General overviews aren't doing it for me - help me find a class that fits my playstyle.

[Juicy.8905]

Hey you all!!

I've been wanting to give this game a fair try so, knowing I'm not a fan of making alts, I want to be sure about my choice.

 

The issue is, my kind of play-style is not very common:

I'm very group oriented, and on that note, really enjoy playing into a group dynamic. Really like being the support-enabler kind of role; I don't really care about doing the most damage or doing the most healing, but I like being the one that enables these things to happen - either by positioning the boss or by being the one that takes responsibility of most mechanics or being the one to cheese stuff or leading the damage with a lot of meaningful buffs.

 

If I were to point at other mmos,

FFXI (For those who have played it)

 Bard, Corsair, Red Mage & SMN (with sub Whm)

FFXIV
Astrologian (The buffs feel most impactful on AST and most proactive), Paladin and Warrior (I started to really enjoy moving bosses in that game, especially in ultimate)

Haven't played WoW so can't compare with that 😞

 

Looking at Mobas, I really enjoy Lulu (from lol) and Io (dota 2)

 

Hope I was clear enough in my explanation.

I'm not sure if GW2 offers anything like this (not looking for a direct 1-to-1 gameplay, just a general feel and class fantasy), the fact that it advertised itself as an anti-trinity threw me off for a while, but seeing Preach's recent video on the raid prompted me to give it another try for realsies.

[draxynnic.3719]

I might need to think on it a bit more when it's a better time local and I haven't just made a big post, but my gut feeling is leaning towards ranger or revenant. Both have strong support builds, but also have the capability to take care of certain mechanics - druid in particular is a common pick for a number of boss mechanics. Mesmer might also be worth considering for portal and other mesmer-specific utility, and guardian is often capable of dealing with a mechanic through a well-timed stability or aegis. All of the above except ranger can also put up a projectile blocking bubble, which can substantially reduce the pressure in some fights, and mesmer and guardian can bring projectile reflection bubbles which are essential for a mechanic in one fight.

Positioning is usually handled by tanks, which in my recent experience is usually a firebrand (guardian) or mechanist (engineer), but chronomancer (mesmer) can probably still do the job.

[Beddo.1907]

GW2 breaks the roles into dps and support, unlike other MMO that also have a tank. (there are some encounters where there is tanking mechanic, but it's not common) There is also no original class buffs (or rather not anymore), so usually it's split between being quickness or alacrity dps/support, meaning there is no advantage in buffs.

If you want an "enabler" then probably Guardian or Mesmer. Both have team utility that other classes can't do and varied builds so you can take any role. Other than those two, Engineer or Revenant might fit into your playstyle.
 

[Buran.3796]

  I would say Guardian, specifically Firebrand spec. Hard to argue vs the only class able to instantly provide 5 stacks of stability to your allies, plus aegis, plenty of cleanses and every situational tool outside teleports and boon corruption (bubbles to block projectiles, or even wall to reflect them, AoE cleanses, heals and protection... ). It can also deliver plenty ogf quickness if you want to perform a more offensive role... Another alteranative is Engineer/Mechanist.

[Firebeard.1746]

So the thing that's difficult about what you're saying you want to do is that there's so many different roles in the different raids. two of your stated goals are contradictory, you like being a support and you like being an enabler. There's a lot of roles that the supports are specifically kept off because it ruins group DPS (see W2 sloth shrooms). The best I can come up with is perhaps being a tank on the bosses that require them. I think healbrand is probably the best pick because it has actual blocks for encounters like Deimos, but Druid is another option on encounters that require tanks but have no 1-shot mechanics. Chrono tank could work too and I think would work on most encounters where an HB is used, but chrono isn't really considered meta right now, though you'd get another encounter where you're "special": escort. 

 

My vote is for guardian or mesmer, learning how to tank in raids. Outside raids you could be heal support or boon DPS support on either. 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Firebeard.1746

[Atomnium.1532]

As others said, Mesmer or Guardian probably.  Mesmer is more of a 'Has many unique tools that are invaluable but situational' like make your entire group stealthed (This is a commonly used strat on the hardest boss in the game for example), or provide portals to create shortcuts for others.

Guardian is more of the regular Paladin, supporting through offensive and defensive buffs. The only elite spec that really specializes in that support aspect is the firebrand which is probably one of the most versatile specs in the game, you can lean in damage, different types of supporting, even healing and tailor the benefits you want to provide to the party you have.

Now healers are kind of special in GW2 because of the fact that targetting heals is not really a thing, healers generally abandon almost all of their damage potential for providing both heals AND buffs, so if you really want a support, you should probably look into Druid (Ranger), Firebrand (Guardian), Mechanist (Engineer). I'd argue that Scourge (Necromancer) could be in that list but it's a very weird support that very little people welcome eventho it makes any and all content trivial through unique support capabilities. (Lots of barriers and unrivaled capacity to raise people from downstate)

Edited February 26, 2023 by Atomnium.1532

[draxynnic.3719]

10 hours ago, Atomnium.1532 said:

As others said, Mesmer or Guardian probably.  Mesmer is more of a 'Has many unique tools that are invaluable but situational' like make your entire group stealthed (This is a commonly used strat on the hardest boss in the game for example), or provide portals to create shortcuts for others.

Guardian is more of the regular Paladin, supporting through offensive and defensive buffs. The only elite spec that really specializes in that support aspect is the firebrand which is probably one of the most versatile specs in the game, you can lean in damage, different types of supporting, even healing and tailor the benefits you want to provide to the party you have.

Now healers are kind of special in GW2 because of the fact that targetting heals is not really a thing, healers generally abandon almost all of their damage potential for providing both heals AND buffs, so if you really want a support, you should probably look into Druid (Ranger), Firebrand (Guardian), Mechanist (Engineer). I'd argue that Scourge (Necromancer) could be in that list but it's a very weird support that very little people welcome eventho it makes any and all content trivial through unique support capabilities. (Lots of barriers and unrivaled capacity to raise people from downstate)

Largely because scourge's main strength is rescuing players from the consequences of mistakes, and a lot of players tend to imagine that their group is going to function perfectly despite any and all evidence to the contrary. Having a support scourge may be a DPS loss, but not as much of one as having a player dead... and in most cases a small increase in the time to kill is much better than a wipe.

[Acanthus.8120]

Given how you like mage-y type supports (or enchanters in league's case), you'll probably be most satisfied running Mesmer (either Chronomancer or staff Mirage) or Elementalist (Tempest). Elementalist in particular can main heal in raids (anytime you see the acronym HAT, it means Heal-Alacrity-Tempest) and is one of the 3 most common healers, while Mesmer has far less requirements on APM and can handle break bars like a champ, but would be far more likely to fall under dps support. It also specializes in Alacrity, though Chrono can flex quickness if I remember correctly.

Outside of those two, the other 2 most common supports are Guardian (Firebrand), which plays more like a tank support that also heals (more Taric than Lulu) and Engineer (Heal-Alacrity-Mechanist), which I know little about because I dislike engineer, but basically plays like if Yorick's maiden provided shields and cdr to the team while you pewpew.

[garkos.2973]

Your description fits to chrono (mesmer) and firebrand (guardian)