Which class would you recommend to someone just starting off and would like to focus mostly on PvE?

[Gudy.3607]

Except for Raids, there are no dedicated Healers or Tanks in the game, and even then it's more of a tank/heal/support hybrid. That said:Warriors are easy to learn (I find them too boring in core Tyria), have the largest weapon selection of all classes and can be specced for DPS/support.Guardians are the classic DPS/support class. They have much less health than Warriors but also a far more varied survival and support tool set. If you want to learn about what GW2 offers in the realm of combat mechanics, playing a Guardian can probably teach you better than most other classes while providing a relatively easy experience even at beginner skill levels.Necromancers are the survival kings. They aren't much loved in most endgame scenarios because they tend to be somewhat selfish, but their pets and innate tankiness make them one of the best solo classes.Rangers are easy to get into and their Druid spec is pretty much the dedicated support healer. Their pets make things easy for beginners, but on the other hand Rangers are also somewhat infamous for making it easy to learn bad combat habits. Longbow/brown bear rangers who use their Longbow 4 skill on cooldown are justifiably despised in all group content.

The other classes tend to be markedly harder in some way or other than those four:Thieves have easy stealth access, high mobility/evasiveness and good damage, but tend to be very, very squishy and provide little group support.Elementalists tend to be very versatile but their larger skillset (20 skills on each weapon set, as opposed to 2 weapon sets with 5 skills each for most other classes) makes them harder to learn. They are also quite squishy unless you really know what you're doing.Mesmers have very high utility, but apart from their Path of Fire specialization Mirage, their damage in PvE tends to be lackluster. I also find them too squishy for their damage output (again, except for Mirage).Engineers are incredibly versatile, but tend to be Jacks of all trades, masters of none. As with Elementalists, their class mechanic means you have far more skills to learn than with most other classes, and the skill ceiling is high.Revenants can be specced for heal or support DPS hybrids, but AFAIK demand for Revenant healers is pretty much exclusive to WvW. I generally like their weapon skills but find their healing skills cumbersome and their class mechanic (swapping out complete sets of utility skills) inflexible.

[Mara.6782]

I list 5 classes that i have played and how good they worked for me when i started this game.

1. Warrior is ideal first class to start. Its can be tanky and still deal good damage you have movement traits and skills and good range and melee options.
2. Necromancer is good too with high health and second health bar Shroud. Damage might not be best at low levels but you can take more hits but prepare to get pushed around because you dont have much stability.
3. Guardian is good starting class because of many heals and blocks but have low health. Damage is good. Have many boons and can be useful for parties.
4. Thief is best medium armor class dealing damage, it have stealth that make completing maps much easier. Best mobility and good damage but have low health and require good reflexes to survive. Sword/pistol makes pve easier.
5. Ranger is good single target range class, melee damage is good too and you have pet that can tank while you deal damage. Might be hard to get into groups if not druid. But good solo class. PS. Dont use longbow and bear or you get laughed out of the game.

These are my thought for core classes, elite specs will change how easy and good your class is.

[Dashiva.6149]

The classes I usually recommend for beginners are Warrior, Guardian, Ranger and Necromancer depending on armorclass (heavy/medium/light).

Each has a fairly low learningcurve in gameplay, straighforward class-mechanics and have decent healthpools. You won't be able to facetank in the traditional mmo-sense in GW2, but the heavy classes can take some extra hits and the lighter classes has pets/minions to help you out in the openworld as you learn.

The Elite Speccs at lvl80 isn't something you should be too worried about as a beginner; focus during leveling on learning the ins and outs of your chosen class and combat in general. Once you hit level 80 you should have sufficent gameplay experience (unless you rush it) to start exploring what the elite speccs adds or changes about the class.

[Eternatus.8309]

@"Saphykun.3206" said:I don't want to say "don't start with elementalist" but... probably don't start with elementalist. Instead of weapon swaps (of which you get two), you have (four) attunements, and each attunement gives you a different skill set so you might be overwhelmed in learning all of them (two sets of five skills as opposed to four sets of five skills for an ele). It's certainly a fun class and I definitely recommend giving it a try once you're comfortable with the basic controls in the game.

Warriors or necromancers sound like a match for your playstyle. Necro minions make for some pretty good meat shields and the class itself holds up surprisingly well for a light-armor class (have a friend who once dubbed himself a "Tank-omancer"). You can use the death shroud to get yourself out of a pinch when your health is low.

Unfortunately I did start with elementalist, its true that I am dying a lot (i am still in the early game, level 40) to mobs but its fun to switch elements and do attack combos.. I haven't played other classes so can't say how strong/weak it is but I am definitely enjoying the game..