Guild Wars 2

I’m a returning player who stopped playing first year, so im really new. I cant decide between player a thief or going ranger. I will mainly be playing pve but ill also be playing some pvp, not a lot of wvw. I wanna do fractals, maybe a little bit of raids but nothing hardcore. I can handle class difficulty because i love min maxing, and i wanna concentrace on one class for now. Any pros and cons between the two?

Ranger can do anything, thief can only DPS.

Here’s another question: Do you want to deal with pets or not?

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Ranger can do anything, thief can only DPS.

This.
And even at disengaging…A very good thief is unmatched at disengaging, but a decent ranger is also capable of running away and hide, without that huge learning curve.

Thief.

Ranger may DPS, but ranger DPS is far below thief.

Thief has best mobility, best disengage, and best interrupt bursts in the game.

Steath is amazing, pets are garbage.

While Ranger is in a good spot at the moment history shows us that Anet doens’t mind throwing its trademark heavy handed nerfs out at the class. On the other hand they will bend over backwards to find new excuses to buff thief and its OP mechanics.

I play both, I enjoy both.

I prefer ranger because while their damage and mobility can’t compare to a thief’s, the latter is still better than most other professions and they can be inherently much tankier. I find the thief’s condition removal to be a tad better, (they’re both below the profession average,) but also more proactive.

I’d say its definitely more frustrating rolling a thief and trying to learn the mechanics, but once you have it down its significantly more rewarding from a roaming/small group perspective. Either profession works in pvp, though they both serve different roles. Pve I think ranger is your better option for map completion and aoe dps. I don’t raid, but I hear ranger is a good choice there. Both are good at roaming in wvw, neither are great for zerging.

Ranger has a lower learning curve, but also a lower ceiling. A good thief will kill a good ranger in a straight up fight, though odds favor the ranger if the two players are newer to the game.

Really, try them both. See which you like more.

~ Kovu

My main was a condition-ranger with all BiS gear. I rolled a thief out of curiosity, and loved it so much that I havent logged onto my ranger again in the last 4 months. With the thief, I’m almost always doing top damage in my groups. Sometimes I do more damage than the entire rest of my group combined. And I’m almost always the one still fighting after everyone else has wiped. I literally carry more than half The groups I join. The thief is an absolute monster. He has endless dodges. And, with invigorating precision, can practically face-tank things. Unbelievably mobile. Has a good 30 seconds of uninterrupted stealth even with a full DPS build. And it’s SOOO easy to play. You can literally hit nothing but “1” and still out-damage 90% of the people you ever group with.

Thief all day, every day. I don’t see my ranger getting any more play. I have no interest honestly.

kyricium.2805:

I’m a returning player who stopped playing first year, so im really new. I cant decide between player a thief or going ranger. I will mainly be playing pve but ill also be playing some pvp, not a lot of wvw. I wanna do fractals, maybe a little bit of raids but nothing hardcore. I can handle class difficulty because i love min maxing, and i wanna concentrace on one class for now. Any pros and cons between the two?

Openworld PvE with ranger is easier and more layback. Druid is still wanted for raids as buff bot.

PvP and WvW definitely thief, is much more easier once you learn to disengage and more rewarding when you land those 15k backstabs or those 20k double vaults, the best for roaming or small groups.

Zerging either are needed or really wanted.

My opinion is thief is much stronger in sPvP and Roaming environments once you learn the the class. You basically become a true demigod. That being said ranger is much easier to play, but you will find yourself in a up hill battle against a good thief with a proper set up.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Ranger can do anything, thief can only DPS.

Ironically thief excel in both PVP, WvW roaming, raid, and fractal.

They also have higher range dps than Ranger in PVE now after the buff of Pistol.

Ranger does not excel in anything, that’s why they’re not wanted.
You either play Druid or get lost in group content.

Fallesafe.5932:

My main was a condition-ranger with all BiS gear. I rolled a thief out of curiosity, and loved it so much that I havent logged onto my ranger again in the last 4 months. With the thief, I’m almost always doing top damage in my groups. Sometimes I do more damage than the entire rest of my group combined. And I’m almost always the one still fighting after everyone else has wiped. I literally carry more than half The groups I join. The thief is an absolute monster. He has endless dodges. And, with invigorating precision, can practically face-tank things. Unbelievably mobile. Has a good 30 seconds of uninterrupted stealth even with a full DPS build. And it’s SOOO easy to play. You can literally hit nothing but “1” and still out-damage 90% of the people you ever group with.

Thief all day, every day. I don’t see my ranger getting any more play. I have no interest honestly.

I also like thief Staff alot after the buff.

Stupid high dps auto 1, 5th skill on demand no CD evade is so good, plus it’s a very good aoe skill.

Heck, even in range damange department Thief outperform Ranger after the pistol buff. (Only cost 3 initiative for pistol 3. plus free 25 stack of mights), I were literally doing rapid fire non stop with no CD.

PS: I have every classes fully geared.

Ranger :
pros : good offensive support (especially as druid)
good mobility
good condi damage
pretty resilient

Cons : low power damage
can struggle against condition
the pet is a mechanism that tend to underperform.

conclusion : the profession is average in open PvE, sought out for PvE group content, a bit weak in PvP and have pet issue in WvW.
Druid made the ranger welcome in PvE and helped a lot in regard of survivability in PvP.
Soulbeast is full of promise for less issues in WvW group content.

Thief :
Pros : Good at both condi and power damage
good mobility
good at disengaging
Blind a lot

Cons : tend to be squishy
situational support
pretty weak against conditions

conclusion : almost faceroll open PvE content, can easily have a dps spot in PvE group content, THE roaming profession in WvW, not in a bad spot in PvP.
Daredevil is more like a direct upgrade of the thief as a damage dealer than anything.
Deadeye seem to introduce a bit more support on top of the damage dealing role.

Dadnir.5038:

Ranger :
pros : good offensive support (especially as druid)
good mobility
good condi damage
pretty resilient

Cons : low power damage
can struggle against condition
the pet is a mechanism that tend to underperform.

conclusion : the profession is average in open PvE, sought out for PvE group content, a bit weak in PvP and have pet issue in WvW.
Druid made the ranger welcome in PvE and helped a lot in regard of survivability in PvP.
Soulbeast is full of promise for less issues in WvW group content.

Thief :
Pros : Good at both condi and power damage
good mobility
good at disengaging
Blind a lot

Cons : tend to be squishy
situational support
pretty weak against conditions

conclusion : almost faceroll open PvE content, can easily have a dps spot in PvE group content, THE roaming profession in WvW, not in a bad spot in PvP.
Daredevil is more like a direct upgrade of the thief as a damage dealer than anything.
Deadeye seem to introduce a bit more support on top of the damage dealing role.

Condition Thief out-damage condition ranger, and have group support in a form of poison share.

Kovu.7560:

Ranger has a lower learning curve, but also a lower ceiling.

It’s the safer option, but still very mobile and versatile. You trade damage for quite a bit of survivability.

Thieves have the potential to be godly, but you have to play sharp.