Guild Wars 2

I’ve been playing GW2 since October 2012, and while I’ve got some characters at level 80, I’m still quite clearly a new person to how it all works.

On one hand, this is good. It should tell brand new people that you can blunder your way to level 80, which is just about what I did (note: crafting helps a lot)

What I’m trying to improve now is my overall game play. I am not viable in dungeons and fractals due to some limitations which I need help getting around. I also have questions about WvW.

First, my overall gameplay and PvE/dungeons/fractals.
I haven’t had the gold to spring for exotic armor and weapons yet on my two level 80 characters, but I noticed well before I hit level 80 that there was a problem with both of them (one is a bow/bow ranger, the other is a hammer/rifle warrior).
The problem I’m seeing is that it seems to take me twice as long to kill an appropriate level creature as it does for others. With my warrior, I feel like I take more damage than I should as well. With my ranger, it’s likely just because I’m good at kiting and switching out pets.
What sort of problem areas should I look for with the characters or my play style to try and figure out where these issues come from?

As for WvW, the above problems tend to roll into that, but the primary result is that I’m more useful at a mortar or treb than I am at the front lines. I die quite quickly. Again, in those rare 1v1 fights, I’ve always lost feeling like I was doing no damage at all. The class of the opponent didn’t seem to matter, as there have been a number I’ve gone against.
What playstyle skills are the most important to dealing with small PvP group fights? Using skills in specific sequences? Ability to move/dodge really well? (if the answer is “all of them”, then what should I start with practicing?)

first off i would say try test out some diffrent builds so you can find one that suits your style and then i surgest learning what to dodge and when(some skills you need to dodge and others you need to walk out of and stuff like that)

but all the dodging and skill use should be alot easyer to learn if you find a build that suits you as some builds can take a lot of hits and others can not and there is also a diffrent in damage so it all depends on how you build the toon

The problem I’m seeing is that it seems to take me twice as long to kill an appropriate level creature as it does for others.

This is less to do with the quality of gear you have (assuming you have at least level 80 throughout), but more of attribute set afforded by the equipment you have. So if your equipment’s attribute bonuses are not focused or does not directly benefit the damage output of your weapon or build (e.g. Toughness, Healing Power, etc.), the rate of which you defeat an enemy will of course be much slower than others who are better equipped.

In regards to high-level equipment like Exotics, the cheapest way to obtain them is by running Explorable Mode Dungeons and collect the relevant tokens you need for your items. For your ranger, I would suggest Citadel of Flame (aka COF) and Crucible of Eternity (COE) to get equipment that give you Power, Precision and Critical Damage. Backpiece, accessories and rings that give similar attributes can be crafted or bought from the Black Lion Trading Post (aka TP), or if you have the requisite Laurels, the Laurel Vendor will reward you with Ascended quality trinkets.

However, your character’s attributes are not the be-all-end-all that determines how well you contribute to your party’s progress through a dungeon or fractal. Your own knowledge of a profession’s capabilities will be the core of what separates you from the chaff.

I have never taken a Ranger of my own to level 80, but here are a few things I always look for from party members of the profession:

1. Knowing when to set your character’s pet on Aggressive and Passive and when to stow the pet.

2. Knowing when to use the Longbow, and when the Shortbow is superior for damage (i.e. Rapid Fire and Barrage with Longbow before switching to Shortbow’s autoattack when fighting in close quarters; where able, reposition to maximum range with the Longbow)

3. Healing Spring plxkthxbai

4. Doing your best to switch pets before they are Downed.

First of all:

1. If you want fast damage, hammer is not the best choice. Hammer is more about crowd control and a warrior with greatsword is most likely going to dish out a lot more damage in a rapid burst. You have to understand that many of those fast-damaging GS warriors are glass cannons and lack the crowd control hammer offers. They also die very easily. Hammer + rifle is a solid combination for WvWvW, but I recommend it for running in a group. Warrior is not that great for roaming alone in WvWvW. Yes, I do it all the time with dual sword warrior, going alone to places like I did last night (and didn’t die a single time), but I am a crazy player. Rangers were never about fast burst, but they have the superior 1500 range with longbow and harpoon gun with “eagle eye” master trait. Rangers are very good underwater and perhaps you should try underwater combat in the Borderlands of WvWvW.

2. You can purchase an exotic set from the temples of Orr using karma. I recommend the complete Lyssa set for warrior from Cathedral of Eternal Radiance at Malchor’s Leap. The complete 6 armor set costs about 240k karma points. If you don’t have that much karma, do a lot of group events and tag along with the zerg in WvWvW, plus always complete your dailies. Doing a daily should give you 5k karma. In roughly 1 month you should have enough karma for full exotic armor set. Rares are almost as good as exotic. The stat composition (power, vitality, precision etc) matters more than few points of difference in amount of thoughness etc You can buy rare jewelry as cheap as 3 silver from the Black Lion Trading Post. Rare level 78-80 weapons also sell very cheap. So get your rare set now, don’t wait for exotic.

3. Make an engineer and play it to level 80 with soloing the pve content and completing the personal story (except last mission Victory or death where you need a group). Why? After playing all 8 professions I would say engineer is the most difficult and also among the most versatile. Try out of the different kits, traits and so on. It will teach you to be more creative and become a better player. Warrior and ranger are so easy professions that you can pretty much mash the buttons to get past the content, but with engineer you need to learn the game.

Also my profession selection guide has good hints what utility skills to choose for each profession:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/Profession-Selection-Guide/first#post1545673

Neural.1824:

… With my warrior, I feel like I take more damage than I should as well…

from your description it seems like you have problems with character control and positioning, not the build or gear.
gw2 defense is about not getting hit.
how is you character moving while performing attacks? most attacks can be performed while moving. if you are standing still, then you are sandbag for other players, and they can circle you to avoid some of your attacks.

how are you control keys binded? hopefully not default ones.

do you use strife sideways buttons?
is your dodge key comfortable?

Neural.1824:

…then what should I start with practicing?…

walking sideways lvl beginner:
find some lowbie drakes (e.g. in queensdale) practice not getting hit by their uber slow fire breath attack without killing them. doesn’t count if you use dodge, run away, or aggro less then 3 at a time.

when you pass this try smth else.. like uhm.. ettins maybe… then at some points you can start practicing that with ‘alive’ players

I appreciate the advice.
I do dodge and move, just probably not as much as I should I guess. It makes sense that in PvP just strafing and moving can help decrease damage.

As for exotics, I should be able to afford the exotic armor set from Orr. I’ve been saving karma jugs (from map completiones, etc.) off of 7characters for just such an occasion.

I will look into he GS as a weapon for my warrior. I tried dual axe, which some people have suggested, but I suppose I’m being a little stubborn with the hammer thing. I went from 0 to 80 with the hammer, was just hoping that there was a way to avoid getting rid of it. I enjoy the crowd control aspect, but it would seem this may be one of the areas that is causing problems with my perception on how the character should function.

Thanks again.