Care to help a new player out (profession-wise)?

Greetings,

I'm new to Guild Wars and I must say, so far I'm loving it. I'm still pretty much clueless though on where to go and what to do, so I was hoping some of the more experienced among you might offer me some valueble insights.

My main concern is what profession to pick. I've played them all through "pre-searing" (finally figured out what it means) and so far the monk is without a doubt my favorite. After delving into the Monk forums it seems the only job a monk is capable of doing is being a healbot (I very much liked his Smiting abilities).
Now don't get me wrong, while everything and everyone has it's place and use, I'm aiming towards something more.... interesting to play.

I would like to have some fun both while lvling up and future "endgame". Rolling a char up to 20 to understand the basics is one thing, but I would very much like to immediately enjoy the later stages of the game with that same char. I'm not all that fond of rolling and rerolling.

Long story short: I'm looking for a profession which will offer a great deal of pleasure both PvE and PvP-wise. It don't have to be a PvP demi-god, nor should it be able to solo all the way through the most dangerous of missions. I've read about these "touch-rangers" and "55 hp monks", they sound like fun, but it seems everyone and everyone's mother has one of these, so if possible, something less common would be perfect.

I should also note that I have both Prophecy and Nightfall (as well as EotN). If this is not the place to ask post this, my apologies, new to the forum as well

Kind regards,
Obodai Kobodashi

Wow funny way of playing you got, usually people stick to 1 class if they start playing instead of trying them all at the same time. I would say, pick a warrior and finish the campaign with it. Why warrior one would say? because theyre good when you suck and theyre even better when you get the hang of the game.

Ranger is also a nice choice because they are really versatile, you can trap, touch, you can give them a hammer and thump and ofcourse you can wield a bow and own some that way.

Both warrior and ranger are also splendid in PvP.

Anyways, only when you actually finish a campaign with a character you can level it up, cap some nice skills and explore the fullest potential of it. At the point you are now I can understyand why you have no clue anymore, because you only used 10% of every profession you played.

I would recommend Elementalist mate.

Its easy enough to learn to play, you have 4 very unique elements which allow for so much varation and a massive energy pool from which to pull off some of the most powerful spells in the game.

Used very much in PvE as a nuker and a farmer and has multiple functions in PvP.

Quote:

This will need moved to differen't forum, but as far as your question.... Different people are good at different things. What are your FPS? Ping? The reason I ask is if your FPS is good and low ping then a Ranger would be my first choice, very versatile but if bad fps and ping you will look silly because you will not be able to interrupt anything. Monks are in-demand and challenging to play. Mesmers are good in PvP but not so much in PvE but same goes for mesmer you need good fps and ping. Warriors are so abundant that I wish I had made a different "main" character from the start and in EoTN you stay blind slowed or blurred 99% of the time so mele sucks there. You should have 6 slits with your 2 games so I'd make monk, ranger, warrior, necro, and elly and save the last slot for a PvP toon. Play the monk and ranger first as monk will teach you a lot and be easier to get in groups and as ranger you are "mid-line" and can watch what is going on easier. I suggest you buy Factions for some skills and because some like it even though several people post on here that they don't. It is actually my 2nd favorite of the 4 games. In any case save all your pennies and do not buy anything like keys, etc because you will need all your money for armor and runes, I suggest you look at wiki and pick the armor you want and be sure because it takes forever to get the $$ and materials for 15k stuff.

Thanks for the replies so far. Reason why I played every profession through pre-searing is because I wanted to experience the general look 'n feel of every profession. I figured it'd be a great introduction, but from what I've read on the forum so far, it seems my Smiting Monk won't just be smiting half as much later on. So far for pre-searing being an indicator

My PING seems to be pretty good, the dot is always green. Same for my FPS, got a Dual-core 6600 with some decent gfx card.

My first char happens to be a Ranger/Monk. I mainly wanted the ranger for the better armor and pet while using the Monk for smiting/protection. Is it wise to continue down that road?

Kind regards,
Obodai Kobodashi

In terms of PvE people hate smiter monks, in PvP they can make the occasional appearence, usually as an Air of Enchantment Smiter.

I like smiters tho ^_^

As for the ranger, I wouldn worry too much about your secondary prof as it can be changed. My first was my Ranger also and its ok. You just need to learn which skills to interupt But this can only be done through experience. Also fast reflexes are needed.

i would say
-go whit a ranger its really fun both pve and pvp
a barrage build or burning arrow build are always the best

-but a monk is pretty good you can lvl up faster since every party needs a healer and the great 55 builds

ill say any build is great but its your choice now you do have at least 4 character slots

now i do recomend buying lots of capture signets when you have the option to buy them this way you will level up in like 6-12hours tops up to lvl20
this signets will let tu get skills from bosses the elite skills even if you dont need them will give you even more exp than any mission or quest (depending on your lvl)

also try to get into a nice active pve guild to help you out on missions and lvl up faster

i like to start all of characters on gw factions thats how i can lvl up up to lv20 in 6-12 hours

have fun whit gw !

If you like the monk, then be a monk. In PvE, Monks heal, in PvP, Monks protect. Sometimes monks protect and heal in PvE.

If you want to smite, go for it, just don't expect to be in groups when you do so. You end up doing it with henchies.

Erm PvP monks heal and protect lol...

GW, while being a beautiful game, does have quite a steep learning curve. So many options to think about in the beginning can be overwhelming.
Take your time and enjoy the game. Prophecies is easier on new players imo as the content is stretched out more and you can earn your skill via quests instead of only by buying them for 1 platinum each.
One of the best places to learn about playing is at the Great Temple of Balthazars training grounds. You can use a pvp char to access it if your pve char's don't have it available yet(think you need to reach Lions Arch in pve but don't recall)
As to what class to play, well there is no one answer fits all. Myself I started with one character and fully explored Pre-Searing and then did the entire campaign before starting other pve characters. Some work multiple characters thru the storyline at the same time.
As for what class to start with, again personal preference. The recommendation of warrior is a good one as they are somewhat more simplistic. You run in and kill stuff. Monks are generally heal/prot bots as you have ascertained already. Smiting can be effective but only in very limited situations.
The secondary profession choices are not set in stone BUT you must progress quite a ways before you can change it. In Prophecies its about 3/4 of the way thru the storyline(Crystal Desert) when changing your secondary profession becomes available. In Elona(Nightfall) it comes much sooner in the storyline(Sunspear Sanctuary). In both cases you will almost certainly be lvl20 regardless.
My advice is, play any character you want in Elona(Nightfall) to take advantage of the tutorial nature of the starter island THEN make the character you want to play thru first in Prophecies to take advantage of the quest system to acquire your skills. Those that are learned by quest reward are not only free(in gold cost anyways) but do not use your skill points that you get for leveling up. Hopefully you don't mind playing with Heroes and Henchman as some missions and areas are devoid of players to assist you. I also hope you have some thick skin as imo GW has one of the least friendly communities in an online gaming environment.
There are so many little things to learn to make playing this game easier/faster/funner that experienced players take for granted having forgotten a time when we didn't know. Like the little circle in your radar screen showing a proximity where enemies become "aware" of you, we call and aggro bubble. Phrases like kiting which just means run away from damage sources in its simplest term but can become very complicated in actual usage as you can't just run away all the time.
Enjoy Tyria/Elona and don't worry about efficiency/build too much in the beginning. You are already on the right track by asking questions and sorry I don't have more/better examples to offer for you.
GL and HF
welcome to the wild world of Guild Wars

Elementalist is a great first profession for the following reasons:

- Area of Effect (AoE) damage works great on bunched up foes.
- Spell descriptions are straightforward and simple to understand.
- Higher energy (from Energy Storage) gives you a little more room for mistakes or wasted spells.
- Always wanted in PUGs.
- Capable of soloing quite a few areas.
- It's a ranged profession which means a lower chance of causing a bad aggro or being the focus of enemy attacks
- You can play it effectively in PvE while still learning the finer points of the game.
- Also a highly effective profession before you acquire any elite skills.
- Capable of dabbling in a secondary profession better than most other professions.

Rangers require a little more finesse due to their interrupts.
Mesmers are a finesse profession as well and are disliked by PUGs which means they are best played when you are a fairly self-sufficient player.
Monks can be rough to play, especially in PUGs.
Warriors are often responsible for aggro control which usually requires knowing the map and patrol routes.
Necros are a good second choice due to energy gain from Soul Reaping but they lack the damage output of Elemenalists... at least until you get certain elites.

If you're going for pure damage output an Elementalist is hard to beat. So I'd say Ele first, followed by Ranger/Warrior/Necro, and then Monk/Mesmer.

OH...almost forgot...be sure to keep your Grim cesta or whatever it is called..I don't know what quest you get it from as it has been so long, but stats say
-50 HP and you will for sure want that on your monk and probably your necro as well (used for 55ing)...so keep 2 and sell the rest people will buy them I have seen them for 2k up to 15k each