Hello, thinking of buying this

[Hunterpower]

I'm thinking of choosing engineer, or necro as i love ranged and necros pets appeal to me, as do engineers turrets and bombs.
Now, i'm a competitive guy most of the time, are these classes viable for pvp? and, does the necro have a limit of 1 pet or is it like a necro should be and able to summon multiple?
Can any class be any race? and lastly, how's the pvp in this game, would you say? I did WoW for a while but lately it's become so unbalanced i just give up.
thanks in advance!

[Fencers]

Any race can be any class in Guild Wars 2.

I don't have much insight into your other questions. Others likely do though.

[Prag]

I can only speak on a few points as I am fairly new as well.

- Pet AI is retarded.
- NPC's are smarter than most MMO players and will promptly switch to your kick ass turret or pet right away. They melt.
- Necro pets are considered utility spells and there are 3 utility slots. So you can pick up to 3 of the half dozen (?) pets at a time.

[Hunterpower]

Pet ai is almost always retarded though, :P it's still fun. are pets really that weak? or can some of them like tank for you, maybe the ranger pet can?

[Fencers]

I think necros can have 4 pets total. Because there is the elite skill which is like a zombie titan. Kinda like Witch Doctor in Diablo 3.

Re: Ranger

Their pets are STRONG. Too strong.

The Ranger is without question the easiest PVE class in the game. Rangers are rarely in any serious danger unless, vastly out numbered. And even then they have so many escapes its unlikely anything short of a Thief will catch you.

[Underverse]

Pvp is ok, if you're looking for balance...well, idk if youll find it in GW2. Comparing wow battlegrounds to the equivalent in guild wars, I would say wow battlegrounds are better on the basis of graphical clarity and excitement

[Zilong]

I'm thinking of choosing engineer, or necro as i love ranged and necros pets appeal to me, as do engineers turrets and bombs.

I don't know about engineer that much nor necro. I know rangers and their pets are cool (Probably the best pet system I've seen so far)
Engineers and turrets/bombs are useful and cool to play (I heard)
One of the best players I've fought in PvP was a Necro Axe/Minion Master.

Now, i'm a competitive guy most of the time, are these classes viable for pvp? and, does the necro have a limit of 1 pet or is it like a necro should be and able to summon multiple?

Well all of those have viable builds for PVP for sure. Depends on what kind of pvp are you into, serious, casual, just tournaments, WvW? Depends on what part of the strategy you are focusing on. That sort of deal. (Which honestly sucks, I wish they had more viable builds to play well with, its a promise they said to take care but not much so far. High hopes for March). A Necro can hold up to 5 skills with pets. (1 Healing skill, 3 utilities, 1 elite). All skills are 1 pet only but 1 skill comes with 2 pets (they are the smaller ones too). So 0 to 6 pets. Honestly I don't know how effective that would be tho, Just stating possibilities.

Can any class be any race? and lastly, how's the pvp in this game, would you say? I did WoW for a while but lately it's become so unbalanced i just give up.
thanks in advance!

Any class can be any race.
It's a new game. Pvp is not at it's best right now. I would say it's pretty fun (Any kinds of pvp they have really) and you might just fall for PvE anyways.
Class balance is one of the things that we are expecting, and more builds in each class too. Since launch in August last year we now have 6 pvp maps (4 launched with I think maybe 3). They are all conquest kind of maps with different secondary objectives. Other one is WvW but that gives you exp and also have some PvE with it as well.


My honest opinion: If you like a more fast paced "always duel" quick combat you will like Gw2, Wow's pvp will feel very slow and motionless really (combat wise the most tho). I think you should try, no monthly fee required and each month we get patches. I think it's worth it (Pvp ALOT in BETA and some at Launch) still waiting for a better change to come back to the pvp side of the game.

[Hunterpower]

Thanks for the insight, i just heard i barely missed a 20$ off sale a week ago
i'll still get it but that made me a little sad lol i'll come back if i have more questions!

[Deleted]

I'm thinking of choosing engineer, or necro as i love ranged and necros pets appeal to me, as do engineers turrets and bombs.
Now, i'm a competitive guy most of the time, are these classes viable for pvp? and, does the necro have a limit of 1 pet or is it like a necro should be and able to summon multiple?
Can any class be any race? and lastly, how's the pvp in this game, would you say? I did WoW for a while but lately it's become so unbalanced i just give up.
thanks in advance!

Firstly necro pet AI is not good, there are times the pets will literally just stand there doing nothing, other times they will attack nearby PvE mobs rather than your target.

Turrets are weak, cooldowns too long, they are also too immobile, they woudl be better in sPvP if engineer had not been nerfed in regard to a point holder role.

In regard to viability, for tPvP (5v5) engineer is slightly UP and has the problem that whatever role you build for there is always another class that can do it better. Necro can be really good, though the team comp really has to built with the necro in mind for that.

It also depends on what PvP you wish to play, "serious" 5v5 with a team or hotjoin 8v8, or WvW (and even then what you want to do in WvW, roam solo? run with a zerg?).

As for the state of PvP, not good, sPvP basically suffers from the "casual" mode - hotjoin is a shitfest, where people zerg around ignoring objectives, which makes pugs in other games seem like pre-mades and basically results in terrible PvP (it is also full of classes like thieves, because the game is balanced for 5v5 + teamwork, which makes instagibbing in 8v8 where there is zero teamwork very easy).

The 5v5 has suffered because they made the same mistake numerous other MMOs have made and failed to implement matchmaking from the start, which resulted in "pro" teams facerolling, new / mid tier teams and new / mid tier teams facerolling solo/duo queuers, which all-in-all was very borign for everyone so over half the sPvP player base left.

They then decided to implement matchmaking after the horse had bolted (does no one in this industry have the ability to learn from other games mistakes (e.g - exact same thing with Rift), no wonder game devs are paid so little), which means it isn't very effective becuase the population is too small to produce effective matchmaking.

Balance for a new game is pretty good, there is one class that sticks out as being too good (Elementalist) and a couple that need some help (Warrior, Engineer). On top of that pretty much all classes could to with some help in regard to the number of viable builds.

They are also appalling slow at fixing bugs, there are still skills and traits that do not work correctily six months in... They also take weeks to fix game changing bugs (guardian block bug), they appear underresourced on the PvP side of things.

Then there is wvwvw, every class can contribute in that, though if you want to do certain things like roaming solo there are better classes for that (thief, ele, mesmer) and then there are some other issues - culling (welcome to the world of running into what you think are 3 enemies, which turn out to be 30), that the system favours zerging too much (maps too small, AOE limit of 5 targets, the rez mechanic) and that for the most part how your server fares in the 3 way match up is dependent upon coverage, you can outscore your opponents in primetime, but if one of them has a big early morning presence they will outscore the other two servers massively for several hours and it is pretty much game over in terms of the score, you can of course still have some fun PvP.

[Vellerana]

I think necros can have 4 pets total. Because there is the elite skill which is like a zombie titan. Kinda like Witch Doctor in Diablo 3.

Re: Ranger

Their pets are STRONG. Too strong.

The Ranger is without question the easiest PVE class in the game. Rangers are rarely in any serious danger unless, vastly out numbered. And even then they have so many escapes its unlikely anything short of a Thief will catch you.

What she said. The Thief in PvP are a lot like stun lock rogues from WoW, it's the only thing that can take me down short of an ambush. Easy to level and farm with too.

Necros have lots of pets, you can surround yourself with a wall of pets, haven't PvP'd with one yet though so I can't speak to that. I did have trouble in PvE with Necro pets going waaaay out of their way to aggressively aggro mobs. It's been fixed to some degree but both they and the Ranger pets swing way out away from you as you run around so it's not always easy to just run somewhere and nearly impossible to sneak around something unless you dismiss them.

[Deleted]

I think necros can have 4 pets total. Because there is the elite skill which is like a zombie titan. Kinda like Witch Doctor in Diablo 3.

Re: Ranger

Their pets are STRONG. Too strong.

The Ranger is without question the easiest PVE class in the game. Rangers are rarely in any serious danger unless, vastly out numbered. And even then they have so many escapes its unlikely anything short of a Thief will catch you.

Necros can have 5 (healing skill, 3 utility, 1 elite), but I wouldn't really say that a minion master build is particularly fun - at least not for me.

As for the OP, it's difficult to say about PvP... It's not like WoW - I'm using WoW as an example because I played it a lot. PvP in WoW is very clear cut, it's very easy to distinguish what's going on, very easy to keep track of an enemy and very easy to recognise how your enemy is spec'd. PvP isn't like that in GW2, it's quick, it's brutal, and it's confusing as all hell. Balance? Well... It's very difficult to balance a game like this. You CAN be an absolute destroyer in PvP with those classes... Or you could suck. Just like anyone.

Every class is viable, technically, but if you're looking to do WvWvW, get ready to fight a force of about 80% guardians, 15% thieves and 5% mixtures of every other class. It's sickening how many Guardians I run into on my way around wvw. I would go as far as to say PvP in GW2 is more imbalanced than WoW but doesn't feel as bullshit, because imbalance can tip in your favour. Because not everyone has always got the same skills + traits as others of their class, you can destroy certain builds and certain builds will destroy you, unlike WoW, where you usually have a cookie-cutter best build that will counter everything.

[PACOX]

There are two forms of PVP in the game (excluding WvW), sPVP and tPVP. When someone says sPVP they are usually referring to pick up games. When someone says tPVP they are referring to tournament play.

I've had a lot of success on my engineer in sPVP as a point capper/defender. You can build them pretty tanky and they have an extensive toolkit.

I've played my necro in pvp at all but they are definitely formidable opponents. A necro has the ability to flip buffs/debuffs, which can ruin anyones day. On top of that they pretty much have two life bars. Condition damage can take you far in sPVP and necros are the masters of conditions.

With that said, I like the PVP in GW2 but there is almost no incentive to excel at it. You can't even really brag. Unlocking new armor sets and weapon skins was supposed to be something to keep you going but you never really have a chance to show them off. The tPVP scene definitely needs love.

I even WvW but its PVP on a macro level, you individual means little.

[Deleted]

You know, I was thinking, maybe you should try mesmer too. You have "pets" in your illusions, and if you think they're stupid, you can use them as walking bombs. Unlike engineer turrets, they move. Unlike ranger pets, you don't have to revive them if they die, you just summon others, as for necromancer... well not sure, but who knows, you might like them.

---------- Post added 2013-03-28 at 05:21 PM ----------

By the way, if you haven't bought it yet, they're having another sale it seems, ending 1st of april.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/sale/

[Arrowstormen]

I think necros can have 4 pets total. Because there is the elite skill which is like a zombie titan. Kinda like Witch Doctor in Diablo 3.

Re: Ranger

Their pets are STRONG. Too strong.

The Ranger is without question the easiest PVE class in the game. Rangers are rarely in any serious danger unless, vastly out numbered. And even then they have so many escapes its unlikely anything short of a Thief will catch you.

Rangers assemble!

Being a ranger is neat. I love our AoE heal and the playstyle of the shortbow. And pets are awesome, you never feel lonely. Mostly.

[Prepared]

As shown in the replies to your mention of the Engineer, no one has recommended you play that profession. And the interesting part is that Colin Johanson one of the lead directors of the game made a comment recently that the professions are balanced except for the Engineer. They determined this from the number of people creating professions. The last major patch gave huge buffs to the Engineer. This was done so that more people would play that profession. No one seems to know about the buffs though as I asked my guild and none of them saw it. How did they buff the Engineer? Gave a lot more damage and shorter time on cooldowns. Information about the last patch is here - check the section on the Engineer

https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/foru...-March-26-2013

[Deleted]

And the interesting part is that Colin Johanson one of the lead directors of the game made a comment recently that the professions are balanced except for the Engineer. They determined this from the number of people creating professions.

Which is meaningless, most tPvP players for example create one of every profession to play them for them a bit, doesn't show which they actually spend time playing. Same goes for PvE, lots of PvE players (that have been playing a while) now have many alts, again creating does not show what they actually play.

The last major patch gave huge buffs to the Engineer. This was done so that more people would play that profession. No one seems to know about the buffs though as I asked my guild and none of them saw it. How did they buff the Engineer? Gave a lot more damage and shorter time on cooldowns. Information about the last patch is here - check the section on the Engineer

No it didn't give huge buffs, it had some bug fixes (engy has a lot of broken skills/traits), removed some RNG and buffed turrets (which are still useless, at least for PvP), but this was as usual outweighed by a nerf (a very poorly thought through one) to Kit Refinement, which removed one of the only viable tPvP builds (100 nades) and also badly effected other builds due to the changesl to the flamethrower/EG kit refinemetn effects and the moronic addition of a 20 sec GCD. Most engineers wish Anet had simply left the class alone.

Anyway back to the OP, for sPvP (hotjoin) it doesn't really matter though it favours classes that have burst builds / easy escape mechanics (thief/mesmer), but then as hotjoin is awful (people mindlessly zerg round, ignore objectives) due to an idiotic scoring system that does not reward winning, you won't play that for that long, if you actually like a competitve PvP match.

For tPvP, necros are good, but to be most effective need the right the team around them, they can swing a team fight, but they are immobile and can be focused out of the game by other teams, so need assistance from other teammates. Pets are not great as the AI is unreliable and they are pretty squishy, which is made worse by the fact Necros strength is in teamfights, which means their pets can easily get AOEd down. Though quite a few necos still use the elite pet (less squishy).

Engineers are also okay at tPvP, they can do sort of everything just not as well as anyone else, they also have one pretty stong build (HGH condition build), however turrets are pretty useless in PvP as even if traited they are too easy to destroy, plus also have AI issues (e.g - they will attack pets/illusions/rock dogs instead of the player).

As for the PvP in general, the actual combat system is very good (though if people like playing a healer/support most find the classes lacking in that respect), however the game lacks modes, lacks proper matchmaking (they apparently introduced it recently, but they made the same mistake games liek Rift made, they left it too late so 75% of the dedicated PvP population has already left, which means matchmaking does nto work well with a small pop).

[Cyclone Jack]

Engineer: I, personally, didn't like turrets, as I thought they were weak, too immobile and not very useful. I haven't used them since they were buffed up a bit. I do enjoy the Bomb/Grenade Engineer quite a bit. Stick a rifle in their hands and put on some oil slick boots and have a blast. Very versatile and very mobile, though I can't say how they run in sPvP (they're pretty good in WVW).

Necro: I'm just shy of 30 and can say that pets are almost worthless due to the abysmal and broken AI, coupled with how weak they are. They might get better when fully specced out, but I somehow doubt it. If you played GW1 and enjoyed the minion master, stay away from the GW2 minion master, less you be sadly disappointed. As a condition applier they're pretty good, but I'd still say the GW1 Necro would wipe the floor with the GW2 Necro. As stated above, if your sPvP group is tailored for the Necro you can do well, else they're so-so. For WvW, the same rules apply, unless you are in a zerg, in which case the Necro is pretty decent (though the minion master still sucks).

Ranger: With a good pet, they are pretty good. The pet AI on Rangers is substantially better than the Necro pet AI, but so is the tree AI. I wouldn't call the pet system as interesting as the earlier WoW system where you could spec your pet, but its still pretty good. There is a large variety of pets to grab, each with their own special abilities, and you can swap pets in mid fight allowing for some interesting tactics. I haven't gone into any PvP with my Ranger yet, so I can't say how they do there.

[Meledelion]

If you're serious about PvP you stay the fuck away from these classes.
The current meta is a mix of ele, mes, guard and thief.

If we do a rock paper scissors comparison you quickly find out why not to take any of the classes you like to PvP.

Ranger: beats mesmers loses to thief, guard and ele.

Engi: beats thief loses to mes, guard and ele

Nec: beats nothing.

For PvE the same thing applies to a "lesser extent" (people are less fussy about your class) but there really is nothing you bring to the table for any hardcore dungeon group.

If you're only interested in open world PvE you can roll w/e you want since nothing matters there build wise.

[MrSerious]

sPvP is more balanced than WvW (Anet treat WvW as PvE so some of the PvP nerfs/buffs don't apply in WvW)

sPvP is probably the weakest part to GW2 right now. They are slowly working on it but they need quite a few things to happen before more people will pick it up.

[Deleted]

I love my Necromancer in PvP, in a big combat situations I use Plague Signet and Epidemic to run amongst my team mates hoovering up all of their nasty conditions (Plague Signet passive) then dump them on some poor unsuspecting soul (Plague Signet active) then immediately pop Epidemic to have those conditions spread form that poor soul to his nearby team mates....I never get tired of doing that.
It is combat mechanics like this that makes GW2 combat stand out from the other MMO combat mechanics I've played.
As has already been said though the Necromancer pets aren't that good, although I've found in PvE I do die less if I have my Blood Fiend with me rather than using Well of blood.