Guild Wars 2

I’m looking to transition to a caster as I’m not a fan of how much kiting/ranged the melee classes require. I want to try something new as well and casters in mmo’s are a new thing to me

I’m only interested in PVE and i’m curious whether to roll with this class or a Necro. Mesmer doesn’t interest me, only these two.

Any feedback or suggestions regarding either classes would be much appreciated as this is a new space for me and I want to roll something that is going to be fun and viable in PVE, regardless of its state in PVP
Thanks much!

My personal opinion – if you don’t enjoy kiting, do not play elementalist.

The class is fairly broken at the moment compared to most others – too low damage to make up for the squishy factor.

Knowing what I know now, I’d probably have gone either necro or mesmer at release – but alas I just like the whole elementalist vibe too much to switch now.

So if you don’t have that innate love for the elementalist, you won’t like it in the long run.

My 2 cents.

Elementalists have a few strategies they can employ. Kiting’s one of the big ones. Your defense as an Elementalist is movement.

I personally love the class, if you’ve played thief here, then you have a good feel for some of the kinds of movement you have to do for non-kiting fights.

But as others say, you’re super squishy… so it’s up to you. I love the class.

I’d try Ranger if I were you, that sounds right up your ally. Staff Necro could also be what you’re looking for.

Ele is all about combos and controlling space but you’ll have to play smarter than other classes to get the same result. Not a bad thing though just be ready.

I should have provided a bit more specificity sorry

I don’t mind kiting, I just don’t want that to be the expected playstyle of a melee class. If i’m going to kite I want to play a ranged class where that’s expected.

Sharpe.1485:

My personal opinion – if you don’t enjoy kiting, do not play elementalist.

The class is fairly broken at the moment compared to most others – too low damage to make up for the squishy factor.

Knowing what I know now, I’d probably have gone either necro or mesmer at release – but alas I just like the whole elementalist vibe too much to switch now.

So if you don’t have that innate love for the elementalist, you won’t like it in the long run.

My 2 cents.

So why Necro over Ele out of curiosity? I’ve heard of pet issues with it. Thanks much!

TheWaltz.5790:

Sharpe.1485:

My personal opinion – if you don’t enjoy kiting, do not play elementalist.

The class is fairly broken at the moment compared to most others – too low damage to make up for the squishy factor.

Knowing what I know now, I’d probably have gone either necro or mesmer at release – but alas I just like the whole elementalist vibe too much to switch now.

So if you don’t have that innate love for the elementalist, you won’t like it in the long run.

My 2 cents.

So why Necro over Ele out of curiosity? I’ve heard of pet issues with it. Thanks much!

Just forget about ele if you don´t like kiting, k?
If kiting was an olympic game it would be as full of eles as 100m sprint is kenyans.

Oh and if you want a real answer, deathshroud (also known as no kiting for however long you can keep it up)

Well, if you like running, than Elementalist is a good fit. If you like having to think on your feet and can build good instincts and have very good button awareness, it’s a good class for you.

Try it, if you don’t like it by the time you’ve finished your first zone, no big loss.

My personal opinion is you should never pick a class based on its current strength/weakness. Pick a class based on whether or not the play mechanics are fun for you, and you won’t really know that until you’ve played it a bit. General mechanics are unlikely to change, but class power will always shift eventually.

If you enjoy the idea of constantly shifting your skills, and having a high degree of movement and timing in your combat, then you’ll likely enjoy the elementalist. If all you care about is how easy to play and how currently powerful a class is, then pick something else.