Guild Wars 2

Greatsword is an up close melee weapon …right? So lets look at its abilities. 1-regular attack,and one thats an up close bleed,both make sense. Then we have a gap closer,also makes reasonable sense. Now we have one that can either cripple or knockback.Why would i want to cripple someone when i am going to be in their face?Why would i want to give someone a distance advantage to me?? Don’t say oh you use that then swap weapons,no the whole point of swapping to a greatsword was for up close.Why do i have a knockback or cripple on greatsword???

Because it’s the best block ability in the game.

The knock back is significant, and the range on the cripple is far enough that if you get CC’d and your opponent is fleeing, you can cripple them.

but why would i want to knockback?Don’t say so i can switch weps or something useless.What if im using two melee sets?

Kazeshini.2306:

Greatsword is an up close melee weapon …right? So lets look at its abilities. 1-regular attack,and one thats an up close bleed,both make sense. Then we have a gap closer,also makes reasonable sense. Now we have one that can either cripple or knockback.Why would i want to cripple someone when i am going to be in their face?Why would i want to give someone a distance advantage to me?? Don’t say oh you use that then swap weapons,no the whole point of swapping to a greatsword was for up close.Why do i have a knockback or cripple on greatsword???

Weapon swapping is a huge part of GW2, especially for Rangers. That being said…

If you use greatsword defensively, it’s great for giving you a chance to create space. You can use Counterattack to knock your opponent back, giving you time to either drop a trap and retreat or use Swoop to create distance. I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to use it to your advantage.

Crippling your foe is also incredibly advantageous, not sure why you’re even asking about that. It’s good for helping create distance if you need to get out of melee range and also good for slowing down people trying to escape.

If you’re just trying to do damage in melee range and you’re not interested in any of the utility greatsword has to offer, you would probably be better off going sword/axe or sword/dagger.

Kazeshini.2306

Greatsword is an up close melee weapon …right? So lets look at its abilities. 1-regular attack,and one thats an up close bleed,both make sense. Then we have a gap closer,also makes reasonable sense. Now we have one that can either cripple or knockback.Why would i want to cripple someone when i am going to be in their face?Why would i want to give someone a distance advantage to me?? Don’t say oh you use that then swap weapons,no the whole point of swapping to a greatsword was for up close.Why do i have a knockback or cripple on greatsword???

Yes the greatsword is a “up close melee weapon” just as the sword and dagger are and both those have skills to manipulate distance as well. Rangers don’t wear heavy armor therefore even tho they have melee capability it does not mean they can withstand taking sustained high amounts of damage while in melee range for a long time. That is why they have skills in their melee weapon sets that allow them to get a breather and halt the constant damage for a few seconds to give them time to heal or adjust their strategy.

In regards to the bold section of the post i quoted and in keeping with what I was just saying creating space with a knockback from the greatsword or the leap back that the sword can do allows the ranger to switch to a ranged weapon and unload on the target(after using a heal if the ranger was low on health) as they attempt to confront the ranger in melee range again and once the target is with in range the ranger can swap back to the melee weapon and continue the “up close” damage if they choose. They could also just use an other knockback or leap(if switched weapon was either longbow or short bow) and continue unloading ranged damage on the target if their weapon swap is still on CD when the target reenters melee range. So sorry to say but the weapon skills do make sense and because of the reasons I’ve stated (as a few examples) it allows rangers to have some versatility in their attacks and helps with survivability.

The ranger’s GS plays a bit like a warrior’s sword/shield set, but with the slower speed and heavier hitting power of their hammer. So it’s sort of a hybrid defense/burst weapon.

If you start to look at it in that light, you will see that the skills play double-duty. Let me explain:

1 Your auto-attack is pretty self explanatory – decent AoE damage with an evade on every third swing. So, applying quickness (QZ or pet swap) nets both more DPS, and a more frequent evade. Good stuff so far…

2 Maul – very straight forward. Big hitter with a few stacks of bleed that hits everyone in front of you that’s in range. It also has a short cd, so it’s available for both the beginning and end of a burst chain.

3 Swoop – 1100 range gap closer…or opener. This is the single heaviest hitting skill on the GS, and I think in the ranger’s entire arsenal. So again we’re playing double duty here; you can use it to engage which makes it a great burst chain opener, or use it to escape. It has a moderately low cd, so its value is pretty high.

4 Counterattack – This is my favorite skill in the whole game honestly. It’s obviously used to block, but it hits like a truck on a successful block, so it can also be used as a burst opener against melee targets. It pushes back 300 units according to the tooltip. This is important to remember. I’ll explain in a moment. If you are engaging a ranged or fleeing foe, you can throw it for less damage, but with a cripple. Simply a great all around skill imo.
When a thief or warrior come a knockin’, this is my immediate go to skill. You don’t need to have anything targeted, you just fire it off and let them send themselves sprawling (the kb is hardly ever the full distance btw, I suspect due to terrain. It usually just knocks them down right next to you. it’s fine either way).

5 – Hilt Bash – Interrupt + Daze from the front, Interrupt + Stun if flanking. The range on this is 300 units – the same distance that Counterattack pushes back your opponent. So this can be used as a follow up after Counterattack to prevent a heal or stealth, and give you a few more moments to drop a trap or fire off QZ for additional burst power. Obviously it can also be used defensively to stop an attacker cold.

So, as with most things ranger, what you see in the GS skills initially is not entirely indicative of their true power. Goof around with it some. It’s a very unpopular, and highly underrated weapon right now, but it almost never leaves my second weapon slot just because it’s so incredibly versatile.

Because knockbacks interupt channeled abilities. And several channeled abilities hurt ALOT. 100blades, whirling axe etc….

Of course if the attacker put stability up this doesn’t help but when they didn’t GS has a defense that lets you hold your ground rather than dodging away….

Knockback = push=interupt…. And your leap is your highest DD move.

Others have said it, I’ll repeat it.

It’s a disengage/interupt ability, every melee profession needs one.

Counterattack knockback is great. It doesn’t knock them back so far that they’re massively out of range or anything, but it knocks them out of their attack (useful for multi-hit attacks where blocking just one wouldn’t do much good) and gives you space if you want it, space to lay down a trap, heal, whatever. If you don’t want space, then use Swoop or Hilt Bash to get right back on them immedietly.

Crippling Throw is more useful in PvP where enemies might try to run away from you than it is in PvE, which I’m guessing is mostly what you play based on your post. But it can still be helpful in situations where your target decides not to attack (or switches target to your pet) so that you don’t just blow the cooldown for nothing. And its a physical projectile finisher, so thats nice.

My only problem with Counterattack is the inability to move while using it.

cripple so ur oponent cant run out of melee range simple as that
also the knocback is 300 only and u can always use leap after that

it can do wonders when a thief try to backstab

Don’t forget you have a leap finishers (3) and 1 projectile finisher (4) for comboing with your fire and ice traps, which give you fire and frozen auras.

The point of the knockback is for an extra defensive measure. Take Hundred Blades for example. You can stop a warrior flat the moment they start the combo by blocking it then knocking them on their but before they can hit you with the rest of it.

Ranger Greatsword has the single best skill bar in the game. It has something for every situation, and all on short cooldowns as well. If it has any drawbacks, it’s the mediocre damage- fix the various pet bugs, and GS ranger is good to go.

1. Solid aoe damage with slightly longer then average reach (150- except on the 3rd chain which is 130. grr) and the evade is nice when you get lucky and dodge a fear or something.

2. A moderate burst skill, and respectable bleed. Not amazing, but very short cooldown makes it solid.

3. The only 1200 range gap closer in the game that’s not a slotted utility- and it’s only a 12 sec cooldown untraited. And a leap finisher besides (use with traps).

4. The best block in the game- the counterattack hits harder then any of your other skills, and doubles as an interrupt as well. Throw it up to stop a whirlwind, unload, etc in it’s tracks. The cripple half kinda sucks. Long cast, short range, and self-root. Meh.

5. A good old fashioned interrupt. 25 sec cooldown, which is short compared to most other classes, and it’s useful against any kind of target if you are watching their tells, which you should.

Combine with traps (you’re in melee already, drop them at your feet and enjoy the fun) and Rampage as One for 20sec of stability, and you become a monster. Now if only pets worked better so I could get my damage up to proper levels…

@Rhyse, I am not sure if your post is ironic or if you should remove your pink glasses.

Rhyse.8176:

The only 1200 range gap closer in the game that’s not a slotted utility

. uh? tooltip says 1100. “Rush” for warrior Greatsword is 1200. “ride the lightning” for elementalist is 1200…

For the rest i agree, Greatsword for ranger is the best! In this game. I mean probably in every games! I guess that is why we see so many rangers swinging their greatsword in PVP, decimating opponents ,spreading fear, death and desolation across the battlefields.

Nerf Greatsword!

If they want the GS to be more viable in PVP, it has to do more damage and skill #2 needs to inflict more stacks of bleed. I mean, it is usable if you really want to, but there are better weapons to use. Sword does more dps and gives more evasive abilities— if you practice with it you can even do a “swoop like” move (double skill 2). (Although sword has its own buggy problems as well. ) Axe MH gives 5 stacks of bleed instantly, alongside chill and weakness debuff. And both of them will allow you to use the OH of your choice (dagger/torch/WH), giving more flexibility.

i kind of like swoop>hilt bash>ravenF2 on fleeing foes… also the raven grants swiftness if you pull it out when they start fleeing

I myself love setting up a trap, preferably flame trap and then attack from range a mob into the trap. Once trap activates, switch to greatsword and swoop, crazy mob killer and if need to, pet swap for quickness.

Lots of good, elaborate justifications. The simple short answer is that a weapon that has skills only for getting close to clobber an enemy and then relentlessly clobbering an enemy until you die or your target dies doesn’t belong on a Ranger.

i personally would like to see bleed stacks removed form GS 2 and instead make it a knock down. i am pretty sure if you are serious about condition damage you will be using shortbow with axe/torch

Munrock.3092:

Lots of good, elaborate justifications. The simple short answer is that a weapon that has skills only for getting close to clobber an enemy and then relentlessly clobbering an enemy until you die or your target dies doesn’t belong on a Ranger.

thank you for sharing your opinion. i personally disagree with it. i love the idea that Rangers can use a Great sword and if you spec correctly with GS in mind you can do very well with it. if this were another game where the ranger was built for long ranged combat only then sure you may have a point. however with a dynamic player controlled dodging mechanisms and evades and blocks built in to the weapon set it seems ideal for a Ranger

Not to mention the fact that the greatsword doesn’t “clobber” anything. It’s damage is too low. It’s a utility weapon.

monepipi.5160:

If they want the GS to be more viable in PVP, it has to do more damage and skill #2 needs to inflict more stacks of bleed.

Like most range weapons, it’s built around the assumption that your pet will be doing enough damage to make up for it. We all know the problems with that. In PVE it works well, since you’ll be tanking as much or more then your pet, you can afford to use a high DPS pet like jaguar or bird.

nldixon.8514:

Not to mention the fact that the greatsword doesn’t “clobber” anything. It’s damage is too low. It’s a utility weapon.

It’s damage isn’t that bad, and it’s utility is exceptional. It’s a really good control/disruption weapon.

On the whole though, the damage of the 1 chain should go up by roughly 5-10%. 1h sword does more damage just autoattacking by roughly that much atm- just without the huge aoe or great utility.

I’m not saying a Ranger shouldn’t be able to get close. I’m saying a Ranger shouldn’t get close and stand in one place like a lemon. The greatsword has a more aggressive feel than the single sword but it should never play like it’s a warrior’s greatsword, because that would be redundant and detrimental to profession variety.