Guild Wars 2

Just a quick question guys,

Love my Ranger in casual spvp and wvw roaming, it’s great fun. I’m debating whether it’s worth getting into dungeons on it. Atm it’s just a level 1 I queue Spvp with for easy tomes etc… Is there still a hate towards rangers in dungeons? Or is it that typical pet hate stereotype?

Do we bring much to a group outside of the spirit? Like damage or group utility? I’ve no idea if our damage is good or not all I know is sa lb seems to be the best combo to go with, however reading brazils yt vids it seems Condi builds are the new meta?

I’d love to hear any feedback!

Ranger is good in dungeon since september 2014 and it’s better since the last trait patch. Ranger is around the 4th best dps and bring Spotter and Frost Spirit to the team. It’s new view as a meta profession for record run, but it’s more than good for speed run or pugs run.

That’s awesome to hear. The class is such a joy to play I’m glad I can happily grind it to 80 now, that’s made me happy! All that’s left is to decide whether asura or human make the better looking rangers is the s/a lb spotter build still best?

As I understand it, S/A + LB is best single target, S/A + GS is solid defensively and both of these have the added benefit of reflect utility with axe5. However, best damage is Condi Axe/Torch (staggered such that you can swap back and forth within same combo). Spotter and Frost spirit in all 3.

And of course it’s Asura

Is there a link for the Condi build? How is it fairing against other classes in similar position? Definitely need to level up and try it out

http://www.dtguilds.com/forum/m/6563292/viewthread/23410216-dnt-condition-ranger-build-guide-for-62315

Full build guide.

If I understand correctly it’s easy top 3 condi builds, best being Engi, ranger/guard taking other slots (not sure which is higher and when)

Ranger wins out in cleave and stationary/immobilized targets. Guard is better against single, moving target. However, no matter the builds, reflect still surpasses both as an offensive and defensive mechanism. So don’t forget to slot another axe offhand when reflect matters.

Awesome I’ll look into this. I’ve never fully tried pve so I’ve no idea what to expect or what classes I’m better off trying it with. Lately I’ve focused on playing my ranger, warrior, engi and necro, assuming all of those are fine for dungeons and fractals

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Is there a link for the Condi build? How is it fairing against other classes in similar position? Definitely need to level up and try it out

this is the build i have been using excellent damage ,survival, and gets downed party members up super quick http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQRBMfdG2IlK0wiFsg/KQ1iBMhyX8F4x/bYyj8eZ70AoipqA-TRSAwAaUCGb/hAnAgc6HgY+DwRA4qyPkq/45hAQKAIWDA-e

I tried direct damage, hybrid, and condi’s on Fractals 50. No problem, they all work well. We have great damage and utility now. I did find the conditions only build a tad weak against the fire shaman and his little wurmies.

Awesome that’s good to hear!! Loving ranger and engi so happy to hear they both are viable in PvP and pve

I’m a little confused on the dnt condi build so I have axe I. mainhand then nothing in offhand, then in my other slot I have nothing mainhand and torch offhand?. Is that right? If so why is it done like that..?

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I’m a little confused on the dnt condi build so I have axe I. mainhand then nothing in offhand, then in my other slot I have nothing mainhand and torch offhand?. Is that right? If so why is it done like that..?

So you can use weapon swap without needing 2 torches.

They’re fine in dungeons, but they have a bad reputation be cause of the immense amount of Bearbows running around.

The number of bearbow have greatly reduced in the last year. Now I see more staff guardian than Bearbow Ranger.

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I’m a little confused on the dnt condi build so I have axe I. mainhand then nothing in offhand, then in my other slot I have nothing mainhand and torch offhand?. Is that right? If so why is it done like that..?

You have 2 axe mainhands and 1 torch offhand. If a weapon slot is empty on a weapon set, it automatically inherits the offhand/mainhand from your other weapon set. You can accomplish the same thing by having 2 torch offhands and 1 axe mainhand.

Ah I see so axe torch first set then just axe in second set and it’ll act like I have a torch there. Is there any downside to this? Less stats or whatever?

You can do the swap with 1 axe and 1 torch. Put the axe in the MH of the first slot and the torch in the OH of the 2nd slot.

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Ah I see so axe torch first set then just axe in second set and it’ll act like I have a torch there. Is there any downside to this? Less stats or whatever?

Do it like this and you won’t have to get 2nd axe or torch and can still use weapon swap as normal.

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Ah I see so axe torch first set then just axe in second set and it’ll act like I have a torch there. Is there any downside to this? Less stats or whatever?

No downsides, just requires less crafting definitely the upside for ascended crafting. And you’ll want to split them as taku showed to only need 2 weapons.

One downside, swapping in other weapons for certain skills (warhorn) you can accidentally slot it in with your axe then you have to go pull it out… aside from that no downside. (I just find that a bit annoying). Easily avoidable by using hero’s panel to swap though, just I usually used inventory in the past.

Sweet thanks for the replies guys this is just making ranger sound more enjoyable hahaha. I did try some 80 content on my engineer but I just couldn’t get settled on it, ranger looks a little less tedious but a lot more fun, and having the pets for solo is awesome too. Definitely grinding to 80 and trying this out. Only PITA is getting the gear when I have no gold and no guilds LOL! And I spend all day on spvp grinding tomes doh

Everything is less tedious than an Engi

Though I find the condi build to be quite active with pet management, instant weapon swaps off cooldown and keeping your utilities rolling. Much more fun than the jump around but don’t do much sword stuff (ok I just have a bias against sword cause I can’t handle it).

Yeah the sword build looked very boring, this looks much more interactive, constant pet and weapon swapping, sounds good!

In dungeons rangers are not greatly loved. Somethings you can:

-before a fight: do torch for firefield, then warhorn to blast it + give fury. Other people will start blasting too usually. If an ele is putting down a firefield don’t bother putting down your own
-your initial longbow burst + opening strike is fantastic for stacking vulnerability. If an ele is casting lightning storm then this isn’t too important. But if your group is vulnerability deficient its a solid combo.
-frost spirit and spotter use to be the way to go before the trait rework. I am not up to date on whether it is still good, but typically group buffs are well received and worth it.

You will probably run into some people that hate on rangers (and necro too probably). But if your just gonna join an unorganized group, chances are running full zerker will put you above average on dps.

Something to note, and I am not pro, so the more experienced players here may not agree, but I love having a ranger in my fractals. Fractal bosses are usually a bit tougher and require some more strategy. The strategies involving a bear are very nice, very easy to use successfully. If you don’t have an ele summoning a rock ele, that bear is a life saver. Get behind the boss, and let the boss face the bear. haha.

Plus the huge morale boost when we see the bear bouncing from cc in snowblind etc.

thrag.9740:

-before a fight: do torch for firefield, then warhorn to blast it + give fury. Other people will start blasting too usually. If an ele is putting down a firefield don’t bother putting down your own
-your initial longbow burst + opening strike is fantastic for stacking vulnerability. If an ele is casting lightning storm then this isn’t too important. But if your group is vulnerability deficient its a solid combo.
-frost spirit and spotter use to be the way to go before the trait rework. I am not up to date on whether it is still good, but typically group buffs are well received and worth it.

frost spirit sun spirit and spotter for groups

you can put on longbow, start the channel for rapid fire and equip your axe or warhorn quickly and you get the 15 burst vuln from RF + OS while still being on your condi weapon sets.

you can also swap in red moa for extra fury before fights if you lack an ele/your ele lacks persisting flames

The amount of delusion

Was gonna ask that, what are the blast field combos for ranger? Like which ones can I do? Loving ranger whether people hate it or not, I enjoy the he’ll outta it

For Blast you have pet swap in combat if traited, and warhorn.

For fields you have Water Field on a heal, Fire from torch. Fire from Flame Trap, Ice from Frost Trap, Poison from Viper’s Nest,

And smoke field from a jellyfish! >:o

Sounds interesting. I’ll be honest I have No idea about fields etc I literally just farm Spvp unranked and randomly craft or pve Lmao I’ve never actually looked into the fields so I’ve honestly no idea Wtf is what, which explains why me playing Ele is a free kill to anyone including an auto attacking rangers pet. Sticking to engi and ranger so I can figure this all out

Engi you should be utilizing a lot of combo fields as well (if you’re in certain builds that is, HGH you can stick to elixir heal). Healing turret combos with itself with water field and detonate. Then fire field stuff and what not. Stealth is big too.

Engineer rotation actually looks like it is going to blow my brains the rotation is like 50 stages long I get lost after number 10 LOL… Ranger seems much simpler and more enjoyable. I’ll stick to engi in just pvp

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Engineer rotation actually looks like it is going to blow my brains the rotation is like 50 stages long I get lost after number 10 LOL… Ranger seems much simpler and more enjoyable. I’ll stick to engi in just pvp

:D, yeah running perfect rotation is tough. In general you just learn the timings of your big hitters and work them in as their available. A dodge will eat a slot in your rotation, so you do have to adapt and such still. So even perfect play you’re not running an ideal rotation. It’s something you just get the hang of over time. But, anyways, yeah ranger is a bit more simple, still very active with the condi rotation though, and the power rotation still takes a great deal of attention and precision especially with that wonky sword attack.

Yeah for sure. I’m going to rock ranger as a main for pve etc and have the engi as a fun alternative with others. Ranger just seems so easy for solo pve also when the pet can tank all haha. Just an easier more relaxing life LOL and its fun also, Condi more so than power.

I still prefer the berserker over the condi build but i guess that is because i got used to it.
There are some things you can do as a ranger, SlyDevil already mentioned some.

Furthermore can you precast Longbow 5 and then quickly swap to other weapons for some extra dps.
You can 1 shoot Lupi. :^)
You can kite Mai Trin with Bears + Tonicswap.
With S/D you have tons of evades.
You have access to a lot of different utilities/buffs/debuffs through your pets.

Hope that helped you a bit!

ProtoGunner.4953:

They’re fine in dungeons, but they have a bad reputation be cause of the immense amount of Bearbows running around.

No, not just Bearbows, just bad players period.

Love the help thanks guys almost level 80 this is getting pretty kitten fun, having a lot of fun it’s definitely a good choice to play

The problem I have is: Every time I play my ranger in a bad or mediocre group, I feel like I’m not contributing anything to help the group suck less.

And every time I play my ranger in a good group, I feel like I’m being carried.

I’d honestly play my guardian more if I could figure out how to not suck at playing guardian.

No one can carry like a guard, and guard keeps people alive far better. But a well timed axe 5 on ranger can do a lot, and your additions to DPS aren’t bad. I wouldn’t call them a carry any more than I would a warrior. You aren’t the key elements making it easy, but you are contributing.

Quarktastic.1027:

The problem I have is: Every time I play my ranger in a bad or mediocre group, I feel like I’m not contributing anything to help the group suck less.

And every time I play my ranger in a good group, I feel like I’m being carried.

I’d honestly play my guardian more if I could figure out how to not suck at playing guardian.

Funny, do you give your group fury? Do you give Vuln? Do you give both Vuln and Fury whenever your guard and/or mesmer use their WoR or Feedback at Lupi? Do you know you alone can gives them 15 vuln, aka. 15% more reflect damage?

Have you tried to burst CoF console? Brie? reflecting Legendary Jotun? Have you tried to manage defiance without a thief? Have you tried kiting Mai Trin?

Yup Ranger is great at Vulnerability, Fury, Spotter, Frostspirit. With all that you boost your team damage by a good margin. You do youself a great deal of dps.

Every little things count. In my group of friends, we have the DPS meters, and open the Combat log to observe our performance. As soon as you start questioning yourself: how to get an even bigger number, a better buff uptime, a smoother no-damage-taken encounter, a safer rotation, a better but riskier rotation, a confidence to say “I will not die as a ranger. Ever.” (- Jerem) and a confidence to carry… you are learning a lot in the course of becoming a great player.

People here can give you tips, but only after you know what needs to be done to improve your performance. Don’t sell what you like short, just yet. Unless you are Gabo. At his level of skills. But that is another story /o\

Footnote: Jerem is the first person who inspires me to play a ranger with his overflowing confidence and exquisite Subject Alpha solo (at that time). Lorek and Cell show that rangers have many tools of trade and they make it fun soloing Arah as a ranger. Langrim always amazes me with his crafty play; he can burst down CoF gate and Brie in 3 seconds and make every meta tryhards to eat their words.

Iris Ng.9845:

Quarktastic.1027:

The problem I have is: Every time I play my ranger in a bad or mediocre group, I feel like I’m not contributing anything to help the group suck less.

And every time I play my ranger in a good group, I feel like I’m being carried.

I’d honestly play my guardian more if I could figure out how to not suck at playing guardian.

Funny, do you give your group fury? Do you give Vuln? Do you give both Vuln and Fury whenever your guard and/or mesmer use their WoR or Feedback at Lupi? Do you know you alone can gives them 15 vuln, aka. 15% more reflect damage?

Have you tried to burst CoF console? Brie? reflecting Legendary Jotun? Have you tried to manage defiance without a thief? Have you tried kiting Mai Trin?

I run a remorseless build, so yeah, lots of fury/vulnerability. Never tried bursting the console in CoF. I haven’t done an arah path (aside from P4) in over 2 years. I suppose I could manage defiance without a thief fairly easily…and I suck horribly at fighting Mai Trin.

Maybe it’s the negative ranger stigma that’s giving me that “grass is always greener” feeling.

Naw, the grass is greener, in that there are professions that have a bigger impact on a group. Look at guard/mesmer/ele/warrior, guard/mesmer reflect up time trivializes so much and a well timed aegis or intelligently placed portal, /swoon. Ele has all the tricks/tools you could ever need, and warrior is a walking buff bot. But, even so, doesn’t mean other professions can’t do stuff still.

Ranger is alright, other classes are just better at anything the ranger can do. The problem lies as well with a pet that is made of wet tissue if you’re not running a drake, the pets outside drakes don’t cleave. The pets do not upgrade stats based on acquiring ascended gear, they do not benefit from food, or runes, or sigils.

Rangers is just a less mediocre necromancer. People say the same thing with necromancer— that it completes content perfectly fine— but the fact is necromancer also doesn’t excel at anything. So when you have classes that excel at nothing, that come with a good amount of inconvenience (pets and 1h sword for ranger, lack of active defenses for necromancer), and you stack them next to a class that brings 5 stat boosting auras (banners), can stack perma 25 might on the group and does more damage than a ranger, there are issues.

Just play what class you want to play. You may get kicked constantly on PuG’s or find a barrage of LFG’s asking for only ele/guard/warrior, but you can still get runs for all content on any class if you’re patient.