Good classes to support henchmen?

So, I've come to realize that certain classes + henchmen in PvE are asking for trouble. Namely, Assassins. I love the playstyle, but I do NOT like how crappily things go when I start taking damage, which is often since Henchmen have no brains. I tried Paragons and things are kind of easy, but it's extremely boring just keeping shouts up all the time.

What are classes that require some attention, but still perform decently in PvE. I'm not looking for easy mode, but I'm not looking for a deathwish.

In the meantime, I'm going to try a few different things, but since I'm kind of new in comparison to most in PvE, I figured I'd ask as well.

Thanks!

Ritualists and Mesmers are very good in pve.

Maybe monk if you feel comfortable, monking allows henchmen to focus on their targets and they become very effective, just remember to adjust them to avoid combat otherwise they get hit!

Will say some of the heros are good for pve(some still have a mind of there own lol)

You said you are pretty new to pve

Mabe you are taking the wrong ones with you at the time(or wrong builds)

Its better to look at the particular missions you are doing first then adjust your heros to suit. As missions will show what you will face in it
you should also kit them out as if you were the hero ie adding runes ect to them

There are sabway/discord builds ,have a look at them to accompany you.

Pretty basic stuff really.

All professions are the best. If you are failing with your assassin, it is YOU, not the prof.

they all work fine. its just a matter of which henchmen to choose.

edit: or wut ^he said.

btw, this belongs in qna.

I'd say melee is the best, maybe warrior, but dervish and assassin can do as good.

Try to adapt your builds to improve your efficiency (splinter + scythe = big ball of dead enemies, for example). To be efficient, remember you'll have to use some skills by yourself (prot spirit, nukes...), to flag your heroes out of aoe, and to use the map at your own advantage (body block melee, ball them for aoe, cover from projectiles).

Nearly completed Master of the North (a few vanquishes left) on my assassin with only heroes and henchmen, without consumables, scythes own pve.

Generally you want to build your team around you, not the other way around.

I know this doesn't really answer your question, but tbh, any class is good enough in PvE.

Actually, monking is the exact opposite in pve. If you don't call targets as the player, the h/h won't focus on one target and spread their damage/whatever else all around, leading to drawn out fights. In HM this can become bothersome as a monk so monking in pve (with h/h) is spent halfway between calling targets and healing/protting. Not necessarily difficult, but more difficult than playing with a damage class, imo.

or you can play a smite monk with say [ray of judgment]
but yes I agree that standard monks and rits are pretty bad for H&Hing because you're more focused on defense and damage support than on actually calling targets and stuff. not to say it's impossible but it requires getting used to.

as to the op, first of all you have heroes to accompany you(unless you don't have Nightfall nor EotN) in which case you're stuck with henchies only. second of all you need to fit the team build(H&H) around your own character not the other way around. play what you like playing and build a team that will be the best for you.

Note to everyone who is saying that the OP shouldn't play a monk; this thread is in the Heroes & AI section.

So, mid level armour. Active but not in harms way. Not having constant upkeep.

You sir, want to be a ranger!

- Mid level armour so you won't die aaaaall the time.
- Not a simple class to play, (interupting and stuff takes skill)
- Not much upkeep (barr preparations)
- Large variety of viable PvE builds

^^ good advice^^ but i would say play necro if you dont have heros available cause a MM just makes Normal Mode sooo much easier to me + u can run SS(the best pve hex in the game imo). lol and necros have been getting major skill buffs lately

psst, look at thread title.

Things go crap when you start taking damage? LOL!

Start using heroes, good ones. Take mainly support/ranged henchies dont take melee ones (only exception are guardian henchies in Factions, for blocks).

Assassins win PvE.

I would also suggest a ranger. You can play both ranged and melee using a ranger due to their large variety of skills. Bunny Thumpers, Escape Scythes, Turret Rangers, Splinter Barragers come to mind. Play whatever suits your style.

Rangers can also run assassin builds because of expertise, so you can keep your playstyle while gaining survivability.

I have played an assassin through all the campaigns and up through EoTN. Most of this before the triple Necro heroes.

Rule One of PvE Assassin: Carry Longbow, no attribute required little Longbow in Weapon Slot 4. Use this to pull and start combats. Actually, it is rule 1 for all classes except rangers who have longbows anyway. One of those little longbows you find in the starting areas.

Henchies, if you have no heroes, carry couple healers or healer and protector, at least one ranger hench to run or shadow step back to. They usually stay back a bit. Couple Warriors, let them get in and aggro first, and take the heavy fire from the enemy casters. That's where the longbow comes in handy, couple shots while the aggro locks in, switch to daggers, go get 'em.

When you get a necromancer hero running as minion master, things get a lot easier if there are corpses available.

Make use of terrain where you can, make the mobs come around corners to get you, etc.

If you want the most PvE friendly class, yes the Ranger gets my vote also. Nice and durable, stays at range, does good damage, doesn't put unusual stress on the hench healers.

The heroes and hench work together as a team. If the hench monks are not overstressed with healing you, then they usually do very well.

Favorite Hench Anecdote: It's happened to me more than once. Party nearly wiped because I was stupid. Me dead, laying there, watching three or four hench finish taking down the mobs. In Domain of Fear, I once watched my Paragon hero, a hench healer, and a hench Mesmer take down one nearly dead demon and two very healthy demons. Took 'em a while to do it, but they did it. And no, they didn't rez me. They knew better!

Go Warrior/Monk let the hench fend for themselves LOL

Honestly

You need to call targets

You need to ensure you do not over aggro

You need to know the mission ahead and build ahead for it
(example if it is a must stop a monster skill mission to survive make sure you have enough interruption in your hench team switch the team if you have to)

Balanced groups (if you have 3-4 melee all taking damage from explosions from the afflicted what healer could keep up)

Balance team

2 healers Rits included
no more than 2 Melee (I usually run only one)
Elementalist take all but wind (AOE is king in PVE)
Balance in vile necro or Mesmer Ranger
Inturrupt ranger is good in certain places.

If you wish to use the monk henchies from EOTN in your build, and you want to draw better heals from them, you should go for enchantment builds. What enchantments and how to best use them is an open question for you to answer.

Mhenlo uses [[Dwayna's Kiss] which synergizes with enchantments since there is no skill in the game to self-hex. Even though Mhenlo himself carries some enchantment spells like [[Vigorous Spirit] and [[Divine Intervention], he doesn't cast them nearly enough. Lina uses [[Dismiss Condition] that provides free healing when target is enchanted, even though she uses that as a condition removing spell rather than for healing.

Looking into henchies build is useful if you are designing a 3-heroes H/H build especially one for a particular area of a campaign (e.g. Shards of Orr). This way, even though you can't bring 7-heroes with 1 account, you can still form a build that synergizes better by bringing certain henchies, and henchies, for a particular area, have fixed builds. It is also fine to design a build to require 2 accounts or more but that would be an extra limitation to have another account or to wait for a friend to show up.