Guild Wars 2

After playing the Ranger, Warrior, Guardian, and Theif to 80, and fully gearing them all in exotics, and starting on my Mesmer who just hit level 60 it just feels like the Ranger is one of those classes in any MMO, that was not completely thought out, and hastily thrown together.

xxxzavulonxxx.8413:

I like mine. I am a glass cannon, so I have to keep in mind to stay away from damage while dealing it…. and I do a fairly good job at it…

My theory is there is no reasonable reason to play a ranger in a manner that isn’t a glass cannon. Because other classes cover the other options you have as a ranger much better.

Ranger damage, even glass cannon spec’d, roughly matches the damage of a half-bunker spec’d ele in AE damage, of a toughness spec’d thief in single target melee damage, and in single target range damage probably close to a toughness spec’d warrior. And far less group utility than any spec guardian.

Rangers have zero areas where they excel, and are mediocre to average in most.

xxxzavulonxxx.8413:

I like mine. I am a glass cannon, so I have to keep in mind to stay away from damage while dealing it…. and I do a fairly good job at it…

My theory is there is no reasonable reason to play a ranger in a manner that isn’t a glass cannon. Because other classes cover the other options you have as a ranger much better.

Ranger damage, even glass cannon spec’d, roughly matches the damage of a half-bunker spec’d ele in AE damage, of a toughness spec’d thief in single target melee damage, and in single target range damage probably close to a toughness spec’d warrior. And far less group utility than any spec guardian.

Rangers have zero areas where they excel, and are mediocre to average in most.

xxxzavulonxxx.8413:

I like mine. I am a glass cannon, so I have to keep in mind to stay away from damage while dealing it…. and I do a fairly good job at it…

My theory is there is no reasonable reason to play a ranger in a manner that isn’t a glass cannon. Because other classes cover the other options you have as a ranger much better.

Ranger damage, even glass cannon spec’d, roughly matches the damage of a half-bunker spec’d ele in AE damage, of a toughness spec’d thief in single target melee damage, and in single target range damage probably close to a toughness spec’d warrior. And far less group utility than any spec guardian.

Rangers have zero areas where they excel, and are mediocre to average in most.

Some of the issues with a Ranger are as follows.

Pets

— F2 abilities are very slow to cast, with very long recast times.
— Pets just are not smart. The Mesmers illusions are a lot smarter. If someone steatlhs on a Ranger pet, he stands there saying; “duh”, and will not react once they come out of stealth, but a Mesmer’s illusions will wait for the target to unstealth, and IMMEDIATELY go after them.
— Pets are extremely squishy, even with 30 in Beastmastery. The only solution to this I can think of is make them immune to AEs, or take 50% less damage by AEs.

Trait synergy, and/or uselessness. Here are some of the changes I think need to happen.

— Malicious Training; Should not just effect the Rangers pet, but also the Ranger.
— Piercing Arrows should mirror the Warriors Crack Shot; "All arrow attacks pierce targets. Longbow & Shorbow skills recharge 20% faster.
— Pet’s Prowess; Pets do 30% more damage on critical hits. Rangers do 10% more damage on critical hits.
— Companion’s Might; Critical hits grant might to the Ranger, and the Ranger’s pets.
— Quick Draw; Entering combat with a Longbow, or Shortbow gives the Ranger 2 seconds Quickness. Note: Similar to the Rangers opening Strikes.
— Expertise Training; Pets and the Ranger deal extra condition damage.
— Hide in Plain Sight; Applies stealth for 5 seconds rather than camoflage, allowing the Ranger to move after the CC effects have expired.
— Concentration Training: Boons applied by the Ranger, and the Rangers pets last longer.
— Master’s Bond; Your pet has a bond with you that increases its stats by 10% of the Rangers stats.

Weapon Changes

Shorbow bleed effect should not require you to flank.
Longbow auto attack needs to be FASTER.
Axe attacks should be 1000 range, rather than 900 range, and damage should be increased by 5%.
Sword auto attack should be revisited, and made more fluid.

Kincaidia.3192:

xxxzavulonxxx.8413:

I like mine. I am a glass cannon, so I have to keep in mind to stay away from damage while dealing it…. and I do a fairly good job at it…

My theory is there is no reasonable reason to play a ranger in a manner that isn’t a glass cannon. Because other classes cover the other options you have as a ranger much better.

Ranger damage, even glass cannon spec’d, roughly matches the damage of a half-bunker spec’d ele in AE damage, of a toughness spec’d thief in single target melee damage, and in single target range damage probably close to a toughness spec’d warrior. And far less group utility than any spec guardian.

Hmm from my experience a glass cannon ranger in full berserkers has a lot more damage potential then any of those. The problem is it’s so situational. You do best against an unorganized zerg like the OP said, but let him try that on an organized guild zerg that’s stacking retaliation and reflect. He will kill himself in a few short seconds.

I tend to play with and against more organized zergs that use good tactics, and in that case ranger is pretty much worthless. I’ve tried all types of builds and gear, but still haven’t found something viable for large organized battles.

Speccing full glass cannon on ANY character in ANY PvP environment is a bad idea. You can not hope to compete vs any defensive build like that, your damage is nerfed against them but they hit you for full damage.

With testing on this (Full tank thief vs full glass cannon) we each hit the other for roughly the same amount of damage, the trade off being the tank had higher HP so advantage tank. Same principle can be applied to any class vs itself when comparing one build to another.

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Kincaidia.3192:

Adaneshade.2409:

I run a S/D + SB ranger. I’m only level 20 atm but feel very confident even roaming solo in WvW. They are a solid class.

Lolzers in my trousers.

Ranger is a bad class to start out on. It’s lacking self-synergy, and it’s an uphill battle all the way.

But if you like pain, go for it.

Speaking as an 80 ranger with 150+ skill points from wvw and an 80 thief with 50+ skill points.

I also have a thief with over 1000 current hours played on it. A s/d ranger will give any thief a run for their money if played properly. The highly evasive nature of the build causes a ton of initiative wasting for the thief. Don’t build glass cannon, stack toughness, condition damage, and vitality. Currently the only class I’ve not beaten in 1v1 vs 80s on a regular basis is mesmers.

You can’t expect people to believe this hogwash, now do you?

I have roughly 7000 kills as a Thief, with roughly 50 deaths (AS A GLASS CANON), and 5000 kills as a Ranger with rhoughly 200 deaths (BUNKER BEASTMASTERY BUILD). I also sport a 80 Warrior, and 80 Guardian.

You could not kill any of my 80 toons, let alone killing the ones with regen, while I was afk. A GOOD Thief doesn’t die, let alone to a Ranger of all classes. <laughs>

The nerve of some people. Honesty is a virtue, not something to be feared.

Wow, because a sub 80 ranger has never killed an 80 character, ignorance is bliss.

Rangers are not a great class but any class is capable of killing any class even if they are below 80 if played right.

Nuzt.7894:

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Kincaidia.3192:

Adaneshade.2409:

I run a S/D + SB ranger. I’m only level 20 atm but feel very confident even roaming solo in WvW. They are a solid class.

Lolzers in my trousers.

Ranger is a bad class to start out on. It’s lacking self-synergy, and it’s an uphill battle all the way.

But if you like pain, go for it.

Speaking as an 80 ranger with 150+ skill points from wvw and an 80 thief with 50+ skill points.

I also have a thief with over 1000 current hours played on it. A s/d ranger will give any thief a run for their money if played properly. The highly evasive nature of the build causes a ton of initiative wasting for the thief. Don’t build glass cannon, stack toughness, condition damage, and vitality. Currently the only class I’ve not beaten in 1v1 vs 80s on a regular basis is mesmers.

You can’t expect people to believe this hogwash, now do you?

I have roughly 7000 kills as a Thief, with roughly 50 deaths (AS A GLASS CANON), and 5000 kills as a Ranger with rhoughly 200 deaths (BUNKER BEASTMASTERY BUILD). I also sport a 80 Warrior, and 80 Guardian.

You could not kill any of my 80 toons, let alone killing the ones with regen, while I was afk. A GOOD Thief doesn’t die, let alone to a Ranger of all classes. <laughs>

The nerve of some people. Honesty is a virtue, not something to be feared.

Wow, because a sub 80 ranger has never killed an 80 character, ignorance is bliss.

Rangers are not a great class but any class is capable of killing any class even if they are below 80 if played right.

It’s cool, man. Doubters are gonna doubt. I’m fairly well known in the dueling circuit on my server; so I’m not at all threatened by this person’s uneducated comments.

Eagle Eye gives you 1500 range … that makes a big, big difference in WvW unless you’re spending all of your time roaming and not defending/sieging. Also, consider that your auto-attack does max damage at 1000+ range so the “window” is bigger for being in the max damage range.

Glass cannon ranger is good for rolling with zergs, and (my preference) Beastmaster bunker is good for everything else. IMHO.

I really enjoy my Ranger in WvW!

Jomg.9061:

You can 1v1 pretty well but you don’t have any good escape skill so you can’t roam solo like D/D ele or rogue.

Not entirely true.

If you are Norn there is this:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Become_the_Snow_Leopard

It has saved my kitten many times, roaming into unfavorable situations or even full zergs, and I forego other (really good) elites to have it available. Since small-scale and roaming is usually my game in WvW.

Rangers are bloody awful trowel dregs. They need to be buffed.

Aww and Ranger is my fav class. I run sb/lb build, and as long as I keep my pets switched up, I can survive (that and kite kite kite)

Boreal.9826:

Glass cannon ranger is good for rolling with zergs, and (my preference) Beastmaster bunker is good for everything else. IMHO.

I really enjoy my Ranger in WvW!

It’s not too bad for non-zergy smaller group stuff.

My main issue is bursty dmg classes will pop me fast if I don’t have time to respond.

Adaneshade.2409:

Nuzt.7894:

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Kincaidia.3192:

Adaneshade.2409:

I run a S/D + SB ranger. I’m only level 20 atm but feel very confident even roaming solo in WvW. They are a solid class.

Lolzers in my trousers.

Ranger is a bad class to start out on. It’s lacking self-synergy, and it’s an uphill battle all the way.

But if you like pain, go for it.

Speaking as an 80 ranger with 150+ skill points from wvw and an 80 thief with 50+ skill points.

I also have a thief with over 1000 current hours played on it. A s/d ranger will give any thief a run for their money if played properly. The highly evasive nature of the build causes a ton of initiative wasting for the thief. Don’t build glass cannon, stack toughness, condition damage, and vitality. Currently the only class I’ve not beaten in 1v1 vs 80s on a regular basis is mesmers.

You can’t expect people to believe this hogwash, now do you?

I have roughly 7000 kills as a Thief, with roughly 50 deaths (AS A GLASS CANON), and 5000 kills as a Ranger with rhoughly 200 deaths (BUNKER BEASTMASTERY BUILD). I also sport a 80 Warrior, and 80 Guardian.

You could not kill any of my 80 toons, let alone killing the ones with regen, while I was afk. A GOOD Thief doesn’t die, let alone to a Ranger of all classes. <laughs>

The nerve of some people. Honesty is a virtue, not something to be feared.

Wow, because a sub 80 ranger has never killed an 80 character, ignorance is bliss.

Rangers are not a great class but any class is capable of killing any class even if they are below 80 if played right.

It’s cool, man. Doubters are gonna doubt. I’m fairly well known in the dueling circuit on my server; so I’m not at all threatened by this person’s uneducated comments.

You two are so cute. There is no way a level 20 Ranger is going to kill any level 80 who knows half of what their class can do. It just will not happen. Killing level 80 toons played by players who’re not good at the class they’re playing means absolutely nothing. It sure as hell doesn’t show whether or not a class is balanced.

I could duel your level 20 Ranger 1000 times with any of my level 80s, and win every single time.

You could always provide a video.

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Nuzt.7894:

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Kincaidia.3192:

Adaneshade.2409:

I run a S/D + SB ranger. I’m only level 20 atm but feel very confident even roaming solo in WvW. They are a solid class.

Lolzers in my trousers.

Ranger is a bad class to start out on. It’s lacking self-synergy, and it’s an uphill battle all the way.

But if you like pain, go for it.

Speaking as an 80 ranger with 150+ skill points from wvw and an 80 thief with 50+ skill points.

I also have a thief with over 1000 current hours played on it. A s/d ranger will give any thief a run for their money if played properly. The highly evasive nature of the build causes a ton of initiative wasting for the thief. Don’t build glass cannon, stack toughness, condition damage, and vitality. Currently the only class I’ve not beaten in 1v1 vs 80s on a regular basis is mesmers.

You can’t expect people to believe this hogwash, now do you?

I have roughly 7000 kills as a Thief, with roughly 50 deaths (AS A GLASS CANON), and 5000 kills as a Ranger with rhoughly 200 deaths (BUNKER BEASTMASTERY BUILD). I also sport a 80 Warrior, and 80 Guardian.

You could not kill any of my 80 toons, let alone killing the ones with regen, while I was afk. A GOOD Thief doesn’t die, let alone to a Ranger of all classes. <laughs>

The nerve of some people. Honesty is a virtue, not something to be feared.

Wow, because a sub 80 ranger has never killed an 80 character, ignorance is bliss.

Rangers are not a great class but any class is capable of killing any class even if they are below 80 if played right.

It’s cool, man. Doubters are gonna doubt. I’m fairly well known in the dueling circuit on my server; so I’m not at all threatened by this person’s uneducated comments.

You two are so cute. There is no way a level 20 Ranger is going to kill any level 80 who knows half of what their class can do. It just will not happen. Killing level 80 toons played by players who’re not good at the class they’re playing means absolutely nothing. It sure as hell doesn’t show whether or not a class is balanced.

I could duel your level 20 Ranger 1000 times with any of my level 80s, and win every single time.

You could always provide a video.

90% of the people you run into while solo roaming are absolutely clueless about their class. The argument here is whether or not one can successfully roam on an upscaled ranger, not whether they can beat every level 80 they come across.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience at low level, not everyone is on the same playing field, skill-wise.

Adaneshade.2409:

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Nuzt.7894:

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Kincaidia.3192:

Adaneshade.2409:

I run a S/D + SB ranger. I’m only level 20 atm but feel very confident even roaming solo in WvW. They are a solid class.

Lolzers in my trousers.

Ranger is a bad class to start out on. It’s lacking self-synergy, and it’s an uphill battle all the way.

But if you like pain, go for it.

Speaking as an 80 ranger with 150+ skill points from wvw and an 80 thief with 50+ skill points.

I also have a thief with over 1000 current hours played on it. A s/d ranger will give any thief a run for their money if played properly. The highly evasive nature of the build causes a ton of initiative wasting for the thief. Don’t build glass cannon, stack toughness, condition damage, and vitality. Currently the only class I’ve not beaten in 1v1 vs 80s on a regular basis is mesmers.

You can’t expect people to believe this hogwash, now do you?

I have roughly 7000 kills as a Thief, with roughly 50 deaths (AS A GLASS CANON), and 5000 kills as a Ranger with rhoughly 200 deaths (BUNKER BEASTMASTERY BUILD). I also sport a 80 Warrior, and 80 Guardian.

You could not kill any of my 80 toons, let alone killing the ones with regen, while I was afk. A GOOD Thief doesn’t die, let alone to a Ranger of all classes. <laughs>

The nerve of some people. Honesty is a virtue, not something to be feared.

Wow, because a sub 80 ranger has never killed an 80 character, ignorance is bliss.

Rangers are not a great class but any class is capable of killing any class even if they are below 80 if played right.

It’s cool, man. Doubters are gonna doubt. I’m fairly well known in the dueling circuit on my server; so I’m not at all threatened by this person’s uneducated comments.

You two are so cute. There is no way a level 20 Ranger is going to kill any level 80 who knows half of what their class can do. It just will not happen. Killing level 80 toons played by players who’re not good at the class they’re playing means absolutely nothing. It sure as hell doesn’t show whether or not a class is balanced.

I could duel your level 20 Ranger 1000 times with any of my level 80s, and win every single time.

You could always provide a video.

90% of the people you run into while solo roaming are absolutely clueless about their class. The argument here is whether or not one can successfully roam on an upscaled ranger, not whether they can beat every level 80 they come across.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience at low level, not everyone is on the same playing field, skill-wise.

I love the hidden insult at the end. <grins>

I have never had any issue on a low level, and have leveled all my toons in WvW doing Karma trains, which has allowed me to get from 1-80, having enough Karma for the Orr Exotic gear, until I get the gear that better suits my build. However, when I’m playing my low levels in WvW, I’m targeting other low levels, and havn’t really solo fought an 80, that I can remember.

My opposition to your fairy tale is that there is no possible way I could lose to an unscaled class, on any of my toons, even fighting the flavor of the month classes. Knowing the Ranger, and how much they NEED thier traits, I don’t see how you could possibly kill any of my 80s, even if I just auto attacked. For that matter, I don’t think your level 20 Ranger could get my level 60 Mesmer to half health.

The level 80 food alone far surpasses anything you’ll get as a level 20 Ranger, and Omnom Pie alone would counter any damage you could do.

I just don’t see it possible, but you could provide a video of you doing so. In the amount of time we’ve been discussing this, I’ve got 6 levels on my Mesmer, so if you’re level 20, I’m almost wondering if you havn’t found a bug.

Yeah, I need to see a video.

So, what you’re admitting then is that you are the average 80? not even a little above average? Once again, YES I lose handily, as in get my kitten royally kicked in by people who are level 80 and are actually good on their class. But how many people do you run into in WvW that are good? Most of these people are simply PvE’rs pretending to PvP (ie. they are walking badges even for upscaled players so long as they have a remote clue). This makes for a generally positive experience while solo roaming.

Oh, btw I’m more than willing to take you up on that duel challenge, any time. What server are ya on?

Adaneshade.2409:

So, what you’re admitting then is that you are the average 80? not even a little above average? Once again, YES I lose handily, as in get my kitten royally kicked in by people who are level 80 and are actually good on their class. But how many people do you run into in WvW that are good? Most of these people are simply PvE’rs pretending to PvP (ie. they are walking badges even for upscaled players so long as they have a remote clue). This makes for a generally positive experience while solo roaming.

Where did I say I’m an average 80? When you have to resort to insults, you’ve already lost the argument, and only solidifies my belief that you’re telling a tall tale here.

The ONLY way I could see this happening is if you pumped 20 points into Beastmastery, dodged around avoiding getting hit, while your pet does the kills, since the pet upscaled at 80, is still the same pet a level 80 has.

If that is the case, man I would love to run on your server. I average 170 badges a night fighting higher quality players.

Adaneshade.2409:

Oh, btw I’m more than willing to take you up on that duel challenge, any time. What server are ya on?

I’m on Anvil Rock, so you would have to join Darkhaven, or if you transfer after Friday you’ll want to be on Kaineng(sp?).

yeah, will have to be at least after Tuesday (xfer lockout)….

Adaneshade.2409:

yeah, will have to be at least after Tuesday (xfer lockout)….

Go to SPvP, the stat’s are not that much different. No Xfer and it can be settled there.

Sol.4310:

Adaneshade.2409:

yeah, will have to be at least after Tuesday (xfer lockout)….

Go to SPvP, the stat’s are not that much different. No Xfer and it can be settled there.

Thought sPvP was server specific? Either way, the argument is whether an upscaled ranger can be a threat in WvW.

Necro here. The only thief that even puts a dent in me is pistol/dagger. I can literally just spam scepter autoattack and go into deathshroud when needed. Finally, corrupt boon and that thief is doomed. Just saying, my build is bunker, so yeah. Necros do have problems, but thieves aren’t my weak point. Mesmer and d/d ele are much harder. A skilled thief is a tough opponent for anyone. Fortunately, there are very few of them.

P.S. Not that I don’t think Rangers and Necros don’t need some love. They do (depending on build).

Sol.4310:

Adaneshade.2409:

yeah, will have to be at least after Tuesday (xfer lockout)….

Go to SPvP, the stat’s are not that much different. No Xfer and it can be settled there.

Not even close. An upscaled level 20 Ranger in WvW will have the same gear he had before zoning in, while a sPvP Ranger will have exotics, and access to much more, like level 80 Sigils, and Runes.

It’s not even close to being the same.

I should note that i keep gear at my current level all greens and fully runed. In order to maximize the scaling.

Adaneshade.2409:

Thought sPvP was server specific? Either way, the argument is whether an upscaled ranger can be a threat in WvW.

I think the issue here is that what you consider a good solo roaming class isn’t the same as what other people might think. Ganking lowbies, people not ready for 1v1 or just all around bad players… and then losing to the average level 80 really isn’t such a great accomplishment. Certainly not something to recomend a WvW class / build around.

rangers are just playthings for op’d thieves in wvw, which is why I’ve stayed out of wvw for a while now.

Columba.9730:

rangers are just playthings for op’d thieves in wvw, which is why I’ve stayed out of wvw for a while now.

I got hit by a thief tonight who did 3 strikes for a total +25,000 damage, (I only have about 16k) before I ever saw him…… so yeah I agree with this guy ^

Diehard.1432:

I still find it hard to believe you could roam around freely with lvl 20 ranger, without all the significant traits and high level runes/armor.

To OP, i say don’t believe anything until you see proof or you play the class yourself

It’s pretty easy, possibly server dependent (SoS so most of the map is usually taken) but I run around with my lowbie alts in wvw without any issue (pve is extremely repetitive, the personal story isn’t nearly as interesting as it should be)

rangers are just fine.. until you try some others..
its not like they are broken.. ranger is (was?) my main.. after ranger i tried out (lvl80 full geared) warr, ele, thief..

i have been ranged medium armor class whole my life.. but this game forced me to try others.. and i’m glad it did

ele <3<3<3<3<3<3
thief <3<3<3 (i find it a bit boring)
warr <3<3 (a bit more boring than thief)
ranger <3

1v1 is fine.. but ranger just cant handle 5/4/3v1 in most situations..
with my ele, on the other hand i can just roflstomp 90% of 3v1 fights.. 5/4v1 are also very doable unless you run into well organized group..

i find that very limiting, and i dont wanna that kind of limitations..
but if you dont care bout that kind of solo fights and want play/support as a group, ranger is great asset..

My first toon was a Ranger and I got my world completion on it before I moved into WvW. Took some time to make a full GC spec using LB & Axe / Warhorn. Took me even longer to understand I was not a front line fighter with my build. I do not play my ranger much in WvW anymore but still enjoy it when I do. I do think when on the Ranger I benefit my team.
The one thing I notice the most is how fast the Ranger gets focused by an organized teem of defenders. My experience is a good team will typically go after green arrows, cloth classes and Rangers first. (be ready for this OP)
Toon’s in the order I like to play the most (in WvW) are:
Necro. lvl 80
Ele. lvl 80
Guardian lvl 42 (current toon playing in WvW and could be my #1 at lvl 80)
Thief lvl 80
Ranger lvl 80
Warrior lvl 80
Mesmer lvl 32 (This guy is a boat anchor in WvW at current lvl but should be killer at lvl 80)
Engineer lvl 1 Not started yet.
I don’t see a lot of Great Sword build Rangers in WvW. It did not fit my play style. I did try Sword / Dagger for a while and liked it. In the end I opted for the Axe for the multi target and chill and the Warhorn for the hawks (good single target damage) and Call of the Wild for the team fury, might , and speed buff. (a lot of rangers over look the fury and might buffs. Its a good opener to any fight) Long Bow has a lot to offer.
Like any class I think you should find what works for you tempered by what you can find on the forums to hone your build.

I have fully exotic gear 80 Ranger, 80 Warrior, 80 Guardian, 80 Thief. In order of my favorites, or those that feel complete in WvW, most importantly running with a group are as follows.

Running solo, I prefer in order; Warrior, Thief, Ranger, Guardian. For some reason solo my Ranger is funner than a Guardian solo. Actually, I know why, the Guardian is slow as dirt.

Running in groups, I prefer in order; Guardian, Warrior, Thief, and finally Ranger. The Ranger is going to be one of the first targets in a group on group situation, and you have very little to provide survivability, or get away from the burst that will come your way.

I’ve been playing my Ranger religiously the last three weeks, and do good versus all classes, but occasionally I get this Thief that does impossible damage, and no matter what I do, I just can not handle/survive it. Most Thieves don’t have this kind of build, and more than not they’re new to the class so they’re easy to deal with.

Case in point, just now;

I have 2632 Armor

2636 Steal
– This triggered Natures Protection 5 sec Protection
4,361 Cloak and Dagger
– Wait, I have a 33% damage reduction on.
6,662 Backstab Note: This happened in less than a second. Keybind or Mouse Macro.
– Wait, I still have a 33% damage reduction on.
– This was a frontal backstab, which I think should be removed, and require back only.
– Hit the Thief with Winter’s Bite.
– Try to trigger Lightning Reflexes, yet it goes on cooldown, nothing happens. WTF?!??!?
– I dodge, escaping the damage of auto attack, and one heartseeker, which triggers 2 seconds more Protection.
4,025 Heartseeker
– Funny that, I still have 33% damage reduction on.
– This also triggers Barkskin.
4,025 Heartseeker
– I still have 33% damage reduction from Protection.
– Barkskin is either bugged, or does not stack with Protection.
– I dodge escaping Cloak and Dagger, which reapplies my Protection for another 2 seconds.
4,025 Heartseeker
Dead
Send my pet into a camp solo, and watch him die for being worthless to me.

The entire fight was roughly 5 seconds, 6 at most. My pet barely even touched the glass canon Thief, and my damage wasn’t much help either.

If you want to solo camps then you’re best of going for Longbow, Axe & Warhorn and traiting into tanky pets with beastmastery. That is in hope that nobody else happens to run by.

Rangers in general are under rated. We are very limited to what we can do but we can still pull most things off. General solo roaming WvW or in small groups of say 5 I’d suggest shortbow & greatsword.

Greatsword is a great gap closer and combined with Quickening Zephyr will grant you a lot of evades on the auto attack and you also have #4 counter attack to push back pesky thieves and others.

Shortbow is the no brainer just because it has an evade, nice attack speed, stun/daze and a cripple.

I’m currently running a tanky kind of build utilizing Signet of Stone and Protect Me. Works really well but I’m using Power Precision Crit gear so I still deal decent damage. I am traited into regen and such and use troll unguent because its just so powerful the heal it actually gives you.

My old utility skills for my pure power build still involved protect me, Signet of Renewal and Quickening Zephyr, healing spring for condi removal and nice regeneration and combo field with greatsword leap.

I generally do pretty well in my 1 v 1s and even some where me and a friend are out numbered. It’s a bunch of fun. Just try it out

(Tanky build is pretty much 12 seconds of immunity every minute and a half)

Rangers are free kills. Class need to get fixed.

Emerge.9640:

Rangers are free kills. Class need to get fixed.

Since we are on the same server we can’t 1v1 in WvW…… would you be up to putting that “free kill” to the test in an empty sPvP room?

Rangers are alot of fun and I love mine, but honestly, if you are the type of person who wants to dominate with little or no resistance, do yourself a favor and go D/D ele or any thief. We are not free kills by any means, but bad players playing any class are generally easier to kill than good players playing a class they enjoy.

I wear power/vit/toughness and have a build with Lbow/Sbow that lets me work fine in zerg v zerg, group v group, or even 2’s. 1v1’s at best I can survive but wvw isn’t a dueler’s arena, its a team game. But hey, you wanna buff me, sure I’ll take it.

Adaneshade.2409:

Emerge.9640:

Rangers are free kills. Class need to get fixed.

Since we are on the same server we can’t 1v1 in WvW…… would you be up to putting that “free kill” to the test in an empty sPvP room?

You could always swtich servers, and fight my Warrior, Guardian, and Thief, and when you’re tired of losing to them, my Ranger.

Fist of all i must tell you that i only play one class ,that’s ranger and i have close to 1k hours on it ,~15k kills in WvW.
Played a melee ranger ~90% of the time and allmost all the rangers i’ve seen are just bad,squishy bow users.
If you wana roam just remember that our strenght (as i see it) is the ability to dodge a lot.The pet is very important in small number fights,it supliments your damage regardless of what spec you are.Don’t let him die ,swap when he’s low health,or at least try to.
If you run in organized groups allways have Healing Spring and Entangle sloted,i found those very usefull.

I see from people vids that our class is not that strong compared to the other ones when it comes to … every aspect of pvp basicaly but i find it a lot of fun and challengeing,maybe i just like punishing myself, so ignore advice from other people,it’s all about you,and what you enjoy.

There are 2 things I can definitely say about a ranger:

1. I understand they are very strong underwater combatants.

2. Based on number 1, I wouldn’t waste my time. There are 0 underwater keeps/towers in WvW and 1 completely underwater entrance to a keep. In any event I would use siege. My brother and one of my friends play a ranger, and they don’t enjoy it as much as there other characters. They say things like “It just feels like a little less” (referring to how it compares to there say necro, guardian or warrior, or thieves).

It’s not a terrible profession they enjoy it (and I bet in the near future Ranger’s will get some love from Anet), but atm … I would throw the question back to you and ask what appeals to you about the ranger over the other professions?

Rangers are alot of fun to play, I love mine. And although I love the idea of this class they can be good at alot of things but don’t excel at anything. I have an elementalist I am levelling, and I can’t believe the difference in survivability. Rangers need a little love.

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Emerge.9640:

Rangers are free kills. Class need to get fixed.

Since we are on the same server we can’t 1v1 in WvW…… would you be up to putting that “free kill” to the test in an empty sPvP room?

You could always swtich servers, and fight my Warrior, Guardian, and Thief, and when you’re tired of losing to them, my Ranger.

So, no then?

Rangers are good, they need a few fixes here and there but to claim they’re the worst class is rather silly.

Adaneshade.2409:

Longtomsilver.8031:

most people thinking 1vs1 is WvWvW but it is not.

WvWvW is masszerg, keep defense and keep attack.

comparing my ele with my ranger, it is like day and night.
my ele can dish out 10 times more overall damage/support than my ranger in the same situation/time.

Maybe the way YOU play WvW is. There are those of use more interested in experimental builds and solo play than being a zergling, though.

Oh, and even in group play, dps is not everything; but I understand that’s a typical mistake made by PvErs in PvP metas.

So with whole 10 points you have at lvl20 what experimental build can you have that is so awesome.

Moddo.7105:

Adaneshade.2409:

Longtomsilver.8031:

most people thinking 1vs1 is WvWvW but it is not.

WvWvW is masszerg, keep defense and keep attack.

comparing my ele with my ranger, it is like day and night.
my ele can dish out 10 times more overall damage/support than my ranger in the same situation/time.

Maybe the way YOU play WvW is. There are those of use more interested in experimental builds and solo play than being a zergling, though.

Oh, and even in group play, dps is not everything; but I understand that’s a typical mistake made by PvErs in PvP metas.

So with whole 10 points you have at lvl20 what experimental build can you have that is so awesome.

My level 20 is not my only toon…….

Adaneshade.2409:

jkctmc.8754:

Adaneshade.2409:

Emerge.9640:

Rangers are free kills. Class need to get fixed.

Since we are on the same server we can’t 1v1 in WvW…… would you be up to putting that “free kill” to the test in an empty sPvP room?

You could always swtich servers, and fight my Warrior, Guardian, and Thief, and when you’re tired of losing to them, my Ranger.

So, no then?

So no then what? I’m not the person who you challenged, but instead a person who has challenged you, if you change servers.

There is an advantage of being up level 80 in wvw. Previously I got tired of my level 80 ranger being killed by thieves while I look at e map for 3 sec, So i roll a thief n go straight into wvw. That was quite sometime ago, but I remember my thief got a 50 pt buff in power due to some guild buff, n it increases my power from 2000+ to 3000+. An increase of almost 1000. I stop playing thief because of my stiff finger, so I dun know what is the average power of a thief, or a glass cannon one. But I think the guild buff effect to a low level thief is quite impressive.

snacktime.1082:

As someone who has 5 level 80’s and wvw’s a lot, I’d say rangers are sub par overall. You will have less of an impact in a medium/large battle then pretty much any other class.

I agree. After levelling up my 1st character (mesmer), ranger seemed to be underpowered and lacking in survivability for wvw. I’ve put her on the shelf for the moment.