"Best" elite spec?

[Malitias.8453]

I was wondering how popular the elite specs are. Not in terms of how much they are played, because of their power, but rather how interesting/fun they are to play.

[Mungo Zen.9364]

Mesmer Chrono - Continuum Split/Shift is one of the most interesting abilities in the game.  Being able to double up on most abilities or combos with Mesmer is more fun than just being 'strong'.  It doesn't promote linear gameplay or rotations but more situational awareness and engagement.  I am constantly reworking my active builds to try something new out.

 

In comparison, I find most of the Professions eSpecs fairly boring, though I have enjoyed Elementalist Tempest for having so much diversity.  I also enjoyed Necromancer Reaper a lot back in the day, and it is still fun, it makes a better 'warrior' in my mind.

[Loboling.5293]

If I could vote 3 times, it would be spellbreaker, reaper and soulbeast. Spellbreaker and Soulbeast simply improve upon the base kit, and make the class feel more smooth, while reaper makes a fairly dull class much more interesting. Although, I get bored of Reaper over time. 

[Aodlop.1907]

1 hour ago, Malitias.8453 said:

but rather how interesting/fun they are to play.

It's difficult not to pick Weaver then.

It's the spec with the most depth and versatility in the game, and probably one of the most original (gameplay wise) in any MMO. 

[hash.8462]

I personally think that nearly all core professions are good, the only exceptions are Engeneer and Elementalist that I can't stand at all... the "upgrade" of these two to Elite give them a whole new feel... among them, Tempest is the one I like more.

Of the other professions, I think that Reaper is the best upgrade.

[AliamRationem.5172]

When I first started playing GW2, I picked Elementalist because the attunement swapping mechanics sounded interesting.  Later I played Tempest and while it was fun and effective, it always felt a bit like a step in the wrong direction to me with its slow channels and doubled attunement cooldowns.

 

Along comes Weaver.  I actually hated it at first.  It just felt really awkward to me.  But it has faster attunement swaps, more skills, and a very unique flow to its rotation that give it a very different feel from core or Tempest.  Once I got the hang of it, I ended up really loving it.

[Howluffu.7259]

weaver is a blast, made ele even more skillbase and that was my vote but the one I like the most to play is herald even tho it's hard to find fractal groups.

 

I hope next rev elite spec is super fun to use and is not charr based :3

[Kyrios.8736]

Deadeye because nothing beats being a sniper straight out of MMOFPS in a fantasy MMORGP. 

[Dahkeus.8243]

Long ago, I would have said Chronomancer because it has such a unique style that is very consistent with mechanics and distance from core Mesmer style without being contradictory.  It opened up a myriad of support roles and unique play style.  However, it’s been a nightmare from a balance perspective in all game modes, so it’s been radically changed a million times and anyone who has mained a Mesmer is well acquainted with completely re-learning and re-gearing after balance patches probably more than any other class (particularly from a raiding perspective).  
 

Because of this, I voted for Soulbeast instead since a per-free elite spec has been a wish from the ranger community for a long time and it pulls this off pretty well.  Druid is definitely a strong contender too.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

For me, the game is best described in having two eras:  The pre-Chronomancer era, and the post-Chronomancer era.  That's how much the spec shook things up.  First, it made mesmer much more fun to play.  It also made mesmer nightmarishly powerful, so much so that for years all high-end PVE and large portions of PVP revolved just around the chronomancer.  The introduction of permanent quickness, permanent alacrity, the slow condition, breakbars coupled with Gravity Well, and a reset button to capitalize on all of this redefined how the entire game is looked at and played.  

Edited May 28, 2021 by Blood Red Arachnid.2493

[The Fear.3865]

Scrapper ! Everything fits my gameplay, perf bruiser, high kiting possibilities, really high superspeed, quickness and barrier uptime, you face roll PvE and have good time in pvp/wvw. 

 

Im still in love with D/D core ele tho, sad this class is now so bad. Mainly usin it in open world. 

[Puck.3697]

Hard question to answer

 

As in my opinon some of these elites are fun and interesting but at the same time damaging. 

 

Weavers and tempest were alot of fun, but it completely removed the point of core elementalist. Which the design direction isn't susposed to direct in. 

 

Scourge and firebrand are both at heart soo overpowered mechanically that they end up with continuous nerfs to everything around them that it's destructive towards the class. 

 

Chronomancer kinda went the same way, it was soo defining it's had everything ripped out of it for the sake of balance. 

 

Imho if we were going off the back of what I feel improved the class and was good design

 

Necromancer - Reaper. 

Ranger - both Soulbeast and druid. 

Guardian - Dragon hunter

Thief - Deadeye.

Revenant - Herald. 

Engineer - Scrapper 

 

I feel in alot of cases the existance of the rest damaged the core or resulted in huge nerfs to fit the mechanics into it. As i say plenty of them I think is fun and interesting but in some cases the damage they did to the class to fit in feels bad. 

[Sylvari.2953]

I rerolled as Firebrand when PoF was released and never looked back. I love the Tomes, tons of Burning & so many buttons to press and Mantras just became more comfortable to use. I'm still in love with my FB.

[ZeftheWicked.3076]

Reaper.

Back in the day power core was not a playstyle, it was a torture device.
Cc ragdoll, kitten poor mobility, no decent AoE cleave, low damage output, lacking burst (save axe 2), shroud skills slow as molasses..
Meanwhile a warrior running past you had all the stab he needed and more, bursted mobs in seconds, quickness was a given and dashed from mob to mob while you were busy crawling your way to victory..
Best part? Until condi cap issues got fixed (25 max stacks of a condi per monster, bosses included), it was the only way to play necro..

Enter the reaper.

Suddenly sun starts shining, birds singing and necro gets all the things a melee power profession should get!
Stability, dash, real AoE cleave with real damage, great traits with potent defense and offense options, and some time later - even a good quickness access in shroud, which was already the best part of reaper, contrary to core where shroud was your "penalty box time"..

Reaper saved the necro, equally in part how good it was and how bad the core fared as a power profession.

Edited May 29, 2021 by ZeftheWicked.3076

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Quote

Not simply the strongest spec, but the one that you think improves upon the base class the most and is the most fun to play for you. Feel free to explain your choice.

That are three completely different elite-specs. 

 

1.) Strongest: Firebrand

Strongest because its ridiculously flat learning curve, high performance output and the fact that almost all variations use the same weapons and rotations. It deals very good damage and offers great support-options - both in combination. 

 

2.) Highest improvement upon the base class: Holosmith

Although Engineer is quite difficult to learn and master, its performance is always mediocre at best. Even in comparison with the Elementalist, it is just not very good. Assuming you perform something like the Minute Waltz (Chopin) on your keyboard during a fight, Engineer performs always weaker than everyone else - while others literally smash their fists on the keyboard and reach scores of average or even high-average DPS. Elementalist is even worse in terms of difficulty, but the effort/reward ratio is a lot better. 

 

The Holosmith changed this completely. It turned the class into a medium DPS fighter, that plays like a Thief/Warrior hybrid. Compared to Core, Holosmith is surprisingly easy to play and learn. Even the meta-variants are not that difficult. But the effort/reward ratio is just mind-blowing. It feels like you are playing a totally different class. People who struggle with Engineer enjoy the Holosmith. 

 

3.) Most fun to play: Scrapper

As long as you stick to the Hammer, you are not even required to equip any kits. Opposite to the Holosmith you are more flexible with fast paced combat and variations. The barrier-mechanic makes it a really sturdy bruiser, which can still rely mostly on dealing damage. The gyros fit well into the Engineer theme and fill the empty spots, turrets and gadgets never managed to satisfy properly. With Superspeed, it can speed up NPCs which is very helpful for all kinds of escort-events. Our current group-quickness feature feels great as well, let's see how long we can keep it this time.

 

It is one of the best classes for playing solo and open-world exploration. It is also great for farming. If you decide to play Support in group-content, it is both fun and challenging as well. 

[Dadnir.5038]

I'm voting reaper because core necromancer was really horrendous before reaper was introduced. Reaper answered most of the necromancer's flaws. I'm not really satisfied with what it has become over the years, thought.

[Obtena.7952]

Scourge ... most versatile class for PVE IMO and because I have a soft spot for necro themes in MMOs.

 

Carries in instances (the hero you need vs. the hero you want), fulfills most needs in PVE. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Obtena.7952

[Puck.3697]

its amazing weaver is the winning choice currently.. yet the least played in reality xD

[Lily.1935]

On 5/30/2021 at 8:46 AM, Dadnir.5038 said:

I'm voting reaper because core necromancer was really horrendous before reaper was introduced. Reaper answered most of the necromancer's flaws. I'm not really satisfied with what it has become over the years, thought.

I strongly disagree that reaper Answered most of necromancer's flaws. It answered exactly one flaw. Its Melee cleave which honestly wasn't much of a flaw.

[Lily.1935]

Scourge.

Honestly its what the necromancer should have been at launch, a mixed support condi DPS profession as opposed to the weird ranged bunker it ended up being. Scourge really showed us how far the necromancer's design could go and really reinvented the profession as a whole.

For me, I'm a caster player. I'm not a martial player, a gish, or a ambush style player. I'm a player who likes to support and debuff in the mid line and send minions in to buffer damage for me as I act as a support or control. Up until scourge there was nothing even close to this sort of gameplay, everyone was pushed into the front line in PvE and Midline was not so versatile. I have far more active decisions to make now with scourge and its gameplay options are far more diverse than core necromancer or reaper could ever hope to be.

[Fueki.4753]

Your questions should have been two separate polls.

 

I think that Firebrand improves it's core more than any other elite specialization (in fact, it improves Guardian too much).

However, the one I have the most fun with is Tempest.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Fueki.4753

[Aurelio.6159]

It's maybe my 6th most played character, but I'd have to agree with the above posters who've picked the Holosmith. For all I know, I might end up liking the Scrapper more once I've unlocked it, but holy frak was leveling my Engineer a chore. Unlocking the Holosmith for the first time was like a lightning bolt out of a clear blue sky - it is so much faster, stronger, and cooler.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Aurelio.6159