Guild Wars 2

So I have been out of the game for a little over a year and finally looking to get back into it. I have heard really good things about the state of pretty much all aspects of the game and I am really looking forward to jumping in. That being said, I am finding myself a bit over my head when it comes to where my ranger is currently, and where I’d like it to be.

The build currently sitting on my ranger is a full berserker’s LB/GS and just looking around at other rangers it looks a bit dated. I really like the idea of druid and being able to apply decent pressure and really good support, but there is so much variance in the builds and gear people are running that I don’t know where to start without a bit of guidance.

My dream would be to have 1 build that works both in wvw and dungeon/fractal content. I don’t know why I find it so annoying to swap stuff around but I can’t stand it. Plus I don’t have a single piece of ascended gear, and I’d like to not have to gear two sets. Based off this dream I guess I could ask if ranger is even the class I should be playing? Now I am not looking to set any records in pve content, so with that being said are there any playstyles for ranger that fit working in wvw and pve? If not, what are the biggest differences between a build geared for wvw and a build geared for pve, and how should I look to adjust?

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. I have tried searching around but just haven’t found the info I am looking for.

WvW and PvE save their builds now, so you don’t need to worry about swapping unless you want to change armor. You already know the PvE build; spotter, frost spirit, possibly sun spirit, and blah blah blah.

WvW, if you want to use zerker, I would take skirmishing (quick draw), BM (shout trait and taunt trait, GS trait if you want that over staff), and druid for self-sustain or small group sustain. Yes even with no healing power it has excellent utility. Just look at the traits and they will be obvious, you really can’t go wrong with druid if you’re at all familiar with the game. Edit: I mean this literally, there are NO bad druid traits. Pick the ones you like/need.

Pwnguins.1490:

My dream would be to have 1 build that works both in wvw and dungeon/fractal content. I don’t know why I find it so annoying to swap stuff around but I can’t stand it.

Plus I don’t have a single piece of ascended gear, and I’d like to not have to gear two sets. Based off this dream I guess I could ask if ranger is even the class I should be playing? Now I am not looking to set any records in pve content, so with that being said are there any playstyles for ranger that fit working in wvw and pve? If not, what are the biggest differences between a build geared for wvw and a build geared for pve, and how should I look to adjust?

Different settings can require varying build/utilities, but its not 100% necessary. It will also depend on what you want to do in those particular settings. You can run full Berserker for Low/Intermediate Fractals as well as Dungeons and general PvE, but it might not be a good idea in WVW unless you’re backlining or roaming. Not that its impossible, but just not easy.

Its still possible to contribute in some capacity regardless of game mode with just one armor build., but how you go about doing that effectively will definitely be decided by your build/playstyle. I’d still recommend not being afraid to experiment with your trinkets (at minimum) to add more Toughness/Vit and/or Healing Power if you feel its needed, or even to craft exotic tier gear of different stat types if you want to play a slightly different role (such as Raid healing) but for the most part, you should run with what you’re comfortable with and what works best for you.

Like everyone said, there are really no bad Druid traits just need to find your comfort level. Because I’m lazy and got tired of carrying around 3 or 4 different sets of armor (same holds true with my Guardian believe it or not) I ended up crafting Celestial Ascended and said done. Now all I do is accessorize I have enough accessories to max the stats I want based on playstyle for the day and off I go.

LB and staff.