Guild Wars 2

I’m using rabid since I cant get anything else easily…I don’t know the “numbers” but you can craft exotic viper trinkets I think but I don’t know if it is worth it.

You want viper as a condi reaper, It does far more dps than rabid or sinister.

http://www.sickestguild.com/forum/m/31644179/viewthread/25151391-spirit-vale-condition-reaper-guide

That link should have everything you need to get started, personally I would run the blood magic varient he has listed there.

Arguably the best solo class, great damage, very tanky, wide build diversity…condi necro is great for high end fractals and raids. Power necro is probably outclassed by other professions in high end content, but I play a power reaper in fractals up to level 85 and have not had any problems. There isn’t really any difficult content in this game that will make a certain profession nonviable. Play what you want, unless you are running the 10 man raids with groups that want a specific group makeup you wont have any problems. Oh and I’m pretty sure condi necro is getting some buffs in the next patch even though it is already very strong.

Why does it have to be one or the other? I been running daily fractals (all 9) every day for about 3 weeks….in that time I’ve received 5 armor boxes (used 3 for my light set, 2 for my medium set) and crafted the last 2 pieces of my light set to finish it off, now any other boxes will go to my alt set (med /heavy

Sourde Noire.5286:

I swear to god this thread with the exact same wording has to have happened before. I got this déjà-vu thing going on strongly.

But for your question, I’d suggest Revenant/Herald (Warrior if you don’t own HoT). Heavy armor with innate highest damage reduction, medium to high health pool and both bring party utility with ease.

Revenant has the bonus of an OP ranged weapon that obliterates trash in 2 hits before it can come even close to you. Plus you will be able to give yourself an allies permanent Protection to boot. And some might along the way.

I really would recommend against following this advice, unless all you plan on doing is AA’ing on the Rev and you don’t care about getting the most out of the character you are playing (in which case play any profession). Reaper is much more forgiving for low dexterity (“ranged” in general is, and if u plan on playing rev solely as ranged you will be disappointed).

IMO, Druid or reaper, both have great sustain/tankiness and do well solo. Staff fire Ele is VERY easy (by easy I mean the DPS rotation is basically 3 buttons, with a few additions added to the core depending on build), but Ele is also much squishier than a reaper so it really depends on how you like to play and whether you tend to lean towards condo or power.

TLDR: If you have dexterity issues stick with a ranged class if you are running stuff like fractals /raids…you will have less things to worry about dodging/avoiding. REAPER REAPER REAPER! …Reaper does great condi damage, is pretty fun/viable as power if that is more your beat, and has pets to help tank!

They do OK damage…the range on them can make them a handicap at times imo. But cant complain about all those boons when cast

eureeka.5368:

This thread was Obviously made for necro’s to cry. Ele is the only class that keeps reaper in check. Oh there is a counter to your condi bomb ?? boohoo lets go cry on the forums!

Noone is arguing that that is a bad thing. Keeping people in check and from being OP if fine (Like ele bunkers are themselves atm, I just 1v2’ed a warrior and a DH on point and won) It is simply TOO good of a counter. It is an ability that has zero counterplay besides playing a different class or changing your build (sorry, but that is not counterplay), and requires zero skill/effort on the part of the ele to reap the benefits. [[

ReaperJr.5967:

You apply condis and you watch them tick and kill. On the other hand, you have to apply power damage constantly to kill someone.

This argument has been posted multiple times, your analogy does not work and here’s why.

All based on a false premise. Condi’s Overall damage and a hit from “direct” damage are more or less equal. It’s the same amount of damage simply applied in a different (slower) way. You dont have to “apply” more direct damage to kill someone.

Lets just add a trait to another profession that makes you completely immune to direct damage above 90% hp…then all these morons saying “LOL IF YOU CANT BREAK IT YOUR BAD” would realize how dumb their argument is. If someone wants to play condi they should be able to, telling them to go hybrid or power is not a solution to what the majority of players (including top Ele players) agree is not balanced in any way whatsoever. Something like DS which provides IMMENSE reward for PASSIVE game-play has no place in a game that wants it’s competitive PvP to be taken seriously. Make it a usable ability with an actual cool-down and then we can talk about it being balanced.

I’ve played all 3 for a few weeks and can share my general experience. I’m no expert nor do I know the full capabilities of each class.

ELE: Most are running zerker staff builds. Very high DPS, especially in AOE/Large hit box situations. VERY glass cannon, you need to be able to react if you want to stay alive. High Risk/High reward . The power staff DPS rotation is VERY simple and essentially revolves around 3 buttons, so it’s not as intimidating as it seems.

Mesmer: I don’t know if I love or hate this class. I find it very enjoyable to play since there is so much that they can do, especially with portals. You are not going to top any DPS meters and I find it the most annoying to solo content with due to the lower DPS. You will be one of the best party buffers around since no other class can provide alacrity. Although your DPS will not be the highest, the increase you provide to your groups DPS will more than make up for it. If utility/Party support is your thing Mesmer is a great choice.

Necro: Probably my favorite profession in HoT. I play primarily condi but I also play zerker GS for HoT PVE content and low-mid fractals. I think condi has much more potential is is the go to spec for raids/high level fractals. Reaper is a ton of fun to play imo. You will do fairly high DPS (condi) and at the same time you will be very tanky (compared to ele). Low risk/ High reward. Necro probably has the lowest support capability out of the 3, you are are there to kill stuff and you can handle most things on your own without needing help. If someone sneezes on you you will not fall over and die like some zerkers.

Hope that helps!

Engel.6029:

No DS is fine. Us dd attacks to get through it and interrupt the ele when they go to use their big heals.

Yup….use wimpy auto attack to try and break through all the protection and heals all the while the ele has 3-4 dodges in a row….You sir, are the winner of the day for the dumb-dumb award!

TLDR: Yes, diamond skin is a broken mechanic that provides immense reward for literally no effort. Hard counters are not healthy for any PVP game, especially when they hard counter an ENTIRE play-style not just a class

Never heard of Cele hammer being a thing….I know cele rifle used to be a thing. I just got my engi to 80 thought so it could be and I just don’t know about it.

I played for 3-4 months a long time ago , and got nothing. I recently returned to the game on a new account and I’ve received 3 ascended boxes just in the past week from the dailies. (Helm/shoulders/gloves) It’s def RNG.

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

It’s a hard question to answer, because there isn’t a “hard” class to compare it with. If you know the game, the difficulties of the classes range from easy, very easy, and faceroll. And at that point, even though a class may be easier, it isn’t necessarily stronger. For example, while a necro is arguably the most faceroll class, it doesn’t have the performance of an elementalist.

So really, there’s two tiers: who is easiest, and who is best. Going by best first, and this is my very quickly written and debatable list on the matter:

#1: Mesmer
#2: Engineer
#3: Elementalist
#4: Herald
#5: Warrior
#6: Guardian
#7: Thief
#8: Necromancer
#9: Ranger

But going by how easy the class is…

#1: Necro
#2: Ranger
#3: Warrior
#4: Thief
#5: Herald
#6: Guardian
#7: Mesmer
#8: Elementalist
#9: Engineer

Ele’s have one of the simplest DPS rotations in the game and yet you placed them directly under Engi’s for difficulty….

You can sit in fire with 3 buttons and have near-max dps. Not a very difficult class to play unless you were just trying to say they cannot facetank very well.

Bump,,,having trouble with my mesmer as well. Hard to enjoy it when my ele and necro feel like they can do the same thing with much less effort (with better end results). Any tips would be great!

Oh, did not that know that about damask =o. That’s good lol

Getting back into the game after a long break and trying to decide which to play. I’m torn between all of them since they are all unique, so let’s crowdsource the answer!

I’ve played Necro and Ele through the HoT maps and in high level fractals, but I’ve never played Mesmer before.

Necro:

- I love condi (but it’s not a dealbreaker if play something without condi)
– A lot of fun in PVP
– Great for soloing stuff since I usually run by myself
– Feels more sluggish in comparison to the others
– Limited support/utility compared to ele/mesm

Ele:

- Feels more “mobile”
– Enjoy having some support/utility capabilities even though I’m zerker staff
– Very strong in PVP with a good balance of damage/survivabilty
– Dislike that I’m so squishy (b/c zerker) in HoT maps…die much more frequently than on necro and have to pick my battles

Mesm:

- Still working on leveling it, so only “80” experience is in SPVP
– Dislike the chronobunker meta…I may just not have the hang of it yet, but it feels like I do zero damage, and although it’s incredibly tanky I think the ele makes a more useful bunker with a funner playstyle (can kill stuff when needed instead of waiting for a +1)
– No idea how they hold up in PVE for solo HoT content and in fractals/raids. I know they are great for party dps but how is their personal dps?
– LOVE all the utility they have
– seem very mobile

I only have 2 pieces of ascended gear that dropped from fractal chests and they are celestial atm (swapping stats after I pick who gets them). But I have a full set of ascended berserker rings/amulet/accessoriesx2) . And almost all of the same pieces for Rabid.

Prefer sticking with a Light Profession because I’m already heavily invested in Damask bolt crafting from before I quit. I could sell the damask and buy for another class though so its not a HUGE deal. Somewhat interested in Ranger, since that and mesmer are the only professions I have never played.

HALP ME PLOX!

TYIA

I’m assuming you mean a Rabid back-piece instead of Zerkers.

Posted this in another forum but maybe it will get more traction here.

I’m coming back from an extended break (4-6 months), and will have limited playtime. Any suggestions on a strong class in the current meta? I wish I could try everything out, unfortunately I just don’t have the time atm. I’m familiar with most classes (pre-hot), but since I cant play too many hours atm I kind of just want to get right into it with w/e the current FOTM is, for some quick gratification (I know, I know…). Preferably a class that works well in both PVP and PVE

Hi all,

I’m coming back from an extended break (4-6 months), and will have limited playtime. It looks like a lot has changed =o. Any suggestions on what is good/strong class in the current meta? I wish I could try everything out, unfortunately I just don’t have the time atm. I’m familiar with most classes (pre-hot), but since I cant play too many hours atm I kind of just want to pick up w/e the current FOTM is. (I know, I know…). Preferably a class that works well in both PVP and PVE

Yesterday I was playing my Cele-Ele in Skyhammer(FML )and capping home, when I was suddenly assaulted by what I presumed to be a warrior. I went into panic-turtle-shell mode b.c in only a few seconds I was almost dead (this is through protection/earth attunement). I have to admit I was really surprised when I saw it was a Ranger b.c he was entirely melee.

While he wasn’t particularly tanky, he wasn’t that squishy either so I’m not sure what Ammy he was running…anyways I just thought I would share b.c I thought it was interesting…I’ve never run into a melee ranger before that could do that sort of damage in that little time =D.

Cheers

I’d say you answered your own question =S lol

A lot of people are not satisfied with build diversity, or lack thereof. Tbh it doesnt matter much at the end of the day, once someone finds out what the new strongest meta is 95% of people will play with that specc, regardless of how viable anything else is. I think with Ele the meta didnt really change much which is why everyone is so sour.

Regardless though Ele STILL has a very strong presence in every aspect of the game(PVE, WvW, sPVP), which several classes never get to see, even with their fancy new meta ability sets…I think thiefs got pigeonholed into one specc far more then Eles even….Poor thiefs…

TLDR: Eles dont have the greatest build variety, but we were strong before the patch and we are even stronger now with the buffs to celestial. Ele plays vital roles in all aspects of the game, AKA is in a great spot…unless you are only concerned with the “illusion” of having multiple viable builds.

RnG is RnG….I threw the 20 or so rare weps (random assortment, didn’t try to match 4) I obtained while leveling into the forge as soon as I hit lvl 80, and I got a precursor back. And that was my first time ever using the MF =S…granted it was the shield, but hey I’m not complaining…

Xillllix.3485:

I don’t think eles are in a good place, I’ve been playing my guards and made a warrior, both these classes are much more rewarding for much less effort.

I always tell new people to start off with a warrior or guardian (esp warrior)…b.c they are very simple to play and pay off with easy results…I don’t find that rewarding though and rather boring to play(IMO), which is why I haven’t touched either of them for over a month….to each his own =S…

Can’t really complain, we are very strong in both pvp and pve currently…def doing better than alot of other professions.

blinding ashes is already a pretty lackluster trait simply because it has a global ICD and not a per-target ICD…If they increased the cooldown to 15 sec while also changing it to a per target ICD I can see that being a good thing.

Ithilwen.1529:

OK so Rangers are laughing off condi bursts and maintaining 7+ stacks of might. Is there a counterplay for this?

yup, d/f ele…RIP ranger, 7 stacks of might aint got nothing on 20!

Nope, wouldn’t even consider it…the game is progressing and it’s a step in the right direction. Sure it needs some serious fine tuning, but what game doesn’t.

P.s Your Voting options are highly biased and utterly useless…

what are condi’s??? I hear alot of people complaining about them but never personally seen one, I play a C-Ele if that is relevant =S

Pick anything and go nuts…PVE is such a joke, esp while leveling that it doesn’t really matter…fastest is obv fire

style.6173:

Hey! Those 3 quick patches were the most balancing ANET had done in the previous 6 months prior to specializations. Sad, but true.

haha…the part I found funny was that they felt Mortar kit needed to be toned down by a marginal amount….but 200% dmge on grenade barrage managed to slip by them …

What a joke! Almost a full week after the patch and engi’s are still doing double damage due to a ‘coding error’ … when they wasted no time nerfing other classes within days based on stuff that was already working as intended. How hard can it be to fix this mistake, honestly.

Just got out of a Courtyard match with 5 Traited engi’s…I guess it’s a good thing I have an engi as well, brb gonna go chuck some nades.

The new burst meta is one thing….but this is just ridiculous…

Yea I don’t see how 8 duels between you and a friend helps determine whether a class is over-tuned or not…I guess everyone else must be wrong =S

Laraley.7695:

Despite the buff to conditions, I think it’s pretty safe to stay zerker will stay meta.

Ok I thought as much, thx for confirming my hunch!

Hi Everyone,

So I just got to 80 on my Ele today, and I am wondering what route to go for gearing. This is in regards to PVE specifically (fractals and such). I know zerkers used to be the meta but is this still the case after the condi buffs? I ask because I have some armor/weapon boxes from PVPing while leveling, so once I pick a stat set I am stuck with it…also it’s a new account so I don’t have abundant access to gear.

Help me decide!

Thx

Salvation.4207:

I quit this game shorty after hitting max lvl years ago. I am getting back into it now but unsure what I need to be aiming for stat wise and weapon wise! I am still in my fresh 80 gear and I have plenty of karma to buy gear from the vendors at the temples in the ruins of orr… what primary stats should I get going into this new xpac?

Hard to say until people figure out what the new meta is, Condi is MUCH stronger now, and burning damage is just off the charts insane…but it will almost certainly be nerfed.

The day of the patch everyone was QQ’ing about thieves being godly and out of control…today all I see are people saying the Thief is dead for sPvP and people rerolling mains…what changed to cause such a huge shift???

choovanski.5462:

pve is really easy, and engi is in a solid spot. you should be fine.

good to know, thx for the reply!

Engies do zero damage when they are invulnerable.

So I’ve been tinkering around in PVP and its hard to tell what the new meta will be with everyone running around instagibbing each other. Burn damage is out of control and likely to be nerfed, but with all the utility Engi’s have at their Disposal its hard not to see them being a part of the future PVP meta imo.

Unfortunately I am not lvl 80 yet so I cannot test anything in the PVE world, can anyone shed some light on how Engi PVE is looking? Will we be pushed out of the meta or is there a spot for us there now…I know engi has never been “bad” at PVE, but the reward for the crazy rotation that was required didn’t seem to justify not just bringing in a thief for example.

I’m new to the engineer class and to GW2 as a whole, so any insight would be great!

Thx

FDL.2079:

this is it. that new setting is the biggest buff

I have to agree….this was my fav change this patch…makes spamming nades on engi and SB5 on thief effortless, without being hindered by that the Red range indicator.

Safe to assume that any gold/progress/characters will be lost once the beta ends, this exists simply for development purposes for Anet to get feedback. At least thats how most beta’s usually work

T raw.4658:

It was already risky to roam as a thief pre patch.

For a “thief” player you sure don’t know much about em it seems….

I have to question how you define Risk…thief easily had the most escape potential and some of the best ganking 1v1 potential before… doesn’t sound risky to me =S

PierPiero.9142:

new pvp meta for eng… i bet … great damage and great survability … a “new” build …. returned from the past …
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=Z70;2Z;0h0q53Ukw0;9;4jlk;0248146157;4Oo0;3H7W3H7W30y

Your link is broken

Dirame.8521:

Link please?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Things-we-know/first

There you go Sir, condi nerfs inc as well as some other things that are on their radar. I would imagine Condi will be the first to be adjusted since it is #1 on their list and everyone is complaining about it.

warbignime.4610:

With full set of sinister you can do up to 50k(without vulnerability) burning in less than 3 second. It is the most op thing I have ever seen since the game launched. Now I just hope Anet does not overnerf this.

Already a red post saying condi is getting the nerfhammer, enjoy it while it lasts =S

Any thoughts on where you think the new meta will shift to over the next few weeks.

I’ve tried thief and engi so far. I prob need to tweak the engi spec but it felt a bit underwhelming damage wise, esp compared to what everyone else was putting out. It did have great defensive options though so i could tank for quite a while and just outlast people.

Thief just felt really OP with the amount of damage we can put out now, although the bug that breaks stealth if you autoattack and miss made it hard to really judge. But I’m sure thieves wont be going anywhere. Overall it felt like not much changed for thieves..they just burst even harder now with the same old D/P spec

I found rangers incredibly annoying to kill now , the ones I ran into had ridiculous amounts of regen =S

commanderbun.7412:

shhh… don’t talk to loud…

phew…dont think the dev’s noticed…close call tho

Laraley.7695:

You really don’t think having 58 seconds of stealth is an issue? While it might not help you in pvp, it’s definitely broken. Mesmers have so much access to stealth with investing very little. This opens up a potential for chain stealth burts and there is no counterplay to that.

Nope I dont think so…cuz for those 58 seconds that mesmer is doing nothing at all…and If he reveals himself his stealth abilities have long cd’s AFAIK. The dmge is a bigger issue than the stealth.