GW2. Beginner Class Guides and Leveling Builds to start your journey in Guild Wars 2.
Leveling is one of the best experiences in Guild Wars 2 because of how much freedom there is. Despite the many ways to do so, generally, the first leveling experience is done through exploring the open world maps and progressing the story. This is when most people learn the skills and traits of their class, so it is advised that you don’t play just one thing. Test everything out to find what performs the best for you.
However, there are some challenges you may face, especially when obtaining hero points from the expansion content which will allow you to use the elite specializations. Rather than using a budget version of an end-game build that you can’t reach the full potential of, the following builds are designed to make the process of leveling as efficient as possible while also allowing you to solo defeat many of the challenging hero points so you can even get to use the more powerful elite specializations.
NOTE: All classes are fun and viable, so find which suits your preferences.
Elementalist
Elementalist is a standard magic user. It has access to only one weapon for skills but has four attunements which give different skills to use. Fire attunement gives you mostly damaging skills, Air is utility and movement, Water is healing and survivability, and then Earth is control effects.
Pros
- Versatile
- Great sustain
- Combos well with other players
Cons
- Fragile
- Many buttons to press
- Rotation reliant
This suggested leveling build uses Fire, Arcane, and Earth traits and gains protection from casting auras which are available in air and water attunement while wielding two daggers. It is mostly a condition build so you want to use fire and earth attunement for damage and only swap to air and water very briefly to get out the auras then stick to earth and fire.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Dire (Condition Damage – Toughness – Vitality)
- Carrion (Condition Damage – Power – Vitality)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Dagger / Dagger | Heal / Utility / Elite |
Skill Rotation
- Fire > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 > 2 > Swap Earth
- Earth > 3 > 2 > 4 > 5 > 2 > Swap Fire
Swap to Air and use the 4 for mobility or double cast the 3 then use the 5 skill to CC, and swap to Water for healing and cleansing from the 5 and double casting the 4.
Trait Leveling Order: Fire > Earth > Arcane
Ranger
The Ranger is in tune with nature. They use their environment and survival skills to their advantage as well as pets which can be found and tamed all around the world. Contrary to popular belief, ranger does not mean someone who uses bows at range, but rather someone who patrols in small groups or even solo, and often the melee weapons of rangers are very powerful.
Pros
- Works well solo
- Easy to play
- Mobile
Cons
- Selfish
- Reliant on pets which have limited control
- Lacks diversity
This is a beastmaster ranger build with Greatsword as the main weapon because it buffs the pet for harder hitting attacks, but it also has the Axe and Warhorn for ranged damage and to give boons to yourself and your pet.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Soldier (Power – Toughness – Vitality)
- Berserker (Power – Precision – Ferocity)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Greatsword | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Axe / Warhorn | |
Axe / Warhorn Boon Combo
- Warhorn 4 > 5 > Quickening Zephyr > “We Heal As One!”
- Axe 3 > 2 > Weapon Swap
Greatsword Burst Combo
- “Sic ‘Em!” > Greatsword 2 > 5 > 2 + F2
Recommended Pets: Juvenile Stalker – Juvenile River Drake
Trait Leveling Order: Beastmastery > Skirmishing > Nature Magic
Guardian
Guardian infuses magic into physical attacks and scales up in larger situations where they can support their allies no matter what role they choose to play. They must choose to retain the passive effects of their virtues or to cast them for a more immediate effect at the cost of losing the passive.
Pros
- Team Oriented
- Great sustain
- High utility
Cons
- Slow
- Team reliant
- Cooldown reliant
This is a power build with the Zeal and Honor traits which greatly improve the effects and damage of symbols which are ground-targeted circles available on each guardian weapon. Rather than using the actives of the virtues, this build maintains their passives as well as the boons given by the symbols to gain plenty of buffs. Place the symbol on your enemies and stand next to them inside the symbol, or place the symbol on yourself and wait for the enemies to come to you.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Soldier (Power – Toughness – Vitality)
- Berserker (Power – Precision – Ferocity)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Sword / Focus | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Hammer | |
Skill Rotation
- Focus 4 > 5 > Sword 2 > Heal Skill > 3 > Swap
- Hammer 3 > 2 > 4 > 2 > 111 > 111 > Swap
Trait Leveling Order: Zeal > Honor > Radiance
Engineer
The Engineer has many scientific gadgets and tools at their disposal, making them very versatile or a jack-of-all-trades. They only have access to one set of weapons and a very low variety of weapons, but they can use tool belt skills which are based on the utilities they choose, and have access to kits such as grenades, bombs, and flamethrowers to swap between sets of skills with no weapon swap limitations.
Pros
- Versatile
- Mobile
- Combos well with other players
Cons
- Lacks a defined role
- Many buttons to press
- Reliant on aim to land many of its skills
This build uses mainly condition damage from the Pistols, Bomb Kit, and Flamethrower to deal damage over time. Engineers have many options for ranged damage and slows, blinds, or immobilizing effects so they can control the situation. It may be difficult to land some of the attacks while moving around so much and using all of the different skills which need to be aimed, so engineer players have to love movement and pressing lots of keys.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Dire (Condition Damage – Toughness – Vitality)
- Carrion (Condition Damage – Power – Vitality)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Pistol / Pistol | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Bomb Kit | Flamethrower |
| Mortar Kit | |
Damaging Skill Priorities
- Tool Belt Incendiary Ammo
- Pistol 2 > 4
- Flamethrower 4 > 2
- Bomb Kit 2 > 3
- Mortar 2
- Rocket Kick
Use Mortar Kit 4 and Bomb Kit 4 to blind enemies, Pistol 5 and Bomb Kit 5 to immobilize enemies, then Mortar 3 to chill them, allowing you to properly move around to avoid attacks while still dealing damage. You can also heal up by using specific skill combos.
Healing Combos (Water Field + Blast Finisher)
- Orbital Strike > Healing Turret > Flamethrower 2 > Rocket Boots
- Big Ol’ Bomb > Mortar 5 > Flamethrower 2 > Rocket Boots
Trait Leveling Order: Firearms > Explosives > Tools
Mesmer
Mesmer uses illusions and chaotic magic to deceive their enemies. Unlike other RPGs where illusions are mechanically just a debuff, they take shape in Guild Wars 2’s action combat as real objects and they make it hard for enemies to find the real mesmer. They can tax the enemy of their time and cooldowns with their illusions, or shatter the illusions for a strong spell. While they are one of the most unique and rewarding classes, they are very vulnerable when the illusions are gone or enemies can discern which one is real. They also are great at thwarting their enemies’ plans with interrupts, elusiveness, or invulnerability.
Pros
- Mobile
- Illusions can distract enemies
- High utility
Cons
- Fragile
- Shatters require clones which take time to create
- Requires awareness and timing
This is a power build with very high burst damage meant to disable enemies and perform shatter combos while using the extra damage modifiers gained when hitting disabled enemies. Use Phantasms (Sword 5 or Greatsword 4) first to generate clones, then disable the enemy and quickly create a couple more clones to use your F1 Mind Wrack with three clones before the disable ends.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Soldier (Power – Toughness – Vitality)
- Berserker (Power – Precision – Ferocity)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Greatsword | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Sword / Sword | |
Basic Shatter Combo
- Greatsword 4 > Signet of Domination > 2 > 3 > Swap
- F1 > Sword 33 + Mirror Images > Mantra of Distraction + 2 > F1 + 5
Shatter Combo #2
- Sword 5 > 44 > 33 > 2 > Swap
- Greatsword 2 > F1 > 4 + Mantra of Distraction > 3 + Mirror Images > F1
Trait Leveling Order: Domination > Illusions > Dueling
Warrior
Warriors master many weapons, allowing them access to the most choices for playstyles although they are all mostly melee-oriented. They gain adrenaline when they hit and they can expend their adrenaline to perform burst attacks which depend on the weapon type they’re wielding. Warriors have the highest base defenses which makes them a forgiving class for new players and allows more experienced players to build very aggressively for big damage in close quarters.
Pros
- Works well solo
- Very durable
- Heavy control and damage
Cons
- Reliant on Adrenaline which takes time to build
- Selfish
- Long animations
This is a power build that uses Physical skills as well as the Hammer and Axe/Mace set for a high amount of stuns and knock downs to keep your enemies locked down and unable to react to you. Also whenever you disable an enemy you gain many buffs and extra adrenaline to fuel your combos. Always use your F1 burst skills when you have a good amount of adrenaline to get the Burst Precision buff which improves the critical hit synergy of your combo.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Soldier (Power – Toughness – Vitality)
- Berserker (Power – Precision – Ferocity)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Hammer | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Axe / Mace | |
Axe / Mace Combo
- Bull’s Charge > Mace 4 > 5 > 4 > Axe F1 > 2 > 3 > 111
Hammer Combo
- Stomp > Hammer F1 > 2 > 5 > 2 > 4 > 3 > 111
Trait Leveling Order: Defense > Strength > Arms
Necromancer
Necromancers can raise the dead as well as suck the life out of the living. They expose the defenses of their enemies so they cannot withstand attacks from you or your allies. When enemies die or necromancers land certain abilities on their enemies they gain life force. This allows them to enter death shroud which gives them new abilities and will protect their life with a second health bar.
Pros
- Very durable
- Great sustain
- Scales up in larger fights
Cons
- Slow
- Reliant on death shroud which takes time to build
- Selfish
This is a condition build that uses the staff and scepter ranged weapons to gradually ramp up damage over time, then apply Fear to peel enemies off you and deal extra damage due to the Terror trait.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Soldier (Power – Toughness – Vitality)
- Berserker (Power – Precision – Ferocity)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Scepter / Warhorn | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Staff | Death Shroud |
Skill Rotation
- Staff 5 > 2 > 3 > Blood Is Power > 4 > Swap
- Warhorn 5 > 4 > 5 > Scepter 3 > 2 > Swap
- Enter Shroud > Shroud 2 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 2 > Exit
Trait Leveling Order: Curses > Spite > Death Magic
Thief
Thief uses subtlety and speed to get things done. Rather than cooldowns on the weapon skills, it has a shared resource that all weapon skills pull from, allowing you to choose which skills you need for the situation. This resource called initiative can be heavily invested into one skill for burst damage, or spread out among others to be more versatile. Thieves do not provide much support to allies and often are required to find indirect ways to solve problems rather than fighting fairly, but they have the tools to achieve this with stealth and many teleports.
Pros
- Mobile
- High burst
- Versatile
Cons
- Fragile
- Single target focused
- Selfish
This is a condition damage build with the Pistol and Dagger set. Whenever you are in stealth, your 1 skill becomes a sneak attack, which is a high burst skill based on the weapon you are wielding. On pistol, the sneak attack is a multi-hitting ranged attack, so using the Dagger 5 in melee range to get stealth allows you to use this. When Revealed for a few seconds after attacking from stealth you cannot re-enter stealth, so use the Pistol 3 while waiting for it to run out. The elite skill Thieves Guild summons allies to help you, and you can also share your Spider Venom with the Thieves Guild for a good burst opener.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Dire (Condition Damage – Toughness – Vitality)
- Carrion (Condition Damage – Power – Vitality)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Pistol / Dagger | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Shortbow | |
Skill Priorities
Use Dagger 5 when in melee range to gain stealth, then use the Sneak Attack (1) then the Pistol/Dagger 3 skill Shadow Strike which is a dual attack (unique skill #3 while dual-wielding) to get to range and spam the 3 skill Repeater while moving back into melee range to begin the next stealth combo. Continue gaining stealth using Steal then Dagger 5, Hide in Shadows, or Shadow Refuge and using the sneak attack.
Trait Leveling Order: Trickery > Shadow Arts > Deadly Arts
Revenant
Revenants channel legends of the past through the mists, the place where spirits of the dead linger. The legends you choose to commune with will give you an entire set of powerful skills, but you can’t mix and match skills like other classes. These skills not only have cooldowns but they cost energy, a resource you recharge over time or whenever you swap between your two legend choices. Managing this energy resource can be difficult for newer players, but allows powerful combos and sustained damage when managed efficiently.
Pros
- High utility
- Great sustain
- Mobile
Cons
- Energy and cooldown-reliant
- Lack of diversity
- Requires an expansion to play
Revenant is the only class you need to buy an expansion to access, but just because you have an expansion doesn’t mean you have an elite specialization. You still need to level up. This power build doesn’t require many choices for using your energy, but also has many sources for gaining energy. This makes it very easy to play because energy management is much less punishing and you can freely cast your skills.
- Recommended equipment:
- Cheap
- A mix of the following stats:
- Soldier (Power – Toughness – Vitality)
- Berserker (Power – Precision – Ferocity)
- Runes:
- Sigils:
- A mix of the following stats:
- Expensive
- Celestial stats
- Cheap
| Sword / Sword | Heal / Utility / Elite |
| Staff | |
Skill Priorities
- Swap legend stances below 10 energy to gain an extra 25 energy due to the Charged Mists trait
- Upkeep either Impossible Odds in Shiro stance or Vengeful Hammers in Jalis’s stance
- Sword 2/3
- Sword 4/5
- F2 if low on energy but legend swap is not ready
Trait Leveling Order: Invocation > Devastation > Retribution
Video Guide
If you still aren’t sure what class you want to play based on the end game elite specializations. This video can give a more detailed look at the gameplay and mechanics of each class.