Help me decide between Weaver and Chronomancer

[Patkus.9178]

I recently came back to Guild Wars 2. But the one thing that keeps me from having a good time is the fact that I can't choose which class I wanna "main".I like both (aesthetic and gameplay wise). Mostly play dps in Pve - dungeons, fractals and open world, but I also dabble a little in roaming in WvW.Which one would you recommend and why?

[Irensaga.6935]

I play both of these as my main characters. I'm not a skilled player - just an average player. Really skilled people will have a different experience than I did.

I mained my Ele first and played it all the way through Zhaitan, Heart of Thorns, Living World, and then Path of Fire. Let me tell you - it was pretty brutal. I got curb-stomped all-the-time. Ele is just so darn squishy, unless you are really good with your skill rotation. Things two-shot you... Every boss encounter in Living World and Path of Fire was just a grind - dying repeatedly until the boss was finally worn down.

I tried Weaver during Path of Fire and... man, it's really cool. The abilities are fun and flashy and so much variety, but that rotation is just nuts. Really complicated. I never got competent at it, and I just died so much. Around about the Domain of Istan - fighting the end boss - I got sick of it and put my Ele on the backburner and picked up my other main - my Mesmer and ran her through Heart of Thorns.

Wow, huge difference. I just tore through HoT content with my power-greatsword. Drop clones and phantasms and half the incoming damage goes to them leaving me free to drop AOE wells and focus on shatters and keeping clones up. I was able to solo content that I never survived on my ele. I was just amazed how hard to kill my Mesmer was. It took me over a dozen tries on my Elementalist to defeat Mordremoth at the end of HoT, and in the end I had to give up and ask my guildies to come bail me out. On my Mesmer however, I downed him on the fourth try. It was a dramatic difference in survivability.

Again, I'm not saying Elementalist can't solo PoF content or anything. I've seen videos of people doing it. I'm just saying that a "filthy-casual" like me had a really hard time keeping my Ele alive. The rotation on Elementalist, whether you're playing core, Tempest, or Weaver - is really complicated, with all the switching between the four elements for the optimal rotation. And Weaver is even more complicated.

Hey, if you really like the way Weaver plays and all the flashy moves, great - go play it. I think it's a fun class. But just keep in mind, it's got a high skill threshold.

[AliamRationem.5172]

@"Patkus.9178" said:I recently came back to Guild Wars 2. But the one thing that keeps me from having a good time is the fact that I can't choose which class I wanna "main".I like both (aesthetic and gameplay wise). Mostly play dps in Pve - dungeons, fractals and open world, but I also dabble a little in roaming in WvW.Which one would you recommend and why?

I am really loving weaver. I play WvW (Roaming), PvP, open world/story, and up to T4 fractals. About the only thing I don't do is "serious" PvE (raids/CMs). The condi build I use is extremely tanky but still deals excellent damage. Here's a sample I just recorded a few minutes ago from open world.

[JekthAvid.1408]

I haven't played either of these classes, but I've read so many love letters to weavers. I'm sure chronomancer is a good choice, but from what I've read, if you can master weaver you'll have fun and do well.

[Uden Reavstone.3426]

Okay, a lot of people will tell you that eles are the squishiest class and they can survive just about nothing. I'm here to tell you that this may be true with power eles, but bunker ele is anything but squishy. Yes, they don't do a lot of damage, but they can sure take it while supporting their allies. I got a nice bunker weaver build if you want it.

[Strider.7849]

@"Patkus.9178" said:I recently came back to Guild Wars 2. But the one thing that keeps me from having a good time is the fact that I can't choose which class I wanna "main".I like both (aesthetic and gameplay wise). Mostly play dps in Pve - dungeons, fractals and open world, but I also dabble a little in roaming in WvW.Which one would you recommend and why?

Both a good choices but for PvE chronomancer is a stronger option for organized content. I'm kind of cutting to the end here on why, but a Chrono can carry a bad group where as a weaver is more dependent on others (if running a meta build in end game PvE). As for occasional WvW, do you prefer large scale groups or small? Mesmer is a great solo roamer or for use in small scale PvP. While ele does have some solo roaming builds, because of the stats needed to make it work in that, it does have a lot of counters within the current meta and is again, more reliant on others. If you're okay with that, I think ele in general is more fun to play, but Mesmer is better overall if you're a more independent player.

[Irensaga.6935]

Bunker ele works I assume - if you've mastered that piano-playing style with the keyboard. Otherwise, you're screwed.

[Paradoxoglanis.1904]

In terms of the meta and "viability" in wvw and pvp right now, chrono isnt in a great place. You can still play chrono and do well if you are skilled, but the shatter rework made them a lot less versatile. Weaver has a few decent pvp/small scale wvw builds right now. In end game pve both weaver and chrono have strong dps builds. In open world, both can be very effective, but most people find weaver to be squishy and have a higher skill cap.

In terms of playstyle, weaver is generally a lot more active and requires a lot more effort to be effective. Depending on your preferences, this can be seen as a good or bad thing. You have to enjoy attunement swapping constantly to get the most out of the class, and there are a lot more cooldowns and abilities that you have to keep track of. Additionally, sword and dagger are close range weapons, so being good at dodging, positioning, and cycling through defensive skills is very important. You can play range with scepter or staff, but you will still have to learn to kite in order to survive tougher enemies. Personally my favourite class in the game is weaver, but I enjoy very active gameplay and constant action.Chrono is (in my opinion) much easier to be effective with especially in open world. Your clones and phantasms often pull aggro away from you, allowing you to stand back away from danger. The class has a great amount of complexity and diversity, and a lot of people love the unique theme and playstyle.