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


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Guild Wars 2 is already available on Steam, and if you're looking to get into the game then you'll have to pick a class. There are a bunch of classes or professions to choose from, so knowing which one is best may be tricky. That's where our Guild Wars 2 professions tier list comes in.

In this tier list, we'll detail which 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

Tier
Profession
S
Firebrand, Chronomancer, Daredevil, Scourge, Herald, Scrapper, Reaper, Soulbeast, Deadeye, Berserker
A
Virtuoso, Vindicator, Holosmith, Dragonhunter, Willbender, Harbinger, Druid, Renegade, Tempest, Mirage, Catalyst, Mechanist, Weaver, Specter, Guardian, Untamed, Thief, Spellbreaker, Bladesworn
B
Ranger, Engineer, Mesmer, Revenant, Necromancer, Elementalist, Warrio

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

Tier
Profession
S
Renegade, Scrapper, Soulbeast
A
Dragonhunter, Scourge, Specter, Virtuoso, Weaver
B
Berserker, Bladesworn, Catalyst, Firebrand, Harbinger, Holosmith, Reaper, Untamed, Vindicator
C
Daredevil, Deadeye, Herald, Mechanist, Spellbreaker, Willbender
D
Chromancer, Druid, Mirage, Tempest

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.

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

Tier
Profession
S
Berserker, Catalyst, Druid, Herald, Soulbeast, Weaver
A
Chromancer, Daredevil, Dragonhunter, Firebrand, Harbinger, Holosmith, Mechanist, Reaper, Scourge, Specter, Spellbreaker, Untamed, Vindicator, Virtuoso, Willbender
B
Bladesworn, Deadeye, Renegade, Tempest
C
Mirage, Scrapper

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

Tier
Profession
S
Specter, Bladesworn, Tempest
A
Guardian, Herald, Harbinger, Catalyst, Necromancer, Deadeye, Untamed, Vindicator, Daredevil, Willbender, Reaper
B
Chronomancer, Holosmith, Thief, Ranger, Soulbeast, Renegade, Mirage, Weaver
C
Mechanist, Dragonhunter, Spellbreaker, Warrior
D
Scourge, Scrapper, Virtuoso, Mesmer, Druid, Revenant
F
Berserker, Firebrand, Elementalist, Engineer

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 PvP tier list

Tier
Profession
S
Deadeye, Daredevil
A
Catalyst, Renegade, Willbender, Harbinger, Mirage, Scrapper
B
Specter, Vindicator, Necromancer, Berserker, Soulbeast, Chronomancer, Untamed, Herald, Dragonhunter, Weaver, Virtuoso
C
Spellbreaker, Mechanist, Druid, Mesmer, Holosmith, Ranger, Elementalist, Tempest, Reaper, Thief, Warrior, Bladesworn
D
Revenant, Guadian, Scourge
F
Engineer, Firebrand

World (or WvW) is a mode of PvP in the game that is just that. World PvP, but not in the way you'd expect. It incorporates PvE elements into it as well, which gives the mode a different dynamic. What's cool about this mode is that it can include multiple servers worth of players.

Guild Wars 2 World GvG tier list

Tier
Profession
S
A
Firebrand, Vindicator, Renegade, Chronomancer, Daredevil, Druid, Scourge, Soulbeast, Virtuoso
B
Spellbreaker, Reaper, Willbender, Berserker, Tempest, Catalyst
C
Untamed, Holosmith, Dragonhunter, Scrapper
D
Necromancer, Herald
F
Specter, Bladesworn, Harbinger, Guardian, Weaver, Revenant, Elementalist, Mirage, Mesmer, Mechanist, Engineer, Ranger, Deadeye, Warrior, Thief

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.

And that's all that we have for you. With this knowledge, you can go through and select the right class for you based on what kind of content you want to play. If we had to pick, the Bladesworn seems to be ranked the highest consistently, so that's seemingly a safe pick.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Guides and Guild Wars 2 page.