Best character to start the game with?

I was thinking a wa/mo since warriors are the most user friendly of characters, would you guys/gals agree or is there another character class combo that is better suited for a first timer thats comming back to playing the game.

Wa/mo is a good solid character for PvE. Wa/ne or wa/el may offer some more offensive options, but they're all fun if you ask me and later you can change your second to try other builds.

I'm not sure other classes are hard to play but agree warrior is probably easiest. Mesmer may be the hardest.

W/Mo is by far the easiest character to play. The problem really is that it is too easy to play, to the point that you may not learn much about strategy or effective play. Far better, in my opinion, to start with a slightly more challenging class, I recommend a ranger or elementalist, maybe with monk secondary if you want to make things a little easier, to learn the ropes, then play a warrior through later once you have finished with one of those classes. Don't play a monk or mesmer for your first character.

Rico

W/Mo are really hard to Kill in PvP if you know how to use it well. Its also REALLY easy to play and good for beginners. Its also sorta cheap, lol.

Or you can go like a bunch a noobs do and be a W/R with the IWAY build.

i'm a E/N first time playing, is that smart? or should i start anew?

I think if you want to learn about the game and want to get in groups whenever I suggest a monk/anything.

You see all sides of the guildwars community as a monk, from the leeroys to the whole groups of people telling you how great you are.

In the begining you get to experience offensive and passive spells and you will quickly learn about conditions and hexes and how to build a character to deal
with most situations.

Later in the game you will be relied apon greatly but if you go through playing all missions and don't take the easy routes of runners, you should learn everything you need to know along the way.

This all depends on the type of character you would normally playing in a RPG and how you want to play in guildwars,if you want to be an attacking caster don't go with monk as later in the game it's very hard to get groups to take you even if you are very good at smiting.

I think for ease of gameplay no matter which class you pick you'd be best to have monk as your secondary if you decide you don't want it as a primary, being able to heal yourself quick and cheaply makes for a much easier time.

Monks pwn in presear. I remember how easy the charr were with my monk compared to doing it with my other chars.

And chip is right. My monk was my first char and he is still my favorite char today. You can do just about anything with them. Just make sure it's a mo/me or a mo/n as you will come into conflict with energy management later on.

There are no "wrong" choices in Guild Wars. All of the classes have their strengths and weakness. E/N is a perfectly viable combination for most of the game. Worst comes to worse, you can always forget about your ele skills and play as a pure necro (not recommended) or forget about your necro skills and play pure ele (better option--it is harder to play your secondary than your primary). The only classes I would really strongly suggest against for beginners are mesmer and monk. Mesmer, because it is quite challenging to play in general, but moreso because they are rarely selected in groups, especially later on, and it might give you the wrong impressions about the game. Monk, because in order to be an effective healer, you need to be able to "empathize" with players--that is to say, you won't be able to priorize your abilities effectively, particularly in terms of things like condition and hex removal, because you won't really understand if and when such things should be removed by you, or if you should just let them run their course.

Rico

It's based on your personality.. I disagree with the monk post though, that would probably give a BAD impression for a first timer, and starting out as a monk seeing as they probably don't know the ropes very well. If you like constantly doing things, moving through the game quickly, and laughing at people become a monk. ( It is still a fun class ) With the Wammo's though, you don't get much experience. I would recommend a spell caster for your first character, but thats just me.

The best character to start the game with is the one that hurts your eyes the least. No joke.

my first char was a R/E and it proved to be hard... so I reversed it to E/R and it was much easier...

I started with a R/Me. I never really used the Mesmer part. I didn't really like the damage they dealt and eventually deleted it at the Southern Shiverpeaks. Now that I know pretty much everything I regret that move. I'd go with Anything but a Mesmer or a Monk as it's already been said.

My first character was a sword-using Warrior/Mesmer. That's, mildly put, not a great choice for PvE (although it's quite good for PvP). Oh, it's viable, you can do the entire game as a W/Me, but it's slow going.

My suggestion to anyone starting a new PvE character and who hasn't played before is to make it part monk; what else you are doesn't really matter, or even if you're primary or secondary monk, select whatever takes your fancy, but being part monk will make your life a LOT easier.

My first character was E/Mo but you shouldn't base your first character on others. It all depends on your own playing style and what you find to be best for you.

yeah, if you want to seem like a stupid brainless chav, then w/mo is definately the way to go.

on the other hand, if you don't want to be left out of missions and considered a reject, start off with something easier. personally I found monk to be the easiest and the most demanded profession in PvE. you'll never be without a group.

Monk/Anything would be my recommendation for a 'best character' to start the game with. Here are my reasons why:

1) The monk's healing abilities in pre-searing Ascalon are quite good. Other than the Charr found across the wall, there are few monsters that can actually kill a low level monk in pre. You would basically have to not cast any healing spells on yourself and somehow manage to aggro a large number of foes to get killed. Otherwise, monks in pre are quite safe.

2) Monks typically don't need to worry about a secondary profession. Most likely a monk character will never use skills from their secondary. I chose Warrior for my secondary only to be able to use the 'Sprint' skill to run away when a situation gets ugly, but I could just as easily have chosen Ranger and used 'Dodge' for that. Since monks typically stand at the back of a group anyhow, running away quickly isn't always necessary, so your secondary really doesn't matter. As a first character, monk/anything means you most likely won't regret your choice of secondary later on.

3) As mentioned previously, monks are one of the most sought after group members in PvE. It is typically very easy to find a group as a monk, which makes them a good first character to try. You won't have to go it alone as a monk.

4) Understanding how monk healing and protecting works is a fundamental concept of this game. By starting out with a monk character, you learn early on what monks are capable of and what their limitations are. Many players lack this understanding, and these uneducated players blame monks for their own failures. Learning about how a monk works early on will give you an appreciation for this profession when you are playing some different character later on and have to work with someone else's monk.

My first char was a Me/E, but i didnt get the skill quests in presear (my friend told me). So I remade my char to a E/Me and it was easy as hell. I deleted it at level to make space for some other chars xD.

Unless you want to rush right into the academy...TRY THEM ALL.
Start one..try out the first few quests...try out mixing up the other profession skills with your primary.
If you dont commit to any secondary professions, you can try out all the professions in presear.
Wa/Mo is the easiest to play, but often gets typecast as the stupid "leeroy jenkins" who aggros and bosses people around.
I like my ranger/mesmer build. Not as easy, but I find the challenge adds more fun to the game.

It's funny - lots of advice. I agree with some, disagree with others, but I can understand the logic even in the stuff that I disagree with.

The best advice I can offer is to take your own personality into account when selecting a character. For instance, if you select a monk you'll spend a lot of time watching the health bars - not the game. And, even if you do a great job, you'll often be blamed when some idiot dies. It's a great character for someone who wants to be a true student of the game. But, without knowledge of how the other characters work, I think it would be a really tough way to start.

I also agree with the various posters who said (1) that a warrior/monk is the easiest character to start with and that (2) it's often considered a brain dead choice. Truth? I wouldn't worry too much about that. I've been playing since the game began and - at times, farming for instance - the warrior/monk is a terrific character to use. Keep in mind that you'll be able to change secondaries at will before the game is over. And that's what I do now -- using the secondary that best fits the task. I think warrior/monk is a choice worth considering.

Another character that tends to rule early in the game is the necro. In random PvP, especially in the early arenas, you can dominate. It's also great in PvE groups. So put that on your list.

I'm in danger of writing too much here - that's the trouble when you can type faster than you think. But - like someone else said - there really are no wrong choices.

For starters I personally don't recommend Mesmer and Rangers....

Rangers are difficult to get them to do good dmg (takes some skill) + alot of rangers get stuck in the middle part of the game. People tend to make balanced parties and there r already a lot of rangers there, so any veteran will not pick more then one in their party.

Mesmers require skill and understanding of the opposition to really be effective, but they are far less common then rangers so getting into a party isn't that much of a problem, but if you dont understand em you won't be doing dmg.

Necro's are good all out support characters and although they are more common then mesmers they don't pose much of a problem in getting their skills sorted, so the average PUG will be more likely to take em. And when you understand them well and finished the game you will notice that you're a really wanted class for the most difficult parts of the game (the things to do after you done the last mission).

Elementalists are really wanted in the latter parts of the game as more and more people have then caught up to the fact that 1 warrior tank is enough to draw enemies and keep aggro away from the rest of the party, and when doing this you need xtra dmg, it's also not a difficult class to sort your skills out for. I recommend this class.

Warriors - Most people say that this would be it, but basically it's more that at the start of the game it's hard to do it wrong with this class. But like pointed out above you won't get much feel for strategy and will probably still be in the dark about it when you start playing another char. From the middle of the game and up ppl will notice when you're clueless about tactics and you might end up hurting parties more then helping them. This is also because warriors are typically looked at when it's time for calling targets and a bad caller doesn't help.

Monks are not difficult to put together, but it makes for entirely different gameplay. Instead of focussing on the enemies you have to focus on your allies`, healing them, protecting them. You'll basically be staring at alot of health bars all the time. Yes you could go smiting and damage, but most of the time you will then be asked to go healing, or if you are in a party where you are the last to join and the leader thinks...ah yes a monk, finally and hits start, you'll be failing a lot in missions.

Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

Monks

My 2 cents. A W/mo to start with is easy. Later in the game..still easy. Beat the game...easy farming, running, etc.. I bet most PvE'ers have or have had a W/mo in one of their Char. slots. Another somewhat easy build to run and IMO a great starter character is an Ele/mo. This was my 1st char. before I deleted and went the way of a W/mo and then Ele/N. Ele's can do great damage at the start, combine that with some monk healing skills and plenty of energy, you'll have very little trouble making your way through the game and it will keep you away from the basic hack & slash mentality that comes with playing a W/mo.

I really enjoy the ranger profession, sure there's alot of us out there, but so are w/mo. just depends on if you want an easy or hard game, and your personal preference. why i enjoy the ranger profession? it mixes very well with ele. especially with your bows. such as conjur flame or lightning, but then again so do some other classees such as warrior. a warrior/ele is good as well. that is my other char. and a r/me is very good to in pvp.

but i've played my characters on how i want to play the game, with a challenge. why make the game easy, its better to have a challenge so you can understand how your profession works then just to breeze thorugh with the same ol'e skills without changing up. but that is just me. I feel that if you make the game a challenge you learn your profession and gain a better understanding on how to mix it up and work it with whatever your secondary profession is.

good luck and have fun.

I'd say Monk. It's not because I'm a big fan of Monks but because you can get teams very quickly, because everyone wants at least 1 monk in the team, and you can solo to get some gold as soon as you get to the desert.

Warriors can solo too, but won't get a team that easily, and getting a team easily is just great if you ask me

i say a ranger is the best class to start out with.