New to the game and looking for a class to play.

So I wanted to pick 2 classes to play for this game and I really like PvP. I already chose my first class, the Thief. Both of the Elite Specs look cool, fun to play and have a mix of melee and ranged. For my second class I usually really like to play ranged single target burst DPS casters in MMOs, but from my research into Elite Specs, it seems like they aren't really focused on being ranged. I love the look of some of the abilities that I have seen from Elementalists, but their new Elite weapons seem to be focused on melee range. Same with Mesmer but everyone does seem to agree that Mesmers are highly effective. The only thing that I have found is the Necromancer's Scourge Elite Spec. I usually don't go for classes like Warlocks or Necros because I don't like the feel and look of the game play, not really into undead or decaying graphics lol but I dunno I am still considering it simply because it seems like the only ranged caster Elite Spec. Maybe I am wrong though? Like I say, I am new and I am far from an expert. Does anyone have any advice for me on picking my second profession?

@youdeinator.4327 said:So I wanted to pick 2 classes to play for this game and I really like PvP. I already chose my first class, the Thief. Both of the Elite Specs look cool, fun to play and have a mix of melee and ranged. For my second class I usually really like to play ranged single target burst DPS casters in MMOs, but from my research into Elite Specs, it seems like they aren't really focused on being ranged. I love the look of some of the abilities that I have seen from Elementalists, but their new Elite weapons seem to be focused on melee range. Same with Mesmer but everyone does seem to agree that Mesmers are highly effective. The only thing that I have found is the Necromancer's Scourge Elite Spec. I usually don't go for classes like Warlocks or Necros because I don't like the feel and look of the game play, not really into undead or decaying graphics lol but I dunno I am still considering it simply because it seems like the only ranged caster Elite Spec. Maybe I am wrong though? Like I say, I am new and I am far from an expert. Does anyone have any advice for me on picking my second profession?

I would not recommend Mesmer AT ALL.The amount of nerfs the class get are astounding and it only continues to get worse.

I would recommend Ranger -Soulbeast- This spec can do great single target ranged burst OR you could build it to be the best 1v1 duelist in the game.Ranger performs S+ in terms of competitive play.

@Solori.6025 said:

@youdeinator.4327 said:So I wanted to pick 2 classes to play for this game and I really like PvP. I already chose my first class, the Thief. Both of the Elite Specs look cool, fun to play and have a mix of melee and ranged. For my second class I usually really like to play ranged single target burst DPS casters in MMOs, but from my research into Elite Specs, it seems like they aren't really focused on being ranged. I love the look of some of the abilities that I have seen from Elementalists, but their new Elite weapons seem to be focused on melee range. Same with Mesmer but everyone does seem to agree that Mesmers are highly effective. The only thing that I have found is the Necromancer's Scourge Elite Spec. I usually don't go for classes like Warlocks or Necros because I don't like the feel and look of the game play, not really into undead or decaying graphics lol but I dunno I am still considering it simply because it seems like the only ranged caster Elite Spec. Maybe I am wrong though? Like I say, I am new and I am far from an expert. Does anyone have any advice for me on picking my second profession?

Ok I will look more into it. Thanks :)

You don't have to use your elite weapon with elite spec. E.G. you can use staff with elementalist's weaver elite spec and it is considered to be one of the strongest dps specs, at least in the past. Although it is more of a pve choice.

@Vengyre.2506 said:You don't have to use your elite weapon with elite spec. E.G. you can use staff with elementalist's weaver elite spec and it is considered to be one of the strongest dps specs, at least in the past. Although it is more of a pve choice.

Yeah that is what I have been reading about the staff. I am not really big into PvE. I usually play the story and maybe do some dungeons or raids (not sure what they are even referred to in GW2 yet lol) once and then I'm out.

Well regarding your comment on ranged elite specs....you picked the class with a sniper PoF spec :D and if you go full power gear you can swap between ninja and sniper gameplay on the fly :)

@Remixex.2089 said:Well regarding your comment on ranged elite specs....you picked the class with a sniper PoF spec :D and if you go full power gear you can swap between ninja and sniper gameplay on the fly :)

Yeah Thats what I was seeing :) thats why I went with Thief, but I like to play casters so I was hoping for something that would fit the bill

@youdeinator.4327 said:

@Remixex.2089 said:Well regarding your comment on ranged elite specs....you picked the class with a sniper PoF spec :D and if you go full power gear you can swap between ninja and sniper gameplay on the fly :)

If you go into PvP as a thief, you'll need to expect to die a lot.

Thieves are unique from the other classes for more than their ini pool. The game's PvP scene is a lot like playing battleship, where you trade blows between one another. Either you go full gong-ho and kill them before they can do anything. Or you out sustain them while putting out hurt.

Thieves do not stay alive the same way other classes do. You don't have defensive passives, unique buffs, access to a lot of buffs, Only one block from daredevil, and no way to generate aegis or resistance. You get swiftness, but not superspeed. You have only have two reliable means of shaking of condi. Which is a single Signet, and stealth. The ones in your skill bar will likely get you killed because of confusion and torment.

What thieves do have defensively is stealth... which is kinda broken at the moment. It's supposed to drop targeting, but channeled attacks that's been casted before you cloak still follow through and track you. A lot of dodges, kiting, blinds, interrupts, and means to shake off CC. It takes a good amount of skill to actually stand toe to toe with someone. But the reward for it is hardly worth mentioning right now, (thanks anet).

Basically... everything that annoys the enemy. Thieves used to have the highest burst damage to make up for everything they lacked. But because of the thing's play style, people complained, and ANET would rather back up the complainer's than to leave it be. So... compared to the defenses and raw damage output of other classes. It will take you more effort to kill someone, while they can push a button and erase you in a second.

You also can not afford to let them pressure you, or make the fights drag out. You will never be able to out sustain another class in drawn out fights. And you won't really be able to afford any ability with a casting time of longer than half a second. Unlike other classes. Your ini pool will completely lock you out of your entire skill bar if you run out. And some of the skills are unreasonably expensive for what they do.

Deadeye hits hard. But to do it, you trade off mobility. You'll be able to take out the average player pretty easily with Rifle. But competent players will give you problems. Again, mobility is thief's strongest defense. So... that trade off will certainly hurt. Fortunately, you have stealth, which will keep you alive while you re position.

Thief is fun in PvP. Just don't expect the class's kit to do you any favors in affording mistakes.

Yeah that is kinda what I expected and I am still figuring things out. I played a couple of matches and I actually decided to test out just focusing on a high damage and really high mobility build instead of focusing on stealth and it is working out pretty decently so far. There have been a few matches where I have gotten worked pretty hard lol but for the most part I am really doing decently well with it I think. low deaths and really high damage most matches

@youdeinator.4327 said:Yeah that is kinda what I expected and I am still figuring things out. I played a couple of matches and I actually decided to test out just focusing on a high damage and really high mobility build instead of focusing on stealth and it is working out pretty decently so far. There have been a few matches where I have gotten worked pretty hard lol but for the most part I am really doing decently well with it I think. low deaths and really high damage most matches

Mmm... a quick tip. Learn to use your shortbow for fighting.

Most thieves just leave it as mobility. Which is fair. On the surface, it doesn't have much going for it. It's got low damage, relatively slow, and a short range. For someone who's bursty it doesn't make sense. But the shortbow has a lot of things that counters a good deal of the BS happening in the PvP realm.

The auto attack hits decently hard, and bounces on enemies. So it can deal a surprisingly good amount of damage. Not only that, but it's super useful for clearing out mesmer's clones as they are thrown up.

The Poison field is useful outside of Condi builds. Remember that I mentioned that a lot of classes have really good sustain? Poison reduces the effectiveness of healing by 33% which is critical for thieve, given that a lot of your damage will be quickly erased. Poison is also what makes dagger training super useful to have for daggers. The damage is neglegible, but the fact that you can reduce their healing is important. It's often a good idea to throw the poison field onto downed enemies to massively slow down allies who are trying to rally them.

The Cluster bomb is a tad tricky to use, but knowing how to work it is a game changer. It chunks pretty hard. Causes bleeding. And it's one of Thief's few AoEs. A single blast will destroy mesmer clones. And it's also really good for hurting thieves who are cloaked and likely trying to go for a back stab. The skill is also relatively low cost for what it does. Blasting your Poison field with it causes weakness.

The Disabling Shot is going to be what you chain with dodges. You can't spam evade with it alone. But if you chain it with your natural dodges, you can basically go untouched in an entire fight. It also cripples. So... they will have a rough time trying to catch you.

And finally what the shortbow is probably most well known for on thief is Infiltrators arrow. It's great for kiting. And most importantly, it's what gives thief the insane mobility. Going long distances... it's one of your slower options. The magic is when there's a bunch of shit in the way. As it allows you to quickly climb walls or platforms, as long as there is a walkable path and LoS to where you're teleporting.

Your most efficient option for running on foot is to infiltrator arrow away, and swap weapons to a dagger main hand. And use heart seeker to run. The lower cost means you can cover a larger distance relatively quickly... even if two casts equates to the same cost and distance.

On a side note, there are builds that exclusively use double Shortbows. It sounds like a meme, but the shortbow is really that good when you know how to use it. The reason for the double shortbow, is you have a trait that restores ini on swap, and the sigil of energy recharges your endurance.

Overall... if you ever find yourself outnumbered, shortbow will be the tool that either gets you out alive, or kill them all.

Some useful utilities for it is....Trip Wire, Spike Trap, Roll for Initiative, Haste, Shadow Step, Smoke Screen (Projectile Hate, Blinding Arrows, Blast for Invisibility, whirling axe in it for mass blind spam. Dagger leaping through it causes stealth), Devourer Venom, Ice Drake Venom.

A good way to get some practice, is to make a new thief, and take shortbow exclusively through the campaign.

^ What he said. You would be amazed what moving at the edges of a group fight and laying down poison fields and autoattacks can do. The autoattacks also have a chance to do a projectile combo, meaning that you can spread a good bit of conditions around if you (poison field) or your teamates (lots of stuff) have an AoE field out. As an added bonus, your poison fields can also cause Daze, which can be really useful when stopping an enemy rez or stomp.

@Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497 said:

@youdeinator.4327 said:Yeah that is kinda what I expected and I am still figuring things out. I played a couple of matches and I actually decided to test out just focusing on a high damage and really high mobility build instead of focusing on stealth and it is working out pretty decently so far. There have been a few matches where I have gotten worked pretty hard lol but for the most part I am really doing decently well with it I think. low deaths and really high damage most matches

Great. Thanks a lot. I appreciate the tips