Guild Wars 2

i created a human ranger and so far my pet has helped me reach level 10 which is an amazing achievement for me but am still a total noob so should i stick with ranger? id it possible to change pets? i been using a long bow and so far it has helped a rookie like me (it’s better than the axe at beginning of game) but is there other weapons i should be switching on and off? give me tips and advice people. I really need it!!

Thief is super fun so far in my opinion. Only really played thief and warrior myself.

Personally I love it, was my first to 80. Have never enjoyed the ranger type class in other games but this one was fun for me.

Honestly every class in this game is a good one, don’t believe anyone who says otherwise. Rangers get to use pets, which when used properly help keep the heat off of you while you lay down damage. This makes it especially suited to someone new to the genre.

Here’s some specific advice.

- Click H, select Weapon skills. This is a list of all the weapons you have access to, there is no level restriction, so go to a vendor grab one of each and play with them until you unlock every skill on every weapon. Even the underwater ones.

- Grab some gathering tools and a salvage kit. Start collecting.

- Work your way through the zone heading from heart to heart based on level, but be sure to do as many dynamic events as you can…like everytime they pop up. That is how you get most of your XP.

Here’s a link to the ranger page on the wiki – http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ranger

And yes, you can train lots of pets.

Ranger was my first 80.
There are 40-something pets available to you, but you need to find and charm them first. They are spread out all over Tyria with a couple in the WvW Eternal Battleground map. Some are in no-combat maps like the main cities and Lions Arch, so go for these first.

Collecting all your pets is a good way to start exploring and to level.

But, before you do anything, first unlock all your various weapon skills, including your 2 underwater weapons. This way you get a feel for the weapon combinations you like and that match your play-style.

Ranger is a good lvl character, good toughness/vit and a pet.

I guess the class is okay but the only way to know if it is right for you is to play one for a bit. Personally if I were to rank the various classes for myself ranger would be dead last(the order of the rest would be a bit more difficult to decide). The time and attention put into the pet during combat never feels like it was worth it.

thanks! some of you really helped

For general PvE its very good.

I have had a level 80 Ranger since month1 of the game and YES they are a BAD main…

They underperform in WvW, PvE dungeons, fractals, bosses and anywhere you have to be precise where you stand. Its basically endgame/harder content they are bad at…mainly because your pet ends up dead and on permanent cooldown or your pet goes to the wrong place/is hard to control.

Rangers can seriously fool the beginning player because they are great/easy street in open world PvE, which is mainly where you level. Also, they are good in sPvP because your pet can stay alive longer (other players damage is balanced) and the only enemies are opposition players so your pet can’t go wrong in who to attack. Plus Rangers can ‘bunker’ exceptionally well. But the ‘bunker’ mechanic is by and large only good in sPvP…

I have ALL 8 character classes so I know what I am talking about…

Meglobob.8620:

I have had a level 80 Ranger since month1 of the game and YES they are a BAD main…

They underperform in WvW, PvE dungeons, fractals, bosses and anywhere you have to be precise where you stand. Its basically endgame/harder content they are bad at…mainly because your pet ends up dead and on permanent cooldown or your pet goes to the wrong place/is hard to control.

Rangers can seriously fool the beginning player because they are great/easy street in open world PvE, which is mainly where you level. Also, they are good in sPvP because your pet can stay alive longer (other players damage is balanced) and the only enemies are opposition players so your pet can’t go wrong in who to attack. Plus Rangers can ‘bunker’ exceptionally well. But the ‘bunker’ mechanic is by and large only good in sPvP…

I have ALL 8 character classes so I know what I am talking about…

This is the truth. Sadly.

Add to the fact, the main mechanic of the Ranger, the pet, is pretty generic. They don’t grow in size as you level. They lose the names you give them when you change pets. They are all stuck on juvenile _ . You cant change looks (armor, fur/scale/feather colors). There is a huge disconnect with your pet.

As Meglobob said, the pet is part of the Ranger dps. When they get one shot from a boss AoE, or WvW zerg spam, you just lost a huge chunck of your damage. No other class losses damage that way.

The worst part is it seems Anet does not spend much time….or does not know how to fix the main issues with Rangers.

Ranger is fun to play in PvE world zones, but lacks the versatility and overall power to be desireable in any of the other game modes. This results in them being passed over as a “desired” member of higher end team based game modes (dungeons, fractals, etc.).

Frankly, other classed can do whatever the ranger can do but better and faster and this lends to the common belief that the class is a team liability when not played well (when the real truth is that ANY class that is not played well is a liability to the team). Now that is not to imply that a well played Ranger cannot be useful and even a marvel to behold in action, but the pet mechanic they are “burdened” with does not hold up in encounters with more powerful foes and they are simply rendered less than 100% effective in those situations.