Starting over: what should I be?

Okay. I'm a pretty experienced GW gamer, played all profs to 20 and completed at least 1 game with each (not necromancers though, I'm against them on principle) and so I understand most mechanics.

I haven't played guild wars since last summer because I've been at uni, and so i'm aware things will have changed a bit (shadow form nerf = gg).

I'm looking to delete all my characters, and everything I have unlocked, and just start again. Stick to one character, complete all 4 games, get some titles and have lots of fun.

The reason I'm asking is cause I have prejudice and I want to hear other players' opinions on classes incase I missed something, plus I'm behind times, as said earlier.

With my new character, I want to be able to do PvE play with heroes in HM, and survive, occasional PvP RA, and AB for kicks. I love making new builds and combining skills etc, for farming and running so if the class has options for that (more skills, better for solo play), I consider that a bonus.

Usually I preferred dealing damage to supporting or hexing, but that could all change. And once again, I won't be a Necromancer!

If you can help and give advice, feedback, etc, that will be greatly appreciated.

I would advise against deleting your characters,once you delete them you cant get them back and you might regret it, also if you have the slot to just make another character, I would say just do that.

If you still want to delete them I would advise you to not delete them but instead strip them of everything.

Weapons and armor isn't hard to get, so it wont be that bad, the reason I say to strip them, is because when you make your new character and then you get bored or something the other characters not having armor/weapons will push you away from playing with them.

Seeing as you want to do damage more then support it looks like your choices are gonna be between w/r/rt/e

From those choices I would say you could run

A warrior with 100b sun and moon etc, or the whirlwind+aoe warrior attack, im loving earth shaker with it.

A splinter/barrage letting your heroes carry the splinter, because they are good at applying it

Go with ele for the obvious nukes.

Rit has good damage with the spirits they can summon and also have gotten a few more choices after the last update.

If you do decide to strip your other character remember to take of the runes and weapons of their heroes and then pool them together to be used on your new characters heroes, a good way to get heroes runed.

PS.Don't delete them, free birthday presents are a good thing and who knows you might get something worth some cash and be able to earn easy money that way and not having to worry about money then.

Okay okay okay... I won't delete them

The purpose of deleting them was so I don't get distracted - I tend to do lots with a character and then get completely distracted and start over etc, but this time I want total dedication to one class' cause.

I recall there is a ranger/mesmer running build but it's not very good, and if rits can run then god help us all. Can rangers farm (solo) anything now other than FoW/UW trapping?

Warriors are good fun but i always found they had energy problems, at least as far as secondaries were concerned. I'm sure shockwave has a use somewhere, maybe D/E, certainly not W/E!

I do like the idea with going ele again, I used to have a main main ele, do love the class. Can you outlie how rits have changed because when I had mine the rituals took 5 seconds each but there was a massive skill overhaul right?


I'm curious, why do you not mention dervishes?

Which campaign do you think you'll start with?

That will slightly effect your choices, obviously.

I would love to be a Dervish and do Pre-Searing and work through Ascalon etc. I've done it with all the core professions and would love to do it with the others.

I think Rangers are a little limited for farming opportunities. I guess there is R/Rit Spirit Spammer for a few farming options though.
They are my favourite class for an old style FoW or UW run.

Well I'm toying with two ideas:
1. starting old school, original guild wars, getting one elite early through a tome then working through every mission in order.
2. Powerleveling to 20, then workig through all the games and title hunting.

I guess if I wanted rit/sin/derv/para i could do option one but with one of the other games.

I intend to cap every non elite and elite skill for every profession for this character. Is dervish a bit restricted by the power of Earth Prayers, or am I missing wind prayers' potential? I do like VoS for a bit of AB action though, it's always a surprise.

Im not really sure why I didn't mention the derv, even thought they have easy deep wound.

I guess there is no really great build on the derv, they also suffer from mysticism which they need for energy and which lowers your damage over time.

But dervish are definitely a option for what you want, especially if you want /e grasping earth is pretty nice combined with armor of sanctity.

if you are just looking at the core professions I would go either monk or ele---a monk has a very good smiting elite and I rarely do healing with mine--though most groups will always want a healer with them so you are sure to get groups; eles are also pretty much accepted into most groups as they are pretty high damage dealers (my other choice is rit due to it versatility...but that would be non-core).
I currently have the title hunter on my monk so it was pretty easy to cap them with that profession. (he also has gm cartographer as well as leg guardian)....

Well...you cant be a dervish in pre searing since dervishes have to start in nightfall.
For the OP I suggest to make this choice first: Do you want to be melee or caster?
For melee the aforementioned 100b warrior or a dervish could be fun.
For caster I suggest ritualist. Last year they buffed spiritspamming, shortening spirit casting time if i remember correctly. With signet of spirits and a few more spirits you can solofarm a lot of things. It is also real useful when you go with 7 h/h. Just plant spirits near enemy, use bow lure and let the spirits tank and you can kill anything apart from a few elite areas. If you happen to go tired of the spirits you can also turn your ritualist into a healer etc, you are not stuck with a single role.

Last, dont delete your old chars, you will regret it. Just delete one to make a free slot or buy the slot. If you really want to try starting from scratch you can empty your storage entirely into the bags of the old chars so you will have to strive to get every little bit of materials for armor and every penny to purchase weapons and runes. I have tried this myself, its a nice warm feeling when you stand there with max armor on a char that has actually worked to earn it

MMM well i was always worried that going derv would be limiting as they have less elites, and less skills, and are restricted as they are reliant on several skills (mystic regen, conviction etc). I consider mysticism a strength not a weakness - the energy gain can be great when paired with zealous renewal or something.

Monks are interesting, I SHOULD really check out smiting, isn't ray of judgement just a little gimmicky? I always loved protting.

As previously stated eles are great fun and I resperct that both get alot of team play.

Aren't rangers renowed for their versatility aswell? Rits are quite fun, thanks for the update! I felt it was a shame about soul twisting, i prefered the other version.

@Raven_Wing, melee s caster is a very big question for me. I agree I should ponder that one as it really narrows down the options.

Can i ask why you're so against Necromancers?

I would've suggested you play one of those really.

i consider mysticism a strength not a weakness, energy gain can be phenomenal if paired with zealous renewal or something.
I was a bit worried that dervishes might be a bit less fun i the long run because they have less elites and normal skills. Also, they sort of rely on certain skills as staple in their bar (mystic regen, conviction etc)

Monks i used to find boring but i never really gave smiting a chance, i didn't wat to join the RoJ gimmick crew. I do love protting though so i could reconsider...

As previously mentioned i love eles so that is a good option.

Non-core, i might look over the rit skills again see if i like the changes, but i don't like the changes to soul twisting, i found the old version more fun.

@raven_wing thanks for the update I need to think over that question, it's important and i'm not really sure right now. Hmm melee or caster (ideally i want a class that can do both, so i dont feel tempted to restart/make a new one), melee or caster... I will think over that for a while.

I think rather than..What shall I be?

Mabe its best to ask yourself..What class do I enjoy?

Have a look at the Campfire section for an update ect of the Profesions to give some insight to whats new and upto date.

To dedicate to one class then its your preference. You have the classes all to 20 so no use going back to start over from scratch, Pick the one you want to spend time with , look up its pros and cons then go for it.

Yes many will say pick this or that but,its really all down to you as your the guy playing.

Welcome back and enjoy Guild Wars

/agree

You want to keep things fresh so to speak? Then do something you really havent done much of. Use your necromancer. Theres no need to delete really and have to grind all what you have done all over again. Theres SO much GRIND ahead of you, dont give yourself more.

A necro can be used everywhere. Theres always groups wanting a necro.

Over the years, I've heard SO many people say they got bored of the necro when first starting out that they switched to something else. Then later regretting they should have stayed with their necro, seen as how its used so much.

Fight the fight in your head....go with necro hands down.

play a nec, rit or warrior. they got recently buffed - and probably will even more in the future - and even if they remain as they are now, they're superb.
do not pick a mesmer or dervish in pve as your main. there are dozens of topics about it.
paragon has just one superb build that will probably get nerfed, sooner or later, so i wouldn't advise it either.
start in nightfall or factions, imho, unless you really like prophecies storyline.
try to equip and get skills for your heroes as soon as you get them - there's a big difference between playing with good and bad heroes.

why are you against necromancers?

-.-

I'm amazed at the amount of people that tell you to run a "good" pve class instead of a class you actually like to play. And that's my advice, Play a class that you like. So you will actually have a fun time. PvE is not hard anymore. So don't worry about that. Mesmers and dervishes can win pve just as easily as a monk. The only problem is that you won't find groups that easily. But most towns are dead, so don't expect to find a group if you are a monk or ele.

I'm going to help you pick a class. You want to have alot of skills. So that means one of the 6 core classes.
You prefer damage over hexing and supporting. So ele, warrior and ranger are the options.
All of those 3 classes are good in pvp and are used alot.
In hardmode the elementalist is support. And in normal mode they are damage.
In hardmode and the normal mode the warrior is a great damage dealer.
The ranger is versatile, but the other 2 classes outshine the ranger in pve.
So it comes down to ele or warrior. The question is, do you want to cast or use martial weapons? ;D

wow a lot to reply to.

@Xenex_Xclame, it's okay, I read up on dervishes, I understand the weaknesses with them - if i want versatility then I don't want a class from Nightfall

@cosyfiep, I find monks hard to play as I was never great at timing heals. I love protting, and i never properly tried smiting however. Might look into them!

@Raven_Wing, Melee vs Casters is THE big question. I need to think on that more, really.

@TalanRoarer, REDdelver and aeligos: I'm against Necros cos I don't really like their death loving attitudes. I love the idea of soul reaping, and I like some of their skills, like BiP etc and HP sacrifice for skills, but I hate several fundamental parts of the class, namely the hexing, and the over class look, they are creepy, and their armor isn't my taste!

@Highlander_of_Alba: I did just that. I've checked out mesmers dervishes and necros so far (hence why they are ruled out).

@REDdelver: I respect you love necros and I know they are versatile which IS exactly what I want, but i could NEVER play a class like that. Thanks though

@drkn: I checked out the dervish threads and i see your point. I haven't looked at rits much, but i might end up declining on that thought; i'll check out the buff they got and see if its more appealing to me

@warvic: Thank you. That's exactly my thought process you helped to clarify. How many skills do rits (being the only non-core class i'm remotely interested in) lose out on? I mean really i think sins and rits and paras and dervs should have been given disproportionately high amounts of elites and non elites on their campaign map, as they are special to the continent.



So, in conclusion, to help any future readers/helpers, my thoughts are as follows:

Dervishes: Not enough skills. Too niche for me, requiring many of the same skills in most builds (can u get eternal aura if you are x/D and then cycle an avatar? hah probably not.)

Paragons: Not enough skills. People assume you are imbagons, and, although i loved assuming it was me turning the tide of the AB battle with a well-placed Crippling Anthem/The Power is Yours/Defensive Anthem, i guess it wasn't. And it's not enough to make up for the negatives.

Assassins: I've played one for a while, and the recent nerf to shadow form has made them less appealing from a farming perspective. I find dagger attack chains limit the bar (i know, it is the point, as they are damage dealers), but I'm not heading up that route.

Necros: As previously stated.

Mesmers: Too indirect for me, and i'm not patient enough.




That leaves it down to: Ritualist/Monk/Ranger/Warrior/Elementalist.


@Warvic, I'm not ready to rule out monks or ritualists yet. They are both versatile, and monks do have direct damage through smites, and rits through channeling.


SIGH, what a monster message :P

Another point is the following. if you want to get the vanquishing title at some point then you'll probably end up using Discordway, which is easiest (imo) with an ele because of the huge energy pool eles have. Grinding -> Discord -> ele...

okay so the moderator is waiting on my reply. It was a really long one, addressing each and every one of you. I don't know exactly what this means but it sucks in the short term.

why do i have to wait for a moderator to check over my looong message i wrote?

Imo a ranger will suit your needs at best.
While a ranger isn't a top tier PvE profession he's still very versatile. This is very handy with heroes/henchmen because you want that the most significant position in your team is played by yourself. Also, rangers are very good skirmish fighters, thus they are very powerful in the PvEvP formats AB, JQ and FA. They are also very strong in any other PvP format.
Generally speaking physical fighters (warrior, ranger, sin, dervish, para) will be the top choice for heroes/henchmen because they are able to deal far more damage than casters and heroes/henchmen pretty suck at damage dealing. Also, physical fighters will be far better at abusing "Save yourselves!", which is extremly strong because heroes/henchmen like to ball up and get busted by AoE nukes. However, a warrior is only good in RA, but rather sucks in any other low end PvP format, and all the other physical fighters mostly perform poorly to medicore in any low end PvP format.

I wasnt going to quote the whole thing. But overall wow. I guess its a good thing to know what you want and dont want.

There inlies the weird irony. You know so much of what you want...and so much of what you dont want....yet you cant decide?

It doesnt see to me like you are very open at all. TO say you could NEVER play a class like that says A LOT.

I wish you best on trying to sift all thats in your head on making such simple decision so difficult. Overthinking leads to just more thinking. Gl with picking a profession, I hope you enjoy.

Just thinking about deleting all your chars to start fresh isnt about focus its about not being satisfied. Something tells me you'll focus on the bad in whatever profession you chose and never be satisfied.

Good luck.

Rit: Rits are awesome. They don't have as many skills to play around with, but it's still a lot. There's also a decent amount of viable elites, and due to the unique skill types (Binding Ritual, Item Spell, and Weapon Spell), you'll have a different experience that that of other casters. My favorite part of playing a Rit would be that as a midliner, you have a lot of flexibility in the entire build concept you want to run. For example, you can run a Spirit Spammer, a RestoRit, etc, whereas other professions really only do one or two things well.

Monk: I don't particularly like healing/protting much. Most PuGs will expect you to do this. If you don't plan on playing with other people much (just Heroes and Henchmen), then you'll have more freedom to run a full Smiting bar or some form of hybrid.

War: My main is a War. If you enjoy blowing stuff up in melee, play a War. Not much else to say really. Depends what type of character you want to play.

Ranger: Rangers are generally considered one of the sub-par professions atm. Their main problem is that their unique skill types such as traps and nature rituals, as well as build concepts such as interruption and high survivability just aren't useful enough to replace another profession. Example: Why bother crippling, poisoning, and interrupting something when you can just kill it?

Ele: Fine if you like them. In other games I like playing mage/wizard types like this, but I don't find eles particularly interesting. Ether Renewal is good for fueling basically any spammable energy based skills from any profession, which is fun. Nuking is generally not effective as you into high-end PvE/HM though.

If I were you i'd roll a monk and just pug/guild everything, no heroes or hench at all. My best (and worst) times were when i was actually playing with people.

If you want one character that will be able to do just about any of the content you can access, pick Warrior, Ranger, Elementalist, or Monk. Ritualist and Paragon may also be acceptable.

I would not recommend deleting all of your characters. I'm sure that there is one character that you have that you'd later regret having deleted. And if not... Just what have you been playing GW for for all this time?

Finally, if you have never ever ever given any class a fair try, you are obligated to do so. It's okay if you picked up Necromancer, toyed around with it for maybe a day or two, and decided it wasn't for you. If you've never made one to just try it, you're missing out.

@REDdelver: Quite a powerful message. I wouldn't say it's a weird irony; I've played them all, I love them all in ways, and I know exactly what I can get out the the guild wars game - the same as I have for many years - lots of enjoyment. Only this time, my aim is to play one class to the ground, specialise my knowledge, and do absolutely everything that class can do. So, yes I love all classes, in lots of ways, but I don't love necros - why build upon something I don't enjoy and play that to the ground? Part of me not being able to decide is because I know this is a big decision and it's one I'm going to stick to. It would be a simple decision if I was a first time gamer (...what looks COOL?!?!...) but I'm not. It would be simple if I was playing until I got bored of the concept and game play, and was prepared to start all over again, but I'm not. I've done both of those things before, and this time I want to experience everything the game has to offer, narrowed down to one class. Oh I'm definitely not satisfied. Yet. I know I can decide and besides, that's what guidance is for, right?

@Marty_Silverblade: Thanks for reading up, and working with me :P The clarification you gave is really helpful, I actually (despite Desert_Rose's input) don't think ranger is going to be my main now. I read up on the smites for monks and they sound fun but what a waste of their primary - could do that with another class basically.

@Shayne_Hawke: I've tried to play necromancers several times. The furthest I have ever got with them was to level 14 (on factions...) and it just wasn't as fun.

Okay I'm down to deciding between Elementalist, Warrior, and Ritualist.

Thanks guys, I'm off to lectures, I'll have a full day's thinking

Elementalist and Ritualist are both great choices (ele is my 1st account main, rit my 2nd account main).

If going melee I'd suggest assassin over warrior.

I've recently made a warrior so I can complete my HoM (silver eagle armor) but I'm not impressed by them. I hear people say all the time: if you love to blow stuff up go warrior. Or: dmg + tank? go warrior. I call BS. I say go assassin.

Damage wise the assassin is clearly superior. Warriors are just annoying imo. You have to build adrenaline and keep it up all the time. A hit with one adrenaline attack loses adrenaline over all adrenaline skills. A miss with an adrenaline attack and you can't use it again. Energy attacks are not a solution (unless you go Warrior's Endurance you can't fill your bar with them and the best skills are adrenaline anyway). Assassins can pump out constant damage with fast recharging chains that will really blow up targets.

The armor issue is a non-issue as well in PvE. All the time you hear the argument: warriors have super-duper impenetrable armor. Or: assassins might as well be squishies, 1 hit and they're dead. I call BS. I say go assassin.

Warriors have 116 armor (if they are running 13 strength with those +20vs elemental insignia and a shield). Assassins have 105-110 armor (blessed or nightstalker's insignia with critical agility).

Necro Necro Necro....

You do not like it on principal? 4 necro's on a team?? (you and the 3 heros) Come on..that's 32 Minions! a Freakeeen ARMY and toss on that skill with the circle on it when a minion dies it explodes????

Man you can PAWN lower areas just by waiting a few minutes. You can have 8 Minions in 2 minutes just standing there.. then go and PAWN them. That's 4 minions every minute????

PAWNAGE

Now what about PVP? ever hear of NEcro BomBer!!!

The main problem with the warrior, for me, is the energy limitations. I haven't got a problem with damage (i know sins do more but they are restricted by that) and I love the armour (sins can get armour but they are restricting their options, again). Since I am going for flexibility and fun, I'll just need to think if the energy problems are manageable. I agree with eles and rits though - the update has done the rits some huge favours :P

If you choose warrior you have to accept that you'll always fight with a weapon in hand, mostly in melee.
My ele is my third main, and I mostly only use her if I play together with other human players. If I play alone I often have problems to deal enough damage to kill groups with 1-2 monks and maybe one monk boss quickly. But once you have another human player who deals damage ele becomes very powerful because it's a very good support profession.
One reason why I always decided not to make a ritualist is that everything they can do a ele or ranger can do nearly as good or even better; not sure if this has changed due to the last update.

necros have the most overpowered and broken e-management ingame. passive.

I think that many of the weaknesses in ritualists in PvE have been changed. In PvP i wouldn't be surprised if they were still weak - their binding rituals are all about 5 second casts, create lower level spirits, and cost more energy.

Ele are great, they do have lots of skills, and I find I'm always tempted to try to make a build revolving around bad skills and make it good, in this case, the majority of water magic.

I think I should get this thread closed - you guys have already helped me enough as it is, limiting it from 10 classes to 2/3. I'm not going to be able to play for a few weeks, so I have ample time to decide. Thanks guys