Guild Wars 2

After having my mind blown with all the negative topics in the last hour or so , i have come to the conclusion that most of the players here tend to think of the ranger with a limited perception .

I have read here , many a time , that the rangers fail in comparison to other classes when they choose to specialize in something.

Their full DPS GC builds are subpar.. Yes they cannot compare to the warrior .
Their escape mechanisms are subpar .. yes they cannot compare to the elemental or thief .
They cannot buff as well as a guardian .. so on so forth

Another gripe with the rangers that i have heard is that they do not have a clear role in WvW . Maybe , maybe not .

Now i will try to offer a different perspective on the matter :

1)There is no class in the game that can offer such versatility in a single build . Show me a class that can go full bunker build while maintaing significant condition potential and extreme physical damage pressure at the same time !!

I am talking about the 0 0 20 20 30 shaman gear ranger beastmaster build .

2)There is no class in the game that can stack so many bleeds while chaining evade after evade

3) One of the best 1vXers in closed spaces with the trapmaster spec

4) How does having barrage , muddy terrain and entangle not help teamfights in WvW ??? Need more CC ?? how about point blank shot, hilt bash , cripple shot , wolf leaps …

What i am trying to say is this ; The ranger class WILL NOT beat any other in a single specialization . But , when every other class specializes they become on trick ponies (warrior dash+HB combo.. easy enough to avoid , made for 50 IQ kids) . Ranger never is a one trick pony .
Sure , the ranger will not compare to the elementalist, but thats because eles are imba , and then some . Thiefs are one trick ponies as well . There are one trick ponies as well. They will beat GC builds , but they cannot touch even semi bunker builds , let alone full tank beastmaster , trapper or shaman . It is a simple matter of build counters .

To summarize :
1) Yes, ranger fails in fully specializing and then matching up to other classes
2)The ranger has a build in JackOfAllTrades mechanism with the pet . It is a crime not to take full advantage of it
3)There are problems with the pet AI , but there are also ways to work around it
4) The ranger is harder to play and not as intuitive as the warrior or the thief . So quit yer whining and start practicing!!!!

With all teh luv to my fellow ranger enthusiasts , Choko

Jack of all trades fails in almost all group content because you don’t have to spec into a balanced build when someone else can tank/heal/dps for you.

Uh…my time as a full bunker ranger never had ‘extreme physical damage pressure’ at any time whatsoever. My greatsword hit like a wet noodle. People with half a brain learned fast to kill my pet first, which made me effectively damageless and out of options as switching out from a downed pet is a minute long operation.

“There is no class in the game that can stack so many bleeds while chaining evade after evade”

….that’s like saying no one else in this game other than elementalists can use four elements.

“One of the best 1vXers in closed spaces with the trapmaster spec”

Yeah, you know when there’s only one viable build in the cabinet for a 1 v 1 situation, your class is severely kitten

For 4….have you played any of the other classes before?

Your arguments aren’t really arguments, they’re just….observations? It’s like trying to find some good in the Holocaust or WW2, I don’t get the point.

“Name another world event that gave just as much technological innovations as WW2!”

Yeah, we’re just dodging bullets at this point.

1) And so what? Our versatility probably makes us the least wanted member of the group. And I can see no versatility – only trapper and bunker builds viable.
2) Evade after evade? Using 1h sword probably. Well, that is just fantastic.
3) I seriously doubt that ranger is one of the best in 1vX. 1v1 maybe.
4) Barrage is good but LB is crap. Entangle is easily avoided and takes only 5 targets.

I just have no desire to write all flaws in ranger mechanics. Hundreds of rangers already expressed all their complaints on forums. No other forum is more full of complaints, believe me.
Rangers are NOT useful in the group. After this patch they are even more unuseful. I just want to break the screen when I see overpowered banners standing near the boss and giving huge buffs, while my squishy poor spirits die in every single corner og the room. That is PATHETIC. I won’t argue with you, cause there are always people who will smile sitting in tons of c r a p.

Wonderful post Lyndis!

Lyndis.2584:

Uh…my time as a full bunker ranger never had ‘extreme physical damage pressure’ at any time whatsoever. My greatsword hit like a wet noodle. People with half a brain learned fast to kill my pet first, which made me effectively damageless and out of options as switching out from a downed pet is a minute long operation.

QFT!

you guys seem to just prove my point , that you are too bias to work through all the problems . And no, this is not insulting anyone , this is just an observation . There are things that you simply cannot change . You adapt , one way or the other, by making and tweaking builds or by running another class .

Chokolata.1870:

you guys seem to just prove my point , that you are too bias to work through all the problems . And no, this is not insulting anyone , this is just an observation . There are things that you simply cannot change . You adapt , one way or the other, by making and tweaking builds or by running another class .

Which is why I’m currently leveling an ele and thinking about a thief. I reccomend everyone to do the same.

I have a near full T3 norn set on my ranger. Biggest mistake of my life and a waste of 100+ gold.

Thanks Chokolata. I just wanted to drop in and let you now that you aren’t alone. I’m very happy with my ranger, and the global changes to quickness (accompanied by the buff to QZ) hasn’t changed a thing.

I’m also an avid GS user, so the buffs there are really nice as well. I’ll miss the pet skill cd on swap, but it’s just something to get used to.

RummyTheMad.7290:

Thanks Chokolata. I just wanted to drop in and let you now that you aren’t alone. I’m very happy with my ranger, and the global changes to quickness (accompanied by the buff to QZ) hasn’t changed a thing.

I’m also an avid GS user, so the buffs there are really nice as well. I’ll miss the pet skill cd on swap, but it’s just something to get used to.

Happy because your GS was pretty much the only thing buffed this patch?

How many weapons can the ranger use again?

Which ones are in sore need of help?

Is greatsword really what Anet should even be looking at?

Try answering those questions and re-evaluate the patch.

lordhelmos.7623 posted a great build in this very forum. Some people added to it as well . I even added a build that uses the longbow in a great sustained cycle of dps , pet buffs and crowd control and not for its 1 . I would suggest you read the topic , if you have not already.

All ranger weapons are vible , if a bit of a hyperbole sometimes . Like i said , sometime the class is not intuitive at all

Lyndis.2584:

RummyTheMad.7290:

Thanks Chokolata. I just wanted to drop in and let you now that you aren’t alone. I’m very happy with my ranger, and the global changes to quickness (accompanied by the buff to QZ) hasn’t changed a thing.

I’m also an avid GS user, so the buffs there are really nice as well. I’ll miss the pet skill cd on swap, but it’s just something to get used to.

Happy because your GS was pretty much the only thing buffed this patch?

How many weapons can the ranger use again?

Which ones are in sore need of help?

Is greatsword really what Anet should even be looking at?

Try answering those questions and re-evaluate the patch.

I use all of the weapons from time to time, and they are all extremely effective at what they do well. So, to answer your question: all of them are usable, and none are in sore need of help. I just happen to like the GS quite a bit, and it received a buff so I commented on it.

I don’t share your negative attitude, and I’m not trying to convince you to quit whining. Whine all you want. I’m old enough and observant enough that I realize that things change. It’s how you cope with these changes that help to define who you are. You want to waste your time and energy complaining, then please feel free to do so. I certainly will not stand in your way. In the meantime, I’ll do what I’ve been doing the whole time – playing and getting better.

Best of luck to you.

RummyTheMad.7290:

Lyndis.2584:

RummyTheMad.7290:

Thanks Chokolata. I just wanted to drop in and let you now that you aren’t alone. I’m very happy with my ranger, and the global changes to quickness (accompanied by the buff to QZ) hasn’t changed a thing.

I’m also an avid GS user, so the buffs there are really nice as well. I’ll miss the pet skill cd on swap, but it’s just something to get used to.

Happy because your GS was pretty much the only thing buffed this patch?

How many weapons can the ranger use again?

Which ones are in sore need of help?

Is greatsword really what Anet should even be looking at?

Try answering those questions and re-evaluate the patch.

I use all of the weapons from time to time, and they are all extremely effective at what they do well. So, to answer your question: all of them are usable, and none are in sore need of help. I just happen to like the GS quite a bit, and it received a buff so I commented on it.

I don’t share your negative attitude, and I’m not trying to convince you to quit whining. Whine all you want. I’m old enough and observant enough that I realize that things change. It’s how you cope with these changes that help to define who you are. You want to waste your time and energy complaining, then please feel free to do so. I certainly will not stand in your way. In the meantime, I’ll do what I’ve been doing the whole time – playing and getting better.

Best of luck to you.

Classy use of the ’I’m older and wiser’ argument chaser, I hope all your arguments with your SO if you ever get one aren’t so terribly made.

Lyndis.2584:

RummyTheMad.7290:

Lyndis.2584:

RummyTheMad.7290:

Thanks Chokolata. I just wanted to drop in and let you now that you aren’t alone. I’m very happy with my ranger, and the global changes to quickness (accompanied by the buff to QZ) hasn’t changed a thing.

I’m also an avid GS user, so the buffs there are really nice as well. I’ll miss the pet skill cd on swap, but it’s just something to get used to.

Happy because your GS was pretty much the only thing buffed this patch?

How many weapons can the ranger use again?

Which ones are in sore need of help?

Is greatsword really what Anet should even be looking at?

Try answering those questions and re-evaluate the patch.

I use all of the weapons from time to time, and they are all extremely effective at what they do well. So, to answer your question: all of them are usable, and none are in sore need of help. I just happen to like the GS quite a bit, and it received a buff so I commented on it.

I don’t share your negative attitude, and I’m not trying to convince you to quit whining. Whine all you want. I’m old enough and observant enough that I realize that things change. It’s how you cope with these changes that help to define who you are. You want to waste your time and energy complaining, then please feel free to do so. I certainly will not stand in your way. In the meantime, I’ll do what I’ve been doing the whole time – playing and getting better.

Best of luck to you.

Classy use of the ’I’m older and wiser’ argument chaser, I hope all your arguments with your SO if you ever get one aren’t so terribly made.

Lol! Do you just want to argue or something? I’m not even disagreeing with you… I wasn’t even making a comparative statement, so no argument was even presented from my side.

I think the patch offers some interesting changes. You don’t. You’ve chosen to express your opinion, and I’ve chosen to express mine. See how simple that is? No need to get all worked up about it.

Ah, the standard, delusional “I’m the only one who’s right and everyone else is wrong!” thread after an update.

Feel free to backup you claims of curbstompery with some kind of evidence and not just “See! Trap builds! SEEE!!!!”

There are 3 professions based on versatility.
Engi, Ranger, Ele.
All of them are actually quite strong in pvp where being able to do multiple things well is a benefit.
In PvE, content doesn’t really demand versatility, because encounters are relatively straight forward in comparison So it’s about what you bring that is special and Rangers fall apart at that point. So the versatility is wasted because linearity demands specialization as I see it.

ensoriki.5789:

There are 3 professions based on versatility.
Engi, Ranger, Ele.
All of them are actually quite strong in pvp where being able to do multiple things well is a benefit.
In PvE, content doesn’t really demand versatility, because encounters are relatively straight forward in comparison So it’s about what you bring that is special and Rangers fall apart at that point. So the versatility is wasted because linearity demands specialization as I see it.

Fair point, in pvp with the dynamic shifts from 1v1 to group fights, I can see where our versatility would be an asset.

However much people might wish to deny it, there is a clear divide between PvE, sPvP, and tPvP content, to the point where they are quite different games. Until it is treated as such, I expect no positive development in this game.

For the record I am a PvE player with a level 80 for each of the three adventurer classes.

Anet has been clear about versatility only regarding ellis and engys.

Here you can read their balance philosophy, which is what really matters in the end.

So the Only Way to be a Ranger is to go full bunker build?

Burnfall.9573:

So the Only Way to be a Ranger is to go full bunker build?

The only way to go ranger is to go warrior(pve) or mesmer(pvp).

lol just kidding.

In all seriousness go BM Bunker or trapper, that’s all that’s left, until next patch.

I dont recall the devs ever saying they wanted the ranger to be a jack of all trades class. That was what they wanted for the elementalist.

Rangers dont need to be as tough as a guardian, or as burst damaging as a thief. However rangers do need something that set them apart from other classes. A class needs something that makes it shine compared to other classes that other classes dont have. Ranger does not currently have this. It probably should have been something about our pets, but pets are so broken right now, especially in pvp/wvw that its simply not the case.

A few places they could start:
1. Fix pet pathing so that a player cant simply run circles around a tree confusing your pet from following.
2. Fix pet skills from simply not working even when you click them and they seem to be going off, but dont.
3. Remove the skill root on pet F2 skills, so that they actually are useful in pvp/wvw. So that players simply cant move 5 feet away causing the skill to completely miss.
4. Give pets inherent AoE damage resistance, something they need in ALL aspects of the game. That way they dont instantly die in zergs, group fights, or in dungeons.

If thief stealth worked as well as ranger pets, you wouldnt ever see people complaining about stealth.

ChillyChinaman.6057:

Burnfall.9573:

So the Only Way to be a Ranger is to go full bunker build?

The only way to go ranger is to go warrior(pve) or mesmer(pvp).

lol just kidding.

In all seriousness go BM Bunker or trapper, that’s all that’s left, until next patch.

No no, you do have it right. If you want to PvE roll a warrior and stick to rifles/longbow and GS. A warrior makes for a better ranger than a ranger. Just treat your party as your support pets that have good AI.

We did have the best target CC to dmg ratio… until the quickness and pet nerf.

Lol didn’t even know about the QZ + Longbow Berserk build strategy until I started reading the reactions to the recent patch here.

80 Ranger, just doing normal attack with short bow skill 1 on PvE, I don’t see a problem with rolling a ranger so far at all, can solo champions just fine. Indeed, the damage by numbers is so much less than my warrior, but I find it also less stressful to play. Just run around kite mobs while pet do the tanking. Shouldn’t even need toughness or high burst/dps. Only downside is it takes a bit longer to kill mobs. But never had a problem with any one situation so far, where some I had with my warrior before.

I like ranger. It’s great for farming.