Guild Wars 2

Hiya! I don’t visit these forums often, because I’ve yet to really play a Ranger to it’s fullest, but I’ve recently come up with an idea for a build I’ve titled “The Hurricane” and I would really like some feedback from veteran Rangers on the build and stat choices. Here we go:

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/ranger/?6|1.1k.h2|c.1k.h2.8.1k.h1j|1k.71d.1k.71d.1k.71g.1k.71g.1k.71h.1k.71h|4u.d1f.2u.d19.3u.d19.21l.d19.31l.d19.2u.d19|0.0.k4a.k39.u35c|15.1|e

The concept of this build is to bring high offensive and defensive support through healing, condition debuffing, and condition removal on a constant basis, topped off with perma-regeneration. Along with this support also comes a very hearty Ranger who focuses mainly on melee combat through Greatsword and Sword/Dagger (and sometimes Axe). Rounding off at about 20k HP, this build provides the Ranger with near 37% reduction in damage received (~70% reduced damage with Protection), more than three evades, the ability to reflect projectiles, block, and stun while providing mediocre damage conditions such as poison and bleeds. With that in mind, you’ll not only have regeneration, but two other constant heals; Signet of the Wild and Natural Healing. With consumables, you’ll be able to shrug off conditions with a -40% duration (on self), and not to mention every pulse of your Healing Spring will remove conditions from yourself and allies in the water field (which you can also leap inside of via Swoop to do yet another self-heal!)

Basically, I was going for a super beefy Ranger who can be the one to pull mobs in a dungeon to soak up initial burst and provide some great team condition removal and regeneration effects.

Traits are key:

-Every time you dodge, you gain protection. Good news is that with Vigorous Renewal, you’ll have Vigor up constantly and dodging often will be possible and plausible.

-20% Reduction of skill cooldowns on GS and Sword is obvious.

-Natural Healing will provide yet another constant steady stream of healing.

-Nature’s Bounty adds another 33% duration increase to your regeneration. (Key for keeping it perma’d)

Utilities are key:

-Protect Me!: Since ursine will be the pet of choice, this is a solid choice when mitigating damage. With Shout Mastery, this skill will be up even quicker.

-Signet of the Wild: Another heal on top of your perma-regeneration; speaks for itself, in my opinion (especially with 1000+ healing power to back it up)

-This slot is a tie between Search & Rescue (obviously useful for teams that go down often) and Signet of Renewal (for the extra condition removal and stun breaker). If your team is competent, go with Renewal. If they need a little help, Search & Rescue can really save lives.

-Healing Spring: Obviously for the perma-regeneration and water field.

-Rage as One: Fantastic for tanking. ~28 seconds of Stability and Swiftness? Yes please! Not to mention the Fury, which is just the cherry on top. When fighting a group of enemies that have lots of crowd control, this is most definitely the route to take.

Weapon Choice:

Why Greatsword? Every third swing on the auto attack, you evade all incoming attacks. If you can learn to time this, you can truly become untouchable to some bosses, especially the slow hitting kind. You have a leap finisher (for your water field) through Swoop, Maul hits with respectful damage, you can block (or cripple), and stun/daze. Seems like a tanking weapon to me.

Why Sword/Dagger? Sword, mainly because it provides two additional evades, and yet another leap finisher. Dagger, because it adds another 2-3 seconds of evasion on a low 10 second cooldown. #5 can be used for pulling mobs as well.

Occasionally, Axe Off-hand is plausible, because it provides a ranged attack that will be great for pulling mobs, and can reflect projectiles with Whirling Defense.

Armor/Rune Choice:

Cleric gear (for Power, Toughness and lots of Healing Power) and three different runes. Two Monk (25 Healing Power and 15% Boon duration), Two Water (25 Healing Power and 15% Boon duration), and finally Dwayna (25 Healing Power and 20% Regeneration duration.) With Nature Magic’s 20% Boon duration increase, you have a whopping 50% Boon duration increase overall. On top of that, you have an addition 53% Regeneration increase through the Dwayna runes and Nature’s Bounty. I like my boons, and I like them more when they last longer.

Accessories:

All except the Accessories One and Two are Soldier/Soldier Ascended, for more Power, Toughness, and Vitality. Accessories One and Two are Cleric, for more Healing Power while still providing great Power and Toughness. (Note: I know that the infusions I have slotted in the Ascended gear take way too much time and money to get, but here, in the land of magical build theory-crafting, we just take the best-in-slot and roll with it.)

Consumables:

Superior Sharpening Stone (obvious Power increase is obvious, especially with the already large amount of Toughness/Vitality you have.) Lemongrass Poultry Soup is interesting, because not only does it add to our already high Vitality, but it also helps those nasty conditions fall off even quicker with a huge 40% reduction to how long they can persist on you.

Pet choice:

Black Bear – Enfeebling Roar = AoE Weakness, which is just awesome. Glancing blows go a long way when mitigating damage.

Red Moa/Wolf – The moa’s fury buff for 15 seconds goes a long way, but if your group already has lots of fury, might as well get the wolf for some good CC (fear, leap-knockdown.)

That’s about it! Please, let me know what you think of the build, or even if you’re willing to try it out. I’m working my Ranger to 80 as fast as I can to give this a go, because I feel like this looks like a build worth trying.

I’d definately take the red and the blue moa (fury buff and protection buff respectively) over any other pets if you want to be in a support role, especially considering you can trait to have them grant AoE vigor on pet swap (even more buffs for the team).

Other than that it seems like quite an interesting build.

hmm,trying out the 85% increment to skill 4 eh.Sounds good.Lets test our builds,are you ingame now? we can duel in the mist. I posted my current build in reply to another person’s thread.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/ADVICE-SPvP-Ranger-Build-Detailed/first#post1532477

Unfortunately, I’m at work, Verdelet! But I should be home in he next couple of hours. I’ll add you to the friends list and I’d be more than happy to test the build out against yours.

Agadar, the reason why I didn’t get the blue moa for the protection buff was because it only lasts 5 seconds, which I feel didn’t justify the long cooldown. I figured the AoE weakness (50% less damage on glancing blow from enemies) would work in conjunction with the protection received from dodge rolling. I haven’t looked at the red moa fury buff, however, and I think it’d be something interesting to try out!

Aye, unfortunately the blue moa’s protection buff is a bit on the short side, but due to the AoE-vigor-on-swap trait it beats the black bear’s AoE weakness if you ask me. As for the red fury, it applies AoE fury for 15+ seconds, which is the best buff any ranger pet can give by a long shot.

Perhaps the Black Bear as Pet One and Red Moa as Pet Two will work well, especially for that fury buff. My main issue with not using the Black Bear is having “Protect Me!” as a utility. Ursine seem to be the sturdiest, and if my pet is going to be absorbing all damage for a good six seconds, I want it to be able to last through it. Perhaps the Blue Moa would be more useful in a PvP situation, though.

I’d hardly consider Sword 2 a true Evade. The Evade mechanic triggers halfway through the backward leap, which is 1.5 seconds into the casting animation – its extremely difficult to rely on. Additionally, its not friendly with ledges around.

I wouldn’t commit solely to Axe off-hand, either. Axe-offhand is still very situational – especially in this case when its acting as a defensive tool. Consider a Dagger: combo’d with Sword 3 its 6 seconds of being untouchable (remember that the Evade occurs during the entire animation of these two abilities – unlike Sword 2). Swap to an Axe off-hand when projectiles are a thing.

I wouldn’t bother with a Jaguar with this build and, instead, favor a Wolf for its knockdown CC’s. In fact, I’d run double wolf as they have the same Toughness and Vitality as a pig with superior F2s and CC and good damage.

Edit: Oh, and Swoop is a Leap Finisher, which means its not an AoE heal – it just heals you.

Blast is the AoE heal finisher for Water, which Rangers only have with a Drake pet (and that can’t be controlled).
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Water_Field

deepwinter.9015:

I’d hardly consider Sword 2 a true Evade. The Evade mechanic triggers halfway through the backward leap, which is 1.5 seconds into the casting animation – its extremely difficult to rely on. Additionally, its not friendly with ledges around.

I wouldn’t commit solely to Axe off-hand, either. Axe-offhand is still very situational – especially in this case when its acting as a defensive tool. Consider a Dagger: combo’d with Sword 3 its 6 seconds of being untouchable (remember that the Evade occurs during the entire animation of these two abilities – unlike Sword 2). Swap to an Axe off-hand when projectiles are a thing.

I wouldn’t bother with a Jaguar with this build and, instead, favor a Wolf for its knockdown CC’s. In fact, I’d run double wolf as they have the same Toughness and Vitality as a pig with superior F2s and CC and good damage.

Edit: Oh, and Swoop is a Leap Finisher, which means its not an AoE heal – it just heals you.

Blast is the AoE heal finisher for Water, which Rangers only have with a Drake pet (and that can’t be controlled).
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Water_Field

After some quick testing, you’re definitely right about sword #2. It’d have to be timed perfectly. Perhaps dagger would be a good way to go for the extra evasion, and switching to Axe-Offhand when the situation arises sounds plausible.

I’m still standing by the black bear/moa combination for now, though. After a couple PvP matches, I’ve noticed that the bear was able to take much more damage when I used “Protect Me!” than most other pets, and the idea is to keep the pet alive. The red moa’s fury for 15 seconds is also extremely enticing, considering that’s a group wide buff of +20% crit chance which can really do wonders for the teams overall DPS.

However, if we already have plenty of access to fury in the group (“For Great Justice!” comes to mind), I’d definitely consider taking the Wolf for the Fear. That could be some really useful CC in sticky situations where you need a breather, and the leap-knockdown sounds very appealing.

EDIT: I wanted to add that I also LOVE the AoE Weakness of Black Bear. Those glancing blows go a long way, imo.

I’ve given this build a try and it’s very successful for my needs. The survivability is pretty crazy. I did a Fractals Run with my guild and was tanking things without much problem. I bought all Cleric’s Exotics, all of the suggested Runes, and went with all Cleric’s accessories, but I might go back and get some Soldier’s stuff as suggested for more HP.

Not the most damaging spec, but the staying power is very effective. Using my jaguar upped my DPS by quite a bit. It was enough that the benefits of this build far outweigh the frailty I had before with a more damage oriented spec.

Made some tweaks here and there, but I’m 85% using this build and I like it a lot. I felt myself wanting some ranged from time to time, so I’d keep a Longbow handy between fights.

Halorin.1398:

I’ve given this build a try and it’s very successful for my needs. The survivability is pretty crazy. I did a Fractals Run with my guild and was tanking things without much problem. I bought all Cleric’s Exotics, all of the suggested Runes, and went with all Cleric’s accessories, but I might go back and get some Soldier’s stuff as suggested for more HP.

Not the most damaging spec, but the staying power is very effective. Using my jaguar upped my DPS by quite a bit. It was enough that the benefits of this build far outweigh the frailty I had before with a more damage oriented spec.

Made some tweaks here and there, but I’m 85% using this build and I like it a lot. I felt myself wanting some ranged from time to time, so I’d keep a Longbow handy between fights.

I’m super stoked to hear it worked out well for you, Halorin! You actually did another option I was considering with all Cleric Accessories as well for even more healing power. I figured the extra 2k or so health really made a difference, though, so that’s why I decided on keeping the Soldier Rings/Neck/Back while only having Cleric Accessory One and Two.

I’m glad you brought up damage, because it is definitely not a spec to go with if you’re looking for pure damage. The numbers should be at least respectable if anything, but the main goal of the build is like you said; the staying power and also the boons/condition removal.

Another good point you brought up was the Ranged weapons; some fights are just plain suicide to melee, so it is a very good idea to switch out the Sword/Dagger(Axe) for either a shortbow, longbow, or even an axe mainhand build. It really depends on the encounter, but I personally would go with Axe mainhand for the additional weakness on #3 and the option to use another Axe in the offhand for projectile reflection or the ability to use a dagger to keep the #4’s evasion.

Yeah. Between me switching to Sword/Dagger and using my Jaguar, I was putting out some solid damage, I felt. Close enough that the durability was well worth the trade of any more damage I could have tacked on. For what it’s worth, I was able to tank a gold champion in Sparkly Fen with my jaguar. With Healing Spring, its health never got below about 75%.

I’ll give the Soldier’s accessories a go later tonight and give you my thoughts. In most cases, I was healing for so much that it’s probably wiser to have a bigger pool of health than more healing.

Looking at GW2 Wiki, a Leap Finisher in Healing Spring does 1300 + 0.5 * (Healing power), so I’m sure going Soldier’s would be fine to lose some healing power.

I was using a Fernhound in a Fractals run last night and the thing just would not die. It was even more sturdy when I activated its healing ability.

I’m no high level min/max’er like you are, but I came away feeling pretty impressed.

Sword/Dagger on offense, GS for tanking. Mix the bleeds in with both. Jaguar for full offense. Fernhound for middle of the road. I had a lot of fun with it, and think I will continue to do so.

thanks for the duel bro had a memorable time

Verdelet Arconia.6987:

thanks for the duel bro had a memorable time

It was a blast! I’m no big time PvPer, but this build gives me high hopes for future PvP encounters. Let me know if you’d like to do some sPvP together sometime; I’d be happy to tear up the competition with you.

And Halorin, I should run a dungeon with you sometime. I’d be interested in seeing how the build plays at higher level PvE dungeon content.

sounds good,we can tag team for spirit watch,you’ll be the orb runner since u have GS swoop and sword leaps.I’ll cover u with immobilisers

What about Shaman gear instead of Cleric? Is it still a good combo or toughness is just too good compared to vit?

Chicho Gosho.6507:

What about Shaman gear instead of Cleric? Is it still a good combo or toughness is just too good compared to vit?

Unfortunately, Toughness trumps Vitality in most cases, especially in this build. Toughness is for taking the direct hits while Vitality is for surviving condition damage. With so much condition removal from both Healing Spring and Signet of Renewal, it’s more important to increase the mitigation of direct damage.

Also, recall the -40% Condition Duration consumable the build uses. Any conditions put upon the Ranger will only last 60% of their duration, which makes conditions even less of a threat.

Now, if I were playing a Necromancer, Vitality would be entirely different since it is what helps define how much Life Force HP you can get, but that’s off-topic and for another forum subsection :P