Guild Wars 2

Hi !
Now before anyone stops me, I know the new borderline maps are not friendly to roamers, hence why I believe the choice of class is fundamental.

My goal will be to tag along the tail of disorganized enemy zergs and pick off targets left behind. Maybe in the forseeable future I would like to group up with fellow roamers to take on bigger targets. Who knows.

Anyway, my concerns for a good roamer should be :

1. Mobility for obvious reasons
   - out of combat travel to catch up zergs, chase targets and so on
   - escape possibilities since I will always be outnumbered
   - stealth is optional, but has its weight

1. Burst because I can’t afford to hang around
   - power or condi, it doesn’t matter both can be fun

1. Support
   - since i am aiming for small scale fights, on-the-fly group support can spike the dps even more, help in disengage and many more.
   Note : please note that i am not tied to one type of support, each class has its perks (mesmer pu will give stealth whereas rev will give boons & auras…)

So far, classes I am practising with :

1. Chronomancer
   Very promising, especially with the specialisation giving us extra mobility, a unique boon and a very interesting new mechanic skill. I believe the chrono to be a high floor and high ceiling skill cap, whose strength is 100% depend on player’s skill.

I am considering a PU chronomancer power shatter spec for hit and run tactics. The problem is that i will probably run just one well (the staby invu one) since mass invisibility is a given in this context.

1. Warrior
   Sceptical, since I am having a hard time adapting to the new changes on the greatsword, and going greatsword / sword + wh OR sh is over reliant on teamplay. (F1 sword for immob and focus). The support is nice tho, but I don’t like the idea of being a one trick rez bot teammate and a warhorn blower.
   The problem I feel is that Warriors without rampage have low damage compared to other classes, and when taking it they forgo the banner in favor of a telegraphed shot.
   Of course, popping rampage out of stealth can be funny…

I will probably try :

1. Thief / Daredevil
   At lost. It has long been considered THE roaming class by design, with its superior mobility and stealth generation. But this class just keeps getting nerfs (destroyed the s/d build, increase in revealing abilities which indirectly impacts their stealth mechanics) and questionable buffs (double pistol).
   I haven’t tried the Daredevil, but it looks like a fantastic dueler, with high mobility and fast paced gameplay.

1. Guardian & DragonHunter
   Mixed feelings, I’ve heard DH is the guardian godmode in a similar way chrono is to mesmer. While I don’t like roaming as a guardian (mobility problems) the mediguard is still solid. I could use some opinions on DH though, since I haven’t touched it yet.

Insight on both classes would be welcome.

Besides, the classes I am considering :

1. Revenant
   High expectations. This class appears to have all I am looking for ; high sustained dps, above average mobility and chasing ability, group support and to top it off considerable survivability (active and passive) even in glass canon. People tend to say the only drawback to this class is its absence of stealth.
   Really if this is its only fault I just can’t see any reason to play warrior anymore.

1. Engineer / Scrapper
   Highly Interested. Another class that appeals by being able to do everything.
   I’ve also heard the Scrapper can keep 100% stealth uptime for him and his team mates (I know there is a visible drone thougt), so I can see many uses for commando operation-like on big zergs.

I would have listed the elementalist in there as well, but the mechanics just don’t seem all that natural for me. I have tried many times to settle down and try the class out, but the failure is so hard I just can’t even see a starting point to improve. Of course, insight on what i am supposed to do as an elem and advice on it will be well recieved.

All point of views are welcome.

The only classes you listed that actually have real mobility are Engineer, Warrior, and Thief.

Correct me if I’m wrong on these points:
- Chronomancer is still slow. If you had Traveler Runes before, they’re still the same speed. Most classes get +25% run speed or swiftness. They can roam well because of stealth, though (and Blink)
- I haven’t played Revenant but I heard they have basically no out-of-combat mobility. Which means you’re not going to escape. I think they have top in-combat mobility though.

pheroth.5306:

The only classes you listed that actually have real mobility are Engineer, Warrior, and Thief.

Out of those 3, I think the engineer pretty much drop away because he wont catch any of the others. Nike warriors can move fast, but predictable. Thief win hands down for fleeing (thats what 90% does anyway) and I would think chasing as well.

Some of the elites got decent abilities for short term chasing, like the low cd reaper teleport or druid staff teleport, but its often situational.

So I say Thief still win if you want to stick to someone like glue (and also cheese out from any fair fight you think you will loose).

Thief.
Even a one-trick pony Shadowstep in, down the guy, Shadowstep out works.. Stomping is another story, but it’s possible to down an ele in the middle of a zerg who is semi-afking while running and get out before they can kill you.

Chronomancer has 25% movement on a minor trait without the need of runes and is one of the strongest dueling classes in WvW. The class also has a very nice teleport and stealth covers a lot of screw ups. Even their utility is excellent as players LOVE fighting around them and HATE fighting against them. Probably the best pick.

Revenant has a lot of good in combat mobility and can run down just about anything in the game with Shiro. They can also bunker and spike damage well with the right combination of legendaries. They don’t duel as well but in small team fights they are very good. In larger fights the Herald is crazy good. Don’t even get me started on that Hammer range.

Reaper… holy hell is this class a nasty customer when fighting 1v1 or even 1v3. Unfortunately it is slow.

DragonHunter is slow without runes (trapper or travelers) but also a solid pick until you run into someone that knows how to avoid/dodge the traps.

DareDevil is the fastest class in the game now by a very large margin. It even has a strong burst BUT it is also one of the weakest classes in the game. Thieves in general have been crapped on for about a year and it shows. They also have little utility without a lot of burst compromises. Fun to play some of the time, frustrating the other 80%.

Scrapper is a solid build with plenty of utility and some gimmicky burst damage. They are also able to keep speed up for much of their running. They are not a super-speeder though.

Warriors can be fast but give up a lot to get there. They are also on the bottom of the heap in small scale fights. They do well against thieves but get parked by most other classes.

Druid is actually a reasonably fast class and is the tankiest thing in the game. It doesn’t have burst though.

Exos.3472:

People tend to say the only drawback to this class is its absence of stealth.

Not quite, it is pretty weak against condies, at least the shiro/glint sword/x & staff or hammer builds most play, and whilst in combat mobility is good as is the ability to chase a player down, the disengage is below par, in a small group rev is really good, solo not so much.

Chonomancer.

From whati hear you simply cannot get away from them coz of slows, repeatable blinks due to ability reset and god knows what else they got given. I’ve heard nothing but complaints from every roamer i know about them, basically if you’re not a mesmer you’re pretty much dead as i’ve witnessed one of these chonomancers kill 3 people with relative ease.

But hopefully it’ll get a nerf…………………..in about 18 months which will be 12 months too late coz WvW will be dead anyway.

Thank you very much for those elaborate responses.
I am pleasantly surprised my feeling for the mesmer as a roamer was rather accurate, and while it remains true that their mobility out of combat is lackluster their burst and escape abilities make up for their viability as roamers.

Revenant will probably be a strong alternative when I find a good roaming group since they seem to miss on speed stacking. Unless I use that brick wall for explosion material (dwarf legend I think), which would then help a lot. I don’t find mesmer to be that effected since i can blink and Chronos have that nice +25% boost.

And Straegan, any input on elems ? They seem like more than decent roamers.

GROMIT.7829:

Chonomancer.

From whati hear you simply cannot get away from them coz of slows, repeatable blinks due to ability reset and god knows what else they got given. I’ve heard nothing but complaints from every roamer i know about them, basically if you’re not a mesmer you’re pretty much dead as i’ve witnessed one of these chonomancers kill 3 people with relative ease.

But hopefully it’ll get a nerf…………………..in about 18 months which will be 12 months too late coz WvW will be dead anyway.

Completely false judgement.

Slow won’t prevent you from getting away. Only conditions like chill and cripple do so.

Mesmers have always been strong in WvW dueling but terrible at chasing down anyone. Every popular roaming spec can get away from mesmer easily. Blink is at 30 sec CD so you don’t have repeatable blink at all.

If anyone want to chase down other players, thief, engi and warrior do waaaaay better than mesmer.

Last but not least, mesmer/chronomancer is at a very balanced state in PvP. Stop crying for nerfs due to some of your pathetic WvW observation.

GROMIT.7829:

Chonomancer.

…

But hopefully it’ll get a nerf…………………..in about 18 months which will be 12 months too late coz WvW will be dead anyway.

Mesmers have consistently been one of the strongest duelers and small team fighters in WvW since release. For at least half of the game’s history they have been OP. At this point there is little chance this class gets toned down significantly.

Warrior: sword/shield/ greatsword with bulls rush and headbutt gives you 5 rush/jump in skills on top of great mobility, use balanced stance for increased speed, runes of the traveler will also add speed, traited right you can also get double leaps on leap skills. This isnt the strongest solo build for warrior but it can still burst pretty well and has the ability to catch most classes id recomend fury for added power and condi damage for bursting, also might want to take rampage instead of headbutt in case you find yourself in a tight situation tho

Druid ?. Very solid roming class. I play ele and pair with a druid trapper and its great.

Wolfric.9380:

Druid ?. Very solid roming class. I play ele and pair with a druid trapper and its great.

Mind elaborating ? So far the druids I have been against were solid condi specs with massive heals that would tear me down very slowly.

I don’t recall the ranger to have many escape mechanics, as its prime defence consists of 1.5k range. NSFT.

(NotSorryForTrolling)

Exciton.8942:

Last but not least, mesmer/chronomancer is at a very balanced state in PvP. Stop crying for nerfs due to some of your pathetic WvW observation.

Ha… Hahahahaha. You were talking some sense until this statement. Spoken like a true bad who’s become reliant on the overtuned Mesmer to get by in a PvP environment.

Mesmer in general is the most overtuned class in the game. Chronomancer has taken that up to 11 on the dial.

Warrior Sword/Shield / Longbow
Not Berserker.
Trait immob on cripple in tactics line, even throw a sigil of incap. on the long bow. As mentioned before, headbutt/bulls rush/bolas all utilities possible to snag someone.

Tactics/Defense/Discipline. I’ve been a monster with that lineup for picking off tails. The longbow wears ‘em down, then when you catch up with the sword leap it’s just a final thrust from all being over.

I also had success with GreatSword/Longbow. Tactics/Strength/Discipline. Glassier, but if you land 100 Blades it’s game over.

In the HoT world, though, I’ve found warrior to be very niche in only this role- and behind the curve elsewhere. I’ve taken to running a Deathblossom/Lotus dodge spam thief. Catches stuff pretty darn well if you go d/d and d/p for teleport/shadowstep/daze steal

Shtos Vant.4182:

Warrior Sword/Shield / Longbow
Not Berserker.
Trait immob on cripple in tactics line, even throw a sigil of incap. on the long bow. As mentioned before, headbutt/bulls rush/bolas all utilities possible to snag someone.

Tactics/Defense/Discipline. I’ve been a monster with that lineup for picking off tails. The longbow wears ‘em down, then when you catch up with the sword leap it’s just a final thrust from all being over.

I also had success with GreatSword/Longbow. Tactics/Strength/Discipline. Glassier, but if you land 100 Blades it’s game over.

In the HoT world, though, I’ve found warrior to be very niche in only this role- and behind the curve elsewhere. I’ve taken to running a Deathblossom/Lotus dodge spam thief. Catches stuff pretty darn well if you go d/d and d/p for teleport/shadowstep/daze steal

Now I want to test that sw/sh & LB in a viper + militia combo.

Exos.3472:

Wolfric.9380:

Druid ?. Very solid roming class. I play ele and pair with a druid trapper and its great.

Mind elaborating ? So far the druids I have been against were solid condi specs with massive heals that would tear me down very slowly.

I don’t recall the ranger to have many escape mechanics, as its prime defence consists of 1.5k range. NSFT.

(NotSorryForTrolling)

Druid has ancestral grace and natural stride which makes solid roaming speed. He can half the recharge of ancestral grace with quick draw whichs allows a 6s recharge. My friend runs that and is fast in roaming and catches his targets.