Tropicola summed it up pretty good to some part
I will ad a few things^^
GW2 does not have the typical holy trinity but that is something fun too especially for PvP and WvW .. every class can do well and has its special pros and cons
there is a bit more grind for better items than at release of gw2 because Anet introduced one better tier of gears (Ascended)
but the stats difference is tiny and you could play permanently in exotic gear only too and it would work perfectly fine
thats just for longtime/hardcore players or people who like to grind and to perfect theeir gear
there are fun events each year (Halloween, Wintersday --> that one starts 16. december!)
some time ago Anet started with "Living Story" where they give you another story line after the normal story (you can start with living story before you finished normal story too though ^^)
Living Story is like 1-2 updates a months with new Dungeons, Tasks, Zones, Enemies and Achievements related to it and slowly progresses and reveals more and more
For your first Class i recommend Warrior or Guardian too like TropicoLa did
at least for PvE!
you can start with any other class too ofc but your life in gw2 will be a lot easier with those classes because for PvE they are
1) easier to play
2) can do well Solo and do better without traits (traits get unlocked at higher levels and the caster classes rely more on those mostly... so they have a harder time for PvE at start)
3) are favored by groups and you will have a better first game experience probably
for PvP any class works if you know how to play it
some are harder to master though ... but can also be more fun
(PvP got some improved rewards too now if you compare it with the time of GW2 release)
i guess you will do more than 1 Class anyway so it doesnt matter too much
but then you should probably start off with Warrior (good selfsustain - dmg buffs for yourself and your group .. also fastest movement with extra leap and rush skills probably which is really nice for PvE and open world)
or Guardian (lower healthpool but better self sustaining skills and support and things like Reflect which is needed especially in harder areas and dungeons)
to help you with your decision maybe:
My personal list for classes from easy to master/play to hard to master/play if you start from zero for PvE (mostly open world)1) Warrior
2) Guardian
3) Necromancer
4) Ranger
5) Thief
6) Elementalist
7) Mesmer
8) Engineer
this list is not meant to say which class is best in PvE!If you mastered Elementalist for example it is very strong and more useful than necromancer in PvE!
this list is just how easy to play the class is when you start new in GW2
my list for most used + favored classes in Dungeons & Fractals:1) Warrior, Elementalist, Guardian
2) Thief
3) Mesmer
4) Ranger
5) Engineer, Necromancer
- Warrior, ele and guard are just best raw dmg usually and can synergize well and are easier to play .. so if you are a new player people will think you can still do well if you use one of these classes and its more likely that you find groups easily for dungeons...
- Thief is good dmg too but a bit squishy but he is especially useful for some dungeons & fractal parts because of Stealth!
- Mesmer is ok too but mostly used for his utility skills like reflect & Quickness buff (but guard can fill the reflect role better usually thats why mesmer is not used that much anymore)
- Ranger actually can do really good and has some nice group buffs too... if you go melee and use the right build ... but people often just kick rangers because they have no clue and thats why i think you wont have the best game experience if you start with ranger for PvE :/
- Necromancer is just not that good for direct AoE dmg ... he is awesome for Condition overloads but that is barely played in dungeons ....
- Engineer can do vulnerability debuff stacks on the enemy well but is rarely see engis in dungeons...
You will need to farm quite a bit if you want to buy GemShop items too because the gold-gem ratio is not that cheap .. but thats where Anet gets its money from ^^
you can buy gems for real cash too ofc and convert gems to gold too if you dont mind spending extra real life money on the game
there are a few gemshop items that are actually really useful for Gw2 ... but nothing that would be pay to win like so no worries about that
just convenience (like infinite mining tools instead of limited use)
You can pm me and ask for my GW2 IGN and you can always ask me ingame if you see me there (atm im playing a bit more GW1 but i still come on in GW2 .. played 2 years every day and beat all challenges etc. so i got a bit bored but i still have fun playing ... just not every single day anymore :D)
Would you play Europe or North American or Asian Servers if you start GW2?
i guess North American Servers?
I play Europe so i could show you anything InGame then (could still talk to you ingame and link you stuff there and you could ask me there anytime but we couldnt play together)
but if you find a nice guild or one or more other players who are willing to help you you should have no problems - and if then these people could help you^^
This post was edited by Kartoffelgratin on Dec 10 2014 10:17pm