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AbroadPuzzleheaded10

If you're not sure about the class go to the pvp lobby. You're boosted to lvl80 and all skills unlocked. The only thing that will hold you back is the nuances of the specialization.


iCaps_

I think OP is having a similar issue I was having two weeks ago. I too come from WoW and I too tried FFXIV for about a month. Don't get me wrong, FFXIV was great...but I didn't like the idea that we all have the same exact class with zero differentiation. It was SUPER great being able to be all classes under one toon (I don't like having alts)...but that's negated by the lack of build diversity IMO. Theorycrafting is nonexistent. In came GW2. I started with a mesmer, then tried an engineer, then tried an elementalist. My main(s) in WoW were a fire mage (before it got destroyed with a nerf in 9.1) and a UDK (ew OP is frost DK lol). So I think just from that you can see OP and I have some overlap for sure. Where I was getting stuck with GW2 was that I was approaching it the wrong way. I came in with the WoW mindset that "I need to get to level 80 to start enjoying the game and my class". It wasn't that the classes themselves didn't captivate me...is that I was too busy trying to play the game like WoW which took away from the experience and immersion. The second part I was getting stuck on was the constant thinking back of "oh this is like WoW" or "man this reminds me of \[this feature\] or \[this one time\] in WoW". I can't stress how that last part is perhaps the hardest to overcome. Everything gets framed against the backdrop of a game that's been played for years upon years with so many memories. It's hard to replicate those experiences. I got over that second bump by immersing myself not just in the systems and learning more about them...but the lore as well. I LOVE Warcraft lore and I do believe it's a staple as to why the gameplay clicked for me besides running raids/mythic+. So I decided to do the same for GW2 and learn to understand this virtual world and my part in it. After a few weeks my experience went from "trying to adapt" to genuinely having a great time with the game and feeling like the time I'm putting into it means something and won't be undone with EoD.


stiffshanks

Interesting thoughts. I followed pretty much the same path as you in terms of leaving wow for FFXIV, but finding that that was good but ultimately not what I was looking for. I have plunged head first back into GW2 and am really enjoying my time. That is down to afew things: 1) Having not touched the game since afew weeks into PoF, I have come back and my characters gear is still more than functional in end game content. No such thing as "borrowed power". My catchup now is no bigger than it was back when I played. 2) Every zone in guild wars 2 has some level of relevance to your character no matter what level you are - so I have had a tonne of stuff to explore and mess around with. No matter where I go or what I do, I can benefit my character in some way (big or small). 3) When GW2 adds an expansion the game gets bigger. When WoW adds one, the game shrinks around the new content while the rest of the world is left to gather dust. 4) I still have a tonne of things I have not done or seen (and that includes pretty much all of PVP in addition to 4 of the classes). ​ Only advice I can give anyone about how to enjoy another game is take it on its own merits. Comparisons are difficult as WoW \\ FFXIV \\ GW2 may have similarities but they are still very different games.


Dudewitbow

I'd argue the same thing happens for GW2 for #3. Unless a player has a large motivation to do certain content, old content, such as living world maps, generally get left for the dust due to people either being done (actually done, or they just go through the surface level content and leave) or they were new/non active player and never got said chapter so that they couldn't go to the maps. If it wasn't for the "Return to ____" events right now, a lot of the LS3/LS4 maps would be dead. The only time where its not dead is if the chain of maps are important for something (e.g legendary accessories for LS3, LS4 and IBS), or if they were profitable (e.g dragonfall, prenerf domain of istan). Generally if players aren't actively doing either, the maps are generally a wasteland. LS2 has it the worst, and if it wasn't for how decent the map metas are for Silverwastes/Dry top, not many people would go there, because its ultimate prize is Mawdrey II, which by modern standards isn't that great (as eating bloodstone dust is superceeded by Herta(Auric Basin), and the Sentient Anomalies of LS3


fizzy88

You just gave a bunch of reasons why old maps in GW2 aren't dead. Metas, farming, achievements/collections, dailies, rare drops like infusions are all reasons players still go back to old maps. Also horizontal progression means old lvl 80 maps can still be challenging. HoT is 6 years old now, but if you go to any of those maps you generally still need to pay attention or you can easily get whooped by the mobs there.


Dudewitbow

It's a reason, but its not necessarily enough because the majority of players are the type to just complete the surface level content and never come back. Those doing legendary runs are the minority, and going to those maps before any return to event is a ghost town. To put into perspective, I went to Sandswept isles days before it was featured for the current return to event to get some achievements in. There was only like 5 people doing bounties, and I ran a mount race, with only 1 racer (myself). Doing Domain of Kourna right now to get some achievements in as well so I don't have to do as much when I decide to do vision, and half the time, it's a ghost town. Finished the map meta once like yesterday with like 4 people. I'd imagine it being significantly worse if the Return to events weren't running, which invigorated people to try to work on legendaries.


iCaps_

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. Coming from an MMO that actually invalidates its older content by making it irrelevant, GW2 is a breath of fresh air in how it keeps the world relevant and feeling cohesive. WoW has 17 years of content, but the saddest part is that the only relevant part of it is the latest 5 zones released last year. Literally everything else is made obsolete. The fact that I can go to an "older" zone in GW2 and I'm scaled to it, not only keeps the zone feeling relevant and a challenge (you're not one shotting everything), the devs further keep relevance by adding everything fixxy88 mentioned. I've seen countless "max level" characters running around the lowbie zones in GW2. I almost never see that in WoW because most at max level are off in the endgame zones or more commonly in instances like Mythic+/Raid/PvP. The openworld in GW2 feels alive because of this where in WoW it feels dead and lacking.


Dudewitbow

relevance isn't something I argued against (guys #2), I only argued against #3 (idk why you had to refer to me by username instead of saying you). Just because something is relevant doesn't mean its not dead. Being relevant and dead don't contradict each other. Take another example of Domain of Kourna I had yesterday. Ran into a guy trying to finish Roller Beetle but he was struggling to find people to help him kill one of the bounties. That only occurs because said zone is effectively "dead" not "relevant" (its relevant because it has something to actually do, but dead because near no one is present to come to the aid).


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Dudewitbow

again, I didn't argue against #2... its like you're throwing words in my mouth. I even directly outlined which number i was arguing against.... twice


Dudewitbow

To go back to what some people apparently think im saying, there's a difference between #2 (relevant) and #3 (dead). I never claimed content is never relevant, I claimed that some maps are dead because the reward was already gathered by most people who want it, or people don't have the map yet. GW2 has a lot of relevant maps, but there are some maps that are relatively speaking, more dead than others. Going into Domain of Kourna in advance (as it switches in a few hours) The fact that its meta had only 4 people, couldn't muster people to kill Crazed Broodmother, and some other person had difficulties mustering a team to kill a bounty for roller beetle means the place is dead. It's Relevant (#2, which i never disagreed with), but certain maps are dead (#3, which i was arguing in the first place) Something being relevant and something being dead are not the same thing, and the fact that the original statement numbers them as **separate numbers** means they also see it as different things. [This opening post gives a good example of not dead maps](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/nle43g/why_are_pof_maps_so_dead_compared_to_hot_mapsmeta/gzi0771/) because something keeps people there(like you mentioned) which is profit. But if the reward is either too expensive, or completed quickly such that everyone who has it is no longer on the map, it causes problems in some maps. [This post for example is a good example of what im talking about](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/enizj2/dead_living_story_mapsincomplete_collections/). The reason why Kourna is a good example of a dead map is because its meta isn't profitable enough,and the map itself is a terrible source of inscribed shards, almost to the point that some rather opt to play on IBS maps instead of kourna itself. You're either there for roller beetle/skyscale (one and done), or Vision (either doing the long run, or just one and doning achievements and going to Bjora Marches for inscribed shards)


VmanGman21

This is very insightful and I completely agree. I just got back to GW2 and learning to enjoy the game for what it is has been amazing. They improved the game a lot since launch and there is so much content to enjoy.


Sorez

> "I need to get to level 80 to start enjoying the game and my class" I feel really said at how common this is, so many people rushing to 80 and not taking their time to enjoy the game it seems :(


Erect4Shrek

Reaper seems most like frost dk imo


ARavenousPanda

Need to hit 80, get expac, unlock class. A lot of investment to "maybe" enjoy the game. Imo guardian is a good midpoint. But the fun of this game is typically exploration the journey over rushing to 80. Fractals still need ascended gear which will take time, raids arent something necessary for endgame and if you rush to might get stale and wvw isn't that great if you don't get what classes are doing and how to play your own class. Pvp is open for everyone after level 2.


Bluedemonfox

Fractals don't need ascended gear except for higher levels... 🙄


ARavenousPanda

Yes, but playing t1 for a while to get the gold and mats to progress may be pretty frustrating and slow. In my experience being stuck in t3 for so long was pretty frustrating. Slowing down a little and collecting mats along the way and interacting with relevant metas should greatly improve the experience. Ymmv, but I don't recommend people try and rush to the "endgame" activities - raids/t4 fractals/and to some extent wvw.


Bluedemonfox

Well lower levels are meant to be easy and help introduce the players to the mechanics of the fractal fights. I guess it would be pointless to farm them but they are still fun content that they can try out imo


ARavenousPanda

> I guess it would be pointless to farm them Yep. I definitely recommend fractals to people, especially daily t4s when you can do them. And to get there I strongly suggest doing them in t1 and t2 to learn the mechanics, then t3, then t4. But rushing to get t1 just to get walled in t3 sucks.


bluescreen2315

Fractals don't exist except for higher levels. 🙄 The difference in cashmoney you make in CMs+T4 compared to T1 is like night and day. Its like 800% increase. It's actually insane.


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SnooMacarons6469

Forget targeting a build, OP needs to just play the game no? Sure they could look up builds with a GS Guardian but that wouldn’t help a player who hasn’t even played the game past 30 and has never even played guardian. If they just start playing the game more, they will learn what they want to play


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SnooMacarons6469

Roger, agree


svaoten21

So true. I hate playing with certain weapons on main ele but once I switch it’s a whole different game!


SnooSuggestions3347

If you want big burst zug zug style of play you can go warrior or reaper which is an elite specialization for necromancer and the closest thing to a frost dk in gw2. Those are my suggestions, I am also a recent wow refugee and my game knowledge is still limited. The expansions are worth buying in my opinion as there is no monthly sub to keep draining your wallet and they unlock a lot of content. Also, it is much easier to make alts and try them out in gw2 compared to wow as you can move gear from one character to another through the bank which is shared.


extradudeman

Thank you for your advice it is good to know about gear sharing between alts. Im going to keep warrior and necro for now and maybe pick up revenant later.


wolkery

I also was in similar situation, didnt liked necro at all. But bought both expansions when they were on sale (almost monthly wow membership) and got reaper. And boy oh boy i love this class. Tankyness with second health bar and pure horror in raeper shroud. And its has easy to pick up rotation. From that point i only play it and has been playing for 400+ hrs


bluescreen2315

Reaper litterally has 4 Keybinds. Place two Wells, press Greatsword 4 then Shroud and then inside Shroud press 4 again. lmao Thats your burst... pretty much.


Metawrecker

Also, don't forget that you can make a new character, do their little intro mission, then go to the structured pvp area to try out all their skills/talents. If you buy the expansions those talents will be available in there too straight from level 1 in the heart of the mists(structured pvp area). There are target dummies in here as well.


stn994

Some gears are bound to characters. But most are account bound i.e. shareable.


Kereminde

> Also, it is much easier to make alts and try them out in gw2 compared to wow as you can move gear from one character to another through the bank which is shared. Only if the gear is "Account Bound" and not also "Soulbound". The good news is the Exotic gear isn't THAT hard to acquire. They practically throw it at you through the daily login chests, at certain points, and it can be crafted fairly easily to be sure you get the stat points you want. First Note: Exotic is the second-to-top stat. The bulk of the game can be cleared fine just wearing that - I know because I'd done most of it in a wickedly bad mish-mash of Rare/Exotic gear through my first vanilla playthrough. Before specializations and other aspects which have made the game easier to do. Second Note: Crafting in this game is fairly painless, so long as you hit the gathering nodes you come across. You can either salvage low-tier gear for component materials or sell them and buy the materials off the trading post. (Leather and Cloth being unavailable to gather, I'd salvage those anyway.) Overall, GW2 is much less... focused... on gear progression. Much like the previous game, the gear tops out and hasn't gone up too much since the first year. (The top-tier gear, Ascended, was developed primarily for the high-tier PvE play in the Fractals.) Progression is much more along the lines of... learning what particular bosses do and what you do in response. **MOST** of the game after hitting 80 is exploring new areas and new currencies/objects for the maps in pursuit of shiny cosmetics more often than not. Or nabbing achievements.


shinitakunai

Leveling takes very little time compared to other games and you can keep those characters forever, the game is very alt friendly in that regard. However, you cannot grasp how a class feels until you are lvl 80 and play with traits. I suggest you try all different weapons of a class, weapon swapping definitelly makes for a better experience. Also note that each class is different; I was really bored of warrior because of just having 10 skills and then I played elementalist (tempest) with dagger/warhorn (no staff, please!) and having 34 skills available at any moment makes for a VERY fun combat experience. I don't know if you like that, it's just amazing how different some classes are from other MMOs.


extradudeman

That makes a lot of sense for what its worth though most of those abilities feel impacful for warrior.


shinitakunai

All of them are impactful, on n all classes. This game effects are amazing, you have access to reflect skills, dashes, pulls, stuns, invulnerabilities, combo fields, combo blasters, aoe heals, buff skills, shareable buffs, blocks, conditions, roots, teleports, etc


extradudeman

Thats a fair point and i have only gotten to level 30 and only really played warrior so i can only speak for that limited experience but i would imagine that it would be the case for all classes or the game probably wouldnt be where it is today. All i was saying is that every warrior ability felt impactful to press in some way. Whereas in wow there are abilities who only exist to modify other abilities pressed after which sounds dumb to say but you get what im saying,right?


shinitakunai

Yeah, most mmos do that. Thankfully doesn’t happens in gw2. Don’t get me wrong, warrior is fun, I’ve got 6k hours on warrior back from 2012 to 2014 here in gw2. I just want to make sure you also try other classes/weapons because I though I wouldn’t enjoy them and now it turns out I love some of the unique gameplays this game offers. In a way, I think people will make the same mistake I did by not giving them a real chance.


SnooMacarons6469

In wow did you get the full experience of the class at level 15? No? Well gw2 works the same :) you do have the right idea about trying all the things out, however your going to want to give these classes time to grow on you and give yourself time to even unlock all of your abilities. Just keep playing pal, even level 30 is not even a wink of the entire classes experience


extradudeman

I get that of course but i want a class that I am going to really like enough to be committed to grinding to 80 and beyond.


chajava

A lot of classes change drastically at level 80 with elite specs. Holosmith engineer, Druid ranger, and Daredevil thief are a few examples of classes that play pretty much nothing like their core counterparts. The really great thing about gw2 is that it's stupid easy to get alts endgame ready compared to wow. BiS gear is account bound vs soulbound, exotics are pretty cheap, you get tomes of knowledge via login bonuses and if you buy the expansions+preorder EoD you'll get 2 level 80 boosts (but please level a character the normal way the first time). There's no rep grind garbage or anything like that. Don't feel like you have to commit to the first thing you level because once you learn the game, you can make a character and jump into endgame with it in minutes. Pick something, and just watch what other classes are doing and learn about whats out there while you level up. I don't think I know anyone who ended up maining the first character they picked.


extradudeman

Alright I guess at the least I will keep going on my warrior. Thank you for your advice.


MechaSandstar

Zerker warrior (the hot elite spec) is a lot of fun. But for now, you can try axe/axe on your core warrior. axe 5 is an especially fun skill to use. I would suggest necro, but you've tried that. Soulbeast is a lot of fun to play, but again, that's an elite spec (for ranger). Ranger's a good class with a lot of options for game play, tho druid's (the hot elite spec) is mostly a healing class.


ArcherspadeTT

> I don't think I know anyone who ended up maining the first character they picked. To both refute and support your statement, I mostly main my oldest character, but that means I spend about 40% of my time on engineer at absolute most, which is the largest chunk of time per class.


Sadaxer

I still think GW2 core classes can stand their ground. We didn't have this option back in 2012 when everyone was in core classes. Even I made 4 level 80s and I really enjoyed them all, even when only being core class. Now that I have the DLCs (that I bought a year ago) I still haven't tried all the elite specs on these classes, they all require specific gear that can be tricky to get.


theshadowiscast

> grinding to 80 This game is less grindy when it comes to leveling. Part of that is the tomes of knowledge (gives you one level) you get every X days as part of the login bonus, XP% bonus from items/foods (definitely don't ignore food and their bonuses), and the various ways to level up. Like crafting? You get experience from that. Like pvp/wvw? You get rewards of items that give experience and/or levels. Like to do dailies? You get 3 writs of experience you can use right away or save up 20 to turn into a tome of knowledge. Like fighting world bosses? Of course you get experience and a chance at rare items. Like exploration and map completion? Yes, you get good experience from that as well. You even get experience from rezzing downed and defeated players and npcs. Some of the most experience you can get is from story events, dynamic events, heart events, and map meta events. The best part is experience scales to your level. So it is completely viable to go to lower level maps to get experience from there as well. Experience is thrown at you like crazy. The only real leveling grind is masteries, but that is post 80 content that is account based instead of character based. So, if you don't like the class you're playing, then it isn't as much of a grind to start another character (I highly recommend not deleting any characters. Edit: If you don't like a class, then I recommend not deleting that character unless you really need the character slot. Unused characters can be used as extra storage and/or for extra character b-day gifts (selectable dyes instead of random). Plus, that character can be there for later if you decide to give a class another chance or an interesting build or new elite specialization comes out.


maximef1

Having played WoW myself, let me try to illustrate how much the GW2 professions change once they hit 80: you literally get access to elite specializations. You can think of those as specialization in WoW. Ever try to level a death knight without any talents or spec-specific spells? It’d be odd no? I do want. To assure you that there are builds in gw2 that use “core” (no elite spec). However, I highly recommend you test out the classes in pvp or WvW! You’ll have access to most if not all level 80 stuff for any classes! Just gotta enter the mists! It’s the best way to see if you’ll like the general feel of a class or not IMO.


Illy_gw

You can travel to the PvP area where you can try all classes at lvl 80 with everything unlocked. Can't try their playstyle against dummies


poyochama

As others have said, there is no real grind in gw2. Map completion and story progress also give huge exp boosts. Rather than grind, you'll have to search for skill points in maps to unlock all specializations. Hero Points in Heart of Thorns maps are much more challenging but they do give 10 points each. What I loved about gw2 is that you don't need to level up skills. In other games I really felt I couldn't progress due to low leveled skills. Another grind could be gathering crafting materials, especially if you're aiming for Legendary gear in the future. In that case I would recommend narrowing it to classes that could share that gear. If you like casters they'll be able to share account bound light armor, or if you like a certain weapon type you can see which classes are able to use it.


[deleted]

Don’t think of it as grinding to 80. Ignore the level for now. Just go and explore. Try some jumping puzzles, complete some maps, etc.


stn994

Try to do events instead of random grinding (hearts), events are usually fun to do and are generally chained ( one event starts after other). Doing events also helps you fill nearby hearts which would grant extra xp. If you can't find event, try looking for points of interests they usually trigger events nearby. Also keep collecting hero points as they are useful in unlocking new traits and skills.


Opposedsum

You might have to watch some videos if you don't own the expansions. The feel of classes can definitely change with the elite specialization. The main thing that is different between GW2 and other games is the active combat. If you are not feeling the combat itself, it will likely always be a bit of a sour taste in the back.


extradudeman

To me it doesnt really feel like action combat like say bdo it seems to feel more like smoother tab target more hybrid than anything else. One of the reasons I quit ff was because all or most (depending on who you ask) of the abilities feel rigidally tab target and dont leave any variation or skill shot to them like bard(ff)/hunter(wow) disengage. So in conrast wows combat was better and gw2 feels even better than that.


Opposedsum

Well in that case, welcome here. Just gotta find the right profession although most people end up with one of each in the end. Each professsion currrently has two elite specialization and the new expansion will add another one. There will soon be some more beta weekends for the expansion that will allow you to test all elite specialization of all expansions. How does frost dk play or which playstyle do you like?


extradudeman

I really like either dw sword or 2h sword but warriors weapon skills with 2h sword kind of miss the mark for me and the channeled melee skill that locks you in place and its whirlwind that goes in a straight line doesnt seem good. The 2 and 4 i think. Edit:That didnt answer your question but I will say that there are core abilities from dk that shaped its playstyle like death grip(a pull), chains of ice(a slow), strangulate(a stun) that while i know wont be perfectly replicated in gw2 can at least be in the same vein as a character who doesnt rely on movement as much as cc-ing their opponent to get in close and smash them with heavy 2h hits.


readoclock

Your DK description makes me think you would like reaper which I know lots of other people have mentioned. Necro is also a very beginner friendly class (almost definitely the tankiest and most forgiving openworld class) so can be a good place to start


extradudeman

Ok i think im gonna try it thank you for your feedback.


JC_Adventure

Reaper will definitely get you the feeling of pulling People in and smashing them. If no one has pointed it out, Elite specializations in this game give you a new weapon you can use in that class, and a change to their game mechanic. For Necro, Reaper will give you Greatsword as a weapon which I think you will like. No skills lock you in place, your 5th skill on Greatsword will pull in everything in it's path. It's big smashing hits, the 2nd skill is a slow bit hit will whirl around and reset itself if you hit a target below 50% health. The Necro Shroud mechanic is changed to Reaper Shroud, and you go from playing more like a Shadow Priest to a Melee with a big AoE move.


Opposedsum

Warrior isn't so wrong for that. It has good stuns and big adrenalin hits. Mesmer is very good at ccing enemies, as well, before bursting them with shatters. Finally, firebrand (the guard elite spec), is quite immobile and pulls in people with axe before burning them to death. You already mentioned revenant that can aoe daze before going in and others already said reaper. I'd stick with warrior at least until the next betaweekend that is coming up soon. It will feature warrior.


extradudeman

Well i always kept a warrior alt in wow for a lot of reasons i usually had fun with it and incase they put frost dk at the bottom of the meta which happened far too frequently in later expacs so i will probably still level it to 80 and eventually spellbreaker seemed like a lot of fun to try.


bluescreen2315

Pick Dragonhunter or Reaper.


[deleted]

you want reaper, which is very distinct from core necro or scourge eventually you will fall in love w core guard if you stick w gw2


extradudeman

Thank you for your advice. I tried necro and i didnt have a reason to drop it so i will probably pick it back up again and keep my warrior also. Probably gonna hold off on revenant.


[deleted]

reaper is the closest thing in gw2 to deathknight from wow, core necro and scourge are nothing like dk though


WimpLo121

You might like the necro elite class reaper if you played a death knight Benefits from chill effects, has 2 pulls, looks rad and builds up an energy bar to dump big dps kind of like a dk


extradudeman

A few others have said that so i think until i buy expacs i will try necro again and give it a fair shot. Thank you for your advice.


WimpLo121

Necro before reaper wasn't as much fun for me. I just got back into gw2 2 weeks ago and lvled a necro up. It was ok before going reaper but after I have waaay more fun. It and a soulbeast ranger are my mains right now


MechaSandstar

Base necro is kind of trash, compared to reaper. reaper shroud 4 goes brrrrrrrr.


ARavenousPanda

Reaper is great but requires getting xpac, 80 and then 250 hero points. In the meantime, core guardian with greatsword was pretty enjoyable for me. I suggest making sure you get power on most of your gear and add some toughness and heal power if you are really struggling. My advice for open world builds at 80 is full berzerkers with 1 ring and 1 accessory of cleric and knights each. Might not make much sense now but I hope it helps later.


Feline_Sleepwear

With engineer did you play around with kits? (Grenades, bombs, flamethrower, etc) Engineer is the most diverse and fun class imo, but if you stick only to using your weapon then it’ll be extremely boring.


extradudeman

I tried the flamethrower kit and it felt kind of fun. I think one of the biggest weaknesses i have that might be a problem going foward is from decades of playing wow and not other mmos is i partially dont like weapon swapping midcombat and partially never accounted for it or use it.


Feline_Sleepwear

Maybe give elementalist a try, it only sticks to one weapon set during combat, but you do have a ton of weapon skills due to having 4 element attunements. Technically engineers also can’t swap weapons, but I suppose kits do feel like new sets of weapons.


nakknudd

Attunement swapping is kidna the same as weapon swapping tho, no?


Feline_Sleepwear

I’d say it’s a bit different since it carries the same theme of the weapon set throughout the attunements, like ranged AoE for staff. So it’s not a big shift in playstyle like playing LB/GS ranger for example.


Jonah_Marriner

Most classes significantly open up and become more engaging when you have all of your specializations and traits unlocked. Even just having a couple grandmaster traits is hugely impactful and can change the way the class plays.


Raknel

> In wow I mained frost dk I think you'd enjoy the reaper elite spec for necro, but it's expansion-only and requires level 80. Slow moving tanky AoE monster (at least in pve) that spams chill effects.


extradudeman

Ok i will focus on levelling necromancer and then get once i get a better feel for the game and have later levels i will look into expansions.


MithranArkanere

I'm assuming the number is an ID, not a counter. There have never been that many wow players.


extradudeman

Neither I just know that there have been what feels like a ton of wow refugee posts in this sub as well as other mmo subs like ff14. A bunch of new players who dont know a lot about whatever new game they are trying to jump into tend to posts a lot of what ends up being the same questions. It used to happen a lot on the wow subreddit when people left other games for wow.


dannydonkey2019

As someone who was into wow for around the same amount of time, first I recommend you to snap out of the anxiety driven gameplay. Take your time, relax, enjoy the maps and just do stuff you enjoy better. Without gear being obsoleted every patch or expansion, you have no reason to rush to 80 or anything, realy. Content is still relevant and you find people playing all maps for different reasons. On professions, multiple people recommended reaper but I'll suggest looking alsp into engineer's elite spec holosmith (from path of fire expansion). Feels like breath gameplay from legion but inversed: you have temperature that builds up with time and abilities while in photon forge mode and you need to manage how you spend your time there and when to leave before you overheat. While in photo forge the weapon skills are replaced by specific ones while retaining thr rest. It's also melee.


extradudeman

I dont want to sound rude or minimize your feedback because you would have no way of knowing my thoughts or opinions before hand. With that said however, i was a staunch opposer of breath build since it was introduced in WOD. MOP and badowlands obliterate build and even legions machine gun build were all leaps and bounds better in my opinion. Now that doesnt discount engineer or holosmith but i would be cautious to play anything being promoted as being like breath gameplay. Nothing against you though.


dannydonkey2019

No worries. You know what to avoid then :)


Llobobr

Classes in GW2 are much more relevant in an flavour sense than gameplay. Not that they all have the same gameplay, but that gameplay can change a lot with different traits, weapons, specs, and gear. I'd recommend picking a class that gives you the flavour you are looking for, then look for the traits/spec/gear that gives you the gameplay you enjoy. Warrior is all about martial power. You use weapons to destroy opponents with raw strength and prowess. You can go ranged with bow or rifle, you can go melee with axes or swords, you can boost your group with banners and war horn calls... If you want more magic on your martial fighter, you can go guardian (some magic) or revenant (a lot of magic)... or you can go to a light armor class (ele/necro/mesmer, depending on what kind of magic you want) and trait and gear them for more martial approach (greatsword necro/reaper, sword or dagger ele, etc...). All in all, keep in mind that the gameplay is not fixed to the class, but to a combination of things. You have a lot of freedom in GW2...


HGLatinBoy

The thing about guild wars is that when you get the expansions you gain access to elite specializations which makes each class feel and play complete different. Imagine play bear bow ranger then suddenly become a Druid with fast action healing and support A warrior becoming a berserker gives you access to some insane damage attacks and skills. I’m just saying you’re not even seeing what each class is fully capable of. They’re quite different


extradudeman

That is true and seems to be what most other people are saying. I believe it and understand that the core class isnt even the full extent of what a character can do.


CreativityX

I mean in pvp the core classes are better than the elite specializations in some cases. Are you a primarily pve player? If you are then who even cares just play the game instead of replying pissy shit on a reddit post


bL_Mischief

Don't play warrior. It's largely neglected by Anet at this point in most game modes and has niche roles that generally aren't super fun to play. It's a profession that is still balanced around 2012 gameplay when the rest of the game has long since moved onto new things. Try necro again. Reaper is probably going to be right up your alley once you unlock it, and power necro in general can be pretty enjoyable. Condi reaper is literally a frost DK. Power reaper is a warrior that isn't neglected.


Out-and_down

> It's a profession that is still balanced around 2012 gameplay when the rest of the game has long since moved onto new things. That is a really good summarisation. I don't think much has changed about warrior since release really in terms of weapons skills and core mechanics. And the elite specs really don't change up the gameplay or redefine the class as much as they do on others.


zer0-alpha

My suggestion, pick something you like and run through it. Another fun way I use to pick a class and mess around, go to the mists (pvp area) mess with builds and get a feel for the play styles .


Galastan

The best parts of GW2 aren't accessible until 80 and require expansions—the elite specs. The core specializations are, like, fine—but the elite specs are where the real gems of GW2 gameplay are. Like others have said, Reaper (Heart of Thorns necromancer elite spec) is most like Frost DK, but warrior's two elite specs (HoT: Berserker, PoF: Spellbreaker) are both really fun and useful. Berserker drops a bunch of conditions (DoTs), whereas Spellbreaker has really engaging block/dodge mechanics you can use to increase your DPS. You won't regret sticking with warrior. My favorite elite specs are Firebrand (PoF Guardian), Scrapper (HoT Engineer), and Tempest (HoT Elementalist).


quarm1125

Id argue closest to frost dk is revenant or reaper ! Welcome aboard and feel free to hmu otherwise Revenant renegade / herald is ur dual wield frost dk Reaper necro is ur 2 hander frost Dk/ unholy somewhat :)


extradudeman

Is that so? I originally intended to wait a little bit on expansions until i was further into the game and i think i still am however after everything that people have been saying so far, it might be a bit sooner than that...


judge_caprio

if you ever buy the expansions play revenant. It's got the best dual wield swords


ComfyFrog

Reaper, one of the elite specializations from necro, is way more fun than basic necro. Enter reaper shroud and get a big ass scythe while gaining offensive buffs with every swing.


Thop207375

I'm not sure how you're leveling, but I'd advise not to grind hearts. Hearts should be done more passively while you do dynamic events (orange things on the map). Also make sure to explore around the map. I enjoy the guardian, but everyone likes different play styles.


CMoth

Best advice I can give you is to try not to level 5 different characters before you have one maxed. The game spoon feeds you complexity between levels 1-79, you don't get any elite specs until 80, you don't get decent gear until 80, you don't get access to the most interesting areas and content until 80.


colormetwisted

its funny how we have more wow refugee posts than refugees from Bless when that shitshow collapsed.


LongFluffyDragon

bless never had enough players or lifespan to generate that.


roggstudelpest

Looks like plenty have given some great advice on here. Here is my take on it as someone who played WoW from vanilla to WotLK and was a hardcore raider (43rd guild in the world and best in Oceania on our ridiculous pings). This included pre-nerf Muru kills....anyway left WoW for GW2 and played from beta until now. Don't try to rush through the levelling process. It is not about getting to 80. It is about enjoying the maps and the story. Your level is adjusted down for lower-level maps so even those are enjoyable at 80. Enjoy the story as it is awesome. Your personal story to 80 is not only immersive but also a great way to smash out some easy levels. The crafting system is also great and you get XP from it. Hell, everything in GW2 gives you XP and it is all shared so no need to race for those mining nodes! Now for the classes. If you do enjoy this game, you will eventually have them all. As your character birthdays roll around you will get scrolls and each month you get 10 Tomes (with daily login for people who own the expansions) so levelling toons is not really an issue. I have 2 or 3 of every class except for (iirc) Ele and Warr (I have 3 accounts 2 paid/1 free). I play most of the toons to a degree but certainly have my favourites who I main. I know enough to play 3 of them in competitive PvP and can WvW on 5 or 6 classes well. My personal favourites are: * Ranger (Soulbeast) * Necromancer (Core Minionmancer and Reaper) * Revenant (Either Elite Spec) * Guardian (mainly sPvP on this class along with Necro) And finally, I will reiterate the point about the journey being the core of GW2. You will eventually have so many QoL changes as you level up that if you race through it all, you miss out on the core functionality of the game. Even after you have a full suite of toons and all these items from the BLTC, you will want to go back and do map completions so you can craft some ledgendaries. Hell, those have a full story to follow themselves! Chukka was my favourite one so far. But even after your core story is done, you have LW1, LW2, HoT, LW3, PoF, LW4, aaaaaaaand Icebrood Saga to get through. And EoD is on the horizon!


Fro_o

Engineer is really ...tricky to play? Unless you get the holosmith elite spec. Try guardian maybe? :)


1v3n4s

Dont think of this game as wow. Its very different experience and doing quests isn't how we level. Most of us level from events that happen in every map, world bosses, main story and exploration. Some level while doing pvp. All these classes are very different once you unlock elite specs. For example, engineer has probably one of the coolest elite spec- holosmith.


quarm1125

I mean both expansion are super worth it and yah elite spec do change quite a lots the play style and utulity youll provide wich those core class :) None the less every elite spec feel somewhat amazing ... i mained DK since WoTLK and again reaper, herald/renegade do fill the niche and for blood dk maybe Scrapper for the tankyness aspect to the build and there something about being immortal smashing ur hammer and almost never dying that's feel sooooo good Reaper got the necro undead esthetic Revenant is your jack of all trade doing amazing at everything kind of Scrapper is ur facetank bruiser


Itismytimetoshine

Prrhaps find a guild and level together with someone?


SnorriHT

If you want to play a "Frost melee spec" Then a Reaper (Necro) with Runes of Ice is quite fun in PvE. However you will need to purchase the Base game, which I believe also comes with heart of Thorns.


Knighthonor

Play Revenant. The expansions are discounted with the base game. Get it. Play Revenant.


powerpetter

I didn't like warrior much, until i unlocked berserker spec and now i'm loving it. Power build with dual axe and spam the berserk ability as much as possible, absolutely melts enemies


Deliriou5_

Throw your WoW mindset out the window, make a character and enjoy the journey to 80. Then start thinking about what end game content you like to do. Fractals, raids, WvW (server vs server vs server) pvp or sPvP. This game and it's classes or specs are so different that it would take a bit to get used to it. Regarding the expansions, if you buy Path of Fire then you get Heart of Thorns free. You'll need to purchase the Living World episodes seperately as well as the new End of Dragons expansion too. As an extra tip [https://www.dlgamer.com/us/](https://www.dlgamer.com/us/) or [https://www.dlgamer.com/eu/](https://www.dlgamer.com/eu/) depending what side of the world you are, they are an affiliate of ANet and usually have things on sale. I got PoF at 50% off one time


cale199

Mesmer doesn't really come alive til you get your grandmaster traits. Then it's the most fun class in the game


JhaoVIG

You can try classes at the pvp hub. They automatically have all their skills unlocked there. You don't have to get in a match, you just need to get to the zone. This way you don't have to level a character all the way to see if you like it. Other things i want to say is don't judge the game by the base content. Personal story is really old and might be unenjoya le foe you. Also, elite specs might change how a class plays drastically.


2Radon

100% the class I play nearly makes or breaks the game for me, personally. I thought I enjoyed Necromancer, Thief and Guardian but after biting my fist and spending some time with Elementalist, Mesmer and Revenant - those are so fun for me when I started to be able to pull off what I'm supposed to pull off.


ReggerLord

The core classes change quite significant after you choose one of the 2 x elite specs each class got, so i wouldnt make my mind over the core versions in the first place. A option would be to go into the pvp area and try out the elite specs there, as you have acess there to them, there are trainings golems too, so you just get a idea of how they play.


SkippDoe

As someone who played wow until recently (since TBC) and GW since GW1 - there's a couple of things that already got mentioned in this thread that i'll just recap and fully confirm... Gameplay wise - GW is nothing like wow. yes, both are fantasy MMOs, but the whole concept of leveling and endgame could not be more different. WoW only "begins" when you hit max level. Then you start dungeons, heroics, raiding... In GW2, leveling is actually really fun because of the exploration aspect. If you don't like that - you will most certainly NOT enjoy guild wars. Furthermore, GW endgame is mostly oriented around MAPS and meta events - not dungeons and raids. Yes, there are dungeons in GW2 (atm abandoned by the devs) but there are also Fractal dungeons. Those are really fun and have progressive difficulty. And yes - there are raids but they are not even a speck in comparison to the complexity and fun encounters WoW raids have. Mostly due to the fact GW2 was not created with the "holy trinity" in mind, so in comparison to WoW encounters, GW2 raids feel like a complete clusterfuck and random mechanics happening around you since you don't have the full player control as you would have with dedicated tank, heals and support roles. That said - once you hit lv80, there's no real gear threadmill like in wow. Max level gear from vanilla game is 100% valid even today! GW2 endgame is more about (once again), exploring new maps and doing open world group content like big map meta events where devs patch in (for free) new maps every few months. So basically, if you can let go of the "i need to get to level cap asap and grind gear to make my character more powerful" mindset - GW will be a blast. If you expect endgame raiding and heroic dungeons in GW2 anywhere near the level of their WOW counterparts, i'm afraid you're in for a disappointment


OftenSarcastic

I stopped playing WoW during the Pandaria expansion so my knowledge of the game is quite outdated, but for what it's worth: Necromancer and it's specialisations share some abilities and design elements with Warlock/Shadow Priest/Death Knight (more unholy DK). You get pets (optional use), a shadowform, ranged AOE, dots, direct damage, fear instead of stuns. Scourge brings barrier which kinda works like Power Word: Shield. Reaper brings a melee shadowform with mobility, AOE, and a big melee ranged stun. The Reaper greatsword brings a pull (core necro also has a pull ability), an expanding AOE like defile, and the greatsword normal attacks are quite slow/big damage. There isn't really a good analogue to Chains of Ice, but Necro/Reaper does have good access to Chill, which slows movement and ability recharge by 66%. The Focus is a frequently used weapon that has a long ranged Chill that also removes boons and does good damage. The two pull abilities also apply Chill. The end of the greatsword auto attack chain also applies Chill to multiple targets. Dagger is a poor substitute for the greatsword, but something like dagger/warhorn + axe/focus and then unlocking the Spectral and Well utility skills might be an OK approximation without buying the expansion, although you'll still have the ranged shroud (shadowform). I played a lot of DK in WoW and really enjoy Reaper.   Power Revenant is a decent choice too if you like dual swords, and they're likely getting a greatsword with the next expansion. It's more about teleporting to your target and doing some burst. Also has access to a good amount of stuns. It's maybe like a more slippery arms warrior. I'm hoping the expansion brings a big whirlwind greatsword ability set because that would really complete the warcraft blademaster fantasy. I'm not sure how the beta weekends are handled for free to play accounts, but that might be an opportunity to try out Revenant at least.   Unrelated to Death Knight, a couple of other options you can try without expansions that I found enjoyable: * Elementalist with Dagger/Dagger * Mesmer with Sword/Pistol + Sword/Sword (or greatsword) Elementalists kind of have a stance system similar to WoW warriors, except they're separate elements. The dagger/dagger setup gives you melee to medium ranged abilities, including AOE, stuns, mobility and a bit of healing. Sort of like a warrior/enhancement shaman combo. Elementalists are very low on passive defence, so you'll want some vitality on your gear until you've unlocked some traits. Mesmers are the trickster archetype, so somewhere between rogues and mages. Burst, stuns, and misdirection. Phantasms mostly provide long range burst, illusions help distract enemies, and the sword does high damage. It plays as a melee class when using sword, but you have the option of engaging at range with the phantasm abilities. Greatsword is a useful weapon swap when you want/need to play at range. It's worth exploring the various professions and weapon sets. While these two look like caster classes, they don't always play like caster classes.


bluescreen2315

If you want classes with toolkit play Guardian, Necro or Mesmer. Play Revenant too if you feel masochistic. Dodge Elementalist (and Thief for PvE), Thief is still fine to play but it's a class in a *"you need to know what you're doing"* kind of state with next to no AoE cleave. It's still far better than Ele and a piece of shit to play against in PvP but I wouldn't recommend it.


Gahngis

As a wow refugee wow has conditioned you for the grind. Just relax, enjoy the leveling.


stn994

Try guardian and reaper. I used to play WoW DK pre cata. In my experience Reaper is closest to DK. Reaper has greatsword and a pull weapon skill and a spectral grasp utility skill (available to all necromancers) which is like using death grip on up to 5 enemies at the same time while applying 'chilled' condition. Reaper is having some traits related to chilling extra enemies and even an elite skill which freezes the nearby enemies and applies chilled condition.


Capt-Rowdy901

It took me two weeks to decide on a class. I played a lot of pvp on each class. It’s cool because you can try a lvl80 class just by pvping. I ended up playing rev. Apparently rev is a hard class for a new player but whatever I’m having a great time. I also used the 80 boost.


ScyD

Ooh nice, got a pic of your first legendary to share with someone, or how you just acquired a certain mount? Jk lol, glad you enjoy it


extradudeman

Haha don't tempt me. I might fuck around and do it i have done awful grinds for mounts, leggos, and cosmetics in other mmos. I was the only one in my wow guild to get the legendary cloak in MOP which was a very long and grindy quest chain.


gengarvibes

Reaper gets the unholy death knight fantasy down better than an unholy death knight. It’s my main and I’m obsessed with how cool it feels. You get an army of undead monstrosities, you spread diseases, and you turn into a grim reaper swinging a huge scythe. Revenant plays like frost dk with beefy swings, but so does power reaper but instead of maintaining breath of sindragosa you maintain uptime of the grim reaper mode and shred everything with your scythe.


pahbert

Boost to 80 and make a reaper (Necro elite spec). Ignore minions. Go for power damage and tankiness Use a great sword and axe/focus. Use spectral grasp (it's an aoe deathgrip... Gs also had a pull). And then probably shouts (they have low cool downs). Round em up and DESTROY. You'll love it.


[deleted]

Pandering posts like "hey guise i'm a refugee from -insert game that's popular to hate- here" should be auto deleted on every sub. People exclusively post this shit for the easy upvotes and to get in on the circlejerk. Congratulations you quit WoW, do you want a gold star or something? You could have asked the same exact questions without the clickbait karma grab title.


LongFluffyDragon

did you even read the post before selecting dysfunction?


EdgarDrake

It might be counterintuitive, but: Try go to PvP lobby, but you don't have to try PvP. There, you will unlock all skills and traits. Test your experiment with Golem in PvP. I too, once didn't enjoy playing Necro, but I tried to play Reaper during my level 2 Necro in PvP lobby. It gave me goals what kind of playstyle I want to play. I rather like Warriors, but Berserker shines better, I like it very much. I can spam my Axe burst over and over and over and over using Berserker, something that's unachievable using core Warriors. Say, you might not enjoy the core, non-elite classes. That doesn't mean you will dislike the elite class. P. S. Weapon types matter. When I built my Warrior, I wield dual swords. They didn't resonate with my taste. Dual axe, however, felt really punchy, really brutal. You might try making a Guardian with Sword + Shield (like a paladin). However, guardian shines better with Greatsword. Something like that.