Guild Wars 2 professions tier list - best classes ranked for PvE and PvP

a painting of a monster with chains around it .

a painting of a monster with chains around it .
July 26, 2024 - We've updated our tier lists for Guild Wars 2 for this month.

Guild Wars 2 has been one of the popular MMORPGs out there especially when the genre started out with its original incarnation. Since then, many professions have been introduced online and many fans have enjoyed them. To make it easier for you to choose which professions to use, our Guild Wars 2 professions tier list comes in.

Our updated tier lists offer professions are the best for each content type in the game, and there's quite a few. Depending on what type of content you're looking to do, then you may want a specific class at your disposal.

While you're here, if you're interested in more MMORPGs, then you might like Tower of Fantasy. You can check out our Tower of Fantasy reroll guide to learn how to get the best start on your journey, as well as our Tower of Fantasy weapons tier list to know which weapons you should be going for.

What are Guild Wars 2 professions?

Profession Type
Specializations
Soldier
Base: Guardian, Revenant, Warrior Heart of Thorns: Dragonhunter, Herald, Berserker Path of Fire: Firebrand, Renegade, Spellbreaker End of Dragons: Willbender, Vindicator, Bladesworn
Adventurer
Base: Engineer, Ranger, Thief Heart of Thorns: Scrapper, Druid, Daredevil Path of Fire: Holosmith, Soulbeast, Deadeye End of Dragons: Mechanist, Untamed, Specter
Scholar
Base: Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer Heart of Thorns: Tempest, Chronomancer, Reaper Path of Fire: Weaver, Mirage, Scourge End of Dragons: Catalyst, Virtuoso, Harbinger

In Guild Wars 2, there are different classes you can choose from depending on what kind of combat that you're interested in. There are nine total base professions that you'll play through a lot of the early and midgame with. Once you hit level 80, you'll have the option to pick an elite specialization to change up how the profession plays.

Each expansion adds nine specializations to the game, one for each base profession type. This gives you a total of 36 different options of how you want to play your character. These are not restricted by race or gender, so you can freely choose the combination that fits you.

Guild Wars 2 professions tier list

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of our tier lists, it's important to say, if there is a profession that you want to play that looks cool or that you like the playstyle of, play it! It's all about fun at the end of the day, but these tier lists should give you an idea of what professions will be best suited for certain types of content.

Guild Wars 2 open world professions tier list

Guild Wars 2 Open World Tier List

S

Chronomancer
Herald
Vindicator
Mechanist
Reaper
Untamed
Scrapper

A

Soulbeast
Firebrand
Mirage
Daredevil
Scourge
Dragonhunter
Deadeye
Berserker

B

Weaver
Harbinger
Holosmith
Specter
Druid
Renegade
Tempest
Guardian
Willbender
Virtuoso
Catalyst
Spellbreaker
Bladesworn

C

Mesmer
Necromancer
Ranger
Engineer
Warrior
Revenant
Elementalist
Thief

Our first tier list is for the open world. Generally, open world activities encourages a wide variety of play options, and thusly, many of the classes are viable choices. This is the level of content that you can pretty much play anything you want and find fun and success.

Guild Wars 2 fractals profession tier list

Guild Wars 2 Fractals Tier List

S

Soulbeast
Harbinger
Scrapper
Renegade
Specter

A

Bladesworn
Virtuoso
Scourge
Holosmith
Dragonhunter
Weaver

B

Daredevil
Firebrand
Vindicator
Catalyst
Willbender
Untamed
Reaper
Herald

C

Spellbreaker
Berserker
Deadeye
Mirage
Mechanist
Chronomancer

D

Tempest
Druid

Fractals in Guild Wars 2 are essentially dungeons. They consist of a bunch of mini-dungeons that have their own story and environments. This is one of the core aspects of the PvE end game. While Fractals are something that you unlock as soon as you hit level 80, there is a difficulty scale, so this is something to be done throughout the end game.

Here, most professions can do well here, but the Firebrand support is definitely one of the top, bringing a versatile kit to each encounter. The A-tier professions are just as strong as Firebrand but offer less versatility overall, but should be very strong in these situations, and can push the higher difficulty tiers much easier than lower tier.

What's your top Guild Wars 2 profession? Share in the comments!

As for the rest of the builds, they generally can do well but will start to fall off much faster in the difficulty scale and with the overall skill of the group.

Guild Wars 2 strikes and raids profession tier list

Guild Wars 2 Strikes and Raids Tier List

S

Soulbeast
Deadeye
Holosmith
Herald
Druid

A

Chronomancer
Untamed
Virtuoso
Catalyst
Berserker
Weaver
Scrapper
Scourge

B

Specter
Firebrand
Harbinger
Tempest
Reaper
Mechanist
Spellbreaker
Renegade
Vindicator
Bladesworn
Daredevil
Willbender
Dragonhunter

C

Mirage

Another core aspect to the PvE end game of Guild Wars 2 is strikes and raids. Strikes are ten player raid-like activities that are meant to be an introduction into the more difficult raid encounters at the end game. Raids are also 10 player activities but are generally much more difficult and demanding, both in raw power and mechanically.

Once again, the S-tier professions are the top for a reason. They have to offer a lot of power and versatility in what they bring to the table. A tier builds are just as strong but not quite as versatile. B-tier builds are still meta builds that excel in specific fights but struggle heavily in others.

Everything else generally becomes more niche and doesn't offer nearly as much to the group as professions of higher tiers.

Guild Wars 2 PvP Conquest professions tier list

Guild Wars 2 PvP Conquest Tier List

S

Reaper
Vindicator
Chronomancer
Necromancer
Scrapper
Specter
Elementalist
Holosmith
Deadeye
Spellbreaker
Dragonhunter
Druid

A

Soulbeast
Berserker
Untamed
Firebrand
Willbender
Revenant
Herald
Daredevil
Mesmer
Warrior
Engineer
Catalyst
Tempest

B

Mirage
Bladesworn
Guardian
Scourge
Weaver
Harbinger
Virtuoso
Ranger
Mechanist

C

Thief
Renegade

PvP Conquest is a controlled PvP environment, with various objectives. There are only two teams of equal size so it's really about the composition of what you're playing. One thing to note here, in Conquest, this tier list is a rough generalization of what to expect per class. Ultimately, this mode rewards skillful play and teamwork.

Guild Wars 2 World GvG tier list

Guild Wars 2 World GvG Tier List

S

Vindicator
Firebrand
Soulbeast
Daredevil
Spellbreaker
Druid
Scourge
Chronomancer

A

Catalyst
Virtuoso
Mirage
Tempest
Reaper

B

Untamed
Berserker
Renegade
Dragonhunter
Holosmith
Willbender
Scrapper

C

Herald
Necromancer

D

Elementalist
Weaver
Specter
Harbinger
Ranger
Deadeye
Warrior
Engineer
Thief
Mesmer
Mechanist
Guardian
Revenant
Bladesworn

The last tier list that we have for you is World Guild vs Guild PvP. Typically in this, the options are much more limited. Anything in A-tier is 100% a safe choice, and anything in D-tier or below, you don't ever see being used in this mode.

That's the updates on these tier lists after the latest patch came in. Tune in on this page later for more changes. If we had to pick, the Bladesworn seems to be ranked the highest consistently, so that's seemingly a safe pick.

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What's your top Guild Wars 2 profession? Share in the comments!