Welcome to GW2
You'll soon find that its both very familiar and very different from other MMOs you may have played.
To answer your questions....
1) The background selections change how your main questline (which is somewhat tailored to the choices you made at the start and will make throughout the game) progresses. The specific missions you do in the first ~30 or so levels are customized depending on what you said.
2) While I've never played a Mesmer, a search of "*class* builds gw2" in google has always worked for me. You'll soon find that without a DPS meter (if you're coming from an MMO that has them) and without any hard enrages or dps races in any of the content (for the most part), there isn't much reason to maximize your DPS.
For levelling content, a sure-fire plan is to focus exclusively on the Power stat, both on your talent tree and on your gear. Later on you can start fiddling with the various utility options until you find what works for you.
3) GW2 has no roles. Sort of. There are no tanks, people pull aggro left and right and its up to your group to evade or CC the opponents in order to minimize damage you all take. There are no healers, each person can heal themselves using their various class abilities.
That said, some classes are inherently tankier than others (Warriors and Guardians) and feel more like traditional tanks with the way they play, Guardians specifically. Also, some classes have a bit more healing, with AoE abilities that heal more than just themselves. Other classes have more CC/Utility and can use it to assist the entire party.
Mesmer is a DPS/CC/Utility focused class.
If you don't mind me asking, what server are you on?
Anyway I have a couple questions:
1. Do the BG selections mean anything game play wise?
2. Are there any articles on how I should play a mesmer and/or have a list of builds with a strategic explanation?
3. What roles do Mesmers fill (Tank, DPS, Healer?)
You'll soon find that its both very familiar and very different from other MMOs you may have played.
To answer your questions....
1) The background selections change how your main questline (which is somewhat tailored to the choices you made at the start and will make throughout the game) progresses. The specific missions you do in the first ~30 or so levels are customized depending on what you said.
2) While I've never played a Mesmer, a search of "*class* builds gw2" in google has always worked for me. You'll soon find that without a DPS meter (if you're coming from an MMO that has them) and without any hard enrages or dps races in any of the content (for the most part), there isn't much reason to maximize your DPS.
For levelling content, a sure-fire plan is to focus exclusively on the Power stat, both on your talent tree and on your gear. Later on you can start fiddling with the various utility options until you find what works for you.
3) GW2 has no roles. Sort of. There are no tanks, people pull aggro left and right and its up to your group to evade or CC the opponents in order to minimize damage you all take. There are no healers, each person can heal themselves using their various class abilities.
That said, some classes are inherently tankier than others (Warriors and Guardians) and feel more like traditional tanks with the way they play, Guardians specifically. Also, some classes have a bit more healing, with AoE abilities that heal more than just themselves. Other classes have more CC/Utility and can use it to assist the entire party.
Mesmer is a DPS/CC/Utility focused class.
If you don't mind me asking, what server are you on?
i used to play gw1 but i dont get gw2
would having a SSD help?