Guild Wars 2

Greetings,

I currently have a 79 Thief, and while I do like it, it’s not the range option I was hoping for. I’ve tried out most of the professions to level 5 or so, but I has hoping to get some opinions.

I’m strongly considering the Warrior as Rifle+Longbow, but I’m very interested in how that compares to a P/P+SB Thief. I want to have more 1200 skill options during keep assaults/sieges. However, what I love about the Thief is it’s mobility, being so effective in skirmishes and roaming. I’m not sure how a Rifle Warrior compares to that.

I’m not oppose to checking out other professions either, but I do like the aesthetics of gun wielding professions. Rangers are right out, because I do not want to micro-manage a pet. Engineers are a possibilty, but they do seem a little gimmicky and complicated to play. But, if they make better keep defenders and roamers, then I would definitely consider them!

Just looking for opinions from more experienced players than myself. Many thanks!

If you want to keep the mobility, escape options but being effective from range → mesmer is the way.

Rangers don’t actually have much micromanaging to do, you really just need to use those F2 skills when you need them.

I main a Rifle Warrior (with axe/shield on the switch). Your damage and range will be very nice. You also have access to a cripple with a quick cooldown. And if you trait for Crack Shot, the piercing makes Rifle an absolute beast in skirmishes (pierced shots will apply their conditions to all affected players). But you’ll lack a true AoE for sieges unless you swap to Longbow.

I really wanted to like Longbow. It’s got a great AoE (coincidentally, the only combo field a Warrior can produce), and the skills look great on paper. But I just feel the damage is kinda blah for what it’s worth, and you have to trait 10 points into the Tactics (vitality) tree just to give it good range. In my opinion, those 10 points would be better spent in a different tree, or at the very least on taking Leg Specialist instead.

Mobility is top notch, though. Signet of Rage on its own will grant you 30 seconds of swiftness every minute. And you have tons of weapon skills to supplement that if you dont mind doing lots of weapon swaps. With the right skill rotation, you can out-run just about anyone.

My highest alt is a shortbow Thief (with p+d on switch), so I’m probably on the same page as you style-wise. I think the Thief is more fun to play, but the Warrior is more well-rounded. For sieges, the Thief has a slight edge for hitting targets on walls. But Warrior can spec for shouts and keep his entire team boosted while still throwing out great damage. Like everything else in GW2, it’s all about tradeoffs and preferences.

I haven’t tried Rangers (don’t like pets) and my Eng is only like level 6, so I can’t really offer any insight on those classes.

Thanks a lot for the advice all!

As much as I want to consider all classes, I think I’m mostly torn between the Warrior and the Thief. Special thanks to TeamBattleAxe, that’s exactly the kind of input I need right now.

I’d love to get more opinions on Rifle Warrior vs P/P Thief if anybody else wants to share their thoughts. Thanks!

From what I can tell thief max range is only 900 so I’m not sure if that would factor into your decision making.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. All Rifle skills are 1200 range. Longbow skills are 900 unless traited for Stronger Bowstrings. Thief pistol/shortbow skills are all 900 except for Cluster Bomb.

Get a traited lonbow + high positions and you will feel like a pseudo snipper!