18 replies to this topic

[Robbox23]

Hey I have sorted through the professions to decide I want to play one of these as my main character. I have always liked the playstyle of the ele, it being my first character i chose to make however im having trouble surviving even building with toughness. I do enjoy necro also and finding it a lot easier to survive but i do enjoy the damage output by the ele compared to necro. Anyway, what I guess im looking for is a bit of advice/help or even your own personal experiences to maybe persuade me either direction. thank you

[Bloggi]

Assuming that you have used both the ele and necro, what levels have you taken each profession to?

[Robbox23]

Necro to 25 and two ele's to around the 20 mark

[Bloggi]

Wish I could be of more help, but I'll stick my neck out to say that very few people will be fully qualified to answer the question for you on the choice between these two classes. I've played the necro as a main since head start and currently have an ele near level 50, which to be honest is my only alt. The other 3 classes I have created toons for are the guardian, warrior and mesmer but the levels are so low that I can't even comment on them at all.

Both the necro and ele have had a fair bit of hate leveled at them by some members at this forum, who consider them to be challenging classes to play, requiring a lot of effort to achieve the same (or lower) results than other classes. Yet these are the two classes that I've actually played and still find them enjoyable. Once I took my necro to the starter Asura area just to complete some dailies for the reward, and another player kindly told me to go play something else. I told him the necro was fun to play. The other player said, 'Wait till you get to 80.'

So to be humorous for a minute, it could mean one of two things: either I'm a masochist who enjoys playing annoying difficult-to-use classes for relatively little reward, or that there is a class and also varied playstyles within a class that can appeal to some people. The latter is where things become difficult to comment on, because it really depends on how you like to play. That said, your original post seems to suggest that you enjoy the playstyle of both these classes, so that's your guiding light when it comes to choice.

If I had to put a word to describe how I currently play the necro and the ele, it would be 'hectic'. The playstyle is very active. With the necro I'm constantly using the skills from each weapon swap, determining when and where to use my wells, using death shroud frequently, or in the case of elite skills, using Plague defensively or Lich to do straight forward pounding. With the ele its similar with a near constant movement between attunements to maintain constant pressure. And depending on how well you wish to protect your health pool, you will also be kiting and dodging a lot with these two classes. They are not the kind to face tank a mob or to stand in one spot irrespective of position and continue to autoattack away. If you enjoy an active playstyle, these are the classes to try. Alternatively I guess, create a glass cannon build of any class to put out as much damage as you can and rely on your movement to stay alive.

The ele might have cloth armor and fall into the lowest health pool category in the game. So that makes it a little more fragile compared to the necro. But don't let that fool you because the ele has some defensive skills. I'm having good fun at the moment running very defensively with Arcane Shield, Cleansing Fire and Armor of Earth on my 3 utility slots, planning to trait for something like a 0/10/10/30/20 setup...or I might just skip air completely and sink the last 10 points into arcanna. Still haven't made up my mind whether to go scepter/ dagger or staff.

Hits from trash mobs are of little worry since I get away most of the time after just a hit or two. As for massive damage strikes from bosses or huge AoE...that sort of thing can nearly one shot me, and I'm sure they could also nearly one shot aggressive builds from most other classes. So I don't think its fair to say the ele is weak.

I've said this elsewhere, but I think that since the game is still in its infancy, a lot of us are still trying to find a foothold with some classes. Perhaps their role is not yet clear, or perhaps those classes have not yet been refined to a point where their role becomes visible. But in time to come I'm sure that there will be very successful builds for each specific class...the ones that people would go for when playing that class. Personally I would hate to see that because it means a lack of variety, but it is just natural for people to go for the most 'viable' build for each class.

Anyway, that's just my two cents, not sure if it was of any help. The thing I used to do a fair bit in the month between BWE3 and headstart was theorycrafting...a fancy word for literally reading through the skills and trait lists of the class you want to play to see if you can understand how things work and how things can be combined for stronger effect, and testing on golems in the mist can help a little so you understand how each skill functions. Try that also and see if it works for you. Whatever your choice, I'm sure that any class can be rewarding to play, and your choice of build will also be pretty important in determining your level of satisfaction.

[Robbox23]

Thanks for the reply, hmm yeah I thought the necro was fun and something different although i think the ele will keep me entertained for a bit longer and with that being said I was slightly favouring the Ele due to its versatility and challenge thank you

[f1aws]

I am having the very same debate on wether to play mesmer, ele, or necro for my 3rd char (used to ranger and warrior and love both the playstyles). Leaning towards ele since they seem to be more of a powerhouse compared to necro and mesmer.

[Nonlinear]

f1aws, on 28 October 2012 - 02:23 PM, said:

I am having the very same debate on wether to play mesmer, ele, or necro for my 3rd char (used to ranger and warrior and love both the playstyles). Leaning towards ele since they seem to be more of a powerhouse compared to necro and mesmer.

AFAIK Mesmer is a powerhouse compared to anything.

[Red_Falcon]

Nonlinear, on 29 October 2012 - 07:41 PM, said:

AFAIK Mesmer is a powerhouse compared to anything.

Until you learn how it works.

[Genlog76]

mesmer is powerhouse in pvp not pve not rely compare to warrior ore ranger

all 3 scholars are in my few very weak in pve you must do alot to get the same damege what warrior can do in a few clics
i stil hope the fix that give then more dps

so we dont have to run our ass off and dodge alot and stil do crappy damege
and a warrior passing by do 100 blades and make my scholar class look like a noob oh thx for killing that mob -.-

its pretty sad how GW2 make all 3 scholar classes so weak in pve but in pvp we are much beter ??
how strong mesmer is in the mist i test it to its was like omg i kill some warriors rangers and so on

as long they dont hit me ^^
only thief is a pain becouse they are the same you cant see them then they pop up next to you and hit very hard
its was always a long battle vs a thief but it was fun

[prince vingador]

Red_Falcon, on 29 October 2012 - 08:58 PM, said:

Until you learn how it works.

u mean a clone factory?

[Fenice_86]

I did not play necro but ele is my main and i'll tell you that ele (like many said) required a lot more "concentration and skill" to play it effectively.
We have the nice advantage of 4 attunements (20 skills = awesomeness) and i usually make use of 18 of them in almost any fight (by fight i mean not lazy 1vs1 but like 1vs6 with veterans) sometimes i get downed sure, but it's highly rewarding lay down impressive phyrotecnical combos, i love it!
Ele is squishy? Yes, but it's really up to the user staying alive since ele has so many tricks to get out of nasty situations that i really cant count lol.
Like a guy over me said "Wait 80 and you'll see"
i dont know how Necros perform but i'll tell you that Ele is a lot fun if you have the will to learn every little bit of it (at begin it will be frustrating but dont give up!)

[jktstance]

Genlog76, on 30 October 2012 - 04:13 AM, said:

mesmer is powerhouse in pvp not pve not rely compare to warrior ore ranger

all 3 scholars are in my few very weak in pve you must do alot to get the same damege what warrior can do in a few clics
i stil hope the fix that give then more dps

so we dont have to run our ass off and dodge alot and stil do crappy damege
and a warrior passing by do 100 blades and make my scholar class look like a noob oh thx for killing that mob -.-

its pretty sad how GW2 make all 3 scholar classes so weak in pve but in pvp we are much beter ??
how strong mesmer is in the mist i test it to its was like omg i kill some warriors rangers and so on

as long they dont hit me ^^
only thief is a pain becouse they are the same you cant see them then they pop up next to you and hit very hard
its was always a long battle vs a thief but it was fun

Mesmer is incredibly strong in PvE.  I would say they're as strong as any other class, but require a bit more planning than, say, Guardians.  And they're hands-down the best profession vs. bosses and champions IMO.

[Xunlai Agent]

I think Mesmer is the best of the scholar classes. Necromancers aren't great unless you are packing epidemic and are specced into being a conditionmancer. Elementalists are difficult to play and have to be built to try and overcome their fragility / lack of oomph.

[Verity]

I have a necro at 34 and an ele at 51... I definitely prefer the necro. I feel that as an elementalist, I have to be constantly switching attunements just to be average... It's hard to actually enjoy what's going on around me. Necro has a fairly active playstyle too, but less so than ele -- you are constantly doing things but you can still take in the scenery.

My main is a mesmer(80), and I find it quite good in PvE. I almost never die.

[Robbox23]

Do you guys think its possible to get bored of the necro? The ele I dont think will ever get boring, its more frustration that drives me away at times

[Genlog76]

am sure that you get bored from every class
some pll are faster bored then orthers

its what you like most if you think necro is not rely your style then try a orther

Edited by Genlog76, 01 November 2012 - 04:26 PM.

[Bloggi]

The game is still young. It's likely that most people will try most (if not all) of the professions eventually. I agree with Genlog, it's possible to get bored with every class. Sometimes it's not so much boredom, but just wanting to try something new. I've got to admit that out of the 5 professions I chose to create toons for, the elementalist was one of those that I initially chose not to play.

But I went against those thoughts and created one a while back and it's very enjoyable to play as well. Sometimes perhaps, it's just what we make of it. If we stick with something long enough, we may eventually enjoy the class.

[entropy3]

From my experience I'd say that the scholar classes are lacking in their own specific areas because they all provide rather unique forms of support, so they have to make up for that advantage with some disadvantages. Warriors have the highest base armor and health, and are very specialized at dealing good damage. However, they have very few support options. Ele's on the other hand have to work and plan for their damage and survivability, but to make up for this they have access to nearly everything they need and can adapt to a situation due to multiple attunements.

[Chubby]

Necro* = super good survivability but relies on DOTs (takes 'longer' to kill mobs, wasted DPS when you stack many bleeds that don't run their full duration)
conditionmancer...not sure about a power build

Ele = can be more bursty and have decent survivability when played correctly