Guild Wars 2

Treble.1563:

Hell, this past weekend I tried every other class that could use a ranged physical weapon to see if I could get the burst I want… Nope.

So what is the kind of burst that you want?

If what you’re hoping for is the ability to down someone in 3 seconds from 900+ range, you’re probably not going to get it. As you said, Anet has basically systematically nerfed most of the ranged burst options in the game. They apparently want that kind of super burst to carry the additional risk of having to close to melee range. The “fix” you’re hoping for probably isn’t going to appear. The ranger shortbow is probably about as high as they want long-ranged DPS to get.

I stand by my reply a little earlier in the thread. I spent last evening dealing with the swarms of undead working on completing the L75 – 80 areas. GS does better than SB and I leveled using SB. It handles groups better and I seem more survivable. I switched between GS and SB several times and even respecced to make SB better to ensure I wasn’t slanting my opinion based on a nice exotic wep. From strictly PvE tough area in constant fighting, I’m sold on GS. I’ll know more when I do a dungeon.

AIMonster.8236
Paired with the Shortbow I’ve won many 1v4s and even a 1v6 in WvW. But sure, let’s buff the second best weapon in the most overpowered profession (in my opinion) in the game because people don’t know how to properly utilize it.

^ I call so much BS on this. Show me a recent video of you even killing any competent Thief or Warrior 1vs1 using the GS. Please, show me how well you know how to properly utilize this weapon. 1vs4? 1vs6? Lol. AFK players don’t count.

Stice.5204
So what is the kind of burst that you want?

^ You’re not understanding burst. We have burst, but it’s on Shortbow and 1H Sword, which also happen to be condition weapons. There is no division of weapons between burst and condition because they’re all front-loaded into two weapon sets.

The burst I want is a little bit more damage than a Shortbow can do with auto attacks over 8 seconds (increasing with range), except instead of waiting 8 seconds to dish it out (sustained damage), you dish it out instantly on an 8-second cooldown (burst damage).

That’s what burst is. We have a front-loading damage ability on a cooldown (that actually does considerable damage unlike Rapid Fire). Due to LB’s pathetically slow attack speed, we NEED some sort of burst mechanic on it to put it on par with SB’s sustained damage in terms of DPS.

Rapid Fire right now is sort of like that, except it does about 75% of the damage a Shortbow can do over 10 seconds on a 10-second cooldown, and while it’s on cooldown, SB has already done more than twice the DPS the LB has — not including bleeds and poison.

AIMonster.8236:

“Paired with the Shortbow” I’ve won many 1v4s and even a 1v6 in WvW.

Sorry dude, but that voids your whole argument.

The issue is that you NEED the shortbow to do anything at all.. there is people who do not want to use the shortbow, and then the greatsword, and even longbow as well, is absolutely useless.

The greatsword should be viable as a main weapon, and not just some support for minor aoe damage. The longbow itself is equally useless, because it does such low damage without even having the aoe of the greatsword.

I don’t like the design of the shortbow either, its only strength is its high dps auto attack, the other abilities on it are just boring and weak, which is why I don’t use it, even though it is the only viable option for the ranger for both pve and pvp.

I said I wasn’t going to reroll, but I have to consider going thief or something, as the more I advance in the game, the weaker my ranger is getting, and that is just not much fun.

The problem is that even with a stationary target, and your jaguar or lynx doing constant damage without having to chase, the total damage is still multitudes lower than that of the other professions, and while the greatsword has a block and a short daze, that really doesn’t make up for such a gigantic gap with other professions, who also have utility abilities by the way, it’s not like the greatsword utility is so much better.

Saying that the ranger is okay on its own is pointless, you have to compare it with the other professions. You can ooze your way to lvl80 with the greatsword I guess, but other professions just do it so much faster and easier. The shortbow build works and is much easier and faster, but I don’t want to be forced to play a build that I don’t enjoy at all, I derive no joy from using a shortbow, the skills are just not interesting enough for me. I greatly enjoy the greatsword, but all I can do with it is play downleveled content.

Please stop blowing things out of proportion; ranger+pet damage is not “multitudes” lower than war or thf, even against single target. Burst dps is not the only damage variation in the game, and being lower does not make it outrageously lower.

Additionally, regarding war and thf having good additional skills on their weapons, I disagree. In this argument, we will only be comparison one weapon from each profession (unless you want to compare a build, in which case a simple claim as war or thf dps is higher is completely void because now skill/traits, survivability, chasing ability, weapon swap, stat distribution, rune/sigil choice, etc will all come into play). Since your concern is damage output, we can select the highest dps weapon from war (gs) and thf (dagger/dagger).

war gs has auto attack with vulnerability, hundred blade (pure dmg), spin (engage ability. Shortened range make it not usable as an escape tool), sword throw (offensive ability), and a charge (engage, escape tool).

thf d/d has auto attack, heart seeker (offensive. Hop is good for movement, but not escape due to long start-up/recovery), blossom (offensive), dancing dagger (good offensive/defensive ability thanks to cripple), and cloak and dagger (good offensive, decent defensive ability with stealth)

I strongly disagree that warrior gs or thf d/d can match ranger gs in utility. Swoop can be used to engage or escape, parry can be used offensively to stop incoming burst damage or defensively to create distance to escape, and a daze/stun is absolutely essential in 1v1 to stop your opponent from various actions including healing. I don’t think I need to mention the auto evade on auto-3.

Regarding being forced down a particular playing style, again, I agree the issue is there, but again, the cause is not because GS burst damage is subpar. The cause is because pet’s are a necessity for any respectable ranger build right now. They simply are too important to be neglected, and a F2 only build on pet is simply not viable. If you only buff GS, then the complaint would be people will feel that they are being forced into using GS. Currently, there is an established role for each weapon:

GS- Defensive/tank, viable against crowds, melee
Sword- Superior 1v1 capabilities, dps, melee
Longbow- CC and long range burst, slightly lackluster in PvE at the moment, amazing weapon in siege battles in WvW
Shortbow- best dps, decent burst (quickness), good cc capabilities, purely single target
Axe- Range AoE option, good for strafing, less damage than gs but safer
axe(offhand)- melee dps support, reflection
dagger- 1v1 purposes
warhorn- Team oriented boon support
torch- team oriented condition damage support

The roles assigned between ranger weaponry is reasonably balanced with little overlap. You have to maintain these roles when a change is implemented. Otherwise you are not fixing the problem; you end up just patching it and then another problem arises. This is why a rebalance is needed, and not a independent buff to one weapon.

In practice, I would like to a build with shortbow+second weapon set of your choice face off against 2-3 vet risen + another half dozen regular risen and kill them in a reasonable amount of time. The tank ranger build with GS/dual axe or warhorn will not lose in a large PvE fight to the shortbow, especially since toughness and cond damage are down the same trait line. I deal more AoE damage, last longer in direct combat for more sustained damage and can sport dps pets without having to worry that they would die. In WvW, shortbow is worthless outside strike teams against supply camps. In sPvP, shortbow can shine because 1v1-2 is more common. Likewise in dungeons, shortbow is good against bosses since it’s a 5v1 fight (If i’m not asked to tank, i switch to shortbow). However, don’t mistaken single target dps as the only factor that matters in a fight. There are situations that shortbow is superior. Likewise, there are situations that GS is superior.

In comparison to other professions, the argument is the same: Warrior and thf dps weapon setup may have more damage, but it’s not always the optimal choice. Glass cannon has its places depending on the situation, and burst has its advantages as well as disadvantages. Having superior firepower does not equal being overall superior.

Apologies for long post.

Too many people thinking of PVE. You could literally get by in PVE using nothing but a horn.

Show me a successful LB/GS Ranger in PVP (that does more than sit back and let his friends tank while he freely shoots).

Oh wait, they’re all condition builds.