Guild Wars 2

I need help with this. I am looking for make my 7th character. I only play WvW, i’m planning to use it for roaming or just playing around, only for fun.

I am not looking for zerging or GvG, I have a Warrior, Guardian, Ele, Necro, Engi and Thief, all builded for serious and organized zerg or roaming and I enjoy all of them.

Maybe the most serious uses i am going to do with the new character is ganking perip eles and necros in open field fights (plenty in T2). I know the Mesmer is better in that, is part of a solid GvG in a gank team. But for fun, is the ranger so bad as people say?

I’ve seem good rangers, GREAT rangers, but not so deadly like a good or great Mesmer.

I actually enjoy more a class that force you to make constant decisions over a spambuttons one.

TLDR:
Why do you enjoy your Mesmer? And why do you enjoy your Ranger? Do you can actually make a difference with a well played Ranger? Is the pet an issue and burden or is fun to play with? Is the incoming buff to ranger that great or just minor?

I wish to know Rangers and Mesmer opinions about your class. Thanks.

They are both a lot of fun to play but I prefer my ranger. Rangers are great for scouting, roaming, and picking off a zergs back line. They are also a pretty decent counter to thieves by using rapid fire/reveal. Pets are fine if you don’t expect too much from them. Wolf aoe fear is very handy and I like bringing a marsh drake for their aoe poison, tankiness and blast finisher (especially good with ranger water field).

That being said mesmer brings a lot of utility that a ranger lacks. Port, stealth and time warp are always useful. Also it is hilarious to moa people.

The ranger seems to have a lot of weapons, are this viable? Or you are stuck in 1 or 2 sets?

I prefer Mesmer. At least my phantasms attack what I attack, not so with Rangers. I wish they would have a build for Rangers were you didn’t have a pet (just like in GW1).

Which is the worst part of a Mesmer? His weak point?

urieldhynne.2743:

Which is the worst part of a Mesmer? His weak point?

Being Light Armor – although I play with Superior Earth Runes on Toughness armor and have no issues. Mesmers are more against one to 3 targets, not massive AoE, like eles.

Only having one skill for swiftness is tough and that is on a focus. Having Blink just puts you ahead slightly so that is a big problem.

urieldhynne.2743:

The ranger seems to have a lot of weapons, are this viable? Or you are stuck in 1 or 2 sets?

Axe, great sword, and longbow are getting a nice buff next month. Main hand sword can be tricky but it does solid dps, near perma cripple, and you stick like glue to your target, it pairs well with dagger off hand for a ton of evades and plenty of poison.

Torch is decent for condition builds and offers an 8 second fire field. When traited warhorn can offer near perma swiftness, solid fury uptime and a blast finisher, but its number 4 skill is pretty worthless.

Shortbow was nerfed into the ground and I personally see no reason to take it over the other weapons for any build. Off hand axe is mediocre but again that is just my personal opinion.

The best way to play a ranger is to find what works for you. I play a power ranger which is about as far from a cheese build as you can get, but I also fight dirty as hell. I like to use the terrain to position myself where I can usually kill a person before they can get a hit on me. I will kite people to places where I know I will have the upper hand and if they give up chasing me I turn around and start plugging them with arrows from 1500+ range until they try to fight again or they die. Others like using regen evade spam bunkers, full melee, beastmaster bunkers, etc.

It’s not like playing a war where you can be a terrible player but still be successful by just grabbing a flavor of the month build from the forums. You have to really be on top of your game and create a build that fits your play style.

Dusty Moon.4382:

urieldhynne.2743:

Which is the worst part of a Mesmer? His weak point?

Being Light Armor – although I play with Superior Earth Runes on Toughness armor and have no issues. Mesmers are more against one to 3 targets, not massive AoE, like eles.

Only having one skill for swiftness is tough and that is on a focus. Having Blink just puts you ahead slightly so that is a big problem.

Easy solution to the swiftness problem if you’re playing a power mesmer is to use centaur runes and mirror or mantra of recovery for your heal. You can also trait for mender’s purity to add some pretty decent condition removal to go along with your swiftness.

If you’re not playing this character seriously, then it doesn’t really matter. Play whatever you find to be more fun (it seems you’re leaning towards ranger anyway).

If you think you might want to elevate your play some time later, go with mesmer. More utility for both zergs and small roaming groups.

The problem with a power bow ranger is it drops like a rock when the fight isn’t going exactly according to plan. It can’t fight outnumbered, and there are too many builds that it has no answer for.

Ben K.6238:

The problem with a power bow ranger is it drops like a rock when the fight isn’t going exactly according to plan. It can’t fight outnumbered, and there are too many builds that it has no answer for.

Never had this problem myself. I’ve fought plenty of 1vX fights and survived and it is extremely rare to run into a build that is a hard counter. Regen bunkers were tough until I added poison to my build, some super tanky guardians can still be annoying but it’s not like they are going to be able to kill you so the fight usually ends in a victory or draw.

If you really want to kitten people off just kite them to a spot with water. If you knock them in you can tear them apart with the bow. If the fight isn’t going well just jump in the water where a ranger is almost unkillable in a 1v1 fight due to the downed mechanic.

Jim Hunter.6821:

When traited warhorn can offer near perma swiftness, solid fury uptime and a blast finisher, but its number 4 skill is pretty worthless.

Warhorn 4 is also channeled, and is highly useful against thieves if you time it right.

Thanks all for yours opinions, i am going to make a Mesmer. I enjoy more the skillset and like a lot the amount of invisibility.

Mesmers have a tough life in WvW. I’ve stopped actively going to WvW because my Mesmer wasn’t really rewarded for what I did and, well…. My guild left Guild Wars 2 for another game.

Mesmers are very rare in WvW now, even more rare the really skilled ones that know how to follow directions, place proper portals and use veil nicely.

I remember (do loot bags still give everyone little jiggles in their tummy?), there were several guardians in my guild that used to do nightly WvW ‘raids’ and would constantly complain of filled bags and excessive loot, and I would just stand there, staring at 4 loot bags that I got from a blurred frenzy and my still empty bag.

And don’t say feedback works as a tagging skill. It only really works on lowbies and very very unorganized zergs because they like to range. Even the slightlest organized zerg can have a group that composes of 95% melee / ground targeted AoE. The only thing feedback will be giving you is a small tiny loot bag from an unfortunate, random Ranger up level.

LumAnth.5124:

Mesmers have a tough life in WvW. I’ve stopped actively going to WvW because my Mesmer wasn’t really rewarded for what I did and, well…. My guild left Guild Wars 2 for another game.

Mesmers are very rare in WvW now, even more rare the really skilled ones that know how to follow directions, place proper portals and use veil nicely.

I remember (do loot bags still give everyone little jiggles in their tummy?), there were several guardians in my guild that used to do nightly WvW ‘raids’ and would constantly complain of filled bags and excessive loot, and I would just stand there, staring at 4 loot bags that I got from a blurred frenzy and my still empty bag.

And don’t say feedback works as a tagging skill. It only really works on lowbies and very very unorganized zergs because they like to range. Even the slightlest organized zerg can have a group that composes of 95% melee / ground targeted AoE. The only thing feedback will be giving you is a small tiny loot bag from an unfortunate, random Ranger up level.

Nobody beat a Guardian tagging enemies with staff#1. I have my guardian for frontline, the loot bags thing is true.

In T2, where i am, Mesmer is pretty common in WvW. And organized zergs play with a lot of glassy backline, plenty of job for gank squads, mostly mesmers and thief and some D/D eles.

Jim Hunter.6821:

Ben K.6238:

The problem with a power bow ranger is it drops like a rock when the fight isn’t going exactly according to plan. It can’t fight outnumbered, and there are too many builds that it has no answer for.

Never had this problem myself. I’ve fought plenty of 1vX fights and survived and it is extremely rare to run into a build that is a hard counter. Regen bunkers were tough until I added poison to my build, some super tanky guardians can still be annoying but it’s not like they are going to be able to kill you so the fight usually ends in a victory or draw.

If you really want to kitten people off just kite them to a spot with water. If you knock them in you can tear them apart with the bow. If the fight isn’t going well just jump in the water where a ranger is almost unkillable in a 1v1 fight due to the downed mechanic.

thats because most guardians in this game haven’t figured out a very obvious way to remain tanky and still do 8-12k crits

Its true that there are a few builds the ranger has no answer for, I am one of them
Hopefully this patch changes that, or at least gives them an easier time of trying to combat them.

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

1) skill failure… in every encounter I have, there is at least 1 skill failure – normally it is illusionary leap… but it can literally be anything – at the moment I getting a lot of decoy skill failure – especially if trying to recloak after coming out of invisibility from another skill.

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

3) lack of damage… mesmers do not do a lot of damage. I can hit a warrior with maximum damage output and barely scratch them.

4) When it comes to zerg fighting you don’t get much loot and your role is limited.

The best thing about playing a mesmer is that it is challenging… especially if you try and stay away from the traditional builds. You can get some very good 1v1 fights.

Mesmer is also very good for scouting keeps… you can get about the keep very quickly with blink and portals for running supply, building and refreshing siege and checking gates.

With the right build you can solo supply camps quickly too.

Nymph of Meliai.6739:

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

1) skill failure… in every encounter I have, there is at least 1 skill failure – normally it is illusionary leap… but it can literally be anything – at the moment I getting a lot of decoy skill failure – especially if trying to recloak after coming out of invisibility from another skill.

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

3) lack of damage… mesmers do not do a lot of damage. I can hit a warrior with maximum damage output and barely scratch them.

4) When it comes to zerg fighting you don’t get much loot and your role is limited.

The best thing about playing a mesmer is that it is challenging… especially if you try and stay away from the traditional builds. You can get some very good 1v1 fights.

Mesmer is also very good for scouting keeps… you can get about the keep very quickly with blink and portals for running supply, building and refreshing siege and checking gates.

With the right build you can solo supply camps quickly too.

Mesmers are more about condition than massive damage. Although I will tell you that a GS Mesmer can hit like a Mack Truck. When fighting a zerg I get plenty of loot. The big trick is knowing your build well, and I am getting there.

Mesmers are indispensable in WvW. The only mesmers playing right now, seem to be the good ones as it is a very hard profession to play (just like in GW1).

You should go with a ranger because mesmers don’t have bears as their sidekicks.

Nymph of Meliai.6739:

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

Yeah, everyone told me that. But i used to play a roaming Necro… and is a lot worse about mobility.

But mesmer’s blink and stealth is enough for me. That is a lot, a LOT more than Necro mobility and a free card to get out of bad situations.

What about centaur runes for power mesmer? That works?

urieldhynne.2743:

Nymph of Meliai.6739:

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

Uk
Yeah, everyone told me that. But i used to play a roaming Necro… and is a lot worse about mobility.

But mesmer’s blink and stealth is enough for me. That is a lot, a LOT more than Necro mobility and a free card to get out of bad situations.

What about centaur runes for power mesmer? That works?

Centaur runes work great. With the runes you can actually move around the map pretty quickly as long as blink doesn’t fail.

Jim Hunter.6821:

urieldhynne.2743:

Nymph of Meliai.6739:

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

Uk
Yeah, everyone told me that. But i used to play a roaming Necro… and is a lot worse about mobility.

But mesmer’s blink and stealth is enough for me. That is a lot, a LOT more than Necro mobility and a free card to get out of bad situations.

What about centaur runes for power mesmer? That works?

Centaur runes work great. With the runes you can actually move around the map pretty quickly as long as blink doesn’t fail.

Why blink would fail?

You have to be an order of magnitude better than your enemy with a Ranger to win in a 1v1. I can count on one hand how many Rangers that have killed me in a reasonably fair fight and ALL of those came back before the Ranger nerfs. They are crappy compared to every other class in WvW IMO and I doubt the upcoming buffs are going to change that.

Mesmers on the other hand can beat players a magnitude more skilled than themselves with a condi-bunker build. Even the power mesmers when played well are very dangerous. Sure they are slow but there are ways of compensating for that.

Just depends on what kind of fighting you want to do… fight with one hand tied behind your back (Ranger) or come to a knife fight with a gun (Mesmer). Oh and for clarity I have all the classes to level 80 fully geared most with full ascended, pretty much only WvW and I primarily roam/skirmish.

urieldhynne.2743:

Jim Hunter.6821:

urieldhynne.2743:

Nymph of Meliai.6739:

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

Uk
Yeah, everyone told me that. But i used to play a roaming Necro… and is a lot worse about mobility.

But mesmer’s blink and stealth is enough for me. That is a lot, a LOT more than Necro mobility and a free card to get out of bad situations.

What about centaur runes for power mesmer? That works?

Centaur runes work great. With the runes you can actually move around the map pretty quickly as long as blink doesn’t fail.

Why blink would fail?

Because sometimes it randomly does. I think it has issues with terrain also sometimes, but i dont play one to know that.

DeeSystm.1256:

urieldhynne.2743:

Jim Hunter.6821:

urieldhynne.2743:

Nymph of Meliai.6739:

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

Uk
Yeah, everyone told me that. But i used to play a roaming Necro… and is a lot worse about mobility.

But mesmer’s blink and stealth is enough for me. That is a lot, a LOT more than Necro mobility and a free card to get out of bad situations.

What about centaur runes for power mesmer? That works?

Centaur runes work great. With the runes you can actually move around the map pretty quickly as long as blink doesn’t fail.

Why blink would fail?

Because sometimes it randomly does. I think it has issues with terrain also sometimes, but i dont play one to know that.

Yeah pretty much weird terrain issues, like little bumps in the ground that the game reads as being a wall or something. you basically have to learn where it will work through trial and error. It will work on some stair cases or paths up a cliff but not others.

It is a very fun class to play but it is just riddled with bugs that anet doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to fix.

Oh and portal doesn’t give any indication if you move out of range, so if you drop the exit portal too far it will waste the skill and go on cooldown. I’ve found a fast count to ten while running is about the right range. Practice before you try helping with golem rushes.

Jim Hunter.6821:

DeeSystm.1256:

urieldhynne.2743:

Jim Hunter.6821:

urieldhynne.2743:

Nymph of Meliai.6739:

worse parts of playing a mesmer…

2) SLOW – mesmers are so slow… you can get by this using a focus or traveler runes but that limits your build options. For a class that has light armor then they should move faster than they do – it is easier for other classes to run away from you when they are losing

Uk
Yeah, everyone told me that. But i used to play a roaming Necro… and is a lot worse about mobility.

But mesmer’s blink and stealth is enough for me. That is a lot, a LOT more than Necro mobility and a free card to get out of bad situations.

What about centaur runes for power mesmer? That works?

Centaur runes work great. With the runes you can actually move around the map pretty quickly as long as blink doesn’t fail.

Why blink would fail?

Because sometimes it randomly does. I think it has issues with terrain also sometimes, but i dont play one to know that.

Yeah pretty much weird terrain issues, like little bumps in the ground that the game reads as being a wall or something. you basically have to learn where it will work through trial and error. It will work on some stair cases or paths up a cliff but not others.

It is a very fun class to play but it is just riddled with bugs that anet doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to fix.

Oh and portal doesn’t give any indication if you move out of range, so if you drop the exit portal too far it will waste the skill and go on cooldown. I’ve found a fast count to ten while running is about the right range. Practice before you try helping with golem rushes.

I think is the same mechanic like Thief shadowstep and Ele Lightning flash. I know where works and where don’t. I haven’t problem with that.

About the portal range, a friend told me how to calculate it with the minimap zoom.