Guild Wars 2

I have watched many videos and looked through several guides, and they all recommend either SB, S/WH or A/WH. I was wondering if there is an all-around welcomed secondary set with the GS, I am leaning towards the A/WH setup, for the Speed boost from the WH and having some sort of ranged option with the axes thrown abilities.

Thanks in advance to all those who post.

It really depends on your build and what content you are working on.

If you’re doing PvE dungeons, then a short bow or axe/offhand is a solid choice since there are plenty of fights that are very melee unfriendly.

If you’re roaming in WvW, then axe/horn or sword/horn are both solid choices since the swiftness from the warhorn is great for travelling the large maps. That being said, a short bow or longbow are good to have if you travel with large packs since zerg fights eat melee for breakfast.

If you’re debating between axe or sword to go with warhorn, then it’s really a matter of preference since they’re both solid options. The axe will give you more of an offensive edge with a condition build, but if you go that way, you may want a torch as offhand instead of axe. If you’re PvP focused, then the 1h sword can be a great defensive option.

Finally, if you’re running a BM focused build, the 1h sword may be a strong option since you stack might on your pet with the main attack.

tl;dr They’re all viable options, but which is best will depend on your build and what content you’re running.

Do Shortbow, you won’t need Warhorn since i’m pretty sure you have Signet of the Hunt and Greatswords Leap is more then enough to catch people.

I go axe with torch, gives you a lot of conditions plus if you leap into your fire wall, you get the fire damage shield

There are a few viable options, really. It all comes down to your build and playstyle.

Personally, I love shortbow. I mean, obsessively adore it. So, that is what I use.

The thing about ranger weapons, imo, is that they are really quite varied in how they play. Things like the axe just dont jive with me, for whatever reason, and I really struggle to use them effectively even after dozens of hours of practice.

I would suggest trying out a few different weapons for enough time to really get the feel of them, and go from there.

I know for me, it has taken me quite a bit of time to finally whittle down to exactly what build and weapons I will use on a consistent basis.

My build focuses on some survivability, with crit damage and shortbow works into accomplishing that along with GS.

The only one I dont like, personally, is axe offhand. It may just be me, but I feel like I get a lot more from other weapons in that slot. Though, path of scars can be decent especially with the increased range/decreased CD trait.

Xsorus has a good point about warhorn, I just want to add that if you use “the birds” attack, it can make it a bit easier to follow a stealthed thief.

As previously stated, it really depends on what content you’ll be playing, since each has its own applications.

• Shortbow – SB is an extremely versatile weapon, while it has good CCs and suvivability for PvP situations, it also has good sustained damage that has PvE applications as well. So SB would be a solid choice for either sPvP, WvW, and PvE.

• Axe – Due to the bouncing auto-attack, axe is better in cooperative PvE like dungeons, since it may be hard to optimize in PvP situations. In addition, axe has very little survivability, making it worse for PvP where evades are a ranger’s strong-suit.

• Sword – Opposite of axe, ranger sword is more of a PvP weapon, since it has built in evades, CCs, and generally more survivability. Good for both sPvP and WvW (roaming, not zerg fights).

• Warhorn – Like shortbow, warhorn is great for many types of gameplay. The speed boost is invaluable in WvW zerging/roaming and the party-wide fury is great for dungeons.

Some other posts mention torch, which I have little experience with, but it seems like it would be good in any game-play. All in all, it really just depends on your play-style and what content you’ll be doing. My descriptions above are more generalized statements, so take them with a grain of salt. All ranger weapons have their uses, I carry greatsword, axe/warhorn, shortbow, and longbow all for doing dungeons, switching when necessary.

Surprised noone has mentioned sword/dagger combination. Love it myself.

torch is nice because of one more condition in addition to all those bleeds, poison and occasional vulnerability. its a good combo field for that condition, too. so.. if you are going for condition damage, it is worth the try.