new to the game need help picking a DPS class

[wellhead.1659]

i dont care about who tops the charts now nerfs change everything.  i just want a non ranged class that  people want for endgame pve... i have searched each class forums and they are all 95% negative threads  about there own class. .  please list DPS classes only because i never been much good at support. ty in advance for your answers

[AliamRationem.5172]

42 minutes ago, wellhead.1659 said:

i dont care about who tops the charts now nerfs change everything.  i just want a non ranged class that  people want for endgame pve... i have searched each class forums and they are all 95% negative threads  about there own class. .  please list DPS classes only because i never been much good at support. ty in advance for your answers

Almost any class/spec can produce viable DPS.  If you aren't being picky just choose whatever melee build looks like fun to you.  My personal favorite is condi weaver.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

The damage you do is really about the gear that you wear and different traits you pick.  The DPS in this game usually wear Berserker (strike) or Viper (conditions) gear.  Nearly every profession can use both to great effect on at least 1 build.  So, if I were to give a short breakdown of each, in no particular order.

 

• NECROMANCER: Dagger main-hand is good with strike type damage.  The scepter is more for condi.  For elite specs, Reaper is the go-to melee spec, which can run both but generally go with strike damage.  The other two elite specs (Scourge, Harbinger) are largely condition based.
• MESMER: They have only two melee weapons, the sword, and the axe.  Sword is strike damage, while the axe is condition based and exclusive to the Mirage elite spec.  The other two specs (Chronomancer, Virtuoso) can both run strike builds with sword.
• ELEMENTALIST:  This is... one of the more complicated professions.  At core they have the dagger, which is a hybrid between the two damage types.  The elite specializations with melee weapons are weaver (uses sword, hybrid damage) and the catalyst (uses hammer, mostly strike damage).
• ENGINEER: They use special utility weapons called Kits.  The elite specializations all have their own melee weapons.  Holosmith has sword, Scrapper has Hammer, Mechanist has Mace.  Sword and Hammer are strike, while the Mace is a hybrid weapon.  However, all engineers have access to the Tool Kit (fights with a wrench, strike) and the Bomb Kit (mostly strike but some condi).
• THIEF: Thieves get the Sword (strike) and the Dagger (hybrid).  The only elite specialization that gets a melee weapon is the Daredevil, which gets a staff (strike).
• RANGER: Not gonna lie, I don't know much about rangers.  They do get sword and greatsword for melee weapons, and for their elite specs they do get Dagger (hybrid, I think) and Hammer (strike).
• GUARDIAN: They have... a lot.  Sword, Mace, Greatsword, Hammer, and the elite spec Firebrand gets an Axe.  Due to how the Guardian works, all of their weapons are hybrid weapons, though generally you'll see Axe go with the Vipers set.
• REVENANT: Revs get the Sword, Staff, and Mace, while the elite spec Vindicator gets a Greatsword.  All are strike based, except for the mace which is condi based.
• WARRIOR: They have the most.  Mace, Sword, Axe, Greatsword, Hammer, Dagger with the Spellbreaker elite spec.  All are power, except for the Sword which is condition based.  Though I can't lie: Warriors are not well liked in end-game PVE right now.  

[SlayerXX.7138]

One Quirk Gw 2 has is the boon dps. A Quickness scrapper for example is the hammer wielding elite spec of engineer. You do sacrifice some damage to provide the boon quickness. Which isn't really a support, you just spawn utility while you have team mates around. Uses the Diviner gear. Something like that increases the chance to find i spot while being dps. Generally speaking people aren't that picky about dps. You probably need to unlock a elite spec to get  "viable" Dps/boon dps.

While thief has sword as a Power DPS weapon it is not viable option in PvE group content. Core thief in general is really bad for PvE group content. So you run probably the elite spec with the corresponding weapon.

I would recommend ENGINEER Scrapper specifically.

Snow crow links: Benchmarks dps and rotations are absolute maximum so no pressure emulating that 100%, there just for comparison sake. Quickness build loses 8k(34k/26k) dps but its more or less the same gameplay you just give quickness around you. People like Quickness and alacrity. 

https://snowcrows.com/builds/engineer/scrapper/power-scrapper

https://snowcrows.com/builds/engineer/scrapper/power-quickness-scrapper

 

[SexyMofo.8923]

Warriors are the best class. 

[Sarius.9285]

literally every class has a good dps build.

 

My favorite is warrior with either Berserker or Bladesworn

[Sarius.9285]

7 hours ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

Warriors are not well liked in end-game PVE right now.  

sure they are, if you join as DPS and do decent dps, no one complains

[SuavePuppy.2809]

A disclaimer: you say non-ranged but ranged weapons also work just as well in melee range, but here are a couple.

 

Engineer: The Mechanist elite spec is very strong. You can run a power build with rifle as your weapon. It's very easy to play. You can also run a condition build with mace/pistol. It's a little more involved than the power build. Mechanist is also very flexible if you want to branch out into support builds later down the line.

 

Ranger: Soulbeast is a strong elite spec right now, especially with a power build. You can run dual axes with a choice between three strong weapons on your weapon swap: Longbow, Greatsword, and Warhorn. 

 

Guardian: Firebrand and Willbender are both strong condition classes. Firebrand will have you running axe/torch and a scepter on weapon swap. Firebrand is another flexible spec that can branch out easily into other builds. Willbender uses the scepter/torch as well, but with a sword instead of an axe. 

 

Revenant: Renegade has a condition build that brings mace/axe and a shortbow on weapon swap. 

 

Warrior: Power Bladesworn uses axe/pistol and does big damage with the class' gunsaber feature.

[eXruina.4956]

don't play warrior. 🙂

[IAmNotMatthew.1058]

Soulbeast is good for Power and Condi DPS alike, fairly easy to learn as well.
Engineer has many options as well, Scrapper and Holo for Power. Mechanist for Power and Condi. Scrapper has a fairly simple rotation with the added benefit of being able to provide Quickness and Superspeed. Holo is overall fun. Mechanist is just easy to play.

11 hours ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

Warriors are not well liked in end-game PVE right now.  

Berserker and Bladesworn are still strong in the Power DPS role.