Returning player profession help

Hi friends,

I'm played GW2 several years ago when it first came out. I leveled a Warrior and Engineer. I've recently picked it back up and both expansions and leveled an Elementalist. I had a lot of fun with my Elementalist but I'm having trouble finding groups. I've tried the LFG tool as well as messaging chat about group event bosses and haven't had any luck getting help.

I can kill a lot of things but with my Elementalist I'm very squishy so harder mobs destroy me. 1-2 solid hits and I'm close to dead. I have full exotic berserker's gear, gems, backpack, etc. and play Power Staff Elementalist. Also, I'm trying to learn how to solo dungeons.

My question is is there a preferred class for people who want to solo content? I've tried reading up but almost every answer is different. Gearing them is not a problem as I was into precursor flipping back in the day and have plenty of gold.

I was thinking Thief since they have a ton of dodges with their new specialization but can't find any solid evidence that they are good at soloing. The only two classes I would like to try to avoid are Necromancers and Mesmers. Other than that I'm open to trying anything.

Thanks for your help!

Do you have the expansions, hot and/or pof? Weaver and tempest will net you more damage than core ele and weaver's rebound, when used correctly, is a life saver.

I had a lot of fun with my Elementalist but I'm having trouble finding groups. I've tried the LFG tool as well as messaging chat about group event bosses and haven't had any luck getting help.

If you are speaking about core game map events, most people just do not bother with most of these, because they are less rewarding than more modern content and you kinda only need them for certain colletions. Even then you can nearly always solo them or just ask for a single guild mate to help you out.

I can kill a lot of things but with my Elementalist I'm very squishy so harder mobs destroy me. 1-2 solid hits and I'm close to dead. I have full exotic berserker's gear, gems, backpack, etc. and play Power Staff Elementalist. Also, I'm trying to learn how to solo dungeons.

First of soloing dungeons has like no point nowadays except for giving yourself some additional challenge, but even then I would recommend raids and CM fractals over that. Furthermore staff is like the worst weapon for soloing any kind of gamemode in this game, because you are lacking defensive skills and mostly just have slow AoE based damage spells. I recommend Sword/Focus Weaver for that. For more raid/fractal related builds see https://snowcrows.com/raids/elementalist/ (including rotations).

My question is is there a preferred class for people who want to solo content?

Depends on the certain encounter you want to solo. Mesmer, Thief, Necromancer and Engi mostly work for that. Ranger and Guardian can also work quite well.Thief for instance uses its many dodges from the Daredevil spec as well as its good solo DPS and strong heal from "Invigorating Precision" (+ certain healing spells, depending on encounter). Do not have too much expierence with other professions on that.

@"Valandor.9506" said:

My question is is there a preferred class for people who want to solo content?

Reaper (HoT necro elite) is good for solo because it is incredibly tough anyway, and the GS is monstrously destructive, plus you have access to Reaper's Shroud. And I second Guardian (GS/LB Dragonhunter, traps FTW!) or Daredevil for solo work.

But the OP's problem comes from "1-2 solid hits" - ALL classes with a "glass cannon" build like full Zerker need to learn to dodge. Golden rule: DON'T GET HIT.

@"bearforceone.4970" said:Hi friends,

I'm played GW2 several years ago when it first came out. I leveled a Warrior and Engineer. I've recently picked it back up and both expansions and leveled an Elementalist. I had a lot of fun with my Elementalist but I'm having trouble finding groups. I've tried the LFG tool as well as messaging chat about group event bosses and haven't had any luck getting help.

I can kill a lot of things but with my Elementalist I'm very squishy so harder mobs destroy me. 1-2 solid hits and I'm close to dead. I have full exotic berserker's gear, gems, backpack, etc. and play Power Staff Elementalist. Also, I'm trying to learn how to solo dungeons.

My question is is there a preferred class for people who want to solo content? I've tried reading up but almost every answer is different. Gearing them is not a problem as I was into precursor flipping back in the day and have plenty of gold.

I was thinking Thief since they have a ton of dodges with their new specialization but can't find any solid evidence that they are good at soloing. The only two classes I would like to try to avoid are Necromancers and Mesmers. Other than that I'm open to trying anything.

Thanks for your help!

You receive different answers because everyone has different preferences. Most classes should have builds that are effective in solo play. However, doing group content solo requires a certain degree of skill, obviously. That is likely more important than which class you choose.

It's too bad you want to avoid mesmer. They're very strong right now, which is probably not as you recall from the core game where mesmers were known for poor damage output. Very survivable and the damage is quite good! Sample of the Mirage spec (Mesmer PoF elite spec) in solo play against a Legendary boss:

I’m in a similar situation. I played a little years ago and I’ve picked it up again and am finishing leveling my Engineer solo through the core content. I have had pretty good luck. Although I have found that I am a little squishy in the ‘storyline’ content.

Is there a good way to improve my character without making running his numbers a hobby of its own?Thanks

@"Kevin.3479" said:I’m in a similar situation. I played a little years ago and I’ve picked it up again and am finishing leveling my Engineer solo through the core content. I have had pretty good luck. Although I have found that I am a little squishy in the ‘storyline’ content.

Is there a good way to improve my character without making running his numbers a hobby of its own?Thanks

Look at the guides on dulfy.net and they will explain their view of the best gearset. Some of the guides even explore the theorycraft behind the sets they pick. The key piece is that defensive stats only help when you are being hit, and there are other ways to mitigate that, like using the tools the game gives you to not be hit. Dodge attacks, look for "something bad is about to happen here" floorcircles, and move out of them (sometimes known as "don't stand in stupid"), that sort of thing, and then equip the glassiest of glass cannon gear you can find. Berserker, Viper, or for some specialised applications, Assassin's.

Those stat sets are destructive in attack so that foes die more quickly, and your defensive mechanism is evading and avoiding damage.

I will definitely check it out. Thank you very much. There is so much information at time it is hard to know where to start. Especially if you are a couple of expansions behind, like me.