Guild Wars 2

I know, there’s a million posts already about this…but seeing this is my first, go easy.

Ok, I’ve played 5 out of the 8 classes to at least 11th level now with the 5 diff races:
- Norn necro: 23rd
- Sylvari ranger: 15th
- Human mesmer: 11th
- Charr thief: 11th
- Asura engineer: 11th

The idea was to complete the starting zone with each class that interested me & see which I like the most & is generally ‘easiest’ to solo PvE with (asa well as jump on DEs every nw & then).

I’m a casual, very time-limited player (as you can see above), so would really appreciate knowing where it will be least frustrating getting to 80th to experience some top level dungeons & WvW, on top of the zone grinds. My experience to date:

Necro: favourite D2/GW1 class, hands down (love multi-pet/minion classes; using staff+2xdagger, seems ok to solo if a little squishy/slow at times & the minions being dumb as doornails & entirely uncontrollable doesn’t help, as this was going to be a max-minions build eh.

Ranger: easy mode with puppy, once I learnt to combine longbow & shortbow (what melee lol?); great supporting dps class if there’s a tank/melee around, but a little bit 1-dimensional overall imo.

Mesmer: roll out yer barrels of faces! Actually, I died a bit with her until I got my legs…using staff & something/pistol combo; I do love the clones, kinda a pet class, but keep in mind, I’m not after just the most powerful class to solo PvE with – being fun for me is #1…never played a mesmer in GW1 & clothies are not usually my thing (which is why no Elementalist in the 5 either).

Thief: quite fun, but the squishiest of the lot for my play style (or lack thereof), being the only mostly melee class I’ve played (twin daggers mostly + sbow later on). The Charr starter area was by far the most challenging for me, as I hit level 6+ mobs as I walked out the gates WTKitten? :-/.

Engineer: Asura are just too cute & their stater areas just the same (even if Rata Sum was annoying at times he he); love the twin pistols + options with gear in slots, just not sure if I was using it to best advantage/combos – probably need a few more levels under my belt to see how this race/class combo pans out…?

Other priorities:
- good, interesting storyline I can absorb myself in
- great sights & exploration – I’m a hopeless completist (already can’t leave a zone until I’ve got all the map thingies & done the daily
- fast travel – hate slow running/travel between zones, though GW2 obviously addresses this mostly
- fun combat that makes you feel heroic, not like you’ve just barely survived another round of Survivor lol!
- crafting – would like to be self-sufficient with gear, but probably not realistic given the time constraint…plus the TP is just too convenient…
- hate being poor & struggling for cash in mmos, bleh, doesn’t everyone?
- possibly may talk the Mrs into playing, but that’ll probably mean starting another char/class best for duoing

So there you have it folks, any/all advice/comments/suggestions much appreciated – TIA!

I play mainly solo PvE with a human ranger, now level 57 and love it. Rangers come into there own somewhat later with higher utility and elite skills and traits. Also, you need to acquire the pets compatible with your ranger play style. You won’t find these until you explore many of the other races starting areas. I suggest taking your Sylvari ranger to level 20-30 before you decide

I took a human thief up to level 20, fun class but very tactical. You prowl the edges of battles picking off weaker health mobs, dart out and repeat. You are too squishy for head-on fights or getting surrounded. To me the class required more group play/support to survive and to get the most out the class. Didn’t seem to be a solo PvE profession to me.

You say a lot for such a simple question, maybe that is why so few answers : keep it brief.
Just play the char you enjoy, I am like you and have 4 all around the level 20’s. Depends on my mood who I play but I enjoy them all ( except the Asara which to me was childish ).
Love the Norn and Sylvanian and like my Human Ranger too.
Crafting is great fun when you get the hang of it, and it takes a while. Each char can create for the other and get exp. too.
Just play what you enjoy, this is no right or wrong way as long as you have fun.

Not to make your decision any harder, but I’d recommend also trying Guardian. They’re incredible fun and can self heal & create boons like no other.

My main is a Ranger and I love it. Pet makes it easier as well as gives you a lot of variety with all the animals to choose from out there.

Give your Engineer a bit more time. They really don’t come into their own until you have a nice selection of kits and elixirs in your utility list. Having only 2.5 weapon sets, you can tell they’re pretty dependent on those utilities.

Take your characters to the Heart of the Mists too. It’s the PvP staging area and it auto levels you to 80, unlocking all skills. This will give you a little taste of what each profession brings as you progress.

I would also recommend the guardian, same reasons as Seras give. You have a high defence with the heavy armor and great healing skills, plus you have the staff, wich have some good healing skills.

And most important, its much fun to play as a Guardian but thats just my opinion

Your experience 1-15 will not be anywhere near what it will be like later on. Especially for a casual player. Not only do you get new abilities through skill points but where you put your trait points makes the character feel very different. Same with type of armor/wep and their upgrades.

For example your “easy” mode Ranger will become fairly hard mode as you get into higher levels soloing multiple mobs and hard mode in WvW (unless you hang back behind higher damage/ defense classes). Also, you can get limited time multiple pets with the Hounds of Balthazar elite skill.

Elementalists are very fun if you use dual daggers, but that takes quite a bit of skill to master.

One way to get a feel for the char is to go to the sPvP training area where everything is unlocked and you can practice against bosses& mob. My experience though is that those npcs are weaker than in real solo pve.

As others have suggested, I too would recommend you try Guardian. They have high survivability and are extremely versatile in solo and group play. Their flashy skill animations, boons, burning, damage, and defensive gear make them a fun class to play. You can just jump in to most battles and really have that sense of heroism that you mentioned. Speed wise, they have Retreat! which is a 20 second speed buff. Paired with the #3 staff skill , Symbol of Swiftness, which also grants swiftness and has a short cooldown, getting from place to place is a breeze.

Cheers guys, I hear you…try the Guardian he he. Need more slots now though.

I would caution you that many professions don’t really come into their own until you have a full set of skills and utilities, around level 30, but Engineer and Mesmer need at least lvl 20 before they quit feeling constrained.

If you want a preview of what they’re like at 80, note that whether you pvp or not, you can “enter the mists” and go to the sPvP area. Once you’re there, you have top gear, ALL of the possible skills (minus racial-specific skills), and can change your traits and gear unlimited times for free. There’s target golems you can practice the skills on, and of course you can do some sPvP games which are fun and totally risk free (no repairs or respawn costs).

I first played a warrior to level 25 ish ..liked it. This was on my old mans account though since i was waiting for stock to come back in to buy GW2.

Once i got my own copy i actually made a guardian. And she is now almost level 80.

Guardians are very versitile imo. I play with GS mainly, i have no need to switch to a secondary weapon atm. probably will once i hit 80 and go to the 80 area in Orr. But untill then i just stick with GS and have a pure dps setup with stats. The only defence being the guardian skills. and base plate armor defence. ( i dont bother wiht toughness and vitality stats).

You can end up solo’ing things and certain events that usualy take a minimum of 2 people.
For example:
There is a event in Mount Maelstrom where u need to guard 3 ‘oblisk’ type things whilst they work their magic on the volcanoe. you usualy see 2 or 3 ..or more people guarding each one.
I ended up guarding one solo and kept it operational the whole time, whilst the other 2 ended up going off and on like a yoyo and getting overrun even with 3 people guarding. Now im not saying im pro …. i think being a Guardian deffinatly had somthing to do with it

I couldn’t decide, so I have one of each char, and they each have their pros and cons and the choice of which one to play depends a lot on what type of mood I’m in — full on battle rage, go with the warrior or guardian (lv 14 each), group events, ranger or ele (lv 15 each), mesmer and thief for fun (clones are cool, no doubt about that, and stealing is always fun, lv 13 each), but I’ve gotten furthest with my necro and eng (lvs 35 and 30). I’m very much in no rush to 80 and not concerned about end-game content, and I think most of the fun is going to be seeing how each of the char’s strengths develop with skills, traits, weapons, etc. …

Just a warning this post is completely biased as I love my necro and it’s my only level 80 character! But, with the build I have running now, and throughout my leveling journey I was pretty much average. By the time I hit about 25 I tended to just steamroll over just about everything, and if I didn’t steamroll I out-lasted them. Right now, while i’m in orr i’m able to do what I don’t read about to often, that’s kill a path through it. Most people just run for their lives. Not trying to scare you or anything!!! But yes, I <3 necro and how hard they are to kill later on in the game. Or atleast mine is due to the current way I have her set up.