Confused As To Which Profession To Go - Warrior Vs Mage

I started off with a Warrior when I first played the game and got it to level 9... After a while I realised that I was getting beaten by "groups" of enemies as opposed to just one or two so I thought that I needed to be a profession that can attack multiple enemies, therefore I went with a Fire Elementalist. Also, because I figured Warriors were too common.

The thing is, upon reaching Yaks Bend I came up against some enemies called Stone Summit warriors & they just seemed like they could stand there and take a beating forever even though they were only level 10 & I was level 14. My ability to take on multiple enemies with my mage didn't really affect this mob of Stone Summit Warriors and they were killing me within 30 seconds or so.

This made me think "hmm, should I go back to being a warrior again because these Stone Summit Warriors are melee characters & they're pretty much owning me".

I realise that there is no BEST profession and that probably voids this argument but if somebody could give me some reasons as to why I should choose warrior over mage I'd appreciate it.

The only thing that is making me choose Mage over Warrior at the moment is that Mages can attack multiple enemies but warriors can't. But what I'm thinking is, if a Warrior can take a beating more than a mage can then he can finish off one enemy & move onto the next one at a time and still be alive at the end.


HK

I have a question, are you trying to take on stone summit by yourself, or are you taking henchman/other people with you?

I tried by myself and that was near impossible... I took a few henchmen with me though but it's still hard. The thing is, I don't like to take too many henchmen with me as the experience gets shared.

I took a healer & a fighter.


HK

just remember, most of the exp comes from doing quests and missions...sure, going out by yourself will help you get those few hundred exp, but dont do it all the time. just an fyi...you will get to lvl 20 in a bit...hell, i think my first time through i got level 20 in the jungle o.O

to answer your question......if you are a player that likes to get in there and tangle with your opponent then pick warrior.....they can take out a target and move to the next one...with proper planning....

IF you like to sit back and cause damage/hexs/fires/lighting bolts...etc...pick a caster class...

For the above post...be sure that you are utilizing henchman when you venture out into an area..

Click on the search button on your party menu and goto henchman...add the ones you want to take with you...

http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Henchman

Did you complete all of the quests up to Yak's Bend? Prophecies is very heavily quest driven; critical experience and skills have to be gained from them. If memory serves, a number of decent items are also available from those quests.

I'm sure I've done all the quests leading up to Yaks Bend or most of them but I could be wrong.

I just took a party of 6 (5 henchmen + me) into stone summit and it's extremely easier. The reason I wasn't taking henchmen before is because the money + experience gets shared out amongst the group so I was trying to do it all on my own or with only 2 henchmen.


HK

At level 14, you need the henchmen more than the additional amount of experience you gain without them.

The ele problem is the lack of protection while casting those spells. He/she needs the other henchmen for shields.

If you are trying to get through the pass area that is crammed with groups of dwarfs and a few ice golems, you will need to have patience and pull groups. It can help to take the first left out of Yak's Bend to the bridge and take out the ice golems from behind, so they don't blindside you in the pass area. You can also pull additional groups by continuing up that path to the rear of the pass.

Thanks a lot for the replies so far guys. I'm just wondering, are Warriors decent at surviving & being offensive where multiple foes are concerned? Also, are warriors decent at PvP?

As much as I like my Elementalist I can't help but think that I'd be better off with a warrior.


HK

Always take a healer henchmen with you if two are available take them both. If you can have 4 in a group make sure you have four henchmen or real players. If you can have 8 take as many as you can at all times. Warrior is not all attack there are some stances and other armor boosting / health boosting skills Example [skill]"Watch Yourself!"[/skill] is very good. Mage if you are targeted by the warriors it is ok to run from them. The AI is designed to take the lowest armor / lowest hit points first (at least in prophesies). Also you can always use skills that cause AOE damage example [skill]Lava Font[/skill] to make them run away giving you a chance to regroup or attack. The game gets harder as you go so take advantage of the whole team. Good Luck

Thanks man, I appreciate it. Just wondering though, what does AOE mean?


HK

AOE is “Area of effect” you can damage multiple targets in an area. An example of another skill that uses it is [skill]Fire Storm[/skill] try it out and watch what your target does it will take the initial damage then run from it. I always have one on my mages skill bar just in case I get cornered.

Thank you Painbringer.

I have another question... I got an axe upgrade the other day and it was a Lightning Damage upgrade as shown below. Does that mean that whenever I attack somebody with an axe it deals the normal axe damage PLUS lightning damage aswell? If so, how do you know how much lightning damage it deals?




HK

No, you will do just the normal damage that the axe puts out. There are many different hafts (ebon/earth, fire, icy, shocking as well as vampiric (life stealing) and zealous (gain energy per hit)) There are some creatures that are effected by different types of damage more than others. Ice golems take more damage from a fire weapons. As well as fire creatures take more damage from icy. Also the elementalist have a spell that adds damage to a fire weapon example [skill]Conjure Flame[/skill] There is a lot of info you can get from www.guildwiki.com .

Ah I see, so it doesn't deal EXTRA damage to all enemies, it just deals more damage if that enemy has a weakness to fire, such as an Ice Golem?


HK

^ That's right
And I think you shouldn't be afraid to fill your party with henchmen - the exp you gain from quests and missions should be plenty to keep you on an appropriate level for the area you find yourself in.
I remember when I first played GW that the Northern Shiverpeaks was the first part of the game where there was a noticeable jump in 'difficulty', and I always took as many henchies as I could. Take henchmen rather than die. The experience you gain from the enemies (especially when they're a lower level than you) is near negligible, so don't worry about losing that

Yea, you really shouldn't worry about making money on your first play through, and you should try joining PUGs (Pick-up-Group-s) as they can offer assistance, and valuable company. As far as weapons go, you really don't need to worry about these kinds of things until you're level 20. But up until level 20, just complete the quests and missions. If you come across a "Skill Trainer" check him out, and buy the skills that look relevant towards your situation. Once you're level 20 and done with your first play through, you can then consider farming to get the extra money you want for items.

Just out of curiosity, did you do any missions up to this point? I'd imagine those would be impossible solo at under levels under 14 as well. And those should give you a warning about not bringing anyone else with you.

Also, GW is about teamplay. While some areas can be soloed by some professions (not all by all), they require very specific setup intended just for that.

Some areas cannot be soloed.

Warrior in that part of the game is still somewhat tough. But at very latest in the jungle where you encounter hexes, or desert with insane conditions, they are no better without decent support.

Same goes for elementalists.

So ultimately you will need to learn team aspects and role designations, or you'll find some missions later on either impossible, or managable purely by luck.

Also, there are certain skills that warriors have that can cause damage to multiple enemies at once (cyclone axe for instance), you just have to get further into the game to get them I think.

I also suggest you use more henchmen. You'll find that you need it later on (when you start fighting 8 level 24 monsters at a time as a level 20, you are going to need teamates, so you might as well get used to playing with them now).


Sounds like you understand the weapon upgrade thing pretty well. Another thing to keep in mind is that warriors have +armor vs physical damage (peircing from bows, slashing from most swords and axe, and blunt from most hammers). Thus if you use an elemental weapon mod against warrior enemies, you be doing more damage because you'll be bypassing their +armor vs physical damage. Note though that rangers are the opposite and have +armor vs elemental damage so you'll want to be dealing physical damage against them. Try using two weapons in your F1 and F2 weapon slots (activated by clicking the weapon sets button in your "I" menu) and play around with switching weapons inbetween battles using those hot keys when you go to attack a different profession.

It takes a while to get used to, but its good pratice for PvP. The difference in damage isn't drastic though so if this is your first character and it sounds too confusing don't worry about it TOO much until you get the basics down.