Need Help Picking a Profession

Hi there, I am new to Guild Wars. I want to know a nice simple profession and secondary profession which will is good for PvE and also relatively decent at PvP. I don't want something which is too complicated to use, just a solid build which I can follow.

Thanks

i would go with warrior, strong good armor and very simple or a ele/necro very strong casters without that much complication
secondary you can change but start with either /me for the casters
or /x for the tank

If I were to go with a Ele/Me or Necro/Me where should I spend the attributes?

Thanks btw

For Elementalist start of with high Fire Magic and some Energy Storage.
For Necromancer start with either high Blood or Death Magic and some Soul Reaping.

You can toy around with the Mesmer skills but its better to stick with your primary profession's skills until you have more attribute points (which increase as you level up).

rangers are versititle and easy to use

I agree with the above posters, and will add some opinions on the pros/cons of the core six professions...

Warrior... the most straightforward regarding gameplay style, and a great combination for learing the mechanics of GW. The downsides are that it's strictly a melee based profession with a low mana/energy pool, and that the overall hack 'n slash approach can become repetitive or boring for some players over the life of the character. When I return to my warrior however, the straightforward simplicity often feels like a breath of fresh air.

Ranger... the most versatile of all the professions, and while a little more complex than the straightforward Warrior, is still rooted in a fairly basic and familiar gameplay style. While Rangers can't tank melee damage like Warriors can, their armor is still strong enough for melee, and they have many skills which avoid or mitigate damage all together. Ranged, Melee, Spellcasting, Trapping, Running, Interrupting, Farming, Soloing... it's all in there.

Of all the professions I've played, this is the one with which I had the easiest time going through the PvE side of the game. It's also the one that held my attention the longest - unlike many other professions, my interest in the character grew as the game evolved, and became my most useable character after reaching the endgame. This is the character I use to unlock skills for heroes on other charcters, for running guild mates around and earning gold through running services, for mapping and questing in obscure or previously missed areas, and for farming or questing the high end areas of all three campaigns.

The downside of a Ranger is that because the primary skill options are so rich, that secondaries don't get that much focus or use - with a Warrior, or with most professions, one tends to focus on two or three primary attributes, including the secondary; but with a Ranger it's very easy to utilize all four primary attributes quite a bit and get spread too thin when trying to use the secondary. Most of the secondary skills I use are those that are unlinked to any attributes, because they don't take away from the Ranger attributes.

Elementalist... the most straightforward spellcaster profession, and for a classic Wizard approach without melee, is the best choice. However there are some downsides... a larger energy pool means you can cast more spells upfront, but then it takes a long time to recharge that huge pool. Eles tend to get pigeon-holed into certain roles by other players, which can be a little frustrating when wanting to party with others. And usually one tends to focus on one area of magic, which can be limited somewhat by the skills available, like in Prophecies it's pretty much Fire Magic for about 75% of the game. It's a fun and straightforward profession, but very different than the visceral payoff of a Warrior or the versatility of a Ranger.

Necro... great fun, but outside of being a Minion Master, is a much more conditional playstyle than the previous three, and not what I'd consider straightforward. A good profession to try when you want more depth. Being a minion master isn't complicated however, and there's something visceral about plowing through missions/quests with a small army of undead minions.

Monk... if you prefer healing and focusing attention on other players, rather than fighting or focusing on enemies, then this is the way to go for a primary. However, it can be very challenging to play and requires a different mindset than any other profession. Straightfoward in it's approach, but at first you'll spend more time staring at the party's health bars than looking at the action itself.

Mesmer... I love this profession, but it's the hardest one to start with and requires the most non-straightforward gameplay style to be as effective as the other professions.

Regarding Secondary Choices...

Monk is the best all around choice for self healing and soloing, and makes things easy to start out with. The condition/hex removal and res skills are unlinked to any attribute, which saves points for the primary.

Ranger is also an excellent secondary to start with, partly because one can have a pet companion with no attribute point investment. Troll Unguent is a solid self healing skill without any point investment, and there's an unlinked condition removal with Antidote Signet.

Hope that gives a little insight. My opinion... Ranger/Monk for a fun, straightfoward combination that isn't too easy, offers depth, and can grow with you over the longterm.

Warrior, Elementalist, or maybe monk are easy starter positions. Rangers are a little more complicated then those. and necromancers are much more complicated to play well after those ones. I would stay away from mesmers, as they are probably the most complicated class, and useless in PvE(imo)

If you're new to Guild Wars, which campaign did you get? But essentially, I agree with Akshara. (If you got Factions, Rits FTW.)

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