Guild Wars 2

I love ranged and always have.
I love pets (except these ones are dumber than a bulldog and smell worse too).
I love mix and match (lots of pets for lots of situations) etc.

But, I just DON’T love how relatively better other classes are at core things we should do well whether our pets vs minions/illusions or our ranged v warrior ranged etc.

What is the most effective class that actually feels like a ranger should? Engie? Warrior?
Thinking range and versatility.

That or fundamentally is a ranger a good class which just is being bashed too much? I know the BEST can play it well, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t do better with a better class, mind you. Bunker is about the LAST thing (based on other mmos certainly) that I would think I would play as a ranger!

If you were doing “power rankings” of the effectiveness of all classes in wvw (roam/zerg) and pve (general/dungeon) on a 1-100 range, where would the ranger fall and would there be anything worse?

Believe me, I would much rather this be a learn to play (think it is then teach), but really wondering if it isn’t a self imposed handicap.

Played ranger since 1 week into the game. Just staying competitive seems more about the player than the class (as if a good player were running with ankle weights on).

Thoughts? Is it just forum bias or is this class just not where it should be on range/versatility and all those things you most commonly think of as ranger (at least in other MMOs)?

I’ve played my ranger since day one and he is still my main. However, a few months back a rolled a char war just to try it out, and it was incredibly easy to level. I also tried him out in spvp and wvw when i got to 80 and it truly is easier to get kills and stay alive. That’s just my personal experience. I still do great with my ranger (win plenty of 1v1 or 1v2 with him), but I have to work harder.

Jaysin X.6740:

I’ve played my ranger since day one and he is still my main. However, a few months back a rolled a char war just to try it out, and it was incredibly easy to level. I also tried him out in spvp and wvw when i got to 80 and it truly is easier to get kills and stay alive. That’s just my personal experience. I still do great with my ranger (win plenty of 1v1 or 1v2 with him), but I have to work harder.

Every prof has to put in more work than a warrior ( that’s how they are in most games), it’s the price of being a very basic and straightforward profession, granted their skill ceiling is about as high as their skill floor is so there really isn’t much difference between a good and bad warrior ( there is SOME difference).

@OP That being said it depends on what you want OP. If you want versatility if say engi for the more martial feel or ele if you’re more into the magical stuff (both play significantly differently but both have a ton of versatility). If you want raw ranged damage go warrior (they’re good at anything raw damage), mesmers if say have better “pets” but any prof but warrior can have pets so there’s that…

As for me, I’m bouncing between my Mesmer ele and engi atm, I kinda miss the martial abilities of my ranger, and I miss my pet (the aesthetics and utility when it works are nice) but by and large I’d just say they’re more fun and better designed.

Now if Anet gives ranger a staff , or scepter or hell even just a focus and allows a more magical approach and fixes some of the major issues? I’ll probably be back in a heart beat.

I’ve already resolved to start up a thief main. They play very similarly to how the Ranger plays (S/x Ranger anyway) and actually feel less gimmicky than Warriors do with how the game has been going lately.

My ranger will sit on the back burner for anet to get their act together but I’ve pretty much stopped expecting anything from them anymore.

I rerolled, the warrior fits my ranged play style waaay better than my Ranger. Until a fix happens I won’t look back, well ok, I come here hoping for a change.

I rerolled a War too, I’m still level 40 but the damage it does is already impressive, I can only imagine what it will be at level 80 with exo weapons and armor.

I’m thinking about it but i have allready a lot of reroll 80…i’ll think about a thief too because it’s very similar to ranger but with better stuff…but i’m kind of lazzy to reroll again…i’ll wait until a new class is coming

I have all 8 professions because I like winning. Eventually you have to play them all to understand what you’re up against in the wild. But ranger is still my favorite due to play-style and theme. Hopefully anet gets their kitten together and makes this game fun for everyone.

I always play a Ranger in every game I’ve played, and only a Ranger.

6 years or so on GW1 with only one character, my Ranger, from beta testing to date on my GW2 Ranger.

But, this Ranger has me beat…………..

So, I’m going to level up a Warrior, I don’t want to, I’m not looking forward to it, but I’ve convinced myself to do it.

I’m not deleting my Ranger, I’m just hoping one day Anet sort the thing out, but we’ve had promises, then nerfs, then more promises and more nerfs, the pet is a disaster and I don’t think it will ever be any good of.

Warrior really is hands down better. I think warriors aren’t op there just done right. They need very lil nerfs/buffs/love. Rangers on the other hand need a ton of work. There traits are a mess and a lot of them are useless cus they all help your terrible ai pet instead of you. Some wep sets need some real reworks. A lot of the utilites are very meh.

It’s really odd as I had shelved my Ranger months ago. I dusted her off recently and tried a melee build S/F-GS and I just destroy stuff. I mean faster than with my warrior. It was quite a surprise. I really would prefer a LB and ranged ranger, but it just feels weak and the melee build seems to be in a fairly good place.

Raine.1394:

I dusted her off recently and tried a melee build S/F-GS and I just destroy stuff.

All those deadly sword / focus rangers.

I’m assuming you meant warhorn as it looks similar to a focus.

Decklan.7540:

Raine.1394:

I dusted her off recently and tried a melee build S/F-GS and I just destroy stuff.

All those deadly sword / focus rangers.

I’m assuming you meant warhorn as it looks similar to a focus.

Probably Dagger as “D” is right next to “F” on the keyboard.

Yes, play ele, I have a feeling they’re gonna get buffs in the near future and will be good buffs as they’ve needed it for a bit of time.

You could bandwagon as well and roll warrior , thief, mesmer – I hear condi mesmer is strong and FOTM these days.

Either way, ranger is not the class you want to be playing nowadays, the skill ceiling is that of a hobbit house. Looks fancy, but it’s low as kitten.

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Pretty sure Ele highest damage is Conjured weapons and staff build….

That being said, a lot people play the ranger to use a bow. Mostly because its right in the description… and its a fun archetype…

The risk, benefit analysis of why melee should do higher damage is just silly. Also, seeing as melee weapons all have more defensive capabilities than ranged counterpart also lowers that “risk”. Only thing I might condede is that melee should have a higher burst potential to make up for time they have to get out of combat.

I chose ranger to play a specific way. The way the description stated it. Use bow, and dispatch enemies up close. Not stay close all the time.

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Have you played a ranger in Melee yet…..

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Pretty sure Ele highest damage is Conjured weapons and staff build….

That being said, a lot people play the ranger to use a bow. Mostly because its right in the description… and its a fun archetype…

The risk, benefit analysis of why melee should do higher damage is just silly. Also, seeing as melee weapons all have more defensive capabilities than ranged counterpart also lowers that “risk”. Only thing I might condede is that melee should have a higher burst potential to make up for time they have to get out of combat.

I chose ranger to play a specific way. The way the description stated it. Use bow, and dispatch enemies up close. Not stay close all the time.

So you want to do as much damage as a Thief/Ele who will get 1 shotted if he makes a mistake in range of a Boss from 1200 range away. Got it.
Yeah that definitely seems fair.

Bastien.1645:

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Pretty sure Ele highest damage is Conjured weapons and staff build….

That being said, a lot people play the ranger to use a bow. Mostly because its right in the description… and its a fun archetype…

The risk, benefit analysis of why melee should do higher damage is just silly. Also, seeing as melee weapons all have more defensive capabilities than ranged counterpart also lowers that “risk”. Only thing I might condede is that melee should have a higher burst potential to make up for time they have to get out of combat.

I chose ranger to play a specific way. The way the description stated it. Use bow, and dispatch enemies up close. Not stay close all the time.

So you want to do as much damage as a Thief/Ele who will get 1 shotted if he makes a mistake in range of a Boss from 1200 range away. Got it.
Yeah that definitely seems fair.

I would say over a 20second span of fight, yes, the damage should be equal. I think melee should have higher burst potential to make up for time they have to avoid a fight, but the damage should overall be equal.

The game is about playing how you want to play. You can make as many arguments as you want, but at the end of the day, you should be competitive how you want to play.

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Pretty sure Ele highest damage is Conjured weapons and staff build….

That being said, a lot people play the ranger to use a bow. Mostly because its right in the description… and its a fun archetype…

The risk, benefit analysis of why melee should do higher damage is just silly. Also, seeing as melee weapons all have more defensive capabilities than ranged counterpart also lowers that “risk”. Only thing I might condede is that melee should have a higher burst potential to make up for time they have to get out of combat.

I chose ranger to play a specific way. The way the description stated it. Use bow, and dispatch enemies up close. Not stay close all the time.

So you want to do as much damage as a Thief/Ele who will get 1 shotted if he makes a mistake in range of a Boss from 1200 range away. Got it.
Yeah that definitely seems fair.

I would say over a 20second span of fight, yes, the damage should be equal. I think melee should have higher burst potential to make up for time they have to avoid a fight, but the damage should overall be equal.

The game is about playing how you want to play. You can make as many arguments as you want, but at the end of the day, you should be competitive how you want to play.

I agree with your last statement however it wouldn’t be fair if ranged did more dmg than melee since there is a considerably higher risk involved in melee range. Coming from WoW it always kinda kitten ed me off when Rogues weren’t the #1 dps class in the game and Mages/Warlocks standing in the back with 1 hand on their mouse the other hand eating a sandwich did more DPS considering in the last 2 years 90% of fights have been designed with lots of anti-melee measures and it’s very similar in Guild Wars.

Bastien.1645:

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Pretty sure Ele highest damage is Conjured weapons and staff build….

That being said, a lot people play the ranger to use a bow. Mostly because its right in the description… and its a fun archetype…

The risk, benefit analysis of why melee should do higher damage is just silly. Also, seeing as melee weapons all have more defensive capabilities than ranged counterpart also lowers that “risk”. Only thing I might condede is that melee should have a higher burst potential to make up for time they have to get out of combat.

I chose ranger to play a specific way. The way the description stated it. Use bow, and dispatch enemies up close. Not stay close all the time.

So you want to do as much damage as a Thief/Ele who will get 1 shotted if he makes a mistake in range of a Boss from 1200 range away. Got it.
Yeah that definitely seems fair.

I would say over a 20second span of fight, yes, the damage should be equal. I think melee should have higher burst potential to make up for time they have to avoid a fight, but the damage should overall be equal.

The game is about playing how you want to play. You can make as many arguments as you want, but at the end of the day, you should be competitive how you want to play.

I agree with your last statement however it wouldn’t be fair if ranged did more dmg than melee since there is a considerably higher risk involved in melee range. Coming from WoW it always kinda kitten ed me off when Rogues weren’t the #1 dps class in the game and Mages/Warlocks standing in the back with 1 hand on their mouse the other hand eating a sandwich did more DPS considering in the last 2 years 90% of fights have been designed with lots of anti-melee measures and it’s very similar in Guild Wars.

Maybe so, but those melee classes also tend to have the utility and defensive cooldowns to make it. Not to mention, you shouldn’t have to play a style to have the DPS you want. Some people like melee, others don’t. I used to love playing WoW warrior, or WoW feral, or WoW DK. They were fun, and I hated range. However, because of my kittenty computer, I had to level a Spriest (I enjoyed it, but still) so that I could raid with a ranged character ( not a fan of being a chicken beast). Even though I didn’t like range, I had to in order to play. That sucked.

Now in this game, I don’t want to be forced into any one role in order to be competitive.

Im not saying they should do more. Im saying it should be even. Some people prefer melee, some don’t.

On my ranger I want to use a bow, my pet, and get in close to finish them off with a sword.

On my warrior, I prefer to smash them with a 2h sword.

That being said, Anet should remove a lot of the AoE kitten with bosses. That anti melee is also anti pet.

Yeah I agree with you on your last point, you are absolutely right, it’s just lazy design that plagues not just this game but other games as well, I can actually imagine the junior Dev trying to tell his bosses that he wants to add dynamic and unique abilities to bosses and then the guy who’s been there for 15 years saying, nah screw that, just give them melee AoE/cleaves….

Bastien.1645:

Yeah I agree with you on your last point, you are absolutely right, it’s just lazy design that plagues not just this game but other games as well, I can actually imagine the junior Dev trying to tell his bosses that he wants to add dynamic and unique abilities to bosses and then the guy who’s been there for 15 years saying, nah screw that, just give them melee AoE/cleaves….

Hmmhmm. It may be WoW base, but have it so there is an announcement “BOSS is Targeting Bastien!” You have 1-2 seconds to dodge, and your team has 1-2 seconds to get away from you.

Kind of like Whack-a-mole. =D

Bastien.1645:

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Pretty sure Ele highest damage is Conjured weapons and staff build….

That being said, a lot people play the ranger to use a bow. Mostly because its right in the description… and its a fun archetype…

The risk, benefit analysis of why melee should do higher damage is just silly. Also, seeing as melee weapons all have more defensive capabilities than ranged counterpart also lowers that “risk”. Only thing I might condede is that melee should have a higher burst potential to make up for time they have to get out of combat.

I chose ranger to play a specific way. The way the description stated it. Use bow, and dispatch enemies up close. Not stay close all the time.

So you want to do as much damage as a Thief/Ele who will get 1 shotted if he makes a mistake in range of a Boss from 1200 range away. Got it.
Yeah that definitely seems fair.

No one is ranging dungeon mobs anyways because they want the boons. As far as I can tell, the point is that there’s too many gap closers to justify the argument that melee is more dangerous. You’ll end up in melee anyways in most cases. You mentioned a thief. The thief steals. Boom you’re in melee.

TBH I have spent so many hours and so much gold into my ranger that there is no way I would ever want to do it again with another class. I enjoy the ranger. IMO if the grace of anet could gift us with pet’s skills scaling with our armor then that is literally all I would want.

The funny thing is we treat the Thief like it’s our nemesis and there is an almost exact duplicate thread over in their forums. Not saying we aren’t justified in our own criticisms but it’s nice to see that we aren’t the only class that feels shafted in Warrior Wars 2.

Bastien.1645:

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

Hedgehog in the fog.1053:

Bastien.1645:

It’s not a Ranger problem. Ranged is significantly weaker then Melee in this game as it should be since ranged play has almost no risk compared to melee.

You can say that about any class, highest DPS:

Warrior: Axe /GS
Mesmer: S/S or S/F
Thief: D/D or S/P
Ele: D/D
Guardian: S/x /GS
Necro: D/x

So it’s not a “ranger” problem, all classes have highest DPS in melee. Stop taking things so personally, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Pretty sure Ele highest damage is Conjured weapons and staff build….

That being said, a lot people play the ranger to use a bow. Mostly because its right in the description… and its a fun archetype…

The risk, benefit analysis of why melee should do higher damage is just silly. Also, seeing as melee weapons all have more defensive capabilities than ranged counterpart also lowers that “risk”. Only thing I might condede is that melee should have a higher burst potential to make up for time they have to get out of combat.

I chose ranger to play a specific way. The way the description stated it. Use bow, and dispatch enemies up close. Not stay close all the time.

So you want to do as much damage as a Thief/Ele who will get 1 shotted if he makes a mistake in range of a Boss from 1200 range away. Got it.
Yeah that definitely seems fair.

I would say over a 20second span of fight, yes, the damage should be equal. I think melee should have higher burst potential to make up for time they have to avoid a fight, but the damage should overall be equal.

The game is about playing how you want to play. You can make as many arguments as you want, but at the end of the day, you should be competitive how you want to play.

I agree with your last statement however it wouldn’t be fair if ranged did more dmg than melee since there is a considerably higher risk involved in melee range. Coming from WoW it always kinda kitten ed me off when Rogues weren’t the #1 dps class in the game and Mages/Warlocks standing in the back with 1 hand on their mouse the other hand eating a sandwich did more DPS considering in the last 2 years 90% of fights have been designed with lots of anti-melee measures and it’s very similar in Guild Wars.

Melee hardly has more risk than ranged when the two hardest hitting melee’ers are the tankiest classes in the game. Your assumption is only true if they followed a archetypical class system with low damage tanks and dps glass cannons as a set class model and not something you gear for at your choice.

Between the lack of self preservation skills on ranged weps and gross over saturation of CC and gap closers, the riskiest option is by far the choice of ranged combat over melee.

Well ranger has it’s problems against certain builds. It is good in dungeons though. I get a few evades and do more damage than my mesmer and warrior. I prefer my ranger in all situations, just have to adapt to trying new trait lines.

Despite of all the updates and balance patches we rangers are receiving, i still love my toon…..Will still stick to my ranger specially now that they need more love.

Thief dual pistols with ricochet (20 points into Trickery) is particularly fun. It’s like a shortbow that fires faster (skill #3) and doesn’t require a flank to bleed on auto. With the Ricochet trait it bounces to other targets, which again means you don’t have to worry about positioning (unlike the Ranger shortbow’s Piercing Arrows).

I decided to play a thief for other reasons, but I really like it while leveling in openworld PvE so far. I haven’t tried it in dungeons, nor WvW, nor sPvP.

Button 1: 1,000 range, decent damage 20% projectile finisher. Double taping (pops aegis and still hits for half its initial damage, a little riskier against retaliation than a single shot). Rapidly fills special resource pool.
Button 2: 1,000 range piercing fan, 2 seconds of burning.
Button 3: 1,000 range targetable small AoE and 100% blast finisher
Button 4: 1,000 range small AoE 5-second blind and 100% projectile finisher
Button 5: 1,000 range piercing 6 stacks of bleed for 12 seconds, 3 second of immobilize, and 100% projectile finisher
Button f1: Empty special resource pool to get 1,200 range, large AoE with good direct damage and up to 10 seconds of burning. Sets combo field fire.

Trait option include:
20% cooldown with increased damage against burning foes.
20% range increase with buttons 1 and 2 becoming 100% combo finishers.

…I don’t know about you, but my Ranger would KILL ALL THE PETS for a weapon that had that kind of survivability (blind & immobilizes), internal synergy (burn them to set up more direct damage), and strait up functionality (good direct damage, access to a damaging condition from any angle of attack).

The comparison to that to either of the ranger bows reflects a fundamental problem with Ranger design: Rangers get perfectly decent buttons that have little to no synergy. The tools we are allowed to have are never more then the sum of their parts.