Guild Wars 2: The Best Classes in PvE and PvP 2023

 In our great class guide for  Guild Wars 2  we present you the best classes for PvE and PvP for the year 2023. Which class is best for beginners? Which one do raids and fractals go with? And what classes are the current meta for the arena in Guild Wars 2?

In our overview of the classes, we would like to go into the general positions of the classes and present you with the differences in the game modes.

We, therefore, differentiate between the best classes for newcomers, for instanced PvE, and for PvP.

We leave out PvE in the open world at this point, as you can successfully roam the world with any class. In general, the balance in Guild Wars 2 is currently very balanced and almost all classes are playable in all areas. In addition, a new balance patch will be released in February, which will make some changes.

Note: This article originally appeared in 2018 and was last updated on January 8, 2023.

The best classes for newcomers to Guild Wars 2

Newcomers do not yet have access to the special specializations that came into play with the extensions.

The specializations are accessible at level 80 at the earliest.

Which is the easiest class?

The ranger is best suited to get started. He wears medium armor, has some survival skills and often fights at a distance with the longbow.

• The animal companion is helpful, as it usually occupies the opponents so that they do not attack us.
• The cry “Protect me” also ensures that your animal companion provokes the enemy and thus draws them towards him.
• The invulnerability from the seal of the stone or the evasive role through the skill "Flash reflexes" increase the chances of survival.

A simple build relies on long bow and sword / ax as weapons and armor with offensive values ​​(power, precision, ferocity). To do this, over time you choose the specializations:

• Gunnery
• Animal control
• and mastery of combat.

Heavy armor for easy entry !

The warrior is also suitable for a relaxed start. As a wearer of heavy armor, he automatically endures more and has a useful passive effect with the Seal of Healing.

With skills like “Endure Pain” and “Dolyak Seal” you can survive well even in longer battles. Great swords and swords / war horns can be used as weapons. This combination causes a lot of damage and makes you very mobile at the same time.

In the specializations you will find all important reinforcements in the areas of strength, weapons and defense that will help you advance in the open world.

A second life bar?

The necromancer is by far the most enduring class with light armor. By nature, she has many life points and also brings the death veil with her.

The death veil acts like a second life bar and ensures that you can take a lot of damage. At the same time, there is a property in the death magic specialization that automatically puts you in the death veil in the event of fatal damage.

In addition, necromancers can summon servants to assist them in battle. One useful skill is "fear," which will make enemies run away from you. Long-range weapons such as scepter / war horn and the staff are recommended as weapons.

Which classes are the hardest for newbies?

We particularly advise newcomers against the elementalist and the mesmer. Both classes are low on health and more difficult to play than the others.

The revenant is also not easy, but is only available to you if you have one of the two extensions.

The best classes for fractals and raids

Fractals are the end content for groups of 5, in the raids you go to ten. Fractals and raids in Guild Wars 2 now have a clearly defined meta with tanks, healers, supporters and damage dealers.

The tanks in Guild Wars 2:

Mesmer got the elite specialization "Chronomant" with Heart of Thorns. This brings the unique buff "thirst for action" with it, which reduces the recharge time of skills.

• The drive can be shared with allies, strengthening the whole group in all areas. At the same time, the seal of inspiration enables the sharing of all blessings with other players and thus the distribution of speed. The Chronomant is therefore primarily responsible for providing the entire group with reinforcements and has strong crowd control with the Moa seal.
• Since Guild Wars 2 combines the practical with the useful, Chronomanten were declared to be the tanks in the raids. There they can play a little more defensively, and thanks to skills that give distortion, they can also dodge boss attacks and still strengthen the group. So less group damage is lost than if you had a tank and a supporter like the Chronomanten in the group.

With some buffs and nerfs, an alternative to the Chronomanten has opened up. A guard as agitator ensures the useful speed and a revenant as herald ensures zest for action.

Every raid needs its banners

The warrior is very popular in the raids and fractals because he brings the banner of strength and the banner of discipline. These two together with the property "strengthen allies" greatly strengthen the group and are mandatory in the raids.

• Since the banners now reach 10 players, one warrior in the raid group is sufficient.
• Another benefit of good warriors is the amount of crowd control that can be brought in. With the Elite Skill "Headbutt" and the Skill "Shattering Bump", defiance bars can be broken almost single-handedly.
• Nowadays a berserker (elite specialization Heart of Thorns) is played with a longbow and sword / torch. The focus is on condition damage and viper equipment.
• However, some bosses require more direct damage. Then you can also use a berserker version with great sword and ax / ax or, if CC is required, mace / shield.

Which class heals best? 

The support part of the fractal and raid meta is still heavily influenced by the Heart of Thorns expansion . This is due to the druid, the special extension of the ranger. The druid ensures good healing and brings the blessing power to the group.

At the same time, his spirits and the quality of "scout" support the group massively, so that a druid is mandatory in most groups. Many raid groups even play with two druids or a second other healer.

Alternative healers are:

• The revenant with the Ventari tablet
• The Guardian with the Path of Fire Elite Riot Specialization
• The necromancer as a plague bringer

For the ranger there is also a strong and, above all, easy-to-play state build with the soul changer, the elite specialization from Path of Fire. Here too, ghosts and "scouts" can be packed in order to possibly do without the druid. The ranger himself is seldom done without.

Who is the best causer?

The elite specialization Weber for the elementalist currently sets the standards for damage in raids. Regardless of whether opponents have a large or a small hitbox, the incoming damage is extremely high.

In addition to the elementalist, these classes also cause massive damage:

• The thief, especially the sniper extension
• The Mesmer as a Power Chronomancer
• The Revenant with his Renegade specialization
• The ranger as a power soul changer
• The engineer as a DPS holosmith
• The warrior as Condi-DPS without banner

Six of the seven elite specializations come from the Path of Fire add-on and all focus purely on damage and bring little support to the group.

To get started, it is also worth taking a look at the guard. Its gameplay is very simple, its damage is high and you can even play it without any elite specialization.

Which classes are not suitable for raids?

In the current meta, hardly a class falls behind. The necromancer is in a difficult position because he does the least damage. However, as the plague brings the barrier with him, which can be particularly helpful in inexperienced groups. The special skill “Epidemic” also helps to use it in groups.

The engineer is useful in raids both with the holosmith specialization and as a base class. However, it has the most demanding rotation compared to the damage it causes. Rotations are the order in which skills are used.

The best classes for player versus player

Our information focuses on Arena PvP in five-on-five. At this point we leave out the two-on-two arena and possibly larger numbers of players.

The strongest builds in the meta

So that you can be successful in PvP, you have two options. You're playing a build that does a lot of damage or one that can take a lot.

• Right at the top of the DPS list are the Revenant with the Elite Renegade Specialization and a Shortbow build and the Guardian as a Dragon Hunter and a Burning Condi build.
• The warrior as a spell breaker and the revenant as a herald with the Shiro legend combine both perfectly. They deal a lot of damage, but have the defensive to survive incoming burst damage.
• The thief with dagger / pistol, on the other hand, relies on pure damage and has been in the meta with this build for years.

Is this specialization too strong? 

The Necromancer's Path of Fire expansion has been a source of discussion since its inception in PvP. Many players find it too strong because of its large AoE fields and barrier. In the lower leagues, a plague could decide a PvP match alone.

However, this will no longer be an issue in 2023. Currently, the necromancer doesn't play a big role in PvP, much like the ranger. The engineer, on the other hand, is seen as a holosmith and the elementalist as a weaver is currently quite popular.

The long-running favorite in PvP

Thieves have been in the meta ever since PvP began. The reason for this is its good damage, its incredible mobility with the shortbow and the invisibility which is very strong when fighting other players.

You can currently play the thief in three ways:

• On the one hand there is the classic dagger / pistol and short-bow thief who tries to neutralize the opposing point and to provide a +1 in smaller fights.
• The other way of playing uses sword and dagger and has also been known since the release.
• The sniper build, which was once popular for Path of Fire, is only in the B tier, but is still playable.

Which classes are too weak in PvP?

In the current meta all classes can be played. As mentioned above, however, the Ranger and Necromancer are currently rather weak.

Most of the other classes even have different builds that are playable.

The best classes for the world against world

In world versus world we have to distinguish between two ways of playing. There is roaming, in which one looks for direct duels, and zergen, in which one is on the move as a group.

Who are the best roamers?

If you want to roam the world against world alone, thieves, mesmer, engineers and warriors are particularly recommended.

• In the case of a thief, mobility plays a role on the one hand and the great damage caused by invisibility on the other. In the meantime, a build with the specialization sniper with a rifle has established itself again. But there are also variants as daredevil, in which you play with dagger / pistol and short bow and sword / dagger and short bow.
• The warrior has the same advantages as a spell breaker as in arena PvP. He has a lot of damage and at the same time has the ability to counter incoming damage. That makes him very strong in one-on-one and even in outnumbered fights. Great sword and dagger / shield are used.
• The third strong class is the revenant. He has two builds for roaming: once as a Herald with Mallyx and condition damage and once as a Herald with an offensive Shiro build.
• The last good Roamer is the engineer with a rifle build who specializes in holosmith.

Support is the most important thing in the zerg

The group game in world against world relies entirely on the topic of group support. The focus here is on builds like the support incitator, the plague bringer and the spell breaker. In this list, Path of Fire specializations appear above all. The reason for this is the design idea behind the builds:

• The spellbreaker warrior can create a dome that destroys enemy projectiles for 10 seconds and deprives them of all blessings.
• The guardian as a rioter provides healing with his mantras and the tomes, which was already very strong in arena PvP.
• With the plague bringer, the necromancer brings barriers for allies and large AoE fields for the enemy.
• The engineer uses medi-kits and elixir cannon as scrap metal to heal allies.
• The mesmer can also provide support as a chronometer.

What is not welcome in the Zerg?

Revenants with a hammer in the backline and elementalists can be useful additions to a task force in world versus world.

Rangers, on the other hand, are not welcome.

The ranger generally has a difficult position in the community due to some very blunt ways of playing. To make matters worse, he does too little damage for the group fight or, as a druid, provides too little support. Other classes and specializations are simply stronger in both areas.

Even the thief is not as strong in the zerg as he is alone. Unlike the ranger, this class is still much more preferred by the players.