Guild Wars 2

I’ve hit 80 on my Mesmer and it has been a great ride, but it’s time for a change.

I’m wondering what other mesmers think are fun alts for solo PvE. I really love the mobility of phase retreat, ileap and blink. But I also love the fact that I didn’t need to employ all of those skills in every fight just to get by.

I’ve played Guardian up to 56, but I just got bored. You can kill pretty quick, you don’t die, but it I never really felt I had to adapt to any situation, beyond swapping GS for mace . I feel like warrior and ranger would probably be the same, but I’ve never tried them.

I’ve played a D/D ele up to 24, and while the mobility is ridiculous, the constant button mashing/attunement swapping wears me out. I like that frenetic play style, but I felt like it was necessary in nearly every fight. It’s possible I’m doing it wrong, or there are weapon choices other than D/D that I should explore.

I know very little about Thief, Engineer and Necromancer. Thief seems like something I might enjoy, and is how I’m leaning right now. I’ve always been interested in Necro, just because it looks cool, but I just don’t understand the mechanics at all. Engineer just seems meh.

Ranger is great for solo PvE, but the pet falls flat in dungeons. Warrior is probably the best choice if all your’e doing is PvE.

I would give thief a shot. The thief is squishy so you still need awareness and has some really fun stuff.

Necros can be fun. I like mine more in wvw than I do in pve though. It seems to take forever to kill something imo.

If you are looking for high mobility in combat Ele is pretty great, and with the 4 skill sets you can hit any and every sitiuation from a different angle.

Staff ele is kind of fun and nuky if you like that kind of play. I also have an axe/focus and staff necromancer which is neat. Staff though on the necro can be kind of boring but it’s quite recommended and axe is often considered weaker than other weapons but I enjoy the playstyle and it suits a necromancer. Tried a warrior but it bored me pretty quick, though I expect I will level him eventually in the future since the warrior is pretty much meta at this point.

A conditionmancer is a nice change of pace. Stacking all those bleeds on someone and watching as their health ticks away has always been fun for me

I’d say Thief, if yer wantin to pull the Solid Snake route. Necro for a completely different style of fighting (Conditionmancy … innit great?)

I had a really hard time choosing between Mesmer and Engineer so I say try the Engineer. In the end, my inner hipster chose the Sylvari over the Human.

I levelled up solo PVE without kit swapping easily (Rifle, with Landmine and I can’t recall what other utility slots, but Supply Drop was the elite).
I tried dual pistols+ elixirs and loved it as well, but that was at 80.

idk, I hated pve on all of the profs I tried. I only got my mes to 80 riding our zergy WvW matchup. I love the combat system for fighting other players, but for some reason the pve in this game just wasn’t very satisfying for me.

Roll a thief. They are very strong and offer a variety of possible playstyles.
Going from mesmer to necro would be like trading in your Batmobile for a rusty tricycle.
Necro might be fun while leveling but on max lvl it falls of so hard it’s not even funny.
Compared to other professions both damage and survivability are laughable.
My full glass cannon thief can survive much better in pve then my full bunker necro.
While this might sound a bit extreme, it’s not my intention to talk down the necro it’s just my experience so far that every single profession I played after the necro (my first char) felt incredibly much more powerfull than the necro.
My thief was able to kill cantaurs on lvl 19 twice as fast as my full exotic necro downleveled to 20.

I main a mesmer too. My personal experience with alts goes this way:
- leveled up a guardian all the way up to 80. Great survivability and decent damage output. Leveling it wasn’t painful. I maxed it way faster than with my mesmer, don’t know if it’s inherent to the class or the fact it was my second character, and I didn’t have to figure some stuff out this time around. However, the class never really clicked with my playstyle, and I soon got bored with it. I enjoy burning stuff with the sword / torch combination from time to time, but I know it’s far from an optimal build, so I don’t bring it in dungeons (which is my main focus).

- leveled up a thief up to 20, but it was quite a pain. I’m not a big fan of the initiative mechanic, and the class feels really squishy… at around lvl 15 I raided the TP to get some blue gear, so that I didn’t die so much… It didn’t help that much. I guess it gets better at higher levels, but right now I have little incentive on going further on this particular class.

- created an elementalist. Fell in love with the class. Switched to D/D from staff at around level 5 and never looked back. Got it to level 80 in a few weeks and I’m now in the process of gearing it up in exotic (I’m just two rings short ATM). I really enjoy the dynamism of the gameplay, being in melee but too weak to properly tank, going in and out of the midst of the fight, with the fast attunement swapping according to the situation + the support it gives with aura sharing and water attunement healing. I really enjoy taking this one in dungeons, it’s a lot of fun to play there. Oh, and the mob tagging with all the AoE skills makes it really efficient for farming in high player density areas. I was really astonished with the quantity of loot I could gather (way way more than with my mesmer).

I have an 80 Thief, Guardian, and Mesmer and I love them all equally. They all have completely different builds and play styles.

My Guardian is bunker/support built. Very powerful in both PvE and PvP, but damage is on the pathetic side. Grab a Greatsword and level — it’s a lot of fun!

My Thief is DD/Shortbow and built as a mix between survivability and damage. I do 4x the damage my Guardian does with plenty of mobility, AOEs, and single target damage. You feel weak until you get lvl 20++ gear, but after that you can start two shotting mobs with dagger skills or you can mob up like 5++ mobs and AOE them down with the shortbow.

IdleHands.8793:

I’ve played a D/D ele up to 24, and while the mobility is ridiculous, the constant button mashing/attunement swapping wears me out. I like that frenetic play style, but I felt like it was necessary in nearly every fight. It’s possible I’m doing it wrong, or there are weapon choices other than D/D that I should explore.

Scepter/focus for when you are tired.

but yes attuements change will not only be frequent but also you have to plan them to play PvE correctly.

Funny thing is non staff Ele are really rare in PvE (and staff ele is really bad).

Bad things at 80 in PvE you need to add right bar management and combos to your attunement plan…..

Actually shatter mesmer and ele are really similar in pve and possibly the most fun profession…..

Both gives the best at 80 due to trait sinergy both requires to think 3-4 things at the same times while evading and positioning.
(i suggest you to go for a more balanced equipment in case you choose to keep your ele, precision is really good PVT is not that good)

I’m quickly approaching 80 on my Mesmer and that’s where I feel the fun will start, so many different builds to mess with…

Anyway, I’d suggest Thief. It’s my main toon and its a lot of fun. No class can match its mobility. The resource mechanics are completely different from other classes also, no waiting on cooldowns just watch your initiative. You’re squishy but that’s why you can dodge all day long and stealth. Thief has a lot of different viable builds also. For leveling you have some options for evasion or stealth rotations which helps.

GL
Blood~

To those that play both Mesmer and Thief. What would you say to someone that’s currently at a stage where they can’t really decide between the two?

I enjoy a bit of everything really, I do some PvE Dungeons, I do some WvW and some sPvP.

I currently have a 80 Guardian and 80 Warrior. Warrior is kind of damage, Guardian is kind of support defense. I want something like a Thief or Memser for some good damage.

IdleHands.8793:

I’ve hit 80 on my Mesmer and it has been a great ride, but it’s time for a change.

I’m wondering what other mesmers think are fun alts for solo PvE. I really love the mobility of phase retreat, ileap and blink. But I also love the fact that I didn’t need to employ all of those skills in every fight just to get by.

I’ve played Guardian up to 56, but I just got bored. You can kill pretty quick, you don’t die, but it I never really felt I had to adapt to any situation, beyond swapping GS for mace . I feel like warrior and ranger would probably be the same, but I’ve never tried them.

I’ve played a D/D ele up to 24, and while the mobility is ridiculous, the constant button mashing/attunement swapping wears me out. I like that frenetic play style, but I felt like it was necessary in nearly every fight. It’s possible I’m doing it wrong, or there are weapon choices other than D/D that I should explore.

I know very little about Thief, Engineer and Necromancer. Thief seems like something I might enjoy, and is how I’m leaning right now. I’ve always been interested in Necro, just because it looks cool, but I just don’t understand the mechanics at all. Engineer just seems meh.

I’ve pretty well shelved my Mesmer and have been leveling both a Necro and an Engineer.

The Necro is amazingly resilient; both condition damage and power builds are fun and effective. I’ve been using a condition oriented minion build of late, and it’s really effective if your minions actually attack your target.

The Engineer took a long time to get off the ground. With so many options and abilities, it took considerable time to figure out some combinations that worked well for me. I took that as a challenge though, and once I found those combinations, I’ve really been enjoying it more than any other class I’ve tried so far. From your description of what you liked and didn’t like about your Ele, the Engineer may be right up your alley also.

I also played Thief at release, and got him up to 50ish before I took over the Mesmer full time. I try to go back to play him some now, but I really can’t stand it. It, in my mind, is very awesome in PvP and very lackluster in PvE. But that’s just my opinion, not a fact by any stretch.

Warrior may be solid in pve but its SOOOO boring.
I think mesmer really is the pinacle of play in gw2.

Xylith.4873:

To those that play both Mesmer and Thief. What would you say to someone that’s currently at a stage where they can’t really decide between the two?

I enjoy a bit of everything really, I do some PvE Dungeons, I do some WvW and some sPvP.

I currently have a 80 Guardian and 80 Warrior. Warrior is kind of damage, Guardian is kind of support defense. I want something like a Thief or Memser for some good damage.

Thief: excellent mobility (25% run speed + shortbow), better AOE, and higher damage when in melee range. Relies on mobility and stealth to avoid damage. Shadow Refuge is your primary group support utility and this is the only class besides Warriors with resource management. I would say this class has a higher skill requirement to play correctly and it’s a lot of fun, but be prepared to be discriminated against.

Mesmer: More range (1200 vs 900), excellent single-target ranged damage, better personal survivability (illusions), and excellent group utility (time warp, boon/debuff removal, and portals). Your only “resource” management is with your illusions. You can be either melee or ranged. Really the only negative side of this class is your very limited mobility (only one speed boost on long cooldown). People beg for Mesmer’s in their groups.

Mister Mustard.7203:

The Engineer took a long time to get off the ground. With so many options and abilities, it took considerable time to figure out some combinations that worked well for me. I took that as a challenge though, and once I found those combinations, I’ve really been enjoying it more than any other class I’ve tried so far. From your description of what you liked and didn’t like abo

For solo PvE? Engineer. For anything else? Not-Engineer.

Seriously, though…Engineers are a blast in solo PvE. They have tons of mobility, lots of gadgets, and specs that will let you take on/explode 12-15 zombies at once. Swapping between kits is novel (FLAMETHROWAAAA) if not optimally effective, and Rifle Jump (Rifle #5) is a unique skill that lets you traverse jump puzzles with ease.

The problem is when you get into dungeons where you underperform or anything-but-a-point-holding-bunker PvP, where you also underperform. It’s just a non-optimized class with tons of options and lots of “fun” stuff that doesn’t serve a not-super-nichey PvP or straight DPS purpose.

Basically, if you just wanna roll around the world and have fun, that’s pretty much what Engineer is for. Just don’t allow yourself to touch forums or places where you need to have optimized builds, because that’s where the class really starts to lose its luster. I don’t play mine anymore because of it.

ComeAndSee.1356:

My Thief is DD/Shortbow and built as a mix between survivability and damage. I do 4x the damage my Guardian does with plenty of mobility, AOEs, and single target damage. You feel weak until you get lvl 20++ gear, but after that you can start two shotting mobs with dagger skills or you can mob up like 5++ mobs and AOE them down with the shortbow.

I took you on your word and I got mine up to lvl23. I geared it with lvl20 blues +toughness, and I must admit, I don’t die as much, and it’s actually getting quite fun to play.

Thieves are like motorcycles. I think everyone should learn to drive one, you’ll be a better driver for it. Its so easy to die that you just get good at not dieing…

Blood~

I would say out of all the classes the engi is probably one of the weaker in PVE, warrior would be one of the better classes in PVE. A power build necro could be fun to try. I have a condi spec 80 necro but haven’t gotten around to learning / respecing to a power build. If you are looking for dungeons I’d say Ele, Warrior, Guard, or maybe Thief. If you just want something that’s fun to play Engi, Necro, Ele, maybe thief would be my suggestions. If you want easy mode PVE it’s ranger, Warrior, and Guard IMO.

In the end I’d say thief or ele.

I have a Guardia, thief, Necromancer, Mesmer, Warrior and Elementalist lvl 80. All are great and have up and downsides. In the end I prefer Mesmer, because of the great utility they have, and clones are so much fun. Ele/Thief follow closely behind. Guardien is next (very good profession but a bit boring and slow). Warrior is nice but not my playstyle. They feel squishier then my other professions, even when having heavy armor/most health ingame. I don’t have a full gear set yet though but it’s quite close, and PVT, so i’m amazed it’s that hard to survived close combat. Warrior basically relies on damage to kill foes (not completely tru but compared to other classes, quite true). Necromancer with conditions is nice, but I felt the constant condition removal from players was a bit of a to easy counter to it. Add on the no escape abilities (invulnerability, stealth, blink, ride the lightning kinda stuff, short cd stunbreakers, etc), and I feel like the profession is slightly underpowered. Their melee is not my thing either (feels a little to low damage wise).

I’ve been enjoying leveling an engineer. I have a bunch of low lvl chars but it’s been hard to stick with any since the Mesmer has been such a fun class but I’m really getting into engi

If you’re looking for dynamic play I’d suggest…

Thief. It’s less complex than Ele but requires mobility and you shouldn’t get bored with combat.

Necro. Offers conditions and mobility and control and is a caster class.

Engineer. The kits offer a wide range of functionality, though I’ve heard they can get a bit complex like attunement swapping.

My two favorite classes are ele and mesmer. If you like the playstyle of mesmer, you will like ele, they’re both complicated, require a fair bit of finger gymnastics to master and keep you on your toes. If you’re looking for button mashing then roll a ranger or warrior, if you’re looking for a burst and then wait for CD’s, try thief. Thief is actually a lot of fun when I just want to zone out and not think “technical” about my play, but still want to just drop people quick. Great single target burst… way more fun in WvW then PvE though.

If you were bored with Guardian (as I was, mine’s at lvl 35 and will probably stay there forever) then I wouldn’t recommend ranger or warrior.

I’d say necro since that was my main before trying a mesmer, spec’d right you can deal massive condition dmg to a large group of foes and now that inanimate objects take condition dmg you don’t have to beat at a pile of boxes for 5 mins to destroy em