Selecting a main - Help looking for a Caster/Mage/Enchanter-sort of character

[Mage Prime.9417]

Hello - I'm relatively new to GW2 but not to MMORPG as a whole. I have experienced playing asian mmo as I am in SEA. This will be the first time I'll be playing something from the west. 

I enjoy Mage archetype pretty well. Amongst it's sub-type, generic fire & ice mages are something that I do not enjoy. In my previous experience, I played a solo capable mage who shifts focus into a supportive one when group content is required. 

 

I did a quick reading regarding the base classes but I'm relatively confused because the weaponization system is very new to me. 

I'm hoping to identify choices that would fit the following characteristics

1. Aesthetical/thematical magical inclination
2. Unusual magic types e.g. arcane, light, curse, enchantments, psychic. etc.
3. Can solo contents, but is supportive in its core. Offensive, Defensive, and protective supports are all welcome. 
4. Important* | Reading through the elementalist class confounded me massively. I'm hoping for something that has low/moderate skill requirements in both learning and mastery. GW2 will be my escape, not an additional job.

 

 

 

I give my thanks in advance for any inputs/advice that will be provided. 

 

Wishing you, reader, a great day. 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Mage Prime.9417
Edited bullet 3

[Panda.1967]

There are 3 primary caster classes in GW2. the Elementalist, the Mesmer, and the Necromancer.

 

Elementalist is perhaps the most difficult of the three to play since it involves a fair amount of attunement swapping and can quite easily feel like you are trying to play a piano rather than a game… however, the class does have the highest support potential of any other profession in the game via water attunement with the Tempest elite specialization. And since all four elemental attunements are always available, an elementalist can easily provide support at any time even if primarily providing DPS.

Necromancer is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum… Necromancer has garnered a reputation in GW2 as “easy mode” due to how much of the game they can just walk through as if it were nothing with very little skill or effort taken. At its core a Necromancer is a very selfish caster. The Blood spec line offers some support functionality, but it is primarily geared to supporting the Necromancer and their minions. However, with the Scourge Elite spec a Necromancer easily becomes one of the best supports in the game due to their access to barrier that they can grant to multiple allies at once over a large area.

Finally there is the Mesmer. Mesmer is an easy class to learn, but confusing to master…they rely heavily on clones that they generate through various skills. Clones will deal auto attack damage to your target with the weapon they were summoned with, and will often attract enemy attention away from you and onto them instead providing the Mesmer with some reliable sustain. Once a Mesmer has 3 clones it is recommended to shatter them for a large burst of damage and then build up three new clones. The Inspiration spec line has various traits that gear a Mesmer for a support roll.

 

It is worth noting, every class in GW2 has the capability of being a Support, Tank, or DPS. It all depends on your choice of traits, utilities, weapons, and gear.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Panda.1967

[Mage Prime.9417]

13 minutes ago, Panda.1967 said:

It is worth noting, every class in GW2 has the capability of being a Support, Tank, or DPS. It all depends on your choice of traits, utilities, weapons, and gear.

 

This is a fairly new concept to me. No wonder I was lost. 

Anyhow, thank you for your input.

EDIT: I'm still open to insights for me to form a solid decision. Thank you!

Edited September 28, 2021 by Mage Prime.9417

[Puck.3697]

There's one thing I will put down. 

All these proffessions have both magic and melee capabilities. 

I.e the necromancer can wield a greatsword and be a reaper. Thus meaning less of a ranged mage and more of a upfront fighter. 

Elementalist goes onto weaver and wields a sword another melee build. 

Mesmer goes on to wield swords and axes. Both melee in nature. 

This means picking these proffessions if u intend to play optimally may not allow you to play as a ranged mage. 

So be warey of this. The current meta ele builds are melee. 

Scourge (necromancer) wields sceptar which gives em a nice 900ranged caster feel comparitively 

while weaver (elementalist) is entirely melee 

[Mage Prime.9417]

2 minutes ago, Daddy.8125 said:

This means picking these proffessions if u intend to play optimally may not allow you to play as a ranged mage. 

I believe this shouldn't be a problem. I don't think I'd want/opt/aim for 100% optimization. You might have noticed that I avoid classes that has high skill ceilings. 

I think viability should be my highest concern. If I am to consider what you are saying it would leave me with no classes to enjoy, ultimately killing my motivation in the first place.
 

[Esorono.1039]

I'd say try Necromancer specced into the Scourge elite spec. It is bulky, can do good damage, support, and is good at ranged too with scepter. Furthermore, it is also one of the easier classes to play especially if you decide to go minion master, as they will do most of the work for you. I feel it has all the qualifications you are looking for.

[ZeftheWicked.3076]

Mesmer fits the bill. Deals with illusions, and even to a degree with time manipulation so defo unusual magic type there.
And has always been known for having very good supportive features such as making allies invisible, providing them some nice boons, opening portals for them, or creating zones that reflect projectiles back to enemies.

Edited September 28, 2021 by ZeftheWicked.3076

[Esorono.1039]

4 minutes ago, ZeftheWicked.3076 said:

Mesmer fits the bill. Deals with illusions, and even to a degree with time manipulation so defo unusual magic type there.
And has always been known for having very good supportive features such as making allies invisible, providing them some nice boons, opening portals for them, or creating zones that reflect projectiles back to enemies.

This is also true, and staff condi mirage is rather solid, especially if you have a Trailblazer set with Runes of Torment. It's not quite as tanky or supportive as Scourge, but it is an easy spec, and something I'd recommend trying at some point.

[Mage Prime.9417]

Thank you, Esorono.1039 ZeftheWicked.3076. 
I appreciate these inputs. I might try the Mesmer first as Chaos magic is a theme I have never encountered in a game so far. I also like creating characters with a background, so this would definitely meet my standard. 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Mage Prime.9417

[Touchme.1097]

I am sorry, but there is currently no traditional Mage archetype profession in Guild Wars 2. They are all mid range hybrid battlemages or melee battlemages.

The only thing closest to a long range spellcaster is Staff Weaver but it's a meme build that is only used in WvW and it's not even high in demand. Its damage is poor and it's a piano profession requiring too much effort.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Touchme.1097
Additional info

[Cuks.8241]

Be open about weapon choices, using different weapons and switching between them is this games core system. It get natural over time. 

Dont be afraid of melee weapons. 

Staff elementalist will get you killed. A lot. 

Almost all proffesions can play different if not all roles. 

Different game types require different builds and proffesions strengths could be quite different depending on game type. 

Guardian and revenant have caster wibe also and are very versatile. Guardian especially can do anything, sometimes at the same time. 

[Mage Prime.9417]

7 hours ago, Cuks.8241 said:

Dont be afraid of melee weapons. 

I am certainly not. What I want is a character that fits my style and preference, and that is someone who does wields a magical item. I do appreciate your input, however.

[Mage Prime.9417]

9 hours ago, Touchme.1097 said:

I am sorry, but there is currently no traditional Mage archetype profession in Guild Wars 2. They are all mid range hybrid battlemages or melee battlemages.

I've done research based on the inputs of the two people prior your reply. Certainly this scourge and mirage class fits the bill. One wields a staff, the other a scepter. Mirage one in particular has no need of switching weapons as it only wields a staff. 

Again, I care not what is the best. I care only for the viability of the classes that fits my preference. If it works and is welcomed, I am all for it. So long as it is thematically what I want. 

[Esorono.1039]

1 hour ago, Mage Prime.9417 said:

I've done research based on the inputs of the two people prior your reply. Certainly this scourge and mirage class fits the bill. One wields a staff, the other a scepter. Mirage one in particular has no need of switching weapons as it only wields a staff. 

Again, I care not what is the best. I care only for the viability of the classes that fits my preference. If it works and is welcomed, I am all for it. So long as it is thematically what I want. 

I do partially suggest to also use an axe as an off weapon for mirage, even if you don't use it often. There are a lot of enemies at end-game which will spam reflect skills, and they can suck for projectile only builds.

[Mage Prime.9417]

16 minutes ago, Esorono.1039 said:

I do partially suggest to also use an axe as an off weapon for mirage, even if you don't use it often. There are a lot of enemies at end-game which will spam reflect skills, and they can suck for projectile only builds

Excellent! Thanks for the advice, the axe should then be a good secondary weapon for similar scenarios. 

[SkinnyT.5382]

Based on the op i feel Elementalist may suit you the best. Mostly because you mentioned you wanted support.

HOWEVER  Mesmer fits the "Unusual magic types e.g. arcane, light, curse, enchantments, psychic. etc. " qualities you mentioned. They were a little better at support but anet changed that a while back. Myself and many other Mesmer mains are hoping they bring support back into the profession at some point. The Mesmer is a pretty unique caster, so if you want something different definitely check them out.

[jaif.3518]

Play a guardian.  It's not fireball fire, it's holy fire, and looks very different.  

 

- Various builds can solo champions, including core builds.

- You can thematically go from paladin to holy caster with the same character.

- There are many good builds for each mode of play.

 

Personally, I found the casting much more straight-forward vs elementalist.   I do play and enjoy ele as well, but it doesn't fit my vision of a nice, basic mage from other games.

 

I suggest looking at metabattle to get started.

 

-Jeff

[Fueki.4753]

You may enjoy Mesmer, if you enjoy unusual magic types, as Mesmer mostly is illusion magic (with minor touches of mind magic, which was Mesmer's main theme in the first game).

Since you dislike elemental magic, Elementalist would obviously not be the one to choose for you.

Necromancer, as the name suggests deals with various magics themed around death, with summoning minions and planting wells (both of which required corpses in the first game) and straight up blasting death magic at enemies in your Death Shroud.

As a Reaper you become more of a Warrior-type than a caster, but Scourge is a caster again.

Both Firebrand (Guardian) and Druid (Ranger) also are technically caster specializations, using Nature/Star magic (Druid) and Light/Fire magic (Firebrand).

 

Do note, however, that people will expect you to be in melee range during most group play, so you might not feel all that good about being a caster.

[Mage Prime.9417]

27 minutes ago, Fueki.4753 said:

You may enjoy Mesmer, if you enjoy unusual magic types, as Mesmer mostly is illusion magic (with minor touches of mind magic, which was Mesmer's main theme in the first game).

Since you dislike elemental magic, Elementalist would obviously not be the one to choose for you.

Necromancer, as the name suggests deals with various magics themed around death, with summoning minions and planting wells (both of which required corpses in the first game) and straight up blasting death magic at enemies in your Death Shroud.

As a Reaper you become more of a Warrior-type than a caster, but Scourge is a caster again.

Both Firebrand (Guardian) and Druid (Ranger) also are technically caster specializations, using Nature/Star magic (Druid) and Light/Fire magic (Firebrand).

 

Do note, however, that people will expect you to be in melee range during most group play, so you might not feel all that good about being a caster.

@Fueki.4753 This is truly helpful. I appreciate the help. I didn't know there are caster themes outside of the scholar professions. 

As for the melee range, I don't I would mind. So long as I am carrying a staff/scepter/any magically looking weapon almost all the time, I'm fine. 

Maybe it would help to share my goal. On long term, I want to collect various characters that are all thematically spellcasters. But I want them unique rather than the usual elements. So these job recommendations are truly helpful. 

 

I also don't aim to be at the most optimize, so long as the build is viable enough to be welcomed in group contents, I am satisfied. 

Thanks to @jaif.3518 and @SkinnyT.5382 for the inputs. :)

[Jski.6180]

There no true magic in gw2 and the closet thing to it is condi dmg and soft cc. Your best bet for a "mages" is mez or necro. Ele is more of an animations class where it skills only look like magic but are more often just physical attks.

It has gotten better with ele elite spec but for what ever reason anet never went back and "fixed" core ele to be more mage like. So if your going right into elite spec you will find more of an mage like ele with tempest of weaver even cata with there wepon sets but if your going staff your not going to feel like a mage.

[Mage Prime.9417]

4 minutes ago, Jski.6180 said:

There no true magic in gw2 and the closet thing to it is condi dmg and soft cc. Your best bet for a "mages" is mez or necro. Ele is more of an animations class where it skills only look like magic but are more often just physical attks.

It has gotten better with ele elite spec but for what ever reason anet never went back and "fixed" core ele to be more mage like. So if your going right into elite spec you will find more of an mage like ele with tempest of weaver even cata with there wepon sets but if your going staff your not going to feel like a mage.

 

@Jski.6180 I'm gonna reply my previous comment. 

 

49 minutes ago, Mage Prime.9417 said:

As for the melee range, I don't I would mind. So long as I am carrying a staff/scepter/any magically looking weapon almost all the time, I'm fine. 

Maybe it would help to share my goal. On long term, I want to collect various characters that are all thematically spellcasters. But I want them unique rather than the usual elements. So these job recommendations are truly helpful. 

 

I also don't aim to be at the most optimize, so long as the build is viable enough to be welcomed in group contents, I am satisfied. 

 

[Jski.6180]

9 minutes ago, Mage Prime.9417 said:

 

@Jski.6180 I'm gonna reply my previous comment. 

 

 

O then guradina they have the best staff scepter game play atm. You can reskin any armor set the look more mage like. You will just not do "magic" dmg out side of burning.

[draxynnic.3719]

As has been stated, guardian and its specialisations are essentially a hybrid of classic paladin/cleric and force mage. Being a heavily armoured profession it certainly is mostly oriented towards melee, but the melee attacks have a strong 'using magic in combination with martial weapons' feel, and if you take the ranged weapon options, it feels like a spellcaster as much as the scholars do. Its utility skills involve a far amount of acting at a distance, such as throwing a sword of force to whirl through an area or creating a wall that bounces enemy projectiles back at them.

 

Mesmer is probably the trickiest spellcaster. It's themed even more strongly towards punishing enemies for fighting back, such as projectile reflects and a debuff that causes enemies to take damage when they attack. Its signature ability, though, is creating illusionary summons to supplement its attacks and distract enemies (particularly when combined with teleports and short- term invisibility effects). However, it's relatively lacking in ability to deal with large groups of weaker enemies. Main thing causing me to hesitate on recommending it is that the company doesn't seem to know what they want to do with it - it gets hit with redesigns that completely changes how it plays every couple of years.

 

Necromancer, as noted previously, is probably the most straightforward spellcaster profession. You can do okay starting with a minion master build and then adding more as you go. It has a few tricks, but generally survives enemy attacks by soaking them rather than preventing them (but it is very good at that).

 

Elementalist...doesn't seem to fit what you're looking for. Complex to play, and despite what it's advertised as, the company seems to have decided that ranged combat just isn't something it should perform well at. Nearly everything it's received post-launch has been designed for melee or near-melee while its ranged options have been nerfed to death. Which, for the record, isn't true with the other options. 

 

Revenant is another left field possibility that uses a lot of magic, but it's very definitely more oriented towards augmenting weapon attacks with magic over casting spells, so it probably doesn't fit what you're looking for. Has an interesting theme of tapping into the powers of important figures from history, so each figure it can tap into is practically a mini-class on its own, but you have to take them as all-or-nothing packages so you don't get to finetune your build as much as with other professions.

 

Necromancer, guardian, and mesmer is probably a good set to start with based on your statements.

[Mungo Zen.9364]

On 9/28/2021 at 5:31 AM, Mage Prime.9417 said:

I'm hoping to identify choices that would fit the following characteristics

1. Aesthetical/thematical magical inclination
2. Unusual magic types e.g. arcane, light, curse, enchantments, psychic. etc.
3. Can solo contents, but is supportive in its core. Offensive, Defensive, and protective supports are all welcome. 
4. Important* | Reading through the elementalist class confounded me massively. I'm hoping for something that has low/moderate skill requirements in both learning and mastery. GW2 will be my escape, not an additional job.

 

I will start the same way as others, Mesmer will be the caster class you didn't know you wanted to play.  When you become adept with a Mesmer you can solo a lot of content, work well in large groups, have a niche is smaller groups (High end fractals and raids), and it introduces a variety of new 'spell' types with Torment and Confusion.

Mesmer can be supportive and do strong DPS as well (just not top tier as some raider would have you know), but being able to go from supporting a zerg with Quickness/Alacrity/Heals and then soloing a champ bounty on the same build is totally viable (and probably not meta at all).

Imma skip Elementalist, as it can be viable, it is challenging with lowest health pool and high skill floor and ceiling.  As you already noted, its complex.

Necro allows interesting transformations (Lich form, Reaper), and like Mesmer, has non-meta builds that are viable at ranged or melee.  However Necro is probably better in melee range in general.  If you can see yourself to Greatsword Reaper it is really fun, but, it might be a stretch to thematically reach that from where you are starting.  However, Necro have some of the easiest 'Low Intensity' builds that could introduce you to the game and its mechanics while you figure out what to do next.

It sounds like you started a Mesmer, and I hope you see it through.  I found them to be the most unique profession in GW2 and has become my preferred profession when factoring the gameplay and mechanics.

 

[Mage Prime.9417]

5 hours ago, Mungo Zen.9364 said:

I will start the same way as others, Mesmer will be the caster class you didn't know you wanted to play.  When you become adept with a Mesmer you can solo a lot of content, work well in large groups, have a niche is smaller groups (High end fractals and raids), and it introduces a variety of new 'spell' types with Torment and Confusion.

Mesmer can be supportive and do strong DPS as well (just not top tier as some raider would have you know), but being able to go from supporting a zerg with Quickness/Alacrity/Heals and then soloing a champ bounty on the same build is totally viable (and probably not meta at all).

Imma skip Elementalist, as it can be viable, it is challenging with lowest health pool and high skill floor and ceiling.  As you already noted, its complex.

Necro allows interesting transformations (Lich form, Reaper), and like Mesmer, has non-meta builds that are viable at ranged or melee.  However Necro is probably better in melee range in general.  If you can see yourself to Greatsword Reaper it is really fun, but, it might be a stretch to thematically reach that from where you are starting.  However, Necro have some of the easiest 'Low Intensity' builds that could introduce you to the game and its mechanics while you figure out what to do next.

It sounds like you started a Mesmer, and I hope you see it through.  I found them to be the most unique profession in GW2 and has become my preferred profession when factoring the gameplay and mechanics.

 

@Mungo Zen.9364 I highly appreciate the feedback, I see the effort behind it. Yes I have started as a charr mesmer and is loving it. In my entire gaming experience, I think this is the first time I've encountered this class. 

I do have to ask, what is zerg?

Edited October 1, 2021 by Mage Prime.9417