Guild Wars 2

Want to make another Medium-armor class and stuck between ranger and thief (cause already have engi) pve mostly

Thief, pros: high damage, nice and party-helpful utilities, interesting no-cooldown mechanic, black/blurry-skills animation looks great
cons: hard to play and easy to die, really “meeeh” range weapons

Ranger, pros: pet looks great, nice short and long bow, not much actually
cons: pet in pve looks weak same as necromancer minions, everybody hates rangers, root 1h sword autoattack

ofcourse i’m always can test both in the mists, but pve and pvp isn’t same.

Rangers get a lot of hate, but they’re actually really good. Warhorn has a mini “FGJ” and sword deals a decent amount of damage. Frost spirit and spotter adds a great deal of damage to your whole party. Dagger swap offhand has a free dodge. Overall it’s a great class if you play it right.

Thief deals a ton of damage and gets a lot better if the group is setting up might for him. They also bring stealth for tough skipping sections.

I’d personally pick ranger.

I wouldn’t say Thief has mediocre ranged options. Dual pistols can do a good amount of damage and help control the enemy; pistol/dagger is excellent for keeping away from danger and the dual skill, which inflicts torment, combines well with all the crippling you can inflict; and the shortbow does incredible damage with the 2 skill (Cluster Bomb), has a ton of mobility options, and the autoattack is at least as good as the Ranger’s axe autoattack.

As for Ranger, the pets aren’t necessarily weak. I personally use a lightning drake (tanking plus great damage) and a whiptail devourer (ranged attacks), and generally my pets only die if I myself am vastly outnumbered or outclassed. Your pet will stay alive as long as you’re at or above the recommended level for a particular situation and have at least some means of taking care of them (even if it’s just the passive regen signet or the Healing Spring skill).

I’ve had both since launch and personally I much prefer the ranger. It’s hard to explain why exactly, I just have more fun playing them. I like their skills more (like you said I feel like the thief is lacking good ranged options) and I like having a pet.

I can’t comment on how the pets compare to necro minions because I’ve barely played a necro, but many of them do good damage and they can be extremely useful. The important thing to remember is that each one has different skills and abilities and therefore different uses. You can have 2 equipped at any time and can switch between any of the ones you’ve got tamed any time you’re out of combat. So it’s important to make sure you’re always using the right ones for the situation.

I have a ranger and a thief. Ranger is my favorite by far. So much more fun to play. I use long bow with axe/warhorn.

Rangers have a bad reputation, but when played properly can kick butt.

I think the bad rep comes from new and/or younger player choosing ranger for their first toon and don’t have the experience to really play to the class’ full potential.

There are some pretty awesome youtube videos of rangers kicking butt and taking names in WvW, PvE, and PvP.

Mel.8769:

I have a ranger and a thief. Ranger is my favorite by far. So much more fun to play. I use long bow with axe/warhorn.

Rangers have a bad reputation, but when played properly can kick butt.

I think the bad rep comes from new and/or younger player choosing ranger for their first toon and don’t have the experience to really play to the class’ full potential.

There are some pretty awesome youtube videos of rangers kicking butt and taking names in WvW, PvE, and PvP.

Thief videos are way funnier if compare, btw (stealth tricks, outnumbered rampages and others). And i’m asking mostly about PvE

I find my Thief is much more enjoyable to play as the “Dancing on the Edge” style of gameplay required is much more interesting than the safer and more survivable style the Ranger presents.

I have to disagree with the negative Thief comments on Ranged capabilities. Both Shortbow and Pistols offer good ranged abilities and damage while both Stealing and Shadow stepping skills offer ranged offensive (and defensive) closing capability that can be traited for added effect. It’s certainly a "different’ ranged experience than the Ranger offers, but I don’t see it as limited (no more so than the standard short bow or Longbow used by most Rangers).

Try both. Unlock all their weapons and play around with them. Choose the one that is more fun for your playstyle.

Hmm.. still convinced. Thief have so many mobility and stealth skills and weapons without cooldown, thats scares me a bit, i don’t think i can use it good in fight +ping really matters here.

knbBlackTemplar.3059:

Hmm.. still convinced. Thief have so many mobility and stealth skills and weapons without cooldown, thats scares me a bit, i don’t think i can use it good in fight +ping really matters here.

Your last point is valid. 80% of the time my Thief dies there is some sort of lag issue involved (I refuse to discuss the other 20% in public). Despite the popular belief, Thief attacks DO have limitations (even if it’s only a self imposed CD). I LOVE being able to combine attacks as needed (and sometimes 2,2,2,2 is the best way to end a fight quickly).

Again, if you are looking for “safe”, Ranger is your class. Keep in mind that most other players KNOW that and lots of lazy players take advantage of it and have given the class a reputation because of it.

EDIT: I play a Ranger as well and play one of the Bows and a Greatsword as I seriously can’t stand pure ranged play style (I find it very boring).

knbBlackTemplar.3059:

Hmm.. still convinced. Thief have so many mobility and stealth skills and weapons without cooldown, thats scares me a bit, i don’t think i can use it good in fight +ping really matters here.

I would actually say the opposite. You WANT to have these options without cooldown. I got a new computer this last June that can play on medium-high settings at about 20-30 FPS, but before that I had to deal with single-digit framerates most of the time at the very lowest settings. My main character is a thief, and trust me, being able to spam Death Blossom or Pistol Whip as much as you need in a panic situation, or having Shadow Refuge as a 10 to 15 second “time out” button really makes a difference. No other class can do those things.

If you’re looking for PvE, then I’d go with Ranger. It’s more solo friendly(thieves can solo too, but it’s more work).

If you’re looking for PvP, then playing a thief rarely gets tiring.

Shinoobi.1259:

If you’re looking for PvE, then I’d go with Ranger. It’s more solo friendly(thieves can solo too, but it’s more work).

If you’re looking for PvP, then playing a thief rarely gets tiring.

and what if both?

Okay, lets look from an other angle – Who is more useful for party?

That depends on what you are trying to bring in terms of support. In general, I would say a Ranger is more supportive (Healing, Traps, Spirits, extra target via pet, etc.) but a Thief can be traited to put out some great buffs to nearby allies and constantly keep helpful conditions on foes.

If you are talking about direct use in Dungeons, then the Ranger is going to be at a disadvantage when getting into a PUG group. All the bad publicity AND the fact that Ranger with a dead Pet (happens a LOT in Dungeons) just cannot be as effective as most other classes in a similar situation has put Rangers at the bottom of the LFG list in Dungeons (or really any situation where high single hit damage / high damage AoE is common).

I personally don’t see either of them as particularly useful for a group. The thief can bring stealth, blind and spammable blast finishers, whereas a Ranger brings traps for fields (e.g. fire, poison) and healing springs (water). Neither is particularly needed if you just bring a truck load of heavies/mesmers, so it should depend on what you want to play.