Guild Wars 2

Played since day1. Ranger is my 1st char, have had a happy time when I explored the world, feel excited when I played sPVP, but then after I move to WvW in majority of my time. I tried every single build/gear possibile combination and at last I found the ranger the worst class for WvW. Any other class beat ranger in any way. Every other classes can has very specific role(roles) in WvW but rangers.

Ranger is pretty good in WvW. Maybe it’s you.

Well … yeah. I really only roam in WvW with my ranger these days. My guardian sees all the real action.

it is true that ranger and engineer are the only professions that dont offer much of anything unique to WvW. with the right spec and gear, both can be made to work well, but it requires quite a bit of patience. for example, when specced right, ranger has the most aoe immobilizes in the game.

i have to say though, pets are seriously setting us back. because of them, our dps is what it is.

i often see full border, t1 united zergs(80+) and only 2-3 pets and one of those is mine.

Rangers are fine in pve, spvp, and dungeons. They are okay in wvw roaming.

BUT when it comes down to zvz, they are probably the most useless class out there.

we all know that video with ranger speed clean. but i think they can replace ranger with a guardian or with an other warrior. and that build only work with a very professional, very specific team setup.

If you’re in a zerg you’re not making a personal contribution anyways. Who cares which class you’re playing?

I found condition ranger to be very strong as a roamer (not to month ago but yesterday). But it really only shines 1on1 (gotta leave the bows at in the bag though) As for zerg surfing I feel a that a longbow/shout build is quite helpfull.

in siege situations you have to know your role. If your attacking you should try to give the defenders a hard time – basically providing cover for the guys at the gate.

openfield zvz is all about positioning and picking targets. either deliver the final punch on runners or adding additional fire power on engaged targets. Switiching targets and beeing on the lookout for the most vurnable target is the big adavantage for longrange combatants. Classic sniper approach.

I am sporting 100% condition duration which makes muddyterrain one sick skill. 4 secs aoe root and 4 secs cripple per pulse for 10 secs on a 20 secs cooldown if traited is something no other class can provide.

i do not feel that they are useless in wvw. and i also do not believe in rankings like “most useless class in wvwvw”. Making yourself useful is up to the individual player.

I don’t blame you.

While the class has its moments, they are few and far between. It’s not holding up with the way this game is evolving as the class isn’t as strong at roaming as it once was and it has never been much use to a zerg. My biggest concern is that even in organized 10v10 and 15v15 guild vs guild battles, the class is never considered because it simply doesn’t offer anything to the group that isn’t easily done by someone else.

There’s just so much wrong with this class that wouldn’t require much effort to fix but they’ve been issues now for a year. It’s hard to stay up beat about a class that is close to being where you want it when ANet appears to have forgotten about it completely.

The patch next Tuesday should be entertaining. I picture enormous nerfs in our future, but hopefully they’ll continue what they started and flesh out the Longbow playstyle further.

kiwituatara.6053:

Rangers are fine in pve, spvp, and dungeons. They are okay in wvw roaming.

BUT when it comes down to zvz, they are probably the most useless class out there.

Disagree.
PVE? LOL faceroll content.
Spvp? Top tier. If not #1.
Dungeons? I have no issues in any fractal.
Roaming? I dont think theres a build out there the RRRanger cant beat if you play it right. I have no fears when roaming.
WvW? We bring the best water field. We bring AoE Chill, AoE immobilize, a 3-person pull, and aoe projectile block. I have no issues in the melee train, or just outside doing traps, OR at 1800 range collecting bags. Maybe youre doing it wrong and should evaluate your playstyle.
I get as many bags on ranger as i do my necro wells build in T1 Zergs.
Pet also provides nice buffs.

Maybe if you actually told us what your problems were, we could help you. I’ve never felt useless in any content as a Ranger, and we do have specific roles.

Kasama.8941:

Maybe if you actually told us what your problems were, we could help you. I’ve never felt useless in any content as a Ranger, and we do have specific roles.

I have to agree. There’s times when I’ve felt like a different class would be better – such as an elementalist spamming AoEs in a zerg or in a dungeon – but I’ve never felt useless.

Asmodal.6489:

I do not feel that they are useless in wvw, and i also do not believe in rankings like “most useless class in wvw”. Making yourself useful is up to the individual player.

You sir, are a hero of the gaming world, and I applaud you.

Malpractice.7850:

kiwituatara.6053:

Rangers are fine in pve, spvp, and dungeons. They are okay in wvw roaming.

BUT when it comes down to zvz, they are probably the most useless class out there.

Disagree.
PVE? LOL faceroll content.
Spvp? Top tier. If not #1.
Dungeons? I have no issues in any fractal.
Roaming? I dont think theres a build out there the RRRanger cant beat if you play it right. I have no fears when roaming.
WvW? We bring the best water field. We bring AoE Chill, AoE immobilize, a 3-person pull, and aoe projectile block. I have no issues in the melee train, or just outside doing traps, OR at 1800 range collecting bags. Maybe youre doing it wrong and should evaluate your playstyle.
I get as many bags on ranger as i do my necro wells build in T1 Zergs.
Pet also provides nice buffs.

My goal isn’t getting bags but to help my zerg gain and hold as many WvW potential points as possible. My traps at choke points tend to go off prematurely from pets/minions/etc~ maybe its L2P, or I’m just unlucky meh~ :/

kiwituatara.6053:

My goal isn’t getting bags but to help my zerg gain and hold as many WvW potential points as possible. My traps at choke points tend to go off prematurely from pets/minions/etc~ maybe its L2P, or I’m just unlucky meh~ :/

You really have to get Trapper’s Expertise if you use traps in WvW. It makes a world of difference. I just use Muddy Terrain, Entangle, and Barrage.

I run a celestial 20prec/30tough/20vit in WvW, with a Longbow and Greatsword. And let me tell you how many kills I can get with it while at the same time have a decent amount of survivability.

some of you guys didn’t get what I mean. (Some go it)
I never say ranger is totally useless in WvW, no class is useless.
My point is —- no matter what role I am gonna focus in WvW, I can always find other classes doing much better than ranger. So ……. why play ranger in WvW except fun?

I also look forward in next Tuesday patch and see where our Future is heading because at our current state, it looks ‘blurry’ for us; even our near-blinded pets agree to that.

From what I read, most of you either follow the zerg, using the ranger as a bag collector from a safe zone, or play in guilds following the zerg collecting bags from a safe zone. If you have tried the ranger in a fairly organized guild group, you would know it is the weakest class there is, and most abilities, apart from the good waterfield, can be done better or just as good by other classes. Ill add my 2 cents to the ranger classes weaknesses and pros in the only build up which is more than casual;
Problem is afaik the survivability, it seems. I suggest runes that give regen. Preferably id say go beastmaster with beast taking damage (aka draw conds, guard area etc.) but thenm again, you wont have the traps, and muddy terrain. IF you want a trapper toon, you will have to specc ALL into survivability, as your utility skills will be used on cc. Dead ranger is no good. Then, doing so, would reduce the dps a lot. As it is now, the damage axe does is mediocre. It does have a good pull (4) and a good reflect/retaliation (5), but the main hand skills are bad, compared to other classes. Actually, fact is, ranger does NOT have a good main hand weapon. So if I were to suggest a specc, Id say any 2h weapon + axe/warhorn or axe/axe. Sword is crap, dont even think about it. Warhorn has one benefit. It gives the ranger a blast. And skill 5, is actually rampage as one (so if you choose warhorn, you can have both 5(RaO) AND roots). The 4 skill, owls, are cool, but not very efficient. Axe as offhand, gives a pull (4) which is hard to get off, and, it seems hard to place. If you target the one closest to you, it pulls one, if you place it in the middle of a zerg, you can, potentially, puill up to 5. Ive experienced max 3 so far. Not to mention it pulls pets. 5 minions in a pull, was not pleasant…Skill 6, is a retaliation/ranged dps skill, which is cool, but, as any good raidleader would have put it, can other classes do it better? Probably. First which comes to mind, is guardians reflecting wall. Especially since rangers 5 makes the ranger rooted for 5 seconds….which potentially is a problem, I guess.

Let us see what other options there are for the ranger then; Greatsword, has one ok attack (2, Maul, which applies 3 stacks of vulnerability. It used to be bleeds, which made it a useful cond. specc weapon). 3, is a good escape mechanic (unless it bugs out, and you fly directly into the zerg. Happens even though you dont have a target, then it will make you go for the one who hit you last). 4, is a block one attack. Crappety crap for anything else than solo roaming.. 5 is a weird skill. Its supposed to stun one target, and apply vulnerability. I almost never find myself using it, unless im in a one vs one. So for a guild team, not optimal. My idea then ,is that greatsword is a weak weapon, but, mashing button one, can make it useful in a guild group. Then again, it does less damage than any other classes with GS…

Longbow. I kinda always fall back to using this, with piercing arrows. Its the weapon most effective in a group combo, because you can start damaging from far away, and you can control your damage quite well. You can easier pick targets in the back. 1 does decent damage from distance, crap point blank. Skill 2 applies vulnerability to target, gives the ranger stealth, which again gives the ranger something called point blank shot (i believe), which is an initiative roll, giving crit. I Use it before I fire off skill 5, which is Barrage, so I get crits on the barrage, and the stealth makes it more prossibble to survive the root you have while fuiring off barrage (you can do it wile being stealthed, it doesnt break on damage to or against). Small thing, but useful. Skill 4 is the knockback, which is useless in anything else than a 1v1. Skill 3, is rpaid fire. Does low damage, and is easily dodgeable.

So to sum it up, after a very brief look at what a ranger can add to a guild organized zerg-hunt team; Nothing no other classes cant. What to do then? Nothing, developers wont change a thing this year. YUou can whine and growl and swear, call me ajerk or whatever, but NO raidleader from any top guild would ever put a ranger in a squad combo. Take a look at the best fights guildgroups? How many rangers do you find? None.

Kasama.8941:

kiwituatara.6053:

My goal isn’t getting bags but to help my zerg gain and hold as many WvW potential points as possible. My traps at choke points tend to go off prematurely from pets/minions/etc~ maybe its L2P, or I’m just unlucky meh~ :/

You really have to get Trapper’s Expertise if you use traps in WvW. It makes a world of difference. I just use Muddy Terrain, Entangle, and Barrage.

I hardly ever use traps without traiting into them~

i play as a ranger and i can say i can win 2v1 on me in some times even 3v1 but its only if the enemy does mistakes ..
our class realy i can say Sucks its not top ranged dmg and its not special at any sort of role (burst,survival,support.roaming) any class can win us at each role .
arenanet told that ranger will be the best ranged class with the most dmg from range and will be focused on that from now i see arenanet dont know what they are doing.
if ranger are good at something its maybe with the sword/dagger weps for dodging and even of this little survival other classes can out come us.
well about that: any class can win us if he is skilled or knows what he is doing or even rode abit of his class skills
i realy dont believe in arenanet words even living story that they are says will be great becomes a kitten with stupid zerg runs around same for our class read about ranger they said that we will be Top Burst RANGED class in game i see no range and no burst anyways

CRrabbit.1284:

some of you guys didn’t get what I mean. (Some go it)
I never say ranger is totally useless in WvW, no class is useless.
My point is —- no matter what role I am gonna focus in WvW, I can always find other classes doing much better than ranger. So ……. why play ranger in WvW except fun?

These are the “roles” the Ranger excels at:
- Being able to stack a ton of control skills (cripple, chill, immobilize, knockdowns, knockback, pull), a lot of it being AoE
- Brilliant movement with a ton of vigor, evades, swiftness, and short termed stealth
- Being able to rally multiple allies at the same time, using “Search and Rescue” or Spirit of Nature
- Curing conditions from allies, with Healing Spring, Signet of Renewal, Spirit of Nature, or the Brown Bear
- Healing Spring, which is one of the best healing skills in the game
- Great invulnerability duration with “Protect Me” and traited Signet of Stone
- Great stability duration with Rampage As One and traited Signet of the Wild
- Using the pet to attack a target, without putting yourself at risk
- The best long ranged damage in the game, with traited longbow

Now I’m sure you can pick all these points apart, and say one professions does one of these things better then the Ranger, but the advantage lies in the combination of all these abilities.

Kasama; The point is, the ranger dosnt do ANY of these abilities any better than classes who at the same time bring other and BETTER group abilities, PLUS more dps….You mentioned some decent single abilities, useful in a zerg, where you only rely on yourself. In a good organized grouip, no sane leader would pick a bunker ranger instead of ANY class. Thats the truth. The ranger doesnt bring ANY ability to a top guild group other than healing spring other classes cant do better, WITH dealing more deepeess at the same time. Take a look at the best guilds combos. They run warrior, guardian, mesmer and necro. In that order. In the very beginning some of the better guild groups had some, a few dedicated healers. Not anymore. Guardians do dps OR control. Another point is, if you wanna do ranged dps with your longbow, you arent running in a group efficiently anymore. You cant heal your allies (who will be melee) and at the same time hit enemies from 1200 distance. It wont work.

If you want to have fun sometime w/ your 2-3 of your friends, run a GS (Melee) + Shout/Signet build w/ a Warrior & Guardian (all 3 running shouts).

Pretty strong trio.

Shouts -> Regen
Shouts -> Condi Removal
Shouts -> Heal

Good, fun /assist Train w/ lots of lockdowns and mobility.

Zerg vs Zerg… yeah, Rangers need something outside of Immobilizes and Healing Spring…. maybe if the immobilizes didn’t have a 5 person cap…

Amins.3710:

If you want to have fun sometime w/ your 2-3 of your friends, run a GS (Melee) + Shout/Signet build w/ a Warrior & Guardian (all 3 running shouts).

Pretty strong trio.

Shouts -> Regen
Shouts -> Condi Removal
Shouts -> Heal

Good, fun /assist Train w/ lots of lockdowns and mobility.

Zerg vs Zerg… yeah, Rangers need something outside of Immobilizes and Healing Spring…. maybe if the immobilizes didn’t have a 5 person cap…

It’s a 3 person cap on muddy terrain.

I don’t blame you, we are pretty weak in zvzvz. I can make Cond build work in other areas, small group or solo, but in Keep Taking or Defending the cond build is pretty weak. I often end up swapping to a LB or SB to defend or take a keep.

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull
we got some of them on utilities when other classes have those on their wep skills
our cripple on LB aoe sucks same with shortbow the range sucks but the mobility nice
signet of stone we must trait to use stupid 30 points for that def spell maybe its nice but some ppl spend 30 points in trait they dont want only to use it for def
all stupid spells on pet with those spells doesn’t effect alot (protect me ) the only nice shout.
you want to say also that our class made for support ? no i dont think so arenanet said we are the ranged class with needs to make heavy dmg not to support our group with this close range …

killimandros.5087:

In a good organized grouip, no sane leader would pick a bunker ranger instead of ANY class. Thats the truth.

That’s not really the truth. You’re making it sound like everything except a ranger makes a welcome addition to an optimized guild squad and I can assure you that’s not the case.

My guild does a lot of organized 15 v 15 GvG and the template we use consists mainly of hammer guardians and staff elementalists with a couple each of hammer warriors and well necros thrown in and a single mesmer who’s mainly there just to cast Veil on incoming. There are always at least twice as many guardians as any other class and half the classes in the game have 0 or 1 representative on the team. There is very little build variation within classes.

Every single enemy guild we’ve fought has run a very similar composition, sometimes with a minor variation like a single thief or one of the elementalists running daggers instead of a staff.

Larger group play has balance issues that don’t show up in sPvP. Some things get a lot stronger like boon sharing, water field blasting and area denial skills (ie: things guardians are good at) while other things get weaker like personal defense, condition damage and pets (ie: things rangers are good at.)

This is a balance problem, but it’s one that has been slow to gain recognition because most guilds don’t min-max their WvW teams and most WvW fights are affected by many different factors besides class balance. The increasing popularity of organized GvG is shining more light on WvW class balance, but that’s an unofficial game mode created by players, so Anet isn’t very likely to make balance changes based off it. If they ever do, though, rangers aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit by a longshot.

In the meantime, if you want to be part of an optimized guild squad in WvW, make a guardian.

killimandros.5087:

Kasama; The point is, the ranger dosnt do ANY of these abilities any better than classes who at the same time bring other and BETTER group abilities, PLUS more dps….You mentioned some decent single abilities, useful in a zerg, where you only rely on yourself. In a good organized grouip, no sane leader would pick a bunker ranger instead of ANY class. Thats the truth. The ranger doesnt bring ANY ability to a top guild group other than healing spring other classes cant do better, WITH dealing more deepeess at the same time. Take a look at the best guilds combos. They run warrior, guardian, mesmer and necro. In that order. In the very beginning some of the better guild groups had some, a few dedicated healers. Not anymore. Guardians do dps OR control. Another point is, if you wanna do ranged dps with your longbow, you arent running in a group efficiently anymore. You cant heal your allies (who will be melee) and at the same time hit enemies from 1200 distance. It wont work.

I’m sorry, but you’re just wrong. As a Ranger you can singlehandedly lock down a group of players repetitively, or for much longer, then any other profession. The Guardian’s wards almost have no effect in ZvZ anymore, as everyone knows to stack stability before attacking. The Thief can have some great movement by using stealth, but the Ranger can have equally as good movement through high amount of vigor and evades, thereby staying alive for longer. Spirit of Nature can do AoE rally and cure conditions, provided that you place it right. The Ranger can have just as good dps as other professions, as long as you can keep the pet alive and hitting. A pet skill such as Lightning Breath can even provide some great AoE burst damage. Going from range to melee is not really a problem at all. And just because you have 1500 range, it doesn’t mean you have to stand at 1500 range from your opponents. Sometimes opponents likes to stand at a distance, or you need to shoot down a trebuchet that’s placed at a high location.

I’m not trying to argue that the Ranger is flawless, it needs a lot of work still, but it is definitely not as handicapped as most want to believe.

I have designed a mass aoe immoblize ranger build if u guys look at my sentinel thread. It’s truly something unique and makes a difference cuz immobilize punches through stability

PROBLEM: muddy terrain, our best utility, is broken and affects only 3 targets. God only knows how long it’s been broken for. Anet has no QA for rangers it seems.

Rabbit, u should try the damage variant of my sent build sword/axe/lb. It’s actually a decent alternative to the staff ele. It gives les s b oons but has more immobilizes and does more aoe damage.

Like a repeating record. Every game I have played is the same. EQ,EQ2,LOTR,DAOC,WoW. The min/maxers take over. They take the best classes needed to get the job done the quickest and easiest. It’s not that other classes can’t do the job but when one class has a dps of 123…and another has a dps of 119, they take the first class.

So no matter what the game developer does, the min/maxers will take their idea of the best classes. Weird how up until a couple of months ago a class like Necros were saying the same thing as Rangers. They got a boost and now are included in GvG groups. Now Mesmers are the ones being left out. They are still included but not as much. Some groups even go with a makeup of 50% warriors. That would have been unheard of a few months ago.

So why worry about it?…because if Ranger was ever improved to the point they were a “must have” class in a serious GvG roaming group it would be at the expense of another class. So then it would be their turn to complain.

Op joking?
Rangers regularly tear me a new one in WvW

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

mainhand axe doesnt4 pull.
offhand axe pull only good against runaway noobs

Skady.5916:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

mainhand axe doesnt4 pull.
offhand axe pull only good against runaway noobs

Skills 4 and 5 are offhand skills when you have two one handed weapons . . . and I don’t use offhand axe that much since I prefer to run with a warhorn for the burst effect instead.

At least during invasion events. Stepping into those combo fields and putting the horn out is fun

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Skady.5916:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

mainhand axe doesnt4 pull.
offhand axe pull only good against runaway noobs

Skills 4 and 5 are offhand skills when you have two one handed weapons . . . and I don’t use offhand axe that much since I prefer to run with a warhorn for the burst effect instead

At least during invasion events. Stepping into those combo fields and putting the horn out is fun

Axe 4 is Rangers best burst imo

Forzani.2584:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Skady.5916:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

mainhand axe doesnt4 pull.
offhand axe pull only good against runaway noobs

Skills 4 and 5 are offhand skills when you have two one handed weapons . . . and I don’t use offhand axe that much since I prefer to run with a warhorn for the burst effect instead

At least during invasion events. Stepping into those combo fields and putting the horn out is fun

Axe 4 is Rangers best burst imo

Axe 4? “Path of Scars” or do you mean “Whirling Defense”?

Agreed Op i gave up Wvw on rangers its a joke and a waste of time..

All these Rangers are awesome in Wvw what a crock of Kitten, go play another class in WvW and see how bad they make Rangers look, i don’t even login to my Ranger much these days as its a waste of effort..

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Forzani.2584:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Skady.5916:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

mainhand axe doesnt4 pull.
offhand axe pull only good against runaway noobs

Skills 4 and 5 are offhand skills when you have two one handed weapons . . . and I don’t use offhand axe that much since I prefer to run with a warhorn for the burst effect instead

At least during invasion events. Stepping into those combo fields and putting the horn out is fun

Axe 4 is Rangers best burst imo

Axe 4? “Path of Scars” or do you mean “Whirling Defense”?

he means PoS. 2.5-4k damage one way, so up to 8k damage in a line. problem is it only pulls 3 targets. WD does something like 2.5-4.5 but over 5 seconds. it’s there for the reflect and vuln. for WD to be viable, it need to be cast over 2-3s, and that vuln need to stack much faster. standing still in zerg fights is suicidal without traited Signet of Stone.

Dante.1508:

Agreed Op i gave up Wvw on rangers its a joke and a waste of time..

All these Rangers are awesome in Wvw what a crock of Kitten, go play another class in WvW and see how bad they make Rangers look, i don’t even login to my Ranger much these days as its a waste of effort..

i also main guard and necro. my frontline ranger does more damage than my guard, and the damage variant of that build brings more utility than the typical well necro. you likely dont know how to gear and spec your ranger, have a look at my thread/youtube.

mistsim.2748:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Forzani.2584:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Skady.5916:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

mainhand axe doesnt4 pull.
offhand axe pull only good against runaway noobs

Skills 4 and 5 are offhand skills when you have two one handed weapons . . . and I don’t use offhand axe that much since I prefer to run with a warhorn for the burst effect instead

At least during invasion events. Stepping into those combo fields and putting the horn out is fun

Axe 4 is Rangers best burst imo

Axe 4? “Path of Scars” or do you mean “Whirling Defense”?

he means PoS. 2.5-4k damage one way, so up to 8k damage in a line. problem is it only pulls 3 targets. WD does something like 2.5-4.5 but over 5 seconds. it’s there for the reflect and vuln. for WD to be viable, it need to be cast over 2-3s, and that vuln need to stack much faster. standing still in zerg fights is suicidal without traited Signet of Stone.

Dante.1508:

Agreed Op i gave up Wvw on rangers its a joke and a waste of time..

All these Rangers are awesome in Wvw what a crock of Kitten, go play another class in WvW and see how bad they make Rangers look, i don’t even login to my Ranger much these days as its a waste of effort..

i also main guard and necro. my frontline ranger does more damage than my guard, and the damage variant of that build brings more utility than the typical well necro. you likely dont know how to gear and spec your ranger, have a look at my thread/youtube.

Correct, path of scars……and it can do a lot more damage than you listed depending on spec. Which is why I think it is part of a Rangers best burst damage.

Forzani.2584:

mistsim.2748:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Forzani.2584:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Skady.5916:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

mistt.3698:

Kasama.8941 you are idiot i must say we dont have chill immobolize or pull

The “Path of Scars” offhand Axe now pulls doesn’t it? So does mainhand Axe 3.

As for Immobilize I have a spider or devourer for that

mainhand axe doesnt4 pull.
offhand axe pull only good against runaway noobs

Skills 4 and 5 are offhand skills when you have two one handed weapons . . . and I don’t use offhand axe that much since I prefer to run with a warhorn for the burst effect instead

At least during invasion events. Stepping into those combo fields and putting the horn out is fun

Axe 4 is Rangers best burst imo

Axe 4? “Path of Scars” or do you mean “Whirling Defense”?

he means PoS. 2.5-4k damage one way, so up to 8k damage in a line. problem is it only pulls 3 targets. WD does something like 2.5-4.5 but over 5 seconds. it’s there for the reflect and vuln. for WD to be viable, it need to be cast over 2-3s, and that vuln need to stack much faster. standing still in zerg fights is suicidal without traited Signet of Stone.

Dante.1508:

Agreed Op i gave up Wvw on rangers its a joke and a waste of time..

All these Rangers are awesome in Wvw what a crock of Kitten, go play another class in WvW and see how bad they make Rangers look, i don’t even login to my Ranger much these days as its a waste of effort..

i also main guard and necro. my frontline ranger does more damage than my guard, and the damage variant of that build brings more utility than the typical well necro. you likely dont know how to gear and spec your ranger, have a look at my thread/youtube.

Correct, path of scars……and it can do a lot more damage than you listed depending on spec. Which is why I think it is part of a Rangers best burst damage.

Something new to mess around with then Awesome. Thanks for the tips!

My complaint with Path of Scars is I can’t seem to throw it ‘up’ reliably (or at all). I would LOVE to troll people off of keep walls with it <3.

Fordel.3208:

My complaint with Path of Scars is I can’t seem to throw it ‘up’ reliably (or at all). I would LOVE to troll people off of keep walls with it <3.

Silly, that’s what Scorpion Wire and thieves are for, right? (Also why I started one. Because it’s hilarious.)

killimandros.5087:

4, is a block one attack. Crappety crap for anything else than solo roaming.. 5 is a weird skill. Its supposed to stun one target, and apply vulnerability

4 blocks one attack in melee as you counter, which can interrupt to proc moment of clarity btw. If you are blocking ranged it blocks all attacks for its duration and you can move. Oh and it has a long range cripple too. Its not crappety crap, it’s one of the best block skills in the game.

5 is a decent interrupt, and if you combine it with moment of clarity you have a great combo for a followup attack of opportunity boosted maul and a gauranteed huge hit from your pet. Especially if you have fury from RaO on. I’ve seen 5-4 combos burst for over 20k dmg between the ranger and pet in mere seconds whilst the enemy is standing there stunned.

I agree with most of the rest of the stuff you posted though. Ranger WvW is still a heck of a lot of work for something I can do alot easier with one of my other toons.

Rhaps, 2 points. Ill take your last point first; Its crap because it makes it very hard for me to follow my guild group. Thats why its crap. If I try to pull it off in anything besides a zerg, I get burnt down before duration time ends. So, in other words, its useless. Second point, you said there are other classes which are as useless as hunter. Well, the two best classes are Guardian and warrior for a good organized guild zerg bust team. But, ALL other classes has its uses, EXCEPT Ranger. As yourself pointed out, there will occationally be even engineers. But no rangers. I have myself Guardian, thief, ranger and warrior. No sane team leader will ever ask me to log on my ranger. Has never happened, will never happen. ANd rightfully so.
It doesnt mean I dont enjoy my ranger. Its a totally different game. Ranger is not built to be an asset to a team. Maybe if you are running two or three friends, relaxing trying to pick out one or two, running the risk etc. its good fun. Its good fun to try one vs one as well, testing different builds. I like my ranger, but its still useless for anything else than my personal fun. Might be decent in sPvP, I dont know, because I dont like sPvP.

killimandros.5087:

Take a look at the best guilds combos. They run warrior, guardian, mesmer and necro. In that order.

Good to see that you find your guild to be the best, hence stating that combo.. :-/

We normally just run with tons of hammer guards, an ele or two for static/fire, mesmer(s) for veil/portal AND a ranger (me!) to take out stragglers or dazelock a single target..
You’d be amazed how quickly I can target the enemy commander and bring him down.. And you’d be even more amazed how quickly his zerg (if not a guild zerg, oc) then disperses into thin air when their commander is lying there dead with a cow on his head..

But yeah, it looks you have it all figured out..

im gonna hit you with a dose of reality my friend: your guild would do BETTER if they replaced you with a GC mesmer, thief or rifle warrior.

further, there’s nothing wrong with rangers in GvZ against disorganized pugs. GvG is where they struggle. i have problems explaining to my guild why i should run my ranger over my cleric guard who can:

- aoe heal for 15k in a few seconds on a short CD
- spam dodge roll aoe heals for 1850 all the time
- provide 15s of stability on demand
- give perma swiftness, protection, retal and regen
- give 15 stacks of might on demand
- provide 2 wards on short CD, and a spammable cone immobilize
- blast finish every 4 seconds (1750 aoe heals on water, might, chaos, blind, weakness)
- 2.2k aoe healing PER SECOND and a 3s aoe daze in ToC form

then you have profs that can truly melt people. GC thieves, warriors and mesmers that do 10-15k bursts that guarantee single kills, and they have invis or invuln on low CD for escape. then power wellmancers that do 20k+ aoe damage over a few seconds in one area. and even your bread ‘n’ butter PVT guards and warriors that can do decent amounts of MOVING aoe damage and CC while staying up for a long time

there, i think i covered GvG for you. do you get my drift? the most effective GvZ stomping guilds are those that embrace the GvG meta.

in addition, most of ranger aoe’s (traps, Whirling Defense, Barrage, piercing arrows) are only effective on bunched up zergs and immobile targets. in GvG if u stand still for a sec u die, so everyone is constantly moving with stability more often than not. the burstiest zerker ranger builds cant match the dps and survivability of other GC professions, even with the pet on the target. condi rangers dont come even close to matching the dps of the condi necro.

this is the sad story of the ranger in high tier WvW. the hybrid nature of the prof just doesnt fit in the meta.

I really love my Ranger in WvW. Yes, I do feel weak and useless sometimes, but I still have fun most of the time. And sorry but I am one of those Longbow Zerker Rangers.

Actually, I only have full Zerkers (with Ruby Orbs) armor, Zerker ascended amulet, and Knight’s Longbow. The rest of my gear are high level rares, simply because I am playing a Warrior on the side and want to save some money for him. On switch, I have axe and warhorn.

Yes, I am pretty squishy at times, but zerging really isn’t bad. I do feel like I’m doing something raining down arrows, pet buffs, water field blasting, and muddy terrain-ing. Obviously once things break down I pretty much have no choice but to run but it’s still a lot of fun. Also, positioning is very important. I find it fairly difficult to kite effectively with a Longbow as opposed to a Shortbow, so you really need to play smart and take chances at the right time. It’s fun!

It works a little in small group roaming but obviously the mobility isn’t really there. I don’t want to grind to change my gear set to change to Shortbow/Spirits/Condi, so this will have to do!

healing spring→no self heal
traps→no survivebility
lb,sb→single target without burst and barrage is suicide
1h sword→suicide, you lose control of your movement
axe→a nearly melee weapon but you need to select target. useless
gs→i think the only good weapon in wvw atm
offs→we dont have good main hands for wvw. offh axe is good, horn and torch have 1-1 good skills
muddy→root only at the first pulse, long cast
etc…