Guild Wars 2

Cannot KITE anyone (they walk right over our traps, seem everyone has immunities to our snares)

Hit like we’re sneezing on people (we hit for pathetic damage)

Seem squishier than ‘light armor’ wearers.

So what am I missing? We can do no damage, can’t kite, and die in 3 hits. . . .

Yes I’ve been WvW and Mists, but isn’t it bad when even the clothies charge you and melt your face?

@Turtles All The Way Down : Awesomeness right there bro
Cheer up, since brighter days are coming !

PS : If you think about it we can’t get any worse than our current state, which is still something :P

@ Turtles

I didn’t pick the wrong class. I love my Ranger and I do well with it.

@ Section

We have tons of kiting potential. There are some classes that are hard/impossible to kite (i.e., Warriors with Mobile Strikes) and everyone is going to have a tough time with them, not just Rangers.

If you build your Ranger right, you don’t have to “hit like a sneeze”. You can have good damage, good survivability, and good control. You won’t do anything extremely well, but that’s one of the downsides of playing a profession with so much versatility.

I swaped my elementalist for ranger and i wont change my ranger because i like it
we might need some changes but the main problem seems to be you

Section.2846:

Cannot KITE anyone (they walk right over our traps, seem everyone has immunities to our snares)

Hit like we’re sneezing on people (we hit for pathetic damage)

Seem squishier than ‘light armor’ wearers.

So what am I missing? We can do no damage, can’t kite, and die in 3 hits. . . .

Yes I’ve been WvW and Mists, but isn’t it bad when even the clothies charge you and melt your face?

Is this a troll?

Rangers are far from being only a utility.
We got great damage vs groups, lots of DoT’s, snares, stun, + 2 more stuns if you use spiders.

If played right, we can kill almost anyone in 1vs1 scenarios, and we do kitten well in groups battles as well.

I agree with Kelzo. I only play ranger and I am consistently the top player on my team and usually have top kills to go with that.

kiting: Many people have traits that stop immobilization and other control skills once every 90 seconds.

Squishier: This has to be a joke. I know i am one of the hardest things to kill in pvp. invulnerability, 2 dodges, switch weapons and then I have 2 more dodges form energy sigils along with the dodges from the sword I use. Heal in the midst of that and a single enemy cannot do enough DPS to bring me down.

Damage: I win 1 on 1s 95% of the time. I can even win 2 on 1s (if a third doesn’t intervene and they don’t rez). I also often get top kills…

I am a little saddened by this update. I feel like it will just be a domination afterwards…

however, for your problem I suggest another profession.

my main was a ranger but after rolling a thief all i find my ranger good at anymore is crafting

I don’t know how people can still try and claim Ranger is alright when the devs themselves have made a thread saying that utilities and weapons need changing to bring the Ranger up to par.

@section

Looks like you need more practice. Lots of it.

Besides things like condi thief, I have no problem killing most classes—even bunkers. Its all in the build.

Levetty.1279:

I don’t know how people can still try and claim Ranger is alright when the devs themselves have made a thread saying that utilities and weapons need changing to bring the Ranger up to par.

Rangers need a little love on some skills, but they are still very viable in PVP.

OP you basically need to go nearly full toughness, take all the defensive traits and make sure you have a movement weapon like horn or GS. You get space from thieves with glyph of hydromancy, cc traps, and shortbow for kitting. You will almost always have to take the first burst from thief and are unlikely to escape from heartseeker spam. But, with very high toughness and lots of condition damage you can beat glass canon type thiefs if you play well and they are noobs.

Basically the same can be said for other non-kitable class builds as well. That’s basically how it always plays out. You slow/snare/freeze them while piling on conditions, minimizing how often they can hit you and maybe finish with a sword auto attack+quickness burst (we used to be able to do this from range with shortbow but it doesn’t work anymore since nerf).

I like to have 2 dogs as well for the random knockdown they have. Knockdown is really powerful and for some reason that is one pet skill that hits a lot.

You will have exciting battles if you follow this philosophy and will be able to win a lot of 1vs1. Give up on glass canon ranger in pvp unless you like dying a lot.

Whether all this makes ranger good is another question, every other class I play seems to have more impact on the game, even if they are not top at 1vs1.

I need to l2p – I need a better build, I agree with both these things I’m sure.

Thanks for the feedback, but are there specific builds you can recommend (even something like 30,15,15,0,10,0 … (yes I made that up, but hey it might be ok yeah?)

The advice I’ll give on builds is :

Don’t go glass cannon in PVP, unless you have superhuman reflexes and you’re very good. If you are glass cannon, thieves will 1 shot you. Think outside the usual box – we have access to many weapons, not just bows. Tailor your traits and gear for survivability. Skills like [Protect Me], traited [Sigil of Stone], [Muddy Terrain] and the traps are all golden.

I won’t tell you my exact personal trait build. You must experiment and learn for yourself, to make your own. You will learn a lot by doing this. Open your trait window and look through all of them. Imagine the scenarios you run into and build accordingly.

(P.S put 5 points into BM. Quickness is awesome)

monepipi.5160:

The advice I’ll give on builds is :

Don’t go glass cannon in PVP, unless you have superhuman reflexes and you’re very good. If you are glass cannon, thieves will 1 shot you. Think outside the usual box – we have access to many weapons, not just bows. Tailor your traits and gear for survivability. Skills like [Protect Me], traited [Sigil of Stone], [Muddy Terrain] and the traps are all golden.

I won’t tell you my exact personal trait build. You must experiment and learn for yourself, to make your own. You will learn a lot by doing this. Open your trait window and look through all of them. Imagine the scenarios you run into and build accordingly.

(P.S put 5 points into BM. Quickness is awesome)

This is a good post with useful info. And I don’t blame you for not sharing your build because that’s what keeps you effective and then the “thieves” will try to plan accordingly

But on topic, yea I think Anet will be reworking the utility skills because they are in need of tweaking

@ Levetty

Rangers are alright. They definitely need some work, but you can still play a Ranger effectively. Rangers may not have the same range of effective builds, traits, and weapons as other professions, but it is possible to play a Ranger successfully.

@ Section

Here are a few builds that I’ve used successfully. The healing skills are completely subjective and it mostly depends on what you like (more healing or condition removal). If you prefer a little more healing and (possibly) more durability, go with Troll Unguent. For condition removal and a water field go for Healing Spring. Try to avoid Heal As One because it kind of stinks (like most of the starting heals).

Pets are also very subjective and it just depends on what you prefer to use in most cases. Wolf, drakehound, and jungle spider are my three personal choices for most situations.

Condition/Trap Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMEQNAV3fjEV511VWWoWCimCOZe2D+7oH9PkevgKcyE

You can swap out Spike Trap for Frost Trap if you prefer it over Frost Trap. I really like Flame Trap in combination with Frost Trap, but feel free to swap it out for QZ if you prefer to stack bleeds from shortbow a little quicker.

Power Longbow Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMEQNAT8XjEVN2RWWWsWCi1j9Eo+0PwJmC+zovgKcyE

This build is pretty much exclusively for W3 keep defense/attacking. It requires frequent weapon and pet swapping. You can slightly switch up traits to make it more effective in sPvP, but it won’t perform very well. It’s also not particularly great in one on one fights, but it can still be used.

Beastmastery Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMEQRAnf8XjEVN25VWWo2BimCOZemCFho3Dat+2XhTmA

This build is mainly focused on your pet doing damage. Weapon selection is pretty up in the air and the build can be easily modified to take advantage of other traits if you choose not to use one-handers. Focus your efforts on slowing and rooting your opponents so your canine or spider pet can do maximum damage.

[Edit: Just for the record, these builds cater to MY particular play style. You may prefer different traits, weapons, or utilities. Try them all out and see what you do and don’t like. Some of the Ranger abilities are complete stinkers, but they’re pretty easy to figure out.]

In my defensive. Ranger was the right choice. Anet just didn’t develop this profession well. Instead thought it needed nerfs to ‘balance’ everything else.

" YumCHA.8706"

In my defensive. Ranger was the right choice. Anet just didn’t develop this profession well. Instead thought it needed nerfs to ‘balance’ everything else.

other then the obvious easy as hell knock back achieved through kick (sword 1-b) i keep hearing about (beta or alpha) don’t know why they decided to go an nerf greatsword and other ranger weapons

[You know Energy sigils do have 9 sec inner CD ? You know all professions do have access to 2 dodges and heal as well ? You know that invulnerability has 2 min CD for you and the pet (also requires 30 points in power trait build), which is a huge chunk of time for spvp and tpvp standards ?]
“I only play ranger and I am consistently the top player on my team and usually have top kills to go with that.”
“Squishier: This has to be a joke. I know i am one of the hardest things to kill in pvp.”

So to get this straight .. You are the best dps around. Apparently, you are the most survivable thing around … Right Hulk ? Either link you build, including pictures with your spvp / tpvp stats or you can take your “stuff” elsewhere …

@monepipi : “…,but they are still very viable in PVP.” What role do we fulfill ? What profession would you discard in favor of the Ranger ?

Personally, the only weak matchup for me now is unicorn thieves, or a very dedicated condition build.

Rangers can roam quite well. They also complement a necro for some anti bunker action…that said, no, I wouldnt discard any profession for a ranger. Maybe a warrior.
You can excel in PVP with a ranger. Just don’t expect it to be as faceroll as a guardian or a thief. If you want a spot in tpvp, go with friends/guildmates.

I don’t recommend nldixon.8514’s condition based build as a starting point for spvp (the other 2 builds are out even without looking because you definately don’t want to go longbow or beastmaster).

For the problems you describe OP I suggest skirmishing 30 with traits IV, X, and XI; wilderness survival 30 with II, IX, and XII, and beastmastery 5, with the last 5 in either marks or nature magic (last 5 in this case doesn’t really matter).

Use a shortbow plus warhorn and axe. Put glyph of hydromancy on the horn. Put either a bleed on crit chance on the axe and bow, or a remove condition glyph. You might also want to put a glyph of hydromancy on the shortbow-I carry a spare bow with that glyph so I can swap if needed.

For armor use the supior rune of the undead. Use the rabid amulet and jewel.

Utilities take frost, spike, fire traps. Swap fire trap for signet of renewal if there are lots of necros etc. Use troll ugnuent. Elite-entangle.

Use two dog type pets.

Your role is to be this tough kitten that does insane condition damage. Here is a basic “rotation”. On the offense, use troll uguent, open with the horn buff then bird attack, then the axe chill, either kite or close distance depending on what you are facing. You want to drop all your traps on whoever it is; use other axe attacks and swap to bow.

In this and every scenario you need to be aware of your pet. He will do nice things like KD for you especially with the enemy slowed/snared/frozen a lot. Swap pets on CD and use short bow auto attack for the quickness burst. Swap pets when downing reviving someone for the quicknes quick finishers.

I guarantee that you will do fine with this build and see the up side of ranger. Once you get your head around it try out GS or longsword+horn, plus start moving traits around to experiment.

The set up I gave has high defense, protects u periodically from cc, helps you finish downed players quickly and has high condition based damage. The weapon set up is forgiving because it is all ranged and all the weapons have ranged slows/dazes. Axe is also good against mesmer and stealth thieves because of the bounce attack.

Yasha’s build works too. I’d take Empathic Bond over Barkskin though. I don’t really like Barkskin that much.

I personally prefer the 15 points in Beastmastery for the 20% faster pet swap time (and 20% more quickness).

I NEVER (ever ever ever ever ever) run a PvP build without a stun break and we only have Lightning Reflexes. It’s nice to have an extra trap, but if you get stunned and mobbed you have ZERO chance at survival whereas LR at least gives you that chance to make your get away.

Yes sorry if I seemed harsh before, nldixon’s condition build would do the job but the one I gave is just easier because it has more inbuilt defense. He/she is probably quite good so can probably work around having less defense.

I rarely seem to get stunned in pvp, except by thieves and the build I gave you can absorb their opener, swap weapons to freeze them, lay traps, and try to kite away. Once they realize they can’t instagib you they’ll target you less. Most people see ranger and think “yes easy kill!”.

I find the problematic cc in spvp are knockdowns and immobilize. The signet of renewal will break both stun and immobilize so its a sound choice if that is an issue during a match. I don’t have a solution to KD in that build-stay clear of engi and some eles I guess.

We’ll go with “not terrible” for my skill level. I don’t know about quite good.

I always forget about Signet of Renewal! The only thing I didn’t like about it was the long cool down, which is why I tend to stick with Lightning Reflexes. If you’re rooted though, yeah… You’re boned.

Haya jii san.1978:

@Eurantien : A troll right there !
“Damage: I win 1 on 1s 95% of the time” Well unless we don’t play the same class, link build otherwise this is 95% a huge pile of … right there!

[You know Energy sigils do have 9 sec inner CD ? You know all professions do have access to 2 dodges and heal as well ? You know that invulnerability has 2 min CD for you and the pet (also requires 30 points in power trait build), which is a huge chunk of time for spvp and tpvp standards ?]
“I only play ranger and I am consistently the top player on my team and usually have top kills to go with that.”
“Squishier: This has to be a joke. I know i am one of the hardest things to kill in pvp.”

So to get this straight .. You are the best dps around. Apparently, you are the most survivable thing around … Right Hulk ? Either link you build, including pictures with your spvp / tpvp stats or you can take your “stuff” elsewhere …

@monepipi : “…,but they are still very viable in PVP.” What role do we fulfill ? What profession would you discard in favor of the Ranger ?

It’s not hard to dominate on a Ranger in spvp….it’s just harder than doing it on thief or mesmer. Some people are just better at certain things than others…it’s a fact that many in our society have been trying to mask for a couple of generations now. You are not a special snowflake. Some people can do things better than you. No, we’re not all winners….

That said, if you are having trouble with doing well on your ranger, go play a glass canon elementalist for 10 ranks (like I did), then come back to ranger and enjoy dominating people, while wearing training wheels. If you can do well and stay alive on a glass canon ele (read: non-bunker), you will absolutely scrub the floor with people on your ranger, because you will understand the importance of timing dodges, stuns and stun breaks, terrain, distance to closest team mate, etc.

What? It seems fine to me, elite aoe root, torch drop aoe, shortbow bounce back. Pets can stun, knockdown, cripple and slow skill use.

Sounds like user error to me.

Batlav.6318:

I swaped my elementalist for ranger and i wont change my ranger because i like it
we might need some changes but the main problem seems to be you

You are so wrong. It’s not the players, it’s the lack of power to our pets and our gear.