Guild Wars 2

I’ve wanted to use the sword for a very long time but every time I try it out I get frustrated very quickly that I can’t dodge or position myself the same as I can with every other weapon on every profession in the game simply because of the auto-attack root. I personally choose not to disable auto-attack (imo that should never be the solution, breaking my one key isn’t a very exciting concept to me) but I’m constantly having trouble. It would be slightly better if dodge took priority, but I still miss out on positioning (and when it comes to avoiding boss attacks and gaining a flanking bonus, positioning is incredibly important in dungeons). I’ve tried pairing it with a dagger to gain the extra evade but it doesn’t make up for the hits I take from the root. I even run dual drakes for lots of blast finishers in my healing spring, I still don’t seem to be able to succeed with the sword.

Has anyone had considerable success in making the sword a viable melee weapon for the ranger in dungeons? How do you build for the sword and manage to survive in melee?

Tips for using Sword (not greatsword):

• Turn off auto-attack … this will provide you more control over it
• Be very careful using the auto-attack against melee powerhouses (i.e. warriors)
  • often best to simply not unless you have them on the defensive and are bursting them down
• Work on getting good reading your opponent to make use of evasion on #2 and #3
• Work on managing your evasions from #2 and #3 with your endurance so that you always have some sort of dodge up as much as possible
• Work on using #2 #2 for faster movement in and out of combat.
• #2, Lightning Reflexes, #2 is a great way to escape … add shortbow or greatsword for even more.

Sword is probably the Ranger weapon with the highest skill floor and skill ceiling. It can be extremely rewarding while also extremely punishing.

It works well with Dagger for an extra evade + poison and a ranged cripple + bleed.

It works well with Torch for ranged burning as well as fire aura (leap through the fire combo field with #2)

It works well with Horn for more mobility and a ranged attack (roll back with #2 to get space to blow that horn then #2 to leap back in)

I’m still not a fan of OH axe, but I have used it with it in PvE for some success.

I find the evasion on Hornet Sting is a bit slow. You need to use it well in advance of an attack to get an evade. Serpent Strike is fairly reliable for an evade and it’s been my primary means of positioning (because the auto-attack makes positioning difficult, serpent strike is great for moving around targets).

As far as reading my opponent and having my dodges ready, without disabling auto-attack I find dodge to be incredibly unreliable. Quite often I simply won’t dodge and other times I will leap back in right away.

It seems like the only way to reliably use a sword in higher risk scenarios (dungeons) is to turn off auto attack. That’s not really want I’m looking for.

I’m not looking for PvP advice, I’m primarily a PvE player (although I’ve had a fair amount of success in PvP with the sword). My main problems with the sword (and honestly, most of my problems with the ranger) are its performance in dungeons.

Honestly, I often do not like the sword in dungeons. The greatsword gives me greater survivability with the auto-attack chain giving over 50% up-time on evasion and not putting me in an animation lock that prevents me from moving/dodging as I please.

The way attacking and movement is so free in this game, it’s like even the idea of sword don’t even belong here.

I use a sword in dungeons and pair it with a warhorn. Warhorn 5 only gives 1 stack of might but the 15 sec of fury is quite good. Warhorn 4 means I can keep dealing dmg whether or not I am in melee range.

The auto attack should be turned off. My auto attack is actually mapped to mouse 1 and dodge to mouse 2, so my keyboard won’t break. I think that currently the swords auto is our highest dmg chain, and the fact that can buff your pet with up 1 to 3 stacks of might per chain is excellent as well. It’s not great for constantly staying in melee range though.

I’ll often swap to my sword from my bow. Buff myself or attack with 4. Then mash away with the auto til weapon swap is almost off cooldown, and then hit sword 2 to get back to range.

The more you use this weapon the more you will get a feel for the auto attack chain, as well as the 2 movement skills. This means that after killing a mob you won’t go flying around the map. This means that you’ll recognize when the attack animation is ending and you can dodge again.

The sword in it’s current form takes some time to get used to. In my opinion though it has the absolute best design of any weapon in terms of being a high dmg melee weapon that offers a ton of mobility through skills. The sword epitomizes the risk vs reward nature that melee combat offers. Have fun with it!