Guild Wars 2

Hello

Ive been running condition ranger a few weeks now. I’m having trouble justifying running both sets in WvW. They both have 900 range. Which is what I’ll call skirmish range.

I prefer running axe torch. I want to add the short bow in. So I’m asking some of you experienced druids how to use them both well, or should i focus on one or the other? And stick with longbow as my off weapon? I feel right now, as if long bow adds a lot to my axe torch set, which it doesn’t have. Which short bow does not.

Thank you for any advice you can provide

Double ranged weapon sets will end with you having long periods of time when you can’t attack due to reflects, which will be more abundant after the expansion. Not to mention both axe and longbow are kinda slow so blind spam can be problematic as well.

Also, no defense on those sets.

If you’re dead set on longbow, then i’d suggest going sword/torch as your off set, so you get evades, poison, leaps through your fire field (or healing spring if you’re also going traps for decent added heals) and you won’t be completed neutered by projectile counters.

Axe may have 900 range, but it is not effective at 900 range, it is only really effective at melee range because of Splitblade. Then again, so is Poison Volley. This in mind, you stack miles more bleeds with a SB than you can with an Axe. Look at them in a build together with Quick Draw. LB doesn’t really add much to condi ranger, unless you are running hybrid stats, even then hybrid is more suited to SB because of its bleed on AA and scaling.

I like things like this Also, see the build thread in my sig for tons more builds mate.

Axe/dagger+sword torch is much better synergy imo.

Shortbow is a garbage tier weapon unfortunately after they kept nerfing it to make longbow more appealing (and surprising no one, nobody took longbow still until they actually buffed longbow).

I hate to be the one to do it but this link will show up eventually anyway:

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Ranger_-_Stealth_Trapper

Zenith.7301:

Axe/dagger+sword torch is much better synergy imo.

This is what I think is run typically.

Each set brings an evade, long range condi skill, poison, melee capability, soft cc.

Sword is pretty much needed for its movement/evades. It’s soooo good at keeping you alive.
Axe/dagger brings more to condi ranger then shortbow does. Just compare the condition duration numbers. Plus it brings weakness and chill.
Torch has pretty much become mandatory condi/hybrid item.

Justine.6351:

…Axe/dagger brings more to condi ranger then shortbow does. Just compare the condition duration numbers.

After you look at the duration numbers, take a look at the cast times with aftercast included and the power scaling as well as the trait synergy. It is far better to re-apply multiple bleeds with short durations than one long duration of several bleeds as it totally counters cleansing.

With Axe, over 7s you can get about 30 possible bleed ticks if you are in melee range. With SB, that is more like 40 ticks. Plus if you are in melee range like with axe, you also get 20 ticks of Poison (9s). Before you say ‘flanking’ test it out to see how small the angle really is. If you are using Sharpened Edges, Axe can get about 60 ticks, SB can get about 80. The kicker is the constant re-application that cannot be cleansed as its just stacked back up in multiple short durations.

When you include dagger though, well its a whole different game, but then again, the way the two sets are played is very different. I guess I actually just like SB.