Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone,
Had GW2 at launch but stopped due to other commitments. Just started playing again and I used some sort of scroll I had to instantly level up to 20. Was looking for some tips on weapons to use, where to put traits (when I unlock them) ,what utility skills could be helpful for leveling and just some general advice on leveling a thief and what it is like.
Thanks for reading

Cool cheers for the detailed response man. I appreciate it. I think I’m gonna go with a thief and see what happens. Cheers for all the help

Hello everyone, finally got back to GW2 after playing just after launch and then stopping due to other commitments. I’m a bit unfamiliar with all the professions after my long absence and have been looking at them all again. I have narrowed it down to Warrior and Thief. If someone could maybe outline the advantages and disadvantages of playing these two professions I would be grateful.

Note: I will only be playing PvE and WvW so anything about sPvP isn’t going to factor into my decision.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks for reading

Ok cheers I think I might level through exploring to start then maybe go on to that later. Thanks for everyone’s input!

Bhawb.7408:

It depends on how you are leveling. If you are just going around doing story and random open world stuff minions are super easy because they’ll always be at “max stats” for your level even if you still have gear thats 10 levels below the content you are in.

However, nowadays most people level through Edge of the Mists, in which case you should just bring a lot of ranged AoE and maybe a stunbreak or two.

Sorry newbie question here, what do you mean by leveling through Edge of the Mists?

Hi everyone,
Basically just started playing GW2 after I had played it briefly at launch but then left due to real life stuff.
I’ve now started afresh choosing to roll a Necro and was wondering what the general setup is for leveling such as skills, weapons and traits etc.
Any help would be appreciated. Cheers!

Cheers everyone!

Thanks Mars. Exactly what I was looking for. Cheers!

Hey everyone,
I picked up GW2 last year but had to stop playing it due to personal stuff. I decided to start afresh as an engineer as it seems like a fun and versatile class. I’d just like to know what the engineer is all about really and what sort of skills, traits and rotations I should use whilst leveling up and exploring.
Cheers for reading

Hey everyone!
I’m just simply looking for some help on leveling my Necro because I don’t know where to put my traits, what weapons to use and which skills to pick up. A lot of people have suggested minions but I’m not really very fond of minions. If any of you can help me with weapons/skills/traits for leveling without using minions it would be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone. I started a Necromancer yesterday and got it to level 11 but now I’m fairly clueless about what I’m doing. Was wondering if anyone could help me with things like weapon choice, where to invest my traits, rotation and general tips on leveling a necro. Thanks for reading.

For race I’d just pick something that looks good to you because if you’re going to invest a lot of time playing this character you will want to like how you look. That being said if you don’t care about looks then I’d recommend an Asura because their small size can help in sPvP and WvW.

Any advice would be good!

Just wandering if there are any Necro leveling guides out there. Just started a Necro so any advice would be much appreciated!

Which profession is the best to farm experience with?

Esplen.3940:

Actually, the fastest speed clear in CoF P1 (the dungeon that everyone considers the entirety of PvE) was done with 2 thieves.

Regardless, Warrior and Mesmer are the cookie cutter roles in that specific dungeon because as long as one Warrior and the Mesmer know what they’re doing, the rest of them can just sleep on their 2 key.

If you’re playing to have fun and don’t wanna be tryhard, play what you want. Once you find a guild, it won’t matter what you are.

If you’re super tryhard and competitive, you’ll find out what you want to be soon enough, so still start with what you want.

K thanks. I’ll stick to my Ranger for now then!

Grok Krog.9581:

They’re all that’s needed for people who want to do super speed clears. However, Dungeons can be completed with any profession set up. Those 3 just happen to be the top in PvE right now technically due to high damage/support

So could I still be useful in a dungeon with a Ranger or Thief?

Fairly new player here.
Is it true that these are the only professions that are needed in dungeons? I’ve seen lots of people saying that in forums and map chat.

Just started a Ranger after a long time choosing my profession but I still have no idea what to do. If anyone could help me with these things it would be great!

General advice on leveling a Ranger.
What weapons to use (I really like the shortbow and longbow so if any of those could be included that would be cool)
Where to put my trait points.
What pet to use.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for your help everyone! I like the idea of using a bow so I think the ranger is better with bows than the thief from what I’ve heard. Never used pets though so I might not like those.

Hi everyone,
I need some help choosing whether to go with Ranger or Thief. I don’t want anyone to make my decision for me but I would appreciate it if people could help me make a decision by maybe telling me the strengths and weaknesses of each class and what each class is better at than the other.
I will mainly be doing PvE with this character with some WvW but no sPvP really.
Any help or general feedback would be appreciated!
Thanks for reading!

Clockwork Bard.3105:

The shortbow is popular as a second weapon set. The reason being is that even with a full-on damage build, it can’t hit the kind of damage numbers that other weapon sets can. What it does have is a great deal of utility.

For example, drop a choking gas cloud on a group of enemies, then detonate that cloud with a Cluster Bomb. The enemies will all be effected by Weakness (making them deal 50% less damage 50% of the time) and Poison (slight damage over time and 33% less healing) for a few seconds. The cluster bomb can also be tossed into other player’s fields for a wide variety of useful effects, like stacking Might from fire fields, and is the only ability in the game that can do this without a cooldown.

Unfortunately, the lower damage is a deal breaker for most people, given how important it is in most harder content and structured pvp.

I don’t mind sacrificing damage for utility. Are there any builds with shortbow as primary weapon for PvE because I really like the shortbow and want to level with it.

Volrath.1473:

reroll, you still got time!

Why?

wish.1027:

Use Sword/Pistol to level. Just use #5 and auto attack.

So shortbow isn’t viable for leveling? What is the shortbow good for?

UrMom.4205:

what do you plan to do most with it? PvE? WvW? sPvP?

PvE cause I’m leveling and I may go into some WvW occasionally

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi,
I just started a thief as my first character on GW2 and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on leveling with a thief and what builds I should use. I quite like using the shortbow so if that could be incorporated into the build that would be great. Thanks for reading.

Olba.5376:

darthsmall.8246:

Not sure about the hex….And one more question….What things do you bind to your mouse in GW2?

Personally, I have:
Dodge: Mouse 4
Utility skill: Mouse 5
Utility skill: Mouse 3 (the wheel button)

Other than that, I have my healing skill on Q, the third utility on E and elite on C.

I was of thinking of having f1-f4 on the mouse especially since i’m either gonna play ele or mesmer

Not sure about the hex….And one more question….What things do you bind to your mouse in GW2?

I like the look of the Logitech G400 and G300

Olba.5376:

darthsmall.8246:

Actually one question, do these ones have wires or are they wireless? because I find wireless mouses weird and less responsive so I’d like to have a mouse with a wire, thanks

All of them are wired.

Personally, having used the SideWinder X8, I cannot say that the responsiveness of the wireless itself was a problem, but the additional weight from the battery definitely was an issue. That is, of course, going to affect the responsiveness of the mouse.

Thanks man, looked at the first to and I think that many buttons would just confuse me but that’s just me looking through the rest now

Actually one question, do these ones have wires or are they wireless? because I find wireless mouses weird and less responsive so I’d like to have a mouse with a wire, thanks

Olba.5376:

It depends on what kind of a player you are. There is really no “right” or “wrong”. Some people prefer having all of their commands on their mouse, others prefer smaller mice. Some like a specific shape over others.

If you’d like having all of your most important hotkeys on your mouse, then I suggest looking into Razer Naga or Logitech G600.
On the other hand, if you’re just looking for an overall good mouse, then Logitech G400 or Razer DeathAdder
If you’re a person with smaller hands, then I’d look into Logitech G300 or Razer Abyssus

Personally, I’m using a Zowie EC1 eVo because it’s the closest I could find to an IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0, which sadly doesn’t provide high enough sensitivity (or a dpi switch) to match my preferences.

Wow I didn’t expect such a quick and detailed response. Thanks I’ll check out all these mice and see which one I’d go for!

Thanks I’ve narrowed it down to elementalist or mesmer because they appeal to me the most I think. Could anone give me the pros and cons of each or if you play one of them give me the reason that you like/dislike them. Thanks I appreciate everyone’s help!

I’m looking to purchase a gaming mouse and I mainly play GW2 so I was wondering which gaming mouse you guys think suits GW2 the best and is worth the money

Tranquilnelf.1258:

The Ele will come into its own when you get comfortable shifting between attunements – and yes it will come . It’s brilliant, the amount of support + dps you can do at the same time based on the weapon you choose.,

I’d offer similar advice for the mesmer – takes a bit of getting used to but extremely fun to play!

Guardian is preferred as support from what I have seen from other people ( haven’t played it too much myself ) , so when you say you find it boring, perhaps damage and DPS are what you are after at this current time

In which case, the warrior is also a good choice. Why was this boring for you ?

~TNE

I didn’t find Guardian boring because it was support I just think the abilities of the Guardian and warrior are pretty boring that’s all

Yeah I know what you’re thinking…Another one of these again. And I know a lot of people will say “Pick the one you like most” and that’s my problem I like different features of each profession and this is my first MMO so I sorta don’t know what I like. Also a lot of people will say “Go to the mists and play the character to see what you like” I’ve done that and if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have made this post. I’m a casual player who wants to do PvE, Dungeons and WvW. The first character I tried was an engineer but I found it kinda boring and I’ve tried every class since and I like all of them. The classes I like most are: Guardian, Warrior, Ranger, Mesmer and Elementalist but I like them all a lot. Here is a list of things I like and dislike about each:
Guardian: Great all round but a little bit bland IMO
Warrior: Great damage but yet again a little bit boring
Ranger: Extremely fun but I don’t like the pets and I don’t feel like I contribute much to a group
Mesmer: Really cool style but It’s kinda confusing and quite slow to level and kill things and I seem to die a lot
Elementalist: Really cool with really exciting abilities but I find it extremely complicated and confusing with so many abilities

I’m looking for a profession that is versatile and can perform well in PvE, WvW and Dungeons. Help! I don’t know what I like!

Thanks everyone, still not sure about weapon tbh I’m just gonna try some out. I didn’t really like the Greatsword as some of you reccommended I don’t know why I guess it’s just personal preference.

Benjamin.8237:

Mesmer is a slow start class. Whereas the warrior can jump in and have an easy time the Mesmer is more like the Elementalist with a slower hard start. The mesmer is really based around trait and utility rotations which you won’t get around until level 40. Up until level 40 you may feel squishy, but at 40 you can explore builds etc. If your finding a hard time I recommend Pyroatheists Imortal build as it has good survivability.

As for shattering, think of it in steps. Clones do no real damage (except staff clones) and Illusions do damage but it varies, iDefender does a lot less than iSwordsman. As far as timing, they hug the opponent anyway, try and build up 3 clones or illusions and shatter. With illusions such as the greatsword one, wait until the attack has taken place and then you want to generally shatter. Clones are made for shattering and confusion. F1 is your friend, F2 is useful in PvP more often, especially on classes that will slowly kill themselves, such as a Thief.

It is a great class, and once you reach 35-40 you will start having a blast as it is easily one of the most versatile classes in the game.

Thanks, I quite like the staff as a weapon. Is this a good choice? Do you have any tips using this weapon?

Hey everyone!
GW2 is my first MMO and I chose to be a mesmer because they seemed really cool and I liked the idea of having duplicates of me running around.
Some people I talk to are saying “re-roll mesmers are really hard to play for your first MMO” Is this true? because I love the play style I’m just not that good at it. For example I have real trouble with shattering. I have no idea when to do it and which one to use in each situation. Does anyone have any tips for a complete beginner or any beginner friendly builds. Or should I just be a profession that is easier to play?

Does anyone have like a poll for the most poular and least popular professions or something I’m just curious tbh! That’s all!

HannaDeFreitas.4236:

Warrior with shield is great if played properly.
As I said above I have a guildie who uses shield+axe and he’s a walking fortress that deals great DPS and never dies.
It’s too bad some people here can’t see the potential of some things and will just try to morph every Warrior into a GS clone.

Yeah I find GS a little boring….I’ll definetly try the build out that you showed me and I’ll try and learn to use the axe/shield. I’ll mainly be playing casually with my friends anyway so I don’t care about the optimum build for damage or anything. I just think a shield looks and feels cool so I’ll try and make it work well for me. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for all your feedback guys, never thought I’d get so many responses.

Most people seem to be saying the shield isn’t worth it for the warrior due to cooldowns and because the guardian shield abilities are better anyway. I already have a guardian and I don’t really find him as enjoyable as my warrior (although I’ve only got my Guardian to level 20).

So I think I’ll either keep going with my warrior but try out having a warhorn or something in my off hand because I quite like them too. Or I could just continue to level my Guardian even though I don’t enjoy him that much atm but I suppose that could change in a later stage of the game. Thanks everyone for all your contribution so far

Prodigy.6971:

Honestly, it seems like the shield wouldn’t be a good choice for PvE, since the 4 ability won’t even work on most champ mobs, and the block ability is pretty long CD IMO. If you want to do more blocking and damage reduction, Guardian really is a better choice. Near perma Protection boon, LOTS of Aegis (block) procs/boons, and regen too.

Hmmm….Kinda think it’s a little bit silly that warriors aren’t effective with the shield as the traditional stereotype of a warrior is sword/shield

IvanHoe.3468:

If you want to play a warrior with a shield you are out of luck. I would recommend you to play a guardian if you want to use a shield, effectively.

I, like you, love the idea of using the classic sword/shield combination, sadly for warriors, the shield skills are lackluster to say the least and take 100 years to recharge. Even with traits. The sword has mediocre damage and bleeding is the weakest condition in the game, even though it is stackable.

So shield isn’t viable in PvE for warrior or is it just not optimum? I’m more of a relaxed player tbh and I don’t need to have the best setup or anything. But if it just isn’t viable then I suppose I could go guardian.(Btw I never said I neccessarily wanted to use a sword I just wanted to use a shield)

HannaDeFreitas.4236:

He uses Rifle vs bosses and Longbow vs trash as his secondary set.

I’m not sure what you mean by asking if the build is ok for a beginner…
I mean, if you know how to use Axe and Shield, know how to dodge and time Endure Pain correctly, you should have no problem playing this.
Of course though, the more you play a build the better you become at it.
But overall this is the most fail-safe build I can think of, you have plenty of room for mistake.

Thanks for all your help! I really appreciate the advice. You have definetly helped me a lot

HannaDeFreitas.4236:

Go like this.
5400 E.Power (1000 less than a full zerker GS, 1500 more than a shouter, it’spretty good)
3 forms of invulnerability (19.5s invul every 90s, it means 21.6% of the time you are invulnerable)
31.4% damage reduction (good enough but not high enough to make you into an aggro magnet)
690.5 hp/second (120 adren health, 344 food, 226.5 sigil)
86.5% crit chance 250% crit damage
Buff people in 600 radius with Fury+Swift+Might every 10s if you’re tanking (stacks with FGJ)

Tanky, good DPS, boosting team offense… that’s a very effective build, one of my guildies is using it, he even bought the legendary shield with the book on it for how much he loves it.
I just send him foward to nullify the initial 50k-100k damage of mobs and jump in myself to deal more DPS, stuff dies and we dont – lots of fun.

Cool thanks, I might roll with this. What does he use as an alternate weapon set it didn’t show on the calculator. And is this okay for a beginner, if not what changes could you make to make it more newb friendly, thanks for the help btw!

Sovereign.1093:

Axe/shield (have warhorn for speed) longbow/rifle for range in case of team play where you can’t tank the mob. trait set specially for Axe and Shield.

Cool thanks Sovereign! I think for open world PvE I’ll go for Axe/Warhorn and Rifle but for dungeons i’ll use a shield instead. Any ideas of a trait setup to go with this?

Mesket.5728:

I use Axe/Shield and Hammer.-

Seems to be a very good combo to tank in PVE.

Thanks man, I’ll give it a try in some dungeons. I like the hammer because it looks really cool so if I can use it well it will be a bonus! Sorry for further questioning but what sort of build would you use it in?

Justine.6351:

really wait for more responses. I use my warrior in open world pve 90% of the time. As such i carry the rifle in offset for world bosses. But if you want to stay in melee i would still recommend mace on second slot for weakness but thats just my thinking. actually i would recommend mace/shield but i dont know.

Yeah Rifle seems quite sensible. I could go Mace/shield+ Axe/Warhorn so I have good defence and weakness and I still have good damage with the axe and I still have good maneuverability with the warhorn