Support for leveling

[Local is Lekker.2970]

Hey,

My son (special needs) asked to play GW2 with me. I have created a free account and helped him start a Ranger. I am going to level with him, so I am wondering what support character should I create to make his playing experience as smooth as possible?

I was thinking of Guardian because of the heals, but I am open to other proffs since my goal is to make his experience easier and smoother.

[Local is Lekker.2970]

P.S. I will starting at level 1 with him, so elite specs is out of the question for now, so please keep that in mind when you make a recommendation.

Thank you in advance

[BunjiKugashira.9754]

Ranger is usually a ranged class and is notorious for pushing enemies around. You could think about playing a tank to make your son's ranged gameplay easier, but there is no proper tank mechanic in GW2 and ranger already comes with a pet.

I would suggest going for a ranged class yourself, so you have an easier time staying together.

Necro is really strong early on because of the pets and having all these meat-shields. If you spec into blood magic you can additionally make your necro a healer.

Ranger would be a good pick. "Two rangers?" you ask? Rangers are fairly self sufficient and have a lot of support capability. Also I can imagine you'll have fun collecting the animal companions together, which is something other classes can't do.

Elementalist is also a strong supporter capable of giving buffs and strong healing while attuned to water. It is more difficult to play though and requires knowlege about combos. Especially on low levels playing an elementalist can be frustrating.

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

Guardian, use the Staff which is an excellent ranged support weapon. Take full defensive and Healing Power armor, no damage stats. Then encourage your son to go full damage stats, so you can still clear content easily.

Guard also has access to multiple fast revives in case of downs.

[Danikat.8537]

I think elementalist would be a good choice, because they have quick access to lots of different options by switching attunements, so you can let your son take the lead and quickly adjust what you're doing to what's needed - for example quickly swap between providing defensive boons and doing more damage depending on how the fight is going. But elementalist can be tricky to play because of all the swapping around, and starts off quite squishy which can be challenging.

Otherwise I agree guardian or another ranger would be a good choice. Rangers can be good support characters, even before they get elite specs, I think Healing Spring is still one of the better AoE heals in the game and several of their pets and skills can provide boons to allies.

[mercury ranique.2170]

I think I agree with elementalist, although all classes have ups and downs.The main pro for elementalist is that you can easily switch between healing, CC and dps. so you can assist him in anyways. The downside is that the elementalist in basis is low in stats and harder to defend. But for an experienced player this should not be a big issue. On top this could also help your son in helping you as well and watch out for others in trouble (if this is something you would want to add)

[mindcircus.1506]

The only three classes that provide any tangible support during the 1-80 curve are revenant, guardian and elementalist. Core ele for healing is probably the easiest to play for raw green numbers. Guardian brings a bunch of other boons to the table that might prove effective is making his experience better. Revenant has the highest skill cap but if he doesnt jump around too much might be a solid option as well.If you have no problem keeping yourself alive I would choose an ele. If you want something to keep you both cozy guardian, if you want challenge mode, it's ventari rev.

[Khisanth.2948]

Guardian was pretty much designed for that sort of thing. It will grow into the role extremely well. It is the Swiss Army chainsaw of support. Heal, cleanse, stunbreak, block, damage buffing, defense against projectile attacks and more! The only "support" thing I can think of that is lacking is portal and that can be fixed with gizmos(https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/White_Mantle_Portal_Device https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Watchwork_Portal_Device)

[Local is Lekker.2970]

Just wanted to give an update.

He is enjoying the hunter, but prefers playing with a greatsword. Instead of leveling with him, I am babysitting him with my Scrapper for the medic and bulwark gyro. I am underpowering myself by using a flamethrower so things doesn't die instantly. If we do run into group event we can duo it at least if I am on my scrapper.

We spent a few hours today just taming pets for him. He loved it.