Class advice

Heyo guys :) so I bought both expacs today and was hoping for a little advice between 2 distant class types. Mirage or Firebrand. Ive always loved mesmer, without a wish to go Chrono cause somehow it doesnt fit my playstyle. On the other hand I loved seeing mirage recieving assassin in-n-out techniques, but this requires a player who can react quickly, predict things and makes the profession more of a 1v1 focused spec. This is something that puts me off even though I would love to enjoy Axe closed-range combat on mesmer, but then I can just go Firebrand who gets axe as well. Firebrand has also impressed me with the visuals and the skills which are just amazing to me. The Spec also seems to be focused on melee AoE, buffing and minor healing which is a combo that fits me more than straightforward assassin. On the other hand Ive heard it is quiet of an average type of profession because it gets "overpreffered" in the endgame content with other classes. I know that any class excels and fails in particular fields, so I dont expect anything impossible from one or other class, just trying to find the correct route :)

If there is anyone experienced in either of the professions (or anyone else interested) to leave a constructive comment about their pros and cons, it will be highly welcome, if there is anything irrelevant or incorrect from what I mentioned in paragraph above, please correct me as well ;) Thanks in advance

Might want to state what game modes you will be playing. That has a huge effect on what advice is given.

Well, I can imagine doing fractals and stuff, but WvW is something Id stay away from. Participate sometimes, okay, but not something I imagine doing daily. Small scale pvp is enough for me :D The thing is: Can Mirage be useful in party-focused events? Can Firebrand do well in 1v1 for example?

@Azazel.7536 said:If there is anyone experienced in either of the professions (or anyone else interested) to leave a constructive comment about their pros and cons, it will be highly welcome, if there is anything irrelevant or incorrect from what I mentioned in paragraph above, please correct me as well ;) Thanks in advance

If you like playing the support role, play Firebrand. It is currently the best support specialization in the game. If you don't like playing the support role, play Mirage.

@Hoodie.1045 ye exactly that is the thing, I enjoy being half-support / half-dmg dealer, not completely devoted Druid but also not that kind of frontal pawn to 1v1 all the time. Something in the middle of the range, being able to defend myself a little bit and also spawn some nice protective and offensive buffs for others. I would love to be illusion-spawning mesmer with the traits of firebrand :D but i guess Im asking for too much :) thank you for your advice, it will make my decision easier ;)

Fb is mostly used as a support in pvp settings, it's a condi based dps in pve. Unless you're in a static or guild, I would suggest boon chrono or druid. Those are the only 2 supports pugs will accept with open arms in t4 fractals and raids. If you're just going openworld, you can try any class, most of them have atleast 1 support build (not counting thief), go banner shout heal war, med kit heal engi, seraph burn heal fb, heal ele, barrier scourge, mantra heal mes. Anything works in open world.

I'm confused about what the driver of your decision is. You're trying to decide between 2 classes based mostly on "least cons", but aren't indication as why you're trying to pick between them. Theres no right answer to what little criteria you've laid out, so I'm not sure what answer you're actually looking for.

@Sephylon.4938 thank you for the information! ;) @"starlinvf.1358" so, the thing is I mentioned I appreciate anyone who can bring me some brief information about pros and cons of both specs, what do they excel at and which content should I avoid doing if I pick one of them. I know it is a dumb question from me since both these specs have completely different playstyle, but these have been so far the only specs I fell in love with. Avoiding Druid and Chrono has been the reason mainly because people require those classes to run the "meta standards" which feels like you are imprisoned in a class you keep playing for others' wishes. That is why I wanted more independent profession, which to me Mirage and Firebrand seem to be fitting this. However, Ive spent much more time playing Mesmer so I guess I am just not completely clear about its capabilities or there might be a minor disappointment while doing some unnecesarry mistakes on my own, so I guess I will give it another try and if it does not work I will pass it :x As I said before, correct me if I am wrong at something because I am not completely informed with current settings of the game profession status so I welcome any info ;)

You dont need to choose class, just play both, but in different content, depending on which role you prefer to play there.

Wvw: FB works very well as frontline support in zergs, or group roaming. Mirage excels at solo/group roaming as well as killing people off guard in bigger zerg fights.

Pvp: Both are quite strong, FB is essentially a support, mirage is damage dealer, so there's not much to choose since they fill completely different roles.

Raids/fractals: FB's best build is full dps focused on burning, and it's quite good, but relies on allies stacking tight. It can also be played as dps/support hybrid which can be quite good in fractals without healers (or any non-meta groups on lfg). This (hybrid) build isn't self sufficient for raids and It would require renegade, which usually isnt what people ask for in lfg, but some guilds play with such comp.
Mirage is probably the strongest condi build in pve currently and it works quite well in raids, however it's only picked on several bosses where it's a lot stronger than other classes. It lacks burst (like most of condi builds) which is why it isn't very popular in most of other raid encounters or fractals in general.
If you're unsure about any class, you can always check LFG and see what's most needed in end game groups.

@steki.1478 THANK YOU very much!!! This is something I needed to have explained. I know there have been many threads describing classes, but not those 2 in comparison specifically. This helped me buncheees, definately applicable in practice. Thank you for your time and explanation. ;)

I guess the thread can be closed now :x