Just Returned, wanna start from scratch - need class advice ^^*

[Disglin.7540]

Hey guys!

I just returned to GW2 after a long time. I want to restart the game from scratch starting with the base game. But (as always) I have troubles choosing a class.
I prefer classes that can do damage and/or support/heal. My preferred game modes are (solo) open world and WvW.

After researching I think Mesmer, Ranger, Necromancer or Engineer could fit well.

 

I like the diversity of Mesmer and especially the Phantasms and the new Elite Spec.
Ranger was my first ever class, and the "Pokemon" mechanic is also supper appealing to me. Moreover, it seems it is finally a viable class for zerging, which is kinda important for me. 
Necromancer was my main for years, I love the support and condi builds it brings with it.
Engineer, looks super fun, especially with the new spec, the diversity here is also once again extremely appealing to me.

In short which of the classes is the most diverse ones, that can be good in PVE and WvW 🙂

Which of the classes would you recommend?

Edited April 10, 2023 by Disglin.7540
made question more specific

[Gaiawolf.8261]

Of your picks, I would say mesmer. It's an iconic GW profession that offers several unique, fun, diverse playstyles. The concept and lore are really cool too. You can play with the tropes, like a charr bard. LOL. Each of the elite specs offers something new, except possibly mirage which doubles down on the evasive/opportunity attack aspects of the core spec, and its still my favorite class for the profession.

From the others, engineer is quite fun and diverse too. The concepts are cool, the skills/kits are fun, and the utility top-notch.

Necromancer and ranger I have less experience with, but they are safe picks with plenty of built in survival, and utility/support come based on build.

If your core goals are for versatile build options that can do damage and/or support/heal, you might also want to consider guardian, specifically firebrand. For years it's been shouted as OP for its versatility in those areas. Even with the recent rework and nerfs, it's still arguable top of that list, and all but required in wvw zergs. As long as the concept and playstyle fits your interest.

All the classes above are very strong in solo play, with guardian, engineer, and mesmer having the the best zerg support, probably in that order. Some necro builds can zerg very well too with boon rips and corruptions, or support. Rangers generally excel at roaming. These are general traits, and some builds can cross the lines.

[Joxer.6024]

9 hours ago, Disglin.7540 said:

Hey guys!

I just returned to GW2 after a long time. I want to restart the game from scratch starting with the base game. But (as always) I have troubles choosing a class.
I prefer classes that can do damage and/or support/heal. My preferred game modes are (solo) open world and WvW.

After researching I think Mesmer, Ranger, Necromancer or Engineer could fit well.

 

I like the diversity of Mesmer and especially the Phantasms and the new Elite Spec.
Ranger was my first ever class, and the "Pokemon" mechanic is also supper appealing to me. Moreover, it seems it is finally a viable class for zerging, which is kinda important for me. 
Necromancer was my main for years, I love the support and condi builds it brings with it.
Engineer, looks super fun, especially with the new spec, the diversity here is also once again extremely appealing to me.

In short which of the classes is the most diverse ones, that can be good in PVE and WvW 🙂

Which of the classes would you recommend?

You are me in a nutshell!!! I too came back a bit ago after 5 yrs, and am struggling to find a class that "fits" My main, or first, is Necro, but I too find Mesmer intriguing and different. My issue is the dodging on Mirage, i cant get my head around the not moving out of the bad aspect of it. I have a SB\Untamed, and it is quite strong, both open and WvW roaming, which I dabble in. Give a look at Lord Hizen on youtube, he has just about every class for open and his builds are strong as. With a bit of tweaking they can fit right into WVW as well!  To me I keep rolling classes based on dang race, just cant settle on one. Wish we had race rerolls in this game....lol. But yea, the suggestions above are strong. I didnt care  for FB much as the low HP in open bothers me and to me it feels like a lot of micro  managing, which for most isnt an issue but my 61yr brain needs simples...  😉

Good luck!! 

Oh, and lets not leave out Engi, or actually Mechanist. Its a beast...period. But I found it sometimes too simple and everyone and their uncle has a mech running around which kinda ruins immersion for me...is this just Mech Wars?  😉 But it just might be your thing.

Edited April 11, 2023 by Joxer.6024

[Misterbrady.2167]

I recommend making all of these.  Go to the pvp lobby.  There, everything is unlocked and you can test any build you want.  There are even golem/target dummies to parse on if that's your thing.

[Disglin.7540]

3 hours ago, Joxer.6024 said:

You are me in a nutshell!!! I too came back a bit ago after 5 yrs, and am struggling to find a class that "fits" My main, or first, is Necro, but I too find Mesmer intriguing and different. My issue is the dodging on Mirage, i cant get my head around the not moving out of the bad aspect of it. I have a SB\Untamed, and it is quite strong, both open and WvW roaming, which I dabble in. Give a look at Lord Hizen on youtube, he has just about every class for open and his builds are strong as. With a bit of tweaking they can fit right into WVW as well!  To me I keep rolling classes based on dang race, just cant settle on one. Wish we had race rerolls in this game....lol. But yea, the suggestions above are strong. I didnt care  for FB much as the low HP in open bothers me and to me it feels like a lot of micro  managing, which for most isnt an issue but my 61yr brain needs simples...  😉

Good luck!! 

Oh, and lets not leave out Engi, or actually Mechanist. Its a beast...period. But I found it sometimes too simple and everyone and their uncle has a mech running around which kinda ruins immersion for me...is this just Mech Wars?  😉 But it just might be your thing.

Haha, I feel yo so much! 
No idea how much I invested in character slots because, but a necro asura would also be nice! 

[Disglin.7540]

2 hours ago, Misterbrady.2167 said:

I recommend making all of these.  Go to the pvp lobby.  There, everything is unlocked and you can test any build you want.  There are even golem/target dummies to parse on if that's your thing.

thank you, I try it out ^.^

[Avatar.3568]

if you want to do dmg and support you should go with Ele, especially tempest can do both, equipt with celestial gear you can basicly do everything

[Disglin.7540]

14 hours ago, Gaiawolf.8261 said:

Of your picks, I would say mesmer. It's an iconic GW profession that offers several unique, fun, diverse playstyles. The concept and lore are really cool too. You can play with the tropes, like a charr bard. LOL. Each of the elite specs offers something new, except possibly mirage which doubles down on the evasive/opportunity attack aspects of the core spec, and its still my favorite class for the profession.

From the others, engineer is quite fun and diverse too. The concepts are cool, the skills/kits are fun, and the utility top-notch.

Necromancer and ranger I have less experience with, but they are safe picks with plenty of built in survival, and utility/support come based on build.

If your core goals are for versatile build options that can do damage and/or support/heal, you might also want to consider guardian, specifically firebrand. For years it's been shouted as OP for its versatility in those areas. Even with the recent rework and nerfs, it's still arguable top of that list, and all but required in wvw zergs. As long as the concept and playstyle fits your interest.

All the classes above are very strong in solo play, with guardian, engineer, and mesmer having the the best zerg support, probably in that order. Some necro builds can zerg very well too with boon rips and corruptions, or support. Rangers generally excel at roaming. These are general traits, and some builds can cross the lines.

Thank you very much for the feedback! 

I think I will level a mesmer and ranger at the same time until I can decide 🙂
In case I want to switch back to necro I still have to lvl 80 ones lying around :3 

[Disglin.7540]

5 hours ago, Avatar.3568 said:

if you want to do dmg and support you should go with Ele, especially tempest can do both, equipt with celestial gear you can basicly do everything

Are Eles still so squishy? I tried it out once and got one shot in the HOT areas ^^*

[Dayra.7405]

6 minutes ago, Disglin.7540 said:

I think I will level a mesmer and ranger at the same time until I can decide

In the end you want all 9 classes (at least once 🙂) at 80 anyway. 🙂

5 minutes ago, Disglin.7540 said:

Are Eles still so squishy? I tried it out once and got one shot in the HOT areas ^^*

It isn't a good beginner/rejoiner class, you need active defense to stay alive. How squishy it is also depends on your gear, with celestial it isn't that squishy (so a good class for a lvl 80 booster, as that one gives celestial 🙂 )

Edited April 11, 2023 by Dayra.7405

[AintGold.5128]

6 minutes ago, Disglin.7540 said:

Are Eles still so squishy? I tried it out once and got one shot in the HOT areas ^^*

HOT have it's own rules. But Ele with Cele stats is quite tanky, Weaver or Cata, can't say nothing for tempest, cuz didn't played yet. Weaver with it's lots of barrier if traited correctly and Catalyst is a bruiser-like espec with hammer, self healing and orb mechanic that gives you passive bonuses. And also special boon just for this espec that increases your stats.

[Disglin.7540]

24 minutes ago, Dayra.7405 said:

In the end you want all 9 classes (at least once 🙂) at 80 anyway. 🙂

It isn't a good beginner/rejoiner class, you need active defense to stay alive. How squishy it is also depends on your gear, with celestial it isn't that squishy (so a good class for a lvl 80 booster, as that one gives celestial 🙂 )

 

12 minutes ago, AintGold.5128 said:

HOT have it's own rules. But Ele with Cele stats is quite tanky, Weaver or Cata, can't say nothing for tempest, cuz didn't played yet. Weaver with it's lots of barrier if traited correctly and Catalyst is a bruiser-like espec with hammer, self healing and orb mechanic that gives you passive bonuses. And also special boon just for this espec that increases your stats.

 

Thank you very much you two! 🙂
I will definitely keep Ele in mind!

[draxynnic.3719]

Based on your parameters - going mesmer and ranger probably isn't a bad combination. Mesmer doesn't (currently) really have a good heal support build, but it has a range of offensive and utility support tools. Ranger will come in with druid for heal support and alacrity. Both have good damage options.

Rounding out your options in the future could involve finding a quickness profession, especially if you're considering branching out into group PvE at some point. Chronomancer (mesmer) and harbinger (necromancer) can do this, but... they're not exactly favoured for the job. Firebrand (guardian) and herald (revenant) are probably the best for the role at the moment, although scrapper (engineer) is close enough that if you're drawn more to the engineer profession, that isn't a bad choice. All three have options to provide stability as well, which is an important component of support in WvW.

 

23 hours ago, AintGold.5128 said:

HOT have it's own rules. But Ele with Cele stats is quite tanky, Weaver or Cata, can't say nothing for tempest, cuz didn't played yet. Weaver with it's lots of barrier if traited correctly and Catalyst is a bruiser-like espec with hammer, self healing and orb mechanic that gives you passive bonuses. And also special boon just for this espec that increases your stats.

Another thing worth considering with cele elementalist is that unlike other professions whose weapons tend to be clearly designed for either power or condition damage, elementalist weapons tend to always bring a mix of power damage and condition damage, mostly burning and bleeding. This means that elementalist tends to lose less DPS than other professions by going for celestial over glass, since regardless of your weapon, there are generally no stats that you're not benefiting from.

That said, I probably wouldn't recommend it for a new player. Cele firebrand is probably a better starting point if someone wants to get both damage and support out of the same build. Alacrity tempest also has a pretty tight application radius, although if you're more focused on just healing and go with an Elemental Bastion tempest instead, this would be less of an issue. 

[prototypedragon.1406]

Prioritize boons that is all 😉

[MarzAttakz.9608]

Think armor and weapon synergies for later when you have account bound gear that can be shared - Ascended and later Legendary.

Out of the light armor classes Ele is most versatile in my opinion: All three elites in Celestial are viable open world, Tempest is supportive, Catalyst is tanky, Weaver is damage. In WvW zergs you're going to want specialist gear for each role but can still function well enough in Celestial. Elementalist does come with a learning curve.

Necro, and more specifically Harbinger works with Celestial best in both open world and solo or small-scale in WvW. Scourge and Reaper you're going to want to be more damage orientated in WvW.

Mesmer, well perhaps Celestial Virtuoso for solo and small-scale in WvW, Chrono you want power damage, and Mirage you want condition damage. Open world staff/staff Mirage in Celestial is ridiculously tough to kill, but slow to kill with and can get a little boring. Viper's Axe+Pistol / Staff variant kills faster but has less sustain. If you're looking for both open world and Wvw then Mesmer would be my last pick.

All three classes can share staff, dagger, scepter and focus. Axe and Pistol can be shared between Necro and Mesmer.

Out of the medium armor classes both Engineer and Ranger have strong open world and WvW builds, Engineer is more versatile in my opinion but all Ranger specs are solid too with only Druid being supportive. There's very little crossover in terms of shared weapons here though (only hammer and sword come to mind).

Lastly the heavy armor classes and this is a different picture since there's a fair amount of overlap. The most versatile and sought after being a Firebrand (which I hate) but it is what it is. If you play it well you'll have no issue in anything really, if you play it badly you'll still be wanted in groups. That said my personal favourite without a doubt is Revenant, the underlying concept doesn't change much but the flavour and execution does between each elite spec. Herald will always be welcome in a zerg. Vindicator is extremely versatile in open world and more selfish in WvW but can be built as support if you choose to. Renegade I've lost touch with sadly.

Alot of words I know, but things to consider looking forward: my top picks being Ele, Engineer, Revenant and the safest bet being Firebrand.

[Disglin.7540]

thank you very much! 🙂

[DobyCool.3701]

not sure why anyone want to start from scratch since this game is known for bad beginner experience.  as of class, based of the new patch note for May 2, I think Necro should be the pick here.  However, I would said you should have different character for wvw and pve, because that way you can eat all your booster for wvw and not wasted time when doing some pve.  Also, 1 character only have 2 equipment template at start, if you have different character doing different role, it will be easier to switch, you dont wanna have tons gear in your bag dont you.  That being said, you do not need to choose an all in one class, you can choose different class for different role.