Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone,

a friend recently purchased GW2. As all newbies he is asking me that famous question that is very hard to asnwer objectively :

What class should I play ?

The usual answer “Play what sounds cool to you” did not work with him so I am trying an alternative approach.

Your mission fellow rangers : Describe the ranger class using 5 bullet points : 3 of them must describes advantages the ranger has over other classes and 2 of them should describe drawbacks. Try to avoid discussion about various meta and technical details as much as possible. I’m trying to describe something to a newbie who has no knowledge of the intricacies of the gameplay.

Also try to cover all the game modes and stay very general.

Example with the necromancer (the class I know best) :
Strenghts of the necromancer :

• A necromancer is a very autonomous class. It boasts powerful self buffs and has efficients minions to cover him when leveling up.
• Necromancers are absolute masters of conditions. All classes can apply conditions but the necromancers can spread them more efficiently, and send back harmful conditions to their ennemies.
• Necromancers are tough. Because of their class mechanic, even the most offensive necromancers can rely on a secondary HP pool to absorb punishment.

Drawbacks of the necromancer :

• Vulnerable to ganks : Necromancers are though but not very mobile. Their access to escape Tools and stability is limited. A good necromancer must be able to position himself well to avoid bieng caught and trapped.
• A selfish class : Necromancers have very powerful self buff yet they bring little to an organised party except dps. This makes them not appreciated in some highly organised group content.

-Jack of all trades. can fit most roles decently
-Lot’s of “evades” and such that can make you feel like you’re dancing around opponents
-err.. having a pet is probably a bullet point i guess.

-Isn’t very popular, due to them being a “jack-of-all-trades”, other classes can generally do most things better than them if their class focuses on it, therefore in most situations you run into, you might go “while i ‘can’ do this decently on my ranger, i could do it even better if I switched to X class”
-The pet is a pain to deal with.

-one last thing, this might change in the future, but currently rangers seem to be VERY hated, because of recent buffs

• Has semi-controllable pet
• Evasive and acrobatic
• Sustained damage instead of burst
• Tons of access to control effects (CC)
• Some conditon, some direct damage

I didn’t describe strengths and weaknesses, the points just are what they are.

• rapid fire
• bs 2000 range
• 1111121111121111
• pewpewpew
• noob slayer

Justine.6351:

• rapid fire
• bs 2000 range
• 1111121111121111
• pewpewpew
• noob slayer

That’s exactly what I wanted to avoid. Thank you Justine for providing a nice counter exmple to what I asked.

Though after re-reading this a few minutes later I’ve come to the conclusion that here is something to salvage out of your garbage post :
Ranger is hands down the most proefficient class at long range engagement

So far I’ve got :

• Long range mastery
• Evasive and acrobatic class
• Jack of all trades, master of none
• That pet is an idiot

Ranger is not hands down the most proficient at long range. We have a good long range option, but other classes do it as well or better.

VodCom.6924:

Justine.6351:

• rapid fire
• bs 2000 range
• 1111121111121111
• pewpewpew
• noob slayer

That’s exactly what I wanted to avoid. Thank you Justine for providing a nice counter exmple to what I asked.

Though after re-reading this a few minutes later I’ve come to the conclusion that here is something to salvage out of your garbage post :
Ranger is hands down the most proefficient class at long range engagement

So far I’ve got :

• Long range mastery
• Evasive and acrobatic class
• Jack of all trades, master of none
• That pet is an idiot

Rangers got wide variety of CD lengths on utility skills. Can make bar very active with like traps or very boring with signets.

Justine.6351:

Rangers got wide variety of CD lengths on utility skills. Can make bar very active with like traps or very boring with signets.

That’s much better I now have something nice for a summary. Never though about that active vs passive gameplay.

@Fluffball : which class is can perform better at long range fight than a ranger in your opinion ?

Ele is what came through my mind, but the staff is a very weak 1vs1 option in every competitive game mode. I main an ele so I know staff has a better dps at range in PvE mostly because mobs like to sit in lava fonts
However in PvP, I’m not putting any money on my staff ele vs a longbow ranger.

I’m disregarding any 1v1 results, just talking about range in general. Mesmers have much better burst than ranger LB. Engis and eles bring more AoE. It’s not run very often, but if you let a berserker staff ele sit on a cliff above a cap point, your whole team is gonna die. And of course berserker staff is run a lot in WvW, and eles blow rangers out of the water (pun intended) in zerg fights.

If you do want to talk 1v1, a cele staff ele beats a LB ranger, although that fight wouldn’t be at long range.

Anywho, we digress. Rangers have a good long range option but so does every class. I don’t think it defines rangers.

Fluffball.8307:

If you do want to talk 1v1, a cele staff ele beats a LB ranger, although that fight wouldn’t be at long range.

I can’t remember when I ever lost a 1v1 versus good cele staff eles in conquest mode, never had that much of a problem with them on power ranger honestly. If you see their reflect skills, just stow your longbow.

Great single target damage range damage

Great melee damage by way of 1h sword (not an easy weapon to master)

Low inherent defense (no get out of jail free card)

(limited) Access to just about every effect and condition in game.

Fluffball.8307:

Anywho, we digress. Rangers have a good long range option but so does every class. I don’t think it defines rangers.

Ok, point taken. We’ll have to find something else.

. Jack of all Trades are Stronger while using well rounded builds does not loose too much in terms of effectiveness while focusing on a Role , though other classes do a better job at a said role but loose the All round effectiveness for that Role in quote " multi effectiveness"
. Become one with nature using your Enviroments and PET to effectively create situations to your advantage.
. The Range of weapons and traits variey from Projectile weapons sets to Full Melee builds can be Fully customisable with little to nearly no major changes
. Great for players that like to Experiment but doing so also comes at a risk , because learning to play ranger can’t be done just by looking at one build/guide book if you wish to master the classes abilities.

• most effective when you prefer an active playstyle
• you’ll get focused in PvP/WvW first, so dodging and trolling people is something you must enjoy

and uhm… nothing that comes to my mind that was not said or is not about kittening off others by trolling them ^^

• Press F1; Pet begins to rip into enemy bandit

• “Heh Heh”, ok he’s had enough I think it’s time to arrest him, the Queen does want him alive afterall; Presses F3 to call pet back. (nothign happens)

• Presses F3 again. (nothing Happens)

• Spams F3 causing it to pop in chat windows, meanwhile Cuddles the wolf is still feasting into the bandit, whom is trying to crawl away, leaving a trail of blood.

• Presses F3 a final time, Cuddles; " Oh?! Sorry I’ma bit deaf! Coming!!"

Skullface.7293:

Fluffball.8307:

If you do want to talk 1v1, a cele staff ele beats a LB ranger, although that fight wouldn’t be at long range.

I can’t remember when I ever lost a 1v1 versus good cele staff eles in conquest mode, never had that much of a problem with them on power ranger honestly. If you see their reflect skills, just stow your longbow.

Power ranger > Staff ele

- Rangers are versatile. If you could only make one character, make it a ranger, then you can do everything. It has many viable builds and playstyles.

- Difficult to master, a challenge to play it at it’s best, but like a good challenge, its SO satisfying to do well.

Eurantien.4632:

Power ranger > Staff ele

I’ve seen you lose to a staff ele in a tournament.

Staff ele outdps’es longbow ranger, the only thing about longbow is the rapidfire spike, everything else a staff ele does better. Not to mention a staff ele brings fire fields for might, condi clear with healing rain on top of 2 water fields, aoe chill, line root, a line of warding, an aoe stun cage, aoe swiftness and the best aoe damage spell in the game.

It’s not even a fair comparison.

Eurantien.4632:

Skullface.7293:

Fluffball.8307:

If you do want to talk 1v1, a cele staff ele beats a LB ranger, although that fight wouldn’t be at long range.

I can’t remember when I ever lost a 1v1 versus good cele staff eles in conquest mode, never had that much of a problem with them on power ranger honestly. If you see their reflect skills, just stow your longbow.

Power ranger > Staff ele

That’s a constructive post

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

- Rangers are versatile. If you could only make one character, make it a ranger, then you can do everything. It has many viable builds and playstyles.

- Difficult to master, a challenge to play it at it’s best, but like a good challenge, its SO satisfying to do well.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^
This is pretty much how I got my friend to play ranger when she got the game. Although now with all the bugs with pets ranger is more challenging then before and sadly there is still ALOT of ranger hate.

Rangers are a fantastic solo class. If your friends aren’t online it doesn’t matter you can still solo most pve content (including most map events) without any issue while you wait for friends to come online.

Rangers are suited to any gameplay style. You can play with long bow for max range or short bow for a shorter range for when you still want to keep distance from your enemy. There is axe/offhand combinations for another alternative and then you have sword/offhand combinations and greatsword for some fun melee options. You can go completely range, completely melee or a mix of both.

Rangers are great in wvw roaming groups or zerg groups especially as part of a sniper team. They do reasonably well in pvp (not the best but I hear there are two making headlines). But I would have to say pve is their strongest area.

The only real downside I have experienced with my rangers is the community feeling towards them. You have to have a thick skin if you play ranger as there is alot of hate and social stigma about it.

I wish your friend luck in choosing a class. They’re all good and bad in their own ways and they’re all alot of fun to play.

• No archer, bviously
• Forced pet
• Sword AA
• SWORD AA
• F**IN SWORD AA !!!111!!1!!

• Hands down easiest class to pick up in sPvP(spirit afk ranger or stand still somewhere high up with LB ranger)

• Picked up and also hated by new players who don’t know how to deal with spam

• Hard to respect because of spam (so expect hate)

• Easiest Solo PvE class, has versatility

• Might have a higher skill cap with the specilization in HoT… TBA

• Viable (part in meta), in all 3 modes of the game

• Higher skill required to master the class in comparison to others

• Pugs will hate you

• N00bs can’t play the class

• N00bs that can’t play the class will always find something to complain on the forums (aka Sword AA, pet management etc..)

Zenith.7301:

Staff ele outdps’es longbow ranger, the only thing about longbow is the rapidfire spike, everything else a staff ele does better. Not to mention a staff ele brings fire fields for might, condi clear with healing rain on top of 2 water fields, aoe chill, line root, a line of warding, an aoe stun cage, aoe swiftness and the best aoe damage spell in the game.

It’s not even a fair comparison.

;-(

Now if they didn’t suck in melee range and only have 12k HP when full zerker or I would totally go staff ele after reading your post.

Is there a good zerker staff ele that makes vids to showcase how to duel with it?

Justine.6351:

Zenith.7301:

Staff ele outdps’es longbow ranger, the only thing about longbow is the rapidfire spike, everything else a staff ele does better. Not to mention a staff ele brings fire fields for might, condi clear with healing rain on top of 2 water fields, aoe chill, line root, a line of warding, an aoe stun cage, aoe swiftness and the best aoe damage spell in the game.

It’s not even a fair comparison.

;-(

Now if they didn’t suck in melee range and only have 12k HP when full zerker or I would totally go staff ele after reading your post.

Is there a good zerker staff ele that makes vids to showcase how to duel with it?

Staff ele isn’t for duelling. Well, you can duel with it, but it’s not nearly as effective as d/d or s/f.

However, it shines in zergs, where it really is 1000x more effective than a longbow ranger. If you doubt this, play one yourself.

Justine.6351:

Is there a good zerker staff ele that makes vids to showcase how to duel with it?

There is/was a staff ele on my FA server that was the most godlike ele I’ve ever seen in my life. He has videos of charging face first into a zerg and living. Can’t think of his name, looking for the videos now. I had no idea you could even play staff like that until I saw him.

It obviously wasn’t zerker, he was probably the typical soliders/zerk mix or something.

Edit: Can’t find the video I was thinking of. These two videos are both fun so I’m posting them so it doesn’t feel like I wasted a bunch of time looking for a video that doesn’t exist.

Justine.6351:

Zenith.7301:

Staff ele outdps’es longbow ranger, the only thing about longbow is the rapidfire spike, everything else a staff ele does better. Not to mention a staff ele brings fire fields for might, condi clear with healing rain on top of 2 water fields, aoe chill, line root, a line of warding, an aoe stun cage, aoe swiftness and the best aoe damage spell in the game.

It’s not even a fair comparison.

;-(

Now if they didn’t suck in melee range and only have 12k HP when full zerker or I would totally go staff ele after reading your post.

Is there a good zerker staff ele that makes vids to showcase how to duel with it?

Suck in melee range? Melee range is where you can most reliably land your lava fonts and fireballs on top of having access to blasting them.

solrik.6028:

Eurantien.4632:

Skullface.7293:

Fluffball.8307:

If you do want to talk 1v1, a cele staff ele beats a LB ranger, although that fight wouldn’t be at long range.

I can’t remember when I ever lost a 1v1 versus good cele staff eles in conquest mode, never had that much of a problem with them on power ranger honestly. If you see their reflect skills, just stow your longbow.

Power ranger > Staff ele

That’s a constructive post

I was just reaffirming that power ranger should be able to beat a staff ele in a 1v1. It can go either way but the ranger should also be able to decap the ele which still gives the ranger the advantage.

Yelloweyedemon.2860:

• Viable (part in meta), in all 3 modes of the game

• Higher skill required to master the class in comparison to others

• Pugs will hate you

• N00bs can’t play the class

• N00bs that can’t play the class will always find something to complain on the forums (aka Sword AA, pet management etc..)

^This for the most part. Also expect most of the ranger hate to come from the ranger community, just read through the boards and you can see all the venom.

Pets take some time to learn and master, learn what to use and when. yes, there are problems but they can be worked around mostly.

Like many other classes you should have almost every weapon in your bag, swap depending on the situation. know how to play them all, their strengths and weaknesses.

Know how to gear and trait your toon for the situation, the meta is zerk but that may not always be appropriate for your playstyle and experience level.

Those are just general guidelines for the game in general for your friend, there are people who want “optimal” characters and those who like to play what they like and make it work in different situations. ranger is one of the latter, it can fit in every game mode but some meta classes/builds can do it slightly better.

Edit: one correction, noobs can play the class and that’s another reason for a lot of the hate

Don’t be a Ranger. We don’t need any more rangers.

Yelloweyedemon.2860:

• Viable (part in meta), in all 3 modes of the game

• Higher skill required to master the class in comparison to others

• Pugs will hate you

• N00bs can’t play the class

• N00bs that can’t play the class will always find something to complain on the forums (aka Sword AA, pet management etc..)

Pet does has some AI problem in terms of f2 activation.
This is known fact..

They are TOO LAZY to add different AI on pet’s F2 activation despite many of them functions differently, so they mostly use the AI that forces pet to engage enemy before they uses F2.

Best example is with pets that use PBAOE, which sometimes pet will charge to your foe before they uses f2, and refuse to use it before they’re close enough to the target. This is problematic when against stealth class, when 1 target far away is not stealthed, and one target close by is stealthed. The pet will charge to the far target that’s not stealthed when you press F2 fear on wolf, and refuses to use it on the spot I demand him to use.

To defend the ai scripting issue and bug is just being ignorant.

To summarize what has been said and is crucial, and what hasn’t been said, yet.

• Rangers currently bring one of the highest tunnel patterns (serious damage widen over 4 seconds period); they lack true burst
• Rangers are easy to play, the hardest to master. Their gameplay pattern is totally different from any other. Instead of mechanically mastering your abilities – you master your enemy’s and constantly search for openings as well as counter their abilities.
  As was already said – you are evasive and acrobatic in order to do that. But since you lack the burst – you are forced to play this way.
• If traited – the best anti-condition class in the game, so far.
• The best 1v1 downed skirmisher
• In Power Setup: the best at keeping enemies at distance.

hmm three positivists and 2 negatives

positivists

- Great class (possible best) for solo open world pve and map completion
- has appropriate builds for all parts of the game (WvW zerg fighting is our weakest mode)
- easy to get started in but hard to master, you can get start and be effective quickly put there is plenty of opportunity to learn a grow as a player

Nagitives
- the pet will drive you nuts as you start getting better at playing the game
- easy to get started in but hard to master, this is the reason why there are so many bad rangers playing the game, a lot of people never get past the entry level skill cap and become bearbows.

Rangers aren’t easy.

If you wish to play longbow at range, then have at it…not too hard, but if you wish to fight close, you CAN out-tank the toughest enemies around. High toughness combined with a cleansing oriented build and lots of active dodges make for a class that is vey hard to hit…if your timing is right. That is to say that you, as a ranger, cannot force your will upon an enem as all other classes can. Instead, you cleanse their conditions, dodge their power bursts, and interrupt them constantly. Since your damage is moderate and sustained, their skills will be on cool down whe you slowly tick them down with he help of poisons and slowly, you will win any fight…it’s stupid hard and I wouldn’t recommend trying a ranger as your first character if you want an easy time.