Guild Wars 2

Hello all,

Before I’ll continue over this topic, I want to say that English is not my main language.
Therefore, I’m sorry if this text isn’t fully correct and because of that, hardly understandable at some parts. However, I’m sure you’ll understand it fine.

From Guildwars2wiki we can see at ‘upcoming features and updates’ that there’ll be new unlockable skills and traits. If my idea is similar to any of this upcoming features, I’m sorry. In the case that happens, I don’t deserve any credit.

Before I’ll start over this idea, I want to do a short talk about the ranged weapons of the Ranger. Also, I’m not an expert, so please forgive me if I say something wrong here.

Longbow: This weapon is nice in damage and range, but in close fights, Long Range Shot falls a little bit off. In PvE this isn’t really a problem. However, in PvP it is hard to keep range against a mobile melee attacker. The main damage seems to come from Rapid Fire, which makes Long Range Shot hardly noticeable.

Shortbow: Nice skirmishing weapon which relies on positioning. In PvE this isn’t hard because they mostly attack your pet first, but in PvP, the only way to really hit from the side or behind them, is immobilize. This isn’t always available, or ensured to last/hit.
The shortbow also has a nice mobility, but it has in my opinion too few ensured conditions to make a condition build out of it (like rabid, rampager’s,…) And too many to make a non-condition build out of it (like berserker’s, assassin’s,…)

Axe: I haven’t used this too often, but I guess Rampager’s works really well with it. However, although Winter’s Bite is good to disable cooldown timers & weakness helps against endurance regeneration and damage, and Splitblade is really effective from close range, Ricochet is, like in the case of the longbow at close range, rather weak all the time, unless it can bounce back to your target. Despite the fact it can bounce back, it is still medium damage.

So my idea is the following: make the dagger available as main hand weapon for the ranger. The Necromancer and the Thief already use this as a melee weapon, although some skills have some range like Life Siphon. The Elementalist rather uses it as a cast weapon. For the Ranger I’d say, make it a throw weapon! It is focussing mainly on brute, single-targeted damage.

This are the skills I’ve in mind:
Weapon Skill 1: Throw Barb —> Throw Spike --> Hurl Thorn
Throw Barb: This would be a slightly above medium damage projectile that hits the target or the first foe it hits. It also applies 1 stack of vulnerability. 900 range.
Throw Spike: A little bit more damage as Throw Barb, and applies 2 stacks of vulnerability instead of 1. Hits the target or the first foe it hits. 900 range.
Hurl Thorn: As the end of this chain, a giant thorn is hurled at the target, dealing huge damage, but applying no single condition. Hits the target or the first foe it hits. 900 range.

Weapon Skill 2: Devourer Dart
Devourer Dart: This projectile has the same damage as Throw Barb, and has 8 seconds of cooldown. Once it hit the target, it applies cripple for 3 seconds. When cast, your pet gains a buff which makes your pet’s next attack apply poison for 6 seconds. Hits the target or the first foe it hits. 900 range.

Weapon Skill 3: Firefly Retreat —> Dolyak’s Assault
Firefly Retreat: When activated, it throws a blinding projectile at the target or the first foe it hits. When it is thrown, you roll backward in stealth for 3 seconds. 900 range.
Dolyak’s Assault: This skill can only be used within 3 seconds after using Firefly Retreat. Once activated, you hurl a medium damaging projectile which pushes the target or the first foe it hits back by 450 range. 900 range. 16 Seconds of cooldown.

So that was my personal idea for the Ranger: hurling daggers.
If this idea or anything similar comes out, I also have some traits in mind.
Things like this (not too original):
Sharpened Thorns: Dagger skills do 5% extra damage,
Penetrating Knives: Dagger skills pierce (doesn’t affect Stalker’s Strike, the first weapon skill of the off-hand dagger),
Splinter Impact: When wielding a dagger in your main hand, your dagger skills splinter dealing damage to foes near the impact location for x% of the damage dealt.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my article, and hopefully (in my opinion) this will be added to the game.

i like to have the dagger for the ranger, just let Anet do the skills ok.

Those skills were just meant to help, but i’m sure Anet can make it better, if it comes out.

I would’ve thought a m/h dagger, on a wilds roamer like a ranger, would’ve been a better conceived idea than that of a sword. It’s a wonder it’s never been implemented before.
I know your ideas on skills are only a personal view on what could be useful but daggers piercing or splintering? – that just doesn’t make sense.

You could be right, but piercing already excists for arrows & rifles. As I said, it is a brute single-target damaging weapon as main focus. The ‘Brute’ part could imply that with that trait, the daggers are thrown at such force they pierce. Although I meant with the idea about splintering that this percentage is low, there’s a high chance that the idea about splintering daggers is a bit… strange.

Make Whips a weapon!

I’ve to agree a whip like used by some sylvari in the Nightmare Court, is a nice idea as a new weapon. For now, I try to do suggestions about excisting weapons that aren’t used by some professions. I also have a suggestion for a new profession in mind..

a whip would also fit the necro……better keep it to the ranger dagger for now.

True. Sounds a little sadistic and just fits the necro that way! Although I can hardly imagine if they would add it, it will be only for the necro.