Guild Wars 2

Most of you probably don’t know me unless you frequent the ranger forums. Though I am sure some of you read my recent salt post. I thought I should create a more organized post.

I have been an avid user of the Longbow/GS Shout Ranger playstyle for three years now. So you know I am used to running underperforming builds.

In PvP I have managed to make it to what I have to assume is as high as a solo quer can get in MMR. I was regularly partnered against PvP teams that are normally in tournaments even before the release of HoT.

This is despite running what is probably the WEAKEST build in the history of GW2. I ran longbow/gs with shouts back when longbow could be sidestepped while WALKING. I ran it during the condi meta where the only condi removal I had was trooper runes. I ran it during the bunker meta where my auto attacks did less than 400 damage per hit. I ran it during the DD ele meta where the salt flowed freely in the oceans of tears.

I outkited and outplayed the condi players. I perfectly timed my bursts against the bunekr players. And I laughed at DD eles as I slowly wore there health down while steadily cleansing their burning piece by piece waiting for my fern hound to land its knock down (kitten takes awhile).

And all through that. I have never felt like anything I did was actually pointless. I always felt like in the end my skill was what mattered. That despite running a HORRIFYINGLY bad and buggy build I could out play anything that stood in my path.

That feeling is gone now. And it probably won’t come back for AT LEAST 3 months.

When I que now I can look at the enemy roster and know without a doubt how I will perform. Because there exists builds and effects in the game that can’t be outplayed. Because there are critical tool sets that HAVE to be had to succeed in this…I am not even gonna call it a meta…

Two tempests on the enemy team in stronghold? I lose because I will get 0 kills and even if I land every burst perfectly. Even killing a doorbreaker is impossible…much less the channeled heroes. And thats not even talking about trying to defend your own doorbreakers against something you can’t hit.

Two malyx revenants in conquest? I lose because they counter EVERY strength I can produce. They can take away my mobility. The boons I rely on to gain enough power to be a threat. The damage of my bursts. My ability to control them. And even my ability to run away from them.

And thats just for me. I have seen a lot of salt pass through this forum the last week. I can’t even come close to imagining ALL of these are just “L2P” issues.

I am at the point where the tools I need to be successful in PvP in its current form…don’t exist. They simply aren’t there. Its like I look through all the possible weapon combinations and come up with…nothing.

In the end. I find the only option I have is to give up a playstyle I have managed to make work to AMAZING success for 3 years. A build I was able to make work against builds that supposedly hard countered me. Not even counting all the bugs innate in my utility choices >.<.

So I am at a turning point. I either give up 3 years worth of effort, mechanical knowledge, and skill in order to not be literally a wasted slot dooming every team I join to what is effectively a 4v5. Or B. Stop PvPing entirely and give up goals I had set for myself 3 years ago.

Honestly. I am writing this hoping that PvP community can find a different way I can take. But I am so deeply buried in my own salt that I can’t see it.

Ill go ahead and say. What I am looking for isn’t.. Oh just go condi…or Oh just go druid. Or oh just play revenant for awhile.

I am trying to find a way to salvage SOMETHING of what I have built. I hope yall can help.

Edit: Fixed some grammar issues (I missed some I am sure)

Game ranger to three years and also I’m able to kill many of the elite classes, I had to adapt my build, but it worked, although I agree that REV, DH, REAPER are hard to kill, but not impossible.

Well, there simply isn’t a correct answer. I’m a sworn Thief player for over 2 1/2 years now and it feels exactly the same as you do right now. You have to pull ridiculous kitten in order to do anything. Or you can just dodge and vault spam all day, which apparently has some effect.

It got to the point I stopped playing, I tried to, but it just feels so awful, at least compared to what it used to be pre HoT or even pre big patch last year.
The only thing you can hope for is that, ANet finally begins to turn the game around again and follow their actual goals they’ve set themselves as they started to make GW2 big. Maybe the massie outcry will wake them up eventually.

M8, we’r(rangers) in much better shapre compared to what we were used to be.
If you can consider taking staff over LB it will open up lots of great builds for you.
This build for example will compliment your style, its very rewarding for good timing and skillful play, got great burst damage potential, but not as tanky as other druid builds(which grind the opponent to death). You can try also the tiger/electric wyvern – both asl good for the build.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARWnUqAlsiVsCOsActgl/AD+s+WvrLvuMQA4JN8DOalMtKA-TpBFABI8AAI4QAUz+DhXGYhLAAAHBAA

LughLongArm.5460:

M8, we’r(rangers) in much better shapre compared to what we were used to be.
If you can consider taking staff over LB it will open up lots of great builds for you.
This build for example will compliment your style, its very rewarding for good timing and skillful play, got great burst damage potential, but not as tanky as other druid builds(which grind the opponent to death). You can try also the tiger/electric wyvern – both asl good for the build.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARWnUqAlsiVsCOsActgl/AD+s+WvrLvuMQA4JN8DOalMtKA-TpBFABI8AAI4QAUz+DhXGYhLAAAHBAA

Again. My hope is to PRESERVE my playstyle. Not toss it for another one. If it keeps going as it is though. I will HAVE to go druid in order to play effectively unless I want to go condi. My hope in this post was to find a way to avoid that.

Edit: I do appreciate teh build though Im pretty set on using the shout utilities ive memorized. Ill probably bookmark it and use it as a base when I finally give up.

Rap Tiger.1257:

Game ranger to three years and also I’m able to kill many of the elite classes, I had to adapt my build, but it worked, although I agree that REV, DH, REAPER are hard to kill, but not impossible.

Aye. In most cases though Adapting the build has a massive effect on my playstyle. Especially the one ive been running. Its built in a way that it requires each individual piece in order to achieve the desired to result.

As I said in my above reply though. Ill probably just go druid when I give up. Im just foolishly trying to hold on to what I built even though its already a dead horse >.<

Edit: also I find that DH and Reaper aren’t significant threats compared to malyx revenants and tempests. Tempests can flat out ignore a longbow ranger. And gs doesnt do enough damage to pressure them. And Malyx can spam strip the boons that are the crux of my built while also completely negating any burst I attempt to land through weapon evades or blocks.

I sympathize with your plight, but are you surprised that a off-meta build, as you described, cannot compete in the current meta when even pre-HoT meta builds are falling behind?

That’s the point mate. The same one all of us feel if we’ve been here a while- you know, those “loyal gamers who helped raise the game”. But uh, salt aside.

I used to play pistol/dagger power (sometimes I still do) on my Thief, but the problem is as others have stated every class can make a million mistakes. It takes the Thief one. On top of that, I ran off meta. Funny bit here (I run s/p, I run p/d, I run d/p condi. I do things you should never do), I was successful like the OP. Maybe not face pro players super often, but I know I was better than whatever maelstrom of players are coming my way now. Far, far superior. And HoT took all my practice, effort, memorization, and skill practice then tossed it out the window.

I can’t provide a build that is similar to whatever you may be running that is viable meta, but I can tell you what I did. I stopped aiming for viable, duelist, yada yada and went straight for my adored playstyle- Master Assassin. And it works, because I stopped caring about surviving and focused on killing. Shade, something on your build keeps you coming back to it again and again yes? Find it, focus it, don’t make your build revolve around it- make it your build.

Inb4 people laugh/ignore/don’t read my post. I’m used to it.

Not gonna touch on conquest, but for against a healing ele, you gotta chain your CC (probably Point Blank → F2 Taunt) on the ele while dropping your burst on the NPC at the same time. If you have 2 eles, you’ll need a teammate to help you, just like in any other circumstance against 2 decent enemies.

There will always be times where you’re just hard countered in a 1 v 1. I don’t think that should seem to be a new concept for a vet, so you need to look beyond simply what you can do in terms of your own mechanical abilities and also pay attention to what your teammates can do to help and who you should be nearby for when you do need help.

After all, it’s still a team game.

Serious Thought.5394:

That’s the point mate. The same one all of us feel if we’ve been here a while- you know, those “loyal gamers who helped raise the game”. But uh, salt aside.

I used to play pistol/dagger power (sometimes I still do) on my Thief, but the problem is as others have stated every class can make a million mistakes. It takes the Thief one. On top of that, I ran off meta. Funny bit here (I run s/p, I run p/d, I run d/p condi. I do things you should never do), I was successful like the OP. Maybe not face pro players super often, but I know I was better than whatever maelstrom of players are coming my way now. Far, far superior. And HoT took all my practice, effort, memorization, and skill practice then tossed it out the window.

I can’t provide a build that is similar to whatever you may be running that is viable meta, but I can tell you what I did. I stopped aiming for viable, duelist, yada yada and went straight for my adored playstyle- Master Assassin. And it works, because I stopped caring about surviving and focused on killing. Shade, something on your build keeps you coming back to it again and again yes? Find it, focus it, don’t make your build revolve around it- make it your build.

Inb4 people laugh/ignore/don’t read my post. I’m used to it.

Thanks for the words man. Ill look back on what the key factor to my playstyle is and try to isolate it and play based off that. Hopefully Ill share a similar level of success you have.

=) Glad to have helped. I had to stick with what I liked, figured it was speedy rapid hits and massive front load damage- higher risk, higher reward and all =). Dropped my double pistol dream for a beat em up nuke. =P If you get me in a match and I say INCOMING FIRST CONTACT … watch my plays

Shadelang.3012:

Thanks for the words man.

Serious Thought.5394:

=) Glad to have helped.

Heartfelt professions of noble comaraderie in the PvP subforum?

What is this, the Care Bears? You almost produced an emotion from somewhere in my post-HoT blackened soul. Put a stop to this immediately. Where’s that DH guy? We need more salt in here.

Well, I’m going to say go halfway with changing your build, but not so much that you lose your playstyle.

As a thief main, I’m in the same boat as Serious Thought. I wasn’t playing P/D power, but when everyone else was playing D/P DA/SA/Tr, i was still playing DA/CS/Tr S/D, certainly not the top of the meta. While I switched out my S/D for a Staff, I was able to keep my playstyle and make some more interesting changes with some of the new runes.

I guess I’m parroting Serious Thought here, but nail down what you really love about your playstyle and build around that from the ground up. Your build might be different in the end, but it will suit you.

Shadelang.3012:

Ill go ahead and say. What I am looking for isn’t.. Oh just go condi…or Oh just go druid. Or oh just play revenant for awhile.

I am trying to find a way to salvage SOMETHING of what I have built. I hope yall can help.

Edit: Fixed some grammar issues (I missed some I am sure)

Look at the current meta. You are out powered against the Elite Specs. Sure on an old build you may win sometimes maybe even often if you are skilled but eventually you’ll get paired with mostly teams where all other players are as skilled as you. At that point your weak non_Elite build is holding the team back. The Elite Specs dominate the new meta and have destroyed the old.

A harsh way to put it, the game you once loved is gone forever. You need to learn to play one the Elite meta builds/classes if you want to truly be competitive to the point you can climb the ranks.

I feel you pal. I wanted to play an archer, and did play for quite amount of time. But now nothing you can do survives against an equally skilled opponent. You have no chance against some professions if they play right. I have dropped my ranger. I suggest you find another archetype and build that.

Shadelang.3012:

LughLongArm.5460:

M8, we’r(rangers) in much better shapre compared to what we were used to be.
If you can consider taking staff over LB it will open up lots of great builds for you.
This build for example will compliment your style, its very rewarding for good timing and skillful play, got great burst damage potential, but not as tanky as other druid builds(which grind the opponent to death). You can try also the tiger/electric wyvern – both asl good for the build.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARWnUqAlsiVsCOsActgl/AD+s+WvrLvuMQA4JN8DOalMtKA-TpBFABI8AAI4QAUz+DhXGYhLAAAHBAA

Again. My hope is to PRESERVE my playstyle. Not toss it for another one. If it keeps going as it is though. I will HAVE to go druid in order to play effectively unless I want to go condi. My hope in this post was to find a way to avoid that.

Edit: I do appreciate teh build though Im pretty set on using the shout utilities ive memorized. Ill probably bookmark it and use it as a base when I finally give up.

Sorry, havn’t realised you want to avoid druid. Actually, your original shout play style got massive buffs with HOT. you can now stack might, F2 won’t cancel shouts anymore and you have smokescalre F2 you can combo with “protect me” and Sic’em you can combo with smoke assualt. This build is tankyest zerker build you can find, great survivability, CC defence and condi defence.
As second pet you need another tanky pet that can take the punishment of protect me and EB. Try out red moa (for the fury uptime) or jungle spider(immob and damage).

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARTnUqAtCi1CCOsActgBMhyX8F4x/boBq4eZHgAok7kG-TpBFwACOEAMuAAF3fYxDAoaZAAHBAA

*(taunt doesnt work so well with chosen pets and wilting strike is buggy atm and doesnt work with aoe F2)

LughLongArm.5460:

Shadelang.3012:

LughLongArm.5460:

M8, we’r(rangers) in much better shapre compared to what we were used to be.
If you can consider taking staff over LB it will open up lots of great builds for you.
This build for example will compliment your style, its very rewarding for good timing and skillful play, got great burst damage potential, but not as tanky as other druid builds(which grind the opponent to death). You can try also the tiger/electric wyvern – both asl good for the build.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARWnUqAlsiVsCOsActgl/AD+s+WvrLvuMQA4JN8DOalMtKA-TpBFABI8AAI4QAUz+DhXGYhLAAAHBAA

Again. My hope is to PRESERVE my playstyle. Not toss it for another one. If it keeps going as it is though. I will HAVE to go druid in order to play effectively unless I want to go condi. My hope in this post was to find a way to avoid that.

Edit: I do appreciate teh build though Im pretty set on using the shout utilities ive memorized. Ill probably bookmark it and use it as a base when I finally give up.

Sorry, havn’t realised you want to avoid druid. Actually, your original shout play style got massive buffs with HOT. you can now stack might, F2 won’t cancel shouts anymore and you have smokescalre F2 you can combo with “protect me” and Sic’em you can combo with smoke assualt. This build is tankyest zerker build you can find, great survivability, CC defence and condi defence.
As second pet you need another tanky pet that can take the punishment of protect me and EB. Try out red moa (for the fury uptime) or jungle spider(immob and damage).

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARTnUqAtCi1CCOsActgBMhyX8F4x/boBq4eZHgAok7kG-TpBFwACOEAMuAAF3fYxDAoaZAAHBAA

*(taunt doesnt work so well with chosen pets and wilting strike is buggy atm and doesnt work with aoe F2)

Ok, Took the build for a test run for like 10 games on “hot join”. Wreced everything.
I have almost zero experience with LB(pre hot I played SB-GS) and with shout utilities(always liked the survival utilities better). With your expirience, with this setup, i’m sure you can prefrm well in ranked arena with the attached build.
Good luck.