Guild Wars 2

I’m looking to level a new alt for WvW roaming. I am not interested in playing Mesmer or Thief (already have a Mes, never liked Thief much). I’ve heard Ranger and Engi can be effective roamers.

Which is more effective when solo?
Which can deal well with primarily Thieves and Mesmers (all I run into in tier 1 roaming)?
What are the differences between the two in fighting style?

Two things are vital for roamers:
1. Mobility
2. Cheese*

*Stealth and/or AIDS

A Mesmer can be ignored.

Best for fighting thieves are guards best for fighting mesmers are Necros.. unfortunately guards and necros are absolute opposites. I think engi is a good middle ground, if well played they can beat both but don’t have the absolute counter that the necros and guards have. also PU mesmers will beat engis.

Engis fo sho. They’re bomb/toolkit/rocket boots condi build with perplex is VERY effective roaming 1vX

Here’s a video. I think this guy also has some more roaming videos with this build, and he streams regularly.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfUoHcJLWjoc

Darek.1836:

Best for fighting thieves are guards best for fighting mesmers are Necros.. unfortunately guards and necros are absolute opposites. I think engi is a good middle ground, if well played they can beat both but don’t have the absolute counter that the necros and guards have. also PU mesmers will beat engis.

I wouldn’t have thought Guards are very good for roaming due to the lack of swiftness / mobility. Maybe I’ll have to look a little deeper into that class.

Any thoughts on how Rangers play into that mix?

Carpboy.7145:

Engis fo sho. They’re bomb/toolkit/rocket boots condi build with perplex is VERY effective roaming 1vX

Here’s a video. I think this guy also has some more roaming videos with this build, and he streams regularly.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfUoHcJLWjoc

Thanks for the link; I’ll have to check it out. Not super thrilled about perplexity runes ATM though, as I assume they will be getting the beef hammer in the next balance patch.

On an unrelated note, my phone just autocorrected nerf hammer into beef hammer. I think I’ll leave it like that.

engineer

15 characters.

BondageBill.4021:

Carpboy.7145:

Engis fo sho. They’re bomb/toolkit/rocket boots condi build with perplex is VERY effective roaming 1vX

Here’s a video. I think this guy also has some more roaming videos with this build, and he streams regularly.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfUoHcJLWjoc

Thanks for the link; I’ll have to check it out. Not super thrilled about perplexity runes ATM though, as I assume they will be getting the beef hammer in the next balance patch.

On an unrelated note, my phone just autocorrected nerf hammer into beef hammer. I think I’ll leave it like that.

Beef hammer made me lol. They already nerfed perplexity runes awhile ago with an ICD of 8sec. I dont think they have any more intentions to change them. And perplexity is just the most god mode rune for that build. But in the video he explains how undead/scavenging/tormenting are all just as good

BondageBill.4021:

Darek.1836:

Best for fighting thieves are guards best for fighting mesmers are Necros.. unfortunately guards and necros are absolute opposites. I think engi is a good middle ground, if well played they can beat both but don’t have the absolute counter that the necros and guards have. also PU mesmers will beat engis.

I wouldn’t have thought Guards are very good for roaming due to the lack of swiftness / mobility. Maybe I’ll have to look a little deeper into that class.

Any thoughts on how Rangers play into that mix?

traveler runes saves the day
also full meds and GS/sword gives better mobility than most other clsases

Elementalist.

Don’t believe it? Believe it. That is all.

Solo roaming in WvW doesnt mean you just need a great 1vs1 class. Most of the time you wont have a 1vs1. Most of the time you are either outmanned or you outman the other side or your opponent runs away from you.

So in the long run you dont need the best 1vs1 class. You need a profession which is capable of disengaging from outmanned fights. And you need something to prevent your enemy to run away from you.

Engineer is a great 1vs1 profession, but he’s not that great in disengaging and preventing your opponent from running away. The proposed bomb/toolkit/rocket boots build is ok at both, but it has no access to stun breaks and stability and condition removal is not that great.

teg.1340:

Engineer is a great 1vs1 profession, but he’s not that great in disengaging and preventing your opponent from running away. The proposed bomb/toolkit/rocket boots build is ok at both, but it has no access to stun breaks and stability and condition removal is not that great.

Perhaps not that build, but a p/s nade/toolkit/elixir s engi is extremely strong, perhaps not at chasing people down, but imo if someone runs from a fight you officially won.

The blocks/reflect/invuln gives you a great deal of survivability, and the 5s of stealth from the thrown elixir s is usually more than enough to get you away from a zerg if you move cleverly in stealth.

And speedy kits. Never forget speedy kits.

Cameron.6450:

The blocks/reflect/invuln gives you a great deal of survivability, and the 5s of stealth from the thrown elixir s is usually more than enough to get you away from a zerg if you move cleverly in stealth.

I’ve played this build for a couple of month in WvW roaming around solo. The problem with engi stealth is you cannot dodge while stealthed because Powder Keg will reveal you. So if you stealth to disengage from an outmanned fight you often find yourself cc’ed because without dodging you cannot prevent all those nasty warrior hammers from hitting you. Even if you manage to run aways 5s in stealth you can be chased down pretty easily by GS warriors or thieves.

teg.1340:

I’ve played this build for a couple of month in WvW roaming around solo. The problem with engi stealth is you cannot dodge while stealthed because Powder Keg will reveal you.

Oh god I hate this so kitten much. The amount of times I’ve died beacuse of this.

But yeah these days I run rocket boots – immobilize is an engineers worst enemy, the burning on the toolbelt skill is pretty insane especially considering you can pry bar and then F4 before the guy is unstunned, and you can use the healing turret water fields before you use rocket boots for a blast finisher into a water field. It’s pretty insane.

Ignore the Ranger unless you want to play WvW in extra hard mode. It is a class that takes an inordinate amount of work to achieve mediocrity.

That leaves Mesmer, Thief, Engi, Warrior as top roamers. You already have mesmer. The thief IMO is the best roamer and second best general solo fighter. The engineer is a good roamer but takes work to master. Highly skilled engis are fearsome though and probably the hardest class to kill (taking running out of a fight). Warrior is a decent roamer but the big windups allow other skilled players to manage them fairly easily.

Rangers are not that bad, they are hard mode for sure and I agree is the worst class now comparing to the others, but you can roam with it if you find a good build that fits your playstyle.

Elementalists should not be ignored, they are not in a good place now as they were many months ago before the nerfs, but still a good class. They are very dynamic and have a lot of survival skills and good damage.

If you can master an Engi it is definetely a very good choice, but it is not so easy and obvious to play as other classes.

Guardians with the meditation build can surprise you, after the patch that gave us the trait to gain fury when using meditations it became more popular.

Necromancers are tough and great for 1v1, but mobility sucks a lot… they have good survival but to slow to run away if you are caught by a big group… and no matter how much you invest on survival skills a big group with a little bit of brain will kill you.

Warriors, dont need to say anything. It is the class of the moment.

Will not comment mesmers and thieves as you said will not like to play with then now, they are the best roaming classes.

Mbelch.9028:

Elementalist.

Don’t believe it? Believe it. That is all.

Against thieves and mesmers? Unless the OP wants to spend as much time running away as fighting, then sure.

Why don’t you enjoy your mesmer? There are many roaming builds available to mesmer, and blink and decoy allow for a lot of flexibility in 1vX. If you don’t enjoy phantasms, you could try a shatter build. Search youtube for some great solo 1vX mesmer roaming. Like other people have said, condi engi might be a good option for you. Warrior is pretty popular atm as a solo build, thanks in part to their ability to run away from virtually any sticky situation they find themselves in.

melodey.4652:

Why don’t you enjoy your mesmer? There are many roaming builds available to mesmer, and blink and decoy allow for a lot of flexibility in 1vX. If you don’t enjoy phantasms, you could try a shatter build. Search youtube for some great solo 1vX mesmer roaming. Like other people have said, condi engi might be a good option for you. Warrior is pretty popular atm as a solo build, thanks in part to their ability to run away from virtually any sticky situation they find themselves in.

I think that I stopped enjoying my mesmer mostly due to the very hit-and-run playstyle that it employs. I’ve played both shatter builds and PU roaming builds pretty extensively. Both types of builds really boil down to setting up your burst combo, then kiting / stealthing for a long period of time (relative to bursting at least), until you can set up your next condi, shatter or phantasm burst.

For similar reasons, I doubt I would enjoy thief. Plus, I have never been able to get a thief past level 10, as I just don’t enjoy the class very much.

Then I find some videos that don’t seem to rely on hit-and-run tactics, like:

Guardian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw6bMD5z6bM
Ranger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDib2vl9fVU

I think I’d rather try a class that has more meat on its bones, so to speak.

Straegen.2938:

Ignore the Ranger unless you want to play WvW in extra hard mode. It is a class that takes an inordinate amount of work to achieve mediocrity.

That leaves Mesmer, Thief, Engi, Warrior as top roamers. You already have mesmer. The thief IMO is the best roamer and second best general solo fighter. The engineer is a good roamer but takes work to master. Highly skilled engis are fearsome though and probably the hardest class to kill (taking running out of a fight). Warrior is a decent roamer but the big windups allow other skilled players to manage them fairly easily.

Rangers are only hard mode in large groups because of the pet and lack of AOE. However small scale they really shine, I wouldn’t say ranger is hard mode for roaming, takes skill, but then again every profession does if you want to be effective.

BondageBill.4021:

I think that I stopped enjoying my mesmer mostly due to the very hit-and-run playstyle that it employs. I’ve played both shatter builds and PU roaming builds pretty extensively. Both types of builds really boil down to setting up your burst combo, then kiting / stealthing for a long period of time (relative to bursting at least), until you can set up your next condi, shatter or phantasm burst.

For similar reasons, I doubt I would enjoy thief. Plus, I have never been able to get a thief past level 10, as I just don’t enjoy the class very much.

Then I find some videos that don’t seem to rely on hit-and-run tactics, like:

Guardian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw6bMD5z6bM
Ranger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDib2vl9fVU

I think I’d rather try a class that has more meat on its bones, so to speak.

I like reading posts that seem to have a lot of experience behind them as this one does.

Hit and Run is the roaming style these days. Classes that cannot, overall do poorly because all fights can quickly become impossible when a ton of enemies show up. The ability to control when a fight engages/disengages seems to be one of the most important aspects of roaming. If a class has to sit in front of a waypoint, that is more dueling IMO. Most classes have a decent dueling build but fewer have good roaming builds.

warriorjrd.8695:

Rangers are only hard mode in large groups because of the pet and lack of AOE. However small scale they really shine, I wouldn’t say ranger is hard mode for roaming, takes skill, but then again every profession does if you want to be effective.

Agree to disagree. The number of times a skilled roamer worries about dying to a Ranger is extremely limited. When fighting one nobody I know wonders if they can kill them but when.

Straegen.2938:

warriorjrd.8695:

Rangers are only hard mode in large groups because of the pet and lack of AOE. However small scale they really shine, I wouldn’t say ranger is hard mode for roaming, takes skill, but then again every profession does if you want to be effective.

Agree to disagree. The number of times a skilled roamer worries about dying to a Ranger is extremely limited. When fighting one nobody I know wonders if they can kill them but when.

When I roam on warrior and see a ranger I feel aggressive with no fear at all. I don’t care if I’m in the middle of solo’ing a camp I will turn and fight the ranger with the guards hitting me in the back and still not be afraid. I don’t know if “skilled” rangers are just very rare or if condi warrior is just too tough for rangers or more likely, both are true.

Play an engi or a warrior
Any doubts search for videos on youtube to get an idea.

A ranger can roam with impunity. I have permanent 33% swiftness and regen. Regen is 4,500 and lasts 14 seconds, is castable every 12 along with swiftness which lasts 14 seconds and castable every 12. Like I said, permaregen/swiftness.

Every tic heals me for 500, I heal very very fast. You also have your main heal which is 7K+ and regens for 7K per 3 seconds, usuable every 30seconds. Great sword in main hand with GS cooldown and you can “swoop” away so far from opponents they cry. Use your elite skill so you can’t be stunned, feared etc for 20+ seconds. Attack is 3000, toughness is high and armor is 3,400. Plus you have a pet. You have pet taking 3 conditions from you every 10 seconds, you can’t be conditioned down, trust me. I roam all day without fear and take camps, kill ugly yaks, solo towers and harass everyone. Oh, and when they think they have backup. “Swoop” away with your 33% perma swiftness. Live to roam another day.

bckerr.4798:

A ranger can roam with impunity. I have permanent 33% swiftness and regen. Regen is 4,500 and lasts 14 seconds, is castable every 12 along with swiftness which lasts 14 seconds and castable every 12. Like I said, permaregen/swiftness.

Every tic heals me for 500, I heal very very fast. You also have your main heal which is 7K+ and regens for 7K per 3 seconds, usuable every 30seconds. Great sword in main hand with GS cooldown and you can “swoop” away so far from opponents they cry. Use your elite skill so you can’t be stunned, feared etc for 20+ seconds. Attack is 3000, toughness is high and armor is 3,400. Plus you have a pet. You have pet taking 3 conditions from you every 10 seconds, you can’t be conditioned down, trust me. I roam all day without fear and take camps, kill ugly yaks, solo towers and harass everyone. Oh, and when they think they have backup. “Swoop” away with your 33% perma swiftness. Live to roam another day.

Are you using shouts for the regen/swiftness? Every 12 seconds … that would be “Guard” with the shout CD reduction trait?

Nabrok.9023:

bckerr.4798:

A ranger can roam with impunity. I have permanent 33% swiftness and regen. Regen is 4,500 and lasts 14 seconds, is castable every 12 along with swiftness which lasts 14 seconds and castable every 12. Like I said, permaregen/swiftness.

Every tic heals me for 500, I heal very very fast. You also have your main heal which is 7K+ and regens for 7K per 3 seconds, usuable every 30seconds. Great sword in main hand with GS cooldown and you can “swoop” away so far from opponents they cry. Use your elite skill so you can’t be stunned, feared etc for 20+ seconds. Attack is 3000, toughness is high and armor is 3,400. Plus you have a pet. You have pet taking 3 conditions from you every 10 seconds, you can’t be conditioned down, trust me. I roam all day without fear and take camps, kill ugly yaks, solo towers and harass everyone. Oh, and when they think they have backup. “Swoop” away with your 33% perma swiftness. Live to roam another day.

Are you using shouts for the regen/swiftness? Every 12 seconds … that would be “Guard” with the shout CD reduction trait?

Yeah, use Guard. Castable every 12, gives regen/swiftness. Set your options to use instant cast so the bullseye doesn’t keep showing up and slowing you down. As soon as you hit guard, it will cast. I speced 10 into BM to get the cooldown for shouts.

bckerr.4798:

Yeah, use Guard. Castable every 12, gives regen/swiftness. Set your options to use instant cast so the bullseye doesn’t keep showing up and slowing you down. As soon as you hit guard, it will cast. I speced 10 into BM to get the cooldown for shouts.

Nice. That’s AoE regen/swiftness too, so if you have a friend with you they get the benefit as well.

Nabrok.9023:

bckerr.4798:

Yeah, use Guard. Castable every 12, gives regen/swiftness. Set your options to use instant cast so the bullseye doesn’t keep showing up and slowing you down. As soon as you hit guard, it will cast. I speced 10 into BM to get the cooldown for shouts.

Nice. That’s AoE regen/swiftness too, so if you have a friend with you they get the benefit as well.

Yeah, I duo with a high powered Necro. He is Power/Precision/Condition. He face melts people like no other. I constantly have swiftness/regen on us all the time. It’s a tough duo to beat roaming. His fear wall is bar none the cream of the crop for zerg escapes, that fear wall lasts 5 seconds I think if something goes wrong, stops them from gaining any ground if we mess up.

bckerr.4798:

A ranger can roam with impunity. I have permanent 33% swiftness and regen. Regen is 4,500 and lasts 14 seconds, is castable every 12 along with swiftness which lasts 14 seconds and castable every 12. Like I said, permaregen/swiftness.

Every tic heals me for 500, I heal very very fast. You also have your main heal which is 7K+ and regens for 7K per 3 seconds, usuable every 30seconds. Great sword in main hand with GS cooldown and you can “swoop” away so far from opponents they cry. Use your elite skill so you can’t be stunned, feared etc for 20+ seconds. Attack is 3000, toughness is high and armor is 3,400. Plus you have a pet. You have pet taking 3 conditions from you every 10 seconds, you can’t be conditioned down, trust me. I roam all day without fear and take camps, kill ugly yaks, solo towers and harass everyone. Oh, and when they think they have backup. “Swoop” away with your 33% perma swiftness. Live to roam another day.

Idk man vs my condi warrior still you don’t have enough stability and leaps to truly “get away” unless you can get into a tower or some safe area.

You have swiftness fine but I have nearly permanent swiftness as well PLUS sword #2 long leap skill on a short CD and it cripples, plus I have 2 long immobilizes and a stun. You can remove some condis but you can’t keep them off of you because I apply average 3-4 stacks of bleeding per second, and it’s not even really those that get you, it’s the short duration high-damage burns from LB #2 and F1 that will really get you faster than you can clear them.

And if you try to kill me I have roughly 10 seconds of complete invincibility with 3 stances and shield, during which time I will regen nearly 1/2 my HP back.

You sound talented I’m just saying condi warrior is OP compared to any ranger build. It’s just the state of balance in this game right now.