Guild Wars 2

First, I have a ton of experience using this weapon on ranger in both pvp and pve, so just because you use it in paids (I have too) doesn’t mean it is a very good weapon for a ranger (even berserker ranger). I’d like to see some changes made to make it more viable for all builds (while still leaning towards power builds) and give rangers a better reason to use it.

Skill 1: Leave it as is except give it 1500 range by default and/or give the ranger (and pet?) 1 stack of might for 3s per hit. With the perk, it can have 1800 giving the ranger the longest range in the game. I know that this may sound op, but honestly, the arrows are easy to dodge at 1200 (strafe), 1800 would be so simple that getting hit by just one arrow should make you want to commit suicide. Honestly, this also just plain makes sense. Why can somebody throw a grenade as far as as arrow from a longbow? Because it’s a fictional game? I guess that can explain why bullets disappear after 900-1200 units too. Anyway, the might would also be a nice compromise for an average damage auto attack that lacks any utility. With a range increase, the damage zones may need to be reworked as well.

Skill 2: Leave mostly as is but add random conditions (bleed, poison, confusion, and blind only) on 25% per hit for 5s duration each. In the description, add something about the ranger rapidly and randomly unloads all types of arrows in his/her arsenal. I still find fairly lackluster due to unpredictability, but at least there would be some form of condition damage on this weapon.

Skill 3: Same except make it unblockable.

Skill 4: Same.

Skill 5: Same except grants 5s fury to your pet on use (much like feeding frenzy to add some more pet synergy to this weapon).

I tried to make it as balanced as possible, tell me what you think. I know some will find skill 3 possibly op, but realize this skill does very little damage in the first place. Making it unblockable just feels right for a “hunter’s shot”.

These are some really good ideas, for skill 5 i was thinking maybe add to / instead of cripple we could have bleed or burn

Sabertooth.2374:

These are some really good ideas, for skill 5 i was thinking maybe add to / instead of cripple we could have bleed or burn

If they removed the cripple on skill 5 I’d be kitten haha. It’s my favorite ranger longbow ability because of the cc and damage.

While I do agree that longbow needs revisions, not all your revisions make sense. Longbow isn’t a condition weapon so random conditions would be weird and out of place. I do agree though, that ranger longbow should have a longer range by default. I was also thinking that skill 1 could possibly ignore armor if at max range, playing off of the ‘sniper’ aspect of the weapon.

jwaz.1908:

Sabertooth.2374:

These are some really good ideas, for skill 5 i was thinking maybe add to / instead of cripple we could have bleed or burn

If they removed the cripple on skill 5 I’d be kitten haha. It’s my favorite ranger longbow ability because of the cc and damage.

While I do agree that longbow needs revisions, not all your revisions make sense. Longbow isn’t a condition weapon so random conditions would be weird and out of place. I do agree though, that ranger longbow should have a longer range by default. I was also thinking that skill 1 could possibly ignore armor if at max range, playing off of the ‘sniper’ aspect of the weapon.

I can understand why you would say it doesn’t make sense at first, but to me, it would only seem appropriate for the ranger to be equipped with an assortment of arrows (think shortbow bleed and poison). I liked to think of this skill as a reckless ranger grabs arrows as fast as possible and fires not caring which is grabbed. Therefore, a chance at poison, bleed, blind (maybe an arrow with some kind of pouch that contains dust?), and confusion (simply being hit my a mass of arrows so fast might cause one to be confused, or crippled).

Ignoring armor would be terribly broken though. I have hit “naked” players before for well over 10k when not trying hard to get high numbers.

jwaz.1908:

Sabertooth.2374:

These are some really good ideas, for skill 5 i was thinking maybe add to / instead of cripple we could have bleed or burn

If they removed the cripple on skill 5 I’d be kitten haha. It’s my favorite ranger longbow ability because of the cc and damage.

While I do agree that longbow needs revisions, not all your revisions make sense. Longbow isn’t a condition weapon so random conditions would be weird and out of place. I do agree though, that ranger longbow should have a longer range by default. I was also thinking that skill 1 could possibly ignore armor if at max range, playing off of the ‘sniper’ aspect of the weapon.

I agree. Adding a condition to the longbow doesn’t exactly seem right. Now adding a cripple to skill 2 would seem to sync better, esp with an unblockable hunter’s shot. Would be nice to hit them with a Vulnerability, then pop skill 2 for a quick burst/cripple.

Skill 1 needs to have an actual point. Right now its mechanic is that it’s stupidly easy to dodge at max range and stupidly weak at non-max range. Some might stacking would be nice.

Skill 2 just needs… something. I don’t think conditions are it – unless that condition is weakness or cripple. The big problem with Rapid Fire is that it’s just too easy to make useless through a dodge.

I think Skill 5 could use some projectile finishing on it – perhaps have each arrow be a small projectile finisher.

Duke Blackrose.4981:

Skill 2 just needs… something. I don’t think conditions are it – unless that condition is weakness or cripple. The big problem with Rapid Fire is that it’s just too easy to make useless through a dodge.

I think Skill 5 could use some projectile finishing on it – perhaps have each arrow be a small projectile finisher.

When I use skill 2, i make absolutely sure that they are stunned/feared/knocked down/no endurance. Currently,this skill is more about timing (which I am not against). Wait until your opponent rolls twice, cc and burst. I just feel that some random conditions would be a nice addition.
The way skill 5 works, I would assume that making it a projectile finisher is impossible, but I was thinking that it should cure conditions on allies once every 4 ticks (12 total, so 3 conditions). Adding bleeds would be interesting, but this skill already does pretty high damage and aoe cripple fields+bleeds are just too common imo.

i love the pet synergy/1800 range ideas… but the random conditions doesnt seem right…

So once again it appear that people have issues with a power in PvP and mean to redesign it regardless of its effects elsewhere…

Personally I’m happy with Longbow as it is. The only thing I’d like to change is to make Rapid Shot function like flamethrower, so that it fires out in front of me where I’m looking instead of exclusively at a line where my target is. If my target dies before it finishes the rest of the arrows are useless, and if I use the power but for some reason no one gets targetted I shoot the whole thing into the dirt at my feet. I want to be able to spray it where I like, when I like, rather than be dictated where it can go.

Kal Spiro.9745:

So once again it appear that people have issues with a power in PvP and mean to redesign it regardless of its effects elsewhere…

Personally I’m happy with Longbow as it is. The only thing I’d like to change is to make Rapid Shot function like flamethrower, so that it fires out in front of me where I’m looking instead of exclusively at a line where my target is. If my target dies before it finishes the rest of the arrows are useless, and if I use the power but for some reason no one gets targetted I shoot the whole thing into the dirt at my feet. I want to be able to spray it where I like, when I like, rather than be dictated where it can go.

Well, separate balance exists for a reason. If it’s bad in PvP – buff it in PvP.

Oh and….. that’s what he said.

The only skills I wish was changed was 1 and 2. Increase the highest dmg Rapid Fire can acheive however it would come at a cost.

Each consecutive hit deals additional dmg(small increase). So the starting dmg would be lower but for each hit you get the dmg is increased for that skill (like an internal skill buff). It would count up towards 10 (max) and if you managed to get the full 10 hits off, it would do more dmg than 10 currently does assuming all the same factors(crit chance, crit dmg, might). Essentially this would be stronger for people who can get the full channel off but require a bit more skill to prevent weaker dmg.

If you miss any hits, the counter for the skill simply doesnt go up. So if you hit 6 hits in a row, then miss the 7 the counter is still at 6 for increased dmg and if you hit the 8th arrow it is at 7, etc etc. Also the counter only effects the skill, no other sorce of dmg from you.

It’s better than simply adding a cond or buffing the current dmg on it imo. Would take more skill but pay off well if you can work with it.

1 just needs more dmg at further ranges. Perhaps for traiting into LB (1500 range) there should be an added description into the lb basic attack that does bonus dmg when you exceed 1200 range. The basic attack on lb for ranger compared to sb on ranger is really weak dmg because of how fast the sb is and the skills take very short time to shoot off. The lb should have more range base but if thats not gana happen (probably won’t) then it should have much harder hits for playing long ranged combat. sb just pays off soo much better for how quick it is and the daze/dodge/cripple instant cast. LB should fullfill that long range support/dmg better than it does now.

NinjaEd.3946:

The only skills I wish was changed was 2. Increase the highest dmg it can acheive however it would come at a cost.

Each consecutive hit deals additional dmg(small increase). So the starting dmg would be lower but for each hit you get the dmg is increased for that skill (like an internal skill buff). It would count up towards 10 (max) and if you managed to get the full 10 hits off, it would do more dmg than 10 currently does assuming all the same factors(crit chance, crit dmg, might). Essentially this would be stronger for people who can get the full channel off but require a bit more skill to prevent weaker dmg.

If you miss any hits, the counter for the skill simply doesnt go up. So if you hit 6 hits in a row, then miss the 7 the counter is still at 6 for increased dmg and if you hit the 8th arrow it is at 7, etc etc. Also the counter only effects the skill, no other sorce of dmg from you.

It’s better than simply adding a cond or buffing the current dmg on it imo. Would take more skill but pay off well if you can work with it.

You realize that it already works this way, right? It always starts off weak and wracks up in damage based on consecutive successful hits. All you did is improve it – because with the current system a missed arrow (or an arrow that gets blocked by a different target) at any point will screw your damage.

Eh, skill 2 doesn’t increase in damage per hit. It’s a channeling skill that gives you the total numbers as they add up on the target. The last number you get is the sum damage of all the arrows, not the last arrow fired. If you miss one arrow, the tally merely resets.

Obsidian.1328:

Eh, skill 2 doesn’t increase in damage per hit. It’s a channeling skill that gives you the total numbers as they add up on the target. The last number you get is the sum damage of all the arrows, not the last arrow fired. If you miss one arrow, the tally merely resets.

Concidering that isn’t how damage presentation works in the game, you are wrong.

Kal Spiro.9745:

Obsidian.1328:

Eh, skill 2 doesn’t increase in damage per hit. It’s a channeling skill that gives you the total numbers as they add up on the target. The last number you get is the sum damage of all the arrows, not the last arrow fired. If you miss one arrow, the tally merely resets.

Concidering that isn’t how damage presentation works in the game, you are wrong.

you are wrong. obsidian is correct; the damage shown at the final hit is the damage of the whole skill. i cant believe people dont notice how much damage their attacks do outside of numbers thrown in their face, if each arrow did the damage shown when it hits things would die alot quicker

All I want from Ranger Longbow is faster firing speed (the weapon actually fires much slower than it should according to whats listed in the description, I believe) and a less harsh close-range penalty on the basic 1 shot. And I don’t even know if the later would be nessicary if it was firing as fast as its supposed to, that alone would probably make a huge difference.

I find all of the other attacks perfectly fine. Though I wouldn’t say no to more pet synergy (even though the 10 vulnerability shot is already get pet synergy as it is, thats a 10% damage boost after all).

Linguistically Inept.6583:

Kal Spiro.9745:

Obsidian.1328:

Eh, skill 2 doesn’t increase in damage per hit. It’s a channeling skill that gives you the total numbers as they add up on the target. The last number you get is the sum damage of all the arrows, not the last arrow fired. If you miss one arrow, the tally merely resets.

Concidering that isn’t how damage presentation works in the game, you are wrong.

you are wrong. obsidian is correct; the damage shown at the final hit is the damage of the whole skill. i cant believe people dont notice how much damage their attacks do outside of numbers thrown in their face, if each arrow did the damage shown when it hits things would die alot quicker

In my experience, they do.