Guild Wars 2

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I’m looking for some build/armor/rune advice for my 80 ranger. I’ve been playing a ranger and I do like my ranger. The trouble I’m having is getting on the right path to fit my play style. I enjoy WvWvW and I find myself using longbow/axehorn almost all the time. I enjoy using the long range of the longbow and keep defenders off the wall while the melee and siege weapons pound away at the gates. I know people say do this and put out more damage and do that but its not my style. I feel I am really supporting my fellow realm attackers this way. I use search and rescue and always rush in to revive downed allies and toss down some healing and pet buffs. All this in mind I’m looking for that gear/build advice. I’d enjoy reading any constructive advice thanks in advance.

It sounds like you play a ranged version of what I do (I go swinging melee). I use tough/vitality/power armor/weapons and cleric tough/power/healing jewelry. I also have 30 in BM to maximize healing potential and give my pet more survivability as it does what it does.

I also use 30 in WS to improve toughness and cash in on the reduced damage when you get low (awesome for zerg fighting as it gives you a chance to rotate to the back and heal up). 10 into Nature Magic for improved regen uptime. I have Runes of Dwayna for more healing and regen duration. I can keep regen up with 100% uptime. Combined with rune of the wild passive and it becomes really tanky.

I likewise run around and heal all the glass kitties when I do dungeon runs WvW. The armor health and regen gives you a good bit of survivablity as you rez and you rarely have to worry about dying unless you find yourself out of position.

For full support, go nature magic and beast mastery and use spirits. Keep in mind that spirits are still pretty lackluster, so the support you bring won’t be all that impressive.

s&r is pretty worthless due to it being buggy, so you’re better off switching it with another spirit or with quickness for 4 seconds of double-speed ressing.

Well, for gear you’ll want as much Berserker gear as possible. If you feel you’re too squishy, then get either some Valkyrie gear or Power/Tough/Vit gear.

As for build, it will depend on your play style. If you’re spending a lot of time in big castle battles and want a supportive type role, you won’t need big defensive abilities as much and you could even consider running a spirit build. Just bear in mind that spirits quickly become useless when you don’t have an absolutely safe space to drop them.

Talent-wise, you’ll want 20-30 in Marks of course to get Eagle Eye along with Steady Focus. I would also recommend getting at least 20 in Skirmishing since you’ll want crit from the investment. There aren’t a lot of good choices for your first tier of Skirmishing since a pet doesn’t do much on a wall, but Primal Reflexes may be a good choice. The bleed on crit is rather weak since the bleed only lasts 1 sec, so it’s hard to recommend that.

Beyond this, you probably have a good bit of flexibility. Most talents that work everywhere else will be good here, although Soften the Fall, a talent that is usually useless, can be viable for WvW.

For runes, I would recommend of the Centaur since this gives you 100% swiftness with a warhorn and being able to travel quickly is big in WvW. For Sigil, go with Accuracy.

edit oh yea, Quickening Zephyr is pretty awesome for just about every build, so consider taking that along with Wilderness Knowledge from the WS tree. As mentioned above me, it’s great for making a quick rez on an ally in a dangerous spot.

My advice (if you dont do this already) since you enjoy rescuing downed allies: Use longbow #4 skill to your advantage. If you see an enemy trying to finish off an ally, run in close enough to knock that enemy back. Use quickness (from pet swap or quickening zephyr) to revive people faster!

thanks for the great advice !!! I will be putting a lot of these suggestions to good use.