Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, im just getting back into GW2 after a very long break. i played ele and thief back then and would like something new.

Im wondering or stuck between warrior or ranger.. When i played ranger was a lolable class and got kicked from groups.

Warrior sounds cool as something different.
Also necro and mesmer sound good too haha

Just wondering if anyone could give some pros or cons of these classes?

EDIT
im more interested in PVE not pvp

Despite QQ’s about Warrior’s pvp performance its still a top tier PVE class.

Ranger has higher pvp potential but Anet loves to slap it with unwarranted nerfs that can affect its PVE performance (which isn’t that great unless you fill a niche like healer Druid, especially compared to Warrior).

Unless you love Ranger for its flavor as a beastmaster/bowman and some of its unique aspects I would steer clear.

Both classes perform reasonably well in PvE, with the warrior having the edge when it comes to dungeons, fractals or raids. It’s easy to run solo with both classes in new and old content alike and with the pet management not being as horrible as it once was you’ll get the job done easily most of the time.

Warrior:
While it’s not easy to shine with the berserker specialization (or the warrior in general) in a PvP environment, it helps you to rack up damage multipliers in PvE which results in reasonably high dps with a skill rotation that is neither overly complicated nor static. Once you’re getting used to use activate all multipliers and keeping them up as long as possible, you can pretty much move around as you feel like without losing a significant amount of dps which makes playing on the new maps or fighting bosses with a pick up group bearable.
Furthermore your weapon collection is actually useful at least if you play on the HoT maps: Apart from some hero point champions there is no opponent you cannot kill without having much trouble, even the more annoying ones can be dealt with easily if you’re willing to swap in some weapons you wouldn’t normally pick.
You can adapt to many situations: If you want to be useful for a group, grab your greatsword, use a phalanx strength build and some banners and you’ll be welcome even in raid teams. If a metric ton of CC is needed: Just take the right weapons or even CC skills and stunlock everything your comrades need you to. If you want to run around solo: Swap some skills to buff yourself instead of others and you’re good to go.
You can take more punishment than most other classes and get away with mistakes more easily because of that.

The downside is that you’ll rarely be able shine as a warrior. You’ll get the job done and once you’re used to it you’ll do so reliably which is good but not exiting. You can pretty much pick this class even if you’re tired and you’ll still perform reasonably well most of the time. Again, that’s not a bad thing, but if you want to feel like a real kitten apart from charging right into the fray, the class might not be the right choice for you.

Ranger:
Ugh. I like the class even though I probably shouldn’t, especially in PvE. To cut a long story short: Play a sword spirit spotter build with sword/axe and longbow, don’t kick opponents out of melee range with point blank shot and your comrades won’t hate you. They will most likely not love you, either, spotter is a nice group buff and a frost spirit always comes in handy, but in general you’re not the best supporter the game has to offer.
The problem is: You’re not the best damage dealer, either. Once you’re used to the sword dancing, you’ll get along, but as somebody who used to play ele and thief you’ll definitely miss the feeling of blasting opponents to hell and back after putting so much effort into your damage rotation.
As a druid you have a niche role as a healer/dd, but don’t expect to be sought after in raid groups or dungeons.

On the other hand: Running solo even through the ‘tougher’ parts of the HoT maps is a breeze. Once you’re good at the sword dancing you can make some nice plays and being able to swap to the longbow, one of the better ranged options of the game, gives you pretty much everything you’ll ever need.

Nevertheless, you’ll play ranger because you like it or you’ll not do it at all in PvE. When it comes to efficiency, warrior is your best bet.

Guardian

15 characters.

roamzero.9486:

Despite QQ’s about Warrior’s pvp performance its still a top tier PVE class.

Ranger has higher pvp potential but Anet loves to slap it with unwarranted nerfs that can affect its PVE performance (which isn’t that great unless you fill a niche like healer Druid, especially compared to Warrior).

Unless you love Ranger for its flavor as a beastmaster/bowman and some of its unique aspects I would steer clear.

I believe condi ranger is 2nd highest condi DPS option in the game. They’ve become quite useful.

I run ranger primarily with longbow. its a great class with high mobility when you put speed on it. as long as you’re good at kiting and stay on the move you can do quite a lot with it. Druid is very good, I can heal through any fight.
I like to run nature magic and skirmish with the druid and mixxed berzerker and cleric gear set for steady damage output + healing.
with that said it can be hard to keep a ranger standing if you get overwhelmed with mobs. The kiting is great in good open places but can be a serious hindrance in smaller locals with tightly placed mobs. Standing still gets you killed.