Fun game, but tough choices :-)

Hi guys. I've gotten into the game a little bit now, and I'm trying to figure out what sort of thing I want to stick with. I've played around with a few things for a little bit so far, but I haven't gotten out of pre-searing with anything yet.

My main problem is trying to decide which primary I like the best. Here's a little note on what I've tried.

- Monk/Mesmer:
It kills pretty slowly on most things initally (with acess to backfire, casters go down more easily), but it's quite survivable due to the excellent healing. I also can't deny that I would like being able to get a group really quickly.

- Mesmer/Monk:
It's quite a cool playstyle. Pretty survivable with some healing, and I realize the intterupts and shutdowns will be quite nice later. I realize that groups won't come quite so easily, but a mesmer primary seems unique, at least relative to percentage of the player base. That appeals to me as well.

- Elementalist/Mesmer:
Fast damage, pretty fun to play. I'm not sure how many elementalists are out there, but it seems like groups would want them for quite a few things. I haven't tried this as mcuh as the other two, but I enjoy what I've done with it.

My question is kind of open-ended, so if you can't answer or won't answer, that's fine :-).

Is there any help at allyou guys might be able to give me in making a decision between those three?

Thanks guys.

Monk or Elementalist primary would be my recommendation ... for a few reasons:

1) Mesmers are, indeed, very very powerful characters, but are the most difficult to learn to play effectively
2) It's much harder for Mesmers to get a group to do missions/quests post-searing.
3) Even if you're a quick learner with Mesmers, see item #2

If you enjoy healing, by all means ... be a monk. It's often an ungrateful job, but also one that is in high demand. Elementalists can be quite fun, but you'll be restricted to Fire ele for a while, since most of the decent air/water/earth spells won't be available for a little while post-searing.

Hope this helps!

one thing to note.

after this ongoing tournament is over there will be skill rebalancing which may effect a skill you depend on drastically.

or it may not be touched but some other skill getting a buff may be just what you want.

i would play for fun now and wait for the rebalance to make a more informed choice

Hey, welcome to GW.

I have both a Mesmer/Monk and a Monk/Mesmer. I just love the mesmer and monk professions.

The Mesmer class isn't well understood by a majority of players out there. Alot of their damage are conditional, but when the conditions are right they do pack a good punch. It takes time to play a mesmer well and once you do, it is definitely worth it. Mesmer work best by supporting a team. They can help kill with degen (or with other damaging hexes), or they can interrupt/steal energy to prevent foes from healing or casting high damaging spells, and so much more.

If you want to get into groups quickly then be a monk primary. Everyone seems to want a monk in their party. But be prepared to spend most of your time staring at the party's health bar, healing and getting nagged at if someone dies. Monks can also do alot of damage by smiting but not many of those around these days.

I don't have much experience with an Ele, I deleted my Ele for a Monk.

Hi Musicwriter!

Welcome to Tyria! I think you've got the impressions of the above class combos pretty well. I would keep in mind that the primary profession will be the "main streak" of your character, secondaries as you head to the higher level areas of the game become less and less dominant in my builds. So you should consider mostly your first choice: Elementalist, Monk or Mesmer...

While i am one of the biggest fans of mesmers, i wouldn't advise you to make one as your first character, since as you stated you will be underappreciated and will have problems finding groups. Of course having a nice guild would obviously help in that, but then you would be asking for their advice .

My first character was a monk, and i still greatly enjoy playing her, finding parties is easy, the harder part is filtering those, where you don't want to be monking really. Still lots of people find it boring, or even too much pressure, since in the end you will be the most easy to blame for deaths and failures. So you should decide if you enjoy this kind of experience. Still mesmer is a good choice for secondary, many will say, since it will give you energy management skills, which you may or may not need later, but i find my skillbar mostly occupied with monk spells so i can hardly spare a space for another class's skill anyway.

Elementalists are prehaps more fun to play, dishing out damage by the handful is always wanted (getting groups is only hard because lots of them are around), and if you get bored by frying baddies, you can still switch to a fun defensive-warding-earth build, which will be loved by any decent team...

Did i help much? i don't think so...so forgive me for rambling...

Cheers,
and hope to meet you in Tyria one time!
(with whatever you choose in the end)

You helped a lot :-).

I wouldn't mind getting blamed for deaths, so I could stand being a monk under that. I came from WoW, and it seemed like someone was always getting blamed for something in a PuG anyway.

I suppose Monk is seeming like the best choice right now. I can have fun wtih just about anything, and I certainly don't mind healing. The group aspect of it is nice as well.

I would also suggest monk. Sure, it may be a bit tricky to play further into the game, but by then you'll have gotten the hang of it. These days, mesmers are mostly used for pvp, so I would advise against that for now. Eles are okay but a monk can farm so much better. (dunno if you're the farming kind)

A quick reason as to why mesmers are awesome....
I don't think anybody else can cast life degen of -8 for 20 seconds.
Mantra Of Persistance, then Conjure Phantasm, then Phantom Pain. Takes about 3 seconds to cast and then that warrior who's running towards you is screwed

Also unlimited (well.... sorta ) energy - Leech Signet and Mantra Of Recall (Elite)

And as people have said - Mesmers are not considered by most to be the best/most deadly profession.... so in PvP sometimes you are largly ignored and then the enemy Monk wonders why he takes 126 dmg everytime he casts a spell

Ok so maybe that was 3 reasons to stick to your Me/Mo.
Whatever
Enjoy

Having a monk would infact get you into a group quickly and with no problem, but you have to like healing or protecting to really enjoy this class. Mesmers are very powerful, but like others have said they have quite a bit of trouble finding a group and it takes a lot of practice to be really good at it. Elementalists are very fun, and i have noticed around the end of the game (ring of fire, abaddons and hells) they seem to be something groups are looking for along with monks.

in shorter term, My suggestion = monk or ele.

thanks guys.

sounds like i'll go monk :-)

Excellent choice. Being a monk means it is extremely easy to find a group, and much easier to make friends with.