Guild Wars 2

So far I have 2 high level characters.

1. Guardian
+ No complaints in PvE
+ No complaints in WvW karma trains
- Slow in and out of combat
- Long cool down
- Hard to lock down enemies

2. Mesmer
+ Interesting mechanics
+ Looks nice
- Too much work in WvW. Too much “ramp up” required.
- I can’t seem to find a build where I feel 100% comfortable.

Which profession should I pick that will have drastically different play styles from the Guardian and Mesmer? I am looking for a swift character with the ability to control (be it stuns or ensnare) others frequently.

Maybe Thief because their stealth and traps.
At the very least their play style is different than the Guardian and Mesmer, it would be worth the experiment.

Probably a Thief of an Elementalist.
Both classes are fairly quick in and out of combat and unique to themselves, have plenty of CC and are wanted in just about every game type ( thieves are great scouts in WvW).

Elementalist sounds tempting because I do like the looks of light armor. However, I’ve read that it is an underwhelming profession (i.e. it takes a lot of effort to be as effective as other professions). Also, I already have a Mesmer. Perhaps an Elementalist is more straightforward?

Don’t believe what you read about elementalists. They do take a lot of effort to play well, but are extremely good. They can outdamage warriors in dungeons while keeping 15-25 stacks of might and fury at all times on a group, have access to a lot of blast finishers and many types of combo fields, and put out the most AoEs of any class. They are very mobile and have a lot of AoE slowing/snaring CC- part of surviving as an ele is being able to kite well while keeping the enemy slowed down and unable to reach you. In WvW, coordinated staff eles can lock down, cripple, or scatter zergs with their CC and strong AoEs.

Good eles are always welcome in dungeons and group WvW. However, as was mentioned before, it is a difficult class that requires a lot of awareness, memorization, and active play- it’ll especially be a shock playing ele after guardian, as you’re going from the easiest class to survive on to one of the hardest. If you feel stressed out playing a mesmer in WvW, then it may be rough adjusting to ele.

Overall, though, if you’re interested, give it a try. Don’t listen to the people who complain about such and such class being such and such. The important thing is that you enjoy it.

Eloquence.5207:

Elementalist sounds tempting because I do like the looks of light armor. However, I’ve read that it is an underwhelming profession (i.e. it takes a lot of effort to be as effective as other professions). Also, I already have a Mesmer. Perhaps an Elementalist is more straightforward?

Eles have a steep learning curb and can be squishy do to the low base health but once you’re use to it can kick some serous butt .

You should try a necromancer

Having played both Ele and Guardian to level 80, i’d say the biggest difference is that with eles there is no down time, Guardians will use their big abilities when they need them, then spam 1-2 other abilities. A well played ele always has something to do, another combo, another buff/debuff to apply, another way to avoid damage.

Another option is the even more often maligned engi, constantly doing something, capable of being very mobile and generally a strong soloist for pve. Just also even more capable of making you feel underpowered at times

Thanks for the replies thus far.

I would like to re-emphasize my preference for a control/offense oriented character. I want to be able to stun/freeze/slow/ensnare reliably and consistently. Guardians can’t do that. Mesmers are inherently too slow to initiate a fight within range.

Kuduka.3860:

You should try a necromancer

While I do like to inflict all the nasty conditions on my enemies, necros do have one major flaw which I hate: slow travelling speed.

I have actually leveled a Necro to level 20, but I found the weapons awkward to use (probably because I’m too used to having a reliable burst option).

I would actually suggest an engi, they have insane amounts of snares, cripples, blinds, pushes, pulls, etc. While still applying lots of good dps condis like confusion, poison, bleeds, burn, and also doing decent physical damage if you prefer it.

Fistful Of Bacon.3046:

I would actually suggest an engi, they have insane amounts of snares, cripples, blinds, pushes, pulls, etc. While still applying lots of good dps condis like confusion, poison, bleeds, burn, and also doing decent physical damage if you prefer it.

Engis look quite difficult to play. It’s like an Elementalist on crack.

It’s an elementalist on nerf. >.>

Control/AoE Damage – get elementalist.
Single Target Damage – get thief.

You have to choose one… the better classes at each aspect don’t overlap.

If getting the thief, use Dagger/Pistol, and buff initiative with traits. You don’t exactly have knockdowns, but you can stun about 3-4 times in a row… if that’s the kind of control you’d want.

Bear in mind the elementalist is also much harder to use that the two classes you’re used to, whereas the thief is actually generally to use than the mesmer.

Engi’s are great fun and you should try one- with the kit swapping they are kind of like Ele attunements but I found my Engi much more surviable- granted my ele is only level36 and my Engi is 80.

Necro is a very good suggestion actually and if you spec in power and go with wellls you will basically be an aoe mass murderer.
For Necro speed – warhorn 5- speed boost and aoe cripple

I’ve read the skill descriptions on Necromancers, and it seems like their swiftness skills all have 30-40s cooldowns. Besides, I already have a tough-to-kill character with my Guardian.

Currently I am debating between Thief and Warrior. The Thief obviously excels at its niche, and that is high mobility and single target burst. The Warrior isn’t too shabby as it has quite a few options for leaps, and a passive MS boost trait. Plus, the Warrior is more versatile in other regards like zerging and team-play. My worry is that a Warrior might be too similar to a Guardian.

Just roll a warrior if you don’t want to put much effort into the playstyle of a class and instantly roflstomp. They are welcome in dungeons zergs and can also roam very effectivly. Also nice mobility and if you play hammer/longbow you’re gonna lock the crap out of people. I actually don’t feel they are simillar to guardians, just give it a try if you want.