Newbie friendly class - Guild Wars Forums

Almaspite · Aug 08, 2010, 08:33 PM // 20:33

Hi!

Just started Gw and i wanted to ask what is the most starter-friendly class? I tried them out and i really liked the ranger class although it looked a bit complicated. I own prophecies. Thanks for the help.

Grav · Aug 08, 2010, 08:55 PM // 20:55

Generally people will advise not to start off with a mesmer (but by all means create one later on, they are cool once you get the hang of it). The necromancer's versatility may make them look complicated from a beginner's perspective as well.

But the other classes are fairly easy to relate to. Warriors are all about the hack 'n' slash, and their skills help with the hacking and slashing. Rangers are all about the point 'n' shoot, and their skills help with the pointing and the shooting. Elementalists are straightforward too, just pick an element (fire is effective early on) and stick with it. And of course the monks are your healer class.

You have 4 character slots to play with, so don't give up if you create a character and it doesn't work out. Just create another different char and come back to your first one later whenever you feel like it. EDIT: Also, remember you can re-arrange your attributes and skillbar from any town/outpost, so there's plenty of room for flexibility even with just a single character.

FWIW, my first character was a warrior, I wanted to get up close and personal with the pain. But now I have one of all the Prophecies classes (since you get extra character slots with the other campaigns), and I loves them all.

Xx Droid xX · Aug 08, 2010, 09:15 PM // 21:15

My first character was a necromancer I would suggest maybe starting with them, because they can help make a minion wall, they can steal HP, and do have some support skills. Plus they do have some pretty nice looking armors too ^^

RedDog91 · Aug 08, 2010, 09:50 PM // 21:50

Anyone can play as a Ranger, but few people can play the Ranger well.
It's an ok class to start as, seeing as how using a bow puts distance between you and the things that want to kill you yet doesn't require as mush thought as a casting class. They often have low/semi-decent damage output, but can often be a deciding role in a group for certain pve areas and also for pvp.

In my opinion though, the Warrior is the best profession to start as. Their high armor makes surviving easier and also their adrenaline skills won't require too much knowledge or skill in energy management. Depending on how you play, you could either be the damage absorber (tank) or the high damage dealer (lots of points in Strength attribute coupled with skills that deal "high" damage).

End · Aug 08, 2010, 09:58 PM // 21:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedDog91

In my opinion though, the Warrior is the best profession to start as. Their high armor makes surviving easier and also their adrenaline skills won't require too much knowledge or skill in energy management. Depending on how you play, you could either be the damage absorber (tank) or the high damage dealer (lots of points in Strength attribute coupled with skills that deal "high" damage).

I kinda agree with this (mubles about tanks sucking)...but...I would also recommend Elementalists or...Necromancer...or...if you have experience with other MMo's or RPG's with support classes in general...you might try a monk if thats your style.

Elementalists...have a nice damage output in Normal Mode (but you really don't need to worry about Hard Mode yet and by the time your ready for it, you will probably have figured out how to be effective in Hard Mode). You have to worry about Energy Management somewhat...but you have a large energy pool so its more forgiving forcing you to learn how to do it without punishing you severely for messing up.

Necromancer...Some great options without any need for energy management outside of putting points in Soul Reaping.

Monk...amazingly fun if thats your playstyle.

I think it's clear which is my favorite...but its all about your style and how you play.

**cosyfiep** · Aug 08, 2010, 10:20 PM // 22:20

since you have 4 characters slots try out a few...you can always delete a character if you find you dont like the way it plays....my first was elementalist followed by a necromancer.

If you like to play melee type characters a warrior is good for you, do you like to blow things up? then ele....if you want to use a bow and have a nice pet help you out then ranger is a good choice......

try them and see and welcome to guild wars

Mintha Syl · Aug 08, 2010, 10:29 PM // 22:29

In my opinion, warrior and elementalist are the easier ones as it's all a punish and forget. Not much thought involved, especially at low levels.
Ranger is ok because distance helps and it has high survivability, although skills and attributes can be quite messy.
Necros, I don't see them as easy as many say, it's kinda like the mesmer, it takes much thought and a bit of game knowledge.
Monks..never played one, can't say anything.

gremlin · Aug 08, 2010, 11:30 PM // 23:30

Depends on your style of play really do you like getting in close and nasty go warrior.

Of the classic spellcaster types Necro or Elementalist. both pretty easy to play at the start and both have plenty of room for development.

You have a number of character slots so why not try out a few classes play them each for an evening and then go with the one that seems to suit you best.

Lanier · Aug 09, 2010, 12:38 AM // 00:38

Elementalist for sure. The class is just firing off direct damage spells at targets. Necros arnt complex but they also arnt nearly as direct as elementalists.

Lord Dagon · Aug 09, 2010, 01:17 AM // 01:17

I would almsot say elementalist. They are point and shooting and nuking stuff. Very simple. All you have to do is just click and activate a skill and watch everything go boom.

Ailina · Aug 09, 2010, 03:44 AM // 03:44

I'd also suggest Elementalist, mostly because it has the least complication regarding attributes.
Normally an Elementalist will tend to stick with one element at a time, so points are just between that element and Energy Storage. There are no "secondary" attributes to confuse a new player like Wilderness Survival, Curses, Tactics, etc. One of the biggest hurdles that I've seen new players have to overcome is understanding of attribute spread, and I often see builds with points spread across 5-6 attributes.
Elementalist is really the most simple and intuitive in that sense. If you want to use fire, for example, you only need to consider Fire Magic and Energy Storage.
Ranger, for example, is not simply a "point and shoot" profession, because very few of the ranger skills are simple marksmanship ones that do +damage with no caveats or other complications. There are all sorts of weird things like preparations, which both exist in Pre-Searing and are in the Wilderness Survival line. Having to allocate more points across several attributes requires making more complex choices about tradeoffs, which is most certainly not newbie-friendly.

TL;DR
Elementalist requires the least thought for making a working build, and allows for an easier introduction into basic game mechanics, without delving into the more relatively complicated mechanics.

FengShuiDove · Aug 09, 2010, 05:04 AM // 05:04

Necromancer or Elementalist. Both are pretty forgiving with energy buffers and more good skills to combine.

Almaspite · Aug 09, 2010, 06:29 AM // 06:29

Wow! Lot of help here

. Readin through them i decided to make an elementalist and a warrior first and i'll see which suits me best. Thanks.

Swahnee · Aug 09, 2010, 08:51 AM // 08:51

Consider also to try a monk, they're not difficult at all in the low-level PvE, and if you fall in love with it, you'll have a class which is always needed, both in PvE and in PvP.

If you feel like doing it, you can also give a read to the stickies in the campfire section of this forum, to get some useful tip about how to play the professions you chose (and also the other ones).

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/campfire-f17.html

Almaspite · Aug 09, 2010, 11:28 PM // 23:28

update

Okay so i made my first character(elementalist) and tried out a few skills(before choosing a second profession every trainer gave me a few) and i really liket the elemental skills but also the mesmer skills. So i decided to start an elementalist+mesmer class combo. But after browsing through the guild wars wiki i saw that every class has different armor art and somehow mesmer looks way better. So i thought maybe i should make my character a mesmer/elementalist because if i understand i can learn both class skills no matter which is my primary. Do i get this correct? So does it matter if im a mesmer/elementalist or an e/m? oh btw and is it a good combination?

**Marty Silverblade** · Aug 09, 2010, 11:45 PM // 23:45

The order of your professions makes a difference. Remember you're not picking two professions, you're picking a primary and a secondary. Your secondary should be used to pick up a few skills to round off your bar, not to be two things as once or play as your secondary profession.

Also, while you will get access to all of the skills from your secondary, there are some things you miss out on. Firstly, you cannot put any attribute points into the primary attribute of your secondary profession. If you were to go Me/E you would be able to put attribute points into Fast Casting but not Energy Storage. You can still use Energy Storage skills but you can't make them more powerful or increase the size of your energy pool with it. Secondly, you also can't use runes of your secondary profession, so attributes of your secondary are limited to 12, while attributes of your primary can get to 16.

Kook~NBK~ · Aug 10, 2010, 03:23 AM // 03:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almaspite

update

Okay so i made my first character(elementalist) and tried out a few skills(before choosing a second profession every trainer gave me a few) and i really liket the elemental skills but also the mesmer skills. So i decided to start an elementalist+mesmer class combo. But after browsing through the guild wars wiki i saw that every class has different armor art and somehow mesmer looks way better. So i thought maybe i should make my character a mesmer/elementalist because if i understand i can learn both class skills no matter which is my primary. Do i get this correct? So does it matter if im a mesmer/elementalist or an e/m? oh btw and is it a good combination?

I'd recommend sticking with the Elementalist for the time being, because it's much easier to master. With Mesmers, you have to have a pretty good understanding of your enemies and the skills they use to be effective in countering them (which skills to interrupt, which hexes to use on which foes, etc.) You can always make a Mesmer later, because you have at least 4 character slots. One of the drawbacks of hte Mesmer class is that they're not very popular with PUGs because of the perception that they're not viable in PvE. (that perception is changing because of recent Mesmer skill buffs, tho)

As far as class combos - Mesmer or Monk are probably the best secondaries for an Ele. The nice thing is, that later on in the game you'll be able to switch secondaries.

Almaspite · Aug 10, 2010, 08:47 AM // 08:47

Okay then i stick with the ele/mesmer. It's such a pity mesmers look way better

.

Desert Rose · Aug 10, 2010, 04:11 PM // 16:11

You are a mesmer, you have one hex spell that deals damage everytime the foe attacks (Empathy), and you have on hex spell that deals damage everytime the foe casts a spell (Backfire). You fight against a Warrior who attacks once every second and never casts a spell and a Ele who attacks once every 10 seconds and cast a spell every two seconds. If it's obviously to you which hex you should cast on which foe you are able to play a Mesmer.
Of course there are situations that require more thought and experience, but that is true for every core class. Anyways, in GW you level very quickly compared to other ORPG, so you won't lose much if you play the "wrong" profession for now.

Ichorspring · Aug 10, 2010, 05:57 PM // 17:57

I'll echo the sentiment that you might want to avoid Mesmers for now since your effectiveness is highly reliant on understanding the way your foes operate, which simply takes some experience. However, I started with a Mesmer myself and if you stick with it, your knowledge of the game will go up quickly since you'll be forced to pay a lot more attention to your foes than you would otherwise.

As far as a good starter class, I'd recommend Ranger or Necromancer who concentrates on minion summoning. It goes a lot easier on you as a squishy class with a wall of undead minions standing between you and the enemy, but it also requires a ton of upkeep, moreso than nearly any other class. You'll continuously be spamming healing on your horde and animating fresh minions whenever there's a free corpse. It tends to make you move slowly, albeit safely.

Ranger on the other hand is highly survivable with good armor and distance from the enemy. When things go sideways, you can extricate yourself with much greater ease than if you were forced to be ringside to the action. Your damage isn't stellar, but you have a good mix of skills to apply to many situations so versatility is also high.

Also, I'd make your decision based on having to solo most content with only henchman for support since it can be difficult to get groups together until you get much further along into the game. Not impossible, mind you, it's just less likely.

Good luck.

Aug 08, 2010, 08:33 PM // 20:33	#1
Almaspite Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2010	Newbie friendly class Hi! Just started Gw and i wanted to ask what is the most starter-friendly class? I tried them out and i really liked the ranger class although it looked a bit complicated. I own prophecies. Thanks for the help.

Aug 08, 2010, 08:55 PM // 20:55	#2
Grav Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New Zealand Profession: W/	Generally people will advise not to start off with a mesmer (but by all means create one later on, they are cool once you get the hang of it). The necromancer's versatility may make them look complicated from a beginner's perspective as well. But the other classes are fairly easy to relate to. Warriors are all about the hack 'n' slash, and their skills help with the hacking and slashing. Rangers are all about the point 'n' shoot, and their skills help with the pointing and the shooting. Elementalists are straightforward too, just pick an element (fire is effective early on) and stick with it. And of course the monks are your healer class. You have 4 character slots to play with, so don't give up if you create a character and it doesn't work out. Just create another different char and come back to your first one later whenever you feel like it. EDIT: Also, remember you can re-arrange your attributes and skillbar from any town/outpost, so there's plenty of room for flexibility even with just a single character. FWIW, my first character was a warrior, I wanted to get up close and personal with the pain. But now I have one of all the Prophecies classes (since you get extra character slots with the other campaigns), and I loves them all. Last edited by Grav; Aug 08, 2010 at 08:58 PM // 20:58..

Aug 08, 2010, 10:20 PM // 22:20	#6
cosyfiep are we there yet? Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: in a land far far away Guild: guild? I am supposed to have a guild? Profession: Rt/	since you have 4 characters slots try out a few...you can always delete a character if you find you dont like the way it plays....my first was elementalist followed by a necromancer. If you like to play melee type characters a warrior is good for you, do you like to blow things up? then ele....if you want to use a bow and have a nice pet help you out then ranger is a good choice...... try them and see and welcome to guild wars __________________ where is the 'all you can eat' cookie bar?

Aug 09, 2010, 03:44 AM // 03:44	#11
Ailina Krytan Explorer Join Date: Jan 2010 Guild: Whats Prot Spirit [FoR] Profession: R/	I'd also suggest Elementalist, mostly because it has the least complication regarding attributes. Normally an Elementalist will tend to stick with one element at a time, so points are just between that element and Energy Storage. There are no "secondary" attributes to confuse a new player like Wilderness Survival, Curses, Tactics, etc. One of the biggest hurdles that I've seen new players have to overcome is understanding of attribute spread, and I often see builds with points spread across 5-6 attributes. Elementalist is really the most simple and intuitive in that sense. If you want to use fire, for example, you only need to consider Fire Magic and Energy Storage. Ranger, for example, is not simply a "point and shoot" profession, because very few of the ranger skills are simple marksmanship ones that do +damage with no caveats or other complications. There are all sorts of weird things like preparations, which both exist in Pre-Searing and are in the Wilderness Survival line. Having to allocate more points across several attributes requires making more complex choices about tradeoffs, which is most certainly not newbie-friendly. TL;DR Elementalist requires the least thought for making a working build, and allows for an easier introduction into basic game mechanics, without delving into the more relatively complicated mechanics. Last edited by Ailina; Aug 09, 2010 at 03:55 AM // 03:55.. Reason: afterthought

Aug 09, 2010, 11:45 PM // 23:45	#16
Marty Silverblade Administrator Join Date: Jun 2006	The order of your professions makes a difference. Remember you're not picking two professions, you're picking a primary and a secondary. Your secondary should be used to pick up a few skills to round off your bar, not to be two things as once or play as your secondary profession. Also, while you will get access to all of the skills from your secondary, there are some things you miss out on. Firstly, you cannot put any attribute points into the primary attribute of your secondary profession. If you were to go Me/E you would be able to put attribute points into Fast Casting but not Energy Storage. You can still use Energy Storage skills but you can't make them more powerful or increase the size of your energy pool with it. Secondly, you also can't use runes of your secondary profession, so attributes of your secondary are limited to 12, while attributes of your primary can get to 16. __________________

Aug 08, 2010, 09:15 PM // 21:15	#3
Xx Droid xX Banned Join Date: Aug 2010 Guild: [DRKN] Profession: Mo/	My first character was a necromancer I would suggest maybe starting with them, because they can help make a minion wall, they can steal HP, and do have some support skills. Plus they do have some pretty nice looking armors too ^^

Aug 08, 2010, 09:50 PM // 21:50	#4
RedDog91 Desert Nomad Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Farming for Nick gifts Profession: R/	Anyone can play as a Ranger, but few people can play the Ranger well. It's an ok class to start as, seeing as how using a bow puts distance between you and the things that want to kill you yet doesn't require as mush thought as a casting class. They often have low/semi-decent damage output, but can often be a deciding role in a group for certain pve areas and also for pvp. In my opinion though, the Warrior is the best profession to start as. Their high armor makes surviving easier and also their adrenaline skills won't require too much knowledge or skill in energy management. Depending on how you play, you could either be the damage absorber (tank) or the high damage dealer (lots of points in Strength attribute coupled with skills that deal "high" damage).

Aug 08, 2010, 10:29 PM // 22:29	#7
Mintha Syl Desert Nomad Join Date: Apr 2010	In my opinion, warrior and elementalist are the easier ones as it's all a punish and forget. Not much thought involved, especially at low levels. Ranger is ok because distance helps and it has high survivability, although skills and attributes can be quite messy. Necros, I don't see them as easy as many say, it's kinda like the mesmer, it takes much thought and a bit of game knowledge. Monks..never played one, can't say anything.

Aug 08, 2010, 11:30 PM // 23:30	#8
gremlin Furnace Stoker Join Date: Oct 2006 Guild: GWAR Profession: Me/Mo	Depends on your style of play really do you like getting in close and nasty go warrior. Of the classic spellcaster types Necro or Elementalist. both pretty easy to play at the start and both have plenty of room for development. You have a number of character slots so why not try out a few classes play them each for an evening and then go with the one that seems to suit you best.

Aug 09, 2010, 12:38 AM // 00:38	#9
Lanier Desert Nomad Join Date: Jan 2010 Guild: [Pink] Profession: P/	Elementalist for sure. The class is just firing off direct damage spells at targets. Necros arnt complex but they also arnt nearly as direct as elementalists.

Aug 09, 2010, 01:17 AM // 01:17	#10
Lord Dagon Desert Nomad Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Inside the Oblivion Gate Guild: The Imperial Guards of Istan[TIGE] Profession: E/Me	I would almsot say elementalist. They are point and shooting and nuking stuff. Very simple. All you have to do is just click and activate a skill and watch everything go boom.

Aug 09, 2010, 05:04 AM // 05:04	#12
FengShuiDove Forge Runner Join Date: Sep 2007 Guild: Trinity of the Ascended [ToA] Profession: A/	Necromancer or Elementalist. Both are pretty forgiving with energy buffers and more good skills to combine.

Aug 09, 2010, 06:29 AM // 06:29	#13
Almaspite Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2010	Wow! Lot of help here . Readin through them i decided to make an elementalist and a warrior first and i'll see which suits me best. Thanks.

Aug 09, 2010, 08:51 AM // 08:51	#14
Swahnee Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Italy Profession: Mo/	Consider also to try a monk, they're not difficult at all in the low-level PvE, and if you fall in love with it, you'll have a class which is always needed, both in PvE and in PvP. If you feel like doing it, you can also give a read to the stickies in the campfire section of this forum, to get some useful tip about how to play the professions you chose (and also the other ones). http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/campfire-f17.html

Aug 09, 2010, 11:28 PM // 23:28	#15
Almaspite Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2010	update Okay so i made my first character(elementalist) and tried out a few skills(before choosing a second profession every trainer gave me a few) and i really liket the elemental skills but also the mesmer skills. So i decided to start an elementalist+mesmer class combo. But after browsing through the guild wars wiki i saw that every class has different armor art and somehow mesmer looks way better. So i thought maybe i should make my character a mesmer/elementalist because if i understand i can learn both class skills no matter which is my primary. Do i get this correct? So does it matter if im a mesmer/elementalist or an e/m? oh btw and is it a good combination?

Aug 10, 2010, 08:47 AM // 08:47	#18
Almaspite Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2010	Okay then i stick with the ele/mesmer. It's such a pity mesmers look way better .

Aug 10, 2010, 04:11 PM // 16:11	#19
Desert Rose Krytan Explorer Join Date: Sep 2007	You are a mesmer, you have one hex spell that deals damage everytime the foe attacks (Empathy), and you have on hex spell that deals damage everytime the foe casts a spell (Backfire). You fight against a Warrior who attacks once every second and never casts a spell and a Ele who attacks once every 10 seconds and cast a spell every two seconds. If it's obviously to you which hex you should cast on which foe you are able to play a Mesmer. Of course there are situations that require more thought and experience, but that is true for every core class. Anyways, in GW you level very quickly compared to other ORPG, so you won't lose much if you play the "wrong" profession for now.

Aug 10, 2010, 05:57 PM // 17:57	#20
Ichorspring Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2005 Location: Canada Profession: Me/	I'll echo the sentiment that you might want to avoid Mesmers for now since your effectiveness is highly reliant on understanding the way your foes operate, which simply takes some experience. However, I started with a Mesmer myself and if you stick with it, your knowledge of the game will go up quickly since you'll be forced to pay a lot more attention to your foes than you would otherwise. As far as a good starter class, I'd recommend Ranger or Necromancer who concentrates on minion summoning. It goes a lot easier on you as a squishy class with a wall of undead minions standing between you and the enemy, but it also requires a ton of upkeep, moreso than nearly any other class. You'll continuously be spamming healing on your horde and animating fresh minions whenever there's a free corpse. It tends to make you move slowly, albeit safely. Ranger on the other hand is highly survivable with good armor and distance from the enemy. When things go sideways, you can extricate yourself with much greater ease than if you were forced to be ringside to the action. Your damage isn't stellar, but you have a good mix of skills to apply to many situations so versatility is also high. Also, I'd make your decision based on having to solo most content with only henchman for support since it can be difficult to get groups together until you get much further along into the game. Not impossible, mind you, it's just less likely. Good luck.