Help me choose a class for fractals, dungeons and raids, please!!!

[Faust.6183]

I bought the game in August, and am interested mostly in playing endgame PVE content - fractals, dungeons and raids. However, I can't decide on a class, and it's been driving me mad. I got to level 19 with Ranger with the aim to play a Druid healer (since I love playing healers and support characters in other MMOs), and I know it's too early to judge, but I find it really, really boring. So, please, help me decide on a class to stick with and stop this vicious cycle of creating and deleting characters. My current options are:

• Druid Boon support healer - Does it get more fun? I don't know why, but the Ranger looks kind of boring. Is Druid gameplay more fun, and is the spirit mechanic gimicky or not?
• Chrono Boon support tank - How hard is it for a noob? Is it still meta?
• Firebrand Boon support healer (Mace+Shield/Staff) - Is it viable at all in raids, dungeons and fractals?
• Tempest Power DPS (Scepter + Warhorn or Staff) - Is it viable?
• Scourge Condi DPS - As above?
• Scourge Healer - As above?

Thank you in advance for answers!!

EDIT: Please, no toxic answers. Also, no "whichever class you like best" answers. I'm pretty sure people in endgame PVE are like "these three meta classes or gtfo".

[starlinvf.1358]

None of those classes get interesting until they're post 80...... Guardian however is easiest to manage due to its high level of self-sustain through utilities.

However, you're going into this with the mind set. The game does NOT conduct itself to having a Main that you player over everything else. Group comps in raid are also very picky, so being able to switch to a needed role is extremely helpful in finding groups. Snowcrows has a matrix of Raid bosses along with each Build, to tell you what fights they're good for.

The issues with picking each class.....

Firebrand has to run in pairs with a Renegade, so that spot tends to get a lot of competition now since groups want them the most. Tempest is spotty depending on the fight in question, but since Weaver is better DPS, that would be far more applicable. If you run tempest, its usually to back up the other supports in some capacity (or used as "weaver training wheels"). I don't know how Scourge fits in the practical meta, so I can't speak for it.

Which leaves Chrono and Druid. Mesmer is in kind of weird spot right now, as its Simultaneously the most flexible class for Raids and Fractals, but its boon build has been muscled heavily by Firebrigade being easier/better in static groups. Druids are notably better off, since the other healing builds only work in very specific team setups. The down shot, like most healers, is that you have to baby sit the DPS... but unlike most other games where you target heal, GW2's Area centric support mechanics makes THEIR positioning a big problem for you. Druid itself is not that hard to play... but the fact that you're more dependent on everyone else's position, makes it a continuous source of frustration.

Chrono and Druid still hold the highest role compression of any other team comp. 2 Chronos and a Druid do all the support roles, which takes 4-5 slots in a Firebrigrade comp due to them being DPS/Support hybrids. This universal applicability and low slot contention makes them popular in PUGs; but since Static groups can afford to tailor more to each encounter, it depends on what the rest of the group is running.

That said..... Chrono as a single pick gives you the most options, since it can effectively place itself anywhere in a primary or secondary support role, Support/Damage role, or Tank, and manages itself. Incidentally, this high flexibility also means you have to adapt your strategies; so theres a lot of small nuances you have to learn with each job (and each fight), despite the overall rotation being the same across the board. This extends into fractals, where a competent Chrono can take care of themselves, and lend a whole arsenal of boons and crowd control for every fight you'll encounter. Chrono Tank is one step higher on difficulty curve, mainly because they're built to be self-supporting while also providing support to a whole sub-group.

[Omnicron.2467]

Druid is very boring at the moment, it used to be a bit more dynamic, but I prefer playing other roles rather than druid forthat reason.

Personally I would invest in Guardian, it is the first character I got legendary armour for since it is so many viable builds for end game pve and even wvw and PvP. Very rewarding and versatile profession

[Auburner.6945]

Support Renegade puts out boons, one of the strongest boons for PvE. It has heals, damage modifiers for allies, CC and fine damage for a support, all while mobile compared to Chrono's Wells.

Firebrand is not as meta as a Renegade, because Dragonhunter and DPS Chrono can put out Quickness with minimal DPS losses. Firebrand is less of a meta pick than Renegade.

Chrono is f... used to be fun. Tanking is not that hard if it's for a solo PoV, it's more of moving the boss around while giving out boons because the allies can't risk a decrease in HP/downing.

Druid might be fun for some players, but I never really found a single way to enjoy this class.

The Druid/Chrono have seen less picks the more the organized the group because Renegade can cover boons with the help of some meta DPSers, and a Druid for buffs

Scourge is a hard carry, not meta because of less boons and some other stuff, but it prevents downs easily.

Tempest is not meta as well because it lacks ally buffs and because others do it better, however, it has good bursty heals.

[Faust.6183]

Thank you for the answers! I guess I'll go Quickness Firebrand. Looks most appealing to me, it's a support/dps hybrid, has a "clericy" vibe to me, and it does seem the Guardian can be useful in any game mode. Thanks for the help!

[Fir.7932]

@"Faust.6183" said:I bought the game in August, and am interested mostly in playing endgame PVE content - fractals, dungeons and raids. However, I can't decide on a class, and it's been driving me mad. I got to level 19 with Ranger with the aim to play a Druid healer (since I love playing healers and support characters in other MMOs), and I know it's too early to judge, but I find it really, really boring. So, please, help me decide on a class to stick with and stop this vicious cycle of creating and deleting characters. My current options are:

• Druid Boon support healer - Does it get more fun? I don't know why, but the Ranger looks kind of boring. Is Druid gameplay more fun, and is the spirit mechanic gimicky or not?
• Chrono Boon support tank - How hard is it for a noob? Is it still meta?
• Firebrand Boon support healer (Mace+Shield/Staff) - Is it viable at all in raids, dungeons and fractals?
• Tempest Power DPS (Scepter + Warhorn or Staff) - Is it viable?
• Scourge Condi DPS - As above?
• Scourge Healer - As above?

Thank you in advance for answers!!

EDIT: Please, no toxic answers. Also, no "whichever class you like best" answers. I'm pretty sure people in endgame PVE are like "these three meta classes or gtfo".

Go for Druid, buddy.. Gameplay completely changes once you create a druid with your celestial Avatr form + you have really nice movement on your staff.And if you get really good wwith your class, you can solo heal almost every boss in the game, which is quiet challanging but that's fun, right. And at the end of the day, Druid is meta for every single Raid encounter, and is usually needed in LFG, so you will find a spot often. It's viable in fractals, but not the best. Dungeons are joke, you can play whatever there.

[Lexi.1398]

Re: scourge in raidsScourge healers are semi-meta, and by that i mean, you won't see them on SC but everytime a group wants a carry for a few specific raid bosses they're gonna ask for a scourge, not any other healer unless it's the only option. Keep in mind i say specific raid bosses, because it really is only a couple that scourge can carry- and a fair bit more used a wider healer, but it's very far from the strongest pick as a general healer.

Scourge condition DPS is the weakest condition class, BUT, it exclusively (well, necromancer in general) has access to epidemic; a couple bosses want at least 1 scourge specifically for the epidemic utility skill. So while it is not widely meta, it will allow you to cover roles on at least 3 encounters, and in general is a pretty good add clearer for a fair few more.

Fractal wise, you don't use condition builds in fractals so no condi dps. The scourge healer is a very powerful carry in fractals, however, it rarely has room to exist because you have fb/ren and one of those will be the healer role instead.

Now for raids in general:There is not a single build that is applicable at every encounter and composition- even support/boon chrono is losing it's place due to how OP firebrand is. Druid is probably the most widely desired build- but in boon theif compositions some groups will drop the druid for a dps soulbeast carrying spirits if they dont need the healing. Support chrono is, in theory, widely wanted- however with alacrigade/quickbrand/(and boon theif for 3 bosses) the average raider should be more open to double firebrand and boon theif/alacrigade compositions, if you exclusively played support chrono there are several normal and CM encounters you won't get into- especially in statics.

Quickbrand and alacren may sometimes lose to double chrono- either out of desire to run a full off healer like tempest and scourge, or because it is one of few encounters where any comp outside of double chrono is wasting the potential of other builds- and this is really only a few encounters, most of them can run ren/fb/fb or ren/chrono/fb just fine. A banner warrior must be able to flex between condi/power if they want to be in all groups too.

Renegade is a fun one, because you have alacrity renegade (10 man alacrity and varying might), but you also have "RR" condition renegade, 2 of these exist in the squad to provide 10 man alacrity but also do some pretty big dps.

Even as a pure dps, you need both a condition and power dps. Tanking wise, some encounters are more easily tanked on FB and some on chrono.

You will need to multiclass (or multi build) to get into all raid encounters no matter how you cut it. Also mind, there are more dps slots than support slots in a squad- if you make one support build and someone else has it you may not be able to get in that squad, whereas there is gonna be at least 5 dps slots depending on the composition.

My overall advice for getting into raid builds would be to start at power dps as supports must have a much deeper understanding of the build AND encounter to be any sense of effective, but if you don't wanna do dps, then guardian is a pretty good place to start; quickbrand, both heal and dps, is much easier to play than support chrono. Support chrono isn't hard per se- not in it's core rotation anyway- but due to it using wells any mistakes have a much larger impact on boon uptime.

[Dadnir.5038]

I'll be mean but... Each profession have it's pro and cons.

• Ranger: I'm not sure it's really worth it as a support now that they changed the way spirits work.
• Mesmer: It will probably be easier to play it as a dps than as a support right now.
• Guardian: It's a profession that's seldom outstanding but never at the bottom. FB isn't a bad choice right now.
• Elementalist: It's a good profession with great potential but difficult to handle in neophyte's hand.
• Necromancer: It's the opposite of the elementalist, it's potential is low but it's easily reachable making it a good pick for neophytes.
• Warrior: It's a profession in a slightly better spot than the necromancer but extremly dull to play.
• Revenant: Neither a bad or a good pick, it can be difficult to unearth it's potential.
• Thief: For experienced players with a good knowledge of the encounters.
• Engineer: Same as the revenant, it can be difficult to unearth it's potential.

[nosleepdemon.1368]

There are no "classes" in Guild Wars 2, OP. Now Professions on the other hand might be more what you're after. Is that what you meant?

[mortrialus.3062]

@"Faust.6183" said:I bought the game in August, and am interested mostly in playing endgame PVE content - fractals, dungeons and raids. However, I can't decide on a class, and it's been driving me mad. I got to level 19 with Ranger with the aim to play a Druid healer (since I love playing healers and support characters in other MMOs), and I know it's too early to judge, but I find it really, really boring. So, please, help me decide on a class to stick with and stop this vicious cycle of creating and deleting characters. My current options are:

• Druid Boon support healer - Does it get more fun? I don't know why, but the Ranger looks kind of boring. Is Druid gameplay more fun, and is the spirit mechanic gimicky or not?
• Chrono Boon support tank - How hard is it for a noob? Is it still meta?
• Firebrand Boon support healer (Mace+Shield/Staff) - Is it viable at all in raids, dungeons and fractals?
• Tempest Power DPS (Scepter + Warhorn or Staff) - Is it viable?
• Scourge Condi DPS - As above?
• Scourge Healer - As above?

Thank you in advance for answers!!

EDIT: Please, no toxic answers. Also, no "whichever class you like best" answers. I'm pretty sure people in endgame PVE are like "these three meta classes or gtfo".

I 100% agree with Nike here guardian is 100% the way to go for new players. It's actually out of control in PvE now tbh.

But the real answer is to build your way up towards having geared alts for EVERY profession. Guardian or Mesmer or Warrior or Ranger will take you places. But being able to slot into every role can take you anywhere.