starter question - Guild Wars Forums

coleranger · May 27, 2007, 09:11 AM // 09:11

Hi guys

Im pretty new to the game and i was just wondering what profession combo do people think is good for the first character? something to level 1-20 reasonably easily to get a feel for the game. solo pve mostly (with henchies ). oh, and ive only got prophecies for now

Stormlord Alex · May 27, 2007, 09:24 AM // 09:24

Well, it depends on what role you want to play in the party.
For direct damage dealing, Warrior and Elementalist - a melee fighter or mage - are good.
For indirect damage, degen, and disruption, there's Necromancer, Mesmer and Ranger.
For party support, there's the Monk, who can also smite if you wanna kill stuff...

So what's your playing style?

Personally, I generally recommend people to Ranger or Ele first, they're fairly easy to pick up, it doesn't matter if you fail miserably at them (unlike a warrior or monk, who's screw-ups can literally kill the party), and you can learn a lot of the basics - energy management and monitoring enemy skill usage - through them.

baz777 · May 27, 2007, 11:14 AM // 11:14

I agree with Alex.

Ranger makes a good first character. Bow, traps & beast mastery ??? plenty to have some fun with.

coleranger · May 27, 2007, 11:21 AM // 11:21

hi, thx for replies
for playing style, i would have to say self sufficiency for now. would like to play a soloish character until i get better and more experienced. dont want to group till i know the game better so i dont let team mates down with my newbness

ive been looking at some of the other threads and it seems monk is thought of highly as a secondary for self heals and re-use rez, are war/monk and ele/monk good combos?

RotteN · May 27, 2007, 12:05 PM // 12:05

any /Mo has it's uses, as long as you don't end up taking inferior monk skills over your own class' skills (like for example orison of healing instead of healing signet for warrior, or healing breeze instead of troll unguent for ranger).

If you have a full skillbar of primary skills, you should just take /Mo for the re-usable resurrection skills, instead of resurrection signet.

La_Quinne · May 27, 2007, 03:40 PM // 15:40

I agree. My first real character was a Ranger, and she worked beautifully. Playing around with her interruptions also taught me a lot about enemy skill usage.

As for a secondary, it's honestly not a big deal. /Mo is good for the rez, but it's not a must. IMO, you should just look at all the classes, find one you want to learn more about, and put that as your secondary. It's more fun that way, and you end up learning more about the game and the roles of the various classes.

Melei Hawke · May 27, 2007, 04:28 PM // 16:28

Monk is a good secondary to start, especially if you don't want to party with others in a group. If you want to be self-sufficient then try Ranger/Mo first. I can do more with my ranger than any other character although they are each fun and make great contributions to the party. You also get the benefit of a pet when you start out which gives you a built in helper.

pamelf · May 28, 2007, 05:49 AM // 05:49

At this point I'd go monk first, since it's getting hard to find teams. If you go Monk you'll always be guaranteed a place.

coleranger · May 28, 2007, 06:31 AM // 06:31

ok thx for the info guys, been a great help

.
just one more question if i may, when you get a bit further in and the allowed group size goes up eg. 4, when exploring with henchies is it worth making up the full four or trying to get away with as few as possible? i understand they share loot and xp, but is the limit what it is 'cause thats what you need?

pamelf · May 28, 2007, 06:59 AM // 06:59

Well it used to be worth getting away with fewer, but with the new loot scaling addition you may as well go with a full team and make lighter, faster work off it, since there's no longer any pay-out for smaller teams.

Mr. G · May 28, 2007, 02:07 PM // 14:07

for whites theres no longer a payout in small groups...for the valuable stuff tere is - but still, take full teams, enjoy it - dont worry about loot or values untill youve fully enjoyed the storyline....and hunger for some 15k

Coloneh · May 29, 2007, 12:43 AM // 00:43

for a first character go with either elementalist, warrior or ranger. and probably monk secondary, but dony use monk heals, just ressurects and condition removal.

wetsparks · May 29, 2007, 04:27 AM // 04:27

Don't give in the thoughts of using things like healing breeze or mending or orison of healing for self sustainment. Your characters primary skills will do the work better. If you choose ranger as your character you can also go with mesmer for a secondary if you want to interrupt your opponents, or elementalist to use conjure lightning/fire/ice with the appropriate bow string to deal a significant amount of extra damage.

May 27, 2007, 09:11 AM // 09:11	#1
coleranger Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2007	starter question Hi guys Im pretty new to the game and i was just wondering what profession combo do people think is good for the first character? something to level 1-20 reasonably easily to get a feel for the game. solo pve mostly (with henchies ). oh, and ive only got prophecies for now

May 27, 2007, 09:24 AM // 09:24	#2
Stormlord Alex Grotto Attendant Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Beyond the Forest of Doom, past the Cavern of Agony... on Kitten & Puppy Island Guild: Soul of Melandru [sOm] Profession: W/E	Well, it depends on what role you want to play in the party. For direct damage dealing, Warrior and Elementalist - a melee fighter or mage - are good. For indirect damage, degen, and disruption, there's Necromancer, Mesmer and Ranger. For party support, there's the Monk, who can also smite if you wanna kill stuff... So what's your playing style? Personally, I generally recommend people to Ranger or Ele first, they're fairly easy to pick up, it doesn't matter if you fail miserably at them (unlike a warrior or monk, who's screw-ups can literally kill the party), and you can learn a lot of the basics - energy management and monitoring enemy skill usage - through them. Last edited by Stormlord Alex; May 27, 2007 at 09:27 AM // 09:27..

May 27, 2007, 11:21 AM // 11:21	#4
coleranger Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2007	hi, thx for replies for playing style, i would have to say self sufficiency for now. would like to play a soloish character until i get better and more experienced. dont want to group till i know the game better so i dont let team mates down with my newbness ive been looking at some of the other threads and it seems monk is thought of highly as a secondary for self heals and re-use rez, are war/monk and ele/monk good combos? Last edited by coleranger; May 27, 2007 at 11:36 AM // 11:36..

May 27, 2007, 11:14 AM // 11:14	#3
baz777 Jungle Guide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: South East England Guild: Leader: Lady Hairy Armpits S[mell] Profession: E/	I agree with Alex. Ranger makes a good first character. Bow, traps & beast mastery ??? plenty to have some fun with.

May 27, 2007, 12:05 PM // 12:05	#5
RotteN Forge Runner Join Date: Jun 2005 Profession: W/	any /Mo has it's uses, as long as you don't end up taking inferior monk skills over your own class' skills (like for example orison of healing instead of healing signet for warrior, or healing breeze instead of troll unguent for ranger). If you have a full skillbar of primary skills, you should just take /Mo for the re-usable resurrection skills, instead of resurrection signet.

May 27, 2007, 03:40 PM // 15:40	#6
La_Quinne Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boston Profession: D/Me	I agree. My first real character was a Ranger, and she worked beautifully. Playing around with her interruptions also taught me a lot about enemy skill usage. As for a secondary, it's honestly not a big deal. /Mo is good for the rez, but it's not a must. IMO, you should just look at all the classes, find one you want to learn more about, and put that as your secondary. It's more fun that way, and you end up learning more about the game and the roles of the various classes.

May 27, 2007, 04:28 PM // 16:28	#7
Melei Hawke Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Apr 2007 Guild: SoF Profession: R/Mo	Monk is a good secondary to start, especially if you don't want to party with others in a group. If you want to be self-sufficient then try Ranger/Mo first. I can do more with my ranger than any other character although they are each fun and make great contributions to the party. You also get the benefit of a pet when you start out which gives you a built in helper.

May 28, 2007, 05:49 AM // 05:49	#8
pamelf Forge Runner Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Guild: Lost Templars [LoTe] Profession: Me/Mo	At this point I'd go monk first, since it's getting hard to find teams. If you go Monk you'll always be guaranteed a place.

May 28, 2007, 06:31 AM // 06:31	#9
coleranger Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2007	ok thx for the info guys, been a great help . just one more question if i may, when you get a bit further in and the allowed group size goes up eg. 4, when exploring with henchies is it worth making up the full four or trying to get away with as few as possible? i understand they share loot and xp, but is the limit what it is 'cause thats what you need?

May 28, 2007, 06:59 AM // 06:59	#10
pamelf Forge Runner Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Guild: Lost Templars [LoTe] Profession: Me/Mo	Well it used to be worth getting away with fewer, but with the new loot scaling addition you may as well go with a full team and make lighter, faster work off it, since there's no longer any pay-out for smaller teams.

May 28, 2007, 02:07 PM // 14:07	#11
Mr. G Desert Nomad Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: S. Wales Profession: Mo/Me	for whites theres no longer a payout in small groups...for the valuable stuff tere is - but still, take full teams, enjoy it - dont worry about loot or values untill youve fully enjoyed the storyline....and hunger for some 15k

May 29, 2007, 12:43 AM // 00:43	#12
Coloneh Furnace Stoker Join Date: Nov 2006 Profession: D/W	for a first character go with either elementalist, warrior or ranger. and probably monk secondary, but dony use monk heals, just ressurects and condition removal.

May 29, 2007, 04:27 AM // 04:27	#13
wetsparks Desert Nomad Join Date: Nov 2006	Don't give in the thoughts of using things like healing breeze or mending or orison of healing for self sustainment. Your characters primary skills will do the work better. If you choose ranger as your character you can also go with mesmer for a secondary if you want to interrupt your opponents, or elementalist to use conjure lightning/fire/ice with the appropriate bow string to deal a significant amount of extra damage.