Guild Wars 2

And this is what i think.Longbow has awfull autoattack,every Ranger see that.If we want to be objective here not in terms of dmg but in terms of how an autoattack should be.Its a long cast uploading heavy dmg at max range.Still most Rangers use Shortbow even tho the autoattack is doing less dmg.In pvp for example,you see on your foe the aegis buff,so you let an autoattack to hit fast so you can continue your encounter afterwards..Thats imposible with longbow,it will take too long to generate an simple attack while its too easy for the foe to see it coming..so you gonna loose like 5 secs of doing totally nothing.
Imo Longbow autoattack must be seperate in 3 smaller arrows..Lets say it does 1500dmg at x range it should do 500-500-500.These numbers can change if the targets moves to you or away and does 500-600-700 dmg or 500-400-300.Same casting time,same dmg just a little more reliable.I dont think it will ruin the balance.
Plz check it fast,ive(every Ranger) been using Shortbow since release in EVERY build

Kinda how the warrior fires two arrows? Also, you didn’t talk about the great sword…

I think he means they did a good job improving the GS, and now it’s time to work on the LB.

Three arrows in LB1? No thanks. That just turns it into a crappy shortbow and gives me even less of a reason to pick it over SB.

Give me chance cripple on LB1 and faster flight speed instead please.

slingblade.1437:

I think he means they did a good job improving the GS, and now it’s time to work on the LB.

Lol yeah, I clued into that a couple minutes after.

Aridia.3042:

Three arrows in LB1? No thanks. That just turns it into a crappy shortbow and gives me even less of a reason to pick it over SB.

Give me chance cripple on LB1 and faster flight speed instead please.

^this

filler chars

i’d just be happy with faster flight speed so you can hit moving targets at 1500 range

perhaps make it a 3 chain attack skill on AA with the third being a cripple and might on pet?

3 Should have immo added to it.

give the lb auto a 100% projectile finisher and it’d be fine for doing what it’s designed for.

A boost in projectile speed it will raise the dmg output overall as well.The longbow has allready a nice dmg skill so its not a dmg output problem,its actually the reliability of the autoattack.I dont want to stand in one point and just autoattack and do more dmg that using other skills but i want when i need to throw some fast and low dmg hits to have a reliable autoattack to support it.Anet said before GW2 was released that meele will do more dmg cause its more risky.Shortbow allready does great dmg and with it we can outdmg every class in range.Fast strong autohits with a lot of usefull skills in 2,3,4,5.
Imo the 3 fast but low dmg hits will make the Longbow reliable,punish those who try to run away from a Ranger and is steady in close range.

First they need to fix your spacebar.

For me the only problem with the longbow is the lack of autoattack on ranges 1200+. Any other skills work fine.
Of course I’d like to see some buffs as anyone, but as I said, for me the longbow is just fine.

slingblade.1437:

I think he means they did a good job improving the GS, and now it’s time to work on the LB.

GS is still subpar to mainhand sword in sustained damage. Increasing maul doesn’t change the fact that greatsword’s auto sucks, and a large part of weapons’ sustained damage is autoattack.

Zenith.7301:

slingblade.1437:

I think he means they did a good job improving the GS, and now it’s time to work on the LB.

GS is still subpar to mainhand sword in sustained damage. Increasing maul doesn’t change the fact that greatsword’s auto sucks, and a large part of weapons’ sustained damage is autoattack.

The big thing is that the MH sword spams cripple to help the pet deal its damage reliably. The GS doesn’t really have that – it has the sword throw and a short, conditional stun, but that’s it. Maybe if they added a cripple to Swoop, GS would be more in line with MH sword.

I’m not talking about uptime in pvp.

I’m talking about sustained damage in PvE, where the pet can hit fine because mobs don’t move much.

I agree the greatsword needs better anti-kiting mechanisms. I’m not sure swoop should be it because to be honest Swoop is very easy to dodge. I think adding a longer duration cripple to our bows and making the sword throw on the move and apply a cripple would be more effective. So you cripple fom afar with the bow and close in with greatsword.

But the fact is, even if you have full uptime, the greatsword’s autoattack chain is so bad compared to mainhand sword in damage. It’s slower, and does less damage on every attack but the last one, whose greater damage is offset by the even slower blocking animation.

Ultimately they’ll also have to do something about pet attack animations rooting them in place — it’s horrible. Even with speed signet and speed trait the jaguar is constantly having to catch up to land hits, especially when it stays rooted to do its multi hit attack that often misses on moving opponents. Same with moa, for example, or drake breaths and tail swipes or raven animations.

And then there’s the fact that pets die too easily in larger engagements, and if you use a ranged pets it’s highly unlikely it will hit your target because something else will body block their projectile, which does not pierce innately.

Ranged pet attacks and bow attacks for the ranger need to pierce baseline, and melee pets besides drakes should cleave like other pets. They also need to increase the HP pools for several pets, especially cats, whose HP is nearly as bad as the spirits.

bow attacks for the ranger need to pierce baseline.

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
My thief is a better archer than my ranger. It makes me sad.

I think that the autoattack is indeed bad. I play longbow but I try to avoid autoattacking in general to the point that I switch to my secondary weapon when all other LB skills are on cooldown and I am not at perfect range.

Perfect range.
This is propably the main issue. The untraited distance for that is just so small and together with the high animation time and missrate due to low projectile speed really messes with the whole concept. In my opinion damage is fine for max range. They either need to increase it for the lower ranges or increase the max range interval.

Currently untraited:
1000-1200 range: 0.9
500-1000 range: 0.65
0-500 range: 0.5

How it should be (range fix):
600-1200 range: 0.9
300-600 range: 0.7
0-300 range: 0.5

How it should be (damage fix):
1000-1200 range: 1.0
500-1000 range: 0.8
0-500 range: 0.6

First option would make it just easier to use. Second option would reward skill/tactical play (chosing the correct ranges for maximum damage) a bit more. I would be fine with either of those.

Dardamaniac.1295:

A boost in projectile speed it will raise the dmg output overall as well.The longbow has allready a nice dmg skill so its not a dmg output problem,its actually the reliability of the autoattack.I dont want to stand in one point and just autoattack and do more dmg that using other skills but i want when i need to throw some fast and low dmg hits to have a reliable autoattack to support it.Anet said before GW2 was released that meele will do more dmg cause its more risky.Shortbow allready does great dmg and with it we can outdmg every class in range.Fast strong autohits with a lot of usefull skills in 2,3,4,5.
Imo the 3 fast but low dmg hits will make the Longbow reliable,punish those who try to run away from a Ranger and is steady in close range.

Outdmg every Class? hmm i think u never! play a Warrior

Killshot? Volley? ( far more dmg / burst than a Ranger )

And i play a Ranger since Beta, as a GC Ranger u have at Range no Chance vs other Classes

Zenith.7301:

I’m not talking about uptime in pvp.

I’m talking about sustained damage in PvE, where the pet can hit fine because mobs don’t move much.

I agree the greatsword needs better anti-kiting mechanisms. I’m not sure swoop should be it because to be honest Swoop is very easy to dodge. I think adding a longer duration cripple to our bows and making the sword throw on the move and apply a cripple would be more effective. So you cripple fom afar with the bow and close in with greatsword.

But the fact is, even if you have full uptime, the greatsword’s autoattack chain is so bad compared to mainhand sword in damage. It’s slower, and does less damage on every attack but the last one, whose greater damage is offset by the even slower blocking animation.

Ultimately they’ll also have to do something about pet attack animations rooting them in place — it’s horrible. Even with speed signet and speed trait the jaguar is constantly having to catch up to land hits, especially when it stays rooted to do its multi hit attack that often misses on moving opponents. Same with moa, for example, or drake breaths and tail swipes or raven animations.

And then there’s the fact that pets die too easily in larger engagements, and if you use a ranged pets it’s highly unlikely it will hit your target because something else will body block their projectile, which does not pierce innately.

Ranged pet attacks and bow attacks for the ranger need to pierce baseline, and melee pets besides drakes should cleave like other pets. They also need to increase the HP pools for several pets, especially cats, whose HP is nearly as bad as the spirits.

TL;DR
Pets are fine in PvE.
Need more cripple to catch opponents
GS damage is too low even if target lets you hit him.
Pets rooted when attacking, so can’t hit moving targets.
Pets die easily in larger fights.
Need more aoe damage

haxi.9038:

Zenith.7301:

I’m not talking about uptime in pvp.

I’m talking about sustained damage in PvE, where the pet can hit fine because mobs don’t move much.

I agree the greatsword needs better anti-kiting mechanisms. I’m not sure swoop should be it because to be honest Swoop is very easy to dodge. I think adding a longer duration cripple to our bows and making the sword throw on the move and apply a cripple would be more effective. So you cripple fom afar with the bow and close in with greatsword.

But the fact is, even if you have full uptime, the greatsword’s autoattack chain is so bad compared to mainhand sword in damage. It’s slower, and does less damage on every attack but the last one, whose greater damage is offset by the even slower blocking animation.

Ultimately they’ll also have to do something about pet attack animations rooting them in place — it’s horrible. Even with speed signet and speed trait the jaguar is constantly having to catch up to land hits, especially when it stays rooted to do its multi hit attack that often misses on moving opponents. Same with moa, for example, or drake breaths and tail swipes or raven animations.

And then there’s the fact that pets die too easily in larger engagements, and if you use a ranged pets it’s highly unlikely it will hit your target because something else will body block their projectile, which does not pierce innately.

Ranged pet attacks and bow attacks for the ranger need to pierce baseline, and melee pets besides drakes should cleave like other pets. They also need to increase the HP pools for several pets, especially cats, whose HP is nearly as bad as the spirits.

TL;DR
Pets are fine in PvE.
Need more cripple to catch opponents
GS damage is too low even if target lets you hit him.
Pets rooted when attacking, so can’t hit moving targets.
Pets die easily in larger fights.
Need more aoe damage

Pets are not fine in PvE, lol. Only open world PvE. The best format in which pets perform is in spvp, because people have to fight over points, which means they can’t kite your pets and teams are in small scale compared to WvW zergs of 30+ people.

I’d still tweak with greatsword, I really just don’t like it.
Way too clunky and lacks a good punch at that…
At best it seems a lackluster one handed sword mixed with lackluster warrior greatsword.

Exactly what I would do, its a few tweaks, nothing Anet can’t manage, and I would actually completely love them if they did it as I’m sure so many people would come to, but yeah not thaaat much hope as they have so much stuff on their plate.

But yeah, the longbow needs ALLOT of TLC too… its no where near where it should be.

I actually like greatsword now. It’s a great skirmishing weapon with a decent burst ability in Maul. It’s definitely not for sustained dps but I use it more for gap closing/escaping and for quick bursts of damage in spvp and WvW.

kidbs.8920:

I actually like greatsword now. It’s a great skirmishing weapon with a decent burst ability in Maul. It’s definitely not for sustained dps but I use it more for gap closing/escaping and for quick bursts of damage in spvp and WvW.

Good for you

I only TPvP really, but what the weapons abilities do just doesn’t thrive. It has no offensive gimmick, like might stacking on the warrior greatsword so can’t compare to even the spike of a frenzy nerfed 100-blades. It doesn’t give great survivability or pressure or control to go heavy pet dps. Landing maul is a kitten and pretty much requires setup, but any other class can do so much more with a free hit than what maul can…
Greatsword seems to work best with high pet dps in an attempt to overpressure a guy into badly timing dodge rolls and/or failing to kite or just beat down the ranger while keeping an eye on the pet.
But one handed sword outdoes it in that role by being nigh unkillable and working well with a condition setup.

garethh.3518:

kidbs.8920:

I actually like greatsword now. It’s a great skirmishing weapon with a decent burst ability in Maul. It’s definitely not for sustained dps but I use it more for gap closing/escaping and for quick bursts of damage in spvp and WvW.

Good for you

I only TPvP really, but what the weapons abilities do just doesn’t thrive. It has no offensive gimmick, like might stacking on the warrior greatsword so can’t compare to even the spike of a frenzy nerfed 100-blades. It doesn’t give great survivability or pressure or control to go heavy pet dps. Landing maul is a kitten and pretty much requires setup, but any other class can do so much more with a free hit than what maul can…
Greatsword seems to work best with high pet dps in an attempt to overpressure a guy into badly timing dodge rolls and/or failing to kite or just beat down the ranger while keeping an eye on the pet.
But one handed sword outdoes it in that role by being nigh unkillable and working well with a condition setup.

I think it’s really more just getting used to the weapon and timing your attacks. I often swoop in and hilt bash my target so that they will eat the maul along with my pet’s attack. You could also swoop in and immediately switch to a canine pet so that your target gets knocked down and then Maul them. The offensive gimmick is landing a Maul Crit for 8K+ if you pop Signet of The Hunt beforehand.

Counterattack is also kitten good. A mobile block that knocks back melee attackers along with doing a good chunk of damage. I’ve killed quite a few warriors and thieves with just a well timed Counterattack. If things go to poop I just spin around and Swoop out and switch to my shortbow to snare and kite my target.

I never try to stay in melee for long periods (I already said GS is not for sustained dps, it’s for quick bursts and defense). I just use a hit and run style of play to apply pressure. If I wanted to play more of a melee ranger than I would definitely use a 1h sword along with GS to get the best of both.

@kidbs.8920

I’ve never said the individual abilities couldn’t be used well, just that they aren’t setup to work together well.
Having to go 30 points in a mediocre tree just so you can blow a utility on a bad version of assassin’s signet??
Ugh…

I’ve played with canines to setup attacks, I run axe mainhand (probably one of the few good rangers that do) for a condition build. Splitblade is like the condition version of maul except can tick out for 4.3~k on a 6s CD, somewhat consistently, without going glass cannon.
Against good enemies pet knockdowns aren’t reliable.
They are great to have around and keep an eye out for but they can’t be counted on for making a crucial ability land.
(its why I run two canines for the imob/fear and knockdowns and spike trap for the imobilize, but it doubles for good condi dmg and a cripple, and axe for weakness for less endurance regen, even then the spec has enough condition output to not rely on splitblade for dmg short of in dire situations or against very high cleansing enemies)

Greatsword can work, and skill can get you pretty far with the weapon, I’m not saying it can’t, and you can enjoy the weapon which is GREAT (since change is only so likely), but yeah, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some issues (at least in my eyes).

garethh.3518:

@kidbs.8920

I’ve never said the individual abilities couldn’t be used well, just that they aren’t setup to work together well.
Having to go 30 points in a mediocre tree just so you can blow a utility on a bad version of assassin’s signet??
Ugh…

I’ve played with canines to setup attacks, I run axe mainhand (probably one of the few good rangers that do) for a condition build. Splitblade is like the condition version of maul except can tick out for 4.3~k on a 6s CD, somewhat consistently, without going glass cannon.
Against good enemies pet knockdowns aren’t reliable.
They are great to have around and keep an eye out for but they can’t be counted on for making a crucial ability land.
(its why I run two canines for the imob/fear and knockdowns and spike trap for the imobilize, but it doubles for good condi dmg and a cripple, and axe for weakness for less endurance regen, even then the spec has enough condition output to not rely on splitblade for dmg short of in dire situations or against very high cleansing enemies)

Greatsword can work, and skill can get you pretty far with the weapon, I’m not saying it can’t, and you can enjoy the weapon which is GREAT (since change is only so likely), but yeah, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some issues (at least in my eyes).

Yeah I can agree with you. More changes would always be better. I was also very hesitant to try 30 points into marksmanship as it goes against my usual way of playing and thinking with rangers, but surprisingly it works very well. Signet of Stone gets is my oh-poop button should my Swoop and Counterattack fail to get me out of harm’s way. Plus it’s nice to have piercing arrows for my shortbow. It’s a more risky but rewarding style of play.

I really made the build initially just as a gimmicky burst build to goof off with in spvp but it’s quickly become my favorite build so far. My other build that I usually run is the polar opposite (an apothecary trap/bunker build).