep tie to lore. Holosmith makes your Engineer into a supercharged, wire-fighting kung-fu swordmaster with weapons literally made out of sun-stuff. Those are objectively pretty darned cool.

You may also have an easier time with slower characters soon. I haven’t had a chance to play with Mounts yet, but if they sufficiently bump your speed when going from place to place, then hey- All you have to care about is combat.

Sadly mounts won’t be a thing in wvw…yet.
With HoT release I thought it would be impossible for gliders to be a part of wvw. But here we are.
I hope, maybe someday, a huge cavalry attack on the side of a zerg will be a thing.