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De we know enough about the Professions to determine...
pharazonic
Member Posts: 860
... the playstyle and feel of each profession?
Basically I am trying to figure out what I should have for a main/central character in GW2 and I am wondering if we know enough from the convention footage + GW1 professions to make a clever guess as to the playstyle and feel of each profession.
Is this possible?
((Basicallty I hate:
a) Casting
b) Pet management
c) Sneaky archetypes
I enjoy:
a) being a juggernaught
b) mobility
c) magic/flashy spells
I guess I have a vague idea in mind (Warrior, Guardian) but I lack the info on how the weapon cobos work, as well as how Rangers, Mesmers and Elemntalists work.
In WoW I play a Feral druid; a warrior in RIFT (love how magically inclined RIFT's warriors are); a Herald of Xotli in AoC and in DotA my favourite hero is Phoenix. If that is of any help lol.))
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
Comments
I know I don't care much for pet management so I don't want to play a ranger. Necromancer, however, isn't ruled out, as necromancers aren't required to take any pets and don't have to manage them much when they do.
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
Hm, okay:
Basicallty I hate:
a) Casting
b) Pet management
c) Sneaky archetypes
I enjoy:
a) being a juggernaught
b) mobility
c) magic/flashy spells
I guess I have a vague idea in mind (Warrior, Guardian) but I lack the info on how the weapon cobos work, as well as how Rangers, Mesmers and Elemntalists work.
In WoW I play a Feral druid; a warrior in RIFT (love how magically inclined RIFT's warriors are); a Herald of Xotli in AoC and in DotA my favourite hero is Phoenix. If that is of any help lol.
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
This should help:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Profession_mechanics#Profession_mechanic
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_skills
... you like magic, but don't like casting?
... what is it, specifically, about casting you don't like? The magic users in GW2 don't really seem to use the same type of casting mechanics as many other MMOs. A lot more active and less standing around channeling.
All professions are very mobile (charge attack or teleport) and have flashy spells. All professions rely on casting/activating skills, because there's no autoattack (default attack with your weapon). All professions can be a juggernaught if played well, but I guess you'll find the Warrior the most interesting, because he's got the highest armor rating and hitpoints (but lacks regeneration). The Guardian is like the Warrior with more regeneration but less max hp. It depends how you want to endure a beating.
You won't have to fight with ui controls, if that's what you mean with pet management. There are 3 basic stances and skills you can choose for your pet. The pet itself will trigger those skills at will. Right now, three professions are stealthy: Mesmer, Ranger and Thief.
So you dislike casting, but like to use spells (insta)
Seems this leaves the Guardian out as he will have a lot of casting
Rogues are to stealthy, but offer a lot of flashy magic and movabillity, and they can be played without stealth.
Necromancers, Mesmers and Elementalist will have a lot of casting
Rangers are build around pet management..
Maybe you should consider the engineer, as he seems very movable and flashy too.
And offcourse warrior will be a good choice, tough i dont see him using a lot of magic.
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Ahh so you like Guardian,Warrior,Engineer, maybe mesmer right?
I'm actually willing to try them all out due to gameplay but not banking on an ele, I digg bashing heads in ha ha. I like that fact I can bash heads in and then if someone whooping my ass from a distance I can switch to range a say "You thought you were safe?"
I also like using close and being able to switch my range like I pvp'd a Guardian and my friend pvp'd a engineer...
Guardians are absolutly awesome mainly in my pvp in my experience, I like how they have the ability to knock foes back that from one click yo switch to your septer(no delay by the way) hit 1 and your firing away at them, or use a melee ranged skill.
Same for engineer rocket boots, then blast back , do some damage from mid range, and then blast off(I can't remember the names atm), which will bring you back to your target then switch to flamethrower and make roast chicken.
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I guess I was mainly referring to the flavour of magic.
But yeah, I like to be in the thick of things; not really a fan of a staying at back and twiddling my fingers :P
When you say "A lot more active and less standing around channeling" That gets me interested lol.
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
Thanks for this... Can't wait for more detailed gameplay too
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
Watch gameplay videos on youtube. You won't see anyone standing around casting 2s spells. Afaik, all spells are instantly cast or are channeling while you move around. I think jumping interrupts casting, though.
Like I said, the classes are pretty versatile, but these are the types of characters that fall into each.
Casting: Any character when using a staff.
Pet management: Every ranger and some necromancers.
Sneaky archetypes: Most thieves and some mesmers.
Being a juggernaught: Warriors and most guardians.
Mobility: Most characters, especially when wielding a sword or dagger.
Magic/flashy spells: Mesmers, elementalists, and guardians in particular, but also necromancers and thieves.
It seems like sword guardian might be your best bet. Unfortunately, your weapon options with guardian are a little bit limited. Mace and hammer both fit the juggernaut requirement, but not so much the mobility. Staff leans more towards the back row casting, so you'll probably want to avoid it. Both sword types fit all three requirements, and any of your three off-hand options should be acceptable.
Warrior is a bit better at being a juggernaut, but it lacks the flashy magic.
Sword mesmer and dagger elementalist both fit mobility and flashiness extremely well, but miss out on the whole juggernaut thing.
Necromancer can make an excellent juggernaut in spite of its low armor, but it's perhaps the least mobile classes in the game.
By all means, do check out the wiki links, however. Videos are good, too. ImperfectBlock is an excellent channel that shows off a lot of GW2 skills used by someone who actually knows what he's doing (when he's the driver).
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
Feel like being a juggernaut? Pick a warrior.
The spell effects might be flashy too, we didn't see too much of that yet. Just slap on that twohander and cleave your way through.
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Not all will be known until the actual release. ArenaNet will never tell every single thing, that would make less reasons to buy the game.
Based on the odd mix you've presented, I'd agree that Guardian might be the best match. They can be in the thick of things, have abilities that offer great mobility and have some nice magic based abilities, with out long casting times.
I'm expecting that GW2 will also offer enough versatility that many people will find some professions matching their individual play style and preferences much better than one might guess based on the general archetype the profession would represent in traditional RPGs/MMOs.
The versatility is by design and I've seen at least one developer comment that your profession choice is more about finding a class that offers the flavor you prefer, rather than having to take a particular class to fill a particular prefered role. Everyone can fulfill a number of roles, based on weapon and build choice, but each profession fills those roles in different ways.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
Right... because if I knew all about a game I would never want to actually play it...
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
Just a quick reply here.
I think Guardian would fit your wants, more specifically a sword/shield guardian.
Being a juggernaut: With your shield, you can quickly defend you and your allies against enemy attacks. Knocking enemies away with your shield while abosorbing enemy projectiles - seems perfect for someone who really wants to be right up in the fight. With your shield, your sword can also help you stay in the heat of the battle. Once again you can block enemy projectiles while sending out damage waves. Really a nice mixture of defense while still having some nice offensive power.
Mobility: The sword is beautiful for movement, you can quickly jump into your enemies which one skill and batter them further with your other abilities. Not only do many of your skills knock back the enemy, with the sword, you can be jumping at the enemy constantly and controlling them with deflections and knockbacks.
Magic/Flashy Spells: Heres a bit of sword/shield Guardian aciton here, see flashy! Guardian Pvp Sword/Shield demo(Bonus: If you watch the whole video you can see a bit of the Guardians' other skills and abilities.)
Hope you find what you like!
Yeah, after the replies in this thread, I'm definitely conflicted between a Warrior and a Guardian. It's nice that my choices are narrowed down though.
Evilandrex, I actually caught that video before and that is one bad ass guardian. Make smy choice harder. I might have to run two mains! I guess my reservations in the Guardian lie in the following:
a) seems to be primarily more defensive over offensive - whereas warrior seems to have near equal parts of both
b) Guardian seems to be more Group oriented, whereas Warrior seems to be a solo type character
c) Warrior has more weapon choices (I think)
I guess i need more time to decide what exactly I am looking for.
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
The Warrior should have more weapon choices (they ARE the weapons masters). Also, what I described was only one set of weapons out of the two you can possibly equip at one time. So you can add another set to put a bit more offense into your play style if you wanted. All classes can effectively solo, the Guardian specifically would be doing it their ability to defend themselves and also one of their class exclusives - Spirit Weapons. They are extremely simple summons that help the Guardian, mostly attacking, but they also act as extra abilities to unleash on your enemies (see: MORE SHINY). This should give some solo power to the Guardian.
A paladin uses magic, but may not be a caster, for example. Same for a dread knight or a Druid.Philosophy of MMO Game Design
Warrior does have more weapon choices. A Guardian has 12 combinations (3 2H, 3 MH, 3 OH), and a Warrior has 19 (4 2H, 3 MH, 5 OH). As far as I can tell, a Guardian actually has one more skill available at any time than a Warrior, because they have three Virtues compared to two Adrenal skills of the Warrior.
I think both will have solo or group oriented builds available. The Guardian looks like they have some aggressive options with Hammer, Greatsword or Scepter/Torch.
Warriors it seems have a different kind of group support than Guardians. Warriors add damage, health, swiftness, or weaken enemies. Guardians add protection, aegis, regeneration, or magical barriers. But it doesn't necessarily mean you're locked into these options. Guardians can have aggressive utility skills like Judge's Intervention, Bane Signet, and Signet of Wrath.
There's a real emphasis on replayability in GW2. There's also a deemphasized endgame. You'll have things to do to keep furthering your character, but this game is really trying hard to not be a "rush to endgame" sort of game. Definitely play two mains. Play a bunch. Whatever you're finding to be fun, do that, regardless of class.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
If I'm reading all this correctly, the Guardian is the tank role and the Warrior the DPS role, basically. But, from what I'm reading, GW2 is not calling it the older traditional role types. There seems to be more to it then, you are a tank and I'm a healer. Am I reading it correctly?
There's no traditional holy trinity in GW2. By holy trinity I mean a game like WoW where you have to specialize into one role. Tanks focus on defense, dps maximize their damage output, and healers maximize their healing power and sustainability and that's it.
GW2 has a much more fluid combat system. Pure power and the ability to totally specialize aren't even in the game. Each player's self-heal is the strongest heal in the game, and you actually can't even target allies, everything is done by either affecting everybody in the area, or ground based, or something like that. They want you to be looking at the screen and responding to the action, not watching health bars.
There's nothing magical or necessary about a trinity in games, but GW2 can be described as a trinity of damage, control, and support skills. All professions have the ability to do all three to a pretty good degree, just in different ways. Even the normally squishy Elementalist has an Earth Attunement they can use to increase their survivability and help control mobs.
In GW2, mob aggro is based on different things, but one of the big things is proximity; it's inclined to attack the person closest to it. But due to limited dodging and a long cooldown self heal, it won't just be one person tanking with an aggro lock. Instead of thinking about it like "this player is the tank", think about it like "the mob is attacking this player at this moment." Players need to set up their skills beforehand and work out tactics to survive an encounter. It won't just be one person controlling a mob. Anybody else could switch weapons or take a utility skill in order to help buy someone else a little time to get out of harms way, then they can come back in later.
I hope that helps explain it somewhat. I'm sure we can help try to answer any followup questions as well.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007