Guild Wars 2

I run a tanky condi/BM build in tpvp and i love it. it’s highly effective. however, when i look at wvw, i just dont see the ranger doing all that well. my GS/hammer meditation guardian is a beast and can literally jump into a crowd of 20, down 5 people and jump out. i dont see myself doing that on the ranger, who is a great duelist.

what is the ranger’s role in wvw and what are some effective builds? i can only see the ranger exceling in three areas: small gang skirmishes, chasing down runners, and keep defense. the latter i dont care for. are power builds effective? i see them as being really gimmicky.

I play my Ranger like my Thief: small gang skirmishes, chasing down runners, keep defense, and harassing. I prefer to harass and skirmish, but I pick off the stragglers unless I’m pushing with Barrage.

Its a question that requires an accurate description if each weapons strengths and weaknesses. We all know what to do in small scale game play but what about WvW!

SB: Flanking, its so obvious that this weapon has flanking as a huge part of its strength. All of us have seen what happens when speced for it and flank with a SB targets melt. Is flanking a viable tactic in WvW? IF yes we have a winner, if no move on son!

LB is clearly a weapon every ranger needs to have in bag during WvW, but build for it? If talking zerg then sure 30/30 LB+Trap bombs and we have a winner! Abuse zeph and pet swap with AE nukes and traps in middle of zergs!

But OP raises a good point as I also play a GS Guardian Med/Shouts as I change depending on what I am doing and I doubt Ranger will ever be able to play like that! Guardian strength is up close an personal, you never want to stay in melee range of a guardian for long!

Ranger strength? Range?

The most burst I ever got out of my ranger is:

1) Sword when I pop Zeph+Rampage with a DPS pet.
2) SB when speced and I can perma flank with a flame trap on target with Zeph and DPS pet

I only play WvW, and 95% of the time it’s in a guild raid.
My main role is to mud or root ppl, so I run around with a gs jump into a bunch of ppl and deploy my roots/mud. After that it’s #5 axe skill (aoe vulnerability, I’ll have that thank you very much), and spam axe skills / switch back to gs and spam 1. Add in the odd healing spring and moa birds for some ok healing, and that’s what is needed from my ranger.

Ranger problem in wvw is against zergs (unless you can by some miracle save your pet every ten seconds whilst moving/dodging/doing lots of other stuff) your pets will spend most of the time dead, losing you 30% of your damage.

Getting up close and personal isn’t really a good idea – a lot of classes will rip you to shreds if you try sword, etc builds unless you are VERY good at jumping in, getting 3-4 hits off and jumping away then running from all the fire now focused on you..which kind of defeated the object as now you’re not doing any damage.

I’ve tried most things in wvw – for small battles (5v5) melee weaps can be fun but then you lose the advantage of range and decent skills on the LB.

Yet to meet a melee equipped ranger that can beat my boring LB/SB build- but i’m not glass cannon build.

The biggest problem rangers have is lack of a decent one shot damage skill- you will find yourself pecking at targets who will quickly retreat when u start your 3, followed by ‘rapid fire’ which takes way too long to fire off.

If they gave rangers a decent burst skill, shortened rapid fire cast duration a lot, and made it so barrage didn’t root u to the spot during casting (and took less time to fire off, and hit more than five targets) then rangers would be a lot more popular and more fun to play in wvw, and you would see more rangers using bow builds.

I’m glad they took away the culling ‘fix’ as now I can target thiefs again when they are jumping around and I no longer die to the bad ones, and I stand a chance against good ones.

ATM due to being severely outnumbered in wvw I’m playing my mesmer, which is much more fun and much more effective.

It’s hard to run condition+BM in wvw , shaman gears in wvw is V+H+C, you can get T+H+C gears but they are very expensive. So you can go healing+BM for wvw. Since you have enough exp in tPVP, then you should know you are unkillable when 1v1, in most case you can deal with 1v2 or even 1v3 easily, which means you should be a perfect roamer in wvw.

nerva.7940:

I run a tanky condi/BM build in tpvp and i love it. it’s highly effective. however, when i look at wvw, i just dont see the ranger doing all that well. my GS/hammer meditation guardian is a beast and can literally jump into a crowd of 20, down 5 people and jump out. i dont see myself doing that on the ranger, who is a great duelist.

what is the ranger’s role in wvw and what are some effective builds? i can only see the ranger exceling in three areas: small gang skirmishes, chasing down runners, and keep defense. the latter i dont care for. are power builds effective? i see them as being really gimmicky.

thanks guys. i think im just gonna stick with small skirmishes and chasing down runners. maybe a power/BM build might work. wvw is a totally different game for the ranger.

i tried LB out in the mists and it’s just so weak (compared to rifle lets say). i might do something like SB/GS for the mobility.

Chasing, locking down, and finishing are undervalued skills in WvW. It is the lack of lockdown builds that make D/D Elementalist such a terror right now (the Stallion Who Kites the World builds).

If you build specifically to lock down and attrition kill P/D thieves and D/D elementalists, you’ll have an incredibly valuable role in skirmish groups and that group can have a pretty profound effect when the map is split.

30 BM looks to be a solid WvW option, faster swap, natural healing+troll+signet and I have sent in DPS pets into a mini zerg and survived!

You can build Bunker Melee Ranger and pwn 1v1 and 1v2 in PvP pretty easily..
You’ll suck in zerg fights though, Keep Wise you’re not terrible..I’ve been swapping out 2 skills for QZ and Guard while in keeps, and then just send my Jag pet over the wall to stealth and QZ on top of someone…it can kill people and destroy enemy siege pretty easily.

If you want to hump a zerg though, I recommend a bow….

KirinDave.6451:

(the Stallion Who Kites the World builds).

…maybe we should have gotten a sheep priestess to corrupt these builds while they were still in the womb…

that being said, i play on t3. i’m a pretty decent roamer, and i once lead a gorilla campaign with 4 lvl 30’s (me being the only level 80) on TC’s side of EB for a good 1hour before we were caught up by a CD zerg (held off really well as well).

in WvWvW map awareness and knowing all the tricks to turn the balance in your favor is crucial. i could solo cap unupgraded camps starting at level 50 and i got really really efficient at it (i can cap in about 2 minutes solo wise if everything works out perfectly).

i run shortbow/gs, or shortbow/sword-wh, but i also carry every other main hand ranger weapon and a horn. (in my bag is a sb,gs,lb,axe,sword,wh) that way i can alter my skills to help out with the situation.

don’t be ashamed for running away, you’re still contributing if you’re kiting 6 people around a borderlands for 30 minutes because those 6 people aren’t defending, roaming, or sieging.

Luriyu.6873:

don’t be ashamed for running away, you’re still contributing if you’re kiting 6 people around a borderlands for 30 minutes because those 6 people aren’t defending, roaming, or sieging.

This logic works in PvP but is really questionable for WvW. In general if you’re running around not capping things, killing supply, protecting supply, or defending key junctions you are not using your time well.

6 people missing from a zerg is not going to foil a tower siege. A lot of people love roamer builds because they’re photogenic, but very few roamers are good enough to actually make a difference in a close match, especially on your borderland.

agreed, kiting 6 people in WvW contributes nothing. im looking for effective builds that can down people. i like the idea of building a duelist, or a lockdown skirmisher for those pesky eles and thieves.

Glass cannon LB main, power and precision. QZ, muddy terrain, SoH. LB is an absolute must imo in wvw for barrage, which is useful in so many situations. Siege, defense, open combat, you name it. I just wish we could have WvW specific setups like in sPvP so I wouldn’t have to run this build in PvE, I’d much rather run a condition sb build in dungeons.

i thought about this setup. is it effective? whats your role? i see you as being way too squishy, and not having a role outside of keep defense and maybe chasing down runners in smaller engagements.

you brought up a good point. gearing up for wvw is a major pain, for the ranger anyway. builds that are effective in pvp arent that effective in pve and vice versa. i roll a glass cannon guardian and he excels in both with one set of gear.

i will likely stick to a tanky condition build as i can stomp pve in it and do well in wvw at the same time.

I went back last night and tried the BM approach again for WvW and came up with a decent build, obviously this assume you have all weapons in bag and change utilities and pets as needed but feel confident that your DPS pet can go into a zerg and chase for a bit…

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=VGV-Fk;1F-u-a2gDV-0;9k2R;29T-T;10;009A;125B4-F0;2LNW4LNW46gq

0/10/30/0/30 Bear+Wolf
Troll / “Sick’em” / “Protect Me” / SotH / Rampage

Health 21,522
Critical Hit 22%
Critical Damage 18%
Power 1,869
Toughness 1,860

Cempa, can you explain what role you are playing with that build?
Are you running solo, in a group of 5 or a full raid?
What is your main form of dps? Your pet, your sb, or the sw + tourch?

Coz tbh, I find some of the trait choices a little strange …

Cempa.5619:

I went back last night and tried the BM approach again for WvW and came up with a decent build, obviously this assume you have all weapons in bag and change utilities and pets as needed but feel confident that your DPS pet can go into a zerg and chase for a bit…

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=VGV-Fk;1F-u-a2gDV-0;9k2R;29T-T;10;009A;125B4-F0;2LNW4LNW46gq

0/10/30/0/30 Bear+Wolf
Troll / “Sick’em” / “Protect Me” / SotH / Rampage

Health 21,522
Critical Hit 22%
Critical Damage 18%
Power 1,869
Toughness 1,860

Drop Sick’em for QZ and use Jaguar over Wolf (bear can still be used for Protect me if ya want)

While in keeps simply replace Protect me with Guard and send you Jaguar over the wall to attack people (stealth + qz = hilarious)

Personally I wouldn’t run protect me, Lightning Reflex is the better pick when running around outside the zerg.

they still havent addressed the viability of shouts. there is still no reason to put any of them on my bar. wastes sigil/trap/survival slots.

nerva.7940:

i thought about this setup. is it effective? whats your role? i see you as being way too squishy, and not having a role outside of keep defense and maybe chasing down runners in smaller engagements.

you brought up a good point. gearing up for wvw is a major pain, for the ranger anyway. builds that are effective in pvp arent that effective in pve and vice versa. i roll a glass cannon guardian and he excels in both with one set of gear.

i will likely stick to a tanky condition build as i can stomp pve in it and do well in wvw at the same time.

I wouldn’t say any build really locks you into a ‘role’, per se. But let’s put it this way, with a LB glass cannon build you are probably as effective as you could possibly be at both sieging and keep defense, which is what I spend the majority of my time doing in WvW. Squishiness is largely irrelevant when there’s a wall separating you and your opponents, hence why I choose glass cannon for WvW but would never use this setup in sPvP. Also remember that at level 80 with a full set of exotics, all of your opponents are at best on a par with you in terms of gear, and many will be considerably weaker.

In the open field, power/prec LB is good for weakening groups of players through AoE and sniping from a safe distance, making life easier for your allies on the front line through barrage, healing spring, traps, revives, and pet buffs or knockdowns. It’s NOT a build for meleeing, if that’s your game then you might prefer a condition build.

If you roll with a zerg, run full berzerkers with a longbow.

However, if you prefer to roam, 1v1, or skirmish, I would suggest a bunker build type set up either focusing on condition damage or survival.

nerva.7940:

they still havent addressed the viability of shouts. there is still no reason to put any of them on my bar. wastes sigil/trap/survival slots.

Oh I disagree on that, I’ve found a new love of Guard and Sickem in World vs World keep fighting…But yea.. other then that, you won’t use em.

you can’t run a balanced bunker out of spvp because theres not gear for it.
just switch class.

Arekai.5698:

you can’t run a balanced bunker out of spvp because theres not gear for it.
just switch class.

dungeon armor sets with power/tough/vit and cleric jewelry heal/tough/power

or for conditions, the new apothecarys (craftable) with healing/though/condition

try to think outside of your box pls, or maybe your in the wrong forum?

yes, you sure will enjoy your 400 damage autoattacks with a power bunker build, those clerics will also surely make you a good bunker.
let me guess, the new whatever gear treadmill stuff costs 250 ectos?

may be you should stop beeing delusional?

@ Arekai

No, he is right. There are a few different ways to successfully bunker a ranger in WvW.

Also, sarcastically commenting on the damage output of a bunker build seems a little silly to me. Of course the damage isn’t going to be fantastic…you are built to survive, not murder…

However, it IS possible to spec and gear bunker while still having respectable damage if you go the condition route.

I´m trying out a power / BM oriented build with LB / GS and the mobility is pretty great due to the GS. Damage isn´t everything in WvW. Glasscannon builds just don´t work in many situations since there are no “real” healers which could save you.

This is not BM oriented but its SB+Canine:

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-FV-g;2FFx-r2gDV-0;9V2E;19TT;00;019B05A;44;5LNW4LNW46BY

nerva.7940:

my GS/hammer meditation guardian is a beast and can literally jump into a crowd of 20, down 5 people and jump out.

Yeah, no. Screenshot or didn’t happen.

I build my ranger only for WvW use, got full berserker’s set and ascended rings sofar, back item in todo list. I have read many posts here telling that ranger damage suck and there is no use off it in any place. So I just give here little hint what you can do whit your ranger. first you can forget your pet, only usefull in 1vs1 battles, most cases allways dead, does only 1% off your dmg

I use only LB and sword/horn only for swifness in WvW

cc=65%
cd=117%
Attack 3.500

Sofar max crit hit useing skill 1 = 5800dmg avarage range in 3800dmg to 4800dmg depends off opponen defence.

max dmg sofar on skill 2 = 18.300dmg

and last, barrage constant 10x 2000dmg, high max 2800dmg

that gives single light target 18.3k + 20k damage, shortest fight sofar 2 arrows and down

Haakkelberg.2460:

I build my ranger only for WvW use, got full berserker’s set and ascended rings sofar, back item in todo list. I have read many posts here telling that ranger damage suck and there is no use off it in any place. So I just give here little hint what you can do whit your ranger. first you can forget your pet, only usefull in 1vs1 battles, most cases allways dead, does only 1% off your dmg

I use only LB and sword/horn only for swifness in WvW

cc=65%
cd=117%
Attack 3.500

Sofar max crit hit useing skill 1 = 5800dmg avarage range in 3800dmg to 4800dmg depends off opponen defence.

max dmg sofar on skill 2 = 18.300dmg

and last, barrage constant 10x 2000dmg, high max 2800dmg

that gives single light target 18.3k + 20k damage, shortest fight sofar 2 arrows and down

what build / traits / skills do you use?

awe extender.1908:

Haakkelberg.2460:

I build my ranger only for WvW use, got full berserker’s set and ascended rings sofar, back item in todo list. I have read many posts here telling that ranger damage suck and there is no use off it in any place. So I just give here little hint what you can do whit your ranger. first you can forget your pet, only usefull in 1vs1 battles, most cases allways dead, does only 1% off your dmg

I use only LB and sword/horn only for swifness in WvW

cc=65%
cd=117%
Attack 3.500

Sofar max crit hit useing skill 1 = 5800dmg avarage range in 3800dmg to 4800dmg depends off opponen defence.

max dmg sofar on skill 2 = 18.300dmg

and last, barrage constant 10x 2000dmg, high max 2800dmg

that gives single light target 18.3k + 20k damage, shortest fight sofar 2 arrows and down

what build / traits / skills do you use?

berserker’s armors, traits 30/30/10/0/0 and skill only speed and QZ

Made up my mind. Going 30 skirm 30 bm to lock people down with sb/gs. Gear will be pvt. Lots of crit, survivability and utility along with some of the best mobility.

Pet with guard/sic em and qz for long range sniping and sieging. Skirm trait line maxes out the pet essentially.

nerva.7940:

Made up my mind. Going 30 skirm 30 bm to lock people down with sb/gs. Gear will be pvt. Lots of crit, survivability and utility along with some of the best mobility.

Pet with guard/sic em and qz for long range sniping and sieging. Skirm trait line maxes out the pet essentially.

What do you think of this build:

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-FV-g;1wEFu-c2gDV-0;9V2E;19T;0T3;009B;428B4-F7;2ZF18ZF186gd

It has x3 Condition removal which might be overkill, its just that I hate conditions :/ LR is so amazing so might drop the signet and move 10 points from MM to WS for 20% shorter Survival CD, but I can’t find a spot for QZ!!!