Returning to GW and looking for fresh start

Hi, I'm returning to GW after a 2 year absence.

I used to play Ne/Mo quite alot, MM and SS I think :S
I also remember having a very short and sweet dabble with a Warrior.

I was just wondering what you guys n gals would recomend trying. I have always been curious about the Assassins.

I should probably mention that I'll be looking at completing Hard Mode and probably farming alot for Armours, weapons crafting, Various points, and probably vanquishing. The more I can do solo the better.

I don;t expect a definitive answer as there obviously isn't one I would just appreciate you're opinions.

Thanks

Necros do well in all PvE modes, period.
Monks, warriors, and ritualists also all have good builds that most groups will be willing to take without question.
Eles are great in NM, but in HM their best bet is to be an Ether Renewal healer (check PvXwiki). Not recommended if you're just getting started again.
Assassins do crazy damage if you build them right, and Shadow Form is still the #1 most used farming build in the game.
Mesmers recently got buffed to the point of sheer ridiculousness, if you know how to play one (which means having an intimate knowledge of the area, the foes, their skills, and how you should handle them). They fare well in HM due to ample armor-ignoring damage.
Dervishes are...well, they're fun and do decent damage, but they're outclassed in a lot of ways and no one will be looking to have you, anywhere.
Rangers can do great single-target ranged DPS, even in HM, but they're outclassed in raw numbers in pretty much everything, and their unique mechanics (pets, traps, spirits) don't get much love.
Paragons = imbagons. Look up the build on PvXwiki if you plan on making one, because that's basically the only thing they can run (mainly because it's just so damn good). Any group will love to have you for any HM content, but damn it can get boring.

Thanks for taking the time to reply with all that. I think I'm going to go for an Assassin wig Shadow form for a bit of farming. Then either The paragon or have some fun with something different like a Rit, I've never played one so might be fun.

Not forgetting I've still got my trusty Necro, who will always be my favourite lol.

I noticed you use Rit, how do you find them personally, because to be honest I'm sick of seeing Monks and Warriors lol

Yep necro's are very versatile and also very good for soloing HM stuff (well H/Hing ey). Not the hardest profession to play and you have some experience with it. Necro's can also look awsome in original ways as well as common seen ways in the means of armor/weapons used. There are classes that look crappy when you try to make them original and half of GW is already wearing the cool stuff. *cough elite gladiator chest + chaos gloves and obby cough*

Necro is perfect for you!

Honestly? Choose the profession you like the most.

I have a Assassin as main. It's very easy to VQ with or do other HM jobs. But really, any class will have a easy time in PvE with the right heroes. But with the Assassin you can also do alot of farming.

It's a fun class that is great in theory. Sneaking in and killing the backline while shadow stepping out etc. Mad fun right? But this is not the case. Shadowsteps have long cooldowns, and are pretty much useless in most pve areas. Also chains are getting boring very fast. You run to a enemy and spam attack skills till he drops. It's a brainless class hehe ;D Every class will become boring eventually tho

So take the class you really like the most. Because eventually the player with a fun class will hold out longer then the player that took a stronger class that he doesn't like. Believe me!

Have multiple characters. Switch between them. Whichever one you like the most, stick with it.

In my case it worked for years til they made hard mode...

Rit spirit spammers with Signet of Spirits are probably the best single-target DPS machines in the game right now, so good that they can solo farm and the spirits kill stuff before it can kill the spirits. They can do other utility kind of stuff, and their heals are pretty nice (the party healing is unparalleled), but the direct damage channeling stuff is...well, it works in NM, not so much in HM.

I think I am definatly going for the multiple character route.
I'm keeping my Necro MM for a bit of fun and farming while my other chars are low level.
I am definatly going for an Assassin even if I only end up using it for farming.

The rit sounds good but lack of damage in HM kind of puts me off. I think I may got for the Paragon. Even though it could get boring I'll still have the variety of an Assassin and a Necro.

Thanks for all the replies too, i'm raring to go now. I just have to wait for ANet to reply with a character name so I can log on, since it's been so long I have forgotten them.

Rits with SoS do the most damage in hard mode and can bring splinter weapon which is also armor ignoring.

As far as lightning damage...DwG (20% armor penetration) still does more than Elementalists not running air and Ancestor's Rage is armor ignoring. Only the lightning damage channeling magic skills suffer in hard mode, but with DwG it is not as bad. For example, Channeled Strike does as much as a 25 energy Lightning Hammer.

Other than that: Clamor of Souls (costs 0 with an item spell or Spirit), Essence strike (mainly for the energy), Cruel was Daoshen, Caretaker's charge (mainly for self heal...pretty lame skill), Gaze from beyond (mainly for the blind), spirit boon strike (mainly for the spirit healing), Wielder's strike (more or less lame), Spirit Rift (high damage makes up for it) are the only lightning damage skills.

Rit's channeling damage works fine in HM with the armor penetration from DwG or CwD.