Can anyone help me get into this game?

[Meledelion]

Im not bashing the game here, but this is a irrelevant question when you can join PvP and see exactly what the class has to offer at max level. Furthermore because weapon abilities are gained within minutes you have a pretty good idea how a class is going to play within the first 5 levels if you are lucky enough to find enough weapons to check out the combos.

My issue with this game is simply put the classes are boring because I have nothing to look forward to when leveling. Doesnt matter how far I've leveled, based on the game mechanics I can make this decision on any class relatively fast compared to other games. So the "what level did you play to" defense doesnt count in this game the same way it does in others.

Please don't spew out this nonsense anymore.

[Gray_Matter]

Warrior
I usually start most games with a Warrior. Greatsword annoyed me, because it basically only has one decent attack. Out of 5 skills (6 if you include F1), there are two charges? Isn't that a bit redundant? I'm sure it's good for PvP, but it strikes me as a criminal waste of an ability slot. What I did like was the Rifle - that was a perfectly designed weapon. Bleeds, power attacks, weakness debuffs, roots, a knockback, and a volley. Perfect. Except I picked Warrior to be a melee class - it feels HORRIBLY wrong to use a Rifle as a Warrior.

I am busy leveling a Warrior and also hated the Greatsword. What I really enjoy is the Axe and Axe combo. It's much better. You can switch the off hand to a mace as another option but axe / axe is heaven.

---------- Post added 2013-02-08 at 09:04 PM ----------

Heh, nah I'm not missing the point with the elementalist. I can play it effectively (at least at the level I was; 20), and often cycled between elements using things from different schools etc.. My point is that even 20 skills isn't really enough for me. I really wanted to avoid drawing comparisons with WoW, but to give you an example, I have over 60 different keybound skills on my Warrior in WoW, and at least 30 on most characters that I play at a basic level. There are around 10 or so fundamental ones, and then a lot of different utility or "kit" ones for each class.

If you want more interesting play then the engineer is definitely something that you should look at further. It has different kits, a flame thrower, turrets, etc. All of which give it a huge amount of flexibility. You can pick the play style that you like. I leveled with Pistol/Shield and Pistol/Pistol but use my kits at max level most of the time.

---------- Post added 2013-02-08 at 09:18 PM ----------

Keep in mind that we are all squishy in this game, your survival is up to you, your selection of gear/skill and reaction times.

This is true. I did find, though, when leveling my engineer that I could use the turrets as a distraction. The mobs would often focus on them and in that way I would avoid a lot of damage.

[philefluxx]

Please don't spew out this nonsense anymore.

Oh Im sorry, am I not allowed a difference of opinion?

Id also like to add one of the first things people tell new players is "Join PvP, you'll get a good idea on how your class will work at level cap"

Now all of a sudden I'm wrong? Get off it....

[Meledelion]

There's nothing wrong with having a different opinion. However being totally ignorant about something and then trying to entitle yourself to the roll of expert absolutely isn't allowed.

[philefluxx]

There's nothing wrong with having a different opinion. However being totally ignorant about something and then trying to entitle yourself to the roll of expert absolutely isn't allowed.

Excuse me? My entire post boasts nothing but opinion... The only fact is that you can see all that your class has to offer by joining PvP.

Last time I checked, your tag doesn't say Moderator so you don't get to tell anyone what is or isn't allowed. Again, get off it.....

[Fencers]

K, that's enough guys.

Not interested in this petty bickering. Quit.

-- Fencers

[Meledelion]

Excuse me? My entire post boasts nothing but opinion... The only fact is that you can see all that your class has to offer by joining PvP.

Last time I checked, your tag doesn't say Moderator so you don't get to tell anyone what is or isn't allowed. Again, get off it.....

The reason why you can't just join PvP and see how your class will do at the end is simple. PvP != PvE so for instance in PvE you should go full glass while in PvP you shouldn't. This has an effect on both skills and armour and traits. You also can't coordinate with other classes in PvP since you'll most probably will be running with less than 4other people in any given time and when you actually do run with 4other people in pvp shit will drop so fast that you have no clue why they dropped so fast and whether or not you contributed in a significant way.

Further more (as others have pointed out) by learning your weapon skills you haven't learned the feel of a class at all. For instance a shortbow ranger has 3 possible builds which all change on traits/utilities. You can go direct damage (qz+signets and berserker armour) or condition damage (traps) or BM (signets+LR and tank/heal armour).

Same thing for a war. GS war is great for leveling. Signet war is awesome for leveling (you scale incredibly well with the starting talent that gives you prec/signet) but at high level signet wars are frowned upon since shouts/banners offer more team dps and thus more actual dps.

I can keep going but let's just conclude with saying that what you said (while it might be an opinion) was horribly wrong/misinformed. In comparison I could say that the bible says ufo's exist and mean it (and it can be my frigin opinion) but that doesn't mean that it's not wrong.

I'll use a quote to summarise how I feel.
"I can agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong"
TL;DR no you can't just join PvP and experience what a toon of lvl 80 can do.

[Deleted]

you can either see the game as a shallow shit or you can actually play it and discover it. the choice is yours.
regardless of your choice, gw2 is far more than meets the eye.

OT: mesmer, thief or ranger but you won't find the answer until you understand that the basic mechanics/core of the game are different.

[Deleted]

Reporting in after the weekend as promised: Got to level 20 with the Ranger. Now, I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of things, firstly the animations on some of the Ranger attacks are brilliant (those where an animal spirit appears, e.g. Greatsword's 2 attack). Secondly, and for me, this is what sold it, is the attacks have kinda... two purposes e.g. a bow attack that dazes, stuns from behind, and makes the pet's next three attacks cause bleeding. Rather than "press this for more damage, but not as much damage as 2" that a lot of skills seem to be.

Pet AI was a bit crazy, but it was easy enough to control after getting used to it. Would be useful to be able to put the pet away in some situations.

Ranger seems to be the class for me, so I will stick with this for now. Thanks for the advice all. :-)

[Clearasil]

Would be useful to be able to put the pet away in some situations.)

You can, but not during combat I think(?). There is a little blue button with a down arrow on it, called "Stow Pet".

[Shakadam]

I'd recommend trying a thief as well. It's a _very_ versatile class/profession (anything from top dps glass cannon to you'll-never-catch-me!-Shadow Arts/Acrobatics builds, a thief can be extremely hard to kill if specced and geared that way) that is currently rather underplayed, probably because it's not the easiest profession to play, but a well played thief is deadly and a major boost to dungeon groups, as well as the best "roamer" for solo play in pvp. You might find, as a ranger, that you're not that sought after in dungeon groups, because rangers don't really bring much to group, and their "DPS" isn't on the same level as warrior/guardian/mesmer/thief.

Oh and Thiefs also have a skill granting a passive +25% movement speed increase.

[gainesvilleg]

Hi - I already own GW2, and I know that somewhere in there is a game that I can really enjoy and play longterm.

I really enjoy the questing and exploration experience so far, although the slow running speed drives me crazy, but my real issue is that I cannot find a class that I enjoy - like, at all. Normally I can get to max level on any class if it's my first, but I am really struggling with this game.

So far, I have tried:

Warrior
I usually start most games with a Warrior. Greatsword annoyed me, because it basically only has one decent attack. Out of 5 skills (6 if you include F1), there are two charges? Isn't that a bit redundant? I'm sure it's good for PvP, but it strikes me as a criminal waste of an ability slot. What I did like was the Rifle - that was a perfectly designed weapon. Bleeds, power attacks, weakness debuffs, roots, a knockback, and a volley. Perfect. Except I picked Warrior to be a melee class - it feels HORRIBLY wrong to use a Rifle as a Warrior.

Mesmer
Mesmer sounded interesting, and the fact that it was primarily a caster that could use a Greatsword interested me greatly. However, the damage and defense compared to the other classes I tried was pitiful, and it made soloing very tedious. Certain skills were fun and useful though, but the one thing that really annoyed me was the poor AI on the illusions, and how they would disappear the instant I dropped combat, even though I was chain pulling. The Mesmer also had fairly long cooldowns on most moves, which again, seems criminal when you've got so few skill slots.

Guardian
Incredible damage with Greatsword and Hammer, and I like the group utility. However, the class seems a bit dull. Also they don't have a passive movement speed increase (at least that I could find) and this is a really big issue for me, as I hate moving so slowly everywhere. I actually had to delete my Human Guardian and remake it as an Asura, because the smaller model gave me the illusion of running faster. Although I like Greatsword and Hammer with the Guardian, it gets really boring using only the same 5 skills over and over, and I only get another 5 if I switch.

Elementalist
In an effort to try and resolve my issue with disliking tiny amounts of skills, I tried an Elementalist. Very disappointed to see that they cannot swap weapons, effectively removing another 20 or so skills from the player, but nevertheless, still quite nice to be able to use more skills. However, once again, the vast majority of them are useless. The damage and defense of the elementalist was also rather weak as I got past level 15 or so, and it got the point where I was dying a lot, and it got very frustrating. Bonus points for having Signet of Air as a movement speed increase.

Engineer
Tried to like level 3 but immediately hated the class, and don't really like the concept of it anyway. Don't know why I made it tbh.

Please can someone suggest what class I should try next, or if I should continue with one of my other characters instead and reasons why? I would like to play WvW and do the end game dungeon thing (fractals I think?). One thing I've been struggling with is that it seems ranged is a must in WvW, and melee get destroyed. Yet, in PvE, due to there being no tank, I feel like I should be playing a melee class, otherwise I die so quickly, and I really dislike being squishy.

Many thanks for your time if you read all of this, and your advice if you choose to give any.

Unfortunately all of the classes are boring, because the combat is boring. I am afraid you will not be able to find anything that can get you into this game if you are not one of those that got sucked in immediately. Some people like simple action mechanics, even lauding the lamo platform jumping puzzles like this is a Mario game or something LOL. If you are into deep theorycrafting, deep combat mechanics, deep anything, you are looking at the wrong game. If you like to romp around aimlessly with 2-3 button combat, or doing simple dungeons then you should find your niche. But if that were the case, you wouldn't be asking for help getting into the game now would you?

Just move on I am afraid...

[Karizee]

Scroll up, gaines - you're too late.

[Deleted]

Well I levelled a mesmer straight to 80 without stopping to play other classes. The great-sword interested me too at first but seeing as it's awful close-range I quickly changed to staff straight to 80. I always spammed clones and kept the chaos storm (actual name?) and radiation field when pulling two mobs to get things down quicker. I did see many other players doing greater damage than as but I still enjoyed the experience.

[gainesvilleg]

Scroll up, gaines - you're too late.

Too late for what?

[Valeron]

Too late for what?

With your advice. The OP has found a class that he enjoys and is going to continue with the game.

[gainesvilleg]

With your advice. The OP has found a class that he enjoys and is going to continue with the game.

LOL the post about getting to level 20? That means he isn't bored again after about 1 night of playing. Good for him if he likes it. I got 2 good weeks out of the game before realizing "That's it?"

I wish the combat mechanics were more fun I am the type that can make up my own objectives. But the combat just puts me to sleep.

[Karizee]

So last night I was in Queensdale doing the Behemoth event and met this fellow that had just started playing the game a couple weeks ago. We ran the jp together after the event and I showed him where the extra chest was.

We got to chatting and he told me how he brought his whole guild over from WoW. He said that raiding had just fallen apart and they were sick to death of it. He said (and I quote) "Screw raiding".

I wish you coulda been there, gaines. I really really do

[Valeron]

LOL the post about getting to level 20? That means he isn't bored again after about 1 night of playing. Good for him if he likes it. I got 2 good weeks out of the game before realizing "That's it?"

I wish the combat mechanics were more fun I am the type that can make up my own objectives. But the combat just puts me to sleep.

Why are you so defensive? This thread is not about you, it's about someone else. In fact that other person has had his/her questions answered. Not everything revolves around you.

[gainesvilleg]

Why are you so defensive? This thread is not about you, it's about someone else. In fact that other person has had his/her questions answered. Not everything revolves around you.

Well then after I gave my response to him, why did somebody else make it about me? I was just responding to that. Just let me say my opinion and let it be.

---------- Post added 2013-02-11 at 08:38 PM ----------

So last night I was in Queensdale doing the Behemoth event and met this fellow that had just started playing the game a couple weeks ago. We ran the jp together after the event and I showed him where the extra chest was.

We got to chatting and he told me how he brought his whole guild over from WoW. He said that raiding had just fallen apart and they were sick to death of it. He said (and I quote) "Screw raiding".

I wish you coulda been there, gaines. I really really do

You mistake me for a WoW fan I quit that MMO years ago. And believe it or not I was into the PVP there LOL not raiding. I'm not the raider type you must mistake me for someone else. PVP FTW. Unfortunately, GW2 PVP is boring like the rest of the combat.

And before somebody else says "why make it about me" again I am just responding here.