self>SabSparrow: /* Professions comparison */ Judgment Strike is a monk melee attack

2025-05-20T21:12:45Z

Professions comparison: Judgment Strike is a monk melee attack

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{{new player guide}}
====Caveat ====
''Much of the information in this area is geared toward playing with other players, particularly strangers. If playing with friends or solo, you can experiment with various options that others in a group would have not immediately accept. For many players, the enjoyment of creating unique and effective builds is one of the great joys of the game.''

=Primary profession=
A character's primary profession (or '''primary''' for short) determines that character's appearance, the [[armor]] and [[rune]]s they can use, and their available skills and attributes. For example, a [[Necromancer]] cannot wear the same armor that a [[Warrior]] can, and vice versa. Also, unique to each profession is a [[primary attribute]], which is only available to characters who choose that primary.
A character's primary profession is the only choice that cannot be changed once that character has been created.

==List of Primary Profession Guides==
This is just a very short overview of what parties expect from certain professions. For more information, read the articles and guides about the respective profession.

=== Primarily seen as frontline melee attackers ===
{{w}} '''[[Warrior]]s''' are commonly considered as tanks, usually able to stay alive under fire. Warriors focus mostly on damage and conditions, with swords and axes being usually used for damage, sword focusing more on [[Bleeding]] and [[Crippled]] and axes focusing more on [[Deep Wound]]. Alternatively a hammer warrior sacrifices some damage and armor for the ability to [[knockdown]] foes. See [[Guide to playing as a warrior]] for details

{{d}} '''[[Dervish]]es''' are similarly more suited for melee range. They have less base armor than warrior and usually no shield but compensate with more health and an armor increased by a multitude of enchantments that boost defensive and offensives capabilities. In PvP, you are expected to have a self-heal. Dervishes rarely use high single damage, but rather a combination of several sources of small damage triggering at the same time, usually on several enemies. Dervishes are experts at inflicting conditions. See [[Guide to playing as a dervish]] for details

{{a}} '''[[Assassin]]s''' are more vulnerable than warriors and dervishes, therefore rely more on hit-and-run tactics, only going in and out of melee range with shadow steps or speed boosts to quickly [[gank]] an enemy healer or get an early kill. [[Shadow Arts]] provide exceptionally strong defensive skills and self heals should they want to stay in melee longer. These skills also makes Assassins especially effective as tanks and [[run]]ners in high-end areas. Assassin wield primarily daggers but can wield other weapons to great success thanks to [[Critical Strikes]], including ranged weapons to stay out of melee range. See [[Guide to playing as an assassin]] for details

=== Primarily seen as midline ranged attackers ===
{{p}} '''[[Paragon]]s''' provide minor damage but shine in a support role, mostly contributing to the team by a strong damage reduction via [["There's Nothing to Fear!"]], [["They're on Fire!"]] and very often the warrior skill [["Save Yourselves!"]] (this famous style of paragon is usually refer to as [[Imbagon]]). Paragons can further support spellcasters with Arias and physical attackers with Anthems. Paragons have decent options for resurrection skills in [[Signet of Return]] or [["We Shall Return!"]]. Paragons can also provide party-wide movement speed boosting with [[Incoming]] and [[Fall Back]]. See [[Guide to playing as a paragon]] for details

{{r}} '''[[Ranger]]s''' are often expected to deal damage via [[Barrage]] (or similar skills) and/or to shutdown spellcasting via [[Broad Head Arrow]] or incapacitate foes with skills such as [[Crippling Shot]] (in PvP). Rangers are able to tank fairly well courtesy of their high armor against elemental damage and efficient blocking stances such as [[Whirling Defense]] or [[Lightning Reflexes]]. In virtue of this resilience and the cost reduction of [[expertise]], rangers can work decently as frontliners with various melee weapons. Rangers also boast access to [[pet]]s, and ability to make use of touch skills (see [[touch ranger]]) and binding rituals (possible [[spirit spammer]]s). Rangers can also set [[trap]]s in specific situations. If playing a non-bow ranger, tell your party before starting. See [[Guide to playing as a ranger]] for details

=== Primarily seen as midline spellcasters ===
{{e}} '''[[Elementalist]]s ''' are usually expected to do heavy damage, although in some high-end PvE areas the very high armor rating and level of foes they tend to fall out of favor against armor-ignoring damage dealers. [[Fire Magic]] is the most frequently desired for its high damage AoE spells and [[burning]]. Other builds such as Air Magic or Earth Magic dish out less damage but compensates with more conditions, damage mitigation on the party or [[Cracked Armor]] on enemies. [[Water Magic]] spells are sometimes wanted for their ability to [[snare]] enemies, usually to prevent them from chasing allies or escaping from AoE damage. See [[Guide to playing as an elementalist]] for details

{{me}} '''[[Mesmer]]s''' are expert at punishing, incapaciting and [[shutdown|shutting down]] foes, especially should they know the enemies beforehand in order to plan their build accordingly. This makes them a bit more difficult to play effectively, which explains why they are also a rarer profession. Domination Magic targets mostly spellcasters, while Illusion Magic handles more physical attackers. [[Ping|Inform]] your group of your role in the upcoming fights. See [[Guide to playing as a mesmer]] for details

=== Primarily seen as midline or backline spellcasters ===

{{n}} '''[[Necromancer]]s''' are usually expected to play a damage dealer role with Curses ([[Spiteful Spirit]] in particular) or to furnish the frontline with minions to tank for midline and backline. Necromancers also have a good amount of support skills, from [[Blood is Power]] to supply energy to [[Order of Pain]] to boost damage, including [[Mark of Fury]] to provide adrenaline and [[Blood Bond]] to provide healing. Tell your party what you are planning to do, especially if there is another necro around. See [[Guide to playing as a necromancer]] for details

{{rt}} '''[[Ritualist]]s''' can support the team, deal damage or healing, so make sure the party knows what it needs. The most popular type of ritualist are [[Spirit spammer]]s using [[Signet of Spirits]] (SoS) and [[Summon Spirits]]. [[Soul Twisting]] ritualists with [[Shelter]] and [[Union]] are also greatly appreciated for the damage mitigation they provide. If a party has more than one ritualist, the ritualists should avoid duplicate [[binding ritual]] as two spirits of the same name cannot coexist on the same team on the battlefield. On rare occasions, a decent option in [[Destructive was Glaive]] ritualist can be considered. See [[Guide to playing as a ritualist]] for details

{{mo}} '''[[Monk]]s''' are expected to heal and keep the party alive before anything else. If you are not the only monk, coordinate with the other monk(s) whether you use [[Healing Prayers|healing]] or [[Protection Prayers|protection]]. It is best to have one of each. You are also expected to resurrect fallen team members, so bring a hard resurrection skill, such as [[Unyielding Aura]]. [[Smiting Prayers]] monks can also deal decent amounts of damage with skills such as [[Ray of Judgement]], especially against undeads, but ''definitely'' tell your party if you plan to be a non-healing monk. See [[Guide to playing as a monk]] for details

== Professions comparison ==
{{section-stub}}
{| {{STDT|Silver}}
!rowspan="2"|[[Profession]]!!colspan="3" style="background:orange;"|[[Damage]] abilities!!colspan="4" style="background:yellow;"|[[Pressure]] abilities!!colspan="2" style="background:lightgreen;"|[[Support]] abilities!!colspan="2" style="background:lightcyan;"|[[Team_roles#Control|Control]] abilities!!colspan="1" style="background:lightblue;"|[[Utility]] abilities
|-
![[Melee Attack|Melee attack]]!![[Ranged Attack|Ranged attack]]!![[Area damage over time|AoE damage]]!![[Condition|Inflict Condition]]s!![[Hex|Inflict Hex]]es!![[Interrupt|Interrupts target]]s!![[Stance|Remove stances]]!![[Self heal|Heal self]]!![[Heal|Heal others]]!![[Condition|Remove conditions]]!![[Hex|Remove hexes]]!![[Resurrection|Resurrect party members]]1
|-
| {{w}} [[Warrior]] ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{no}}
|-
| {{r}} [[Ranger]] ||align=center| {{yes|gray}}2 ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{no}}
|-
| {{mo}} [[Monk]] ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}}
|-
| {{n}} [[Necromancer]] ||align=center| {{yes|gray}}3 ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{no}}
|-
| {{me}} [[Mesmer]] ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}}
|-
| {{e}} [[Elementalist]] ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{no}}
|-
| {{a}} [[Assassin]] ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{no}}
|-
| {{rt}} [[Ritualist]] ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}}
|-
| {{p}} [[Paragon]] ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}}
|-
| {{d}} [[Dervish]] ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{no}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}} ||align=center| {{yes|gray}}
|}

==== Legend ====
{{yes}} — lots of skills support this ability 
{{yes|gray}} — ability is somehow limited or only a few skills support it 
{{no}} — ability is not available 

==== Footnotes ====
#That do not require a Morale Boost, i.e. not [[Resurrection Signet]] or [[Sunspear Rebirth Signet]].
#Only with a pet
#Only with minions and a few touch skills

{{profession guide}}

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[[Category:Profession guides|*]]
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self>SabSparrow: /* Professions comparison */ Judgment Strike is a monk melee attack