Guild Wars 2

Boy oh boy…

There is a lot of commotion going on with the forums, and nearly any class is overpowered within either PvP or WvWvW… However, there are, to me, always more interesting things to talk about, namely the role you fulfil. I made a previous thread about this when Rangers were in a bad spot (really, they were), but now they got a more clear, and to me, fun role.

Before we get into it; this is largely my own interpretation and experience. Would you feel you disagree with me, or got anything to add, feel free to give your own opinions. Without further adue:

- Warrior; The Frontliner, though having recieved various allround nerfs, their main aspects have not been removed. Warriors excel in almost any fight on the point , whether it is solo or with a team. It can be build around heavy CC’s which will help your team either gain more ground, pin down an enemy (pun intended) or simply to give your team more room to breathe. Though Warriors luckily are not exclusively made for this, since they can, with the right specs, turn into skirmish fighters, suited for 1v1’s or 2v2’s with good sustained damage and nice spikes in the form of an Axe, or less popular a Greatsword. The skill ceiling did get somewhat higher up with the adjustments to Adrenaline, and whether the Warrior has more and more faded into niche because an Elementalist would suit it’s role better is up to debate, but you should not underestimate those who have mastered the class, for they can be lethal.

- Guardan; Actually not a monk, and now in a sense “balanced”. In my last write-up, I mentioned how Guardians were unparalelled in support and questioned whether it was good or not, however, with the huge influx of self-sustaining and soft support builds (Elementalists and Engineers), they become less mandatory to run. It is, for now, still a potent member of the team, since they are still rightfully unparalleled in support – sadly at the cost of precious mobility. More and more different Guardian support builds come into existance nowadays because of the minor shift in combat – and even considered niches such as Tome of Courage became more present with some buffs given to it. There has also been an increase for the survivability for Meditation Guardians, who largely has a role similar to a Warrior nowadays – however, this build requires a great deal of knowledge of the class and combat, because the weaknesses are still there.

- Engineer; Jack of all trades, and I think they will stay this way. Not much have changed to the way Engineer has been played ever since the last write-ups except for the nerfs to some classes, giving Engineer a more favourable position within the Meta. Not shy of speed (and vigor), the Engineer can be build in a “perfect” roamer, able to engage in 1v1’s or 2v2’s solidly, and disengage if the cooldowns for the utilities suits them. Nowadays often used in the role that a Warrior plays or have played, though able to deliver off-point pressure with grenades and pistol to force the enemy into using cooldowns.

- Thief; A bird of prey, are the class that seek out their opponents, make sure the focus is on someone from their team, and sees the right oppertunity to strike when the target from the team is at a suitable level. Thieves have been largely put down from their neigh-perfect burst builds, and suit the Assassin style of play way better. With attrition style warfare, poking the enemy and disengage at will, the Thief is a class excelling in clearing fights, but is not far from shy of being coupled with another burst class to quickly bring a target down. Their ability to quickly roam in the map gives them a variety of goals such as decapping, or quickly cleaning up by making uneven numbers in fights, and then go back again. Though having a 1v1 build, it is oftentimes not advised to do so, and just play the part of what the thief does best.

- Ranger; the “Remembered when you ignored me?!” class, “Wait, why the EFF did I die? Oh I see, there, in the distance, behind that wolf is a scoundrel of a Ranger! How dare he poke me with his Longbow in the distance!” Rangers are back, and more powerful than ever. Though before the update there were people running power builds succesfully, their role was always kind of weird, or rather unknown, but with the recent changes it became clear. Rangers are now the class made for denial. Seeing that one zerker spec trying to get ground into the battlefield – with it’s keen eye and the hand on the “2” key on the keyboard, the Ranger will gain the first strike, making the fight unfavourable for whatever class tried to engage. Despite this, they are no Gods – they are unable to bunker points, and usually go down with minor focus of the team. They require positioning that does not favour Conquest much, since it requires staying on point. If you fight with a Ranger, your team needs to realize who you are and what you do. Less popular builds such as soft Spirit, Trapper and even Celestial Axe are on the rise and more often used within teams because of their survivability on the point.

- Necromancer; Still debunkers, and largely, their role remained intact. I am not going over the issue with the current builds and why they are toxic since this is a discussion for roles, and not a discussion whether passives are healthy. Necromancers typically know two builds of which both have a similar purpose – burst in the form of Power or Conditions, and corrupting Boons of those who rely on it. They are strong skirmish fighters, but in team-fights tend to fall short. Still, they are strong and should never be underestimated, which most people don’t as they are likely the first target to be picked within fights. Necromancers got poor Mobility, similar to a Guardian in a sense, which does not make them suited for three-node fights against a team with high(er) mobility, since they can more easily turn a fight around. However, if your team is capable of sustaining itself good, and the fights do not become as great as a 2v2 and to a lesser extend if you are not forced on the point 3v3’s, Necromancers can help focus a target down fast, forcing them to use cooldowns and gaining CC control with Fears. Though capable of removing boons, it is not favourable against certain comps that either lack them, or reapply them faster than you can corrupt them – especially once more in team-fights where you cannot use Path of Corruption safely.

- Mesmer; Mobile Debunker, one of the most loved and hated class within a team. Playing with a Mesmer is choosing the way you play your team – the Mesmer is squishy, does not like focus, but does a truckload of damage if left untouched. Not just that, but how the Mesmers are implemented now they focus on 3 things, debunking in the form of removing boons, either with shatters or Null-Field, High ranged damage, which can be extremely potent especially when paired up with a Thief, and team-mobility in the form of Portal, positioning the right teammembers at the right place. Once more, chosing to play a Mesmer for the team means you need to realise it’s capabilities, and know the members well to position them right. Recently, interrupt builds have become more popular for Solo play, since you do not gain much from running Portal in SoloQ (because teammembers do not understand it without communication). The build is capable of denying the combat of an enemy completely, while you are busy stripping him off his favourite boons, or doing that last burst.

- Elementalist; Strong Allrounder, need a class capable of filling most niches in PvP? Learn to play an Elementalist. Almost all weapons have a purpose in a build, and nearly all roles could be fulfilled, if not Thief was capable of roaming faster. Need soft support and AoE CC’s? Get a staff, a more tanky amulet (Celestial suits many builds) and enjoy. Need to have a reliable quick class for skirmishes, teamfights or both? Get a D/D setup, and pray the enemy does not have enough boonstrips to keep your might rolling. Or want to feel like a hero by pressing a ton of keys, pulling out a neigh impossible burst succesfully? S/x might suit you a lot – but be warned, this build gets focussed down quickly if played wrong. An Elementalist nowadays is nearly becomming as mandatory as how a Guardian was, with soft-support elements, condition cleanses and considered high-mobility, it favours Conquest a lot. They are not without flaws, for they rely on boons a lot, and do, to some extend, need practice to be played well.

So what is your take on the classes? Does it differ from mine? Do things need to be changed? Would you like to see a different role for your class? Discuss.

I like this write up.

As for necro’s your description is pretty straightforward but just by your description it shows necro’s are 2nd tier. (The passive discussion is ridiculous unless necromancer is given a clear purpose and gets dragged out of the niche role it has , Variety is the answer) Power or condi bursts is basically all they do and with a kill or be killed mentality. Necro wont ever bunker or hold his own versus two, wont defeat one to fight the other, will hardly revive or stomp, is prime focus, plus has a hard counter on every profession and the only class to eat every pew coming our way, hence it is simply demoted to punching bag top tier. Let’s say necromancer has some problems no human can find a solution for this decade.

Other then that..
nice write up.

Great write up. An enjoyable read. I completely agree with Ranger, which I main. I have always said we are roamers and are there to help contested points and deal damage. We are not point holders though there is much more than pushing #2 from distance and leaving. Though I am deadly in melee for a short time but prone to conditions