Guild Wars 2

Hi all,

I’m a relatively new ranger but I’m really having fun with the class. I sort of went with different from meta build (I think) just because I think it’s fun. That being said, as I play this class more I was wondering if I could ask for help in optimizing my build more. I mainly PVE but will run into WvW from time to time. Please take a look at my build as I would appreciate any suggestsions.

WvW setup: [url] http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNBHhVakQlKWbYxlFqWDUIUtfh4tYZOABgzeIGqYlUA-TlSAABY8AACc/BsV+dqKFSrLAgDBg1qrwnWgHVCSwZAIAwBwvFuv7G45nf+5nfufH+5ff+5A-w [/url]

PVE: Mainly the same but with different traits [url] http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNBHhVakRlKWLYxVFqWDIIUrDg5ty5mAHgvmoiVSB-ThSAABY8AACc/BsV+dqKFSrLAgDBg1qrwnWgHVCSwZAIAwBwvFuv7G45nf+5nfufH+5ff+5A-e [/url]

I would say that your WvW build lacks condition removal except for the blind/poison on dodge roll. might want to fix that. I recommend Signet of Renewal, Healing Spring, Empathic Bond, or Survival of the Fittest. all good condi removal, with your build maybe swap Bark Skin for Empathic bond as lack of condition removal a real crutch. Also axe/dagger is a more common condition set then axe/horn because of bleeds on dagger However, i recognize the need for mobility is why you have the horn. Suggest swapping hunt for stone when roaming around until fights.

Your pvE build looks fairly meta.. keep in mind that your frost spirit is kinda bad without Vigourous spirits because 30% is a bad luck chance. So I would change Strength of spirit for that if you run the spirit. gets it up to 70%. thats all I can think of tbh..

Good Luck out there

Thanks! I tried out a switch to Emphatic Bond last night and it seemed to help alot in a few skirmishes I got into. You’re right, I use the horn for mobility but also for Hunter’s Call. What can I say, I like my birds.

You’re absolutely right on with the Vigorous Spirits. I totally missed that. I guess I’ll have to remember since I keep Strength of Spirit and drop Frost Spirit for something else when roaming in open world PVE. Or should I just keep them permantly for PVE?

Any food or utility recommendations?

Appreciate the input!

Is your PvE dungeons, or open world? For open world FS is not worth it except maybe for big boss fights. For dungeons, you took the 2 lowest damage weapons rangers have, and both are condi based, so you’ll have to look for groups that specifically say “bring whatever you want” or you’ll very quickly get kicked. If you ever decide to get into dungeons more seriously, you can use dungeon tokens to get “free” berserker armor and the right weapons, and run the meta build.

For food, I’d go with something like mango pies for WvW. You’re very squishy in that armor, so anything you can do to try to offset that is good. On that note, I’d drop the lynx for a more defensive pet. you have plenty of damage, but something like a spider or drakehound will help keep people off you. Also a river drake uses a blast finisher as a special attack. You could use that in healing spring for extra healing, and put your warhorn to good use as well.

Edit: Another random thought. You’re going to lose a huge amount of survivability on your WvW build if the trait/armor changes go live next tuesday (you’ll lose a bunch of toughness and vitality from the traitlines.) With guard stacks also being removed, you may need to rethink the whole concept. You’ll be running around at base vitality and base toughness.

For the WvW build:
Like the post above mentioned, there is a lack of condi clears.
I personally am not a big fan of honed axes due to the low physical dmg that mainhand axe has. I would take 2 points out of that line and put it in for survival of the fittest, which should cover our condi cleanse situation.

Also For sigil on axe and wh I might consider swapping force out as it doesn’t affect condi dmg ( not sure how much dps u would lose from wh) but I would experiment with something to put out more condi pressure ( doom or earth). Just an idea…