Choosing profession (Ele, Mesmer, or Necro)

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

So I'm returning to the game after having not played pretty much since way before it went f2p. I'm starting all over from scratch, leveling with a buddy who is rolling thief.

 

I'm trying to decide which class would work for me out of Elementalist, Necromancer, and Mesmer, and I'm not sure how to determine which would be the best to focus on and main. I will make alts of course, but I want to pick one and get really good with it. I do like the option of playing support, but not a requirement. I don't want something faceroll (not that it's bad, just not my style). I like a challenge, but at the same time, I want the challenge to be rewarding. I will be doing all types of content (probably WvW the least if that changes the answer).

 

Thanks in advance for any help on this. I feel like I sit at the character screen and just go back and forth.

[Infinity.2876]

Necro is generally like playing gw2 on easy mode

Elementalist is Faceroll fest(until you get good, after that it's actually really fun)

I suggest for you mesmer out of these three as it's challenging but still easy enough that you don't feel like your useless. you can get chronomancer elite spec for support and you will generally get called on in Wvw zergs for your alacrity. 

 

But ultimately the choice is up to you to decide. you can be good at any of the professions if you get experienced enough.

 

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

May I ask what you mean by it’s faceroll until you get good? And which has the higher ceiling out of ele and Mesmer?

[iKeostuKen.2738]

Cele Ele. Can be useful for all elite specs. Takes skill to master and when you do master it you are very effective.

Tempest - Amazing Support

Weaver - Amazing Duelest

Catalyst - Combo fields and Skill spammy. Elite resets all your attainment cooldowns on a 60 second cooldown.

[The Boz.2038]

If you want to make PvE grovel at your feet, take Necromancer. Reaper and Scourge are the most comfortable professions for approaching any enemy in PvE confident that you can take them on. Downside is that their built-in sustain can't be opted out of, and they pay the price for not being the best at anything in the endgame formats. Harbinger attempts to fix this somewhat, but eh.

If you want to play a class that switches from piano multi-combo to press-1-to-faceroll, while still retaining multiple avenues for best-in-slot builds in endgame PvE, take take Mesmer. Mirage and Chronomancer have great damage, ginormous team utility, a lot of QoL features, etc., without being a nightmare to play (except in, like, one or two builds). The new Virtuoso is a pure DPS beast.

If you want to suffer, cry yourself to sleep, have nightmares about unsyncing your swaps with your skills, spend most of your time in open world PvE in downstate, and despair at never being allowed to be the best at anything in spite of all the hoops you go through to make things happen, take Elementalist. There are some builds that alleviate some of the issues, but it is generally hard to play.

[ZDragon.3046]

Because you've played before honesltly you should be able to pick up any of the three and do just fine. 

If you were brand new I wouldnt recommend starting with ele due to how fragile it is and how it works. However if you played ele at all in the past and got some what use to it then its fine if you want to play it again as it still mostly focuses around attuement swapping. 

 

Necro is by far the easiest because it offers the most survivability of the 3 light armor classes and its the selfish dps (reaper and to some extent harb) meaning its damage even when alone is pretty solid compared to alot of other options however if core necro is your only options depending on which expansions you have i would not recommend it for open world as core necro really lacks damage ramp speed in open world and feels slugish (its fine in pvp though if you do that)

 

Mesmer is the best middle ground choice as your phantoms and clones can sometimes draw attention for you while you do your own thing. The damage is solid and its got good ranged options and a decent melee weapon. If you have any eleite spec options chrono and virtuoso are good and fairly easy to pick up and have fun with. Mirage is a bit different though and might be a bit confusing at first and take some time to get use to.

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

So I am at level 17 or so at this point on elementalist. I’m liking it so far. I can tell I’m squishy but at least while leveling, it does seem like I hit hard. Now whether that continues into endgame, I have no clue. 
 

I prefer to have a challenge over something easy. I’d rather have the potential in a class if that makes sense. My question is if I get good with ele will the results show it? Like is it going to be garbage no matter how I do?

 

If not and I’m able to stick with ele, am I better off leveling using d/d or staff, or both? I saw where it said staves are better for groups because yeah a lot of the stuff is AoE, but technically I’m in a group with a thief. I’ll very rarely be solo, so I wasn’t sure which would be better in the long run. 

[ASP.8093]

I think Mesmer is a good fit for a Thief buddy because you're both working under similar constraints — you need to use a bit of finesse and active evasion, and your class is just a little bit behind-the-curve til you hit 80 and get full exotic-quality gear. Your clones will help both of you survive, and your Focus pulls will significantly improve your friend's ability to clear trash mobs using Sword or Shortbow. Both of you have stealth and teleports, so you can teach each other all the little tricks as you learn them.

But, of course: anything you choose will be fine. When you're playing GW2 co-op style, one of the most important things you bring is your own enthusiasm. Game-mechanical synergy is not as important as your sense of personal commitment and enjoyment of your time with your friend.

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

I like elementalist so far, but am I going to be in a worse spot with ele at 80 than mesmer or necro?

[ASP.8093]

1 hour ago, Matt.1938 said:

So I am at level 17 or so at this point on elementalist. I’m liking it so far. I can tell I’m squishy but at least while leveling, it does seem like I hit hard. Now whether that continues into endgame, I have no clue. 
 

I prefer to have a challenge over something easy. I’d rather have the potential in a class if that makes sense. My question is if I get good with ele will the results show it? Like is it going to be garbage no matter how I do?

 

If not and I’m able to stick with ele, am I better off leveling using d/d or staff, or both? I saw where it said staves are better for groups because yeah a lot of the stuff is AoE, but technically I’m in a group with a thief. I’ll very rarely be solo, so I wasn’t sure which would be better in the long run. 

Staff is very slow. Its best application is in WvW, where dropping big pulsing nukes at range has the highest value.

If you want a slightly faster ranged playstyle, try Scepter/Focus or Scepter/Dagger. Dragon's Tooth is really strong, you get some nice defense and CC, there are a lot of nice little burst combos.

Dagger/Dagger is great if you like zooming around toe-to-toe. As a melee-ish set, it has better cleaving (multi-target damage) on auto-attacks.

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

3 minutes ago, ASP.8093 said:

Staff is very slow. Its best application is in WvW, where dropping big pulsing nukes at range has the highest value.

If you want a slightly faster ranged playstyle, try Scepter/Focus or Scepter/Dagger. Dragon's Tooth is really strong, you get some nice defense and CC, there are a lot of nice little burst combos.

Dagger/Dagger is great if you like zooming around toe-to-toe. As a melee-ish set, it has better cleaving (multi-target damage) on auto-attacks.

Okay good to know. I like the play style in general but just don’t want it to be all for “nothing” and it preform crappy compared to necro or Mesmer once I hit 80

[ZDragon.3046]

4 minutes ago, Matt.1938 said:

I like elementalist so far, but am I going to be in a worse spot with ele at 80 than mesmer or necro?

You may need to define what you consider a worst spot to us if you want answers to that question. It will also depend on the elite options avalible to you. If you only have the core base game ele can do fine imo Mesmer can also do fine at level 80 with just the base profession. 

 

Despite necro being my main and my fav class core base necro at level 80 this day and age will fall off pretty hard at 80 especially if you are using like a minion master build or something like that. If you have elite spec options then hitting level 80 and unlocking the full base profession is just the tip of the iceberg as some like to say. 

[Jski.6180]

Necro is easy mood ele is hard mood mez is kind of in-btween.

 

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

Okay I have all of the expansions so I know the base class will just be for leveling. So knowing that I have all of the elite specializations available, how do they fare 

[ZDragon.3046]

30 minutes ago, Matt.1938 said:

Okay I have all of the expansions so I know the base class will just be for leveling. So knowing that I have all of the elite specializations available, how do they fare 

If you have all the expansions once you hit level 80 and unlock the full base profession (all the traitlines and utility types) you can start unlocking an elite spec and honestly all of them give you pretty good options. 
Even ele has some builds you can play that are simple but effective and low impact if you hands need a break. (or so i think with the simple overload tempest play style)
Necro is the easiest after level 80 with elites like reaper giving you the best selfish dps pic of the three and offering decent sustain. Harbinger becomes more glassy like mesmer but also does really good selfish dps or quickness boon support (which you can still use selfishly if you want) 

Mesmer offers chrono which is kind of just an upgrade to core mesmer... become a 1 man clone/phantom shatter army (i still find it fun to play from time to time) and virtuoso turns it into even more of a caster that changes the clones into blades you can fire at your enemies.

If you have all the expansions honestly you have a lot of good choices at least 2 or 3 easy to medium choices per base profession. Don't stress about them falling off at 80 if you have elite options open to you. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by ZDragon.3046

[ASP.8093]

33 minutes ago, Matt.1938 said:

Okay I have all of the expansions so I know the base class will just be for leveling. So knowing that I have all of the elite specializations available, how do they fare 

Not an expert here, but IME, as far as endgame PvE goes:

Tempest — the heal/cleanse god, also has an easy-mode starter DPS rotation.

Weaver — think-ahead hard mode rotation; you will get very mad at the forced movement of Sword, though.

Catalyst — big-brain hard mode rotation with lots and lots of little stacking buffs to manage, the payoff is big DPS and a bunch of free boons as well.

(For what it's worth, I thought Ele was an annoying class until I learned WvW Weaver. The Weaver's approach to attunement just works better with how I think about stuff, even if it's a bit harder on paper.)

Edited May 5, 2022 by ASP.8093

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

4 minutes ago, ZDragon.3046 said:

If you have all the expansions once you hit level 80 and unlock the full base profession (all the traitlines and utility types) you can start unlocking an elite spec and honestly all of them give you pretty good options. 
Even ele has some builds you can play that are simple but effective and low impact if you hands need a break. (or so i think with the simple overload tempest play style)
Necro is the easiest after level 80 with elites like reaper giving you the best selfish dps pic of the three and offering decent sustain. Harbinger becomes more glassy like mesmer but also does really good selfish dps or quickness boon support (which you can still use selfishly if you want) 

Mesmer offers chrono which is kind of just an upgrade to core mesmer... become a 1 man clone/phantom shatter army (i still find it fun to play from time to time) and virtuoso turns it into even more of a caster that changes the clones into blades you can fire at your enemies.

If you have all the expansions honestly you have a lot of good choices at least 2 or 3 easy to medium choices per base profession. Don't stress about them falling off at 80 if you have elite options open to you. 

Not to TLDR it or anything because I did read it, but I do like the different play styles. I don’t like sticking with one build and that being it. However, I’m more curious to know do any of them in general (necro, Mesmer or ele) with their elite specializations included give me a big downside or anything with any content? I’m trying to figure out if I go Ele for example, I know it’s hard but if I need to be “ready to suck at xxxxx content”. I don’t mind swapping builds or having specific builds tied to specific content. I just want to know that the hard work of playing a tougher profession is going to pay off. If I’m playing good ele but someone playing Mesmer while mes isn’t faceroll and it’s a little tougher but if someone’s over there mowing stuff down while I’m over here sweating (hyperbolic but you get what I mean) and not even doing close to the damage, support, etc then it’s not worth it 

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

1 hour ago, ASP.8093 said:

Not an expert here, but IME, as far as endgame PvE goes:

Tempest — the heal/cleanse god, also has an easy-mode starter DPS rotation.

Weaver — think-ahead hard mode rotation; you will get very mad at the forced movement of Sword, though.

Catalyst — big-brain hard mode rotation with lots and lots of little stacking buffs to manage, the payoff is big DPS and a bunch of free boons as well.

(For what it's worth, I thought Ele was an annoying class until I learned WvW Weaver. The Weaver's approach to attunement just works better with how I think about stuff, even if it's a bit harder on paper.)

Thank you for the breakdown on each of those. I like having the options. How do they stack up in the various content?

[ZDragon.3046]

1 hour ago, Matt.1938 said:

Not to TLDR it or anything because I did read it, but I do like the different play styles. I don’t like sticking with one build and that being it. However, I’m more curious to know do any of them in general (necro, Mesmer or ele) with their elite specializations included give me a big downside or anything with any content? I’m trying to figure out if I go Ele for example, I know it’s hard but if I need to be “ready to suck at xxxxx content”. I don’t mind swapping builds or having specific builds tied to specific content. I just want to know that the hard work of playing a tougher profession is going to pay off. If I’m playing good ele but someone playing Mesmer while mes isn’t faceroll and it’s a little tougher but if someone’s over there mowing stuff down while I’m over here sweating (hyperbolic but you get what I mean) and not even doing close to the damage, support, etc then it’s not worth it 

That is kind of dependent upon you at that point and how much you like a specific class or play style. 

Because each base profession has 3 elite specs you certainly will have different play styles open to you upon reaching 80 and unlocking them that is a promise at that point. 

As far as down sides yes but they are also kind of dependent some what on you. For example ele in general can be far more difficult to play in pvp than necro or mesmer in most peoples opinion which can be seen as a down side. This does not necessarily mean you cant play it there or that you will have a hard time it will depend upon you at that point.

Most have a good selection of builds to choose from and you can even modify those builds to fit your personal preference while still being effective. 

in terms of damage currently i believe the new ele and new mesmer elites are doing better dps than necro's harbinger elite which is easier to play. That said not every elite spec is built where the work put into it will necessarily mean doing more damage than one that is lower impact. You also must consider that some times low impact is not a bad thing as it helps you focus on looking out for other things like mechanics that might down you or cc you. 
Honestly we can only give you tips and suggestion based on our own experience and general game knowledge the other part will be up to you to play each profession a bit and see what you like and what you dont.

Some people play the harder or tougher support or dps options simply because they like the class i would suggest not trying to worry about how the effort you put in measures up to other lower effort options right now this early on. 

Only you can decide how much effort you want to put in and what you enjoy playing. Keep an eye out when you see other ele, necros, and mesmers to see how other players are playing them. Maybe something about one of them or the elites will catch your eye and make you curious about it regardless of how hard or easy it is to play.

Edited May 5, 2022 by ZDragon.3046

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

11 minutes ago, ZDragon.3046 said:

That is kind of dependent upon you at that point and how much you like a specific class or play style. 

Because each base profession has 3 elite specs you certainly will have different play styles open to you upon reaching 80 and unlocking them that is a promise at that point. 

As far as down sides yes but they are also kind of dependent some what on you. For example ele in general can be far more difficult to play in pvp than necro or mesmer in most peoples opinion which can be seen as a down side. This does not necessarily mean you cant play it there or that you will have a hard time it will depend upon you at that point.

Most have a good selection of builds to choose from and you can even modify those builds to fit your personal preference while still being effective. 

in terms of damage currently i believe the new ele and new mesmer elites are doing better dps than necro's harbinger elite which is easier to play. That said not every elite spec is built where the work put into it will necessarily mean doing more damage than one that is lower impact. You also must consider that some times low impact is not a bad thing as it helps you focus on looking out for other things like mechanics that might down you or cc you. 
Honestly we can only give you tips and suggestion based on our own experience and general game knowledge the other part will be up to you to play each profession a bit and see what you like and what you dont.

Some people play the harder or tougher support or dps options simply because they like the class i would suggest not trying to worry about how the effort you put in measures up to other lower effort options right now this early on. 

Only you can decide how much effort you want to put in and what you enjoy playing. Keep an eye out when you see other ele, necros, and mesmers to see how other players are playing them. Maybe something about one of them or the elites will catch your eye and make you curious about it regardless of how hard or easy it is to play.

 

Then I think I'll stick with ele as I am enjoying it so far. It's just hard to tell if I'm playing it right other than the simple Air to Fire combo  which I am doing often. I also like the ability that water gives to heal us a bit (it's definitely better healing if I use the staff as opposed to the d/d but I do lose damage it seems using the staff which I understand the tradeoff). 

[ZDragon.3046]

10 minutes ago, Matt.1938 said:

 

Then I think I'll stick with ele as I am enjoying it so far. It's just hard to tell if I'm playing it right other than the simple Air to Fire combo  which I am doing often. I also like the ability that water gives to heal us a bit (it's definitely better healing if I use the staff as opposed to the d/d but I do lose damage it seems using the staff which I understand the tradeoff). 

just keep at it and see what works but yes fire and air are generally your go to for doing damage some times earth as well. Water is for healing and sustain but in some rare cases can offer some damage. You may end up liking weaver once you get to 80 as it lets you combo elements together by being attuned to 2 of them at once.  while tempest lets you focus and kind of overcharge a single element. Catalyst i cant speak on too much because ive not messed with it almost at all but im sure others can help you if you get interested in that.

[Cuks.8241]

Dont fret about profession to much. Its mostly about what you like. 

For the pve end game, right now, ele is probably the least versatile of those but that doesnt mean its bad. 

Alts are easy to make in gw2. If you intend to play long term you will soon have many. And all of those are same armor type so if you get ascended gear, its interchangable. 

[ASP.8093]

18 minutes ago, Cuks.8241 said:

Alts are easy to make in gw2.

In particular, if you've had your account for a while, make sure you go through your characters and open any birthday presents they may receive — in addition to serious good free dyes, you will get level-up scrolls that instantly bring you up to levels 20/30/40/50/60.

So once you've got a bit of money and your account isn't totally fresh, you can often set up a fully endgame-ready alt in about an hour.

(Not counting the 18 hours it takes to get their face and outfit perfect.)

[Loboling.5293]

All three classes have viable ways to enjoy all game modes. For ele, your greatest challenge will likely be PvP. In wvw they are fine for groups and excellent for roaming. They are very strong in PvE once you get the hang of it. Kind of hilariously fun once you get it down. As for PvP, you'll need to practice the longest, but I find my favorite playstyle with ele in PvP is staff support tempest. That's actually where their support build shines compared to the other two. 

 

So for PvP enjoy support tempest.

 

For wvw roaming, your best bet is condi weaver

 

For wvw zerg, you'll probably want staff anything. But hammer catalyst can work too I believe.

 

And for PvE, stick with catalyst for groups and weaver for solo. Tempest, like others have said, allows for an easier time, but less damage.

 

In this game, no matter what anyone says, you can succeed with any class. Ele is one of the hardest classes, but once mastered can excel anywhere. But in competitive settings, you'll be at a slight disadvantage in 1v1 until you're really good. So support is best to learn and play around with. (Plus it's the most fun support spec in the game imo)

 

Good luck with your ele. If you want a more ranged focus, give Mesmer a try and necro is just op, but gets boring. Mesmer is at least fun long-term. So I'd try chronophantasm memser in open world if you want a change of pace that's still fun and interesting.

 

Necro is still fun, but it's a bit linear. A great alt imo. 

[SourPatchBruhs.5142]

42 minutes ago, Loboling.5293 said:

All three classes have viable ways to enjoy all game modes. For ele, your greatest challenge will likely be PvP. In wvw they are fine for groups and excellent for roaming. They are very strong in PvE once you get the hang of it. Kind of hilariously fun once you get it down. As for PvP, you'll need to practice the longest, but I find my favorite playstyle with ele in PvP is staff support tempest. That's actually where their support build shines compared to the other two. 

 

So for PvP enjoy support tempest.

 

For wvw roaming, your best bet is condi weaver

 

For wvw zerg, you'll probably want staff anything. But hammer catalyst can work too I believe.

 

And for PvE, stick with catalyst for groups and weaver for solo. Tempest, like others have said, allows for an easier time, but less damage.

 

In this game, no matter what anyone says, you can succeed with any class. Ele is one of the hardest classes, but once mastered can excel anywhere. But in competitive settings, you'll be at a slight disadvantage in 1v1 until you're really good. So support is best to learn and play around with. (Plus it's the most fun support spec in the game imo)

 

Good luck with your ele. If you want a more ranged focus, give Mesmer a try and necro is just op, but gets boring. Mesmer is at least fun long-term. So I'd try chronophantasm memser in open world if you want a change of pace that's still fun and interesting.

 

Necro is still fun, but it's a bit linear. A great alt imo. 

 

Yeah, Mesmer will probably be my next class. I'm enjoying ele right now just trying to get the hang of when to swap to which attunement and how to combo everything together.