What's a good PvE build?

Hey everyone,

I want to create a strong PvE character. I want to get to level 20 before I make the transition to PvP play. I'm just wondering if you can suggest a good PvE build for me that will let me survive and deal a lot of damage. I like to solo most of the time, so keep that in mind. Right now I'm a Pyromancer/Mesmer, but I'm not liking it very much. They are good for dealing damage, but I just get killed all the time by people shooting from far away. So.. any suggestions?

Thanks,
CougarElite

Umm I just realized there is a build discussion forum. You guys can move it there if you want.

Well if you want to solo, you're going to have to be a Warrior of some sort. War/Monks are the most popular, but I've also seen awesome War/Rangers (or Ran/Warriors) and War/Necs. So go ahead and experiment with different kinds of warriors.

Though there are some nay-sayers, the necro blood line made my elementalist quite a survivor solo. Just focus on the life stealing skills (life siphon, vampiric gaze, vampiric touch). Or if by "solo" you mean "traveling with just henchmen", monk is a great secondary. This is what I have now and I play ~80% with nothing but henchmen. Throw out the nukes when it's safe, and keep your henchmen alive when they start getting beat down too much for the healer henchies to handle. Energy storage allows one to throw quite a few heals. Almost makes up for a lack of divine favor. About the only things I haven't been able to do with just me and a group of henchies are that last ring of fire quest and the Temple of Ages "pay to have your rear handed to you" quests.