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

a painting of a a swordswoman.

a painting of a a swordswoman.
July 30, 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 keep up with the updates, we have updated our Guild Wars 2 professions tier list with the latest information coming from official lines.

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

Vindicator
Herald
Reaper
Mechanist
Scrapper
Chronomancer
Untamed

A

Berserker
Daredevil
Mirage
Dragonhunter
Scourge
Deadeye
Soulbeast
Firebrand

B

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

C

Warrior
Necromancer
Engineer
Revenant
Elementalist
Mesmer
Thief
Ranger

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
Renegade
Specter
Scrapper

A

Scourge
Dragonhunter
Bladesworn
Holosmith
Weaver
Virtuoso

B

Firebrand
Vindicator
Untamed
Reaper
Willbender
Catalyst
Herald
Daredevil

C

Berserker
Deadeye
Mechanist
Spellbreaker
Chronomancer
Mirage

D

Druid
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

Guild Wars 2 Strikes and Raids Tier List

S

Druid
Holosmith
Deadeye
Herald
Soulbeast

A

Scourge
Virtuoso
Berserker
Weaver
Catalyst
Scrapper
Chronomancer
Untamed

B

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

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

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

A

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

B

Mechanist
Guardian
Weaver
Harbinger
Scourge
Virtuoso
Bladesworn
Ranger
Mirage

C

Renegade
Thief

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

Chronomancer
Soulbeast
Firebrand
Spellbreaker
Druid
Daredevil
Scourge
Vindicator

A

Mirage
Tempest
Virtuoso
Reaper
Catalyst

B

Scrapper
Renegade
Berserker
Holosmith
Dragonhunter
Willbender
Untamed

C

Necromancer
Herald

D

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

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 for now. 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.