Guild Wars 2

So I know ranger is not considered to be the ideal dungeon class let alone Arah class but I disagree. The amount of support ranger can give and still deal out intense damage is something that can really help a dungeon run. So I was wondering what the best ranger build for Arah would be.

Here are my thoughts and what I think is a decent:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNBhYDbkRlSWLYxiFuWDsHUrDgAe05mBdgvqIjnKR2E-TRBVwAA2fAhyvU6eKq+zFlgBAOA+93w3AAA-e

So the thing I am most unsure of is whether to go LB or GS. I am pretty sure sword+warhorn is good but I’m not sure if LB is worth getting rid of the sustain. In dungeon guides like gw2dungeon.net they suggest GS but I’m not sure if this is outdated info from before the LB #2 patch. Well anyways, I could be wrong about the entire build but I just want to know your guy’s thoughts on what the best would be (for the entire build not just the weapons).

Ideally you go sword/axe+longbow.

In unorganized groups where you need to sustain yourself because your team doesn’t do it for you sword/axe+offhand dagger is fine. Or offhand warhorn if your group lacks fury. Greatsword is really not good damage.

Offhand skills can be used to cancel the sword root which is also beneficial in the whole not dying thing.

Oh and you have traited spirits but no frost spirit. I guess that’s a mistake and not deliberate.

Well it’s pretty much the same as any dungeon. Just use s/a lb meta build for the most part. Don’t forget you can pop wh 5 and swap it out to an axe right before getting locked into combat. For skips swap to gs and the wh for blast/swiftness.

For lupi I run gs s/a and swap to a trait spread with offhand training (4/5/5/0/0) so that I can use axe 5 to reflect the lupi barrages during phase 2 and 3.

ranger in arah? surely you jest

Ranger can solo Arah you know.

i remember when people use to say that

those were better, simpler days

I don’t understand what you’re getting at. Rangers are above average in both group and solo Arah runs, what more could you make fun of? 5 man bearbow parties?

Fluffball.8307:

I don’t understand what you’re getting at. Rangers are above average in both group and solo Arah runs, what more could you make fun of? 5 man bearbow parties?

Yea I agree. It’s just some PuGs don’t know thats and I even got kicked for being a ranger once. I don’t think it’s really because they think ranger is bad, but that they would prefer guardian, mesmer, ele, etc.

robertul.3679:

Ideally you go sword/axe+longbow.

In unorganized groups where you need to sustain yourself because your team doesn’t do it for you sword/axe+offhand dagger is fine. Or offhand warhorn if your group lacks fury. Greatsword is really not good damage.

Offhand skills can be used to cancel the sword root which is also beneficial in the whole not dying thing.

Oh and you have traited spirits but no frost spirit. I guess that’s a mistake and not deliberate.

Oops yea I meant to put frost spirit in there instead of Signet of the Hunt. But It’s important to have SotH ready because it’s a huge part of mobility for the class and is almost required to be able to skip in Arah. But you’re right, for the actual fights I should have frost spirit up as much as possible. Could you explain why axe is worth it? Is it only for the very slightly higher DPS on the #4? I feel like in most PuGs fury does not come often so S/WH would be a better option (Also the blast finisher can work well with healing spring to give your team some sustain). But thanks for the info on Greatsword. I guess I’ll be going with LB then. Maybe I’ll keep a GS ready in my inventory when the swoop is helpful (skipping). Do you have any tips on my traits? Or should I continue going with the meta build.

Just completely forget about SotH. It’s not even that useful for skipping.
Use SoS (very helpful for p2 spider skip or as last resort when CC’ed) or Lightning Reflexes (turn around, press sword #2, Lightning Reflexes, turn around, press sword 2 again, switch, swoop with GS).

Go with SoS, SotW and Lightning Reflexes and swap “Steady Focus” for “Signet Mastery” and go S/A & GS during Lupi.
Since a FS is useless here, you can go 6/4/4/0/0 with offhand training too during this boss, otherwise, just swap Vigorous Spirit’s for Strengh of Spirits.

Always have Jungle Stalker as one of your pets and use a Drake, if you need the cleave, a Red Moa, if your party lack s fury or really whatever you feel like, man.
For my average PUG, i’ll go with a Fern Hound for active defense, but keep in mind, some pets have CC’s as their non-F2 skills, so be careful, if you don’t want to mess up a boss’ defiance.

Another word of advice: Know your encounters.
The 1h-Sword got a great DPS – on spreadsheets.
In actual battle, you need to manage your AA chain to properly dodge, either by stop attacking or by switching to the LB, which then you’re stuck with for 10 seconds, effectively crippling your DPS.
If you know, that you can’t vigorously mash #1 for at least 80% of the battle, use a GS instead.

Or just forget about the LB entirely and rotate between S/A and GS.
The ranger’s LB is a bad weapon anyways, because god beware if the Ranger gets a good Ranged weapon and in arah, it only really comes in handy when doing melandru in p4.

Another funny thing to do, before starting a boss is, open hero menu, equip torch, #5, equip horn, #5 and equip axe again. Paired with the jungle stalker, 9 stacks of might initially.

Not too shabby, right.

You’ll probably prefer greatsword over 1h sword because 1h sword tends to displace bosses/mobs with its leap so you’re gonna kitten people off if you push lupi out of wall while trying to flank for your damage bonus.