Choosing a build...

Hello all. I've played a few MMOs before (EQ, DAoC, SWG, AO) and just got Guild Wars. I need some advice one what build I should pick.

What I want (I assume all of these elements are in the game):
Decent solo PvE just in case I can't find a group
Good group PvE
Great PvP all around
Easy to learn how to play at a basic level but still some complexity to master

In my other MMOs, I usually played melee or melee/caster hybrids though I've played a few straight casters before. Mainly I'm just asking what my primary profession and secondary profession should be for these. I know there are a lot of skill combinations that make each build different even with the same professions but still would like to know if there are some profession combos that work better for what I want.

PS: Forgot to add that I only have Prophecies as of now...

It looks like you should check out pvxwiki.com. Tons of builds there:

http://www.pvxwiki.com/

In Guild Wars there are no really good melee/caster hybrids. Generally speaking, the melee classes have too little energy to be effective spellcasters and the caster classes have too little armor to melee. In Prophecies, your only real choice would be a Warrior/something, but Warriors have a very small energy pool.

In Gw there are 2 types of "solo". For soloing where it's just you alone, Monk and Necro have the most generalized builds I think.
The other sort of "soloing" is just you plus some Heroes & Henchmen to fill the party. Since you only have Prophecies, Heroes are not an option. In this case you want to pick your henchmen to compliment or support your build. In many cases your choice of henchmen will be limited.

For group PvE it really depends somewhat on the makeup of the group in general. Monk is always a good choice for groups. Getting into a Guild is a good idea.

For easy to learn but difficult to master, I would suggest Mesmer, but the differences in complexity are small.

There is no PvP during PvE in GW - you don't run into other people to fight. PvP is basically a separate game. I'm not a PvPer, so others would have to give you more help with that. I would say that, at this pint in GW's life, PvP is mainly for experienced players, and to be really effective, you need skills from all campaigns.

Here's some helpful links:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page
http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

The big problem with finding builds is that no one creates builds based on one campaign only.
The builds that existed when Prophecies were the only campaign has either been nerfed, improved or both.

You can still browse and get some general ideas from PvXWiki

I think you will have trouble getting into any kind of serious PvP without all campaigns unlocked, since you will not be able to roll the builds current trends dictate.

It's not too late,- put the other campaigns on the wish list!

Edit: three answers posted in the same minute,- never seen that before!

You can get an idea of how each profession works on the wiki http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Profession

If one seems to catch your eye then check out what Prophecies only build is available in our Campfire section. There is a a subforum for each profession with a stickied basic thread.

As stated not have skills available from other campaigns cripples your character in PvP. If you end up getting either the other campaigns or the skill packs, then teamlove.us is an organization that is teaching PvP.

I decided to buy the other campaigns since there's that half off sale right now. Got all of them (including my original GW GOTY purchase) for right around $100 which isn't bad. I think I might go with a Paragon build now and see where that leads.

You can get some good ideas for builds but bear in mind that many of them depend on skills you cannot get early in the game.

Elites in particular are different in each campaign and some appear only right at the end of the game.

Some skills depend on your level with a particular faction in the game this started in Factions with Kurzic and Luxon Skills and carried on in Nightfall and Eye of the North where there are similar group based skills.

The Warrior has the best Armour and the least energy for skills depending mainly on adrenal skills.

Then you get the Ranger Dervish Paragon and Assassin still very good armour but more caster skills these are your Hybrid types.

Last you get the Pure Casters Armour is lowest of all the classes and they rely on extra protection from their skills, Elementalist Necromancer Monk Mesmer and Ritualist.

Its a complex but fun game and don't worry about a lack of party all the time you can add henchmen in all the games and heroes when you get to Nightfall and Eye of the North.

I'd prefer to group with real people, that's one of the reasons I play a MMO instead of a single RPG (those are fun too but not what I'm looking for from GW).

Thanks for all the info, guess I'll just try out one of the 6 core classes in the prophecies campaign and go from there. I only had 4 character slots before I got the other campaigns and now that I have 8 I don't feel so limited and can have many different builds set up.

For PvE you might eventually want to get some of the PvE only skills from "Eye of the North",- but you can always buy that one later (if you didn't get it with your purchase).

Wish you all the best n finding the profession that suits you the most.