Guild Wars 2

Wow, thanks so much for the responses. I gotta say, this subforum is incredibly helpful. Other subforums (coughwarriorcough) can be a little stuck up.

Xyonon.3987:

As mesmer there are a few survivablity traits like “phantasms grant nearby allies permanently regeneration (refreshes after expired)” or “vigor on crit” wich are probably the best ones. Also in dominion there is a trait that causes aoe cribble when clones die. Awesome trait for players using all weapons (since mesmer really can make use of this where other classes just got often the weapon X is better than weapon Y situation).

Against overpulls in open world, act for example like using the focus 4 to pull them all together against a wall or something, 3 sword for clone charge, while it is on it’s way summon the warden (5) activate 3 again, dmg the mobs with cleave 1 and 2 while they are all rooted and you are invournable. After this you can try to stay melee or backoff switch to gs and do 2341112 switch. Just an example, every situation is different

Ah, thank you, that’s the stuff I was looking for. I like the sound of those traits.

I’m not new to the game, just the class. That’s why I’m wondering what the “trick” is to basic survivability. All classes have some little trick or weapon combo that’s better than all the others.

Thanks for the replies, btw. When I said ‘no great kiting’ I meant the damage on staff and scepter isn’t so great and any adds in the area can be a pain. It’s not like the warrior or elementalist or thief who can kite all day while healing per second with signets and blasting AOEs.

So it looks like Mesmer’s main leveling survivabilty is in clones and counters and evasion? Guess I’ll have to get used to timing stuff, lol. I just wish it had some kind of health replenishing. Playing as a warrior spoils you…

Well, trash and low levels aren’t really the problem. I’m more worried about groups of vets, accidental over-pulls, tricky skill points, that kind of thing.

Noob question, but I’m wondering what Mesmer survivability is supposed to be like in regular questing/PVE. I’m leveling one right now, but she doesn’t seem to have any great kiting or life regen or mitigation like blinds. Staff is okay, but nothing great. Is there any way to feel immortal with a Mesmer while leveling, or do they remain relatively fragile compared to other classes?

I’m thinking of aiming for 100% map completion, but I want to know what I’m getting into first. I’d hate to get 80% or something and realize I can’t finish.

So, how long does it take on average? Is it mostly solo exploration? Is it fairly simple or does it take real commitment? Best profession? Thanks for any replies!

Any tips? I keep hearing about how Guardians are supposed to be boringly easy level, but I’m really not getting that. I’ve leveled a Mesmer, an Elementalist, and a Necro, and the Guardian seems to be the hardest of the bunch. I have trait points in toughness and vit, and I have toughness runes, and yet I constantly seem to be getting squished.

Are Guardian’s supposed to be this frail, or am I doing something wrong? I’ve experimented with different weapons, I use blinds, virtues, boons, dodging. Against trash mobs and solo vets I’m invincible, but what class isn’t? But when it counts, in group fights or accidental over pulls, there just seems to be nothing all those defensive abilities can do. Just bam, squished. In comparison, my Elementalist seems OP.

So, any tips? Best weapon set up for leveling? Best trait line? Handy skills to have? Any advice would be very welcome, thank you.

Suddenflame.2601:

AgentofChaos.1539:

Suddenflame.2601:

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

Are you actually serious? You’re saying you can avoid projectiles by sidestepping? I have to admit I’m skeptical. As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic. Or if you stand behind an obstacle. It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

And beyond all that, how are you supposed to avoid being squished in seconds by three ravens and two veterans? And even if you survive the initial attack, how do you recover and survive the next wave? Healing does little and you can’t evade every thing.

Come on, be serious. Can you really solo this fight without being downed at least once? Sorry, I just don’t see it.

I am serious you can dodge attacks by side stepping that’s including melee attacks. Circling your opponent will make his attacks miss. Side stepping and making the the game over shoot happens as well when it comes to ranged. The game tries to calculate where you will be in the instant the arrow is released therefor it leads the target. If the arrow does not hit your hit bow because you went in the opposite direction it will miss. Try it out some time. I do it all the time in WvW and PVE. Avoiding the animation in this case does avoid the attack cause the combat system is ARPG.

I can solo her without being downed once. Your over thinking it and based on what you have said you do not understand how the combat system in this game works. If the animation does not hit your hit box then you do you not take the damage. This game is about skill not item based like most MMOs. Understanding how the combat system works helps you in the long run.

For example just recently my lvl30 (even scaled up mathematically disadvantaged) mesmer wearing masterwork armor defeated 1v1 in WvW defeated a lvl80 mesmer wearing exotics. In any nonARPG combat MMO i would mathematically would have lost but since i understand the combat system and that it is ARPG i was able to out skill my opponent and defeated them.

Wow, I never knew that. I’ll give it a try. To be honest, I never put much thought into the combat system. I just assumed it was the same as other MMOs. That said, though, I do fine in most fights. It’s only this one that seems impossible, lol.

Suddenflame.2601:

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

Are you actually serious? You’re saying you can avoid projectiles by sidestepping? I have to admit I’m skeptical. As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic. Or if you stand behind an obstacle. It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

And beyond all that, how are you supposed to avoid being squished in seconds by three ravens and two veterans? And even if you survive the initial attack, how do you recover and survive the next wave? Healing does little and you can’t evade every thing.

Come on, be serious. Can you really solo this fight without being downed at least once? Sorry, I just don’t see it.

Anybody done this skill point without dying? I’ve soloed her on a few different professions, but each time required suicide runs. I’d pick off Noxia, or the ravens, or a clone, then die and run all the way back from a waypoint. As far as I can tell, it’s impossible to solo at an even level without dying at least a couple times. There’s no way to dodge/mitigate, no way to kite since she’s ranged, and not many professions have much condition removal at that point, which means you’re eating most of the damage.

It’s pretty ridiculous. In total, you have to kill six ravens, two clones, Vilnia herself, and Noxia. That’s TEN mobs, and THREE veterans. Did they honestly intend this skill point to be soloed? If not, why doesn’t it say [Group Event] anywhere? I find this very disappointing. I heard Guild Wars 2 was very solo friendly, the most solo friendly MMO out there. And yeah, a lot of it is. But then you have skill points which are only possible with cheap tactics, and a “personal” story which requires a group of five to complete. Yeah, very solo friendly.

Anyway, has anybody actually done Vilnia solo without dying? I’m curious.

Warrior’s pretty easy to level (to say the least lol) but what’s the best way to get the most out of it? I just got Deep Strike for a signet build, but I think that’s been nerfed because I don’t any notice change at all. Crit chance is about 50 with or without the trait. So I’m thinking maybe there’s something better to trait for? Any tips are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Blaine Tog.8304:

Leveling an Ele is really, really rough. We have low base survivability and low damage, which together force you to play extremely well to survive anything on your own before you get a chance to build the damage and survivability you need.

For me, I found it first got easier when I started using Glyph of Lesser Elementals. Mobs often attack the elemental rather than you, giving you a breather mid-combat and time to DPS down mobs. Earth Elementals are extremely difficult for almost everything in open-world PvE to take down, and you can summon different ones if you want more damage or CC. The Elite skill Glyph of Elementals is pretty much the same thing only better, and slotting them both can make much of PvE a breeze.

I also vastly prefer Scepter/Dagger to D/D for leveling (and just in general for PvE, really). D/D is quite strong, but I like the superior kiting potential and defensive options of the Scepter. Scepter also has better burst spells whereas a lot of D/‘s damage is tied up in its autoattacks, which means it’s easier to deal your damage between dodges. I found using the Scepter to deal damage at range while my elementals distract the mobs to be a pretty easy way to level, comparatively.

Other than that, rushing points into Water and Arcana (with a touch of Air) is crucially important. Attunement dancing doesn’t feel fluid at all to me without at least 20 points in Arcana, and we desperately need that extra health to give us time to pop a cantrip and heal back up.

My Ele is my main, and I do have to say that I feel the most comfortable using him for virtually any content in the game. At level 80 with a full trait setup, I can smoothly transition from DPS to defense to support to control and back again. Whatever I need, I have access to at all times and I can pull off some fancy combos to squeeze a bit more out of the profession when I want to. Every profession has the ability to fill multiple roles, but almost everyone has to choose what they want to do ahead of time. Eles can pick something to be better at, but we maintain out in-the-moment versatility regardless of build. For someone like me who doesn’t like making decisions ahead of time, it’s amazing and I love it.

(Oh also, a lot of people swear by Conjure Lightning Hammer for leveling. The hammer’s autoattack deals insane amounts of damage, arguably some of the best DPS in the game. You don’t need the points in Arcana as much to run LH (you’ll be spending most of your time with a Hammer in hand, not Attunement dancing). I didn’t use this much until very recently, though, so I can’t give much more advice than that.)

Thanks a lot for that, that’s very helpful. I had assumed the elementals would be useless, but I’ll give them go and try kitting more, plus vit and toughness on gear. Suddenly I have hope, lol.

Not a hate topic, genuinely wondering. I started leveling an Elementalist recently and I’m finding it frustrating. As far as I can tell, it seems like an over-complicated class with no real reward. DPS isn’t much better than anything else and survivbilty is just…

But I’m still very early level (22) so that’s why I came here to ask: when does the ele get good? I’ve done research and I know it’s best to level with D/D and to trait with 10 in air for Zephyrs followed by 10 in Arcana for the boons on attunement change and then water for Vit. But do those traits really make much of a difference?

Right now I’m clinging to the hope that the class will suddenly get better at level 30 or so. Leveling’s important to me, I like to enjoy it, so it would be great if I could actually play without getting two shot by anything stronger than trash. Some of those skill points challenges are pure hell…

Anyway, any advice is welcome. Thanks.

Good to know, thanks for the quick replies.

I’ve done a bit of research, but it seems impossible to get a straight answer, so I figure I’ll just ask: Is it possible to level cap in this game completely solo? I’m not talking about raids, or dungeons, or PVP, or anything like that. All I wanna do is play and quest and reach the level cap.

And when I ask if it’s possible, what I really mean is “is it easy.” I’m not really interested in a challenge when I play an MMO, just something fun to pass time. It was possible in WOW and plenty others, but the event system in this game seems to require multiple players, which there never are, not on my server at least. The game just doesn’t seem very solo friendly.