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Returning to Guild Wars 2 – Class Choice - Continued - Guild Wars 2 Columns

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
edited August 2018 in News & Features Discussion

imageReturning to Guild Wars 2 – Class Choice - Continued - Guild Wars 2 Columns

In my last article on Returning to Guild Wars 2 we spoke about the very first thing returning players need to contend with, and that is their class choice. In this article we will continue down the list of classes, detailing the remaining classes and how they fare for new players as they learn to approach the multitude of changes Arenanet may have imposed over the course of their time away from Tyria.

Read the full story here



¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


Comments

  • ZatwootchZatwootch Member UncommonPosts: 1
    Dual-dagger daredevil + heal on dodge trait + heal on hit signet = dd3 + dodge all pve to death... Use dual pistol for tanking single bosses. With 7 dodges easy modo for all open world / story line content.
    GL^_^
  • JeffSpicoliJeffSpicoli Member EpicPosts: 2,849
    Everything about Guild Wars i love with the exception of their end game, and for me that makes the game unplayable

    • Aloha Mr Hand ! 

  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,180
    thunderC said:
    Everything about Guild Wars i love with the exception of their end game, and for me that makes the game unplayable
     I think it depends on what you normally do for end game in other games.  Most MMO end games bore me these days, GW2's arena PvP seasons are usually what I come back for, and then the expansions when they turn up.



  • AeanderAeander Member LegendaryPosts: 7,838
    A new player should play a Ranger, Necromancer, or Guardian, as these classes are easy to level, effective, and bring a lot to a group.

    Warriors and Thieves are also very solid starting classes, but both lack versatility to a team composition, exclusively filling a power or condi dps role. The Warrior is a popular and simple class, while the Thief will force the player to master dodging.

    Elementalists and Mesmers are valuable classes which everyone should have in their roster, but their relative complexity makes them difficult for new players. 

    If there was a class that I would say to avoid as a new player, it would be the Engineer. They are perfectly viable, but also one of the most mechanically difficult classes to play. They are also not as core to the endgame as the similarly difficult Elementalist and Mesmer. This combines with quite possibly the worst leveling experience (seriously, Engineers are terrible without their endgame traits and elite skills) to make for a rough new player experience.
    sumdumguy1Thupli
  • kalcakalca Member UncommonPosts: 47

    Aeander said:

    A new player should play a Ranger, Necromancer, or Guardian, as these classes are easy to level, effective, and bring a lot to a group.

    Warriors and Thieves are also very solid starting classes, but both lack versatility to a team composition, exclusively filling a power or condi dps role. The Warrior is a popular and simple class, while the Thief will force the player to master dodging.

    Elementalists and Mesmers are valuable classes which everyone should have in their roster, but their relative complexity makes them difficult for new players. 

    If there was a class that I would say to avoid as a new player, it would be the Engineer. They are perfectly viable, but also one of the most mechanically difficult classes to play. They are also not as core to the endgame as the similarly difficult Elementalist and Mesmer. This combines with quite possibly the worst leveling experience (seriously, Engineers are terrible without their endgame traits and elite skills) to make for a rough new player experience.



    Just finished leveling an Engineer and i must disagree with u cose it was so easy and fun that i was a bit sad when dinged 80.I agree that Engineers are one of the most mechanically difficult classes in the game but for leveling alone its not at all.
    maskedweasel[Deleted User]sumdumguy1MegilindirOctagon7711
  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,180
    kalca said:

    Aeander said:

    A new player should play a Ranger, Necromancer, or Guardian, as these classes are easy to level, effective, and bring a lot to a group.

    Warriors and Thieves are also very solid starting classes, but both lack versatility to a team composition, exclusively filling a power or condi dps role. The Warrior is a popular and simple class, while the Thief will force the player to master dodging.

    Elementalists and Mesmers are valuable classes which everyone should have in their roster, but their relative complexity makes them difficult for new players. 

    If there was a class that I would say to avoid as a new player, it would be the Engineer. They are perfectly viable, but also one of the most mechanically difficult classes to play. They are also not as core to the endgame as the similarly difficult Elementalist and Mesmer. This combines with quite possibly the worst leveling experience (seriously, Engineers are terrible without their endgame traits and elite skills) to make for a rough new player experience.



    Just finished leveling an Engineer and i must disagree with u cose it was so easy and fun that i was a bit sad when dinged 80.I agree that Engineers are one of the most mechanically difficult classes in the game but for leveling alone its not at all.
    I also disagree. In comparison I found the thief abysmal to level.  The engineer is extremely versatile and can be as complex or simple as you want.  You don't have to straight up 4 kit an engineer from the start, they have great survivability, great utility, and viable builds for the base class and elite specs.  My main is an engi, and I feel you could do much worse with a starting class. 
    sumdumguy1



  • AeanderAeander Member LegendaryPosts: 7,838
    maskedweasel said:
    kalca said:

    Aeander said:

    A new player should play a Ranger, Necromancer, or Guardian, as these classes are easy to level, effective, and bring a lot to a group.

    Warriors and Thieves are also very solid starting classes, but both lack versatility to a team composition, exclusively filling a power or condi dps role. The Warrior is a popular and simple class, while the Thief will force the player to master dodging.

    Elementalists and Mesmers are valuable classes which everyone should have in their roster, but their relative complexity makes them difficult for new players. 

    If there was a class that I would say to avoid as a new player, it would be the Engineer. They are perfectly viable, but also one of the most mechanically difficult classes to play. They are also not as core to the endgame as the similarly difficult Elementalist and Mesmer. This combines with quite possibly the worst leveling experience (seriously, Engineers are terrible without their endgame traits and elite skills) to make for a rough new player experience.



    Just finished leveling an Engineer and i must disagree with u cose it was so easy and fun that i was a bit sad when dinged 80.I agree that Engineers are one of the most mechanically difficult classes in the game but for leveling alone its not at all.
    I also disagree. In comparison I found the thief abysmal to level.  The engineer is extremely versatile and can be as complex or simple as you want.  You don't have to straight up 4 kit an engineer from the start, they have great survivability, great utility, and viable builds for the base class and elite specs.  My main is an engi, and I feel you could do much worse with a starting class. 
    Thieves are actually a relatively smooth leveling experience with a D/P or Sw/P build because of their ability to maintain AoE perma blind. Most regular non-dredge enemies are totally shut down, and the damage of the thief is more than sufficient to level relatively quickly.
  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,180
    Aeander said:
    maskedweasel said:
    kalca said:

    Aeander said:

    A new player should play a Ranger, Necromancer, or Guardian, as these classes are easy to level, effective, and bring a lot to a group.

    Warriors and Thieves are also very solid starting classes, but both lack versatility to a team composition, exclusively filling a power or condi dps role. The Warrior is a popular and simple class, while the Thief will force the player to master dodging.

    Elementalists and Mesmers are valuable classes which everyone should have in their roster, but their relative complexity makes them difficult for new players. 

    If there was a class that I would say to avoid as a new player, it would be the Engineer. They are perfectly viable, but also one of the most mechanically difficult classes to play. They are also not as core to the endgame as the similarly difficult Elementalist and Mesmer. This combines with quite possibly the worst leveling experience (seriously, Engineers are terrible without their endgame traits and elite skills) to make for a rough new player experience.



    Just finished leveling an Engineer and i must disagree with u cose it was so easy and fun that i was a bit sad when dinged 80.I agree that Engineers are one of the most mechanically difficult classes in the game but for leveling alone its not at all.
    I also disagree. In comparison I found the thief abysmal to level.  The engineer is extremely versatile and can be as complex or simple as you want.  You don't have to straight up 4 kit an engineer from the start, they have great survivability, great utility, and viable builds for the base class and elite specs.  My main is an engi, and I feel you could do much worse with a starting class. 
    Thieves are actually a relatively smooth leveling experience with a D/P or Sw/P build because of their ability to maintain AoE perma blind. Most regular non-dredge enemies are totally shut down, and the damage of the thief is more than sufficient to level relatively quickly.
    I don't feel that way at all. They're pretty flimsy, and while early leveling may be easy, level 80 areas require a lot of fast movement and stealth to stay alive, but standing toe to toe with elite mobs isn't easy at all, and not particularly fun for me. 

    That's why I like the engineer so much, you have a lot more versatility in situations, and no real energy issues to contend with to stay alive.  
    [Deleted User]



  • sumdumguy1sumdumguy1 Member RarePosts: 1,373
    I think people play differently, and like things in real life, have different strengths and weaknesses.  My cousin and my step brother both play GW2.  When they started playing, they both started as Engineers.  My cousin was able to have a decent and relatively easy experience according to what he told me.  My step brother felt it was a horrible class to start and learn the game with.  The ironic thing is my step brother is a more experienced gamer and I would have thought the reverse would have been true.  My point is different strokes for different folks and sometimes you just don't know.  I have leveled an engineer to max myself, but it was the second to last class I played so it was much easier to play for me.  I don't think my input would be helpful for the engineer from a new players perspective. 
    maskedweasel
  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,180
    sumdumguy1 said:
    I think people play differently, and like things in real life, have different strengths and weaknesses.  My cousin and my step brother both play GW2.  When they started playing, they both started as Engineers.  My cousin was able to have a decent and relatively easy experience according to what he told me.  My step brother felt it was a horrible class to start and learn the game with.  The ironic thing is my step brother is a more experienced gamer and I would have thought the reverse would have been true.  My point is different strokes for different folks and sometimes you just don't know.  I have leveled an engineer to max myself, but it was the second to last class I played so it was much easier to play for me.  I don't think my input would be helpful for the engineer from a new players perspective. 
    That's a very good point, and important to note for GW2, classes can vary widely by build too.  For example, we had someone post a few months back saying they were having issues leveling a necromancer.  

    To me, that just didn't make sense, like, obviously throw minions on your bar and steamroll everything you come across, it's really hard to die with a necro in open world PvE,  but some people still struggle, or don't get the right traits or what have you.  


    Perhaps there's an optimal leveling build for each class, but for me, there are a few classes that I wouldn't want to level again, I'm just glad I was able to get through leveling all the classes, and I'll never have to level another class again haha. 



  • vicentesoulvicentesoul Member UncommonPosts: 49
    Back in my days of gw2 gaming ive played with Guardian my first character and loved it because i was noob at game, when i was more experienced at the game and my main was at 80 i tried leveling an Engineer and i sucked so badly... im not a big gamer just a casual but i think engineer was a really skilled class to play compared to my main. (just my experience)
    maskedweasel
  • AeanderAeander Member LegendaryPosts: 7,838
    maskedweasel said:
    Aeander said:
    maskedweasel said:
    kalca said:

    Aeander said:

    A new player should play a Ranger, Necromancer, or Guardian, as these classes are easy to level, effective, and bring a lot to a group.

    Warriors and Thieves are also very solid starting classes, but both lack versatility to a team composition, exclusively filling a power or condi dps role. The Warrior is a popular and simple class, while the Thief will force the player to master dodging.

    Elementalists and Mesmers are valuable classes which everyone should have in their roster, but their relative complexity makes them difficult for new players. 

    If there was a class that I would say to avoid as a new player, it would be the Engineer. They are perfectly viable, but also one of the most mechanically difficult classes to play. They are also not as core to the endgame as the similarly difficult Elementalist and Mesmer. This combines with quite possibly the worst leveling experience (seriously, Engineers are terrible without their endgame traits and elite skills) to make for a rough new player experience.



    Just finished leveling an Engineer and i must disagree with u cose it was so easy and fun that i was a bit sad when dinged 80.I agree that Engineers are one of the most mechanically difficult classes in the game but for leveling alone its not at all.
    I also disagree. In comparison I found the thief abysmal to level.  The engineer is extremely versatile and can be as complex or simple as you want.  You don't have to straight up 4 kit an engineer from the start, they have great survivability, great utility, and viable builds for the base class and elite specs.  My main is an engi, and I feel you could do much worse with a starting class. 
    Thieves are actually a relatively smooth leveling experience with a D/P or Sw/P build because of their ability to maintain AoE perma blind. Most regular non-dredge enemies are totally shut down, and the damage of the thief is more than sufficient to level relatively quickly.
    I don't feel that way at all. They're pretty flimsy, and while early leveling may be easy, level 80 areas require a lot of fast movement and stealth to stay alive, but standing toe to toe with elite mobs isn't easy at all, and not particularly fun for me. 

    That's why I like the engineer so much, you have a lot more versatility in situations, and no real energy issues to contend with to stay alive.  
    The question wasn't ability to solo elite mobs - if that is the case, no class is on par with the Ranger or Necromancer in that regard. The question was ease of leveling, which is specifically a judgement of low and mid level zones. Again, the Ranger and Necromancer would have the best leveling experience, but the Thief has options that make it no slouch in that regard.
    Thupli
  • ReverielleReverielle Member UncommonPosts: 133
    Quite a nice article, but I feel you missed too many important points about each class and their elite specialisations. Namely, each elite specialisation unlocks an extra weapon that is tied to that specialisation, and often has a focused style of play in mind; e.g. the short-bow becomes available for the Renegade and it, along with many of the Renegade traits, lean it towards dealing condition damage.

    Also many of the classes have differences in their skill/utility use mechanics; e.g. necessitating varying requirements beyond that of simply having a skill off cooling before they can be used. Thief and Revenant are perhaps the two most obvious ones here.

    One of the great strengths of GW2 compared to other MMOs (ESO for example) is how varied each of the classes are in the game regarding, not just their styles of play, but also their mechanics. I think what you've written is okay, but feel you missed a very good opportunity here to really showcase depth and variability.
    maskedweasel
  • yirmisekizzyirmisekizz Member UncommonPosts: 1
    edited August 2018
    maskedweasel said:
    sumdumguy1 said:
    Perhaps there's an optimal leveling build for each class, but for me, there are a few classes that I wouldn't want to level again, I'm just glad I was able to get through leveling all the classes, and I'll never have to level another class again haha. 
    Would you mind sharing which classes that you absolutely don’t want to level again?

    Asking this because I had characters all at 40 levelish (elementalist, ranger, mesmer) and dropped the game after that because I was playing solo and couldn’t find a group/person to play with. Now I bought both expansions (will try to start again) and have 2x boost, I was wondering which classes I should use my boost on.

    Now that I’ve read all these comments, articles I think I should start leveling with necro or guardian.
  • StevenWeberStevenWeber MMORPG.COM Staff UncommonPosts: 110
    Reverielle said:
    Quite a nice article, but I feel you missed too many important points about each class and their elite specialisations. Namely, each elite specialisation unlocks an extra weapon that is tied to that specialisation, and often has a focused style of play in mind; e.g. the short-bow becomes available for the Renegade and it, along with many of the Renegade traits, lean it towards dealing condition damage.

    Also many of the classes have differences in their skill/utility use mechanics; e.g. necessitating varying requirements beyond that of simply having a skill off cooling before they can be used. Thief and Revenant are perhaps the two most obvious ones here.

    One of the great strengths of GW2 compared to other MMOs (ESO for example) is how varied each of the classes are in the game regarding, not just their styles of play, but also their mechanics. I think what you've written is okay, but feel you missed a very good opportunity here to really showcase depth and variability.
    That's a fair criticism, but I'd also like to point out, if I went into every facet of every avenue of every class, the article would have been nearly twice as long, even just outlining what each new weapon and new mechanic did would bloat the article with information, while helpful, wouldn't entirely be pertinent.

    For example, the difference between the standard guardian and the dragonhunter, on paper there are a lot of differences, but generally they play identically with some minor caveats like the addition of traps. Trap guardian gameplay is different slightly, can be really powerful, but general usage remains similar.  

    I'm not saying each specialization doesn't deserve a complete overview which includes all of their changes, including the new utility skills that open up with each elite specialization, but in order for me to really delve into that, I'd have to outline a single class per week instead of outlining players just getting back into the game.  Seeing as how now is a great time to get back into GW2, I've decided to focus more broadly, but your criticisms are quite valid, thanks!
    MadFrenchie
  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,180
    yirmisekizz said:
    maskedweasel said:
    sumdumguy1 said:
    Perhaps there's an optimal leveling build for each class, but for me, there are a few classes that I wouldn't want to level again, I'm just glad I was able to get through leveling all the classes, and I'll never have to level another class again haha. 
    Would you mind sharing which classes that you absolutely don’t want to level again?

    Asking this because I had characters all at 40 levelish (elementalist, ranger, mesmer) and dropped the game after that because I was playing solo and couldn’t find a group/person to play with. Now I bought both expansions (will try to start again) and have 2x boost, I was wondering which classes I should use my boost on.

    Now that I’ve read all these comments, articles I think I should start leveling with necro or guardian.
    I was not a fan of thief leveling, I was not a fan of Revenant leveling. Both felt like a slog in comparison to other classes.  I would also say mesmer is kind of middle of the road in terms of leveling. There is a lot of power there, and survivability, but having to constantly summon clones can become tedious at times.  At the high end, I love my mesmer, but I've heard from several players recently that leveling them is just a pain.


    Necro and guardian are great choices for leveling.  Seriously, a minion spec'd necro is pretty much unstoppable for the leveling game.  Even in PvP I've seen minion reapers do quite well too when played right.  Guardians are just a solid choice all around whether you decide to go power or conditions.  
    Thupli



  • Octagon7711Octagon7711 Member LegendaryPosts: 9,000
    I've noticed a lot of the skills don't have explanations that are easy to understand plus a lot of times I realized that they've been nerfed when I get my butt handed to me while doing a rotation that has worked well for me in the past.

    "We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa      "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  SR Covey

  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,180
    Octagon7711 said:
    I've noticed a lot of the skills don't have explanations that are easy to understand plus a lot of times I realized that they've been nerfed when I get my butt handed to me while doing a rotation that has worked well for me in the past.
    They've changed trait lines around so much, a build that worked well with rotations at one time, could now be completely different.  That's one big problem, balance changes can invalidate builds from month to month.
    Octagon7711



  • kalcakalca Member UncommonPosts: 47
    edited August 2018

    yirmisekizz said:


    maskedweasel said:


    sumdumguy1 said:



    Perhaps there's an optimal leveling build for each class, but for me, there are a few classes that I wouldn't want to level again, I'm just glad I was able to get through leveling all the classes, and I'll never have to level another class again haha. 



    Would you mind sharing which classes that you absolutely don’t want to level again?



    Asking this because I had characters all at 40 levelish (elementalist, ranger, mesmer) and dropped the game after that because I was playing solo and couldn’t find a group/person to play with. Now I bought both expansions (will try to start again) and have 2x boost, I was wondering which classes I should use my boost on.



    Now that I’ve read all these comments, articles I think I should start leveling with necro or guardian.



    Ok ill give u one advice u don't need to rush maps with high level content for leveling its faster to go lower level maps where u can finish things much faster , events are your best friend u will get much more exp from them.So as long as u keep map level below yours u should be fine.Also i would not use those 80 lvl boosts anytime soon u don't need to rush on your fist heroes. Your fist exp with guild wars are much more important than instant boost to max level. Leveling is easy and fast with every class and remember ur in control how hard your leveling should be , pick maps near your lvl or higher and its much harder then maps 5-10 lvls (or more) below yours.Also do gathering u will get some exp and it will be good to have some mats for crafting or u can sell them when u need gold.But at the end do whatever u like , its just a game , whatever you decide its important to have fun :D
    Octagon7711maskedweaselThupliReverielle
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