Semi-new, semi-clueless

Heya everyone

I bought the full package (Prophecies/Factions/Nightfall/EoTN) some time last year and I played as a dagger sin for a while on Factions up to the point where I left Kaineng City. *skipping several paragraphs of details* ...and then I pretty much quit after that.

Now, I'm getting pretty amped up in expectation of GW2, so I want to aim for getting as much as possible of the HoM achievements. I'm pretty much looking for a class that I can blitz the game with and can use for farming.

With that in mind, I should mention that in retrospect of my time as a sin I came to a conclusion - I suck at playing melee classes. So, to remedy this I have been looking at some of the more range based classes (mostly Ele, Ranger & Rit) and I would like some advice/opinions on which would be ideal:

Firstly, the Ele: The build that seems to appeal to me is this one along the lines of a AoE DPS build like this: OgVSoYGTkVFREDLBAAAAwl4CA

Now from the eye-point of a rookie the damage output looks pretty sweet, but from what I have read about Eles is they lack raw power in HM. Will this be a factor or can most of the achievements be gained through NM only?

Next would be the Ranger:
Again, I'm being a sucker for AoE attacks and have taken a liking to the Barrage build - OgAScxMTLGPGqGAAAA5iFHAAA.

Again, damage potential along with low energy costs and some utility makes this one seem very attractive and easily spammable, but how does it hold up with practical use?

Last but not least, Ritualist:

Not going for a AoE build for this one, but I'm loving the Spirit spammer build - OACjAyiM5QVTXTfT+glTRb0gMTA.

Using spirits to attack from range as well as (mostly) taking the punch for you to be an effective shield, not to mention damage that ignores armors...what's not to love?

Now, I'm looking for some pro advice - which of these would be the more efficient char and/or do you have other suggestions for something that will be more effective?

Thanks for any suggestions and tips

If you're only going for 30/50, then everything can be done in NM, so an ele is fine.

For a ranger, AoE can be frustrating if you play with heroes, if there is no human warrior to effectively ball the mobs. Rangers can also play as secondary ritualist and spam spirits effectively due to Expertise.

Overall though, I think Ritualist is probably the best choice, not only for the reasons you listed, but also because it's one of the few classes that doesn't have 2 heroes quickly available and Ritualists bring ridiculous levels of utility to a party.

As being said above, if you only want 30/50 any class can do that so play what you like.
In terms of versatiliy and farming and pve general I would really recommend you to create a Ritualist however.
Its a class thats relatively easy to play at a decent level, and it has a lot of options to play ( just to name a few: sos/sogm/ST/dwg/resto/Clamor/spirits strength melee if you ever feel like it, hell with the buff to armor sensitive damage with the HM update even an explosive growth MM is sorta viable again).

And remember that the ritualist also has a place in some of the more profitable speedclears ( meaning fow uw and doa to name a few, the deep and urgoz also make use of ritualist usually). If you want to farm specific things an sos build will make you able to farm it solo 99% of the time.

And if you want to play with people: After monks ritualists probably have the easiest time in finding a group.

Decided to go with the Ritualist, spirit spamming sounds like an effective way to get started.

Started on Factions and I've managed to get through to Ferndale for my elite Signet of Spirits, now just need to get Kurzick/Luxon rank somehow for Summon Spirit and then go to NF for Vampirism and Anguish.