Profession Question (Heh, Rhyme).

I was wondering which SUPPORT Profession is able to easily use Conditions and Hexes. My mind keeps thinking Mesmer, but a lot of others are telling me Necro.

For hexes - either. For hexes and conditions, Necro has more options available. (That's the short answer)

Also Ele. Even though they may be thought of as nukers, in Hard Mode, due to the high level of armor of foes that negate most of their damage, they really play more as support characters. Water provides hexes that cause slowdown, and earth is full of weakness, while air is full of blind and cracked armor, and fire is obviously burning.

Your title doesn't rhyme unless you pronounce it "Profession Queshun" or "Profeshtun Question." :P

And yea, Necros would be better for conditions and hexes. Mesmers are weak in the condition area. But, Mesmer hexes are generally more useful in PvP for shutdown.

Mesmers can apply conditions better with another conditioner

Conditioner can spam crap and Mes can fevered/Extend

Necros better for alone

Necro for both conditions and hexes. Mesmer as a secondary can be just as useful though. What primary is this for?

That's what I'm looking for. I'm wondering which one of those professions would be better for Conditions and Hexes. This is mainly for PvE. Also, wouldn't a Ranger be the best at Conditions alone?

Necros would probably best for you, then. Mesmers only truly shine in PvP, while Necros are good for both PvP and PvE.
Rangers are probably the best for conditions in PvP, but many of the conditions that Rangers can easily apply are bad in PvE:

Poison, bleeding, and crippled are usually not worth the effort. So, dazed is the only great condition that a ranger can easily apply (Fire is okay, blind can only be applied with touch/trap skills, DW can only be applied with a pet).

The problem I have with Necromancer is the speed factor. Mesmer's Fast Casting appeals to me in the sense that I can get shots off in a split-second. I'm not a big fan of waiting around for Barbs and whatnot to finish casting. Is there anything I could do about that? And, technically, isn't the main reason for a Necromancer the Soul Reaping? Why couldn't I just use a Mesmer and abuse the plethora of skills in the Inspiration line?

40/40 is a term you may or may not be familiar with. Check this out:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/40/40

So, sure, you're still not going to be matching Fast Casting, but a large portion of the time you'll get a halved cast time which can really speed things up. And, since you should be specializing in 1-2 attributes and some of your skills will have low cast times anyway, it'll make casting feel a lot less time-consuming and a lot more time-effective.

EDIT: You may want to check out this build:

http://pvx.wikia.com/wiki/Build:N/Me_SS_Nuker

You pick some of the variants and you've got 2-3 hexes, 2-3 conditions, and a whole lot of rock.

Okay, thanks for the information on the 40/40 sets. Just also wondering as a Necromancer will the conditions generally be long enough? Because what I'm looking at right now is Extend Conditions and Archer's Signet. Those two skills just look like a of fun to play around with.

If you're looking at PvE and bringing both conditions and hexes, (typically) your hexes are going to be damage related (Spiteful Spirit) or damage buff related (Barbs/Mark of Pain) and your conditions will be debuffs (the weakness from Enfeebling Blood in Hard Mode makes a world of difference and Weaken Armor can make a target drop significantly faster).

It sounds like you want your conditions to be pressure-based or offense-based, but that's just not a viable use of conditions in PvE. To answer the question more directly, yes, the conditions will last long enough to succeed in their intended purpose. Just don't be misguided into thinking Poison will degen your enemy to death .

Keep in mind, Using Archer's Signet means you're NOT holding your 40/40 set (and there are really far far better elites a conditions necro can pack) but using up both hands anyway.

Generally, though, any conditions you might want to make last longer can usually just be reapplied faster, without burning up your elite slot (Daze and Deep Wound being the obvious counterexamples, because they are just that frickin' sweet)

*Nudge Nudge* If you are looking for pressure-hexes, see FengShui's post, but consider this... It's not OMGWTF Face-Pwning, but it can be fun for a few minutes.

Fragility -> Weaken Armor/Enfeebling Blood -> Virulence [-> Epidemic] (The last if the enemy is balled up). Turn pressure conditions into damage FTW.

Would using a FD/Fragility Mesmer hero with a Necromancer, whom I decided to go with, be the best choice? Or I am better off going N/Me? Also, what is a damage-type build for a low-level Necromancer?