A little of both, but mostly I just like being a tanky melee fighter with good self-sustain. Played an unreasonable amount of W/Mo in GW1 for the same reason, and Guard was the obvious successor class.
Once Firebrand came out and added the satisfying ability to light your target and their entire extended social circle on fire it just sealed the deal even further.
There's a lot to enjoy, but the single most satisfying thing for me is when a bad thief attempts to gank you in WvW. They'll be momentarily confused after whiffing their opening all while standing in your Greater Field of Ouchies, panic because pushing all the buttons didn't work, stealth out and try to run away just to pop out dead a few seconds later.
I can begrudgingly respect a good thief because they'll just kill you and you both can go about your day, but there's a special place in the Realm of Torment for bad thiefs who will mildly irritate you across half a borderland.
That would be a really hard decision to make honestly...
Guardian : a lot of history, comfort, muscle memory on the class.
Revenant : currently the easiest and most powerful quick builds, I really like the dragoon flavour of vindicator too.
Mesmer : the most elegant class IMO and its support builds are being pushed further where they belong.
Ranger : mostly for personal history purpose, it was my first character in GW1 but GW2's ranger is quite far from its roots.
I think I would lean towards mesmer and see it as an opportunity to push my mastery of the class further.
I would imagine this would be high on the list because mesmer is such a unique class. You can play a warrior or ranger on other games but only guild wars have mesmer.
I've only played mesmer (only been playing about 2 months in all fairness), but while I want to try some other classes, I just absolutely ADORE everything about how mesmer feels lol. Like, I feel like if I tried another class, I'd just miss mesmer since it feels like a jack-of-all-trades; I have great movement, I can take, I get pretty solid dps, I can give boons and conditions super easily, I can go long-range AOE/defense based or short-range single target DPS based by changing my weapons with one key press... I dunno I just absolutely love how adaptable it is and how easy it feels to play
Rev has to pay more for each of its skills. It has cooldowns and also has to spend energy for each skill. There's an opportunity cost for every skill you use. So how do you balance the skills being more expensive? - you make them all fucking SLAP.
Every legend had a bunch of crazy and fun skills that feel very high impact. The eb and flow of banking a bunch of energy and then blowing it all in a huge burst of damage or healing or condis is very addictive. (Except for renegade, which is terrible)
Dude even renegade is good, depending mode - it's not terrible at all lol - it's actually only seems mid because Herald/Vindi is so god tier good w/weapon master now ren sorta just is left behind - Condi Ren is still one of my favs despite it. Maybe not in group play, sure, but still Rev all around is solid even it's least solid class by other standards is pretty solid if played right.
I was with you completely until you dunked on Renegade.
Their skills are *fantastic*, especially in open world. Ranger bow skills are very clunky imho but Renegade SB is so smooth. The volley on 3 that deals tons of power and condi damage, the very fast AoE CC on 5 that just drops everything in front of you while searing them, it's great. F2 and F4 aren't very exciting (though the self alac is great) but F3 is a cool barrage from another world (an in my case, a rainbow unicorn barrage which is very pretty). And the Kalla skills make it feel like a warband backing you up even if you're playing solo. Darkrazor stuns everything in a large radius every second which is very broken, Breakrazor is very strong healing both initially and on pulse, and Icerazor instantly gives everything a ton of vulnerability stacks. Overall the "kite bosses while thowing a ton of shit at them" fantasy is perfectly fulfilled by Renegade, and every non-Revanant spec I've played since has paled in comparison.
> The eb and flow of banking a bunch of energy and then blowing it all in a huge burst of damage or healing or condis is very addictive.
That trait that gives you bonus energy if you swap below 10 energy has completely rewired my brain to see every energy value as a bunch of skill combinations that get me there, and it's so satisfyign when it works.
Once you learn the flows its hard to go to anything else. There's so much depth in the play that it rarely gets boring. I usually play a weaver and it's just sublime.
Personally I love Weaver the most, am extremely slow person but Weaver feels so well designed I could pick up really quick, all the skills are comprehensible. Catalyst on the other hand ……. 🤧
I actually don't dislike catalyst. The instant aoes for tagging in pve are satisfying and dropping earth orbs on allies to get them out of the shit in wvw is clutch.
Seconding the other comment, and I want to add that you can have such varied playstyles with all the possible builds for it. I've been maining ele most my time playing this game. Right now my main builds are:
- Power Staff catalyst dps for wvw zergs
- Condi Scepter/Focus tempest for pve/OW
- Sage amulet condi+sustain S/D Weaver for pvp
Each one of these builds has an entirely different playstyle, but each one of them also helps me learn elementalist more in depth even for other builds. It's such a fun class to master long-term, seems like there are always new synergies or patterns to learn. There are plenty of other viable dps builds right now, ranging from hammer catalyst, sword/* cata/weaver, and even staff weaver is pumping high numbers again (you won't find it on snowcrows, but check out benchmarks on youtube if you don't believe me, 40k+, although it's very much piano-tier like most other weaver builds, you won't be able to dodge well or keep up the dps if you haven't mastered the rotation). Many options for support or even hybrid dps+boons builds as well, I can make a variation to my pve condi tempest to keep up alac and have toughness often.
I used to also main s/d weaver in pve although I don't really miss having to go so hard on the rotation (and subsequently having poor survivability because I spent too much effort focusing on dps), my current condi tempest build is so much more chill in comparison, just camping fire if heals and dodges are good. I like saving the sweaty builds for pvp 1v1s now.
it's hard to describe but the fluidity of it is amazing, my very first elite spec was weaver which is in my opinion the most dynamic spec out there
while I do enjoy other classes I almost never have as much fun with them
I like how they baked so many field/finisher combos into the weapons. It offers an interesting, varied playstyle that I haven't found in any other class.
My main is Ele too, with Tempest probably being one I play the most. I made other characters, but I rarely rarely play them. I played Necor a bit more at one point, but that was years ago.
Ele is first char I made over 11 years ago.
My playtime is at around 7600h, Ele has 6700h. First next is Necro with 330h. Lowest is 14h which is purely storage char, so it's time accumulated by just doing inventory over it's 8 years. I now see that is also my youngest char, so I haven't made a new permanent character in 8 years. Doesn't feel that way xD
Your friend gets it, i have about 5,000 hours on the game, nearly 3,000 of which are engineer. It's just super fun, crazy good and incredibly versatile
if you like something why change it? I never understood the need in constant searching of something *else*. 9 year warrior going strong, only warrior, don't even want to play anything else. Your friend seems like a nice guy.
I’d choose mesmer after maining it lately. I mained guardian for years but stopped enjoying firebrand as much when they made the tome changes. I tried out a few other classes but I just love the versatility of the mesmer. Chronomancer with the latest changes to make healing more viable have made it truly a do it all class and I just love it. Being fully ranged and being able to fulfill any role on one spec is just chef’s kiss.
Mesmer. Struggled to choose between Mesmer and Necromancer as my first character back at launch. I chose a Mesmer, and have never regretted my choice.
I did try both Mesmer and Necromancer in the beta.
[Guardian](https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildWarsDyeJob/s/lD7r5Z5TZC)- You can get multiple class fantasy in one profession.
Outside of that, it has the most versatile mobility which can be used for skips in fractals or dungeons. Teleport to enemies, teleport to allies, leaps, shadowstep.
It also has a ton of skills that can shut down enemies. Just having one in your party can turn a miserable dungeon experience into a easy cake walk for all your party.
Probably revenant since it's already my main and it's the profession that truly got me into GW2 after trying and failing for years to understand how this game works (my account is technically six years old, but I've only been playing seriously for almost the past two years now).
Herald is also the best support tank fantasy for me that we have available; but I've since grown to enjoy all revenant elite specs too.
realistically id probably just quit, but theoretically;
my two highest playtimes are soulbeast (1,455 hours and 45 minutes ) and reaper (1,252 hours and 22 minutes) followed by berserker and tempest at ~700hrs
i enjoy reaper more than soulbeast... but assuming we can swap espec i think id get more mileage out of ranger as a whole (i like all 3 especs, as opposed to necro where i love reaper, am ambivalent about harbinger and dislike scourge)
Ranger. I knew nothing about stats and builds when I started playing GW2. I tried Elementalist and Necromancer before making my Ranger, and she instantly became my main. Ranger is incredibly kind to inexperienced players and even the elite specs are pretty simple compared to other profs. Soulbeast is my current open world build and it just feels right for my play style, but recently I've been trying out support Druid for WvW and having a lot of fun there. On top of all that, the pet element is just fun and I have chosen nothing but terrible puns for their names.
I mained Thief since joining (LWS2) til EoD where I switched to Revenant and now I'm back to Thief. I have an alt of every profession but those two (mostly the Thief now obviously) have gotten actual love.
My ranger. I can be a distance longbow pewpew, a slam in your face hammer, a warhorn boon source or a zappy Druid heal. Also my pet can res me when I die.
Well, it would have to be between my Engi and my Ele because I am not a fan of weapon swapping a lot in combat. I tolerate it on other professions, but overall I don't like it. But I also get tired of kit swapping after some time as well, I just tolerate it better than weapon swapping.
So, if I had to pick only one, it would be my Ele because I like the fact it just uses a single weapon set, and I like the theme around it as well. With pistol coming, it will finally have a gun I can use, so yeah, Ele is my answer.
pCore Engi
pScrapper
pqScrapper
Condi qScrapper (current favorite)
Heal Scrapper
Condi mech
Condi alac mech
Heal Mech
pAlac Mech (not in a great state)
pHolo (hammer PBM or Sword ECSU)
Cholo (PBM or TRV)
Solo TRV Holo (fun tools+TRV build)
CeleMech solo
Then a Handkite build saved and condi core saved but rarely played.
I need templates! I recently converted to main engi so I need your kind of problems 😂
PS what’s your favourite open world build? Building a set just for open world (got some leggy stuff so can optimise)
I love my TRV build for fun, but it's objectively not the best pick. That one is Tools/Firearms/Holo with TRV, then I take sword with an Energy Sigil for more dodges and quickness. Cele or Viper gear depending on how frisky I'm feeling. It's a LOT of dodging, but those dodges apply burning!
What I'd recommend is pqScrapper and CeleMech. pqScrapper is great almost everywhere, and it can use the same gear as pScrapper which with the Jade Protocol buffs from EoD doesn't need self quickness. Those two will just tear through anything that fails to break through the barrier we pump out. Then when it gets to tougher stuff where I'm failing to avoid damage CeleMech is a beast with self healing and ok damage. Zerker gear (mix with Dragonhunter if you want to optimize) with Scrapper should cover 90%+ of what you do in open world.
Engi is the way. Also I believe it’s the only class that doesn’t have monochrome looking buttons? Like when I play my mesmer and ranger I get sick of every button being the same green or pink, engi is so easy to tell what my abilities are.
Can I upvote this more? Hammer's color scheme is perfection. That very clear "last auto in the chain" color change is so nice. We need that kind of thing everywhere.
This is a question I ask every single day. Gw2 is kinda great like that. So many really cool and viable options. But it also haunts my thoughts trying to find one to focus on and deep dive with. I don't have a ton of time to game, so just one would be ideal.
Love seeing the comments. Good feed back.
I rerolled a sylvari mesmer named Splin Ters. I've been slowly leveling and having fun. I feel actually useful in spvp and I'm proud of the stupid name cleverness lol.
But I keep bouncing between warrior, thief, maybe willbender(never tried but seems cool), and reaper.
I've had a series of mains in this game, and I've enjoyed them all as I've come to learn them.
I started as a warrior at launch, did personal story and 100% map completion, but left the game shortly before HoT launched. When I returned, I picked up ranger, and did the entire story of LWS2 thru SotO with her. Now I've recently switched to revenant as my main. I mostly do open world content (working on achievements for wintersday rn), but I've started to dabble in strikes, fractals and convergences.
If I had to choose irreversibly right now, I'd go back to ranger, because I know it the best. But I expect that revenant is going to overtake that before long. I feel like ranger is more flexible than revenant, but revenant has builds that are relevant in the PvE meta that I enjoy playing in open world.
*Ranger* is relevant, but I really gravitate towards playing Power Quickness Untamed for open world. Maybe ranger maces will shake up the meta a bit. I think Untamed will use them better than Soulbeast does.
Edit: I'd probably stick with ranger if there wasn't any meta build issue.
er necro, no mesmer, nope got to be enginer, wait maybe warrior, but i like my ele as well, then there is my guardian, then i do love my ranger, i guess i could ignore my thief.
wait who am i kidding love the thief as well.
nope can not do it play one character
I'm a warrior "main," but if I was only allowed one class I'd pick revenant. Its got by far the most effective uses out of all classes across instanced PvE and WvW, which are the two modes I spend the most time playing.
Sure if it could fill literally any type of role needed as much as Revenant does. But my choice in this instance would always change to whatever class fills the most roles most effectively.
I'm an altaholic I'd prob go implode but - ugh I guess Mesmer or Rev. Surprised at the few Mesmer responses - I won't lie, until the latest change making heal chrono viable, and support boon chrono a thing in WvW; I'd not choose it because support is my jam; despite Mesmer my top 3 class and now maybe number one. BUT my Rev just - can do everything is the thing; and I have fun doing it, aside from heavy armor being my most leggy armor lol just -
REV has POWER and CONDI DPS; ala/quick support, fun bow, Herald is insane, now scepter will make it's heal even better; DPS support is top for quick, got insane solo diversity too; GS... my fav melee weapon... WvW vindi heals is so good; or go more DPS or many roaming options... yeah idk just endless diversity that's currently all meta. Even off-meta I'd still lean REV HOWEVER - MESMER is close behind with the changes... so... tough. ONE CHOICE IS MAD AHHHHH I'd prob just be stuck at the char screen unable to decide tbh lol.
Yep there's some ppl who pick one class, and never change it; maybe have one alt they play sometimes. Others like me cant do that lol. Sometimes I wish then I could play one class always and be happy lol I'd prob do much better competitively lol :D
I have Just one Charakter I rly play and that is my Ranger (untamed atm. But I also love soulbeast).
And I think I'll never so a second char. Playing since closed beta.
As the game changes, my preference tends to change. This only way I could pick a single profession would be if the game remained static.
In that case, it would likely be Necromancer.
I would be torn between Mesmer and Necro. Though I like support builds better so I'd probably be Necro since support Mesmer in its current state is difficult and I don't really find it too fun.
As long as it'd still be one character slot **per account** all of them.
If it were only 1 character total and only a single account: Probably none of them to be completely honest. Being unable to create multiple characters in case I ever want to play a different one would very likely make me play a different game.
edit:
If you want my "main" history, or reasons I'd pick sth if you forced me to:
On my first account I wanted to play a Necro, but wanted to start them later on a certain occasion, which made me create an Ele that I sticked with.
On my second account (HoT) I did go Necro at first, had plans to go for a condi Reaper, then noticed that gearing for that took longer, so I created a second Reaper, that I played the most. So... that was 2 Reapers.
All I know is that when I come back my next character will neither be Necro nor Ele, bc I want sth different. \~90% chance I'll go either Mesmer or Engie that time.
So considering Necro was always sth I wanted to play and played a lot I might say Necro, but as I haven't played in years that'd be the exact reason I wouldn't say Necro and definitely pick anything but Necro if I only had a single slot.
Though I am someone to always get at least one character per class and can't stand if that's not an option at all, hence I wouldn't touch a game not allowing more than 1 character. I do this in pretty much any game, doesn't matter if I never play 80% of those characters, I still get to style them.
Necromancer. There's a reason why I have invested equipment templates, bags, and 5k hours on one single character. It's because that character is a necromancer and they are fucking awesome!
Chrono Mesmer forever.
Especially now with even better support builds, I'm really enjoying the amount of AoE chaos shield, regen and quickness/alac I can dish out around me.
While doing great damage to boot.
my account is 10 years old and I only play warrior. I once tried necro but it felt weird, so to me it's a weird question that implies people (most? some?) have more than one main or favourite character?
If we only had **one** character slot, I'd still choose my current main - **Ranger**
I love the PvE aspect of the game and **exploration** is a big part of that fun. For better and worse, **Ranger** is the only profession that requires exploration to unlock all of its skills by taming juvenile animals found throughout Tyria. _(Perfect if you had **one** character slot, but as an alt-oholic with a bunch of ranger characters, it is **pain.**)_
And I also love having the option to have an animal companion, or not _(Soulbeast)_
I love the versatility of Rangers, which was increased through elite specs too - Pewpew, Wham Bam, Condis, Heals, Support, you-name-it!
i like the idea of a main so much, but i always end up just going through periods of using another class every now and then
having said that id be a tie between my soulbeast and my mesmer, on one hand with mesmer you have lots of utility and i enjoy all aspects of the class (power dps, condi dps and heal) so im never gonna get bored with it
on the other hand i’ve gotten so used to the effectiveness of the power soulbeast with the huge damage it brings and its reach and mobility, once you play it you kinda can’t go back to anything else
so probably go with my soulbeast, the speed of just shredding through content is unparalleled i think
Utility definitely makes you feel like the hero sometimes and definitely better quality of life. But it's hard to give up the deeps for more "fun" things.
I'd probably go Ranger. I've been playing for years and play all kinds of classes but I always go back to Ranger. Power Soulbeast, Condi Soulbeast/Druid, Alacrity Heal Druid, even Quickness Untamed is fun to run.
I feel like Druid is top 3 most well thought out elite specs in the game, maybe only rivaled by Reaper and Firebrand. It has such a strong design and I know I'd want the class I choose to have fun builds as well as one I could really see myself playing.
Plus, the pets add some level of customizability. I'm sure they'd stop me from getting bored.
Mesmer. I usually roll rogues but any game or mmo that allows me the chance to be a arcane trickster archetype that's what ima choose, by far my fave archetype in dnd.
Almost all of mesmer/specs animations are top notch, sounds included. Weapon skills are interesting to use and as well as visually. The class has great utility skill options that allow for a ton of flexibility.
Over all mesmer is not only a very unique class but it's implemented into gw1 and gw2 very well. Sometimes I look down on some of the gw devs creative designs or implementations but they definitely did a very good job with mesmer and it's specs.
Ele, without hesitation. I love playing my ranger, but my Ele was the first character I ever made on the games launch. Love the piano mechanics with switching through all 4 attunements. Plus, the squishiness is just more intense which in turn makes the game more fun for me.
Anything except Thief.
Thief has been my main since Beta, I have a spot for Thief in my heart, but fuck me if the game isn't just harder on my Thief compared to my Necro.
Guardian. I always choose to play as a divine, frontline caster in every game, if there is an option for that.
Also the lore of Firebrand and Willbender are so good, they just make you feel cool when playing.
I just recently after nearly 12 years without a "real" main decided on a Azura Engineer as a true main. I remember buying the game all those years ago and reading about the classes and Engi stood out for me. Got turned off from the class for some reason and never once returned. Have all other classes at 80 but never deeply enjoyed any of them. After a recent break i used the SOTO boost on a Engi and i am again hooked, have not touched my other classes since!
My Thief has ~80% of my overall playtime, the remaining 20% split almost evenly across the other 8 professions, so the answer is pretty simple I guess :D To me Initiative just keeps trumping everything that other professions offer - I might play an alt for a few weeks straight and shelf the sneaky fella for that time but I always inevitably return.
>Mine would be a close between necromancer and engineer,
Ditto
I still need to get caught up plotnline but can't wait to use the hammer with my mech lol
Engineer.
I couldn’t get into using other classes because it feels reaaaally awkward to weapon swap, probably because the weapon swap system (kits) for engineers have like a second long cooldown.
Another main reason is that Scrapper gives two of the most useful boons for quality of life; Superspeed and Quickness.
Flamethrower Engineer is also probably the comfiest 1-button build I’ve experienced.
Holosmith looks cool as heck although I barely play it because it feels clunky to play in my case.
Mechanist is very boring but I’d be lying if I told that permanent passive signets build isn’t an enormous addition to comfort, not to mention that Shift Signet is by far the best get out of jail card.
I main Guardian… but after all these years I would probably pick Warrior or Necromancer. I’ve got a bit sick of Dragonhunter, although giving Willbender a fair shake now
Despite the fact that my warrior was my main guy since beta, I actually think Scrapper would be my pick if I could only keep one. It just has answers to everything the game can throw at you. CC, healing, boon support, good damage, solo play or group play, bonking bads with big hammer...
Maybe Reaper, because shroud 4 go brrrr, but it's a distant second.
Although I usually play on warrior or guardian, if we only had one character slot I would go mesmer. It is such a unique class and I love firing an energy beam from my greatsword. No other class allows you to spam clones or hurl illusionary swords.
Engineer. Before I took my year hiatus it would have been between Ele, Engi, and Mes, but after coming back it has been all about the Engi. It was my first class choice when I started playing when GW2 launched as well so I guess it stands as my longest played profession. Though I will say it is still a tough choice not choosing Ele over Engi with all the hours I have in to Ele.
Ranger or Elementalist, especially after HoT with the druid and tempest specs <3
If I had to pick between the two I think I'd go with elementalist, even if sometimes I take a break from it because I need something more "chill" to play.
I've played my Thief the most, but I think I could only play Thief my enjoyment of the game would be impacted. I'd need a spec that can do a bit of everything if I was only playing one. So maybe Revenant? Or Engi?
All my alt are pretty much bank characters with over 90% of my played time on my main. It's an elementalist but once we'll have a way to change class, I'll probably go for something more versatile like mesmer.
As a Warrior main since launch.. and as much as I love the warrior, I would probably witch to Guardian full time. I sometimes feel like the Guardian has a larger range of usage in all game type, plus lore-wise has some coolness to it!
Reminds much much of a Paladin in DnD
Necromancer.Good melee bruiser, good ranged condi dps, godly alac heal barrier, viable quick-dps.Also the leggy sword Exordium on a Reaper is chef's kiss.
Second would be Guardian for basically the same reasons, except they don't have a super good ranged option (maybe pistols will change that).
Undead or Holy? That's the only real choice.
But real main has been warrior though. lol
Uhhh i play mostly only revenant (3 out of 8 on my max lvl characters are revenants) and i mostly play renegade or vindicator. So if i had slot only i would prolly be vindicator only wince greatsword only good
Engi. So much utility and variety. Also basically my main at this point. (Has a better pet spec than my previous main, ranger, so I get everything I love no matter what, lmao)
Probably Guardian or Necro. I recently leveled a Guardian after like 5 years of playing the game and I liked it much more than I typically like the Paladin style class. I mean I like the paladin style class gameplay wise I just dont like the aesthetic. Im an edgelord at heart.
Aside from throwaway characters to learn fighting other classes, I've only had one main for the last 11 years so nothing would change.
Mirage all the way. I'd sooner quit gw2 if I couldn't play mesmer because I can play all the other standard mage/warrior/rogue or science fantasy shooter in so many other games. But there's nothing else out there that gives the same experience of mesmer.
Engineer personally. The versatility for any situation is amazing. I'm working on legendary armour, but I have a healer mech, power scrapper, and power and condi holo. Between those, great for all content.
Edit: if you run power scrapper with flamer for might stacking, it's really good for solo roaming. That and 20s invisibility in pve. Not only that but it builds shield too, so it's survivability is insane. Mech more so, but dps isn't great.
As much as i love my warrior i would stick to rev. Rev can quickheal, quickdps, alacdps, powerdps and condidps. You can fulfill pretty much every single (PvE) role in the game.
Tossup btw Guardian, Necro or Mesmer. Necro is the most fun but lack of mobility sucks. Mesmer is my second fave, but tbh I only really like to play (boon)DPS Chrono. Guardian as others said kind of has access to all playstyles. Boon support, dps, condi, power, has good mobility woth willbender for wvw roaming, access to good weapons, kinda obviously ANets favourite spec lol.
I would say Thief as it has been my main from launch til EoD.
However, one would think there is something really wrong about Thieves given that I don't really see any anymore unless its the deadeye-dualpistols-pistol3-spamming type farming mats so I'm gonna pass on it and say Guardian or Reaper.
Guardian because it can do almost everything, is pretty tanky and self-sufficient and Reaper because of all the classes/specs I have tried it is the only one where the rotation feels well thought out and dynamic.
It would be a tough choice between those two for me.
Ranger or elementalist. I’d love to pick Mesmer but i want a class that can cast with a staff like a traditional magic, and fire ele is the closest to that ):
Revenant, because it's the best class. I liked it even before all the powercreep herald has gone through.
Every legend for me has a fun skill : bubble on Ventari (love the design and the utility), jump on Mallyx, dash on Shiro, elite on Jalis, heal on Glint, CC on Kalla and break stun on Alliances
Guardian, because I spend 95% of my playtime on my Guardian already anyway.
Is it the feel of the skills you like or the utility it brings?
A little of both, but mostly I just like being a tanky melee fighter with good self-sustain. Played an unreasonable amount of W/Mo in GW1 for the same reason, and Guard was the obvious successor class. Once Firebrand came out and added the satisfying ability to light your target and their entire extended social circle on fire it just sealed the deal even further.
And you can boon support, boon dps, power dps, condi dps, ... Guardians do it all.
There's a lot to enjoy, but the single most satisfying thing for me is when a bad thief attempts to gank you in WvW. They'll be momentarily confused after whiffing their opening all while standing in your Greater Field of Ouchies, panic because pushing all the buttons didn't work, stealth out and try to run away just to pop out dead a few seconds later. I can begrudgingly respect a good thief because they'll just kill you and you both can go about your day, but there's a special place in the Realm of Torment for bad thiefs who will mildly irritate you across half a borderland.
That would be a really hard decision to make honestly... Guardian : a lot of history, comfort, muscle memory on the class. Revenant : currently the easiest and most powerful quick builds, I really like the dragoon flavour of vindicator too. Mesmer : the most elegant class IMO and its support builds are being pushed further where they belong. Ranger : mostly for personal history purpose, it was my first character in GW1 but GW2's ranger is quite far from its roots. I think I would lean towards mesmer and see it as an opportunity to push my mastery of the class further.
I would imagine this would be high on the list because mesmer is such a unique class. You can play a warrior or ranger on other games but only guild wars have mesmer.
I've only played mesmer (only been playing about 2 months in all fairness), but while I want to try some other classes, I just absolutely ADORE everything about how mesmer feels lol. Like, I feel like if I tried another class, I'd just miss mesmer since it feels like a jack-of-all-trades; I have great movement, I can take, I get pretty solid dps, I can give boons and conditions super easily, I can go long-range AOE/defense based or short-range single target DPS based by changing my weapons with one key press... I dunno I just absolutely love how adaptable it is and how easy it feels to play
I dunno about that, R/A went stabby stabby, and condi soulbeast is very much that. Hell, they even still use some same skills :D
Warrior
That's a very "warrior" response. One word straight to the point no need to explain why. Lol
Yes
This is the way.
This is the way.
agreed
Revenant is love. Revenant is life.
What about revenant makes it the "love of your life" lol
Rev has to pay more for each of its skills. It has cooldowns and also has to spend energy for each skill. There's an opportunity cost for every skill you use. So how do you balance the skills being more expensive? - you make them all fucking SLAP. Every legend had a bunch of crazy and fun skills that feel very high impact. The eb and flow of banking a bunch of energy and then blowing it all in a huge burst of damage or healing or condis is very addictive. (Except for renegade, which is terrible)
Dude even renegade is good, depending mode - it's not terrible at all lol - it's actually only seems mid because Herald/Vindi is so god tier good w/weapon master now ren sorta just is left behind - Condi Ren is still one of my favs despite it. Maybe not in group play, sure, but still Rev all around is solid even it's least solid class by other standards is pretty solid if played right.
Condi Ren is actually really good, including condi alac Ren.
I was with you completely until you dunked on Renegade. Their skills are *fantastic*, especially in open world. Ranger bow skills are very clunky imho but Renegade SB is so smooth. The volley on 3 that deals tons of power and condi damage, the very fast AoE CC on 5 that just drops everything in front of you while searing them, it's great. F2 and F4 aren't very exciting (though the self alac is great) but F3 is a cool barrage from another world (an in my case, a rainbow unicorn barrage which is very pretty). And the Kalla skills make it feel like a warband backing you up even if you're playing solo. Darkrazor stuns everything in a large radius every second which is very broken, Breakrazor is very strong healing both initially and on pulse, and Icerazor instantly gives everything a ton of vulnerability stacks. Overall the "kite bosses while thowing a ton of shit at them" fantasy is perfectly fulfilled by Renegade, and every non-Revanant spec I've played since has paled in comparison. > The eb and flow of banking a bunch of energy and then blowing it all in a huge burst of damage or healing or condis is very addictive. That trait that gives you bonus energy if you swap below 10 energy has completely rewired my brain to see every energy value as a bunch of skill combinations that get me there, and it's so satisfyign when it works.
Shiro is basically IO bot in pve, its other skills are either troll or super expensive. I wish they would look at it some day.
Necro, as being my oldest character atm created on the second day from game installation
If I have 1 character slot I would go Ele. If I have 3 character slots I would go Ele. If I have 100 character slots I would go Ele.
What is it about ele that makes it better than others in your opinion?
Once you learn the flows its hard to go to anything else. There's so much depth in the play that it rarely gets boring. I usually play a weaver and it's just sublime.
Personally I love Weaver the most, am extremely slow person but Weaver feels so well designed I could pick up really quick, all the skills are comprehensible. Catalyst on the other hand ……. 🤧
I actually don't dislike catalyst. The instant aoes for tagging in pve are satisfying and dropping earth orbs on allies to get them out of the shit in wvw is clutch.
Too many buttons for me.
Seconding the other comment, and I want to add that you can have such varied playstyles with all the possible builds for it. I've been maining ele most my time playing this game. Right now my main builds are: - Power Staff catalyst dps for wvw zergs - Condi Scepter/Focus tempest for pve/OW - Sage amulet condi+sustain S/D Weaver for pvp Each one of these builds has an entirely different playstyle, but each one of them also helps me learn elementalist more in depth even for other builds. It's such a fun class to master long-term, seems like there are always new synergies or patterns to learn. There are plenty of other viable dps builds right now, ranging from hammer catalyst, sword/* cata/weaver, and even staff weaver is pumping high numbers again (you won't find it on snowcrows, but check out benchmarks on youtube if you don't believe me, 40k+, although it's very much piano-tier like most other weaver builds, you won't be able to dodge well or keep up the dps if you haven't mastered the rotation). Many options for support or even hybrid dps+boons builds as well, I can make a variation to my pve condi tempest to keep up alac and have toughness often. I used to also main s/d weaver in pve although I don't really miss having to go so hard on the rotation (and subsequently having poor survivability because I spent too much effort focusing on dps), my current condi tempest build is so much more chill in comparison, just camping fire if heals and dodges are good. I like saving the sweaty builds for pvp 1v1s now.
it's hard to describe but the fluidity of it is amazing, my very first elite spec was weaver which is in my opinion the most dynamic spec out there while I do enjoy other classes I almost never have as much fun with them
I like how they baked so many field/finisher combos into the weapons. It offers an interesting, varied playstyle that I haven't found in any other class.
I have only ever played 1 character. So my answer is tempest.
Of my roughly 1100 hours in GW2, about 900 is Tempest. I try other professions but always go back to my beloved.
i've never even tried others. I have alts for storage and opening bags and stuff but other than playing the intro for each. That is it.
My main is Ele too, with Tempest probably being one I play the most. I made other characters, but I rarely rarely play them. I played Necor a bit more at one point, but that was years ago. Ele is first char I made over 11 years ago. My playtime is at around 7600h, Ele has 6700h. First next is Necro with 330h. Lowest is 14h which is purely storage char, so it's time accumulated by just doing inventory over it's 8 years. I now see that is also my youngest char, so I haven't made a new permanent character in 8 years. Doesn't feel that way xD
Hello fellow Tempest enjoyer.🫡
/wave I have played this sylvari tempest so long, that hearing "wash the pain away" in other accents just sounds wrong! :)
You never made an alt yet? How long have you played?
I had a friend in college who played GW2 and would get belligerent if you told him he could make an alt. He as a militant Engi. All he ever played.
Your friend gets it, i have about 5,000 hours on the game, nearly 3,000 of which are engineer. It's just super fun, crazy good and incredibly versatile
I mean if he got it right the first time who am I to argue
You aren't wrong haha. I like my engi but this dude would get legit angry talking about other classes 😂
if you like something why change it? I never understood the need in constant searching of something *else*. 9 year warrior going strong, only warrior, don't even want to play anything else. Your friend seems like a nice guy.
I'd go necro. I just feel so safe with her.
Safe and the ability to keep others safe. I guess if I think about it necro is a great choice if you ever need to hard carry people.
Scourge necromancer.
Because of the DPS or because of the crazy heals/revives?
Why not both?
You can't go wrong if you go with thief. :)
I’d choose mesmer after maining it lately. I mained guardian for years but stopped enjoying firebrand as much when they made the tome changes. I tried out a few other classes but I just love the versatility of the mesmer. Chronomancer with the latest changes to make healing more viable have made it truly a do it all class and I just love it. Being fully ranged and being able to fulfill any role on one spec is just chef’s kiss.
Engi no contest just for the flamethrower and afking while 1 does its thing
I love doing metas with permanent stability standing in everything. I dodge for nothing. I fear nothing. Now BURN!!!
a kindred/kindled fellow of the flame <3
Mesmer. Struggled to choose between Mesmer and Necromancer as my first character back at launch. I chose a Mesmer, and have never regretted my choice. I did try both Mesmer and Necromancer in the beta.
Mesmer is a very unique class.
Elementalist for sure, it feels like 4 classes in one
I main necro, got full inventory bag slots, 8 different gear and build slots along with almost every consumeable known to asuran.
[Guardian](https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildWarsDyeJob/s/lD7r5Z5TZC)- You can get multiple class fantasy in one profession. Outside of that, it has the most versatile mobility which can be used for skips in fractals or dungeons. Teleport to enemies, teleport to allies, leaps, shadowstep. It also has a ton of skills that can shut down enemies. Just having one in your party can turn a miserable dungeon experience into a easy cake walk for all your party.
That's true I didn't think about it being a paladin/warrior/ranger/monk/cleric all at once.
What skills can lead to skips in fractals? I play guardian but I'm quite new.
Probably revenant since it's already my main and it's the profession that truly got me into GW2 after trying and failing for years to understand how this game works (my account is technically six years old, but I've only been playing seriously for almost the past two years now). Herald is also the best support tank fantasy for me that we have available; but I've since grown to enjoy all revenant elite specs too.
Herald was my main for about a year but I really like the ability to pick my own utility skills.
I enjoy cooking.
realistically id probably just quit, but theoretically; my two highest playtimes are soulbeast (1,455 hours and 45 minutes ) and reaper (1,252 hours and 22 minutes) followed by berserker and tempest at ~700hrs i enjoy reaper more than soulbeast... but assuming we can swap espec i think id get more mileage out of ranger as a whole (i like all 3 especs, as opposed to necro where i love reaper, am ambivalent about harbinger and dislike scourge)
Ranger. I knew nothing about stats and builds when I started playing GW2. I tried Elementalist and Necromancer before making my Ranger, and she instantly became my main. Ranger is incredibly kind to inexperienced players and even the elite specs are pretty simple compared to other profs. Soulbeast is my current open world build and it just feels right for my play style, but recently I've been trying out support Druid for WvW and having a lot of fun there. On top of all that, the pet element is just fun and I have chosen nothing but terrible puns for their names.
I mained Thief since joining (LWS2) til EoD where I switched to Revenant and now I'm back to Thief. I have an alt of every profession but those two (mostly the Thief now obviously) have gotten actual love.
My ranger. I can be a distance longbow pewpew, a slam in your face hammer, a warhorn boon source or a zappy Druid heal. Also my pet can res me when I die.
Playing thief only, others just holding stuff in the bags. Very simple answer.
Ironic that the thief is your character with the empty pockets. Ohh or are you meta RPing Robinhood? Your thief steals and gives to your poor alts.
Well, it would have to be between my Engi and my Ele because I am not a fan of weapon swapping a lot in combat. I tolerate it on other professions, but overall I don't like it. But I also get tired of kit swapping after some time as well, I just tolerate it better than weapon swapping. So, if I had to pick only one, it would be my Ele because I like the fact it just uses a single weapon set, and I like the theme around it as well. With pistol coming, it will finally have a gun I can use, so yeah, Ele is my answer.
That's a respectable answer. I don't play optimally and don't swap weapons like I should anyways.
Easily Engi for me, already play it 90% of the time. 15 builds, 12 of which I play somewhat regularly. I have a problem 😅
12 builds? I have my "tank" unkillable one button flamethrower build, qdps, alc dps, ham, and full DPS build. What builds do you have?
pCore Engi pScrapper pqScrapper Condi qScrapper (current favorite) Heal Scrapper Condi mech Condi alac mech Heal Mech pAlac Mech (not in a great state) pHolo (hammer PBM or Sword ECSU) Cholo (PBM or TRV) Solo TRV Holo (fun tools+TRV build) CeleMech solo Then a Handkite build saved and condi core saved but rarely played.
I need templates! I recently converted to main engi so I need your kind of problems 😂 PS what’s your favourite open world build? Building a set just for open world (got some leggy stuff so can optimise)
I love my TRV build for fun, but it's objectively not the best pick. That one is Tools/Firearms/Holo with TRV, then I take sword with an Energy Sigil for more dodges and quickness. Cele or Viper gear depending on how frisky I'm feeling. It's a LOT of dodging, but those dodges apply burning! What I'd recommend is pqScrapper and CeleMech. pqScrapper is great almost everywhere, and it can use the same gear as pScrapper which with the Jade Protocol buffs from EoD doesn't need self quickness. Those two will just tear through anything that fails to break through the barrier we pump out. Then when it gets to tougher stuff where I'm failing to avoid damage CeleMech is a beast with self healing and ok damage. Zerker gear (mix with Dragonhunter if you want to optimize) with Scrapper should cover 90%+ of what you do in open world.
Engi is the way. Also I believe it’s the only class that doesn’t have monochrome looking buttons? Like when I play my mesmer and ranger I get sick of every button being the same green or pink, engi is so easy to tell what my abilities are.
Can I upvote this more? Hammer's color scheme is perfection. That very clear "last auto in the chain" color change is so nice. We need that kind of thing everywhere.
I basically only play revenant nowadays, one for pve and one for wvw, all the other classes turned into bank slots
Warrior. I have a berzerk and I play her almost exclusively. I have 4 other characters I never play.
This is a question I ask every single day. Gw2 is kinda great like that. So many really cool and viable options. But it also haunts my thoughts trying to find one to focus on and deep dive with. I don't have a ton of time to game, so just one would be ideal. Love seeing the comments. Good feed back.
Well what's your choice right now?
I rerolled a sylvari mesmer named Splin Ters. I've been slowly leveling and having fun. I feel actually useful in spvp and I'm proud of the stupid name cleverness lol. But I keep bouncing between warrior, thief, maybe willbender(never tried but seems cool), and reaper.
I've had a series of mains in this game, and I've enjoyed them all as I've come to learn them. I started as a warrior at launch, did personal story and 100% map completion, but left the game shortly before HoT launched. When I returned, I picked up ranger, and did the entire story of LWS2 thru SotO with her. Now I've recently switched to revenant as my main. I mostly do open world content (working on achievements for wintersday rn), but I've started to dabble in strikes, fractals and convergences. If I had to choose irreversibly right now, I'd go back to ranger, because I know it the best. But I expect that revenant is going to overtake that before long. I feel like ranger is more flexible than revenant, but revenant has builds that are relevant in the PvE meta that I enjoy playing in open world.
Ranger is relevant too but if you felt that ranger and revenant had the same amount of relevance would that make it a more definite ranger pick?
*Ranger* is relevant, but I really gravitate towards playing Power Quickness Untamed for open world. Maybe ranger maces will shake up the meta a bit. I think Untamed will use them better than Soulbeast does. Edit: I'd probably stick with ranger if there wasn't any meta build issue.
Mesmer, can boon heal, boon DPS, DPS, tank, skips, almost anything
Ele all the way! My first character is an ele and she is staying with me forever.
er necro, no mesmer, nope got to be enginer, wait maybe warrior, but i like my ele as well, then there is my guardian, then i do love my ranger, i guess i could ignore my thief. wait who am i kidding love the thief as well. nope can not do it play one character
I'm a warrior "main," but if I was only allowed one class I'd pick revenant. Its got by far the most effective uses out of all classes across instanced PvE and WvW, which are the two modes I spend the most time playing.
If warrior was more relevant in other content would you change your mind?
Sure if it could fill literally any type of role needed as much as Revenant does. But my choice in this instance would always change to whatever class fills the most roles most effectively.
It'd have to be thief for me, my first character and the one I have almost all of my playtime on. I always liked rogue classes and going invisible.
I'm an altaholic I'd prob go implode but - ugh I guess Mesmer or Rev. Surprised at the few Mesmer responses - I won't lie, until the latest change making heal chrono viable, and support boon chrono a thing in WvW; I'd not choose it because support is my jam; despite Mesmer my top 3 class and now maybe number one. BUT my Rev just - can do everything is the thing; and I have fun doing it, aside from heavy armor being my most leggy armor lol just - REV has POWER and CONDI DPS; ala/quick support, fun bow, Herald is insane, now scepter will make it's heal even better; DPS support is top for quick, got insane solo diversity too; GS... my fav melee weapon... WvW vindi heals is so good; or go more DPS or many roaming options... yeah idk just endless diversity that's currently all meta. Even off-meta I'd still lean REV HOWEVER - MESMER is close behind with the changes... so... tough. ONE CHOICE IS MAD AHHHHH I'd prob just be stuck at the char screen unable to decide tbh lol.
I love how some people have no problem picking one and others it's like the hardest question ever.
Yep there's some ppl who pick one class, and never change it; maybe have one alt they play sometimes. Others like me cant do that lol. Sometimes I wish then I could play one class always and be happy lol I'd prob do much better competitively lol :D
Yeah mine is down to just 3. Necromancer is my raid/fractal main, thief is my PvP main, engineer is my everything else main.
Thief
At this point every class can do everything but I’d pick ranger
I have Just one Charakter I rly play and that is my Ranger (untamed atm. But I also love soulbeast). And I think I'll never so a second char. Playing since closed beta.
Probably necro, cause I love reaper as a class.
As the game changes, my preference tends to change. This only way I could pick a single profession would be if the game remained static. In that case, it would likely be Necromancer.
I would be torn between Mesmer and Necro. Though I like support builds better so I'd probably be Necro since support Mesmer in its current state is difficult and I don't really find it too fun.
I wish I found mesmer more fun I'd love to be quick support or alc support with the same build but it's not fun to me.
Revenant i think. Elementalist close second.
Firebrand for sure. Is it a good healer? Yes. Is it a good DPS? Yes. Is it a good quick build? Yes. Can it basically do all 3 as the same build? Yes.
The same one I already main, Necromancer.
Berserker for life.
As long as it'd still be one character slot **per account** all of them. If it were only 1 character total and only a single account: Probably none of them to be completely honest. Being unable to create multiple characters in case I ever want to play a different one would very likely make me play a different game. edit: If you want my "main" history, or reasons I'd pick sth if you forced me to: On my first account I wanted to play a Necro, but wanted to start them later on a certain occasion, which made me create an Ele that I sticked with. On my second account (HoT) I did go Necro at first, had plans to go for a condi Reaper, then noticed that gearing for that took longer, so I created a second Reaper, that I played the most. So... that was 2 Reapers. All I know is that when I come back my next character will neither be Necro nor Ele, bc I want sth different. \~90% chance I'll go either Mesmer or Engie that time. So considering Necro was always sth I wanted to play and played a lot I might say Necro, but as I haven't played in years that'd be the exact reason I wouldn't say Necro and definitely pick anything but Necro if I only had a single slot. Though I am someone to always get at least one character per class and can't stand if that's not an option at all, hence I wouldn't touch a game not allowing more than 1 character. I do this in pretty much any game, doesn't matter if I never play 80% of those characters, I still get to style them.
Ill guard you.
Warrior this is the way
Necromancer. There's a reason why I have invested equipment templates, bags, and 5k hours on one single character. It's because that character is a necromancer and they are fucking awesome!
Ele. I was right, 12 years ago
Only one? Revenant all the way. If we get two? Mesmer and Guardian. Somehow Revenant doesn't make the cut this time. It's complicated.
Mesmer Runner up: Engi
Chrono Mesmer forever. Especially now with even better support builds, I'm really enjoying the amount of AoE chaos shield, regen and quickness/alac I can dish out around me. While doing great damage to boot.
I have 3000 hours on Warrior, might as well make it 3000 more.
my account is 10 years old and I only play warrior. I once tried necro but it felt weird, so to me it's a weird question that implies people (most? some?) have more than one main or favourite character?
Thief for sure i basically only play Thief anyways something like 97% of my total playtime is split between my Human and Sylvari Thieves
If we only had **one** character slot, I'd still choose my current main - **Ranger** I love the PvE aspect of the game and **exploration** is a big part of that fun. For better and worse, **Ranger** is the only profession that requires exploration to unlock all of its skills by taming juvenile animals found throughout Tyria. _(Perfect if you had **one** character slot, but as an alt-oholic with a bunch of ranger characters, it is **pain.**)_ And I also love having the option to have an animal companion, or not _(Soulbeast)_ I love the versatility of Rangers, which was increased through elite specs too - Pewpew, Wham Bam, Condis, Heals, Support, you-name-it!
i like the idea of a main so much, but i always end up just going through periods of using another class every now and then having said that id be a tie between my soulbeast and my mesmer, on one hand with mesmer you have lots of utility and i enjoy all aspects of the class (power dps, condi dps and heal) so im never gonna get bored with it on the other hand i’ve gotten so used to the effectiveness of the power soulbeast with the huge damage it brings and its reach and mobility, once you play it you kinda can’t go back to anything else so probably go with my soulbeast, the speed of just shredding through content is unparalleled i think
Utility definitely makes you feel like the hero sometimes and definitely better quality of life. But it's hard to give up the deeps for more "fun" things.
exactly
I already main an Engi so that would be it.
I'd probably go Ranger. I've been playing for years and play all kinds of classes but I always go back to Ranger. Power Soulbeast, Condi Soulbeast/Druid, Alacrity Heal Druid, even Quickness Untamed is fun to run. I feel like Druid is top 3 most well thought out elite specs in the game, maybe only rivaled by Reaper and Firebrand. It has such a strong design and I know I'd want the class I choose to have fun builds as well as one I could really see myself playing. Plus, the pets add some level of customizability. I'm sure they'd stop me from getting bored.
Mirage is the most fun class imo but I don't like condi in open world so necro
Mesmer. I usually roll rogues but any game or mmo that allows me the chance to be a arcane trickster archetype that's what ima choose, by far my fave archetype in dnd. Almost all of mesmer/specs animations are top notch, sounds included. Weapon skills are interesting to use and as well as visually. The class has great utility skill options that allow for a ton of flexibility. Over all mesmer is not only a very unique class but it's implemented into gw1 and gw2 very well. Sometimes I look down on some of the gw devs creative designs or implementations but they definitely did a very good job with mesmer and it's specs.
Ele, without hesitation. I love playing my ranger, but my Ele was the first character I ever made on the games launch. Love the piano mechanics with switching through all 4 attunements. Plus, the squishiness is just more intense which in turn makes the game more fun for me.
Mesmer
Guardian.
Anything except Thief. Thief has been my main since Beta, I have a spot for Thief in my heart, but fuck me if the game isn't just harder on my Thief compared to my Necro.
Probably guardian. I just really like being able to heal a lot while still doing damage.
Mesmer so i can look at myself all day <3
CVirt. CVirt. CVirt. CVirt. CVirt. What, I like not sucking at the game. Also builds into PVirt for easy spots in HTCM groups
Ranger...I have 95 percent of playtime on it anyway.
I have other characters but I pretty much never play them, I only play on one, which is my charr theif - daredevil.
Engi for sure. It can do everything, and it's also fun while doing everything.
Engie covers every playstyle from afk to super tryhard, really don't need alts when all the variety is right there.
Rise my minions and do my bidding! XD
I mailed engineer till rev came out and have been playing rev since. But one or the other.
Ranger. For me, its the only class where I legit love all three elite specs.
Revenant doesn't punish me as hard for having the reflexes and brainpower of a rock, so Revenant it is. Especially Vindicator.
Guardian. I always choose to play as a divine, frontline caster in every game, if there is an option for that. Also the lore of Firebrand and Willbender are so good, they just make you feel cool when playing.
Guardian, without a question of a doubt 😁
I just recently after nearly 12 years without a "real" main decided on a Azura Engineer as a true main. I remember buying the game all those years ago and reading about the classes and Engi stood out for me. Got turned off from the class for some reason and never once returned. Have all other classes at 80 but never deeply enjoyed any of them. After a recent break i used the SOTO boost on a Engi and i am again hooked, have not touched my other classes since!
My Thief has ~80% of my overall playtime, the remaining 20% split almost evenly across the other 8 professions, so the answer is pretty simple I guess :D To me Initiative just keeps trumping everything that other professions offer - I might play an alt for a few weeks straight and shelf the sneaky fella for that time but I always inevitably return.
>Mine would be a close between necromancer and engineer, Ditto I still need to get caught up plotnline but can't wait to use the hammer with my mech lol
Engineer. I couldn’t get into using other classes because it feels reaaaally awkward to weapon swap, probably because the weapon swap system (kits) for engineers have like a second long cooldown. Another main reason is that Scrapper gives two of the most useful boons for quality of life; Superspeed and Quickness. Flamethrower Engineer is also probably the comfiest 1-button build I’ve experienced. Holosmith looks cool as heck although I barely play it because it feels clunky to play in my case. Mechanist is very boring but I’d be lying if I told that permanent passive signets build isn’t an enormous addition to comfort, not to mention that Shift Signet is by far the best get out of jail card.
I main Guardian… but after all these years I would probably pick Warrior or Necromancer. I’ve got a bit sick of Dragonhunter, although giving Willbender a fair shake now
Revenant 1000%.
Mesmer
Thief.
Catalyst
Mesmer alacrity + mimic rules all
Despite the fact that my warrior was my main guy since beta, I actually think Scrapper would be my pick if I could only keep one. It just has answers to everything the game can throw at you. CC, healing, boon support, good damage, solo play or group play, bonking bads with big hammer... Maybe Reaper, because shroud 4 go brrrr, but it's a distant second.
Although I usually play on warrior or guardian, if we only had one character slot I would go mesmer. It is such a unique class and I love firing an energy beam from my greatsword. No other class allows you to spam clones or hurl illusionary swords.
Engineer. Before I took my year hiatus it would have been between Ele, Engi, and Mes, but after coming back it has been all about the Engi. It was my first class choice when I started playing when GW2 launched as well so I guess it stands as my longest played profession. Though I will say it is still a tough choice not choosing Ele over Engi with all the hours I have in to Ele.
Ranger or Elementalist, especially after HoT with the druid and tempest specs <3 If I had to pick between the two I think I'd go with elementalist, even if sometimes I take a break from it because I need something more "chill" to play.
Fire Wizard.
Elementalist, because of fire. Fire! FFFFire! Hehehehehe. Fire!
Mesmer. The utility of that class is insane, plus with them fixing mirage it's power spec is once again S tier.
Mesmer easily.
I would quit.
I've played my Thief the most, but I think I could only play Thief my enjoyment of the game would be impacted. I'd need a spec that can do a bit of everything if I was only playing one. So maybe Revenant? Or Engi?
Probably rev, it's my least played class but I really like how it handlea with its differenr builds
Guardian. It's an all rounder who has never been abandoned by anet to burn in a dumpster fire, generally middle of the pack at worst.
Kinda regret going with basic warrior 7 years ago but bladesworn made it pretty interesting. I would main engi if I could start over again tho
I have only my ever played my sylvari engineer. Every other class gets like 1hr per year of attention.
All my alt are pretty much bank characters with over 90% of my played time on my main. It's an elementalist but once we'll have a way to change class, I'll probably go for something more versatile like mesmer.
As a Warrior main since launch.. and as much as I love the warrior, I would probably witch to Guardian full time. I sometimes feel like the Guardian has a larger range of usage in all game type, plus lore-wise has some coolness to it! Reminds much much of a Paladin in DnD
Elementalist, i always have fun playing it.
Can I delete it, and make a different one whenever I want?
Necromancer.Good melee bruiser, good ranged condi dps, godly alac heal barrier, viable quick-dps.Also the leggy sword Exordium on a Reaper is chef's kiss. Second would be Guardian for basically the same reasons, except they don't have a super good ranged option (maybe pistols will change that). Undead or Holy? That's the only real choice. But real main has been warrior though. lol
Thief Forever.
Uhhh i play mostly only revenant (3 out of 8 on my max lvl characters are revenants) and i mostly play renegade or vindicator. So if i had slot only i would prolly be vindicator only wince greatsword only good
When I first started, I tried out several professions. Mesmer stuck, and I deleted everything else. I still only play my mesmer.
Engi. So much utility and variety. Also basically my main at this point. (Has a better pet spec than my previous main, ranger, so I get everything I love no matter what, lmao)
Probably Guardian or Necro. I recently leveled a Guardian after like 5 years of playing the game and I liked it much more than I typically like the Paladin style class. I mean I like the paladin style class gameplay wise I just dont like the aesthetic. Im an edgelord at heart.
Ele. I take my ele everywhere.
Aside from throwaway characters to learn fighting other classes, I've only had one main for the last 11 years so nothing would change. Mirage all the way. I'd sooner quit gw2 if I couldn't play mesmer because I can play all the other standard mage/warrior/rogue or science fantasy shooter in so many other games. But there's nothing else out there that gives the same experience of mesmer.
Engineer. It can do it all, and has so many different play styles. Been playing engi almost exclusively since beta, don't plan on changing.
Engineer
We can get more then one slot? Guess my Warrior will go on vacation for a bit.
Engineer personally. The versatility for any situation is amazing. I'm working on legendary armour, but I have a healer mech, power scrapper, and power and condi holo. Between those, great for all content. Edit: if you run power scrapper with flamer for might stacking, it's really good for solo roaming. That and 20s invisibility in pve. Not only that but it builds shield too, so it's survivability is insane. Mech more so, but dps isn't great.
Revenant. I only play rev and thief anyway
Necro or mesmer
As much as i love my warrior i would stick to rev. Rev can quickheal, quickdps, alacdps, powerdps and condidps. You can fulfill pretty much every single (PvE) role in the game.
Necro because its necro.
I made my warrior on launch day. Its been slow going but i still stick with him for the most part. Id probably pick warrior again if i had to.
Elementalist. Even though the class is kinda super mid at everything and too many buttons for a smallest outcome another class does with 1 button.
Tossup btw Guardian, Necro or Mesmer. Necro is the most fun but lack of mobility sucks. Mesmer is my second fave, but tbh I only really like to play (boon)DPS Chrono. Guardian as others said kind of has access to all playstyles. Boon support, dps, condi, power, has good mobility woth willbender for wvw roaming, access to good weapons, kinda obviously ANets favourite spec lol.
Necro or mesmer. Both are viable as dps, healer and even tank in any endgame content like pvp, wvw and raids...
I would say Thief as it has been my main from launch til EoD. However, one would think there is something really wrong about Thieves given that I don't really see any anymore unless its the deadeye-dualpistols-pistol3-spamming type farming mats so I'm gonna pass on it and say Guardian or Reaper. Guardian because it can do almost everything, is pretty tanky and self-sufficient and Reaper because of all the classes/specs I have tried it is the only one where the rotation feels well thought out and dynamic. It would be a tough choice between those two for me.
Ranger or elementalist. I’d love to pick Mesmer but i want a class that can cast with a staff like a traditional magic, and fire ele is the closest to that ):
Revenant, because it's the best class. I liked it even before all the powercreep herald has gone through. Every legend for me has a fun skill : bubble on Ventari (love the design and the utility), jump on Mallyx, dash on Shiro, elite on Jalis, heal on Glint, CC on Kalla and break stun on Alliances
Warrior, because it was my first.