Guild Wars 2

Hello everyone,

I’m not quite sure if this is the correct forum to post this topic in, but oh well!

So, I’m in quite a dilemma. I just started the game about three days ago and I was coerced into making a Mesmer. Actually, maybe not ‘coerced’ I somewhat was interested in making a Mesmer only because the class looked so unique, and also because the class reminded me a lot of LeBlanc (League reference :P).

After playing for three days I found the play style a bit hard, and I honestly find that the F1, F2, F3 skills are pretty useless and pretty much tickle the enemies. Not only that, but the class is not very mobile, seems very sluggish to me, but on the bright side they seem to have high survivability which perhaps makes up for their lack of mobility.

So, after browsing around I thought of making a ranger. Personally, I enjoy rangers and I’ve always played rangers in other MMORPG’s because I think they’re elegant and the bow is just so darn pretty!

I decided to tell a couple of my friends that I was going to make a Ranger and main that instead of a Mesmer and a lot of them were reluctant about this. They told me that Rangers may have high single target DPS, but they fall off much later in the game. Apparently rangers become useless in WvW, PvP and are somewhat okay in PvE. Whereas Mesmers are always wanted for dungeons due to their great utility. So, I thought, “Oh well, I’ll be the hipster class in GW2, big deal.” But then the hate just kept flying in the direction of Rangers as to how they are completely useless and no one wants to party with rangers etc…

So, here’s where you guys come in. Could you kindly give me the pro’s and con’s of both Mesmer and Ranger? And personally, which one would you pick and the reasons why? Right now I am seriously considering maining a Ranger because the Kudzu looks so darn sick, and I definitely plan on getting one…that’s if I main a Ranger. But, please let me know your honest thoughts on this as it would help immensely!

Thank you.

The problem with ranger is that they aren’t really effective with bows, like LB damage depends on you staying at long distance and because of that during dungeons and bosses you stay away of the group and from the buffs, and at same time you can’t buff/heal the group since are away.

Mesmers in WvW isn’t all that good either, but they have a couple skills that are useful, but in dungeons mesmers have many really useful skills like feedback and time warp.

Resuming, rangers can be good if played right, it looks weird but bows aren’t a good weapon for rangers, mesmers are good supporters and also have good damage.

I have both classes at lvl 80 but my main is a ranger, I can’t give a direct answer, but if you want to be the archer, you will get disappointed as ranger.

If you are planning to PUG speedclears of dungeons and fractals, then you should roll a warrior or a guardian.

However, if you are doing dungeons/fractals/etc with friends who don’t discriminate by what the fotm build is, play what you have fun with.

Personally, I main a ranger with Kudzu, and find the play-style a lot more fun than that of other professions (I have level 80 toons on every profession, and multiples of some). Rangers have good survivability with access to endurance regen, ability to attack at very long range, access to an extra tank/meat shield, access to many different (pet) utilities, though this is offset by bad pet AI and pathing which causes problems against high damage foes like dungeon bosses that one-shot or aoe damage the pet, and by problems with the 1-hand sword’s attack chain animations. They can hold their own in sPvP and PvE, and while they aren’t desired in zerg busting guilds in WvW, they can help in large scale battles with water fields and piercing arrows, or in other ways as scouts and camp capturers. I haven’t player Mesmer enough to really comment on how fun they are, but they seem to do fairly well in sPvP and they have some very useful and unique abilities (portal, time warp).

Mainly, make up your own mind by playing Ranger and seeing if you like it. If you just go by the posts on the forums, you probably wouldn’t even try out the profession.

(Also, there is a patch coming out tomorrow that has some small enhancements for Rangers along with a major nerf to endurance regen :/).

There are some issues with rangers. For example if you’re running with a large group of people in WvW you would really struggle to do the same damage as some other professions. But then rangers can be very effective at other tasks, like taking camps on their own while the large groups are elsewhere.

But IMO the biggest issue with rangers is that a lot of people don’t understand them, including many people who play one, and that gives them a bad reputation.

In open-world PvE one of the simplest (and arguably most effective) ways of playing a ranger is to get a longbow and fire away from max range while your pet and/or other players/NPC allies keep the enemies away from you. Which is what a lot of people do early on.The problem is it doesn’t work as well as the alternatives for anything except basic PvE and it means you don’t learn a lot of important things like dodging and effective use of boons and heals.

In dungeons in particular it’s virtually impossible to stay far enough back to get the full effect of the longbow and if you do then you’re too far away to do anything else (like resurrecting your team members). It also means you’re relying on using the rest of your team as shields to keep you safe while you contribute the least to the group effort.

Having said that my main character is a ranger, they’re the one I do dungeons on and I’ve never had trouble getting a group. (I’ve never tried to join a speedclear group, which are the ones that do get picky about builds but then I wouldn’t do that no matter what I was playing). The only times I’ve had trouble finishing a dungeon we were all barely above the minimum level and none of us had done it before.

I do use a longbow for open-world PvE but in dungeons I use a shortbow (my second weapon set in either case is sword/torch) and I swap my pets based on the type of enemies we’ll be facing (usually in dungeons I either use moas/cats for damage or devourers for ranged attacks).

I’m sure some people will insist that every group I’ve ever played with has carried me through the dungeon but no one I’ve actually played with has ever complained.

Hi there,

I have played ranger for a long time and I am happy to be successful with the profession. As an experienced ranger, I have to admit that it does have it short falls. I have had to make many sacrifices over time to adapt and to excel as a ranger. In my experience with ranger and with other professions I must admit: ranger is the toughest profession to master.

This matters to me, not because I am a GW2 junkie or anything like that. As you will find as you play your ranger, it is a surprisingly diverse profession to play with and quite fun as well. The first thing to understand about it is that you + your pet = the ranger, not the other way around. The trip to level 80 is great, because rangers are quite good in PvE, it makes life so much easier to have a pet + a solid ranged combat system.

But going back to why this matters to me, it’s because of the end game combat. First month I stepped into PvP or WvW I was obliterated, left and right, by every profession (except warrior and guardian) that I encountered. I did not understand why, if I was already quite excellent in PvE. That is where the long road to mastering the ranger came: why do I die so fast? Why does my pet die so fast? Why do people not want a ranger in their party? It didn’t take me much time, reading here and there, looking at ranger videos, planning a good build online rather than spending time and coins in game. Before I knew it I was competitive enough to stand my own ground.

If you do choose to play the ranger, you should understand a phenomenon surrounding the ranger, or what can be called ‘ranger hate’. First of all, ANet did make a lot of balance changes over time in order to filter out issues between end-game combat. For instance the ranger was the king of combat when it all began, balance update fixed that and rendered for a long time the ranger to the bottom ranks of combat. Slowly but surely the ranger community grew and they found ways to rise over the ranks. As ANet made more balances, this affected the ranger left and right, over the months. Not everything meant a negative effect, but as you may find out yourself, it is not easy to be a strong ranger, so it was not exactly simple for everyone to play as a strong ranger.

See, many ranger players think of the ranger as a pew pew pew arrows fly, pet attacks and you are doing good. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a lot more to it, and it all comes from playing the game and experiencing your own mistakes in combat, especially at end-game stages, which are quite unforgiving if your ranger is built weak. It is the player themselves who makes a character combat-strong. Even if you are not interested in being some crazy blood thirsty elite ranger, due to the time that has passed, balance updates, and due to the many occasions where an overzealous player (as there always are in online gaming) would get angry at a novice ranger’s mistake, ranger hate eventually boiled up within the GW2 community. You may find people not wanting rangers in their groups, you may even find other rangers making fun of you because you are simply a novice ranger. Remember that it was a consequence of ANet’s tipping the balance left and right with the game combat mechanics.

But why do I play ranger? I simply enjoy the combat system a lot. It wasn’t particularly hard to be a good ranger, it just clicks with me and I have been able to adapt to the balance updates. Once you enjoy a profession, once you understand its shortfalls and work around it, you won’t mind ranger hate, in fact I find that people absolutely love rangers that have overcome that ladder and it won’t be hard for you either.

Pick-ups will share in the frustration that your friends expressed when it comes to certain content (especially dungeons). Still, that’s a bit narrow-minded in my opinion, so I avoid gaming with those types of players

Leveling a Mesmer is dirty work, but the class is well worth it at level 80. (Things get a lot easier at level 40 on Mesmer.) I haven’t taken a Ranger to 80, but I have a few friends that love the class, and they’re very effective with it. Rangers are about so much more than bows and arrows.

Either way, follow your bliss. It’s much more rewarding to play a class that you enjoy versus one that you’re pressured into. (And with the constant balance changes, every class has it’s ups and downs.)

If you don’t mind a not working pet AI and thus lack of damage etc. you can take the Ranger.

Mesmers and Rangers are good duelling classes for roaming and both can give nice buffs/utilities for their zerg/party.

You won’t be “allowed” to stick to bows unless you’re something like a full zerker longbow ranger standing in the backline.

The best tip I can give you is at least going to the heart of mists with both classes and just trying them.

Leveling abilities are not representive for lategame content.

Belzebu.3912:

Mesmers in WvW isn’t all that good either, but they have a couple skills that are useful, but in dungeons mesmers have many really useful skills like feedback and time warp.

Are we playing the same game?

Mesmers are pretty crucial in zergs and small-group combat, and they make fantastic roamers. You might not want a lot of them, but every group wants at least one Mesmer for clutch Portals, Veils, Mass Invisibility, etc.

To answer your question OP, Rangers have a handful of problems that make them frowned upon in most aspects of this game. Their damage isn’t super spectacular, quite a few of their weapon sets are clunky, their defining class mechanic is riddled with bugs and just isn’t very great to begin with, and everything Rangers can do, another class can do better. A lot of dungeon groups refuse to allow Rangers to join, and in WvW, Rangers are really only good at roaming and small-group combat. However, Rangers are fantastic in sPvP.

That being said, Mesmers have a spot in every aspect of the game. It is well known that their leveling can be lackluster and a bit difficult in the beginning phases of the game, but they’re very rewarding once you get to 80.

Flytrap.8075:

Belzebu.3912:

Mesmers in WvW isn’t all that good either, but they have a couple skills that are useful, but in dungeons mesmers have many really useful skills like feedback and time warp.

Are we playing the same game?

Mesmers are pretty crucial in zergs and small-group combat, and they make fantastic roamers. You might not want a lot of them, but every group wants at least one Mesmer for clutch Portals, Veils, Mass Invisibility, etc.

That is what I meant. Mesmers are useful, but you only need a couple of them in a zerg, while guardians, warriors and eles the more the better.

As roamers / duelists yes, mesmers are are great, also are rangers and thieves, but duels doesn’t help WvW much.

So between mesmers and rangers both are not that good in zergs and both are good roamers, but in dungeons mesmers takes the lead easily.

I appreciate the feedback, everyone. Looks like I’ll be sticking to Mesmer.
I honestly don’t like guardians or warriors. They’re bulky and ugly, and I hate melee.
Hopefully in the future Rangers will get a buff… but seeing the responses here, I think I’ve made up my mind. Thank you so much everyone.

flowuhs.6079:

I appreciate the feedback, everyone. Looks like I’ll be sticking to Mesmer.

Time for you to head over to the Mesmer forums then. It’s a very active forum and lots of help/advice to go around.

And to help you get through those painful early levels, Lazy Kai has written an excellent guide: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Guide-Kai-s-Complete-PvE-Compendium/first#post3090848

flowuhs.6079:

Actually, are staff’s good on Mesmer? I am planning on getting a Bifrost… I’m not particularly going for pure damage.

I’m getting Bifrost for my Mesmer as well. (Well, someday. I play way too much WvW to get all the required mats :P)

Staff on a mesmer is a condition based weapon, and it has great defense. The bonus is that staff clones are the only clones that can do damage since they are applying conditions to your enemy and inherit your condition damage and duration.

Truth be told, I’m finding myself using a condition based build less and less these days, so staff hasn’t been in my build for a bit. Still, many builds still incorporate it, so it’s just a playstyle preference for me at the moment. And with the balance patch coming tomorrow, who knows what I’ll be running as next.

if mesmer F1-F4 tickles, then you are playing a style you don’t want to be playing.
adjust your build. My mesmer is summoning tons of illusions and shattering them all throughout encounters. F1 + F2 accounts for at least half of the damage I deal, F3 to prevent enemies from healing or smash hits, F4 to be invulnerable when rezing someone or taking smash hits.
That is not the only play style for mesmers. Since you’re not so fond of them, don’t use them. summon some illusions and don’t shatter them. They will take damage and deal some additional damage, but put your focus on other skills and traits.

I played ranger before I played mesmer. ranger F1-F4 was barely use. I used F4 the most (once an hour or so when my pet died), followed closely by F3 when I didn’t want to be in combat. F1 will auto when you attack, F2 is so weak it’s barely worth taking the time to do it. Basically, if you use F1-F4 very little as a mesmer, know that you’ll use it even less as a ranger.

you should at least try a ranger, get to level 40 or so while trying every weapon. cycle through the weapons more than once with different trait builds; see how you like it.

Depends in your game style and preference;

PVE: Both classes are about the same in regards to DPS however the leveling perspective is harder for Mesmer from 0-40
PVP: Both classes are strong but Mesmer can take multiple foes and win but less so for rangers
WvWvW: Both are good roamers but Mesmer are more useful with veil, portal and timewarp in zerg fight
Dungeons: The Mesmer is more useful than ranger, portal and timewarp

The Mesmer is more flexible than Ranger.

Nikked.7365:

flowuhs.6079:

I appreciate the feedback, everyone. Looks like I’ll be sticking to Mesmer.

Time for you to head over to the Mesmer forums then. It’s a very active forum and lots of help/advice to go around.

And to help you get through those painful early levels, Lazy Kai has written an excellent guide: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Guide-Kai-s-Complete-PvE-Compendium/first#post3090848

I will second this guide!
I stumbled across it one day, and was so taken by the description of the play-style, I created a mesmer just to give it a go.

However, leveling a mesmer is painful. I gave up leveling doing open world at around lvl 20, I crafted for the next 40+ levels then did the Queensdale champ train until lvl 80.

If you don’t like melee, then ranger is not for you. The most effective weapon for a ranger is sword/xx. As others have posted, bows are not great. I play more at range with my mesmer than I do with my ranger.

I have two main characters: one mesmer, one ranger. I don’t do many dungeons (that’s going to have to change if I want to get my legendary, kitten it), or much group play—solo PvE, play in WvW at times, sometimes in a zerg, sometimes just roaming.

Both classes are fun for me, depending on what mood I’m in. Like Mystic upthread, when I’m on my mesmer, I make heavy use of those shatter skills; the ranger char swaps between longbow and shortbow (mostly longbow). Mesmer’s protected by all the clones/phantasms and evasion; ranger’s protected by range and evasion. When I started, I found the mesmer a great class—lately, though, I’ve found myself enjoying the ranger more.

I am a mostly solo PVE type of player. I seem to be different from the norm in that I thought mesmer levelling was incredibly smooth from the start to 80.
I really enjoy both ranger and mesmer so could not advise one over the other. I did however get the no dying achievement for the latest story dungeon on my ranger solo. The mesmer clones and illusions did not draw any aggro from the mobs.
Ranger I have found longbow for distance and double axe for close combat a lot of fun. Levelling mesmer was 90% greatsword but I found that just about any weapon combination really good which is not the case for most professions in this game.