Better specialization for each class?

I'm finally getting my last few specializations trained on characters I usually don't play, and wondered what others' opinions are as far as the better of the two specializations for each class/profession. I play almost exclusively PvE, and so for example I'm finding that Scrapper doesn't suit me. Thank you in advance!

I think for some of the professions, their elite specs cannot be determined to be the better/worse one because they are meant to fill different roles. For example, on Necromancer, Reaper is meant to be power focused while Scourge is a hybrid condi/support focused spec. Some elite specs still need their focus sharpened to create this effect for their profession, but with recent changes like the Herald rework they are definitely heading in that direction.

However, as far as personal opinion goes, here are my favorites of the elite specs.Elementalist: Tempest (Weaver seems great and all but the piano dancing is a bit much for me!)Engineer: Scrapper (unpopular one but I mostly play open world with my engi and I like the defensive traits to keep me up)Guardian: FirebrandMesmer: ChronomancerNecromancer: Too difficult for me to say! Both feel great to me.Ranger: SoulbeastRevenant: Again, too difficult for me to say!Warrior: Spellbreaker

No thief because I do not play it pretty much ever and do not have an opinion on Daredevil vs. Deadeye.

It really depends on context, being better doesnt mean anything without it. One spec can be better at supporting while other is better for dps. One can be better dps at certain raid/fractal encounters than the other, even though the other is better dps generally. Besides scrapper, every other spec is used successfully in pve (but even scrapper has extremely strong heal build), but based on actual content, it can be optimal or outperformed by other spec/classes.

The question is, what exactly do you play in pve? Do you play for hardcore end game content and top meta builds? Do you play casually and dont care about group composition etc etc ?

@steki.1478 said:It really depends on context, being better doesnt mean anything without it. One spec can be better at supporting while other is better for dps. One can be better dps at certain raid/fractal encounters than the other, even though the other is better dps generally. Besides scrapper, every other spec is used successfully in pve (but even scrapper has extremely strong heal build), but based on actual content, it can be optimal or outperformed by other spec/classes.

The question is, what exactly do you play in pve? Do you play for hardcore end game content and top meta builds? Do you play casually and dont care about group composition etc etc ?

Good points. I play mostly casually in PvE and like to be alone as much as possible but like the meta events in Dragon's Stand. Mostly I like to not die while exploring!

@Witch of Doom.5739 said:

@steki.1478 said:It really depends on context, being better doesnt mean anything without it. One spec can be better at supporting while other is better for dps. One can be better dps at certain raid/fractal encounters than the other, even though the other is better dps generally. Besides scrapper, every other spec is used successfully in pve (but even scrapper has extremely strong heal build), but based on actual content, it can be optimal or outperformed by other spec/classes.

The question is, what exactly do you play in pve? Do you play for hardcore end game content and top meta builds? Do you play casually and dont care about group composition etc etc ?

Then I'd suggest spellbreaker, dh/fb (both have burst damage and good defense), herald, daredevil, holo, soulbeast (druid is excessive for open world, but it adds good utility and defense if needed), tempest, reaper, mirage.

Renegade, firebrand, chrono, druid and scourge can bring pretty good group utility for bigger open world events though, even in dps setup.

Well it depends.Mostly how it feels not how it performs.

Warrior: BerserkerI love the faster gameplay and pure fiery rage.Spellbreakers is not my cup of tea but i like the daggers.

Guardian: DH more than FB but i hope for a better e spec either way. DH just because i like the new virtues. Traps and bows not that much.FB i hate the mechanic but like the new skills and weapon.

Rev: Herald definetly. I don't like renegades new weapon , skills nor mechanic.

Ranger: DependsI like the theme of both. I like the theme and idea of beastmode nore than CAF because its more tied into the old class mechanic but it needs improvements IMO.Druid has cooler traits and the better stunbreak and CC in general.Both have good mobility but soulbeast has the edge IMO. I played a ton of both (ranger is my Main so why not).

Thief: DaredevilI like the new stealthskills from DE and the interaction with all weapons but DD is just more fun to play and it does not replace the shadowstep of steal (which i love dearest). I dont like the weapon of both of them but staff is bit better IMO. On the utility side id say DE got the better ones.

Engineer: HoloWeapon wise i cant complain about scrapper and i am fine with its bulk but its class mechanic is nearly non existant and nichest of niche. Thus Holo just has the edge because it has a class mechanic that is wonderfully integrated and it has better play flow than core or scrapper.

Necro: more on the reaper sideSimilar to guard i am not that high on the necro spec train but i like reaper more just because if the weapon and the cool shroud.The shouts are cool too and have good purposes.Scourge is something titally different and i am not a fan if its theme. The skills are great though and the rezz potential is a meme now. I wanna try a rezzing scourge but atm i wait for a new e spec while swinging a big ass scythe.

Ele: WeaverFast, fluid, many combos, very mobileTempest is a nice support but it always distrupta my flow when i cast overloads thus i rather play weaver and go with the flow instead.

Mesmer: MirageJust because i can spam the crap out if anyone, have ton of CC and ton of evades.Boon chrono is on my list to try but it never got out of testing phase.

It's largely personal preference. As far as my characters go it's.

Guardian: Firebrand and it's sort of my main, I use a support build with some tanky stuff and just never die.

Necromancer: Scourge and it is my second most used character, I love the extra casting and the overall theme of the class.

Ranger: SoulbeastWarrior: SpellbreakerElementalist: TempestThief: DeadeyeRevenant: HeraldMesmer: MirageEngineer: Holosmith

Well, I don't play all classes equally. And some I play so little of that picking would be impossible. But lets try it.

• Warrior: Spellbreaker I guess. Each of them are pretty underwhelming for me. I'm not a fan of warrior so I only choose spellbreaker because I think the daggers are cute on my asura...
• Guardian: Firebrand. This one is far easier for me as I love spell casters. And having something with the complexity and utility is just a blast for me. Dragonhunter really soured Guardian for me which Guardian was one of my favorites early on and DH almost ruined that.
• Revenant: Renegade. I'm more of a fan of its f skills and the bow than the shield. I prefer condi but overall I don't find either that much of an improvement over core Revenant.
• Ranger: I'm going to have to say Druid. A bit strange for me since soulbeast should be right up my ally. But it just doesn't feel good for me as a DPS spec. This is just personal preference. Druid is one of my more used elite specs simply because I adore my druid from a role play perspective and stylistic one. So Even though I find it a bit boring to play I absolutely love the visuals of her.
• Thief: Daredevil. I don't care much for Deadeye. Just not my thing. Daredevil is a bit fun with it flipping around but thief is my second least played profession after Warrior.
• Engineer: Holosmith. I love using healing scrapper but really scrapper is not as diverse with its utility as holosmith is. Which is a shame as these two could be really close for me. Engineer is my Number 2 profession and I love it quite a bit. But scrapper is just a bit lacking for what I want to do with engineer.
• Elementalist: Weaver. Didn't get much into tempest. Weaver was more fun for me. But its primarily an RP thing for me since my Weaver looks absolutely fantastic.
• Necromancer: Scourge. Probably the easiest choice for me to make. Even though Necromancer is my main reaper was never designed for me... Core necromancer wasn't designed for me... Necromancer as a whole just wasn't designed for the GW1 necromancer vets at all... At least until Scourge. Which scourge feels like a logical evolution of the curses aspect of GW1 which I really like. It is easily the favorite for me. Where as reaper was designed more for the GW2 only players who never touched GW1 or Diablo 2, or any other game that had a necromancer in it. Scourge is far from a perfect spec, but if it is complimented with 2 other specs that embody the ideals of GW1 death magic properly and blood magic properly we can really make this choice almost impossible for me.
• Mesmer: Another tough choice. Mirage is fun but so is Chronomancer. I'm going to leave this one as even for now as I really enjoy both of them. ALthough I would like to see the embodiment of my old Fevered Dreams build back in GW1 come to GW2. But that might not happen. Would be nice.

I note that the context here is less favoured professions where you're not going to the effort of unlocking both specialisations. On that basis, it's probably reasonable to give advice on the basis of "which elite specialisations have the most distinct playstyle from the base profession" (since if the base profession is one you don't enjoy, an elite specialisation that significantly changes the playstyle might be better than one that doesn't) and "which elite specialisations are relatively easy to learn" (since you're probably not looking to learn complicated mechanics on a rarely played profession). Oh, and with a general PvE focus (difficult group content will presumably be something that you'd do with your mains). On that basis, I'd probably be looking at the following:

Warrior: Berserker. In a PvE context, spellbreaker builds tend to play similarly to core warrior builds. Berserker, however, does change up the playstyle enough that if you don't enjoy base warrior much, you may find that you do enjoy the berserker.

Guardian: My gut feeling is saying firebrand - it's a bigger change over dragonhunter overall, and being able to basically spam Tome of Courage in circumstances that it's suited for is pretty awesome. It probably is a bit more complicated to play than dragonhunter, but the much bigger change in gameplay pulls it ahead in my mind.

Revenant: Depends on what you're planning to do, I think. If you're considering going condi, you might want to get Renegede just so that you do have access to a second condition-oriented weaponset (one of the problems with core revenants and heralds is that they only have one weaponset that really works with condition damage, being mace/axe). However, if you're just planning to kit the character out in power gear, than herald probably gives you more overall.

Ranger: I'm going to go with soulbeast on this one, largely because soulbeast is easier to get to grips with than druid. (If you don't like the pet, too, soulbeast gives you the ability to minimise how much pet control you need to do.)

Thief: I'd probably go with daredevil for thieves - the extra dodge (let alone the bonus effect on dodges) is very useful, and I think daredevils are better at dealing with groups in general. Furthermore, there's not really a lot that a deadeye can do in a PvE context that a pistol/pistol daredevil couldn't... except that the deadeye does it from longer range. (I'm not knocking on deadeye here, but I have to recognise that the deadeye theme is pretty much "does the same thing core thieves do, except with lower mobility and longer range".) If you do want that extra range, though, then deadeye could also work.

Engineer: Holosmith. Hands down. Holosmith plays very differently to a core engineer, while scrapper is... apart from the hammer and the gyros, not much different to being another core specialisation.

Necromancer: Scourge. Reaper balancing has made it progressively glassier over time, and while both are significant changes over the core profession, scourge is both more distinct and, I think, easier to play in the current context.

Mesmer: This is a close one. I'd probably say that mirage has the more distinct playstyle from core mesmer, but neither mesmer elite is really falling that far from the tree, and having Mirage Cloak instead of a regular dodgeroll can take some getting used to. Chronomancers are probably more forgiving, especially with things like shield, Well of Precognition, and more frequently available healing through Alacrity.

Elementalist: Tempest. Weaver is essentially taking the piano-like complexity of elementalist and turning it up to 11, and if elementalist isn't already one of your favoured professions, that's probably not what you're looking for. Tempest, on the other hand, has a different cadence, with less reliance on attunement-swapping every few seconds. If you're not already enthusiastic about elementalist mechanics, weaver probably isn't going to change your mind, but tempest might.

Firebrand is the best spec for Revenant: you have half of the bugs, a fully customizable skill bar, good access to cleansing and stability if you want and plenty variety of builds for each gamemode. Source: I mained both.