I am back! What to do after 3-4 years of absence?

[pfuetzi.5421]

After not having played the game for about 3 to 4 years, I finally bought the expansions and I am ready to go. Almost. Much has changed and I am a bit overwhelmed. My main chars are an engineer and a mesmer. I really like the chronomancer and scrapper specialisations stylewise but I have no clue how to build/play them. Any help is welcome here. Back in the days, everyone got zerker gear and that is bassically all the equiment I got as well. Time to change?

Furthermore, I boosted my guardian to 80. The Dragonslayer seems quite appealing to me as well. However, I am also considering the revenant. He is completely new to me which should be fun but again I have no idea on the playstyle of that class (melee/caster?). It would be very nice if someone could give me a broad overview on the four classes, especially which content (pvp, zerg, fraktals, legendary farming) they excel in and what the according build/equiment would be (links to other sides are welcome ;-)).

[Hannelore.8153]

Alot has changed, more than you can even imagine.

 

There's now multiple distinct game modes even inside of PvE (for example, T1-T3 fractals are not the same as T4 fractals, and then there's raids, and the difficult of open world now varies from "press 1 to win" to "make one wrong move and become ground meat". Because of this, one build will no longer work for everything, and the Berserker DPS meta is largely out--though some people still run it, there's way more build diversity now and each class and subclass can make optimal use of different kinds of gear, and sometimes you even need tanks and healers (though not like a full trinity).

 

Unfortunately there's no way to just give an overview because of how dynamic everything is now.

 

First, decide what you want to do. Do you want to damage, support, or be good at everything? Do you prefer range, or melee? Would you settle for running open world and low-tier fractals, or would you like to try max level fractals and raids? Then you can go from there.

 

As for "what to do" I recommend playing through the entire story, in linear order, starting with LS2, or wherever you left off, in order to refamliarise yourself with the game and the new areas (there's something like 20 lv80 maps now?) and masteries.

 

And if you want to play around with classes, jump into the PvP lobby., where its all immediately available for testing.

[Raizel.8175]

> @"Hannelore.8153" said:

> Alot has changed, more than you can even imagine.

>

> There's now multiple distinct game modes even inside of PvE (for example, T1-T3 fractals are not the same as T4 fractals, and then there's raids, and the difficult of open world now varies from "press 1 to win" to "make one wrong move and become ground meat". Because of this, one build will no longer work for everything, and the Berserker DPS meta is largely out--though some people still run it, there's way more build diversity now and each class and subclass can make optimal use of different kinds of gear, and sometimes you even need tanks and healers (though not like a full trinity).

>

> Unfortunately there's no way to just give an overview because of how dynamic everything is now.

>

> First, decide what you want to do. Do you want to damage, support, or be good at everything? Do you prefer range, or melee? Would you settle for running open world and low-tier fractals, or would you like to try max level fractals and raids? Then you can go from there.

>

> As for "what to do" I recommend playing through the entire story, in linear order, starting with LS2, or wherever you left off, in order to refamliarise yourself with the game and the new areas (there's something like 20 lv80 maps now?) and masteries.

 

I disagree.

 

* OW-PvE is pretty easy and lacks difficulty-diversity/progression. HoT may require you to team up with other players for Hero Points (you're playing an MMORPG though, so that's not a bad thing), but PoF feels like some sort of single-player-game.

* For OW-content, one build is sufficient. This games OW-content truly doesn't force you to play with various builds or equipment-sets.

* Zerker-meta is as strong as ever, especially since the latest changes to conditions. You're far better of with a good zerker-build - especially in instanced content - than with a decent condi-build.

 

As to the questions of the OP:

 

* Go for Mesmer. Chronomancer is one of the games most omnipotent classes. It's mandatory in raids and high-tier-fractals and is strong in PvP/WvW.

* Dragonhunter is fun and pretty easy to play. It has good damage, good cc and good survivability. It's also your typical zerker-class so you won't have that much problems with gearing up.

* Revenant is quite unpopular. I would only recommend playing it when you truly want to invest time into that class.

* Engineer can be fun, though Scrapper is quite unpopular, which is why you also need the PoF-expansion for Holosmith, a very good and strong DPS-build.

 

As for websites which provide you with builds:

 

* https://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki for various builds, especially for PvP and WvW,

* https://snowcrows.com/ for raid-builds,

* and probably stuff like https://discretize.eu/builds for fractal-builds (though raid-builds are also just fine).

[Ardenwolfe.8590]

Might be best to start over and see for yourself. The game is nothing like it was when you left. And welcome back. ?

[pfuetzi.5421]

Thanks already. I just checked the Build-sites. I really liked the heavy armor with a bow style of the dragon hunter but am I right that noone is actuallyusing a bow? Same with the revenant profession and the short bow.

 

I just finished Heart of Thorns with my chrono. Seems fun. Next up, Path of Fire with my engineer. I already used all my training points on the scrapper tree but I guess in PoF I get enough to try out the holosmith as well? Then I decide which char to further boost. probably going to test the revenant in the mists :-/

[Wizler.8192]

Welcome back!

 

Guardian/DH use bows all the time in open world, it's just not meta for fractal/raid.

 

Revenant short bow would be used for condition Renegade (PoF elite spec). Sinister or Viper would be the condi equivalent of Berserker, although PoF introduced Grieving which you'll get as you play through the story and zones. Condi is all the rage these days (and has been for a while).

 

Another thing you could do is purchase living world season 3 and grind the currency of those zones (e.g. Bloodstone Fen) for ascended trinkets. Takes a little time but it's way cheaper than other methods.

[Odinens.5920]

> @"pfuetzi.5421" said:

> Thanks already. I just checked the Build-sites. I really liked the heavy armor with a bow style of the dragon hunter but am I right that noone is actuallyusing a bow? Same with the revenant profession and the short bow.

>

 

I main DH, and really I very rarely use a bow. I do carry one, however, since there are occasional fights where it's almost required to be ranged.

[Oldirtbeard.9834]

My personal suggestion is start over from scratch, fall back in love with the world; even if you are boosted just start world exploration from the beginning or do the personal story, or both; the world is your oyster.

[Rhatha.2376]

Be a bit careful looking at build sites, as most PvE builds are going to be set up for raids, or sometimes higher fractals, and they won't cover things you might find helpful in the open world. You'll likely do much better outside raids by swapping in different utilities and possibly entire skill trees. For example, on Chronomancer, if you're just running around the open world you might want to take traits for extra clone generation to shatter more often, or to improve a weapon like greatsword that doesn't see much use in a raid. If you're running with a zerg, you might want to use the Chaos line to get extra boons from shattering that you can then share out to others. I don't know DH as well, but there are similar considerations, maybe taking extra reflects or defensive abilities that aren't needed in an organized group but are of great benefit when you're soloing. A bow is great for just running around with.

[Zedek.8932]

Excelsior.

Since I am not good at theorycrafting, I just picked a random build and then asked some people via PM for further advice.

Worked in my case like a charm. I basically have my playstyle as base recipe, but the coating is from other players.

 

 

[Derenek.8931]

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdQQJAqancT5miqrUXZ5VyrwWL7Ww6lNRL3FlYB9D5AYDWABA9q36zOA-jxRFQBKV9Hgqnwd7PQVlfA4BBkVlgE4ECsO4A4oKFMapc0RHd0RH1AGt0QHt0QHd0RLVKAzVWB-e

 

this is my most recent Scrappernaut build and it is devastating.

[Rashagar.8349]

In general, unless your immediate aim is high end fractals and raids, I'd also suggest treating the build sites as not much more than interesting reading material and suggestions/examples of how you can look for synergies in a build. Just because they tend to be hyper-focused on being optimised for content that you're not currently doing.

 

The way I tend to do my characters/builds etc. is: start by trying weapons out and seeing what feels good to you. Or just what you think looks cool. The pvp area can be a good place for this since changing stats between power/condi/hybrid/support etc there is quick and free. When you settle on your preferred weapons you know whether to prioritise power/condi/hybrid stats in your adventures. Next, pick the trait line that contains the trait that augments your favourite weapon, and the one for your elite spec of choice. The third trait line is for experimenting with. As are all the utility skills, though I tend to start with any ones that your two static trait lines might augment and try things out from there. I also tend to keep one "oh shit button" utility slotted for when I bite off more than I can chew.

 

This method works for me, because I really enjoy trying out the full range of skills a profession has to offer, but also find it daunting not having a fixed place to start from.

 

Just in case it helps. Welcome back and I hope you have fun.

[DreamyAbaddon.3265]

> @"pfuetzi.5421" said:

> After not having played the game for about 3 to 4 years, I finally bought the expansions and I am ready to go. Almost. Much has changed and I am a bit overwhelmed. My main chars are an engineer and a mesmer. I really like the chronomancer and scrapper specialisations stylewise but I have no clue how to build/play them. Any help is welcome here. Back in the days, everyone got zerker gear and that is bassically all the equiment I got as well. Time to change?

> Furthermore, I boosted my guardian to 80. The Dragonslayer seems quite appealing to me as well. However, I am also considering the revenant. He is completely new to me which should be fun but again I have no idea on the playstyle of that class (melee/caster?). It would be very nice if someone could give me a broad overview on the four classes, especially which content (pvp, zerg, fraktals, legendary farming) they excel in and what the according build/equiment would be (links to other sides are welcome ;-)).

 

Beat your Personal Story, then watch GW2 Season 1 Movie on youtube, then beat Season 2 story, then beat Heart of Thorns story, then beat Season 3, then beat Path of Fire, then play Season 4, then go back to previous maps and unlock new stuff from each map you missed from the first time. Take your time and have fun! =)

[pfuetzi.5421]

I will take my time, but I already played a lot a couple of years ago. So playing the personal story a fourth time is nothing I am particularly looking forward to. I want the new stuff(classes/specs/maps/stories). As I said I already played through HoT with my own build. Solo story content is still quite easy which is good. However, I hate if you craft some items and realize afterwards that there are better alternatives, e.g. I wasn't aware of the new viper's gear. My gold and training points are limited atm so I don't want to spend them and regret it shortly after because it was a mistake and I would rather take something else ;-)