im new:whats the order in the classes, most to least popular?

i've been eying guild wars b4 the first version came out, and im finally getting it soon!

I want to play a ranger cuz i like 2 use bows and also the expertise skill looks pretty awsome. But im coming from a game where one class had a huge majority of ppl playing it. It got so annoying that an archer (which in that game, sucked) 30 lvls below you got more respect than you did because he looked different.

i REALLY do not want to get a generic character in this game (nightfall)
looking at the forums and stuff i think the order is like:

Warrior
Deverish
Ranger
Paragon
Monk- though i think theyre like number 1 in pve
Elementalist
Necromancer- i think theyre like number 2 in pve
Mesmer

im debating between ranger-paragon-warrior depending on which is less seen. So plz tell me, whats the real order of the popularity of classes?

It's somewhat hard to say, because the balance is somewhat evenly distributed, and because the new classes from the expansions tend to be huge right after the expansions comes out and drop off later, plus be much less popular in campaigns other than the one they came from. The core class order is something like:

Warrior (Def the most common)
Monk
Ranger
Elementalist
Necromancer
Mesmer (Def the least common)

If I were to guess, the Class Order for all classes is probably something along the lines of:

Warrior
Monk
Dervish
Paragon
Assassin
Ranger
Ele
Ritualist
Necro
Mesmer

Note that these are for PvE. For PvP (at least Random Arenas) it's more along the lines of:

Ranger
Monk
Assassin
Warrior
Rit
Ele
Necro
Mesmer
Dervish
Paragon

Anyone else want to have some input on this?

Just play whatever you want.

Guild Wars has enough balance. lol

It really varies

I see Warriors in most places i go. I would say they are the most popular.

I myself play a Ranger and never step into a town without seeing at least one other Ranger (its a great profession what can i say )

Elementalists and Necromancers are like the plague from my views. I always see a few in a town.

Dervish and Paragon are all over Elona,the setting of Nightfall.

Monks are a popular profession but sometimes seem to be scarce.

Mesmers are the ones i never see in crowds unless at events.Although thats usually because players dont know what they are capable of

All in all I suggest you pick a profession you find fun .Remember you have 4 slots to use.

As Free Runner said you have four slots with one chapter. You can try out all the core classes and the two chapter-specific ones and decide which one(s) suit your playing style.

There is no one overwhelming choice of profession for the core classes - most people who have played the game for a while have bought other chapters and/or character slots and have one of each.

In Nightfall, you will see a multitude of dervishes and paragons in every town and outpost - that's because they are the new professions with this chapter. So you will run into "GLF more - no derv, no para" simply because there are too many.

From the core classes, warrior/monks (the ever made fun of wammo), rangers (because of the pets), elementalists (fire spells), and necromancers (minions) are the most popular first choices.

If you want to guarantee always finding a party, choose a healing monk because there are never enough healers to go around.

I have a poll running in The Riverside Inn forum asking "What Profession was your First Character?". Many of the posts explain why new players changed their minds and made a different character.

Also, if you are beginning with Nightfall and its heroes, study the build forums for information on the best skills to make your heroes more effective.

First choice here for me :: Elementalist
Last choice for me :: Monk (Taking care of people? Pfft)

You can't play a lot of PVE then as you would of NEVER put necros 2nd to last if you did. Assassins used to be popualr in factions but since people have found thier pretty much useless in pve. Thier hardly played at all now. Its wierd but I've seen many 5 or 6 monks in towns in Elona since I started. Used to see a lot more in factions and proph.

Based on what I've seen in elona since it started I would say the list is something like

Dervish/Paragon
Warrior
Ranger/Ele/Necro
Mesmer
Assassin
Ritulaist.

Since you have 4 characters slots why not start one of each of the ones you want to try and see which you like best. You can allways come back to the others at a later point or delete them if you don't like them.

Well I've played GW for about 19months now.
And my main character is and forever will be my Necromancer.

As I see it, ppl want these professions the most and in this order for PvE:

Monk
Assassin
Necromancer
Ranger
Warrior
Elementalist
Mesmer
Ritualist

(I don't think ppl like mesmers much but they are effecient in PvP)

for PvP I would say:

Monk
Assassin
Paragon
Elementalist
Ranger
Mesmer
Warrior
Necromancer
Dervish
Ritualist

(but then again I don't have Nightfall yet)

I have Necromancer, Ranger, Warrior, Mesmer, Monk, Assassin.

A small disclaimer: since I haven't played all professions yet I simply put the professions I know the least about at the bottom of the lists just so ppl don't get angry at me.

/Spine Hellspawn

My first choice was and still is Elementalist (highest damage dealer in the game, or at least is supposed to be). The choice you make will be determined on how you like to play. Whether you like to be up close and personal with the monsters or if you like to be in the background in a support role. The choice is realy up to your play style.

Mega Mouse

Go play a ranger if you like. You won't regret it.

You also forgot Assassin and Ritualist, but I guess you won't buy factions?

Warrior
Monk
Ele
Dervish
Paragon
Ranger
Assassin
Necro
Mesmer
Ritualist

My opinion..

This I would agree with...maybe put monks a little lower...

You forgot a class though. Right at the top...

WAMMO!

..."It's a class of it's own"

It's all about the playing style, each class has a different feel to it.

For me it means Ritualist and Monk are not my thing. Though many players (including me) have a monk char, just because it is easier to get into the higher-end content (without having a clue about it).

Almost everyone has a Warrior, though it's not the easiest class to play. The "in your face" playing style appeals to a lot of players.

Rangers are also very common, many players have one and are a very diverse class. The days when rangers were scorned like mesmer are long gone.

Elementalist are a bit like rangers in how frequently I see them and at the moment the kings of pve. Like the minion master in the past (zomg the necro has an army!), a searing flames ele will make everything go alot faster.

A Necro is a good support class, but it's alot less active play then when compared to a warrior or ranger. I like this class but hardly have time to play my necro.

The Mesmer is often forgotten class, but over the 3 campaigns the mesmers have gained alot of skills making even less-skilled players effective at playing them. However to play this class best you need to know what you are fighting against, so not recommended as a first class.

A Paragon is a party-wide buffer usually, which does little dmg on his own, but can act like a fail-safe for a group. Quite unique play, you may well be the deciding factor in victory, but you'll hardly notice :P

The dervish plays in your face like the warrior, haven't tried this class, but as I like warrior and assassin I know I'm going to like them.

The assassin is more a single-target kill machine. But some have problems staying alive.

Hope this helps

another monk is always useful

Warrior
Dervish
Paragon
Ranger
Monk (dont count bots)
Necro
Ele
Assassin
Mesmer
Ritualist

The Holy Trinitiy will get you anywhere in PvE:
Warrior, Elementalist, Necro, Monk (yes, there's four classes, but this is the general setup for Tank/Nuker/Healer group).

Other classes are not asked for. Warriors are in permanent overabundance, followed by necros.

Ranger and Dervish are secondary "meh, it can't hurt" type of classes. They aren't asked, but will be taken into groups more often than not. Rangers are a special case, since they form a backbone of certain builds which dominate some high-end areas.

Paragon, Assassin, Mesmer and Ritualist are the bastard children of PvE. While they are insanely useful, their playstyle is too different from Holy Trinity, and as such, are shunned by most.

For PvP the demand changes based on various FotM factors, but with free character creation, it doesn't matter.

No class is inferior from game mechanics perspective. You can endleslly debate whether class A has normalized DPS higher by .1 point that class B, but given very different aproaches each class provides, there are no gimps by design. Some missions do favor certain builds, but that's mostly due to players, not mission design.

Looking around at the main characters of our (PvE) guild, warrior and ranger are the most popular classes. Then there is a fair number of elementalists, some monks, although only two good healers, and some minion masters, although only one good curses necro. Then there are some dervishes although they don't seem very happy once they get to 20. There are only a couple of paragons but they seem to enjoy the class. There's one good assassin (the others having been deleted in disgust) and the only ritualist that wasn't deleted is used for storage. There are no mesmers.

wow people are way off on pvp...

1) monk
2) war
....perhaps people should consider looking at gvg besides looking at SFhero eles in HA .. memser is probably the most popular after war and monk

Wow people seem to think mesmers are unwanted, but the reason you do not see use yelling LFG is because we walk into a town and get 3 or 4 invites to join a group.

I find Antheus to be right on the money.

Even if you choose the most popular class combination (w/mo) you do not get the attitude you describe. It used to be so, but I see it MUCH less often. Also note that you get two classes - while a warrior may be the most common through all the chapters you see very few warrior/necros or warrior/mesmer (and there are some great builds with them).

I would also add the order depends on which chapter you are playing. I see tons of dervishes and paragons in Nightfall, few in prophecies (my derv still gets comments if I stop by one of the very early or the last missions). You see tons of asassins in Factions but very few outside of there. All of prophecies characters are core so you see them every where.

If you really want the "rare" go mesmer. Mine hasn't remotely had the experience Tagon has had - it doesn't bother me since I like the heroes and hench anyway.

In the end, just play the one you like. Even the classic "wammo" that everyone kinda makes fun of (but I bet 90% of us either have one or use one form time to time) isn't shunned or anything - well, unless you start off the in the explorable casting "mending" on yourself. But that is because of the player, not the class