Professions...

Shagz

Shagz

New Member
I was going to post something in the forums here, asking the more experienced players for tips on what are good profession combinations and what are bad ones, but as I look over the skill lists for the various professions, I began to realize the extent to which this game has been balanced.

Like they say, you really can pick any two profession combinations and come up with something that works really well, so long as you know how to play those combinations together. Some professions are easier than others, but they all have their place.

Can anybody think of any *bad* combinations?

The only one I can think of is having Warrior as your secondary choice, unless Monk is your first. Or are there some players out there who have figured out how to make it work?

EDIT: I'd also like to float the topic of what the later levels are like as far as professions go. It seems that Tanks and Healing Monk are in high demand vs. all the other professions. (???)
 
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E/W is probably a pretty bad one, because you're a weakling who's only ability besides magic is to run up to people and whack them.
 
Although generally I would agree that E/W is probably a poor choice, the tactics line may offer something of use to an elementalist. Not too familiar with the skills, but a defensive shout could be helpful to the monks if the Ele is back with them during the fight.
 
Yeah the cool thing about the professions is that each one is so great in them self that you really don't need to use the 2nd ones. But as you were saying, some combos are just awesome and some don't add much at all.

This is a great site where ppl submit templates and ppl rate them.
http://gwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Templates.List

As you will see, some are combos are much more popular then others. Check out the The Earth guardian E/Wa. it is a Hybrid of a hammer warrior/geomancer. Focus lies on cumulative knockdownskills for a sure win.

I'd also like to float the topic of what the later levels are like as far as professions go.
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Yes... Nukers, Tanks, and Monks will always have a group at any level. Rangers, Mesmers, and Necros have to sell themselves to a group or start it them self. Ppl just don't understand the value of those classes. A good Mes or Rng interruptions on casters can add huge value to a team. A minion master or battery are always welcome in all my high lvl groups.

Of course, the answer is to try to group with guildies as much as possible. The more you learn to work with friends, the more you will complement each other and pwn the enemy. In a guild group I don't think you will see the class-racism like you do in PUGs.
 
Oddly, requests for the two kinds of Necro (minion master or battery) are very site specific, especially later in the game. For example, at Temple of Ages you hardly ever see a request for a minion master. Everyone wants batteries, especially those going to the Fissure. However, in War Camp the minion master is highly favored.

Before playing a Necro I had the perception that it was one of the weaker classes in the game. How my mind has changed! It is the second most versatile character in the game behind the Ranger. The Necro also has the second best armor in the game (tied with the Ranger) behind Warriors.
 
The nice thing is that there are no "bad" combos. If you plan on attacking, say, as a Ranger or Necro, /W is not a bad sub because of skills like IWAY, Frenzy, Flurry, and others that boost attacking speed, along with defensive buffs.

E/W has an Earth tank build where you use skills like Armor of Earth along with "Watch yourself!" and Defensive Stance to give yourself over 120 armor and 75% evasion. Not bad at all.

Me/W has Illusionary Weaponry builds that use that skill along with weapon attacks to boost weapon power without needing to put points into weapon proficiency. Also, the skill "Fear me!" is a great addition to a blackout energy denial build.

Mo/W... well, let's just say that Bonetti's Defense makes Mo/W an unbelieveable tank who can also continually put out 40+ damage per second with smiting without waiting for recharge.

Depending on what you want to do, any secondary can be used with any primary. Good luck!
 
The Mo/W seems to be pretty set, no arguement there, but for the other two, isn't Warrior Primary a better way to go, esp. with W/E, because you get the benefit of better Warrior armor vs. Elemental armour. Then again, with 75% Evasion, suppose it doesn't matter what your armor is, once you're set up you're going to start conjuring damage spells.

But if you're going to Tank like that, Warrior/Ele seems more optimum since Warrior dmg is melee-based and Tanking is close combat.

With Me/W, again, you're fighting in close, so Warrior armor and melee attacks seem more optimum is that's the way you're going to play. EDIT: with Blackout, you can use your skills nor can your opponent, so it's up to Melee damage to win the day = warrior primary.

Not to say those aren't viable combinations, but I think for what you're trying to achieve, going Warrior Primary is better than Secondary, no?

@Ewok's Rule...thanks for the link, that was helpful!
 
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My E/R is t3h c00l because while i'm raining down fire upon the masses (just a saying I made up :cool: ) I can also heal myself AND have a pet out there doin' the dirty work.

My R/N is ALSO t3h c00l because I can have a pet AND a mini-army of undead minions. :cool:
 
My 13 year-old did the build for Star Slobberknocker (W/E). This is his character. I find that in missions/quests I do not use the Elementalist attack skills much. When I go solo farming the Ele attack skills are very valuable for quicker kills

I also notice that my skill choices and my sons are quite different, proving Wild Bill's comments about their being no "bad" combos. Try to determine exactly how you plan to use your character and build accordingly.
 
Shagz said:
The Mo/W seems to be pretty set, no arguement there, but for the other two, isn't Warrior Primary a better way to go, esp. with W/E, because you get the benefit of better Warrior armor vs. Elemental armour. Then again, with 75% Evasion, suppose it doesn't matter what your armor is, once you're set up you're going to start conjuring damage spells.

But if you're going to Tank like that, Warrior/Ele seems more optimum since Warrior dmg is melee-based and Tanking is close combat.

With Me/W, again, you're fighting in close, so Warrior armor and melee attacks seem more optimum is that's the way you're going to play. EDIT: with Blackout, you can use your skills nor can your opponent, so it's up to Melee damage to win the day = warrior primary.

Not to say those aren't viable combinations, but I think for what you're trying to achieve, going Warrior Primary is better than Secondary, no?

@Ewok's Rule...thanks for the link, that was helpful!
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Obviously each primary has its advantages, and where warriors gain in armor they wind up losing in energy total and energy recharge capacity. A warrior as a secondary is a given for certain monk builds but could actually be quite useful for casters and rangers insofar as the tactics line goes. Tactics aren't the best of armor-boosting skills but they can't be shattered (a big deal when facing mesmer-based foes) and some of them can be highly useful in specific contexts.

Moreover, as was stated earlier, a properly outfitted E/W could potentially be a devastating tank build, if Earth Armor is used in tandem with Tactics. Factor in such skills as Obsidian Flesh (which makes you untargetable by enemy spells) and an E/W could be a real force.

Oh, and in response to your first post... healing monks remain the most in-demand class in the high levels. Warriors and fire elementalists have moderate demand, followed by "battery necros," mesmers, and lastly rangers. Rangers, sadly, are the least sought-after class, although the "trapping" groups that go into the Underworld are something of a subculture in and of themselves and can be very effective there...
 
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I also notice that my skill choices and my sons are quite different, proving Wild Bill's comments about their being no "bad" combos. Try to determine exactly how you plan to use your character and build accordingly.
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Quite true, and this really makes sense when you actually get into the game. There are lots of "builds" and combos out there, but most of the time you won't ever be able to complete the "build" until you've actually beat the game and collected all the skills for your profession. Until then, you create mini-combos out of whatever you have at the time and some spells that you didn't think were that great turn out to be pretty awesome once you figure out how to use 'em.
 
My second character Hannah The Couldron a E/n I love this Char because with a few runes I can just nuke them and never did i have respect for dead bodies more then i do now... I can heal my self with the bodies create decoys or minios as some call them (hehe) for my practice of fire or Pheonix or just nuke them again by blowing the body up I love this build.... My other Char R/mo people seem to accept into a group more but i get kind of bored with him but He ends up healing more then doing anything else but thats what mo's are for...
 
TheJfreak said:
My second character Hannah The Couldron a E/n I love this Char because with a few runes I can just nuke them and never did i have respect for dead bodies more then i do now... I can heal my self with the bodies create decoys or minios as some call them (hehe) for my practice of fire or Pheonix or just nuke them again by blowing the body up I love this build.... My other Char R/mo people seem to accept into a group more but i get kind of bored with him but He ends up healing more then doing anything else but thats what mo's are for...
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My advice to people is this: If you want to be a monk, make it your primary. if you are a ranger, a mesmer, or an elementalist, you may want to consider an alternate secondary profession besides Mo just because of the hassle people will give you about being a spot healer... and it's especially unfair for the rangers out there, given that expertise does nothing to reduce healing spell costs...
 
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