Guild Wars 2

my Amulet i bought with laurels from the vendor. Im glad your enjoying the build so far. it always makes me happy to see people tearing it up with my builds.

Im still doing testing on the DD version of the build. but at this point im close to giving up as its just not viable in this format.

although i do have some exciting things going on with the condi based Re-Port331 and 331R..so keep an eye on the thread!

So I decided to give this build a try after having spent my entire career as a ranger running a 30/20/20/0/0 build. After about a week of PvE and dungeon running to get used to the build I decided to give WvW a try. For the first time (ever) I was able to get into the middle of a zerg rush and rather than watch my health almost instantly drop I just watched it dip occasionally. In addition, I really felt like I was contributing to my team with the boons/regen I’m able to apply. While I definitely miss the power (and even more, my precious long and shortbow), the amount of ‘tanking’ I’m able to do is amazing! All of this and I haven’t swapped out my rampager weapons or my armor yet (I do have the trinkets, runes, and sigils). I can only imagine what this will be like once I’m fully geared and understand the nuances of the build.

oh my goodness…if you havent done that yet then you are in for a treat. the Armor and weps are a Huge portion of the build. and once you have it down you can lay down the conditions faster then almost anyone can strip em..

There is a reason this Thread has become one of the most read on the entire ranger boards. Its a blast to play and it just plain works!

and ive been getting a ton of pms and people guesting to talk to me. so keep it up! lets keep our rangers educated and well versed in the ways of war!

Jaxx of GRIM

Well today was an interesting day for testing, i decided in preparation for the tournament coming up that i would take the Re-Port331R and head into the spvp arenas for some 1v1’s and i have some interesting news.

out of 9 1v1’s i won 8 of them. The only one i lost was against a guardian that was traited to strip conditions like crazy. I fought engies,necros,mesmers,guardians and other rangers and despite the cond and healing being lower due to being in spvp rule sets people still dropped fairly fast. i made a couple changes for spvp and they were.

1- pets. after my first duel i knew that keeping them in one place was the ticket. so i ditched Drake for cave spider and it was sexy time!

now something that im thinking about changing.

In duels/tourney play the guard serves little purpose other then on the way in to get some swiftness/regen. but its hard to get off because so many people want to open with heavy burst. So just for spvp/tourney play ill be making some small changes and give it the title. Re-PortV (versus) there will be some small changes made only for spvp rule sets with traits and abilities.

Well the Re-PortV seems to be working great for those folks who want a 1v1 tourney variation of the Re-port331 and 331R.

I swapped out Guard for Sun Spirit, Dropped the 10 in BM and put it into Marksman for the Sharpening stone at 50%. I also removed the Regen on shout trait and replaced it with poi/blind removal on dodge. These changes have made the build a power house for 1v1 style tournament play. and the only counter seems to be a good condi removal ele or guardian . everything else seems to just crumble under the pressure.

So for you folks who enjoy the pvp rule set 1v1 style fighting . give the Re-PortV a try.

Jaxx of GRIM
-Darkhaven-

Could the power shout build be viable for something like GvG, ~20 players vs ~20 players. There the low dmg wouldn’t be that big problem and the role would be mainly support.

My Sweet Lily.1952:

Could the power shout build be viable for something like GvG, ~20 players vs ~20 players. There the low dmg wouldn’t be that big problem and the role would be mainly support.

You could use it for that , but in all reality. the Condi based Re-Port331 (altruism) would be the way to go. the support and damage done with this build would be really fun for a zerg.

The power build runs in the 331R format and doesnt offer the same support.

Overall, I think this build is extremely clever and takes great advantage of the new class/trait mechanics. Very synergistic and smart.

But it is a bit of a pain in the kitten to use—both the ground targeting and it is just really annoying to cast a 1 second ability (guard) while in combat. But if you don’t cast this in combat, you fail to reap the unique benefits of the build (regen, swiftness, protection and invis on pet)

I’m trying to figure out the real benefits of a shout build over, say a 0/0/30/20/20 build. It doesn’t do more damage, and in fact does less than other bunker builds (e.g., 10/0/30/10/20). The shout provides swiftnss, regen and pet protection/invis.

1. Swiftness is nice, but again isn’t permanent without spamming Guard shouts and is a boon that can be stolen.

2. I don’t view the regen uptime as a big advantage—we can already trait and gear to get loads of regen to pop when we need it. . Having regen on all the time makes you slightly more susceptible to boon-stealing thieves. Plus, survivability isn’t as much of an issue with any Condi bunker builds—the real issue is (lack of) on-demand burst damage. When I die, a bit more regen wouldn’t have saved me—usually the only thing that would have helped is if I’d have been able to down an opponent more quickly.

3.The pet protection is really nice and a clear advantage. Using the Guard shout to get a pet to use their special attack is a plus, but not necessary—they will use that when it is off CD and you summon them. The pet invis is a big advantage.

So, unless you spam Guard in combat, what is the real advantage of this build over, say some of Xorus’ bunker builds or the RRR build?

Not trying to criticize, but am also trying to see what I’m missing. Or maybe the advantages to the pet (invis, protection, getting them to use the F4) are much larger than I imagine.

This build only good in Settlers or can you get by in Apothecary armor? Settler’s isn’t going to happen for me on my world.

Depending on the version of the build ( 331, 331R, DD 331, 331V) there is a combo between settlers and apoth. but if you are unable to get settlers its no biggie to run Apothecary.

Now to answer the question up above. Casting the guard isnt that big of a deal, and Knowing when you pet is going to cast pet4 is a huge benefit. Also, you are right we have the ability to keep regen up fairly well..but what the guard allows us to do is Heal our team mates with a potent regen when they need it the most, and really shines when you use the guard in conjunction with a healing spring and the pet4 blast finisher. ( the condition cleanse plus Huge amount of regen is a game changer )

In regards to the damage output , from my testing it seems to be right about the same but i am now even more durable. in the end its important to remember that this series of builds is not only to kick some butt,but also Support your group..which in the re-port331 form ( altruism) it does amazingly well.

today ill try something new. the patch did bring our beloved Re-Port331 condition build a pretty interesting new facette. with even stronger group support ability. i call it the “1330BF”

here is the theory craft:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMQQRBMhd+1JRFVW2FkiFoWGQaPyEzDTYFME3D/rTCxDW95B-jUCBodDimqIQEIhOvrIasFhDRr6Ks6ZER1qGYeFYCBsYNA-w

NargofWoV.4267:

This build only good in Settlers or can you get by in Apothecary armor? Settler’s isn’t going to happen for me on my world.

I wanted to grab Settler’s items as well since I had a ton of Karka shells and the weapons were cheaper than Apothecary, but the event was not going to happen on my server either. I used GW2stuff to help determine which servers had done the event most recently and had success guesting onto Fort Aspenwood to get all my gear as they seem to do this event nightly. You might look into guesting if the cost works out better for you to get Settler’s items. Good luck!

Coarr.3286:

today ill try something new. the patch did bring our beloved Re-Port331 condition build a pretty interesting new facette. with even stronger group support ability. i call it the “1330BF”

here is the theory craft:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMQQRBMhd+1JRFVW2FkiFoWGQaPyEzDTYFME3D/rTCxDW95B-jUCBodDimqIQEIhOvrIasFhDRr6Ks6ZER1qGYeFYCBsYNA-w

Thanks for sharing this. I am interested in seeing any new builds around the 331 model given the recent changes to the Ranger. I’ve been running the 331R build but using sword/torch, axe/dagger instead of sword/dagger, axe/torch.

The sword/torch seems to kick some major tail, but then it leaves the dagger feeling a little meh to me so the last few days I’ve been trying axe/axe instead. I like the ability to pull and whirling defense. I’m losing condition damage by dropping the dagger, but I am able to kill a group more quickly with whirling defense. I used to use axe/warhorn with my old trapper setup though and now that it is a blast finisher, I am tempted to try this again.

Its nice to see people adapting my series of builds. Taking a look at it . it wouldnt be as effective as my Re-PortV which puts 10 in marksman for the sharpening stone at 50%.

you have it traited for an on crit ability when our crit is only 4% which wouldnt be the way to go.

if you are looking for more bleeds. Run my Re-PortV and try that out. you can get 20 stacks of bleeds almost instantly.

first test was a full success. with the nearly permanent fury uptime and the fire field with blast finisher horn 5 i support my group kitten good. i currently have 36% crit chance with fury and that is more then enough to stack up bleeds like hell with horn 4 ( 16 hits )

tha only downside is the missing dagger 4 which is a life saver. i have to play more caution then before but i’ll get used to it

I have been doing some theorycrafting on a direct damage version of the builds. A few things stand out; gearing for power/precision/critical damage leaves you lacking toughness and healing power (a lot!) One way to work around the lack of toughness is using Signet of Stone (+180 Toughness and nice synergy with “Protect Me!” if the pet can not handle the incoming damage. It is actually quite fun to use.) But you lose out on some of the health regeneration.
You can make up for some of the health regen loss by actively leap and blast finishing your water field.

As for gear; it is either a mix of cleric/berserker, or celestial for the critical damage and more all round stats. Runes for boon duration because you will stack might (and boon duration affects the Fortifying Bond minor trait…) So I would consider it a semi-beastmaster build. Keep in mind the Short Bow takes advantage of the condition damage on celestial gear (and from the might stacks) while the Greatsword is the better option for Cleric/Berserker for the additional leap finisher and defensive utilities.

Keep in mind these builds are probably less effective than the condition damage versions because of the weapon damage scaling. Condition damage is not everyone’s cup of tea, though. So I figured I would just share my finds.

Cleric/Berserker:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQNBMhF6koisg7CywCWLEIdBcGHSi8KMLuH+XnEiA-jEDBoNCiUEIUGAkIRMLqIasltht6KalXBRXDT5iIq2ebIamcpWGAmFA-w

Celestial:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQNBMhV6koisg7CywCWLEIdBcGHSi8KMLuHoSnEipsiTM1L-jkDBoeCiEEIUGBiEBM5rIasltht6KalXBRVjIqWXDzeDzgLRmcp2qDQGAmFA-w

Gave this a try last night (311 *) and had to settle for apoth gear (no pun overly intended). I had been a long time trap and SB build so learning the s/t etc has been taking a while.

Had some great fun in WvW though and really enjoyed supporting the team. I found myself using a/a most of the time as I floated through the melee supporting team mates. I was very pleased with the durability. I plan to practice with the torch and dagger more to take advantage of the condi. Oh, and I swapped in flame trap over the evade shout cause I always forget to use it. I’m so used to dropping traps in groups that it felt natural to me and was a nice combo with the drive-by regen. Love the prot on dodge.

Thanks heaps for the builds. Really got me enjoying the rangers again.

2. day of testing. we did run with 2 guards ( 1 off 1 def ), bersi warrior and s/d thief. if the enemy didnt outman us with 3to1 we had absolutely no problems. i love the way the ranger feels now. also it feels very unique

ill see if i can record a video the next days.

I’ve went into an area with a bunch of little fights with a guildy Ranger using GS/Sword-Dagger, I was using A/T, S/D. I’m still not 100% certain I’m doing things correctly, when to use Guard, when to field the Torch AoE, Healing spring when, evades when (I die and realize I didn’t use all my evades/dodges). However did manage some kills, lasted longer than I thought I would considering melee ranged.

Will have to experiment more, did find in Keep work I would be switching to a heavy Cond. Dmg LB. In Big Zerg/Zerg action, I died pretty quickly if I got to far out in front.

Nargo, switching to such an interactive build can be daunting , especially if you came from a build that was a “two planker kitten” ( double bow) all the questions you have asked are in the thread here in my replies and those of fans of the build but i will do a basic rundown for you.

1) When to use guard?-
a) Always use guard on your way into a fight or skirmish
b) when you know you want to use a pet 4 ability (drake blast ect)
c) when team mates/party memebers are taking arrow cart or ranged damage at a door or gate.
(please note- dont try to go crazy from the start, use it on your way into a fight..then add in some more as you get used to the rotations)

2) When to use the Torch abilities?
a) the most common use is right after an entangle in rapid succession.
b) when you are in a melee fight, and the enemy is running along side you, place it where you know he will walk through the entire thing ( also a great time to use a wolf KD so the enemy stews in your bonfire)
C) when you cant place Bonfire on an enemie, place it so people can do projectile/leap/blast finishers in it for the added boons and effects.

When do I use healing Spring?
a) lol…when you know you have taken or about to take a large chunk of damage.
b) When Fighting toe to toe and you know you are sustaining damage, place the spring . then use s2 to leap finish through it for more large heal.

c) when a thief or other class forces you to fight in their regen field , drop yours on top of it to even the playing field.

d) at a gate or door to heal people on rams ect, be sure to have party members Blast,Leap,whirl ect.
E) the Main thing to know about your healing spring is not to blow it too early with all the healing power you have the heal will be huge and the regen is enormous. so keep that in mind.

When do i Evade?
A) to avoid a classes primary burst.
b) If you get locked down/ Immob you cant move but your evade timers still work. so if you get rooted then 100b just run through your evades
c) if facing a necro or trap ranger its a great way to get through their Aoe/Traps without taking any damage. You see that trap circle and the enemy is on the other side waitin for you to walk through it. pop sword 3 and stab them im the face.
d) Our Evades hold a Huge portion of our Soft CC ie Weakness,poison ect. so before you get in close and have to evade try to toss up some other filler condi so when your Soft CC hits they arent wiped.

The main thing to remember with the Re-Port Series of Builds is that they are probably one of the most interactive builds in the game and require some time to figure out lil tricks that work for you. But you have the benefit of me having hundred of hours on these builds to trim the fat off of poor selections.

At the end of the day your main advantage is when people see a ranger they laugh and charge in for an easy kill. When i see an idiot like that i always act like im going to run just for a split second so they blow all their CC off the bat…then..thats all she wrote.

Jaxx of GRIM
-Darkhaven-

I tried out the build, 1st with green apothecary gear and then slowly added the exotic gear.

• I am using settler trinkets with the weapons/armor apothecary.
• 6 runes of Undead since they are cheap though might try others at some point.
• Going sword/torch and axe/dagger

Build is fun and certainly different.

Pros:

1. Build is well thought out and synergizes with the traits.

2. You save a free utility slot since you don’t need Signet of Hunt. You don’t need the regeneration traits since you can cast guard all the time.

3. Fairly easy to escape due to permanent swiftness, lightning reflexes, high armor, regen, dodges, sword 2 and 3.

4. Regen is approx. 250 a tick which is pretty good.

5. Conditions are not a problem with empathic bond.

6. Element of surprise. Tough to focus on with all the dodges. I can barely figure out where I am going some time. People not used to ranger meleeing so catch them off guard.

Weaknesses:

1. Weak main hand weapons: Sword 1 and 2 and axe 1 are power attacks. You have low power, no precision. This is the biggest weakness of the build. This makes the build less than useful in organized guild fights of 10+ and rather weak in a zerg battle.

2. Radius of the shout seems rather small. It should be increased.

3. Kind of finicky with the guard/blast drake mechanics when under pressure. Pet F2 still seems slow compared to other abilities in the game.

4. Not much AE. Entangle, torch 5 and axe1, the latter which does very low damage.

5. Aside from the weapon swap sigils, not much else helps. On other characters you might have a stacking sigil and then replace it once you hit 25. Hyjaxx uses sigil of stamina, but if you are killing enemies, you’re already winning. I have 1 sigil of corruption and use the ultracheap smoldering sigil on the torch plus 2 sigils of geomancy.

Questions for hyjaxx:

1. What are your thoughts of using a shortbow instead of axe/dagger. Would the bleeds on the dagger outweigh the benefits of axe/dagger 2, 4 and 5? Sword would seem to be a more logical choice to drop, but I think I would miss the evades from the sword.

2. What are your thoughts about dropping the 10 in beastmaster line for 10 in marks to pick up some power, condition duration and keen edge?

3. How would the build work with celestial gear?

General comment: I am using the ground target auto cast feature from the options menu. Since entangle and torch 5 are cast around the ranger, they are improved by using this feature.

Overall a fun build and kudaos to hyjaxx for his effort.

I’ve played BM condi/bunker type builds for a while. I’ll admit I had a very difficult time getting used to the shout-build—still hate the 1 second casting time/ground targeting.

But I have gotten used to it, and made a couple tweaks. Of all its benefits, I find the on-demand regen and pet protection/stealth seem to be huge in small fights. I did make two tweaks that I think are very helpful (at least for me).

First, I use s/t and a/d. Using this combination I’ve found a rotation that allows me to cast Guard while my condi applying skills are and weapon swap are on cooldown—better use of time than spamming the 1 autoattack.

Second, I use rune of the undead. The main weakness of this build is that rate of damage is somewhat low, especially against savvy condition clearers. The additional protection of runes of the grove(?) is not needed. Most of the times I die it is not because I wasn’t study enough, but because I couldn’t kill fast enough. Adding runes of undead ups my toughness and increases bleed damage from 118 per tick to 132 (with 25 corruption stack). That’s nearly a 12% boost to bleed damage (probably similar % increase on burn).

My only remaining annoyance is that the range is only 360, so in small group fights, team mates often don’t get the boons. No reason for its range to be so small.

So, thanks hyjaxx, for a smart build!

did a little bit of tweaking. i love the result and my group kisses my kitten for the superb support

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMQQRBMhd+1JRFVW2FkiFoWGQWFEk2jMx8wE3D/rTCxDW95B-jUCBodDimcIQEIhOvrIasFhDRr6Ks6ZER1qGYeFYSBAxaA-w

just one question i have

if using s/t with this build, what do you think about replacing a/d with sb?

So with the new sigil out for +6% condition duration have you considered switching end fill down? I considered it but I just do not feel like the 6% is worth it. I have had my kitten saved too many times by that end fill.

Also…a guild mate of mine pointed out rune of the forge to me. I have been trying that out in Spvp and absolutely love it. Would suggest giving it a try.

Is this build good for 1v1 scenario? I gathered that this is more for group fight, since it lacks good damage from the pets? I used to run BM for roaming but after the latest updates I was having tough times against mesmer and necro :/ thanks for sharing!

Here is my final version of the direct damage version of this build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQNBhYD7koisg7CywCWLDItHZilgJvCzi7xo0JhYBTqA-jkyAYMBZKDEJKwJwioxWJLiGruGT5SEVbvV0M5p20DIDAzYA-w

As a commander and active WvW player, I modified this build to suit my personal playstyle. While I am sure that in a 1v1 situation condition damage is superior, in ZvZ warfare direct damage gets the advantage. The build is versatile and can change roles at the swap of a weapon.

You can change traits for half fall damage. Combining the runes with traits you are able to grant permanent AoE swiftness without having to use the Warhorn’s #5 and with that you are able to keep the blast finisher off cooldown. “Protect Me!” can soak any damage you get for 6 seconds and if you predict your pet will die from the burst Signet of Stone is readily available. The passive effect is noticable but not as gamebreaking as invulnerability from direct damage so time it wisely.

The downsides compared to the condition damage build is the lack of healing power which renders regeneration much less useful (and makes you rely on Healing Spring + Blast/Leap finishers for survival) but I personally found survival no issue. The damage is decent, if anything. But the strength of this build relies in its’ mobility and ability to escape any given situation. The ability to kite around makes your pet that much more powerful, because you can still do damage while avoiding hits. I can not express enough how useful permanent AoE swiftness becomes in WvW especially when escorting dolyaks or roaming.

Hyajaxx, you have my gratitude and compliments for making this excellent build. And while you are probably not as charmed of the direct damage version of the build as I am, I hope you appreciate my efforts to continue upon your build concept (and hopefully improve it.)

heya heya. Ive recently come back to the game and had a bunch of mails ect asking questions about the build. ive started testing some more options for it and have some great ideas. ill get to posting once i have some stuff together.

aside from that, how has the Ranger population been doing?

Jaxx

I think others’ answers will have more depth about the ranger population’s well-being, i’d just like to point out the april 15 patch -if you haven’t seen it already- because it’s going to change traits, bring in new traits and change the crit (ferocity?). So i’d kinda just wait with any new experimenting and anything that is based on current setup of the class if i were you, though we still have almost a month until these changes….
Just sayin’

Ranger population? Excusing the Bear bows us real rangers are few and spare, although we are all fighting strong.

I actually believe the active ranger community has gotten better and improved, I’ve seen more people double leaping waterfields with their greatsword and most rangers in WvW are more skilled and fun to fight. Heres to april 15th!

Ben thats great to hear…I always make it a goal to engage rangers i see first to weed out the turds. last night i came across one that lasted a bit longer then usual..but i havent played in several months so i shall have to get my magic fingers back then head out again!

Benjamin.8237:

Ranger population? Excusing the Bear bows us real rangers are few and spare, although we are all fighting strong.

I actually believe the active ranger community has gotten better and improved, I’ve seen more people double leaping waterfields with their greatsword and most rangers in WvW are more skilled and fun to fight. Heres to april 15th!

That’s because the only ones left at this point are those stubborn kittens who have been forced to get better since any ranger not up to par is kicked instantly wherever he is haha.

Faux! I see you moved servers eh? yeah i moved to Henge last night and ran some wvw and the rangers are still really bad lol. there was one quite a ways out from me plinkin me with some kittened bow shot..so i pop twisted my way in and took care of business.

anyhow faux. what have you changed on builds lately? it seems that our new traits arent going to change too much.

Jaxx

Well after watching the 2 hour stream on the changes I have some Amazing ideas for new builds Giving the Re-port a much higher damage ceiling while allowing it to support the group even more. ( with a targeted heal to boot!)

as a side note. I got an email from anet this morning saying that part of this thread was deleted for being mean to anet staff or something like that. which is strange because its been up for 8 months and placed with the guides on the top of the ranger boards. So lets make sure the thread stays friendly and stuff. thanks again!

jaxx