Been Stumped on a Class for the Past 3 Months

[OliverIngram.8729]

So, with EoD inching closer and closer to release, I hate that I still haven't figured out a class to stick with and it makes it more difficult with how...underwhelming all of EoD's specs seem to be. I, honestly, wish the mages were given much better e-specs from EoD since I have a high preference towards mages and it would make it a ton easier for me to figure out what I want to go for. Which, it's not just EoD's specs, but just the previous expansions' specs as well, Chronomancer and Scourge/Reaper were the only three that I've played a lot of for the mages, didn't like Mirage and Tempest, while Weaver just seems way too much for such low reward so is why I was hoping EoD will bring something fun and new to the classes I prefer to play. 

(honestly, just makes me wish there were more classes to choose from, three for each archetype, minus Priest, is a bit too small)

Sorry if I worded things weirdly, I am just tired. lol

Edited January 23, 2022 by ArcanicBunny.7304

[Infusion.7149]

Honestly until they nerf it, guardian will be the only class usable in all 3 modes to great efficiency. Revenant comes a close second but quickness is a stronger boon than alacrity oftentimes.

• PvP : support core guard or trapper DH memes , WVW: support firebrand and power DH , PVE: support/ hybrid firebrand , power DH , probably cDPS willbender too
• PVP: power herald/renegade and maybe power vindicator, WVW: power herald or alac renegade , PVE: condi renegade or alacrity renegade , power vindicator

If you play other classes they aren't as wanted in either PVP/WVW/PVE. For example:

* Engineer is going to have alacrity and quickness spec after EOD. Scrapper is beyond meta in WVW it is the single most impactful build since 2019 gyro reworks ; in PVP holo has been meta for since holo released more or less; in PVE scrapper quickness is a decent option in raids where there is a power bonus of 35% such as Vale Guardian or Keep Construct but in fractals due to lopsided exposed debuff it isn't used. With EOD you get access to alacrity mechanist for PVE. This is a class to keep an eye on.

* ranger has a bad reputation in WVW due to the players playing it in a way that is meme, in actuality stanceshare soulbeast isn't terrible ; in PVP it isn't meta but core ranger is played ; in PVE heal druid is meta in raids and soulbeast is a strong PVE pick in both power and condi form

* Warrior is not that often seen in PVP outside of spellbreaker spec , in WVW spellbreakers are run as both DPS and support ; in PVE almost every raid that isn't condi uses at least one warrior for banners while in fractals due to condi meta it fell out of favor but is still usable as power or condi BS

* thief is incredibly strong in the hands of a skilled player in PVP but weak otherwise (see people camping off the node on deadeye and doing nothing), in PVE it is niche and in WVW it is a roamer generally as the strongest group build is staff daredevil when comboing into a spellbreaker winds of disenchantment. EOD will give thief a support option with alacrity which may lead to some form of shakeup but it is doubtful due to people being lazy and not embracing single target support.

* Necro is meta in PVP in core/support scourge / power reaper, in WVW it is power scourge primarily ; necro isn't a necessary class for any power-favored raids in PVE but condi scourge is meta in fractals right now

* Mesmer is kind of rarer in PVP now , in WVW it is run as support chrono ; in PVE it is rarer in fractals due to breakbars' interaction with confusion and the power ramp of pchrono but in raids it is a strong pick as mirage or chrono alike

* Elementalist is often rarer in PVP now , in WVW it can be run as support tempest or power staff weaver ; in PVE you're usually better off with tempest as weaver is at the mercy of teammates for boons. Catalyst most likely won't change its position in PVP/WVW but in PVE the 5s cooldown jade sphere means it has a quickness DPS support option.

Hope that helps.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Infusion.7149

[OliverIngram.8729]

1 minute ago, Infusion.7149 said:

Honestly until they nerf it, guardian will be the only class usable in all 3 modes to great efficiency. Revenant comes a close second but quickness is a stronger boon than alacrity oftentimes.

• PvP : support core guard or trapper DH memes , WVW: support firebrand and power DH , PVE: support/ hybrid firebrand , power DH , probably cDPS willbender too
• PVP: power herald/renegade and maybe power vindicator, WVW: power herald or alac renegade , PVE: condi renegade or alacrity renegade , power vindicator

If you play other classes they aren't as wanted in either PVP/WVW/PVE. For example:

* Engineer is going to have alacrity and quickness spec after EOD. Scrapper is beyond meta in WVW it is the single most impactful build since 2019 gyro reworks ; in PVP holo has been meta for since holo released more or less; in PVE scrapper quickness is a decent option in raids where there is a power bonus of 35% such as Vale Guardian or Keep Construct but in fractals due to lopsided exposed debuff it isn't used. With EOD you get access to alacrity mechanist for PVE. This is a class to keep an eye on.

* ranger has a bad reputation in WVW due to the players playing it in a way that is meme, in actuality stanceshare soulbeast isn't terrible ; in PVP it isn't meta but core ranger is played ; in PVE heal druid is meta in raids and soulbeast is a strong PVE pick in both power and condi form

* Warrior is not that often seen in PVP outside of spellbreaker spec , in WVW spellbreakers are run as both DPS and support ; in PVE almost every raid that isn't condi uses at least one warrior for banners while in fractals due to condi meta it fell out of favor but is still usable as power or condi BS

* thief is incredibly strong in the hands of a skilled player in PVP but weak otherwise (see people camping off the node on deadeye and doing nothing), in PVE it is niche and in WVW it is a roamer

* Necro is meta in PVP in core/support scourge / power reaper, in WVW it is power scourge primarily ; necro isn't a necessary class for any power-favored raids in PVE but condi scourge is meta in fractals right now

* Mesmer is kind of rarer in PVP now , in WVW it is run as support chrono ; in PVE it is rarer in fractals due to breakbars' interaction with confusion and the power ramp of pchrono but in raids it is a strong pick as mirage or chrono alike

* Elementalist is often rarer in PVP now , in WVW it can be run as support tempest or power staff weaver ; in PVE you're usually better off with tempest as weaver is at the mercy of teammates for boons. Catalyst most likely won't change its position in PVP/WVW but in PVE the 5s cooldown jade sphere means it has a quickness DPS support option.

Hope that helps.

I'm not into PvP nor WvW, but, I guess.. :u

[Infusion.7149]

14 minutes ago, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

I'm not into PvP nor WvW, but, I guess.. :u

Unless your goal is raiding (which means ranger / warrior become more attractive), firebrand/renegade are the best options for PVE. Scourge while easy and currently meta can be replaced by other more risky / less consistent options for DPS.
Firebrand is the sole provider of fury and aegis in a 5 man party currently so even if quickness catalyst/harbinger have it as well it won't be outright replaced 100% of the time. Catalyst and harbinger don't have appreciable healing so those specs need an alacrity source that outputs barriers or healing such as alacrity mechanist/specter/heal renegade (which is annoying to play due to tablet). StM chrono or quickness scrapper don't provide any fury uptime unless you have pack runes and quickness scrapper doesn't provide aegis at all.

Renegade is the primary provider of alacrity which may be replaced by alacrity mechanist or alacrity specter (thief). Alacrity mirage isn't that amazing in fractals due to the way confusion interacts with breakbars. A good bonus to renegade is the ability to run jalis aka dwarf for stability using Inspiring Reinforcement.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Infusion.7149

[OliverIngram.8729]

3 minutes ago, Infusion.7149 said:

Unless your goal is raiding (which means ranger / warrior become more attractive), firebrand/renegade are the best options for PVE. Scourge while easy and currently meta can be replaced by other more risky / less consistent options for DPS.
Firebrand is the sole provider of fury and aegis in a 5 man party currently so even if quickness catalyst/harbinger have it as well it won't be outright replaced 100% of the time. Catalyst and harbinger don't have appreciable healing so those specs need an alacrity source that outputs barriers or healing such as alacrity mechanist/specter/heal renegade (which is annoying to play due to tablet). Running StM chrono or quickness scrapper don't provide fury and quickness scrapper doesn't provide aegis at all.

Renegade is the primary provider of alacrity which may be replaced by alacrity mechanist or alacrity specter (thief). Alacrity mirage isn't that amazing in fractals due to the way confusion interacts with breakbars. A good bonus to renegade is the ability to run jalis aka dwarf for stability using Inspiring Reinforcement.

To be honest, I just do PvE content and greatly prefer to solo because of anxiety. Plus, I am not looking to be support-y, I just want to not struggle in any expansion and not have to rely on other players to progress through story. Chronomancer and Reaper were best for this since they have much higher survivability but since I am burnt out on both, I am not...really sure what to go with. Specter does seem like it would be pretty survivable, but I am unsure if it would be through all three expansions, same for Daredevil (since I have experience with Daredevil and would most likely go with that if I stick with Thief for EoD, until EoD is out) I am aware Renegade is pretty good, same for Herald. Dragonhunter felt fine and Firebrand I am not 100% sure on since I wasn't sure if I'd like it. Druid can't do anything for damage but is pretty tanky due to being a full-healer, Soulbeast is pretty alright, but doesn't fit me. You get the gist, I have tried pretty much everything (but Warrior) but nothing really strikes me as fitting for me to play.

[Leo.3428]

26 minutes ago, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

You get the gist, I have tried pretty much everything (but Warrior) but nothing really strikes me as fitting for me to play.

 

What is your ideal gameplay? Radically changing the build and equipment can make a known profession more interesting, but maybe you have already tried that.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Leo.3428

[OliverIngram.8729]

30 minutes ago, Leo.3428 said:

 

What is your ideal gameplay? Radically changing the build and equipment can make a known profession more interesting, but maybe you have already tried that.

Honestly, I guess I prefer high damage and AoEs, I don't mind single target focus, but prefer AoEs. I am aware Elementalist offers that, and Necromancer + Staff as well but feels... eh.

[rrusse.7058]

9 minutes ago, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

Honestly, I guess I prefer high damage and AoEs, I don't mind single target focus, but prefer AoEs. I am aware Elementalist offers that, and Necromancer + Staff as well but feels... eh.

Catalyst seems like a good option for some large AoE damage options with hammer. granted Arenanet was still working on the specifics on how that spec and its unique mechanic will function.

Harbinger had some good options in Shroud for pulling and punishing enemies when they are bunched up. I believe pistol 2 and 3 are good at punishing enemies if they are too close together as well.

haven't played enough Virtuoso to really know if they are a solid AoE profession. Great single target but thats what I recall.

[OliverIngram.8729]

52 minutes ago, rrusse.7058 said:

Catalyst seems like a good option for some large AoE damage options with hammer. granted Arenanet was still working on the specifics on how that spec and its unique mechanic will function.

Harbinger had some good options in Shroud for pulling and punishing enemies when they are bunched up. I believe pistol 2 and 3 are good at punishing enemies if they are too close together as well.

haven't played enough Virtuoso to really know if they are a solid AoE profession. Great single target but thats what I recall.

I am genuinely interested in both Harbinger and Catalyst but I heard both were very disappointing and Catalyst being much harder than Weaver. I hope that isn't true because I REALLY want to stick with being a mage.

[rrusse.7058]

4 hours ago, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

I am genuinely interested in both Harbinger and Catalyst but I heard both were very disappointing and Catalyst being much harder than Weaver. I hope that isn't true because I REALLY want to stick with being a mage.

Many players are worried about how each of the new specs play and some of the more dedicated players have been comparing benchmarks to HoT and PoF specs.

Give it some time. Let Arenanet work on balancing everything. They've obviously been listening to player feeddback and made serveral quality of life changes to both Catalyst and Harbinger alone. Also, let the community sink their teeth into rotations and optimization.

Look at Scrapper, that spec came out with HoT in 2015 and it wasn't until gyro reworks in 2019 and the recent Quickness changes that the spec is seeing more highend play outside of sPvP.

[Danikat.8537]

8 hours ago, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

I am genuinely interested in both Harbinger and Catalyst but I heard both were very disappointing and Catalyst being much harder than Weaver. I hope that isn't true because I REALLY want to stick with being a mage.

Bear in mind many of the people saying things like this will be looking at them strictly in terms of what utility they offer to groups in PvP, WvW and 'end game' PvE, so what you want from them will be very different.

 

I don't know if there are guides to choosing professions for solo PvE but they're all viable for playing that way so it's probably best to pick the one you like best and ignore what other people say about it. 

[ASP.8093]

14 hours ago, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

Which, it's not just EoD's specs, but just the previous expansions' specs as well, Chronomancer and Scourge/Reaper were the only three that I've played a lot of for the mages, didn't like Mirage and Tempest, while Weaver just seems way too much for such low reward so is why I was hoping EoD will bring something fun and new to the classes I prefer to play.

The trick with Weaver is that it's not actually much more complex than normal Elementalists. You just need to think of your attunement swaps a little differently. (The reward is all the extra dual skills that tend to make up for some weapon sets' shortfalls.) I honestly find it easier than regular Ele because you can swap so fast and there are a few standard "flows" for certain tasks.

 

14 hours ago, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

(honestly, just makes me wish there were more classes to choose from, three for each archetype, minus Priest, is a bit too small)

Stop thinking of the game's professions and specializations as just squished-down D&D/WoW class archetypes.

E.g. the "priest" you're looking for is… Firebrand. Pick up a Staff and maybe Mace/Shield (I prefer Axe/Shield for the extra CC, tho), strap on some Minstrel or Harrier armor… boom, you are the group's buffer and healer. You can also do this with Druid or Tempest very effectively. (Or, sorta, Scourge.)

With different gear and trait lines, that same Firebrand instead becomes an effective melee DPS.

Mesmers make very effective tanks in raid content. Specter introduces more "caster-y" stuff to thief. Reaper (as you probably know) is a big-hitting melee combatant. Professions don't fill just one role and they don't map all that cleanly to fighter/cleric/wizard/thief stuff from 45 years ago.

[Gibson.4036]

How did you play Renegade, power or condi? Because they prefer different weapons and different legend paired with Kalla, they feel quite different to me. The reason I ask, is that condi Renegade, shortbow/mace+axe, and Mallyx as your other legend seems to fit what you're desribing. Tons of sustain, high damage, very magical shooting your bow through portals and exuding purple doom around yourself. Between your charr spirit summons, bow that does AoE and pierces through targets, and Mallyx's purple aura of doom, there's ton of AoE output.

Same question could be asked for Mirage. How did you play it? Primarily Axe melee, or with Staff? Axe is the higher damage, but doesn't get that magical caster quality since you're zipping around your opponents. With staff, though, you're casting purpley magic blasts alongside your clones, and triggering the deception that does more damagey magic blasts. Not as high of a damage dealer, but a ton of survivability.

Overall, if you've tried all the specs, maybe go back through and see if there's a significantly different build for the same specs that might click.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Gibson.4036

[OliverIngram.8729]

2 hours ago, Gibson.4036 said:

How did you play Renegade, power or condi? Because they prefer different weapons and different legend paired with Kalla, they feel quite different to me. The reason I ask, is that condi Renegade, shortbow/mace+axe, and Mallyx as your other legend seems to fit what you're desribing. Tons of sustain, high damage, very magical shooting your bow through portals and exuding purple doom around yourself. Between your charr spirit summons, bow that does AoE and pierces through targets, and Mallyx's purple aura of doom, there's ton of AoE output.

Same question could be asked for Mirage. How did you play it? Primarily Axe melee, or with Staff? Axe is the higher damage, but doesn't get that magical caster quality since you're zipping around your opponents. With staff, though, you're casting purpley magic blasts alongside your clones, and triggering the deception that does more damagey magic blasts. Not as high of a damage dealer, but a ton of survivability.

Overall, if you've tried all the specs, maybe go back through and see if there's a significantly different build for the same specs that might click.

Really hard to say because well.. I just played it. Did what I usually did, but with just the E-spec weapon. Attack, dodge, kitten around.

[OliverIngram.8729]

8 hours ago, ASP.8093 said:

The trick with Weaver is that it's not actually much more complex than normal Elementalists. You just need to think of your attunement swaps a little differently. (The reward is all the extra dual skills that tend to make up for some weapon sets' shortfalls.) I honestly find it easier than regular Ele because you can swap so fast and there are a few standard "flows" for certain tasks.

 

Stop thinking of the game's professions and specializations as just squished-down D&D/WoW class archetypes.

E.g. the "priest" you're looking for is… Firebrand. Pick up a Staff and maybe Mace/Shield (I prefer Axe/Shield for the extra CC, tho), strap on some Minstrel or Harrier armor… boom, you are the group's buffer and healer. You can also do this with Druid or Tempest very effectively. (Or, sorta, Scourge.)

With different gear and trait lines, that same Firebrand instead becomes an effective melee DPS.

Mesmers make very effective tanks in raid content. Specter introduces more "caster-y" stuff to thief. Reaper (as you probably know) is a big-hitting melee combatant. Professions don't fill just one role and they don't map all that cleanly to fighter/cleric/wizard/thief stuff from 45 years ago.

I never said I was looking to play as a priest, and I wasn't thinking of the game's professions/specializations as D&D classes. You misread. I meant I was asking for what to play as when it came to more mage-y stuff that does high damage and AoEs. And the reason why I wish there were more classes is because, honestly, I miss GW1's classes that aren't in GW2, such as Ritualist, Dervish, Paragon, Assassin and Monk. I know, technically, three of them are in the game but it's not the same. It would be nice to have at least, 3 of them in the game since Ritualist can fit the light armour section, Dervish can fit the medium armour section and Paragon can fit the heavy armour section.

[AliamRationem.5172]

I don't know which weaver builds you've tried, so I'm not sure this will be helpful.  But here are a couple of open world weaver builds that I find highly effective:

Celestial Fire/Arcane 

Trailblazer Fire/Earth

For a cheaper alternative you can use Dire stats with Balthazar runes.

There is also a lot of flexibility with this build.  It will work with any condi-forward stat set, the utilities can be swapped out as needed, as can the sigils and you can take dagger offhand if you prefer.  It even works if you swap out the third trait line, although I think earth and arcane are your best options unless you're trying for a more hybrid setup (which can also work).

[taara.3217]

On 1/24/2022 at 5:09 AM, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

because I REALLY want to stick with being a mage.

If you really want to stick with being a mage I would advise you to listen AliamRationem opinion as, to my mind, one of the most experienced El player.

[taara.3217]

On 1/24/2022 at 3:09 AM, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

I have tried pretty much everything (but Warrior) but nothing really strikes me as fitting for me to play.

 

On 1/24/2022 at 5:09 AM, ArcanicBunny.7304 said:

because I REALLY want to stick with being a mage.

?

[Luthan.5236]

Try to find the game modes you like the most. And playstyles you like. Then check which class roughly feels the best. If i helps ... try first to rule out the ones you like the least.

Then for the better ones ... playing a bit around with different builds. I had the luck to play engineer back then in 2012 at release. Played it until end 2013. Then no GW2 at all ... returning June 2019 - and still engineer. (Compared to GW1 pretty unique. Most others have certain stuff that reminds of GW1. Skill names and stuff.)

Since I always preferred open world and achievementing and exploring - I had a bit of trouble. (Wrong play style - at first I found turrets to be "cool" but they are bad and not good for dps and too slow.) Got better with improving and the elite specs only made it better.

For certain I only know that I dislike elementalist and thief. (Squishy - and ele requires button smashing - switching between all attunements = feels like 4 weapons sets, I'm only used to 1 + kit or holoforge from engineeer lol. Thief requires using stealth permanently and avoiding/dodging. I prefer the blocking and stuff.)

My "2nd main" was the Mesmer - wanted to be able to port other players - if needed. (JPs and so on.) Found it fun to see different play styles. (Chrono pretty sturdy with a build recommended hear - ranged with greatsword and possible to avoid damage ... and getting heals from traits. Did not expect that at first though. Thought it would feel squishier long term.)

I guess ... it actually can be needed to stick with a class (force yourself at least to try it a bit longer - after getting annoyed/bored - using differnt builds and playing around!) for a bit longer - until you start to like it. Unless it is something where you totally say "not my playstyle" (like me with engineer and thief as described above).

Edited February 8, 2022 by Luthan.5236

[Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294]

6 hours ago, Luthan.5236 said:

Try to find the game modes you like the most. And playstyles you like. Then check which class roughly feels the best. If i helps ... try first to rule out the ones you like the least.

Then for the better ones ... playing a bit around with different builds. I had the luck to play engineer back then in 2012 at release. Played it until end 2013. Then no GW2 at all ... returning June 2019 - and still engineer. (Compared to GW1 pretty unique. Most others have certain stuff that reminds of GW1. Skill names and stuff.)

Since I always preferred open world and achievementing and exploring - I had a bit of trouble. (Wrong play style - at first I found turrets to be "cool" but they are bad and not good for dps and too slow.) Got better with improving and the elite specs only made it better.

For certain I only know that I dislike elementalist and thief. (Squishy - and ele requires button smashing - switching between all attunements = feels like 4 weapons sets, I'm only used to 1 + kit or holoforge from engineeer lol. Thief requires using stealth permanently and avoiding/dodging. I prefer the blocking and stuff.)

My "2nd main" was the Mesmer - wanted to be able to port other players - if needed. (JPs and so on.) Found it fun to see different play styles. (Chrono pretty sturdy with a build recommended hear - ranged with greatsword and possible to avoid damage ... and getting heals from traits. Did not expect that at first though. Thought it would feel squishier long term.)

I guess ... it actually can be needed to stick with a class (force yourself at least to try it a bit longer - after getting annoyed/bored - using differnt builds and playing around!) for a bit longer - until you start to like it. Unless it is something where you totally say "not my playstyle" (like me with engineer and thief as described above).

Try pistol/pistol deadeye.  You put one pistol in your main hand and one in the off-hand of your second weapon set, so when you weapon swap, you're still pistol pistol, but part of your initiative is refilled.  Basically let's you spam pistol 3 all day long.  Only time I use shadow step is when they have a missile reflect come up, I just shadow step away and wait for the reflect to time out.  Most of the time with the earth elementals around Pagga's way point in Malchor's Leap, I can mark them with my F1, and then spam unload fast enough that their missile reflect doesn't come up.

 

To the OP's point:  I still consider myself a warrior main, but, I run necro and revenant in raids, strikes, and fractals.  Because I find them really fun.  And I run the same raid build on my alac renegade in open-world PVE.  I used to really dislike my engineer until I found a scrapper build that was really fun, completely changed my outlook on engineer.  Now I like my scrapper more than my holosmith.  Rather than try to find a class that plays like you want, figure out your personality, and then build a character to play like that.  I'm the kind of person that tends to rush in and just start beating on everything - it's why I chose warrior to start with.  Guess what?  I have builds to do that on warrior, power reaper, scourge, scrapper, tempest, holo, renegade, herald, and chronomancer.

[Dawdler.8521]

17 hours ago, Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294 said:

Try pistol/pistol deadeye.  You put one pistol in your main hand and one in the off-hand of your second weapon set, so when you weapon swap, you're still pistol pistol, but part of your initiative is refilled.  Basically let's you spam pistol 3 all day long.  Only time I use shadow step is when they have a missile reflect come up, I just shadow step away and wait for the reflect to time out.  Most of the time with the earth elementals around Pagga's way point in Malchor's Leap, I can mark them with my F1, and then spam unload fast enough that their missile reflect doesn't come up.

Its fun when you can ping mobs with perma quickness and take them down in seconds one after another but you severly lack firepower vs larger groups of mobs.

[Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294]

4 hours ago, Dawdler.8521 said:

Its fun when you can ping mobs with perma quickness and take them down in seconds one after another but you severly lack firepower vs larger groups of mobs.

There is a trait that allows you to pierce, so you move around those groups and get them lined up so you are damaging more than one at a time.  Movement is important.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

Well, you haven't tried warrior yet, but axe/axe is pretty great melee AoE.