Guild Wars 2

I really do hope with the upcoming changes the Ranger will be a more viable profession… But as is, I believe I’ve had enough. I’ve tried every spec one can imagine and although if used properly the Ranger can have either amazing survivability or great DPS, they can’t have both. Not only that, they can’t even have a happy medium. It’s a great profession, and of the ones I’ve played (all of them save Elementalist) I’ve enjoyed this one the most. Unfortunately, after months of play time, then going back to my Engineer and Necromancer… The differences are a lot clearer than they used to be. I can’t put out high DPS without being vulnerable to death-by-a-stiff-breeze. And I can’t be tanky without hitting like a wet noodle. At least on my Necromancer (which I’ve now gone back to as my main) I can have tons of vitality/toughness and still deal decent damage. And thieves are usually too scared to come near me which is just an added bonus.
So as much as I love Ranger, and will certainly come back to the profession from time to time, I’m going to put this character to rest as a former main… Of the many mains I’ve hopped.

Don’t lose hope! No matter how many people tell you Ranger sucks they’re far from terrible. It’s not the profession that’s bad it’s the players. If done right, they can be a seriously formidable opponent. Unfortunately… I don’t seem to be as amazing with them as I wish I were. Either way, 19k with Rapid Fire is a pretty impressive number, despite being glassy as hell to achieve those kind of numbers, no one can say the Ranger is a crappy DPS at the very least.

Any how… If you’ve let your Ranger go, or are still hanging in there… Feel free to share your stories, what ever they may be, regarding the profession ( : I hate to be a quitter but I’m clearly not good enough to use this profession because although I win fights at least half the time, there are ones I know I’d have won if I had had just a bit more survivability or just a bit more DPS… Oh well I guess… The Necromancer has always suited my morbid personality anyway : 3

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

It’s not the profession that’s bad it’s the players.

You just bit yourself. You said that the class isnt up to par, then say that its not the class, but the player.

Rangers ATM are in a fine state. Give or take a few pet AI fixes and general bugs, the class is good. We are not suppose to be top DPS class, nor the top Condition damage class. Anet designed Rangers to be a skirmishing class, someone able to outfight another class and it shows, in PvP and Roaming WvW. For PvE, we are in the middle/upper middle in terms of survivability and damage.

IMO, stop trying to be something the ranger isnt designed to be. If everything was designed to be top damage, mind as well have no class besides a Warrior and no other class mechanics since they will all play the same.

Himei, Rangers do about 45% less damage with our burst than a Warrior, with near the same stats. That’s a problem right there, especially with pets having been nerfed. If we did 25% less damage, I’d be okay with it, because even then we’d be dangerous. But 45% less? If we can’t even get to the levels of burst other classes can, we’re worthless as is, especially with the pets having been nerfed so heavily, because this means all our attacks are not doing well enough to pressure anybody.

As a thief in WvW, I see a Ranger, I laugh, they aren’t going to pressure me enough for me to go defensive, not with any build they have. I see any other class, I get weary because I know they have builds that are going to make it so I’m probably going to need to play defensively.

Once again, the only thing being mentioned is Damage (Ryu). There is more to this game than damage. Damage is KING in this game (pve) for speed clears but that is only possible due to the Stacking “exploit”. I’ve had fun on my speed clear runs but also fun on my PUG groups because it wasnt all Zerk. We didnt stack, and had fun using our class mechanics to complete the dungeon. It terms of damage, NOTHING beats 100B but thats again due to AI exploiting of stacking. IF AI was better, like a human, it would evade out of it. I kinda love the Toxic Nightmare Court, they almost play like a “human” and will evade out of a 100b time to time.

Ranger Design Philosophy:
The Ranger is a resilient profession that excels at skirmishing by drawing from nature to support themselves as well as their allies. Alongside their pet, they have some of the best single target and sustained damage that will whittle their opponents down.

To me, that seems pretty accurate to our design philosophy. Sword dps is great sustained dps, NOT burst but sustained. We got a good access to poison/bleed to whittle down and nature skills such as spirits or healing spring to support.

As for a thief in WvW, you technically are being defensive if you are use stealth to heal/break aggro even if its part of class mechanics/build/playstyle. Dont worry about it, I havent had many thieves kill me in WvW but I couldnt kill them too because they would stealth and run with their tails between their legs only to try and gank me again later (usually when Im fighting another person/group). Im not going to hate, its part of what makes a thief a thief and I do it also on my thief in WvW, lol.

Can we use some buffs, sure, never hurts BUT its better to not have it at all than have it only to be taken away (nerf) that hurts more IMO because people get too used to it.

Himei.5379:

Once again, the only thing being mentioned is Damage (Ryu). There is more to this game than damage. Damage is KING in this game (pve) for speed clears but that is only possible due to the Stacking “exploit”. I’ve had fun on my speed clear runs but also fun on my PUG groups because it wasnt all Zerk. We didnt stack, and had fun using our class mechanics to complete the dungeon. It terms of damage, NOTHING beats 100B but thats again due to AI exploiting of stacking. IF AI was better, like a human, it would evade out of it. I kinda love the Toxic Nightmare Court, they almost play like a “human” and will evade out of a 100b time to time.

Ranger Design Philosophy:
The Ranger is a resilient profession that excels at skirmishing by drawing from nature to support themselves as well as their allies. Alongside their pet, they have some of the best single target and sustained damage that will whittle their opponents down.

To me, that seems pretty accurate to our design philosophy. Sword dps is great sustained dps, NOT burst but sustained. We got a good access to poison/bleed to whittle down and nature skills such as spirits or healing spring to support.

As for a thief in WvW, you technically are being defensive if you are use stealth to heal/break aggro even if its part of class mechanics/build/playstyle. Dont worry about it, I havent had many thieves kill me in WvW but I couldnt kill them too because they would stealth and run with their tails between their legs only to try and gank me again later (usually when Im fighting another person/group). Im not going to hate, its part of what makes a thief a thief and I do it also on my thief in WvW, lol.

Can we use some buffs, sure, never hurts BUT its better to not have it at all than have it only to be taken away (nerf) that hurts more IMO because people get too used to it.

1. Damage is king in this game, but it is not because of stacking. It is because the game is designed around active mitigation, where you can reflect, block or dodge key abilities and invalidate the need for tanky gear if you are skilled enough.
Stacking isn’t an exploit and it’s done because
*Melee is king, so you are grouped up in melee anyways
*Boons, buffs and blasts have a small range, so if you are scattered out ranging you won’t be able to buff or heal your team mates
*You can group up mobs for cleaving them down instead of having them scattered all over the place

2. 100 blades is not that high of damage. Don’t fall for big number syndrome. Highest hit/channel =/= highest DPS. Hundred blades is channeled over ~4s so the DPS is the channel divided by 4. Thieves and eles do way more DPS

RyuDragnier.9476:

Himei, Rangers do about 45% less damage with our burst than a Warrior, with near the same stats. That’s a problem right there, especially with pets having been nerfed. If we did 25% less damage, I’d be okay with it, because even then we’d be dangerous. But 45% less? If we can’t even get to the levels of burst other classes can, we’re worthless as is, especially with the pets having been nerfed so heavily, because this means all our attacks are not doing well enough to pressure anybody.

As a thief in WvW, I see a Ranger, I laugh, they aren’t going to pressure me enough for me to go defensive, not with any build they have. I see any other class, I get weary because I know they have builds that are going to make it so I’m probably going to need to play defensively.

Exactly where do you get those accurate numbers from?

What will a warrior do after the burst, run around in circles until he can burst again?

Warrior has weaknesses too.

Himei.5379:

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

It’s not the profession that’s bad it’s the players.

You just bit yourself. You said that the class isnt up to par, then say that its not the class, but the player.

Rangers ATM are in a fine state. Give or take a few pet AI fixes and general bugs, the class is good. We are not suppose to be top DPS class, nor the top Condition damage class. Anet designed Rangers to be a skirmishing class, someone able to outfight another class and it shows, in PvP and Roaming WvW. For PvE, we are in the middle/upper middle in terms of survivability and damage.

IMO, stop trying to be something the ranger isnt designed to be. If everything was designed to be top damage, mind as well have no class besides a Warrior and no other class mechanics since they will all play the same.

I specifically stated “I’m not as good with the profession as I’d like to be” if you had read more carefully. I also said no where that the profession was bad, or that it needed a buff. Only that I would like to see it become more viable because as is, I feel the tables are tipped too much in favor of any other profession I come across when roaming in WvW. I’m not trying to be top DPS, I simply don’t want to have to sacrifice all of my survivability to make my opponents go “oh kitten ” and back up a bit. I’m the kind of person who enjoys making my enemies panic, and putting out high damage in a short period of time is a great way of doing that. As a Ranger, even full DPS, I can’t do that against certain professions… So yes, they are supposed to be experts in skirmishing and more about whittling their opponents down. That shouldn’t mean that even when spec’d for DPS they still have to “whittle them down.”
Also, I’ve been kicked more than a few times from dungeon groups just for being a Ranger… And I’m not one of the ones who doesn’t know how to control their pets. I actively use them on passive and aggressive as they’re supposed to be. So that’s just another reason I’m leaving this profession… Because people treat it like a bad disease and I’m sick of being booted before even being given a chance to say “hi.”

solrik.6028:

RyuDragnier.9476:

Himei, Rangers do about 45% less damage with our burst than a Warrior, with near the same stats. That’s a problem right there, especially with pets having been nerfed. If we did 25% less damage, I’d be okay with it, because even then we’d be dangerous. But 45% less? If we can’t even get to the levels of burst other classes can, we’re worthless as is, especially with the pets having been nerfed so heavily, because this means all our attacks are not doing well enough to pressure anybody.

As a thief in WvW, I see a Ranger, I laugh, they aren’t going to pressure me enough for me to go defensive, not with any build they have. I see any other class, I get weary because I know they have builds that are going to make it so I’m probably going to need to play defensively.

Exactly where do you get those accurate numbers from?

What will a warrior do after the burst, run around in circles until he can burst again?

Warrior has weaknesses too.

Warriors have no weaknesses. Cleansing Ire destroyed their weakness to conditions, and Healing Signet destroyed their weakness to sustained damage. Btw, what did a warrior doing after burst have to do with anything, when you already know they’re going to continue attacking to finish off the prey, something any zerker build will do after bursting.

I support the OP’s conclusions, and would encourage him to take the next step once truly meaningful PvE/WvW changes fail to be delivered in the next 6 months — by finding a more rewarding hobby besides MMO’s. (I’m not naming mine, but I will say that more time away from MMO’s helped me discover I had a professional potential I didn’t think was there after so many failed attempts in the past). Take all that determination ya have, and actually turn into something that really inspires people.

RyuDragnier.9476:

solrik.6028:

RyuDragnier.9476:

Himei, Rangers do about 45% less damage with our burst than a Warrior, with near the same stats. That’s a problem right there, especially with pets having been nerfed. If we did 25% less damage, I’d be okay with it, because even then we’d be dangerous. But 45% less? If we can’t even get to the levels of burst other classes can, we’re worthless as is, especially with the pets having been nerfed so heavily, because this means all our attacks are not doing well enough to pressure anybody.

As a thief in WvW, I see a Ranger, I laugh, they aren’t going to pressure me enough for me to go defensive, not with any build they have. I see any other class, I get weary because I know they have builds that are going to make it so I’m probably going to need to play defensively.

Exactly where do you get those accurate numbers from?

What will a warrior do after the burst, run around in circles until he can burst again?

Warrior has weaknesses too.

Warriors have no weaknesses. Cleansing Ire destroyed their weakness to conditions, and Healing Signet destroyed their weakness to sustained damage. Btw, what did a warrior doing after burst have to do with anything, when you already know they’re going to continue attacking to finish off the prey, something any zerker build will do after bursting.

I just don’t get people who tout “Sustained damage” like it’s a thing that only we can do. We do it because we HAVE TO. A warrior’s auto attacks are still going to do more damage than ours even after he has blown his 100b/hammerstun burst. The same warrior will also have higher base armor, health, and our best heal skill on perma activation.

Until anet nerfs other classes so that they have to use burst as the means to kill someone alone, not just as an added injection of dps (this won’t actually happen, lets not kid ourselves) our “sustained damage” will always be inferior in virtually every environment. We won’t be useful in pve and no class fears a power built ranger for very obvious reasons.

Burst classes need to function like the Spy from TF2. You won’t kill someone by butter-knifing them in the face and a harsh breeze will take you down. However, through skilled play, you can one shot people and be a beast at it. There is no class like that now, and until there is, our “sustained dps” just isn’t going to a force to be reckoned with.

Sustained DPS in this game has another name..Its called Conditions…Making a Power Based build into a Sustained DPS class in this game is moronic, because it doesn’t work.

Sustained DPS requires you to be able to last longer then your opponent, and in a game where every class has a Self Heal, that’s not very useful.

Look at the Sustained damage of a Condition Based Build for example, On average we do 2000 damage a second with Conditions if we’re Condition Based, that’s Poison/Burning/a Decent Stack of Bleeds

There is no way to make a Sustained Based Power build that does that damage, without being glassy as hell.

Bah who wants to main an OP class :P

I love my mesmer, but I fully admit I play it when I feel the need to just go kitten because I can log on there, go into WvW in full berserker and kitten slap 90% of the people I come across without even trying, and the remaining 10% (pretty much just theives) have little chance to stop me escaping if I notice the danger they pose quickly enough.

Its fun, sure, but if I want a real fight… The kind that I can feel proud of and know that I didnt win by just zerker ganking, or because I can condi overload him with 3 abilities, or because my build just rocks their scissors, but because I genuinely outplayed them… Ranger. Every time ranger

Himei.5379:

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

It’s not the profession that’s bad it’s the players.

You just bit yourself. You said that the class isnt up to par, then say that its not the class, but the player.

Rangers ATM are in a fine state. Give or take a few pet AI fixes and general bugs, the class is good. We are not suppose to be top DPS class, nor the top Condition damage class. Anet designed Rangers to be a skirmishing class, someone able to outfight another class and it shows, in PvP and Roaming WvW. For PvE, we are in the middle/upper middle in terms of survivability and damage.

IMO, stop trying to be something the ranger isnt designed to be. If everything was designed to be top damage, mind as well have no class besides a Warrior and no other class mechanics since they will all play the same.

I do fairly well with the Ranger in all specs though dps is my favorite to play in. It got to the point I rarely died in WvW, maybe once or twice a week at most. Aside from that, I just leveled up my elementalist; they not only hit a lot harder, their CC, support, and escape abilities are far superior as well.

While the Ranger is fun to play (at least for me anyway), they are not on par with other classes no matter what spec they are in.