Guild Wars 2

Hello folks!

I’m very new to GW2 after growing to hate SWTOR and WoW though from what I’ve played thus far, I’m surprised on how much I really enjoy this game. However, I’ve yet to determine which class I should play as my main and primary alt. I was wondering, after reading a few thoughts below on my prior MMO experience, could you all please help me find something I would like?

In WoW, I played a destro lock and a survival huntard and loved them both. In addition, I had a frost mage which was possibly the most fun I’ve ever had in a game before. Too bad it was such a pain to level… ugh.

In SWTOR, I played a hybrid assassin which focused on a dps/tanking spec. It was my first time back into the melee style in years and I found it a good bit of fun. Much more so than my WoW pally…

As I love playing a ranged DPS/CC class, I was looking at the engineer as my primary but had also considered the ranger or even the elementalists with the hopes of finding something like my old frost mage. As an alt, I wanted to try out a melee class again and though the guardian using a DPS spec would be fun. I’ve played a few classes up to level 8 but have yet to try the ranger or the elementalists .

Could you all please give me some advice on what I should toy around with?

Thanks!

Eles and Engineers are 2 of the hardest to master. If you want a challenge, try them.

Rangers have a few builds you can try.

Some of the Necro stuff is still bugged, but I’m maining that now and enjoying it in tPvP.

I suggest you never try Thief. Once you get used to the high burst, and you go to play another class, you’ll be like, “WTF? Why he no insta die?”

Merciless.5349:

Eles and Engineers are 2 of the hardest to master. If you want a challenge, try them.

Rangers have a few builds you can try.

Some of the Necro stuff is still bugged, but I’m maining that now and enjoying it in tPvP.

I suggest you never try Thief. Once you get used to the high burst, and you go to play another class, you’ll be like, “WTF? Why he no insta die?”

I actually tried the thief at first and really didn’t care for it much. Granted the burst is nice but after they blow their initial rotation, they feel really squishy. Does the elemental have a frost build like unto WoW?

FinalPatriot.8034:

I actually tried the thief at first and really didn’t care for it much. Granted the burst is nice but after they blow their initial rotation, they feel really squishy.

You better edit that before you’re tarred, feathered and labeled a fanboi.

Admitting to anything less than Thieves have infinite health, armor, damage and can solo GM’s by the dozens will net you no friends here.

rickshaw.5279:

FinalPatriot.8034:

I actually tried the thief at first and really didn’t care for it much. Granted the burst is nice but after they blow their initial rotation, they feel really squishy.

You better edit that before you’re tarred, feathered and labeled a fanboi.

Admitting to anything less than Thieves have infinite health, armor, damage and can solo GM’s by the dozens will net you no friends here.

Not sure I understand… Did I miss something here/?

Rickshaw is a confused and angry gamer. Thieves in PVP are under a lot of fire right now because of their mechanics and capacity for really easy, really high hits that are tough to avoid (due to no stealth detection). In pve, nobody cares because there are no roles to fill and no real competitive areas.

For PVE though, I’ll give you some info

Ranger: super effective. if you want to be at max efficiency, you’ll use a shortbow and bear (or tankish) pet. This, imo, is incredibly tough but mega boring. Lots of autoattacks in your future. PVP: some really, really good rangers out there. Most are not. They can get tons of glory though with the current scoring setup. Get piercing arrows and spam your shortbow.

Ele: Hard to use this class. Really rewarding if you’re good at it, really punishing if you’re not. At mid levels you can summon a lightning hammer which makes you lol @ PVE content most of the time. Very powerful class but, again, if you’re not using it will it will punish you. PVP: Really strong bunker. Great aoe dps, great team support. Fast travel/roamer. Can be great in 1v1 or group fights, but most times cant be good at both.

Guardian: Really resilient, mid-high dps, lots of utility. Pretty bad ranged attacks (which are really important for dungeons/champs). Great sustain, ehh crowd control. Pretty good at DE’s though w/ a staff, you can tag everything while buffing your allies. PVP: Great bunkers, good group AOE dpser, can change the tide of a battle w/ some key skills/abilities. if traited properly, can be a great team healer.

Warrior: High dps, high armor, high hp. Can do aoe ranged (bow) single target ranged (rifle) high melee damage, moderate survivability. They dont survive like a guardian by taking, healing, mitigating damage. They survive by just having lots of armor/hp and killing stuff first, then regen between fights. Probably 2nd to ranger in leveling speed, imo. PVP: Good controller/support class with a hammer. Rifle is great in a group for picking off glassy classes. Redonk burst w/ greatsword, but you sacrifice a lot to get it.

Necros: I’ve seen some really solid pve necros. Personally, I think they’re boring, but others love them. Lots of AOE, lots of utility, lots of pets if you choose. PVP: Great in groups, I’ve seen some pretty tough 1v1 necros, but most times they’re best suited in a group. Good at passing out conditions.

For a Ranged DPS/CC class Engineer best suits that role fairly well. I almost get annoyed at how much knockbacks, cripples, and knockdowns, they have.

Rangers are another good class for good damage and CC. They have good sustain, but not real good burst. They have chills poisons bleeds and a lot of good cripples. As well they have a really great immobilize, ( their elite ) Binding Roots lasts for 2 -3 seconds but you have to kill them for the roots to go away.

Necros are of course a good class for damage but like someone said they have some bugged abilities. Another big issue is their damage is condition damage, and currently everyone is using condition clears. Their CC is fears, and chills and cripple. But with condition builds you can keep up these CCs about 50% – 70% of the time depending on what class you would be fighting.

Elementalists are not really CC, but they have good burst, while being very fragile. They can be GREAT support, and kitten near invincible. But again, their CC is bear minimum.

I am sure about 90% of this stuff, if I am wrong about something someone correct me.

Well, one of the greatest things this game can offer you is the ability to “taste all the flavors” with ease. What I would suggest is this:

Create one of each character type. Level it out of the starting area. Head to the Heart of the Mist (where you get a full lvl 80 with the option to try out all specs / weapons for FREE!). Spend some time fighting the target dummies and the NPCs of each profession type. You should get a very very good idea of what feels the best to you. Much more than any forum-goer can. From the sound of what you’re saying, I would say a Ranger or Elementalist, but again, go try for yourself!

Welcome to the game and enjoy your stay!

Thanks for all the help folks! I think I’ll give each of them a try for a bit ad then head over to the PvP area like Felivear mentioned.