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My Altaholcism Needs Help - What Are The Profession Roles?!

geldonyetichgeldonyetich Member Posts: 1,340

Apparently "roles" are something that has yet to be discussed on this forum, ever, because when I put "roles" in and searched the forum I got no results.  Go figure.   So, offhand, here's what you'd be thinking, and (spoiler) you'd be wrong:

  • Guardian - Heavy Armor - Tank
  • Warrior - Heavy Armor - Physical DPS, some tankiness.
  • Engineer - Medium Armor - Utility.  (My primary is actually a level 15ish Engineer right now.)
  • Thief - Medium Armor - DPS poker.
  • Ranger - Medium Armor - Ranged physical DPS w/ pets.
  • Elementalist - Light Armor - Nuker.
  • Mesmer - Light Armor - Controller.
  • Necromancer - Light Armor - Nuker w/ Pets.
Then I play Guild Wars 2 a bit, and I learned that the roles actually go something like this:
  • Guardian - Heavy Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
  • Warrior - Heavy Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
  • Engineer - Medium Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
  • Thief - Medium Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
  • Ranger - Medium Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
  • Elementalist - Light Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
  • Mesmer - Light Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
  • Necromancer - Light Armor - Tank, DPS, Healer.
What?!  What?!  Now how am I supposed to get rightly immersed in full on inability to decide what to play if I can't figure out what roles the different professions actually have? 
 
Anyone have any insights on this, or am I doomed to accept that professions in Guild Wars 2 are mostly a cosmetic concern?

Comments

  • DaezAsterDaezAster Member UncommonPosts: 788

    Think fighting or driving game where different characters or vehicles handle differently. I will use a driving game as an example, every car can get you to the finish line but some have more acceleration where others have better handling, some are great for drifting. Or fighting games some characters hit harder but are slower some are super fast but do less damage per hit, some are better at adistance and some are better up close. It's a style thing but not cosmetically speaking. You really shouldn't think tank,dps,healer here and pick classes more like you would characters in a fighting game or cars in a driving game.

     

    I know, I know analogies...... ;(

  • encopittencopitt Member UncommonPosts: 36
    Search "Trinity" in this forum... it's been beaten to death.
  • BadaboomBadaboom Member UncommonPosts: 2,380
    Throw the class role mentality out the window. Play a class I which you like the class mechanic.  Then spec and play how you want. 
  • ScalplessScalpless Member UncommonPosts: 1,426
    Basically, almost everyone can do almost anything, but they do it in different ways. For example, Warriors rush in and deal lots of damage, while Thieves blink around and deal lots of damage.
  • tyfontyfon Member UncommonPosts: 240

    They took out the rpg part so it is mostly action based.

    Everyone can do ranged, melee, tank, heal, dps and pull. Well not quite. Heal other is limited and there is no aggro management. You can spec good heal self, good damage or high hp but the team oriented tools are limited.

    Anyway, find professions that you think look cool and go with it :)

  • geldonyetichgeldonyetich Member Posts: 1,340
    Originally posted by Scalpless
    Basically, almost everyone can do almost anything, but they do it in different ways. For example, Warriors rush in and deal lots of damage, while Thieves blink around and deal lots of damage.

    I like this idea.  I'll have to "research" all the different class styles of play.  Consider my altaholicism empowered!

  • ScalplessScalpless Member UncommonPosts: 1,426
    Originally posted by tyfon

    They took out the rpg part so it is mostly action based.

    Everyone can do ranged, melee, tank, heal, dps and pull. Well not quite. Heal other is limited and there is no aggro management. You can spec good heal self, good damage or high hp but the team oriented tools are limited.

    That's not true at all. You can buff your allies and use various damage prevention / crowd control skills to protect them. Tanking and healing as separate roles were taken out, but then again, the grandpa of all RPGs called D&D doesn't have tanks or healers, either.

  • FelixMajorFelixMajor Member RarePosts: 865
    Haha  I know man this game makes my altoholicism very dangerous :P

    Originally posted by Arskaaa
    "when players learned tacticks in dungeon/raids, its bread".

  • syntax42syntax42 Member UncommonPosts: 1,378

    Roles have been blended together so much that you can't apply the traditional trinity combination to any class.  In addition, you can select skills or use a different weapon and you end up filling a different role.

     

    Here is my best description of potential roles of the classes.  Note that you may not be able to fill all of these roles at once.

    Guardian - Defensive buffs, healing, melee DPS.

    Warrior - Melee DPS, burst DPS, high HP damage sponge.

    Engineer - Ranged DPS, utility, buffs.

    Ranger - Melee or ranged DPS, pet, area denial.

    Thief - Stealth, melee DPS, burst DPS, short ranged DPS.

    Elementalist - Ranged DPS, buffs, control.

    Mesmer - Control, skill denial, ranged DPS.

    Necromancer - Pets, lifesteal, ranged DPS, buffs.

     

     

    I may have missed some roles, but that should give you a better idea of what roles you can fill with a particular class.  Notice there is no tank.  The game was designed so that you can't simply stand there and take a beating while your friends heal you.  Every class has a few healing skills, but none are designed to keep someone alive indefinitely in the face of a boss.  Their goal was to create an action fighting game in a MMO, and I think this was successful.

  • Serin101Serin101 Member Posts: 103
    I think you need to switch out the words: Tank and Healer with Control and Support.

    IMO the best way to figure out what you would like to do with a class.

    I can use myself as an example, I like support roles a lot because I feel it's rewarding to empower your allies. So I chose Guardian, Warrior and Engineer as the first three classes I am going to roll.
    Guardian is going Shout/Signet build for a supportive element but my weapon sets will have strong control elements to allow allies a bit more flexibility.
    Warrior going for the same type of playstyle using banners and weapon sets that focus on control but has some damage with it.
    Engineer with a nade/elixir build for damage and support.

    I think most people who are struggling with this new trinity system need to understand that the flexibility comes from their ability to see beyond the older trinity setup and it's restrictions, but that's just IMO.
  • RebelScum99RebelScum99 Member Posts: 1,090
    Originally posted by geldonyetich
     
    Anyone have any insights on this, or am I doomed to accept that professions in Guild Wars 2 are mostly a cosmetic concern?

    I could tell you, but I don't want to be an enabler.

  • tyfontyfon Member UncommonPosts: 240
    Originally posted by Scalpless
    Originally posted by tyfon

    They took out the rpg part so it is mostly action based.

    Everyone can do ranged, melee, tank, heal, dps and pull. Well not quite. Heal other is limited and there is no aggro management. You can spec good heal self, good damage or high hp but the team oriented tools are limited.

    That's not true at all. You can buff your allies and use various damage prevention / crowd control skills to protect them. Tanking and healing as separate roles were taken out, but then again, the grandpa of all RPGs called D&D doesn't have tanks or healers, either.

    In the original set you have

    Cleric - heal/support/anti undead

    fighting man - not quite a tank but is melee fighter and often takes the hits and are healed by the cleric

    Magic user - ranged dps/support

     

    I'll give you that there is noting called a "tank", but the fighting man is pretty close. There is definitively a healer and they all have different roles, hence role playing game.

     

    In gw2 everyone has heal, damage, cc (although I've seen people running around without cc for some reason) and tank. There are no specific roles.

    I think this is also the reason most de's turn into spam fests.

     

  • geldonyetichgeldonyetich Member Posts: 1,340

    I could use some more input on what that means to the individual professions, though.  From what I gather so far, style of play goes something like this:

    • Guardian - Never played one.  Wiki makes it sound like they primarily wade in and fight, using their auras to supplement their potency and that of their group.
    • Warrior - Never played one.  Seems like you're primarily a physical fighter, although a wider variety of weapons means you can choose whether to wade in and fight or take them at range.  Burn accumulated adreline for greater potency.
    • Engineer - My Engineer is kind of a wierdo, really.  Depending on what weapon kit or device kit he's holding, he's all over the place, firing at range, using a flame thrower in medium range, fighting at close range, placing turrets, whatever.  One limitation I have found is that the greater bulk of his healing is done in PBAOE, with only one exception - two if you count chucking elixirs.
    • Thief - Never played one.  They look pretty fast and visceral, and their unique mechanics seem to support this.  A lot of abilities seem to be reliant on "shadowstepping," so I guess being very mobile is a large part of playing as a thief.
    • Ranger - Never played one.  They seem to do most of their fighting at range.  However, a lot of the class seems to be built around working with their pets.  They seem to be the most focused single-pet-out-at-a-time users in the game, and their pets are a lot more able than other classes'.  With certain abilities, you can even tell your pet to go rez someone! 
    • Elementalist - Never played one.  They seem to be the closest thing to a traditional "mage" in Guild Wars 2, but they go a but further than you expect by letting you pretty much swap modes cross-weapon and cross-elemental-affinity into any kind of mage you can imagine.
    • Mesmer - I have played this class a bit, up to level 10 or so.  They're a lot more focused on clones and phantasms than I thought they would be.  They're at all ranges, close and long, depending on what you're holding - I'm a surprisingly good tank with a one-handed sword equipped.  Your central mechanic of play is basically building three (the maximum) clones/phantasms and blowing them up at opportunite times.  Aside from that, they feel pretty big on nuking, just flat out damage doing.  They don't have much controlling effects - no one does, really - but they do have good access to effects that put states on the enemy that make them regret attacking (confusion and retalation).  I suppose distracting the enemy with clones/phantasms counts as a form of control, right?
    • Necromancer - Never played one.  Judging by the ones I've seen in action, they seem to be very much a pet class.  They're more pet-classy than my Engineer is with his turrets or my Mesmer is with his illusions.  They seem to focus more on quantity than quality, though.  Then, sometimes, they turn into a dark cloud thingy... it's got "unappreciated, yet vital contribution" written all over it.
    Originally posted by RebelScum99
    Originally posted by geldonyetich

     

    Anyone have any insights on this, or am I doomed to accept that professions in Guild Wars 2 are mostly a cosmetic concern?

    I could tell you, but I don't want to be an enabler.

    C'mon man, quit holding out on me, I need my fix of excruciating cognitive dissonance to get through the day.

     
  • GreenishBlueGreenishBlue Member Posts: 263
    Level up and spec your profession. Also there are gems you can use to increase gear stats and you don't even need to do crafting since gems drop frequently. Or maybe I have been lucky. You can do crafting for better materials I guess. But overall, there is no tank and healers in GW2. There is supporting your allies in GW2.

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