What's a good class for someone who loves the caster archetype?

[Acantha.8634]

Hey all

 

So I'd like to give this game a shot but after playing most professions the first few levels I'm doubting as of what to play. 

 

I mostly am the priest kind of guy so later on druid seems like it would be a good fit, but I also like to solo in open world and it seems druid isn't as good at that. Also to get to level 80 I'd need to play the core prof first, and I see ranger is more a melee oriented class than it is an archer with a bow. 

 

Elementalist especs seem to not be viable when using staff, while it is the only weapon that looks interesting to me. 

 

The only other option would be staff mesmer and later into mirage since it seems like a mage who uses deceptive sorcery.

 

Any tips on what would be a good fit for someone like me to tickle that sorcerer or healer/support kind of feel while still being viable when I'm on my own? Or mayby any corrections about stuff I said wrong? Please let me know! 

[SlipLihte.1307]

A few thoughts,

 

Firstly, I want to preface by saying that there is a major profession update launching next week Tuesday. While we have some indicators (and more are coming later today), that update could drastically change how certain specs play, so any answer given now could be outdated in a week. It might be worthwhile to hang on until the dust settles to finalise your choice.

 

That being said however,

 

As a left field suggestion, I think you should take a look at Firebrand, which is a Guardian elite spec. Guard is probably the most versatile spec out there at the moment, with a lot of good damage and support builds, as well as a few inbetween. The thing about FB that might tickle you is the use of the three tomes, one for offense, one for healing, and one for defense. Combined with a weapon set of staff - scepter/torch, you would have a good mix of ranged spellcasting abilities and damage. Great for groups, but with a few adjustments, easily capable of handling things solo. I know guard is probably not the traditional thought when it comes to spellcaster, but I can actually see this working. If you have a guard, perhaps go to the PvP lobby to play around with the spec a bit and see if it feels like what you want? Just remember that some skills work very differently in the PvP lobby, so it's not a going to feel the same in PvE.

 

Other than that, I recently made and plaid mesmer quite extensively, and agree that it could be a viable option. Staff mirage is also used in instanced PvE to provide alacrity to groups. It's not the best in slot spec, but perfectly playable.

 

On the ele side, I tend to agree with you. Ele works and feels best when it's weaving into and out of close range combat. Staff is ok, but you will need to sacrifice a utility and elite skill to summon elementals to soak damage while you pew-pew from afar, and I don't think is going to be as useful as you would want.

[Rokeb.3815]

Necromancer/Scourge is a good option.  It is a caster class that *feels* like a caster. 

Your main weapon will be scepter - unlike say Reaper where you really play a melee class with a 2 handed sword.  

Scourge is great solo in the open world and for the story and works well as a support class as well (look up "heal scourge")

 

When you are leveling a necromancer you'll tend to focus more on 'power' builds and weapons/skill rather than conditions, simply as conditions don't work well until higher levels.  It will however still feel like a 'caster class' - and you'll be able to use weapons like scepter, dagger, staff, focus, and warhorn - all of which you might use as a Scourge.  The special weapon for Scourge is an off hand torch, which I do really like, but it doesn't really change how the class works or feels. 

 

 

 

 

[voltaicbore.8012]

I second @SlipLihte.1307's suggest to try guardian.

Despite being a heavy armor class, it doesn't really operate like a heavy armor paladin from other games. Instead, it relies on more 'mystical' abilities to do whatever it does (damage, healing, and even tanking hits). It also can make use of a staff + scepter/focus build, which is quite a mage-ly setup if you ask me. A lot of damage and buffing is related to holy symbols you cast on the ground, adding a bit to the mage feel of things.

More importantly, guardian is among the best classes to solo things on. Elementalist was clearly meant to be the mage archetype, but I never suggest that to a new person looking to solo stuff. Compared to other classes, I believe ele takes much more engagement with the combat system than other classes (especially guardian) to pull off more dangerous solos.

Necromancer is also a fine suggestion, but I feel like it leans a bit harder into the "death" aesthetic than it does the whole "scholar-mage" one.

[Khisanth.2948]

IMO anyone who clings tightly to those sort of class stereotypes are going to have a bad time in GW2. Even more so if they also care about the performance of their characters.

[Jimbru.6014]

If you want a traditional boomy mage type caster and also like playing healer type support, Tempest is a great option. It has good weapon options (I use scepter/warhorn + staff), its Overload mechanics are both blasty and easy to understand, and its shouts and healing abilities give it plenty of both soloing sustain and group support.

Another caster type that works well and uses a staff is the mesmer. Staff mesmer and mirage builds are some of the dead easiest in the game for soloing, and they have buffs for group support as well with their autoattack, Chaos Vortex (alacrity!) and Chaos Storm.

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Jimbru.6014

[Endaris.1452]

There is no real caster archetype, for most classes it's more like "casting stuff from range and then get into a brawl".

That is usually supported by most classes being able to wield 2 weaponsets so you can plan your weaponsets around your engage so most ones would run 1 ranged and 1 melee or 2 melee weaponsets (or a ranged weaponset that just gets used at melee range anyway).

 

The classes that can stay ranged for a longer amount of time in solo open world PvE is limited to "pet" classes that can send in their own minions or pets for distraction while firing from afar.

The classes suitable for that are the ranger (innate pet), the necromancer (summoning minions) and the mesmer (summoning clones).

Personally I feel like the mesmer is the closest to a caster feeling because it has 2 1200 range weapon sets it can alternate inbetween (not just staff but also greatsword!) and it possesses innate defensive mechanisms on the staff weaponset with the phantastic Phase Retreat (blinking away from your target while creating a clone at your original location).

Because of the clones being the least persistent kind of "shoving stuff into the enemy phase" it has a fairly dynamic playstyle even at range and you're not generally locked into GW2s fairly terribly pet AI which is the biggest advantage over ranger to be fair.

 

Mesmer also happens to be one of the more powerful core classes with access to many boons including a high personal uptime on quickness with the illusions traitline which is unique among core classes. It is also one of the core classes that supports several more "distinct" playstyles with good cross synergy in their traitlines to try many different things (and with success!)

[myrek.9436]

Sounds like you have similar tastes to myself. I struggled to find a mage class that felt right and played well. But Firebrand feels like a cleric purifying the lands. And it's great for open world once you learn how to play it and equip it properly.

[Cynder.2509]

Elementalist kinda feels like a classic mage. Especially when you played mages in the Elder Scrolls series. 
But necro is also good if you like its theme. 

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

18 hours ago, Acantha.8634 said:

Hey all

 

So I'd like to give this game a shot but after playing most professions the first few levels I'm doubting as of what to play. 

 

I mostly am the priest kind of guy so later on druid seems like it would be a good fit, but I also like to solo in open world and it seems druid isn't as good at that. Also to get to level 80 I'd need to play the core prof first, and I see ranger is more a melee oriented class than it is an archer with a bow. 

 

Elementalist especs seem to not be viable when using staff, while it is the only weapon that looks interesting to me. 

 

The only other option would be staff mesmer and later into mirage since it seems like a mage who uses deceptive sorcery.

 

Any tips on what would be a good fit for someone like me to tickle that sorcerer or healer/support kind of feel while still being viable when I'm on my own? Or mayby any corrections about stuff I said wrong? Please let me know! 

Remember that you can have two equipment sets on each character and three builds, and you can quickly switch between these by using the little arrow icon above your weaponswap button.

 

For Druid, you can play Condi Trapper Druid (with Trapper runes), in open-world. Its not as good as it used to be but its still pretty decent and tanky when they take Trailblazer gear or something. Due to buildswapping you can run Harrier when playing in groups, usually with Staff & Spirits, using Cele trinkets outside of raids for some sustain.

 

Soulbeast is also a pretty good healer, because the support role is built into Core Ranger.

 

For Ele, HealShout Tempest (also known as Auramancer, though that doesn't always refer to healing) is viable with Staff, Dagger/Warhorn or Sceptor/Warhorn, depending on if you need to play melee or ranged, respectively. This is one of the most powerful support specs in the game, and it can solo without any changes on Marshal+Cele gear. It also provides Might, Fury, Swiftness, Protection, Regeneration and Vigor on this build, ample reflects and cleanses as well.

 

For Staff, traditionally a full support role is used, often by camping Water/Earth, since it has direct healing and access to good revives (some of the best in the game). It is the backup healer of choice in raids and other high-level content. Catalyst can take Staff and provide many boons as well, including Quickness.

 

In an upcoming update you'll be able to trade HealShouts on Tempest for Alacrity boon.

 

Mirage is an extremely strong support as well. When built for 100% Boon Duration they provide high uptime on Might and Alacrity (one of the rarest and most powerful boons in the game), while also bringing a good amount of Aegis and mid-level healing through illusion summoning and Restorative Mantras, along with cleanse and Stability.

 

Necro can be built as one of the strongest full supports in the game, known as Mercy Scourge. This game is rare in that the "dark aesthetics" often represent some of the greatest heroes.

 

If none of this made sense to you, don't worry! You'll learn it very quickly, and the wiki covers all of it as do many videos on YouTube, etc. Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing any builds, although you'll already find alot of them on MetaBattle and similar sites.

 

Start here: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Boon

Edited June 25, 2022 by Hannelore.8153

[Ashantara.8731]

19 hours ago, Acantha.8634 said:

I mostly am the priest kind of guy so later on druid seems like it would be a good fit

Not really. Druid is very static and doesn't provide much variety, either.

I would recommend Guardian instead, which is a lot more versatile and mobile. You can play various roles.

If you are into healing-only, the Engineer is a much better choice than Ranger Druid as well.

Edited June 25, 2022 by Ashantara.8731

[SamuelW.2685]

I'm interested in this too, I made a post awhile back asking what casters are good with staff from a open world PvE and Strikes perspective. 

After reading some replies I got told there's really no good "traditional" mage in GW2, and further research on my end backed up what people said. Ele seems to be a meme that requires twice as much effort for the same amount of payoff, and its staff is sucky and is supposedly locks you in place a lot. 
There's not a traditional caster, the closest thing from my research would be something like condi Mesmer with a staff, but Mesmer is more of a Illusionist anyway, the skills on staff are all about Chaos and stuff like that, it reminds me of Tzeentch from Warhammer.

My advice is to just pick your 2nd favourite architype, and hope to god the patch on the 28th makes Ele less of a meme in PvE. Or just play Mesmer, if that's your thing.

Edited June 25, 2022 by SamuelW.2685

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

3 hours ago, SamuelW.2685 said:

I'm interested in this too, I made a post awhile back asking what casters are good with staff from a open world PvE and Strikes perspective. 

After reading some replies I got told there's really no good "traditional" mage in GW2, and further research on my end backed up what people said. Ele seems to be a meme that requires twice as much effort for the same amount of payoff, and its staff is sucky and is supposedly locks you in place a lot. 
There's not a traditional caster, the closest thing from my research would be something like condi Mesmer with a staff, but Mesmer is more of a Illusionist anyway, the skills on staff are all about Chaos and stuff like that, it reminds me of Tzeentch from Warhammer.

My advice is to just pick your 2nd favourite architype, and hope to god the patch on the 28th makes Ele less of a meme in PvE. Or just play Mesmer, if that's your thing.

You're thinking "mage" archtype I guess. Staff+Mantra Firebrand definitely fits into the "caster" archtype, in fact I'd say its the closest the game has to a traditional spellcaster. Prior to the change to the mantras they even used to recite battle spells with casting circles, but that's been removed for faster gameplay.

 

There's very little difference from a cleric or priest except that it wears heavy armor, which means very little when you have 10k of health anyway. Rev however is closer to a paladin on multiple e-specs.

 

Also like I said in my above post, Staff+Mantra Mirage is similar in gameplay to FB.

 

Ele was always closer to the traditional warlock; overwhelming numbers of skills , high damage (at least in the beginning), and a high skill cap from "piano" style gameplay. I mained Ele for many years, its the strongest class in the game when properly played and is 100% worth it, even on Staff (4-6k AoE Fireballs).

 

Don't let people fool you over slightly lower DPS benchmarks in a single high-level content type.

Edited June 25, 2022 by Hannelore.8153

[Acantha.8634]

Wow thanks for the many replies guys!

 

So I'm leaning towards a few specs now: Staff Mirage & Heal FB.

Scourge has too much of the death theme I'm not that interested in, and ele would be another contender which I might give a shot in the future but I don't like many builds I see and the fire skills, I'm more interested in a mage that shoots lightning bolts and spells from far away to do damage, and not use them just when the need arises for the utility.

 

• So I have a few questions: 

1. For group content staff + Axe/shield heal FB are considered best I've seen, is that right?
2. Which weapon sets are recommended in open world content when going solo with FB?
3. And ginally as for ele, anyone has some links to a good build for group content aswell as a good one for OW, using staff only? And would it hurt to leave the fiery GS elite out? Because even though it's a magicql weapon you summon just to swing a few times, I'm not much into the conjuring style and would rather focus on just casting spells.