Mobile and versatile profession for a returning player

[Kinpatsu.7421]

Hi, I took quite a long break from gw2 (sometime around HoT). Firstly, I used to main guardian but changed to elementalist few months after the launch of the base game. I really liked the idea of highly mobile, complex class. The thing is - I want to try something different that still fits this description pretty well. I wanted to ask you guys for an opinion what professions should I try first - it would be great if you were kind enough to specify which specialization fits which role the best for a suggested profession. Nowadays I don't really have enough time to keep up with alts, I really wanted to just focus on a single character and master it in both PvE and PvP. Personally I thought about mesmer or thief but I really don't know how the game changed in the past expansions so I realize my knowledge is really limited here.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Kinpatsu.7421

[Ruisenior.6342]

I would suggest you those: Guardian-Spec Willbender/Thief-Any of its specs will fit here but personally i prefer the Specter/Necromancer-spec Harabinger

 

Guardian/Willbender:

      In terms of mobility I'll put this spec below thief. Willbender convert guardians virtues into dashes and removes the pasive effect of them, only apllying it for some seconds upon activation. They nerfed willbender flowing resolve f2 on pvp from 2 to only 1 charges cause it allowed them to avoid any risky situation, clearing alot of condis with ease and a unparalelled mobility, but still works really good on this mode.

   On pve its one of the best solo classes for openwolrd and in group content is a good dps that if needed can provide alacrity to the party (a well known and demanded boon 🙂).

Thief/Specter:

   This one is the most mobile spec of the game. All it's utility skills are dashes that cast a well upon reaching it's target.

   The stealing skill of thieves now allow them to enter on shroud form like necromancers providing 5 unique skills.

   On pve is quite easy to play and probably the strongest solo class at this moment (there is a trait that heals them up to 50% of its maximum life when they leave shroud), just presing your weapon skill number 3 to charge your life force and dealing damage, then enter shroud land your most damaging abilities and repeat.

   Specters also have acces to the alacrity boon.

Necromancer/Harbinger:

   My favourite. Harbingers no longer have a secondary life and damage reduction upon entering shroud form, instead they get a debuff/buff called blight that reduces their maximum life every second but grants them more power, also some skills benefit from having certain number of stacks of blight to consume them to upgrade some of your damaging skills. That translates into a fun aggressive high risk high reward playstyle. I'ts utility skills are elixirs that grant them powerfull boons, damage and blight management. 

   Necromancers used to be a slow/low mobile class, but now Harbinger changes this. On shroud form they have acces to 2 mobility skills, one is a dash that deals damage upon reaching your deestination and this damage is upgraded at certain blight treshold, and the other one is an evade that also damages and stuns upon landing. On shroud form they also gain acces to the most powerfull crowd controll skill that makes targets float on a big aoe for a long duration.

   On group content Harabingers can be a pure dps or a dps that provides quickness to the group.

 

If you have a booster you can try every spec for free

    

 

[Kinpatsu.7421]

27 minutes ago, Ruisenior.6342 said:

I would suggest you those: Guardian-Spec Willbender/Thief-Any of its specs will fit here but personally i prefer the Specter/Necromancer-spec Harabinger

 

Guardian/Willbender:

      In terms of mobility I'll put this spec below thief. Willbender convert guardians virtues into dashes and removes the pasive effect of them, only apllying it for some seconds upon activation. They nerfed willbender flowing resolve f2 on pvp from 2 to only 1 charges cause it allowed them to avoid any risky situation, clearing alot of condis with ease and a unparalelled mobility, but still works really good on this mode.

   On pve its one of the best solo classes for openwolrd and in group content is a good dps that if needed can provide alacrity to the party (a well known and demanded boon 🙂).

Thief/Specter:

   This one is the most mobile spec of the game. All it's utility skills are dashes that cast a well upon reaching it's target.

   The stealing skill of thieves now allow them to enter on shroud form like necromancers providing 5 unique skills.

   On pve is quite easy to play and probably the strongest solo class at this moment (there is a trait that heals them up to 50% of its maximum life when they leave shroud), just presing your weapon skill number 3 to charge your life force and dealing damage, then enter shroud land your most damaging abilities and repeat.

   Specters also have acces to the alacrity boon.

Necromancer/Harbinger:

   My favourite. Harbingers no longer have a secondary life and damage reduction upon entering shroud form, instead they get a debuff/buff called blight that reduces their maximum life every second but grants them more power, also some skills benefit from having certain number of stacks of blight to consume them to upgrade some of your damaging skills. That translates into a fun aggressive high risk high reward playstyle. I'ts utility skills are elixirs that grant them powerfull boons, damage and blight management. 

   Necromancers used to be a slow/low mobile class, but now Harbinger changes this. On shroud form they have acces to 2 mobility skills, one is a dash that deals damage upon reaching your deestination and this damage is upgraded at certain blight treshold, and the other one is an evade that also damages and stuns upon landing. On shroud form they also gain acces to the most powerfull crowd controll skill that makes targets float on a big aoe for a long duration.

   On group content Harabingers can be a pure dps or a dps that provides quickness to the group.

 

If you have a booster you can try every spec for free

    

 

Thank you for a very descriptive answer 🙂

To be fair, I didn't expect guardian nor necro to be mentioned in this thread, good thing I decided to ask cause I would probably never find out those professions can feel speedy nowadays. As far as I know those specializations comes from EoD - will I be able to test them out with my boost if I don't have an expansion yet?

Edited September 23, 2022 by Kinpatsu.7421

[Ruisenior.6342]

   You will need EoD for all the specs i mentioned... and if your planning to go through all content with one class I won't waste the boost without having tested every spec first. Ill post you here a video from one of the best content creators of gw2 that shows every spec from eod, take in mind that he doesnt explain the class, he just shows some interesting builds of those.

 

 

[Kinpatsu.7421]

7 minutes ago, Ruisenior.6342 said:

   You will need EoD for all the specs i mentioned... and if your planning to go through all content with one class I won't waste the boost without having tested every spec first. Ill post you here a video from one of the best content creators of gw2 that shows every spec from eod, take in mind that he doesnt explain the class, he just shows some interesting builds of those.

 

 

Oh okay, thanks for the resource. By the way, I wonder what happened with mesmer then? I was almost sure it will be mentioned - just being curious.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Kinpatsu.7421

[Ruisenior.6342]

  Mesmers, I cant argue for the state of chronomancer cause i did not play it at all, but mirage and virtuoso are two of my most used classes (the other 2 specs availeable for mesmer).

  In terms of movility they are okish but not the best. On pvp blink is almost mandatory and the best mobility/stun break skill for all mesmer specs. Mesmers are not that mobile but they are difficult to target cause the amount of tools they have, it's a combination of stealth/mobility/blocks&evades that makes them so elusive. They are more as a one trick pony that once you figure what they are doing you can read their burst and evade it.

    Virtuoso changes the ilusion mechanic so no longer generates those but instead when they use a phantasm or a clone skill they stock a blade on virtuosos head and they dissapear after finishing their action. Those blades can be staked up to 5 and then they are used/consumed all at one with the new shater mechanic called Blaldesong, F1 strike damage ability, F2 condi damage ability, F3 dazes, and F4 creates a shield around you that blocks attacks for a short duration and deals some aoe damage.

    This spec is really fun to play and so elusive on pvp thanks to the mentioned F4 shater skill, bladeturn refrain trait that grants them aegis upon using a bladesong, it's new utility skill blade renewal that grants them 3 seconds distortion plus 5 blades for their next burst and the rest of tools that all mesmers have like the stealth from torch, block from scepter skill 2 and blink to name some.

   Mirage replaces their evasion for a special dodge, they can be stationary while using it so even an enemy immovilizing them mirages still can perform their evasion. At the same time they get a new mechanic called ambush skills that can be performed while you are dodging. To use those skills you need to dodge and press your autoattack (skill n1 from any mainhand weapon) during dodge animation and they convert your autoatack on a powerfull skill. To name one that will interest you is the ambush skill of sword that makes you dash forward and daze your target, you can use it offensively or just for the mobility it grants. Take in mind that any source of distorion will grant you those frames to perform your ambush skill too, not only dodging so there are plenty of combinations to exploit this mechanic.

   This mechanic on mirages is so powerfull so only on pve you will have acces to 2 dodges, on wvw and pvp your dodge bar will be reduced to only 1.

Edit: i forgot to mention that mirage clones can perform the ambush skill also at the same time of yours if you have traited infinite horizon, thats specially powerfull on pve 🙂

 

I hope this will help you

Edited September 23, 2022 by Ruisenior.6342

[Kinpatsu.7421]

5 minutes ago, Ruisenior.6342 said:

  Mesmers, I cant argue for the state of chronomancer cause i did not play it at all, but mirage and virtuoso are two of my most used classes (the other 2 specs availeable for mesmer).

  In terms of movility they are okish but not the best. On pvp blink is almost mandatory and the best mobility/stun break skill for all mesmer specs. Mesmers are not that mobile but they are difficult to target cause the amount of tools they have, it's a combination of stealth/mobility/blocks&evades that makes them so elusive. They are more as a one trick pony that once you figure what they are doing you can read their burst and evade it.

    Virtuoso changes the ilusion mechanic so no longer generates those but instead when they use a phantasm or a clone skill they stock a blade on virtuosos head and they dissapear after finishing their action. Those blades can be staked up to 5 and then they are used/consumed all at one with the new shater mechanic called Blaldesong, F1 strike damage ability, F2 condi damage ability, F3 dazes, and F4 creates a shield around you that blocks attacks for a short duration and deals some aoe damage.

    This spec is really fun to play and so elusive on pvp thanks to the mentioned F4 shater skill, bladeturn refrain trait that grants them aegis upon using a bladesong, it's new utility skill blade renewal that grants them 3 seconds distortion plus 5 blades for their next burst and the rest of tools that all mesmers have like the stealth from torch, block from scepter skill 2 and blink to name some.

   Mirage replaces their evasion for a special dodge, they can be stationary while using it so even an enemy immovilizing them mirages still can perform their evasion. At the same time they get a new mechanic called ambush skills that can be performed while you are dodging. To use those skills you need to dodge and press your autoattack (skill n1 from any mainhand weapon) during dodge animation and they convert your autoatack on a powerfull skill. To name one that will interest you is the ambush skill of sword that makes you dash forward and daze your target, you can use it offensively or just for the mobility it grants. Take in mind that any source of distorion will grant you those frames to perform your ambush skill too, not only dodging so there are plenty of combinations to exploit this mechanic.

   This mechanic on mirages is so powerfull so only on pve you will have acces to 2 dodges, on wvw and pvp your dodge bar will be reduced to only 1.

 

I hope this will help you

You're awesome, thank you for explaining that throughoutly. I've never once thought that entire untouchability of mesmers is an outcome of way more things than just mobility. I'm definitely going to try out all 3 specs you've mentioned in the first answer (maybe mirage too cause it sounds really intriguing). You've actually made me reconsider rolling necro even though I've always evaded playing it 😅

[Ruisenior.6342]

With that I'll finish.

Mesmer probably is one of the most difficult professions to start with, but they also have some of the most powerfull builds of the game for any game mode. The easier of them is mirage on pve, specially with the staff/staff build (check mettabatle pve mirage build) that performs good on any pve content and on pvp wvw roaming but on those 2 modes i use to replace one staff for a torch/sword for mobility or axe/torch for damage (you will need to work also on traits here looking for more distortion uptime on pvp modes). On pvp you will have to get used to, specially having only 1 dodge makes it more difficult to perform but here distortion is your best friend 🙂 

Harbingers are so easy to learn and they are truly monsters, Anet had to nerf them but they still perform good on any content. Their Elixir Elite is probably the most broken skill of the game that grant them and their party if traited all boons at max (they nerfed 25might stacks to 10 and still op) and aplies 1 stack of every condition to the enemy 🤣

Specter is the easier spec for thieves and probably the best well rounded of the thief specs, being a mix of damage/support class that has lots of mobility and they dont rely that much on stealth like other thief specs.

Willbender is a straight forward class that requires to press alot of buttons fast that has a flashy playstyle with plenty of teleport and dashes.

You will have to use his virtues depending on the situation, take in mind that using a virtue overwrites the last passive effect (you can only have 1 of them active) and this effect is granted after using the virtue and will last some seconds. The F1 is mainly used to go in and apply a burst combo, F2 cleaneases condis and evades, and F3 will grant you aegis and stability. To proc it's effects you will need to hit 5 attacks so you will have to use your virtue and then using your best multihit skills there to proc the passive plenty of times, so every 5th attack you will get the bonus proc(f1burns,f2heals,f3 grants the boons i mentioned).

Edited September 23, 2022 by Ruisenior.6342

[Avatar.3568]

Since No one brought it Up, Play revenant, or more detailed, Shiro Herald.

Rev has a pretty high Skill ceeiling, esp in PvP and is a Very fun class to Play, it has its own gameflow and rythm that is very enjoyable and satisfying to execute. But prepare to die a Lot at the Benning, at least in PvP. Its very mobile With 2 Ports, has a Big burst and you Press a Lot of buttons

I found myself Last year entering With rev, after over 10k PvP Matches on Ranger. I feeded the First Few Matches but It went pretty good after a while.

In pve you can easily Play quickness DPS and in PvP the build is pretty similar.

 

[the krytan assassin.9235]

I'd say in general the professions have become alot more versatile and mobile after HoT. All professions are able to fulfill multiple roles in instanced PvE content. Quickness and Alacrity have become widely available and are normally continuously provided in PvE which results in faster paced combat (and shorter cd on your mobility skills). On top of that most professions have gotten atleast 1 more PvP focused elite spec across the xpacs which generally have more access to blocks/mobility/invulnerability/crowd control. 

You can pick whatever profession you like, they are all able to fulfil your criteria. 

[Cuks.8241]

Might not be the top dog right now but Revenant is highly mobile and bursty (power, double sword, shiro legend) and decent on complexity. Its also very versatile. You name it, rev can do it.

The profession also has this unique flow that just feels right once you get to know it. 

[Kinpatsu.7421]

On 9/23/2022 at 8:49 PM, Avatar.3568 said:

Since No one brought it Up, Play revenant, or more detailed, Shiro Herald.

Rev has a pretty high Skill ceeiling, esp in PvP and is a Very fun class to Play, it has its own gameflow and rythm that is very enjoyable and satisfying to execute. But prepare to die a Lot at the Benning, at least in PvP. Its very mobile With 2 Ports, has a Big burst and you Press a Lot of buttons

I found myself Last year entering With rev, after over 10k PvP Matches on Ranger. I feeded the First Few Matches but It went pretty good after a while.

In pve you can easily Play quickness DPS and in PvP the build is pretty similar.

 

On 9/25/2022 at 1:59 AM, Cuks.8241 said:

Might not be the top dog right now but Revenant is highly mobile and bursty (power, double sword, shiro legend) and decent on complexity. Its also very versatile. You name it, rev can do it.

The profession also has this unique flow that just feels right once you get to know it. 

Sorry for late response, thank your for another great recommendation. I will certainly try revenant too 😊

Edited September 27, 2022 by Kinpatsu.7421

[Kinpatsu.7421]

On 9/23/2022 at 11:11 PM, the krytan assassin.9235 said:

I'd say in general the professions have become alot more versatile and mobile after HoT. All professions are able to fulfill multiple roles in instanced PvE content. Quickness and Alacrity have become widely available and are normally continuously provided in PvE which results in faster paced combat (and shorter cd on your mobility skills). On top of that most professions have gotten atleast 1 more PvP focused elite spec across the xpacs which generally have more access to blocks/mobility/invulnerability/crowd control. 

You can pick whatever profession you like, they are all able to fulfil your criteria. 

The more I read and learn about professions the more worried I am about not having enough time to try out everything I find interesting 😅

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

You're undoubtedly looking for Thief. Extreme mobility, powerful melee and ranged builds, and S-tier support (they're one of only two support classes in the game that can heal while invisible). Their only weakness is they're not good at handling multiple enemies at once.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Mariyuuna.6508

[Kinpatsu.7421]

35 minutes ago, Mariyuuna.6508 said:

You're undoubtedly looking for Thief. Extreme mobility, powerful melee and ranged builds, and S-tier support (they're one of only two support classes in the game that can heal while invisible). Their only weakness is they're not good at handling multiple enemies at once.

Can you clarify this: 'Their only weakness is they're not good at handling multiple enemies at once.'? I do realize thiefs don't have an option to handle big waves of enemies with the use of AoE but I thought it's definitely possible to manage such encounters by using CC in a smart way and focusing enemies in a proper order thanks to high mobility the profession offers. What's more, what about cleave damage? I've never tried thief but I expected it to have an access to such abilities.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Kinpatsu.7421

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

1 hour ago, Kinpatsu.7421 said:

Can you clarify this: 'Their only weakness is they're not good at handling multiple enemies at once.'? I do realize thiefs don't have an option to handle big waves of enemies with the use of AoE but I thought it's definitely possible to manage such encounters by using CC in a smart way and focusing enemies in a proper order thanks to high mobility the profession offers. What's more, what about cleave damage? I've never tried thief but I expected it to have an access to such abilities.

Every other class has massive AoE skills, some are even themed completely around it (e.g Ranger and Dragonhunter traps), and their weapons with a few exceptions are generally set up to burst down large numbers of enemies too, with rifles usually being the single-target option but still offering piercing damage.

 

Its hard to explain but Thief weapon skills and utility skills are both heavily set up to be "utility", so you can do things like leap and port around, blind enemies or go invisible, but not much in the way of "just blow them all away", like, say, Firebrand's axe+torch combination. It can be done, but its alot more tedious and requires energy management. An example would be the rifle in Deadeye, which doesn't pierce on every attack, or their daggers, which need them to do a clunky evade over enemies (and sometimes off cliffs), to do heavy cleaving and damage.

 

On my Elementalist all of my skills hit every enemy I'm fighting, setting them on fire while healing and buffing me at the same time, so I can mow down entire packs of enemies with relative ease with a combination of AoE damage and sustain. There's no need to pick anything out since I can  just destroy them all completely. I don't need to go into stealth or use any kind of tricks to protect myself either since my offense is also my defense.

 

This is something very difficult to pull off on Thief because their defense is a lead-in to offense, not combined with it, and its possible to waste both of them entirely in bad or overwhelming situations. Sometimes you just need to get rid of everything, not strategically snipe them down one by one.

 

That said, for single targets Thieves are ace, especially when they go guns akimbo (pistol/pistol and rifle). Clustered fights against adds require more specialised builds (staff does the best here, I think).

Edited September 27, 2022 by Mariyuuna.6508

[Kinpatsu.7421]

2 hours ago, Mariyuuna.6508 said:

Every other class has massive AoE skills, some are even themed completely around it (e.g Ranger and Dragonhunter traps), and their weapons with a few exceptions are generally set up to burst down large numbers of enemies too, with rifles usually being the single-target option but still offering piercing damage.

 

Its hard to explain but Thief weapon skills and utility skills are both heavily set up to be "utility", so you can do things like leap and port around, blind enemies or go invisible, but not much in the way of "just blow them all away", like, say, Firebrand's axe+torch combination. It can be done, but its alot more tedious and requires energy management. An example would be the rifle in Deadeye, which doesn't pierce on every attack, or their daggers, which need them to do a clunky evade over enemies (and sometimes off cliffs), to do heavy cleaving and damage.

 

On my Elementalist all of my skills hit every enemy I'm fighting, setting them on fire while healing and buffing me at the same time, so I can mow down entire packs of enemies with relative ease with a combination of AoE damage and sustain. There's no need to pick anything out since I can  just destroy them all completely. I don't need to go into stealth or use any kind of tricks to protect myself either since my offense is also my defense.

 

This is something very difficult to pull off on Thief because their defense is a lead-in to offense, not combined with it, and its possible to waste both of them entirely in bad or overwhelming situations. Sometimes you just need to get rid of everything, not strategically snipe them down one by one.

 

That said, for single targets Thieves are ace, especially when they go guns akimbo (pistol/pistol and rifle). Clustered fights against adds require more specialised builds (staff does the best here, I think).

I understand, thank you for your clarification. It sounds like a thief offers interesting approach towards battling enemies requiring a player to blend standard rotation with a clever use of utilities it provides.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Kinpatsu.7421