Guild Wars 2

I know…. horrible, awful, ranger doesn’t mean range fighter {insert link to definition of ranger], stop trying to be a hunter from ____ game, all LB/SB rangers suck…ect

Now that all of that is out of the way. Are there any other Double bow rangers out there?
I am actually having pretty amazing results (Well when my arrows land obscured..obscured….obscured….obscured) even being full glass and getting popped by thieves it not gg (unless protect me is on cd then rip).

There are a few things I have noticed:
Any kind of grasping root i.e entangle, even targeting, you cannot break them
(If you can please lemme know I have had ZERO luck testing it)
If you are near your pet the thieves bow is better than your bow and it will destroy you (arrows bouncing off your pet so you get hit twice)
As stated in the beginning the over all tracking on arrows ,mostly LB or so I feel, means you will just straight up lose some fights do to not hitting anything.

I am not saying it is the best choice to play as or with but most other classes have viable or great builds regardless of weapon combo. So if we do not then there must be a problem.

Again I am not getting wrecked, although I do lose sometimes and I was wondering if anyone else has enjoyed playing the double bow poundtown ?

with the patch lightning reflexes will remove immobilize so you will have a strong option vs entangle and longbow warriors.

i love both bows but always need either the GS or the sword for the extra survivability and movement

Yeah I feel one of the main weaknesses is mobility on the bows. I mostly WvW so I carry a GS and a horn to get around the map.

a double bow ranger is really not that bad. honestly, i find gs a bit too slow and maul can be easily dodged. i dont do much pve. i only pvp and wvw and i havent had any problem using both bows. i use lb as utility and sb for burst damage using qz. using both weapons is good for dueling. btw, once u see the thief twirling around do not attack him just walk away then come back when he’s finished.

I was running LB/SB build like half a year ago and roaming with hit.

That was fun vs. classes with lack in combat mobility like Guardians, Necromancers as you could almost “kite” them with proper rotating and not get hit. However, fights tend to be very long.

But, well, I can kite these classes on perfectly open fields okay. But what’s with others?

Sure, you can pick and kill some baddies or fotm rerollers as they faceroll through their binds not even looking at the screen probably. But it gets tougher and tougher up to the point when you have to play 100% flawlessly to kill a single average bob thief or facerolling engineer.

Game movement doesn’t allow to kite properly atm, bows are weak, you lack everything, “better” classes will ignore your kiting and simply lolport to you with one button or ignore everything with immunity or such.

It’s just not worth your nerves, effort and will simply make you want to unistall this game. But if you’re a masochist, run power double bow.

And not only that but every group in a 15v15+ fight now have what I call the “squadrons of death”, basically 3-4 thieves/mesmers that have the main job to kill every “range” professions.
So, months ago you could run around a fight and harass the enemy at range but now, you’re immediately focused and you spend you time trying to stay alive.
Against an elite guild you’re just basically useless if not already dead, that’s why GvG doesn’t want us anymore, even our famous water field has become dispensable.
Every profession have improved but we stayed at case 1, people who are saying it’s a “learn to play” issue are just fooling themselves. Being able to man decently a ranger is not rocket science. The true is we are just plain ineffective [in WvW at least] compared to other profession, like it or not.
Don’t even mention the condi-bunker build, not only it is boring as hell to play but to be a bunker I’d have chosen a warrior or a guardian, not a ranger that’s for sure.
I wish ANet would allow to transfer our ascended/legendary stuff on another profession.

Well, I’ve just read they will be account bound starting from tomorrow. Those are good news.

Coarr.3286:

with the patch lightning reflexes will remove immobilize so you will have a strong option vs entangle and longbow warriors.

i love both bows but always need either the GS or the sword for the extra survivability and movement

I dont recall them saying that entangle will be removed with lightning reflexes, is that now confirmed?

I know they are adding the trait in the nature to remove 2 conditions when using a survival skill which should function a lot the same, but that would be downright awesome if lightning reflexes had some removal built in!

It will remove “imobility” thus the effect of entangle.

I ran LB/SB bunker builds for a long while, its viable. See Sig…

I have since moved on to GS/Axe-Axe but I am still refining

Casanova.7293:

I know…. horrible, awful, ranger doesn’t mean range fighter {insert link to definition of ranger], stop trying to be a hunter from ____ game, all LB/SB rangers suck…ect

Now that all of that is out of the way. Are there any other Double bow rangers out there?
I am actually having pretty amazing results (Well when my arrows land obscured..obscured….obscured….obscured) even being full glass and getting popped by thieves it not gg (unless protect me is on cd then rip).

There are a few things I have noticed:
Any kind of grasping root i.e entangle, even targeting, you cannot break them
(If you can please lemme know I have had ZERO luck testing it)
If you are near your pet the thieves bow is better than your bow and it will destroy you (arrows bouncing off your pet so you get hit twice)
As stated in the beginning the over all tracking on arrows ,mostly LB or so I feel, means you will just straight up lose some fights do to not hitting anything.

I am not saying it is the best choice to play as or with but most other classes have viable or great builds regardless of weapon combo. So if we do not then there must be a problem.

Again I am not getting wrecked, although I do lose sometimes and I was wondering if anyone else has enjoyed playing the double bow poundtown ?

1) You can only break the roots via Longbow Barrage, Axe #1 bouncing into them, Path of Scars, and Whirling Defense while using a ranged weapon, no other ranged attacks (at least that we have access to) will damage the roots that YOU are grabbed by (you can break your pets roots and pray to god your pet can break yours in a timely manner)

2) If you’re dual bow you should never be close enough to your pet to be hit by the bounce especially if you and the thief are having a bow fight, keep your pet on the thief the whole time, and if it’s a spider or devourer pet just stay away from your pet. Also keep in mind our Axe does the same exact thing, and if it can bounce back to the same target outshines all of our other ranged weapons in terms of damage (so sayeth the ranger math gurus that occasionally roam into the forums to give their mathy wisdom).

3) Read the Wind (new GM trait coming out tomorrow April 15th) will fix that, if you choose to take it, you’ll likely have to give up eagle eye or piercing arrows for it though since it is a marksmanship GM trait, but imo it’d be more than worth it.

Also, keep in mind dual bow has A LOT of weaknesses that Bow + Dual Axes or Axe Dagger does not and you may consider using that instead. Granted if you wanna stick with dual bow i’d highly recommend relying on the gap between you and melee being your primary defense and as such i’d take Muddy Terrain and Lightning Reflexes to help keep yourself alive.

Feel free to message me in game if you want help “perfecting” your bow/bow build or just with ranger in general!

Durzlla.6295:

1) You can only break the roots via Longbow Barrage, Axe #1 bouncing into them, Path of Scars, and Whirling Defense while using a ranged weapon, no other ranged attacks (at least that we have access to) will damage the roots that YOU are grabbed by (you can break your pets roots and pray to god your pet can break yours in a timely manner)

2) If you’re dual bow you should never be close enough to your pet to be hit by the bounce especially if you and the thief are having a bow fight, keep your pet on the thief the whole time, and if it’s a spider or devourer pet just stay away from your pet. Also keep in mind our Axe does the same exact thing, and if it can bounce back to the same target outshines all of our other ranged weapons in terms of damage (so sayeth the ranger math gurus that occasionally roam into the forums to give their mathy wisdom).

3) Read the Wind (new GM trait coming out tomorrow April 15th) will fix that, if you choose to take it, you’ll likely have to give up eagle eye or piercing arrows for it though since it is a marksmanship GM trait, but imo it’d be more than worth it.

Also, keep in mind dual bow has A LOT of weaknesses that Bow + Dual Axes or Axe Dagger does not and you may consider using that instead. Granted if you wanna stick with dual bow i’d highly recommend relying on the gap between you and melee being your primary defense and as such i’d take Muddy Terrain and Lightning Reflexes to help keep yourself alive.

I have kept my pet on passive lately after dueling a few HoD Thieves in the am when FA has zero people on. If and that is IF i have the bear out for Condition removal and Protect me, I normally crit moa and spider these days high hp to deal with protect me.
I will say chasing down warriors with Double bow is much easier than with a GS or pray luck on axe #4 at least in my experience .
And yeah I am down to theory craft or hear other peoples experiences, tips, ect in game or on here so feel free to add me.

Daze.6914:

And not only that but every group in a 15v15+ fight now have what I call the “squadrons of death”, basically 3-4 thieves/mesmers that have the main job to kill every “range” professions.
So, months ago you could run around a fight and harass the enemy at range but now, you’re immediately focused and you spend you time trying to stay alive.
Against an elite guild you’re just basically useless if not already dead, that’s why GvG doesn’t want us anymore, even our famous water field has become dispensable.
Every profession have improved but we stayed at case 1, people who are saying it’s a “learn to play” issue are just fooling themselves. Being able to man decently a ranger is not rocket science. The true is we are just plain ineffective [in WvW at least] compared to other profession, like it or not.
Don’t even mention the condi-bunker build, not only it is boring as hell to play but to be a bunker I’d have chosen a warrior or a guardian, not a ranger that’s for sure.
I wish ANet would allow to transfer our ascended/legendary stuff on another profession.

I play/played condi bunker in pvp and it is just not my thing, good even great build but just not for me.
I also have noticed the extreme force from the mez/thief in blob smashes with protect me, lightning reflexes, and poo fountain (muddy terrain), I can generally survive long enough to lose them in the blob and pop back out, OR i just get wrecked in 0.5 sec as I see 3 thieves characters load onto the screen.
Or if it is a double Mesmer team I just lay there and take it, although I dunno any class or build that can 2v1 two okay-great Mesmers maybe perma stealth thieves but even then.

Also this thread has been far less toxic than I would of expected after spending a long time on the forums Cheers mates

I love double bows. It is fun.

i just beat a rank 69 thief in pvp 1v1 as a ZERKER RANGER. i’m not saying i’m good but i take it as a huge achievement considering how people look down on zerker rangers like me. i’m not coming back to the condi meta ever again.

Valentin.2073:

i just beat a rank 69 thief in pvp 1v1 as a ZERKER RANGER. i’m not saying i’m good but i take it as a huge achievement considering how people look down on zerker rangers like me. i’m not coming back to the condi meta ever again.

Great job mate!
I feel like we have the advantage against thieves IF we can survive the initial burst.
LB #2 can tack them, LB# 4 can interrupt their next attempt at stealth. If you run double bows SB 5 gives you the 2nd interrupt and normally GG at that point.
With full Zerker you have the added benefit of only needed half your shots to hit to down him before his next burst. Again the arrow tracking will at one point screw you over… and on that day…. we will all weep with you lol

Valentin.2073:

Casanova.7293:

Valentin.2073:

i just beat a rank 69 thief in pvp 1v1 as a ZERKER RANGER. i’m not saying i’m good but i take it as a huge achievement considering how people look down on zerker rangers like me. i’m not coming back to the condi meta ever again.

Great job mate!
I feel like we have the advantage against thieves IF we can survive the initial burst.
LB #2 can tack them, LB# 4 can interrupt their next attempt at stealth. If you run double bows SB 5 gives you the 2nd interrupt and normally GG at that point.
With full Zerker you have the added benefit of only needed half your shots to hit to down him before his next burst. Again the arrow tracking will at one point screw you over… and on that day…. we will all weep with you lol

that’s true. most of the times a thief will go full offensive at the start of the fight so i popped signet of the stone immediately and was able to avoid the initial burst and then used pbs to interrupt him then used rapid fire while i had the range. he stealthed again, i counted 1 to 2 then dodged and dazed him right after he appeared then gave him my burst damage by using qz and sb 1 and it’s gg after that. the fight just lasted 30 seconds. he was a d/p thief and most of his likes are easy to predict. it was a good fight tho, but i knew that if he missed his initial burst that i could outdps him. it’s just bad that this build that i use will be nerfed later. btw, we can fear them while they are on stealth for an added cc.

I also play both bows ranger and its fun. Most of time using longbow and switching to shortbow only for disengage or condition damage on some heavy armor.

Remember this for zerg vs zerg: Imagine you are adc in LoL, you stay near your group so they can protect but you never go in with first line no matter what commander shouts (only for might stacks before battle), its really important find position, optimal high ground from where you can shoot at them.

Andiela.3759:

I also play both bows ranger and its fun. Most of time using longbow and switching to shortbow only for disengage or condition damage on some heavy armor.

Remember this for zerg vs zerg: Imagine you are adc in LoL, you stay near your group so they can protect but you never go in with first line no matter what commander shouts (only for might stacks before battle), its really important find position, optimal high ground from where you can shoot at them.

This is exactly how zerker rangers and eles play, find a place either in your group/in your backline and shoot things while your team protects you.

and on a team fight, a zerker ranger is a bunker’s worst nightmare. they drop like flies before they knew what hit em. that’s why it’s best to bring a zerker or two in tourneys. a team that has spikers at the back will always have the advantage.

Valentin.2073:

and on a team fight, a zerker ranger is a bunker’s worst nightmare. they drop like flies before they knew what hit em. that’s why it’s best to bring a zerker or two in tourneys. a team that has spikers at the back will always have the advantage.

My team did this a few days ago (dusted off my zerker build) between me and our DPS guardian everything melted, sure I was squishy as all hell and a zerker thief could 2 kitten me with his burst (if he catches me off guard) but taking out 1.8k chunks of health from outside the team fight with my autos and my barrage, not to mention my RF could 100-0 a thief who was glass and didn’t dodge or heal, totally worth it.

Not to mention my build has a lot of escape and a few team fights ended in a game of “chase the ranger away from point!” Which normally lead with me leading 3 of their team members in a circle for a minute before they realized I was just wasting their time and they either 1) let me just leave or 2) popped a bunch of CDs and killed me.

Kind of off topic, but I REALLY hate when people use the definition and history of “ranger” as an excuse as to why we’re not amazing using ranged weapons. In games, “ranger” has been misinterpreted so much that it has taken on a new meaning, that of somebody who uses ranged weapons while still hanging onto some of the more traditional ranger qualities. Why is every Anet promo pic of a Ranger using a bow? Why in their official description of a Ranger does it make a point to call them unparalleled archers? Capable of bringing foes down from far away? Why does it officially say “Their loyal pets, which rangers tame and train, distract enemies while the rangers strike safely from a distance”? But of course, like every other GW2 profession, we’re flexible and can proficiently use other weapons. But Anet has made a point of marketing us as bow users and once we get into the game and realize other professions are just as good or better with a bow, the community starts using old definitions that aren’t directly applicable to the gaming meta. Should a thief only be great at stealing and sneaking? No, they’re great at that as well as super high crit damage with daggers BECAUSE of the gaming meta, aka Rogues and that type of character. We are Rangers, unparalleled archers who should be masterful with the bow. Better than anyone else, easily. And if people want to backtrack and use the old Ranger definition, why do we get routinely outclassed in mobility? Surely a class that is known, NAMED, after its ability to RANGE we should be better than sneaky thieves and lumbering warriors? (And I’m not talking about short distance fight mobility, I’m talking about open world RANGING).

/rant.

Elrond.9486:

Kind of off topic, but I REALLY hate when people use the definition and history of “ranger” as an excuse as to why we’re not amazing using ranged weapons.

I think thats understandable but the excuse that rangers should be exceptional at ranged simply because “range” is in the name is similarly aggravating. It should be neither inclusive nor exclusive, its just a name. The rest of what you say about being promoted as exceptional archers is certainly valid imo!

My biggest problem about the whole ranger thing is people will often say just because range is in the name doesn’t mean you are a range player. Okay cool, so you are saying because I picked ranger I don’t get the option of being range only ? All people want is the option to play full range and not suck kittens at it. before anyone says but “insert class name here” can do a full range build just fine play that… That is the problem, and sweet I am glad that class can do it now why can we not?

Casanova.7293:

My biggest problem about the whole ranger thing is people will often say just because range is in the name doesn’t mean you are a range player. Okay cool, so you are saying because I picked ranger I don’t get the option of being range only ? All people want is the option to play full range and not suck kittens at it. before anyone says but “insert class name here” can do a full range build just fine play that… That is the problem sweet I am glad that class can do it now why can we not?

It’s a class balance and design issue. Melee damage needs to be more rewarding than Ranged damage in this game. Those other classes (Ele, engi) still need to melee with their ranged weapon builds.

Ranger longbow/shortbow are especially terrible because our damage is split between us and our pet. So you do less damage than other classes that can range, while ranging which is already suboptimal damage.

Kilger.5490:

Elrond.9486:

Kind of off topic, but I REALLY hate when people use the definition and history of “ranger” as an excuse as to why we’re not amazing using ranged weapons.

I think thats understandable but the excuse that rangers should be exceptional at ranged simply because “range” is in the name is similarly aggravating. It should be neither inclusive nor exclusive, its just a name. The rest of what you say about being promoted as exceptional archers is certainly valid imo!

Yeah, I agree because this is GW2 and they put a good emphasis on you being able to use the weapons you want and not be kitten. I just feel like we’re incredibly lackluster as ranged characters (compared to other profs), name/perception of “ranger” notwithstanding.

After playing with the new traits I feel LB/SB became much easier mostly due to Lightning Reflexes removing immobilize, which I felt to be the biggest weakness.
Read the wind (I gave up piercing arrows for to test) is great for chasing/intercepting. Your arrows actually hit!
I went Sigil of Fire and Air on LB. The idea being to add burst to LB # 2
Sb how ever I am still playing with I had Fire and Air on it as well but figured I use it only defensively or to finish the last 5% on someone that other sigils would work better on it. Still playing around though.
Is anyone else enjoying the build still/again?