Guild Wars 2

Hi all,

I’ve just come back after a very long break and only really played a thief mostly before. I’ve tried out a ranger now and have been doing Spvp with it.

I’m really finding Ranger to be pretty weak at the moment. Warriors and thieves are literally 2-3 shotting me and i can’t out-dps eles or engineers as they out-heal my damage. I’m playing with a LB/ Sword/dagger at the moment and have tried switching out lb for shortbow and s/d for GS but still i’m too squishy. Whenever i get into melee with s/d or gs i just die in seconds, i have less survivabilty than my thief it seems even though i’m using soldier stuff.

Does anyone have a good sPvP build i can use so i can survive a bit longer and actually have fun? Or is it worth my time even leveling this class? I’m not interested in any way in doing a spirit healing spec.

Thanks

Yep, glass cannon bows don’t have the stealth of a thief now do they? No get out of jail free card for that Ranger. Once you are in combat, you are IN COMBAT.

Now that is off my chest, BM Regen/Condi. Embrace it if you are doing soloQ. You can play other more power heavy builds, but this one can get you through some thick kitten.

I find spirits to be boring as well. But I find traps to be really fun and interesting to play! Especially with celestial or settler stats! Its just that the stuff that engineers can do really outclasses trap builds.

Spirits are basically a cheesy carry build from what my friends say.

if you are zerging or doing PvE(solo/groups) go full berserker gear. if you are WvW Roaming / PvP you want to run the 2 builds GOSU mentioned.

Thanks for advice guys. So basically this BM/Condi regen build is the only really viable build for spvp ranger? It’s true as LB they lack survivability but if i open on a thief 1st and press 2 they just die in seconds which is kind of funny

Are rangers known to be weak against engineers/warriors/eles, because i just cannot cope with these guys.

You have 3 options imo.

http://www.twitch.tv/eurantien
There are 2 links to my builds (click on the image).

The power build 6/6/2 zerker lb/gs, just get better with it. You still won’t beat most d/d eles atm or tanky wars (soldier or tankier) but you can beat everything else. Will probably be better after patch.

The condi build, either variant that is posted can pretty easily out damage anything except war in the current meta. Focuses on baiting out dodges/condi clears, land a spider immob or drakehound immob (whichever you prefer) and then condi load them up. Tactics like chilling eles after water attunement or engi’s after their heal are both very useful, but you can just condi load an engi after their heal and they will be screwed. I would suggest one of these variants, mess with it how you want, but I suggest poison master over empathic bond if you can dodge/handle the condis with the just SoR and/or healing spring.

Or go spirits, don’t 1 v 1, just roll with your team and try to be a support/rez bot.

Well, I run a LB/GS build similar to the one shown in the link below and here’s how I generally handle these classes:
http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Ranger_-_Read_the_Wind_Power_Ranger

Warrior: You do best winning fights against warriors when at range. Your longbow is better than theirs.
– Stay at max range to get their health low and use your auto attack as your primary attack.
– If they get close to you or if you move in to melee, use Rapid Fire since it does higher DPS at close range.
– If the warrior is using an axe mainhand, watch for when they swap from their longbow back to this weapon as they often do this at the same time as when they use eviscerate. Eviscerate is the adrenaline Axe skill that does huge burst. If you’re quick, you can dodge it, but you can usually predict when they will do this once you fight them enough. Many Axe/Shield warriors will go for a shield bash to stun you before eviscerate.
– Some warriors will take the trait Defy Pain, which will make them take no damage from attacks for a short time when they hit 25% health. Because of this, be careful not to unload your burst attacks when they get low thinking that you’ll just finish them off quickly.
– If you fight a hambow (hammer/longbow) warrior, stay out of melee when they have their hammer out or when they are about to use it unless you can pop Rage as One for the stability. Hambow warriors get their biggest burst against stunned opponents, so you either need to stay away from the range of the stun, dodge it, or have stability up.
– If you go to stomp a warrior, use Hunter’s Shot first since they can’t target you with their knock down if you’re stealthed.
– Use your spider pet as much as possible against warriors since the poison they provide is a big counter to their passive healing from healing signet.

Thief: Thieves bring big burst, but they are also very squishy. Your best bet to win a fight against a thief is to go very aggressive and either burst them down or put them on the defensive before they do the same to you.
– Rapid Fire will continue to track and hit a thief, even when they are stealthed, so start using this right before you expect a thief will stealth.
– When you see a thief stealth around you, try to swap to greatsword and use the #4 block. After this, maul, then go in for the stun with Hilt Bash.
– If a thief uses shadow’s refuge to stealth (the big AoE stealth), use your wolf fear asap. If you get it in fast enough, it will fear them out of the circle before the stealth finishes and will reveal them. (Anyone who exits the stealth circle before the edges disappear gets revealed)
– Barrage is very strong against thieves since it doesn’t require a target and will continue to pressure them even when they stealth.
– Don’t try to stomp the thief when he goes down. They will just port away and/or stealth. Instead, keep up heavy dps pressure and use your Point Blank Shot for knocking off rezzers.
– Watch for blinds and don’t blow a big attack cooldown (like Point Blank Shot) while blinded.

Tactics that work well against both classes:
– Save your counterattack on GS for either ranged attacks (you can keep up the block to prevent a lot of damage) or right before you are about to be hit. Swapping directly into this from longbow often works well when you are being meleed.
– If you get downed, you can extend your life a good bit with the following CC chain: Thunderclap (downed skill #2) -> swap to wolf and have him attack your target (the first attack they use is generally their knockdown) -> use the F2 fear. If you pull this off right and aren’t taking too much pressure from other people, you can often survive long enough for Thunderclap to come off cooldown and be used again.
– If you’re on GS and you’re out of survival cooldowns, swap to LB and immediately hunter’s shot. Then, while your stealthed, get some distance from your enemy and re-engage with long range DPS.
– Avoid using Swoop while on GS if possible. When you get in trouble, you can use this to disengage from a fight by turning, untargetting your enemy, and casting it.
– Save Point Blank Shot for clutch situations and never just spam this ability because it’s off cooldown. This can be great for kicking heals against some classes, but you probably won’t get that chance against warriors/thieves since warriors just get the passive heal from Healing Signet and thieves often use Withdraw, which is instant and an evade. However, this is a great CC and is amazing if you use it on the right terrain. If your enemy is near a ledge and at very low health (such as at the treb area in Khylo), you can knock them off so that the falling damage finishes them off. This will kick them past the downed state to fully dead.
– Don’t forget about your pet. They can be great CC, but they can also be thrown off if you dance too much around awkward terrain. Always know where your pet is and don’t wait for them to die to swap them out.

That’s all I can think of offhand, but hopefully that helps.

edit Eurantien posted a very solid build and these tactics should work with that version as well.

I mentioned the BM Regen/Condi since the OP seemed to have problems surviving. This build works by outlasting the enemy. I have never, ever, ever had a single issue with warriors other than they like to run away Seriously, that is the only issue I have with them.

The power builds like GS or Sword/Dagger brings up front damage, you can take the enemy down much faster. It does lack the survivability of the BM Regen/Condi, you just need to pick your playstyle.

This is my LB + s/d build for hotjoin and yoloq:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNAT8YjMq0yaNLmsw1aABhaVA0uGS2l1dTkvf9AqA-TpBFwACuAAMOIA02fYxRAoaZAAPAAA

Dahkeus.8243:

Thief: Thieves bring big burst, but they are also very squishy. Your best bet to win a fight against a thief is to go very aggressive and either burst them down or put them on the defensive before they do the same to you.
– Rapid Fire will continue to track and hit a thief, even when they are stealthed, so start using this right before you expect a thief will stealth.
– When you see a thief stealth around you, try to swap to greatsword and use the #4 block. After this, maul, then go in for the stun with Hilt Bash.
– If a thief uses shadow’s refuge to stealth (the big AoE stealth), use your wolf fear asap. If you get it in fast enough, it will fear them out of the circle before the stealth finishes and will reveal them. (Anyone who exits the stealth circle before the edges disappear gets revealed)
– Barrage is very strong against thieves since it doesn’t require a target and will continue to pressure them even when they stealth.
– Don’t try to stomp the thief when he goes down. They will just port away and/or stealth. Instead, keep up heavy dps pressure and use your Point Blank Shot for knocking off rezzers.
– Watch for blinds and don’t blow a big attack cooldown (like Point Blank Shot) while blinded.

Tactics that work well against both classes:
– Save your counterattack on GS for either ranged attacks (you can keep up the block to prevent a lot of damage) or right before you are about to be hit. Swapping directly into this from longbow often works well when you are being meleed.
– If you get downed, you can extend your life a good bit with the following CC chain: Thunderclap (downed skill #2) -> swap to wolf and have him attack your target (the first attack they use is generally their knockdown) -> use the F2 fear. If you pull this off right and aren’t taking too much pressure from other people, you can often survive long enough for Thunderclap to come off cooldown and be used again.
– If you’re on GS and you’re out of survival cooldowns, swap to LB and immediately hunter’s shot. Then, while your stealthed, get some distance from your enemy and re-engage with long range DPS.
– Avoid using Swoop while on GS if possible. When you get in trouble, you can use this to disengage from a fight by turning, untargetting your enemy, and casting it.
– Save Point Blank Shot for clutch situations and never just spam this ability because it’s off cooldown. This can be great for kicking heals against some classes, but you probably won’t get that chance against warriors/thieves since warriors just get the passive heal from Healing Signet and thieves often use Withdraw, which is instant and an evade. However, this is a great CC and is amazing if you use it on the right terrain. If your enemy is near a ledge and at very low health (such as at the treb area in Khylo), you can knock them off so that the falling damage finishes them off. This will kick them past the downed state to fully dead.
– Don’t forget about your pet. They can be great CC, but they can also be thrown off if you dance too much around awkward terrain. Always know where your pet is and don’t wait for them to die to swap them out.

That’s all I can think of offhand, but hopefully that helps.

edit Eurantien posted a very solid build and these tactics should work with that version as well.

You might want to show a video instead.

The thing is OP, classes don’t suck. Are other classes easier to play and easier to be effective with atm? Yes. So are some builds. But that’s not to say that ranger isn’t effective. You just need to find your right play style and learn to become effective with it.

Eurantien.4632:

You just need to find your right play style and learn to become effective with it.

You’re impressions of rangers is correct op
You didn’t see many rangers in the last tol or the people’s 2v2 tournament for a reason; they are weak atm (maybe better after patch).
You can make spirits/ power/traps work in certain situations and with good team support, but why? when other proff’s offer more with less hassle.
BM/cond regen is our last working all purpose/duelist (as it offers no cleave or team support) build but its outshone by other proff’s as well.

for anyone here doubting ranger in terms of build, come 1v1 me in game Firstborn Strife, I use power build. no cheese builds like traps or spirits or regen condi builds PM me.

Eurantien.4632:

The thing is OP, classes don’t suck. Are other classes easier to play and easier to be effective with atm? Yes.

That’s kinda like contradicting yourself. Overcoming stuff by being a better player doesn’t make the class choice less inferior.

AEFA.9035:

for anyone here doubting ranger in terms of build, come 1v1 me in game Firstborn Strife, I use power build. no cheese builds like traps or spirits or regen condi builds PM me.

I think he meant he doesn’t use a cheese build not that you can’t use one. I could be wrong.

I believe Ranger are not bad. We do have some issues but they are easily over come.

We have a lot of tool at our disposal. One one has master this it only comes down to skill. Some other class like thives and mes have a get out of jail free card. This is a benefit when starting but once you have played awhile these become their weakness.

Being predictable is death

The ranger is viewed in a bad light, but to be honest it our fault. We know what we are capable of its our job to let the world know it. Why or How can a WvW Commander use a ranger to their utmost when we a a community don’t know our role. It time we carve one out.

Serraphin Storm.2369:

AEFA.9035:

for anyone here doubting ranger in terms of build, come 1v1 me in game Firstborn Strife, I use power build. no cheese builds like traps or spirits or regen condi builds PM me.

I think he meant he doesn’t use a cheese build not that you can’t use one. I could be wrong.

This is where he sets up confrontation. Builds he doesn’t like are cheese.

I will host a live stream tonight, sPvP power lb/gs with signets (gettin re-used to signets before signet of beast becomes default function).

Stream will be going live at twitch.tv/prysin
Time: 21:15 GMT +1
Region: NA

On Tuesday we will become the ultimate nightmare for zerker specs,
With the right spec zerker longbow already nukes things down fast from 1500 away
But our pewpew potential is going on overdrive now!

Ranger is like thief if you are new player, other classes will kill you fast, when you learn how to play with it, it’s different story. Don’t expect to win every match, that’s impossible, those who claim that can kill anyone they just didn’t fight with right opponents. I’m useing 2 0 6 6 0 build in spvp with sb/sd or st/ad, this build is most effective for me it gives me great survability and dmg. For power based build’s I’m useing 0 6 2 6 0 or 0 0 2 6 6 sd/gs both build’s require skilled hand’s, it’s harder to play them than condition build, but at the end it gives great results for me. I’m not fan of lb build in spvp but with new update i think that will be posible.

Eurantien.4632:

You have 3 options imo.

http://www.twitch.tv/eurantien
There are 2 links to my builds (click on the image).

The power build 6/6/2 zerker lb/gs, just get better with it. You still won’t beat most d/d eles atm or tanky wars (soldier or tankier) but you can beat everything else. Will probably be better after patch.

The condi build, either variant that is posted can pretty easily out damage anything except war in the current meta. Focuses on baiting out dodges/condi clears, land a spider immob or drakehound immob (whichever you prefer) and then condi load them up. Tactics like chilling eles after water attunement or engi’s after their heal are both very useful, but you can just condi load an engi after their heal and they will be screwed. I would suggest one of these variants, mess with it how you want, but I suggest poison master over empathic bond if you can dodge/handle the condis with the just SoR and/or healing spring.

Or go spirits, don’t 1 v 1, just roll with your team and try to be a support/rez bot.

hey i don’t see you stream anymore i really wanna see you stream man!!!!!!!

GOSU.9574:

Serraphin Storm.2369:

AEFA.9035:

for anyone here doubting ranger in terms of build, come 1v1 me in game Firstborn Strife, I use power build. no cheese builds like traps or spirits or regen condi builds PM me.

I think he meant he doesn’t use a cheese build not that you can’t use one. I could be wrong.

This is where he sets up confrontation. Builds he doesn’t like are cheese.

Why is trapper cheese |: ?

GOSU.9574:

Serraphin Storm.2369:

AEFA.9035:

for anyone here doubting ranger in terms of build, come 1v1 me in game Firstborn Strife, I use power build. no cheese builds like traps or spirits or regen condi builds PM me.

I think he meant he doesn’t use a cheese build not that you can’t use one. I could be wrong.

This is where he sets up confrontation. Builds he doesn’t like are cheese.

Ive played those builds that i mentioned as well. Cheese/ not cheese, trapper, condi regen, bm bunker, spirits, et al. I just prefer power builds than mentioned.

BrandyBiscuits.2873:

Eurantien.4632:

Snip

hey i don’t see you stream anymore i really wanna see you stream man!!!!!!!

I am planning on streaming after the performance update which is hopefully Tuesday.

dylan.5409:

You’re impressions of rangers is correct op
You didn’t see many rangers in the last tol or the people’s 2v2 tournament for a reason; they are weak atm (maybe better after patch).
You can make spirits/ power/traps work in certain situations and with good team support, but why? when other proff’s offer more with less hassle.
BM/cond regen is our last working all purpose/duelist (as it offers no cleave or team support) build but its outshone by other proff’s as well.

So, unless the OP is suddenly a pro and competing in the TOL, your argument is pretty irrelevant.

Rangers don’t fit an ideal spot in a lot of teams right now, but unless you’re going into big tournies like ToL, you don’t have a steady meta that you can predict and counter with a specific team. Even if the Ranger class isn’t ideal in most group comps, that doesn’t mean that the class is trash or that he suddenly shouldn’t be able to beat a class in a 1 v 1.

Take, for instance, PU mesmers. They’re absolute beasts at 1 v 1 and wreck havoc in WvW as roamers, but don’t expect to see one in many serious teams. Why? Because the build relies heavily on stealth and you can’t contest a point in stealth. So, even if you won a 1 v 1 as a PU mesmer, the enemy would decap the point during the fight.

Many ranger builds run into a similar issue. The long bow can absolutely wreck players from a distance, but when you’re standing far away, you’re rarely standing on a point. Spirit builds hold up the best right now, but that’s fallen out of favor more out of a shift in the meta than a direct weakness of the class.

Ultimately, the biggest weakness in sPvP to a class like Ranger is the conquest design that favors melee and heavy AoE builds.

If it weren’t for zergs, rangers would also be great in WvW (which is why rangers can do well as roamers), but again, it’s a PvP setup that is a hard counter to a class reliant on a pet.

If they bring back GvG or something similar, I’m sure you’ll see a resurgence in the popularity of this class.

elez.4617:

Ranger is like thief if you are new player, other classes will kill you fast, when you learn how to play with it, it’s different story.

^ This is very true. I’d still say that Thief is a bit harder to learn since it’s so squishy (unless you play lolcondi), but there’s definitely a distinct learning curve to doing well with Ranger.

Dahkeus.8243:

Ultimately, the biggest weakness in sPvP to a class like Ranger is the conquest design that favors melee and heavy AoE builds.

If it weren’t for zergs, rangers would also be great in WvW (which is why rangers can do well as roamers), but again, it’s a PvP setup that is a hard counter to a class reliant on a pet.

If they bring back GvG or something similar, I’m sure you’ll see a resurgence in the popularity of this class.

elez.4617:

Ranger is like thief if you are new player, other classes will kill you fast, when you learn how to play with it, it’s different story.

^ This is very true. I’d still say that Thief is a bit harder to learn since it’s so squishy (unless you play lolcondi), but there’s definitely a distinct learning curve to doing well with Ranger.

I’d have to agree, IMO, Rangers have 2 of the best defensive weapon in game (sword/gs) that are great in damage as well plus with the upcoming patch on GS revision on skill #3 that puts the weapon on the top 3 (debatable) gear for Ranger. Just love the access on dodge for sword and now GS will also get one post patch, thats 3 free dodge plus your default of 2.

GW2 has a pretty popular GvG scene now but the Ranger plays no real role in it. It’s simply trained down too easily and provides no valuable group support. People are hoping the RF change will allow them to play anti periphery so we’ll see.

www.twitch.tv/prysin/c/5070184

This is the VoD recording from last night. Apologies for it being so long. However, there is quite a few games in there (and a LOT of waiting for Q pops)

It should show you if you can play Power Ranger or not.

Atherakhia.4086:

GW2 has a pretty popular GvG scene now but the Ranger plays no real role in it. It’s simply trained down too easily and provides no valuable group support. People are hoping the RF change will allow them to play anti periphery so we’ll see.

That’s exactly what my guild leader wants me to try out lol.

I was bouncing ideas of him, and he basically wants me to run a super selfish build that’s high damage, but JUST tanky enough to pull out of sticky situations because rangers literally pull player aggro in WvW.

jcbroe.4329:

because rangers literally pull player aggro in WvW.

Build signet tank then XD

Purpose: get them to focus you and super tank through it.

Prysin.8542:

jcbroe.4329:

because rangers literally pull player aggro in WvW.

Build signet tank then XD

Purpose: get them to focus you and super tank through it.

Well the primary purpose isn’t the survival, it’s the damage lol. Ideally we run a small anti-periphery group, and the rangers job is basically to spike/finish off enemies that leave the “safety zones” our thieves jump into to melee out opponent periphery.

We are also supposed to function as enemy thief killers to peel thieves off of our own periphery.

So ideally I’ll be running a build with high Longbow damage (RtW, Eagle Eye, Steady Focus, Hunter’s Tactics) and alongside another ranger or 2, we will RSpike (old GW1 Ranger team term) targets, and run a little bit of lockdown through Muddy Terrain and Entangle.

So it’ll probably be a 6/5/3/0/0 build (moment of clarity is less useful in group play imo in WvW since GS is more a defensive swap for escaping) with very high damage but with the ability to jump back to the group for safety.

The only thing I’m back and forth on with the build is whether or not I can solely rely on just SoR for cleansing, or if I want to pick up Lyssa runes and sacrifice some critical damage and the +7% bonus from Ranger runes for an “oh kitten” cleanse.

jcbroe.4329:

Prysin.8542:

jcbroe.4329:

because rangers literally pull player aggro in WvW.

Build signet tank then XD

Purpose: get them to focus you and super tank through it.

Well the primary purpose isn’t the survival, it’s the damage lol. Ideally we run a small anti-periphery group, and the rangers job is basically to spike/finish off enemies that leave the “safety zones” our thieves jump into to melee out opponent periphery.

We are also supposed to function as enemy thief killers to peel thieves off of our own periphery.

So ideally I’ll be running a build with high Longbow damage (RtW, Eagle Eye, Steady Focus, Hunter’s Tactics) and alongside another ranger or 2, we will RSpike (old GW1 Ranger team term) targets, and run a little bit of lockdown through Muddy Terrain and Entangle.

So it’ll probably be a 6/5/3/0/0 build (moment of clarity is less useful in group play imo in WvW since GS is more a defensive swap for escaping) with very high damage but with the ability to jump back to the group for safety.

The only thing I’m back and forth on with the build is whether or not I can solely rely on just SoR for cleansing, or if I want to pick up Lyssa runes and sacrifice some critical damage and the +7% bonus from Ranger runes for an “oh kitten” cleanse.

for those who dont know RSpike. plus with the upcoming signet rework, 3 can totally spike someone with SotH.