Single Professions?

Forgive if this has been mentioned, I couldn't find anything on it. I'll delete if needs be.

Okay in the online manual (so I'm guessing the little book too.. don't know, I lost it under the drinks cabinet.. *hic*..) it states:

"For each hero you create, you’ll choose a primary profession, and later, if you choose, a secondary profession."

Okay, that leads me to believe that I can choose NOT to have a secondary profession. Which is great, cos I want a Ranger. JUST a Ranger. No not a R/E and then not use my Elementalist skills.. JUST a Ranger. Yes I know purist might not be chosen for groups but hey, I prefer the henchmen. Yes this may sound like a whine but I am just asking the question to see if someone knows the answer.

Is a single profession possible?

My ranger is in pre searing and when you go to the dude to talk about secondary professions.. hey ho, you have to take the quest or nothing happens. Well, now I have the quest I don't know what to do. Mr dude tells me he wants me to take a second profession, but I don't remember any news stating that they were changing what the online manual says.

So.. is this temporary? Am I doomed to have a R/M cos I can't think of anything better?

All opinons welcome. All flames can er.. go drink some dwarven ale to calm down :P

I think you can only go "purist" when creating PvP characters... getting a second profession is required to leave pre-searing (and I think they should get rid of this requirement. You get the skills from quests for your chosen profession twice as fast without a second profession. Think about it )

No, you don't. Leave Pre-Searing without talking to him, abandon the quest, or just don't bother with it. You don't have to do any of the secondary profession quest and you can play as just Ranger, nothing else.

I do have to wonder why, though... You don't gain anything by being a single profession, and you never know when you'll discover a skill from your secondary that you might want. If you change your mind after pre-searing, you won't be able to fix it until after ascension.

The only way to leave pre searing is to talk to er.. the dude who's name I can't remember. And he don't wanna know you till you accept the quest, and then when you DO talk to him he gives you a long speach about how crap you are as a single profession.

Why I want to be a purist? Cos I like to be different. End of.

Oh, and I wanted just all my attributes in marksmanship, expertise and maybe wilderness survival or beast mastery. Seems pointless to take on a second if you aint gonna use it. I like my W/E but I feel compelled to use BOTH professions. Result? I'm half the swordsman I should be.

Hey, don't let me stop you. All I'm saying is...

... That you can't always anticipate situations when you find you might need to complement your abilities. And I almost didn't want to say this, but - this holds especially true with a ranger primary.

Anyway, don't take this as a criticism, just a suggestion.

That's great advice.. cept you can't equip skills in the field. So I'm wondering at what time will I need to equip my secondary skills. I don't think blasting them all with firestorm is gonna save the day. What I wanted to try out was to be the elite in just a few attributes, like many do with two professions. Hell, all the W/Mo's I know stick em all in sword n strength.

I just wanted to be different.

Anywhoo, there is no win or lose in this game unless you don't enjoy it. If being a purist sucked then I'd stop and remake a character. But when it comes to starting one, I want to be a R over a R/?. So.. which am I going to enjoy more?

Hey, I hear you. When I'm not in serious PvP I'm the guy who picks the cool-looking armor that nobody else wears over the effective kind. The suggestions I'm making are about your effectiveness, not enjoyment - only you can say what you're going to enjoy.

No, you can't swap skills in the field, but I can almost promise there will come a mission that you have done time and again to the point of frustration because of one single hurdle that your group has never been prepared for. That's your chance to diversify and experiment in bringing different skills to the table. An obvious example is a tough fight with healing mobs... An R/Me with backfire could pretty much make that go away. The possibilities are limitless.

I've made, played, and post seared every combo. At the moment I want to try something new is all. Im sure one day I'll wake up, and making a Mesmer/Monk is ALL I'll wanna do.

But for now, I want a pure Ranger. This thread was to ask if it can be done. It should stay more on topic or I shall be forced to delete it

Well if there ever was the best class to go purist in, then it would be the Ranger....

Seriously. Good luck

Urgh.. why good luck? Saying that means it's going to be hard. You don't even know mine, or his, ambitions for the game. It's not good for farming, it may not be the best for soloing. But maybe I find solice in things so less material.

Gah, there ARE mounts in this game and too many people are sittin on em.

Because your a ranger. *Stares at the ground*

i'm playing a 'purest' ranger right now actually. Well, technically she's a ran/war but all my skill points are divided amongst the ranger and I only use ranger skills. She's turning out quite nicely actually. I solo better with her then I ever did with any of the other characters i've played with over the past month. So far as I can tell rangers are truely diverse enough to pull it off.

at level 15:

Beast 8
Expert 6
Wilderness 5
Marksman 8 +3

Im flying through the game with her right now.

EDIT:: Just leveled, had to change the attributes a little

Good luck with your existential holocaust then... Sheesh.

... *pours on cold water*

Sorry you feel that way, guess i'll just have to find out for myself when I hit 20.

Mistress, play what you want. Bottom line it dont matter what anyone else thinks, make your own judgments. What I like may or may not work for you, especially in a game this diverse with as many diffrent ways to go about things as there are. good luck to ya

EDIT:: if your asking if its possible then my answer is yes, I belive it is, and judging by the number of negative posts I dare say it would even be somewhat unique.

Thanks!

That wasn't to you

Okie dokie, thanks for clearing that up. sorry for the confusion.

I wish I'd known you didn't have to take a second prof before you went post-sear. I'm a R/W and the only reason for the /W is because I thought I couldn't get the academy mission that takes you post-sear without it.

If you make it post-sear with a single prof, Mistress Eyahl, let me know!