Guild Wars 2

I run on “Best Performance” settings in WvW to minimize the lag and FPS drops in large fights. That means all the other characters I see are in the default low res (faceless) armor skins.

I’m wondering if there are any consistent, outstanding visual differences between classes other than the armor weight that might help to sort them out on sight, since it seems all “heavy” classes, for instance, share the same default heavy armor skin.

I know if I see someone in heavy armor with a staff, for instance, then it’s a Guardian, because there are only two heavy armor classes, and one of them can’t equip a staff. But if they’re carrying a greatsword or hammer, then it could be either guard or warrior.

Is the only reliable way to tell them apart just tab targeting and looking at the class icon; or are there other cues that can help to reliably spot what class you’re looking at?

Norn with a staff – most likely a guardian

Skinny looking female class with flashy daggers/male with assassins creed-esque hood – thief

Cliche skeleton mask/black+bleeding eye mask – necro

has attunement icons, atunement effects on hands (fire, water etc) – ele

has a pet/is perpetually downed- ranger

shield + pistol/giant backpack – can only be used by engineer

spamming phantasmal berserker/purple spell animations/tehre are more than one of them – mesmer

don’t really have anything for warrior besides seeing what signets they are using. almost all warriors use healing signet so that’s a dead giveaway.

you can also see what buffs they are using to determine their spec (to counter it)

Spicyhash.7605:

has a pet/is perpetually downed- ranger

Made me laugh

Class icon is probably the easiest way to know for sure, but noticing specific boons or spell effects will also tell you what class they are.

Signets can also give you a quick identifier since they are generally colored specific to a class (grey for thief, blue for guard, red for war, etc.). To see a full list of signet icons, check out the wiki:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Signet

Thieves also have a unique blurred-animation when they dodge.

If it’s an option, targeting them and checking the class icon is the easiest way.

Barring that, most heavies are warriors since guardians tend to stick to zergs or at least groups. If a medium armor tries to close with you, it’s probably a thief. If they try to keep distance, it’s likely a ranger. Engineers may do either. Turrets are a dead giveaway, but most people don’t use them in WvW.
Mesmer is easy to spot but harder to catch. Most necros have one or more pets, and their skills have a characteristic black/green colour scheme.
Eles are the least obvious class for me, but it’s also one of the classes I don’t know very well. Elemental attunement (glowy hands) seems to be what most people look at but I don’t think it’s very obvious with lowest settings.

Another way is to look at which boons they currently have, but this requires some knowledge of each class and their builds. And if you have them targeted already, just look at class icon.

Up front – pain train cc tank
In back – heavy dps
Mid – lol medium armor

Spicyhash.7605:

Norn with a staff – most likely a guardian

Skinny looking female class with flashy daggers/male with assassins creed-esque hood – thief

Cliche skeleton mask/black+bleeding eye mask – necro

has attunement icons, atunement effects on hands (fire, water etc) – ele

has a pet/is perpetually downed- ranger

shield + pistol/giant backpack – can only be used by engineer

spamming phantasmal berserker/purple spell animations/tehre are more than one of them – mesmer

don’t really have anything for warrior besides seeing what signets they are using. almost all warriors use healing signet so that’s a dead giveaway.

you can also see what buffs they are using to determine their spec (to counter it)

Made me giggle.
I’d also add: Charr=Warrior

beware the rare Charr mesmer. I got thrown to my death out of hills because I thought a temporal curtain was a line of warding. Despite the clues everywhere around me- I just knew it was a guardian, because almost all Charr are frontline.

Armor, weapon and buffs, signet passives when u select them.

Spicyhash.7605:

has a pet/is perpetually downed- ranger

I’m not one to laugh . . . but I did laugh at this one.

Spicyhash.7605:

has a pet/is perpetually downed- ranger

sorry, but its more like this;

Shooting you from miles away and dieing once you look in their general direction

You can easily identify any class except engis by their class specific signets and mechanics (i.e. virtues, mantras, attunement, death shroud, venoms) that appear under the name plate. Engis can be identified by their kits and skill animations like rocket boots you can see a mile away.

zen.6091:

Engis can be identified by their kits and skill animations like rocket boots you can see a mile away.

Wrong. We don’t actually exist.

If its a staff ele, a smart one, they are usually behind or at the side as they attack. If you see em, stick to em like a magnet and dont let them cast anything.

If its a SnD ele , look for their constant strafing from the left to right with a constant stream of lightning targeted on you. And their attempts of trying to land a dragon tooth on you.

If its a DnD ele, look for in your face fights. They dont call DnD eles battle mage for nothing. Use chill on DnD to slow down attunement swaps and keep a distance if possible.