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OK, so I'm not that coordinated...
castamir11
Member Posts: 45
in Guild Wars 2
I'm kind of a clutz. I'm interested in GW2, but I don't know about all this dodging and weapon swapping and stuff. Is there a class for me the keeps it kinda simple??
Comments
Try Warrior. They are probably one of the easier classes to start with.
...or maybe Guardian...
...Not that a better player isn't going to cut you to ribbons, reguardless of what class you use...
I used to TL;DR, but then I took a bullet point to the footnote.
I think you'll find that dodging isn't as difficult as you think. You simply double tap your W,A,S, & D keys to dodge or roll, or if you're a mouse clicker there is a dodge button to click.
Weapon swapping is easy , You set up your alternative weapons in the designated slots on your character sheet. Once in combat you just click a button, located on the left hand side of your skill bar, like you would any other skill and your skill bar changes instantly because your weapons are swapped.
Elementalists are one class that doesn't have weapon swapping because they have 4 elements that they can switch between to have 4 different skillsets depending on what type of weapon they have equipped (ie, staff or scepter & offhand). But having played both a Mesmer who can weapon swap & Elementalist who can't, I can say switching skill sets on either one is pretty much the same, click a button and you're switched.
I'd actually recommend elementalist.
They can't weapon swap although you will need a good memory if you want to be effective that is use 4 attunements properly.
I know the Ranger pet bear can tank effectively making the Ranger play like a hunter from WoW - range, pet tanks stuff - easy mode. This is probably a beta thing though and perhaps Arena Net will readjust it for launch.
Necromancers with Death Shroud are pretty easy as well.
Anyway, don't get too hung up on it. I'll say that you definitely HAVE to dodge but you don't have to be playing optimally to see the content. Stay away from playing Mesmers, Guardians, Thieves and Engineers untill you are more comfortable with the system.
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I need to take this advice more.
That is a fascinating question.
There are 2 classes that don't use weapon swapping: elementalist and engineer.
Elementalists instead have attunments that they can swap between (fire, water, air, earth) so you've got potentially 20 different spells, not including the utility slots.
Engineers use kits and I am less familiar with them.
Every other class swaps weapons, generally between a ranged and melee weapon. You may really like the warrior, the combat has a very visceral feel and you will probably use a rifle for ranged then swap to a melee weapon. The greatsword is possibly my favorite though all the combinations have pros and cons.
Really, it sounds terribly complex until you're used to it. You're really just adding 2 keys to a standard layout: ~ and F1 (some classes like mesmer use F1-F4). Double tapping a movement key is your dodge. Once you get used to the weapon combinations and abilities you will develop your favorites.
I wish you luck in whatever you choose, it's a hell of a game.
"Loading screens" are not "instances".
Your personal efforts to troll any game will not, in fact, impact the success or failure of said game.
I'd recommend getting a decent gaming mouse and using the extra keys and macros to map things more to your liking.
Guild Wars 2 is surprisingly simple compared to a lot of MMOs, but there are still at least 10 buttons you're going to be hitting regularly, and having them all tied to just your left hand is truly gimping yourself. I don't mean to sound elitest, but there is a significant difference between someone triggering skills and abilities with both hands compared to one.
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Hmmm, OK, I think I'm leaning towards warrior. I understand that the holy trinity is done away with in GW2, but are warriors still expected to take more of the brunt of damage than other classes? Thanks for all the help!
Nope all classes will be asked to take some form limited roles in "controlling" the mobs.
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Is positioning important? Need to strafe around a lot?
Positioning is important, I found myself constantly on the move while fighting.
Yeah I am the same. I hope I get the chance to beta GW2 before it launches and see for myself.
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No, this is something to get used to. A lot of people in the BWE were playing the warrior like a tank and getting creamed. Smart use of talents matters, and dodging out of the way/using your self-heal will help you survive and that's true of all classes.
I think Necromancers actually have more survivability than warriors. Having said that, as you level and get trait points, you can put them into surivability skills like toughness so you can take a beating.
"Loading screens" are not "instances".
Your personal efforts to troll any game will not, in fact, impact the success or failure of said game.
Go Ranger instead of Warrior and have your pet do the heavy lifting. You will be able to learn the game, but at a much less steep curve.
People will kite and/or use crippling abilities then dodge back to get some breathing room. Mesmers will jump in with a sword and go to down, then leap back out so as not to get crushed. Every class has an avoidance mechanic and a way to mitigate damage. A warrior with a sword and board can put up a shield wall for something like 3 seconds. It really depends on what class you play and which weapons you choose, but in the end positioning matters.
"Loading screens" are not "instances".
Your personal efforts to troll any game will not, in fact, impact the success or failure of said game.
Yeah, but more for some classes than others. Thief for one don´t get a slow moment, Eles on the other hand can take it somewhat cooler, and the same goes for rangers.
If you don´t get positioning and moving while fighting right you can expect to die a lot.
Can rangers kite??
Yes, but they also have their pet to tank. But be prepared, in the betas the pet AI is sometimes really bad. I expect it to be fine on release.
"Loading screens" are not "instances".
Your personal efforts to troll any game will not, in fact, impact the success or failure of said game.
Sometimes the pet wouldn't react and it will also die alot. Still all the times it works you have a much easier job when dealing with enemies if you don't have to worry about your own health.
I had the same problem, but I just played ranger for an hour or so, I blamed my own lack of skill for my pets constant deaths, and I still do.
Elementalist, I'd say.
Don't know about all classes to compare but Necro I tried in WvW and it has mad survivability. That shroud thingy or what's it called makes you very tanky.
I'd say grab a ranger. The pets really attract most of the attention of the mobs, plus ranged characters in general have a better view of what's happening around them and have more time to react. You can switch between your 2 pets, which helps a lot (and is faster) if your pet gets stuck or just dies. You can also heal it. My sister somehow managed to keep her dog alive for the most part (I think she was using her self heal to keep the pet alive even when she wasn't being attacked) and it worked pretty well for her. Much better than her attempt at the guardian where I had to resurrect her all the time. xD
Necros are also quite durable (more room for mistakes) and if you go for a minion master, the minions will distract mobs in the same way the ranger's pet does. And you have a "oh snap" button in the form of Death Shroud.
If you want to go with a warrior, make sure to pick a rifle or a longbow as soon as you can. If you go for melee, just don't jump head first into groups of attacking monsters during DEs and you should be fine.
Whatever you pick, you'll have to kite. So rebinding your keys is a must. If you have a mouse with more than 2 buttons that can help you a lot. However, there isn't that much of a death penalty and many times you can save yourself through the "fight to survive" mechanic. So don't worry about it that much.
Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. My wife likes playing MMO's with me, but her camera and movement skills are....lacking. She still prefers to hold down A or D to turn her character, but I'm trying to break her of that habit lol.
That said...we played in the BWE and she was doing just fine with the dodging and such. It feels pretty intuitive in this game, so I wouldnt worry too much about being an E-Clutz
But...if that isnt comforting..play a ranged character.
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Any class will do for you. Really. Dodging doesn't become a huge issue until the 15+ areas and the game starts to ease you into it long before then. All classes have access to ranged weapons, and dodging is less vital when you're at range mostly because you have some elbow room before projectiles reach you to simply run out of the way.
Further, even though weapon/element/kit switching (depending on your class) is very helpful in staying versatile, it's not 100% necessary. You can indeed just stick to one weapon if you like. It's not recommended in the long term, because you really give up some of your potential power, but it's not like you're thrust into a bunch of complex gaming systems right from level 1. You can take your time with it and get comfortable with it before getting into the complex stuff. That's what I did with my mesmer, I didn't start the weapon swapping till like 15 when I felt I'd had enough control and coordination, and even then it was situational; I'd switch to the greatsword when I needed to push things back, or when all my skills for Staff were on cooldown, but otherwise I stuck mainly to Staff. Worked fine.
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It really depends on what you want to do in the game. You can play most classes relatively decently without using weapon swapping, although I strongly urge you to learn as it give you a lot more options.
In normal PvE, you can probably get away with not swapping at all. At least in earlier levels. Especially if you stick to ranged weapons. I know that a lot of people suggested the elementalist but I would go with a necromancer.
The elementalist, while not using weapon swapping, has element swapping where you switch between 4 elemental attunements (fire, water, earth, wind), which would require a lot more coordination than weapon swapping.
On the other hand, a necromancer does a crap load of damage and does not require a lot of micromanagement.
But either way in normal PvE, you should be OK without weapon swapping.
Dungeons and PvP, especially competitive PvP, will require you to swap weapons.