(edited by Nuka.6701)
Ranged DPS class
Revenant Hammer is currently very stong as are Ranger and Guardian Longbow. I suggest he try those three out first and see what he thinks.
Surrender and serve me in life, or die and slave for me in death.
What game mode? Staff ele is probably the best ranged dps for pve.
Staff ele, hammer revenant, longbow ranger, and mesmer shatter are good. Dual pistol thief and rifle warrior are decent. Longbow guardian is good if you can make clever use of the longbow with traps. Necro isn’t very good for ranged damage compared to some of the others. Engineer grenades are pretty good too.
Give us more GW 1 weapon and armor skins, please. COPY/PASTE ALREADY!!!!
Dagger/Focus Ele does good condition damage and has decent range.
If you want more skill rotation go for Engi. You also have better range.
For open world PvE I suggest power builds since stuff usually dies quite fast. If you’re facing something a bit tougher I absolutely recommend a viper reaper with scepter/dagger. You never ever have to go in melee range with that build. It doesn’t utilize pewpew projectiles though so it might not suit that preference but it is a true ranged dps option.
Lahima basically nailed it.
But this game is designed to reward fetting in close to deal damage.
Hammer rev will deal much more damage getting in close and switching to sword.
DH guardian needs close range for traps, and GS.
Ranger is unique, they can deal max damage at long range, but a lot of their damage comes from the pet which ypu need to wait for it to go into melee range and also manage it.
Tempest Elementalist has a good consistant range damage and high AoE but if you go in close to overload you are rewarded with higher damage.
It’s pretty obviously a risk/reward setup by the devs.
Although Ranger with Longbow is probably what he’s looking for, definitely the easiest and safest playstyle.
Since elite Specializations aren’t available without HoT and before you hit 80, Dragonhunter won’t be his first choice since Vanilla Guardian is primarily Melee/Mid range Focused.
Ranger brings a Longbow, Max Range and high Burst Potential against single targets, with a good AoE skill in barrage.
Elementalist brings Staff, High DPS and a LOT of AoE damage, mixed with good support and CC.
Engineer brings Rifle or Pistols, Grenade spam/Mortar for AoE damage and loads of DoT through conditions.
Necromancer brings AoE DoT and CC with Staff, Steady mid-to-range DPS with Death Shroud, great Self-sustain and Wells for AoE Spiking.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |
Is he prepared to lose AoE in favour of high single target damage?
Does he want fast and furious run ‘n’ gun, where he’ll live or die (with a fair amount of the latter…) by his wits and reflexes?
Does pewpewpew mean hosing lots of hits in a short space of time?
Does he want to be able to do this very early on in the game (as opposed to getting something better that only comes much later)?
If the answer is ‘Yes’ to these, and he sticks to open world PvE, then P/P Thief certainly fits the bill. If the answer’s ‘No’ then he shouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.
It’s also worth mentioning that there will be a major balance patch in a month or so (we’re told…), so he might want to hold off until then, since who knows what’ll be the case after that?!