"Newbie" Needs a Profession

I came into Guild Wars when it first came and then 'till the Canthan expedition. After that I took a break from the game. I've recently come back and everything is all meta-game, numbers, and extreme efficiency (after reading all the forum posts, wiki, wikia, and the like and being totally confused, to a degree). I love the idea of playing the game to the best of one's ability, it's just overwhelming, if you will.

Is there a profession or a build that is all about mashing buttons? Not mindlessly of course, but I hate not doing something. It bothers me... I heard the Sin was a great candidate depending on how you play it, or the Warrior with all the adrenal skills. Even some builds might be good. I know a couple like the Touch Ranger build, but never tried it or thought it seamed that spammy.

Any direction you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated!

Sins, dervs, wars all mash. Try out all 3 and see what feels best. There's also plenty of vids on youtube if you want to see em in action at higher levels.

Consider also Mesmer. You need to keep an eye on what the target is doing in addition to hitting the right button at the right time.

In general, all melee-oriented classes, like Sin, Derv, or Warrior, are the most obviously and primarily face-smashing of all classes. Though, ALL classes have builds which can facesmash (if you're *un*creative enough to make one yourself)...
i.e. (There are many more, don't limit yourself)
all classes- dagger spam
Paragon- Imbagon
Mesmer- Mantra of Recall spam of Mistrust/Shame/Divert/all the hex interrupts...
Ele-Searing of Flames

It's 2AM in the morning, and that's the few I got off the top of my head...

Depending on how bad your teams are facerolling as a monk can be a very intense experience

Mindless button mashing and unable to play variable professions? Perfect candidate for Shadow Form sin. You can apply for an SC guild while you're at it.

Try a Ritualist. SOS rit offers ease of use without totally mindless mashing of buttons. Dervs are also a fun class with the revamping of the class that has a nice blend of ease of use without it just being button clicking mindlessly.

You don't want mindless spamming.
You don't want to sit around doing nothing.

Try: Mesmer or Ranger. If you like playing melee, try Warrior.

Necromancer should be fun too, but it can get repetitive running the same builds.
Ritualists have really fun builds besides pooping spirits, but no one will let you run them.
If you play alone most of the time, Necro or Ritu will be OK because you can try fun builds without people getting angry with you

My favorite PvE builds for those professions:
http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:R/Mo_Burning_Arrow_Ranger
http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:Me/any_Fevered_Dreams
http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:Me/any_PvE_Illusion_Mesmer
http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:W/any_PvE_Earth_Shaker
http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:W/any_Enduring_Axe

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions! Didn't know there were so many. I've got a lot to try out. But, another thing...

Are there any builds out there with the same face-smashing "mindlessness" that I want that are viable in HM? I know that HM is well, HARD, so you can't just exactly "have fun"; you have to get it done.

It sounds like with your experience a Warrior may be a good thing to get your feet wet. They are generally good with whatever you have to do. If you can get a decent build that works properly, you shouldn't have a problem with smashing buttons

Down with the bloody red dots

I find HM incredibly enjoyable. Having to prep a build for a specific area in order to Vanquish it efficiently is the most fun I've had since pre-factions...

Anyway, there are builds like Discordway that let you switch off and spam commands over and over with little worry about thought processes if that's what you're into... I reckon you should try to explore the nooks and crannies the game has to offer in terms of build design. Just because some of the most efficient builds have already been built doesn't mean you can't have fun with the skills and tailor something to suit a specific area.

It all depends what you'll be playing, I suppose. If you're going to play the game "properly" and do the missions and VQing, then any build will do if it counters the mobs correctly.

If you're going to be speed clearing, or PvP, or farming and such, then there are certain builds you almost /have/ to use due to their efficiency and the single-mindedness of most pub groups.

Honestly? I'd just jump in and play a campaign through and mess about with the skills and have fun /before/ you start to worry about getting super-efficient with your builds. Some of the most fun I ever had with GWs was running around Tyria as my Blood/Death/Curse Necro, and spamming skills like a moron. I didn't know any better, but it didn't matter.

There's time for finesse later.

Just wanted to point out that Wikia was abandoned last year and is prone to vandalism.
Unofficial wiki is now here: http://www.guildwiki.org
PvX is now here: http://www.gwpvx.com


The only profession that's really "gimped" in HM right now is elementalist, but even they can get through. Characters that do armor-ignoring damage are the most viable in HM, but there are changes to that mechanic on the devs' radar, so all of that could be void in a matter of time.

Really, most professions can be as spammy or as not spammy as you like, depending on the build.

Ritualists are quite overpowered these days, though.