Guild Wars 2

1. I bought the original version of the game at launch. I’m now on TC in NA, which is a T2 server. As I can see in the login screen, the pop is less, and I’d like to WvW at some point. Since the base game is free now, is there any reason for me to not just make a new account on a T1 server instead of buying gems for pay for an xfer? I have some mid and low level toons I’d leave behind, but nothing else I can think of.

2. Which T1 servers have a good community? I know this is subjective—just curious to see what responses I’ll get.

3. Silly question — I’ve seen multiple references to Female human META… In what way is that META? Is it an inside joke I’m missing? Anyway, I’m leaning Norn Ranger to be Druid eventually. I like healing--and form what I’ve read, it seems to be worthwhile now.

It’s funny how some things and some don’t….after being gone 2+ years Norn is still popular for Leopard, and Asura for being a smaller target.

I’m probably going to go Norn for the elite. Technobabble was pretty niche to begin with—nerf seems to just make it not worth it. I wouldn’t use always keep Leopard on the bar—but maybe when travelling around/scouting in WvW. I actually have a 37 ranger from before I left…but I can’t think of any good reason to stay human—and I do have a ticket to go straight to level 20.

Well I’m a noob, so take my opinion with a grain of salt—but a 4.5 seconds daze doesn’t seem worth it, especially on a not as bursty class. 6 seconds would certainly be more appealing.

@Terravos – Is technobabble no longer worth it? I seem to recall seeing somewhere MOC was nerfed. I’m returning to the game and going to roll a Ranger—so I’m trying to decide if I should go Asura for that or Norn for stealth/escape.

Trying out the game after leaving near launch after my friends quit. At launch I was on TC. Looking at the scoreboard, TC is now T2. I am wondering if I should stay or more. I tend to think T1 would be heavy zerging and harder to find small man, which I appeals to me more—but that’s just my guess. I don’t want to stay on T2—if T2 at this point in the game means dead .

I’m not sure what glicko is, but I see a lot of discussion about it and TC.

On a unrelated note, I have a costume in the mail. If I accept it and use it on one character, will I be able mail it to other characters? Or will it be consumed?

I recommend Greatsword and Sword/Focus. Greatsword allows you to keep range, and the 4 phantasm hits hard (does AOE) and cripples. Sword has 2 attack which hits pretty hard and gives invulnerability on a short cooldown. Focus gives you the warden, which does nice AOE damage and protects vs projectiles; it also gives you some speed via 4. I assume you are using minor sigil of bloodlust; it makes a big difference having your power from stacks.

Try following this guide – https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Lazy-Kai-s-Guide-to-PvE-Leveling-Guide-Update/first

Gwenlian.4781:

Osicat.4139:

Gave you a like for the LOS leap, a often missed moves by mesmers.

/Osicat

I tried looking into this “LOS leap” but to no avail
Can anyone tell me more about it?

I’m still learning, too—can someone explain?

Norn for snow leopard – https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/To-be-a-norn-or-a-human/first#post2325416

No way. We’re looking to have synergy after leveling up.

Just to clarify I was talking about WvW. A lot of the responses seemed to be focusing on PVE. When I mentioned Norn for mobility, I’m not sure how that could be interpreted as a PVE set up. Can any WvW roamer warriors share there experiences with different set ups?

I’m in similar situation as OP—was going leveling a mesmer/thief duo, but my son just was enjoying thief and prefers to play warrior. I am thinking guardian would be good support—but I am concerned about mobility. Maybe being a Norn would help (snow leopard escape option). I could go with another class I suppose, but I do like the idea of being support and offering boons and heals (and that attracts me to guardian).

Beyond aesthetics, are there any racials worth using or race based builds?

I’ve been searching, but I’ve only found old, old threads… would like some more recent perspective.

I hadn’t considered D/D ele—will have to think about that. I just don’t like that eles are kind of limited on build options (aura share D/D).

Mesmer seems like it could also do a good job at helping keep pressure off.

If built for it, Engi can offer considerable control—so I’m still considering that. I love the idea of a large stack of confusion from interrupts via perplexity (and maybe pain inverter) getting spread with epidemic.

I’ve already seen via Rennoko that ranger can make a great partner as well.

Thief could work—but personally I think having a tankier friend would be better. I think thief melds better with mesmer.

Necro roaming partner. I’m thinking Engineer, Ranger, or Guardian.

Engi for control+condis to synergize with epidemic. Guardian has boons, support, stability. Ranger for spirit buffs. What do you all think?

Thanks for the replies all. Going to try thief for now.

@Osicat — Can you tell me the build(s) you recommend for thief duo set up? Your guide says heavy is more group focus and original is better for small man--yet you were using heavy in the vid you linked above (which was awesome btw). Do you have any specifics on your partner’s set up? Also, thank you for sharing your set ups with the community. Your guides are excellent.

Thief seems solid for synergy. Guardian is always good support. Engi seems it could be pretty good support as well. Has anyone tried spirit ranger—I’m assuming spirits buff phantasms.

I’m looking for some classes that make a strong partner with synergy—where combined they are greater than the sum of their parts. I’m thinking something along the lines of spirit ranger (buffing phantasms), but I’m not sure. I’d really appreciate some input (and your reasoning) based on your own experiences. Thanks!

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Rune_of_Perplexity

Maybe Asura after all…

I’ve got to confess, I’ve really been mulling over picking race for the engi I’m about to roll. This almost seems like a sign.

Just curious—How will this benefit engineers more?

Thanks for the replies. It’s a tough call. I think bottom line none of the racials are over the top—and engi has so many good utilities that you’d not really ever use one save maybe hidden pistols.

That narrows it down to Asura or Human for me. For Asura, I do like the racial theme and size for the reasons ShadowPuppet mentioned above. But it’s a double-edged sword—because it is also harder to appreciate the gear, because they are so small. Human females can look pretty good in some of the medium armors. Maybe I’ll pick at some point—just leary of not having my mind made up and then wanting to reroll later. I’ve done that before…ugh. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

My level 20 has not had problems doing quests and hearts from 2-3 levels below what is recommended. Just make sure you upgrade your armor and jewelry every 6-10 levels. Get runes and weapon sigil to add power. Necros have a high health pool + death shroud health + pets to draw aggro. They are pretty good at soloing. Having recently played an elementalist, I can see a big difference.

Kitedyou.1720:

The only thing that I still have trouble with are those kitten thieves…but that is why I am trying an Asura… If everything works as I hope it does…the Asura will be the answer to my problems…

PS: Scepter and staff are not my weapon of choice. I like D/D and D/F

What is the asura necro for? Pain inverter? Forgive a noob question, but I thought confusion had a good sized nerf recently. Might another option be a sylvari for the root? I saw a video last night of another pretty good roaming necro, and I saw him using it, so I was just wondering.

Tested it tonight on a new character. I only did a few tests, but it seemed to work fine on moving targets.

Human condi removal is meh with a long cooldown. Who would give up a slot skill for that. Hounds aren’t bad for some classes (who want a dps elites), but I don’t see how they’d be much better than supply crate.

Sylvari root—again, I don’t see why an engi would slot that over other stuff.

As I said, Charr hidden pistol toolbelt seems useful on paper—but I’m trying to kitten how useful (i.e. the net benefit of the dmg vs what you’d do with a normal attack plus the slot skill you’d give up to have it). I hear the animation still shoots at the sky (amazes me ANET has nearly a year to fix it and hasn’t).

And I see many youtube vids of asura—guessing that is mainly for size.

Ok, in the past if you cast it at a moving target, it would cast the vine pile on the ground at the spot where the target was at the start of the cast. So if the target was moving, it would always miss. You had to cast it on a motionless target for it to work.

I haven’t played since around launch, and I was wondering if you can cast it at moving targets now. Can anyone else confirm?

Hello WvW experts that have been playing for months—can you help me out with some sage advice. Trying to pick a race.

I’ve read a lot of references to the Charr hidden pistol toolbelt ability (which synergizes with tool belt traits like static discharge, inertial converter, power wrench). I’m just wondering if it is really that good. The gw2 wiki does not list the damage for it—and using it means you are not firing another standard weapon attack from your build, so it’s hard for me to measure the marginal benefit of this ability. Has anyone worked out the maths on it?

Most vids I see are of Asura. I read Pain Inverter got nerfed, so I’m not sure I see any benefit beyond size.

As everyone knows by now, Norn leopard is a great getaway. Probably the default roaming race for many classes.

Sylvari and Human I don’t see any significant benefits for either.

As referenced in some older threads (e.g. the link below), at launch the ability Grasping Vines used to miss if the target was moving. I left the game for several months, and I’m curious if this bug was ever fixed.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/BUG-Grasping-Vines

Esplen.3940:

Guardian doesn’t have much mobility, but if you’re running with, say, an Ele (kinda awkward, huh?) you can get 100% Swiftness uptime. (Can do the same with a Mesmer, or actually any profession, but Centaur Runes + Mesmer = <3.) From there, Guardians have a lot of flexibility in builds to be able to go tanky, squishy, etc. If you want to support your friend more than deal damage, pick Guardian. (You will still have some damage.)

Can you someone please elaborate on this? How does Guardian get swiftness from an Ele? And are there other classes that can give another player swiftness?

I’m looking to come back and play with my son. What are 2 classes that can roam and not get zerged down—that have some synergy and can roam. We’re pretty open on classes. I was leaning Thief + Mesmer—but Mesmer is pretty weak on mobility. So, now I’m thinking maybe Thief + Ele (still as mobile?—I read RTL got nerfed); Thief + Ranger (mobile and on paper healing spring + cluster bomb looks good)—not sure if there are any other options—like are there any classes that could grant a less mobile class (like mesmer/necro) enough swiftness to avoid zergs? I’d appreciate a few ideas. Thanks!

When I last played (at launch for a few months), I was on Yak’s Bend. I think it is mid Tier (hopefully this equates to less zergy) and still fairly active PVE-wise—so leaning on staying there, but I haven’t logged in to really see. I hear the server login populations are misleading (based on number of accounts instead of online players), so I’m not sure how to decide if we should stay or move.

I have one last question. Since it’s a roaming build for WvW (not siege where you’d use ranged), do you have some source for swiftness that I’m missing? I’d be worried about getting run down without swiftness in WvW.

I would also like to see a link for the updated build (forgot to say that in my last post)…

Calypso, I hope you’re right—just hard to say what devs will do. I also suspect it won’t catch all thieves, but I bet a lot. Let’s face it, most players aren’t going to be great (especially in WvW—which is where you can use racials). Second, I doubt many are even expecting confusion in jumping a ranger.

Xsorus, thanks for responding. Do you feel you get enough condition removal?

The Asura ability sounds like a neat trick—but much more situational. And probably very satisfying. But I’m a little worried I’d miss the human condition removal the other 90% of the time… I guess question is would you trade if you could? Sounds like you wouldn’t.

Well, I’m rolling a ranger now. I’m torn between Asura and Human. Human has Prayer to Kormir (3 condition removal on 40 sec cd). Condition removal seems to be a challenge and could be more useful. Is the signet really enough? I suppose if you use it, you can fall back and equip Healing Spring or Brown Bear if the situation calls for it.

On the other hand, using Pain Inverter could be quite fun. Xsorus—how effective is it in your experience vs rogues (damage amount)? and vs. other classes? I was looking at your history and you seem to have quite a bit of experience and even reference DAOC, so my guess is you’re not a noob.

Norn have Call Owl (ranged bleed)—but I can’t find any place that tells me how much dmg it does vs pain inverter. Also, leopard form could come in handy, too. Help me make up my mind please.

The GW2 forum tends to have problems with long URLS.

This should work – http://bit.ly/PJs6NW

Are scepter tennis balls not getting the job done in that WvW siege? Try a Charrzooka.

Want a little help dispatching that boss mob while you’re soloing in PvE? Try Warband Support.

Charr is the obvious choice…

Sorry Stephan, this is what you get from official forums. No ArenaJunkies or Elitist Jerks to wade out the morons—while still getting some attention from the Devs. I don’t know if Arena Net reads Guru, but it has a slightly better community. I agree with your issues.

Ironically, so many people keep pointing to your vid as an example of how awesome melee warrior is. All I see is somebody desperately avoiding getting zerged and downing only a few people while doing average damage—I don’t even think you get to finish them all because you have to run away.

For now, I think warriors have to stick to small scale combat and roaming. Zerg fights are just not ideal, and you might as well use a ranged weapon.

Enjoyed this vid. Thanks for posting.

As far as vids, go, I think Taugrim’s vids are the best kind. He includes the long cuts of fighting, but, instead of music or vent/mumble, he goes back and narrates. It’s very helpful to understand what the player is doing and why. However, doing that adds a lot of extra work, so if you don’t have the time, I think this type (long clips with getting downed, etc.) is still very good.

Yes, but On My Mark itself does no damage of its own. The 10% extra damage is single target. And it only lasts 10 seconds (with a 30 sec CD) vs 30 sec duration (with 20 sec CD). Finally, the racial also includes a 5 sec snare. I think the only counter-argument would be if you were already going to have 100% up time on bleeds from your weapons, then you wouldn’t need it. I expect you would with sword—but maybe this would open up using axe or something. I will have to play around with this some more later.

And Kyokara, I’m not sure if when you say that, you mean some other utility ability you would put on your bar. My comparison was really just between On My Mark vs. Shrapnel Mine in this build.

This is a great thread. Thanks to Yojack for sharing with the community.

I’m just curious if there are any Charr warriors in here. It seems to me swapping out On My Mark for Shrapnel Mine (Charr racial with a short 20sec cooldown) might be a great way to do extra damage (in PVE/WvW). The ability itself does some damage and applies a 30 sec duration (with Deep Cuts) AOE bleed—thus ensuring full up time for the +10% damage on bleeding targets given by Attack of Opportunity (25 Arms). I have a low level Norn, but this looks pretty good on paper—so I’m thinking of re-rolling.

Great comments so far! Keep ‘em coming. I hadn’t considered Snow Leopard—I was just reading on it, and I think you can stealth for 20 out of the 30 second duration. Not bad. Only drawback is the long cooldown.

Healing Seed is definitely nice—even solo as a melee character. The only drawbacks are that the AOE is a bit small—and the seed itself will draw aggro and get popped pretty quickly.

And Zyph, yes, there are certainly aesthetics and storyline discussions to be had on the races, but that’s not for this thread.

Hello, Guardians! I’ve decide to roll up a guardian, and I’m trying to settle on a race. In my mind, the 2 options that jump out at me are Asura and Charr.

Asura
Utility Skills
Radiation field – 15 sec poison combo field on a 1 min CD. Poison dmg + weakness (i.e. less incoming damage).
Pain Inverter – Melee range AOE Retaliation + Confusion
Elites – Offensive Golem, Defensive Golem, Power Suit
Comments – Seems could be good for a condition build. Also could use combo finishers with Radiation field.

Charr
Utility skills – these seem pretty weak
Elites – Charrzooka – ranged weapon option on 3 min CD, Warband Support to call members of your Warband to support you on 4 min CD.
Comments – For a class with very limited range options, Charrzooka seems like it could be handy when the situation called for some ranged damage. Don’t know how effective it is. Also, Warband support sounds useful, but I don’t know how effective it really is.

Clearly Charrzooka is situational but gives range. For Asura, they seem pretty useful (although, as a noob, I’m not sure I’d these racials would be better than the class based utility skills).

I’d appreciate some feedback on the topic—especially would like to hear about the experiences from you Asura and Charr! I’m also open to thoughts on other races as well. I just mentioned the ones I thought looked good on paper.

Wow, thanks for time and effort you put into your guides.

It would be nice for to get some commentary on racial skills that might fit. For example, Asura offer a 15 second poison combo field (via Radiation Field)—etc. Same advice in making a guardian videos. Giving some suggestions on racials that might help fill a hole that the class lacks would be great—or an overall racial guide with some guidance on classes with which they may synergize. Anyway, it’s just food for thought. I haven’t really seen that done yet. Again—thanks for the vids. Keep ’em coming!

Gotta love that multiple people’s strategy consists of acting like jerks and knocking mobs out of AOE.

There are some more constructive options already posted. If you happened to make an Asura, you can also drop Radiation Field for 15 seconds every minute—it’s a pretty big AOE poison field. It really is a useful racial, especially for this class.

A little write up in the video description about skills and traits order would be really appreciated. Other than that, this is really great, and I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this together!

There’s a lot of info on naming here http://guildwars2roleplay.wikispaces.com/Naming+Conventions

From my experience, this racial skill is totally buggy and unreliable. Unless the target is completely still it lands behind them. I noticed the target does not indicate the target needs to be stationary. I filed a bug report. I encourage others to do the same! This could be a useful skill if it worked.