Guild Wars 2

The Ranger is hands down the worst class in Dungeons. A significant amount of the ranger’s DPS is tied to the pet, and due to dungeon mechanics (heavy emphasis on evadeable spike-damage attacks) pets suffer heavily – they tend to die in 1 hit. There is almost universal agreement about that. Generally any class is alright in roaming/open world PvE, which you will do much less of once you hit 100% map completion.

Best advice I can give at this point, unless you are VERY determined to play ranger specifically so that you can say you play ranger, go play something else.

I have to agree with the other guys, I’m not trying to be an kitten but don’t waste anymore of your time on ranger they offer nothing that other classes don’t do twice as well, Anet is trying to force everyone into a mesmer, Ele, or guardian they are by far the most over powered classes in the game and recieves tons of love from Anet.
If you decide to stick with the ranger i wish you well. I just rolled a Guardian myself

I’m quite happy playing Ranger. ANet doesn’t want anyone to play Ranger though. They’ve been working hard to achieve that since the beta weekends. Don’t expect anything good from them.

There are a few strengths the ranger still has though (in no particular order):
- 1500 range weapon which can pierce. It’s nice for WvW, if you’re not caught on your own. Unfortunately this “build” requires 50 trait points in the power/precision trait lines to pick up all the longbow traits.
- Signet of the Wild. This is a passive regeneration signet that stacks with the regeneration boon. Pair it with toughness and healing power though your armor choices. Also find a source for getting the regeneration boon to stack with it.
- Healing Spring. This is possibly the best healing skill in the game. It heals, it gives regeneration (stacks with signet of the wild) and it cures conditions to both you and allies. It’s also a water combo field, so can provide extra healing with the right combo finisher.
- Evade. Rangers can have a lot of evades. 50% endurance regen trait, sword 2, sword 3, dagger 4, shortbow 3, and traits to get vigor.
- Pets. Not very good at hiting targets outside of pve. Not good at surviving in dungeons or fractals. But a good distraction and a nice source for some utility.

So if you go for the high toughness + regeneration builds you should do alright and have some fun.

This is all very discouraging, but thanks for responding to my thread. I guess it’s time to decide if I want to reroll or if this is enough to make me cut my losses at $50 and a few weeks gaming time (first impressions are everything, and so far this hasn’t been a good impression for GW2). Or, hopefully, Holland is right and there’s still something left for Rangers.

i know the feeling dude, i just got gw2 a few months ago and hit level 80 a month ago, loved my ranger the entire time…until yesterday…this patch really changed everything for me. My ranger just feels way off…even with new builds and new weapons…i don’t feel anywhere near as powerful as everyone else. Haven’t even attempted wvw yet after this patch…cause well yeah, i was getting rocked before hand i can only imagine what it’s like now

OP – It really depends on what you are looking for though… If you want a ranged expert you can achieve that with the Warrior. If you want a utility specialist, that exists in a few different flavors. The game has some really great game play options, and I wouldn’t just quit… Just don’t expect to find much excitement specifically with this class right now. Even many of our build pioneers are reeling a bit right now, and there is a lot of negative vibe going.

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

My advice? RUnnNnnn AwwAAaaYYyYy!!!

Unless you are determine, confident, and passionate, you will fail as a ranger. A ranger is patient, smart, and determine to accomplish any goals that comes up at their doorstep. A ranger takes on any challenges, whether it is easy or difficult to impossible. A ranger… never lose S… -_- That is not an “s”, that means HOPE in my planet.

Souries.4691:

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

longbow is still nice, personally people are to negative, i run with longbow and greatsword myself and i do just fine. Thats my opinion though im sure you can tell everyone who plays a ranger on the forumns is a little edgy, im still content tho =), and to add about the shortbow (i know its not a part of what you said but anywho) ppl are qqing cuz of the range, but doesont it make sence its a shortbow it shouldant have the same range as a longbow lol.

And to answer the guy who started the threads question, if you like your ranger please man stick with it, get good at it. Show some fools up =). Its not as bad as people say and to be honest it feels great to kitten someone on the ranger =) specially a theif or ele or any of the classed people listed that seem to be super awesome atm =P

Only reason Rangers are called “unparalleled archers” is because they can go dual bows, something unique to them, otherwise the bows aren’t impressive. Then again, Anet has stressed countless times that melee>range.

The only thing the Ranger does well at 80 is PvPing, even after the nerfs. In PvE, it is a dead class, and only reason to play one is the cosmetics.

You know how they say that it doesnt matter which class you pick coz they are all equal and it all depends on your playstyle? Not this game. Not rangers.

Souries.4691:

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

the ranger class is defined by ANet as a range damage specialist, yet we just got hit with a nerf on shortbow. That tells you how much you need to know about Anet’s vision of ranger.

At level 61, I would tell you start a new class and hold off on rest of the levels, it’s just not worth it.

if you want to use ranged weapons (in pve) I advice you to go and make a Warrior…

OP, if you wanna be a “ranger”, roll a warrior or thief. Their bow skills have more and better utility, are more damaging, have combo fields and the ability to blast them. Warrior’s #1 skill shoots two arrows as fast as a ranger can shoot one from it’s longbow, and the thief’s #1 shortbow skill can bounce off and hit up to two others or zigzag between two foes twice.

My advice:

If you do not care that you cannot compete with all the other classes in the slightest in any field be it WvW, Pve or PvP. Then go ahead and level your ranger. He is good enough to play in the open world albeit a bit hard.

If you want to be needed in groups in any kind of gameplay then immediatly reroll to pretty much any other class (Guardian is currently the best group character).

This comes from a long time ranger player, but it seems Arenanets design philosophy for the ranger is nerfing any good build until we can use any build because our choices are bad, worse and useless…

And the Ranger is as bad as people say, to a big extend even worse. Because many here only play a ranger or maybe another class. I got all 8 classes to max and play most of them regularly (my most time beside the Ranger is on Guardian, Necro and Engineer). I keep up with the builds and abilities all 8 classes get and what changes and the Ranger is simply lackluster and badly designed if you compare them to the other 8 classes.

Eldiora.5836:

My advice:

If you do not care that you cannot compete with all the other classes in the slightest in any field be it WvW, Pve or PvP. Then go ahead and level your ranger. He is good enough to play in the open world albeit a bit hard.

If you want to be needed in groups in any kind of gameplay then immediatly reroll to pretty much any other class (Guardian is currently the best group character).

This comes from a long time ranger player, but it seems Arenanets design philosophy for the ranger is nerfing any good build until we can use any build because our choices are bad, worse and useless…

I have to agree with this. I have all but retired my ranger. Sad too, since I loved roaming the wilds and defending on the ramparts, but now I just don’t have any desire to do this with the anchor chains the class now has to bear.

I recommend an ele. I wish I had invested 800 hours into an elementalist instead of a ranger. Eles have great group support, access to all sorts of combo starters, and their limitations are few and far between. In my opinion, ele’s have 4x as many 1200 ranged “weapons” as rangers (that don’t become less powerful just because the enemy got closer), and ele’s have 2x as many “weapons” as every other class in the game. They are versatile—able to switch from offense, to defense, to support in the click of a button. They are Team Players (I’ve yet to find a wvw group or dungeon group [or pvp group, but to be fair I know nothing about the pvp scene] actively seeking Rangers to fill in holes).

That aside, stay away from the medium armor classes and you pretty much can’t pick wrong. Unless you’re very dedicated, stay especially away from the Ranger and Engi.

if you really want to play ranger and stick with it, just find a build that’s not the flavor of the month and you will be fine…been playing ranger since release and until the SB range hit i never had to really change my build now. tbh other than having to burn money on new gear, finding a new build is kinda fun.

PirateNycro.6728:

And to answer the guy who started the threads question, if you like your ranger please man stick with it, get good at it. Show some fools up =). Its not as bad as people say and to be honest it feels great to kitten someone on the ranger =) specially a theif or ele or any of the classed people listed that seem to be super awesome atm =P

I agree with you on some levels.

BUT, This is the question the OP needs to ask himself/herself then.

Do I really want to put 3x’s the effort in on something to get the same results other classes get normally?

The ranger in ideal is a very cool class. But, If you choose to continue be prepared to be shunned in pve and in PvP you have a limited selection of builds that work atm.

In closing all I’m trying to say is unless you truly love the style of the class the time investment is not worth the reward.

Souries.4691:

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

You can still be a ranged expert. More than a warrior even. We have more range than the warrior with our longbow.

Because of this topic I put on my full berserker gear again with longbow and greatsword and headed into WvW. 30/20/20 traits. It was pretty fun. I always kept close to the friendly zerg and it really made me feel useful. I had some pretty nice damage numbers at superior range. I had to stay at range though or I’d die very fast.

I used to be full berserker even into high level fractals, but I wouldn’t do it anymore. I would now take my full regen build only. If you get Cleric gear you can still use the longbow and greatsword too, because they’re both power-based weapons. Maybe you can even sneak a longbow trait into the bunker build and still be good. Very survivible.

Open world PvE shouldn’t be an issue no matter what build you use. So have fun leveling up to level 80.

In summary, to be ranged expert:
- for WvW, pick full berserker gear with at least 30/20/x/x/x traits to pick up all longbow traits (Eagle eye, Piercing Arrows and Quick Draw). Stay at range.

- for dungeons/fractals/PvP(?), pick Cleric gear if you want to use the Longbow. Can pick up Apothecary or Settlers (is the same as Shaman gear in PvP) gear if you rather deal condition damage (not with longbow). Use Signet of the Wild and Healing Spring and if you can, get Dwayna Runes or instead get Nature’s Voice trait with the “Guard” utility skill. This makes you have a lot of survivibility.

That’s about it. You CAN have fun in all game modes.

best advice delete and re roll.

Souries.4691:

I started playing a few weeks ago with some friends, and just hit 61. I’ve really been enjoying the game, and they have been too. But, I was the one who picked Ranger. After reading all of these threads it seems I’ve chosen the wrong class. Is the new update really that detrimental to Ranger? Is it people belly aching or is it THAT bad? If it’s really that bad I’m not sure if I should reroll or not. If they can mess up a class this bad I don’t want to invest tons more time and have them mess something else up. This update has really taken away my incentive to play unless most people are just complaining. -____-

Seems like you picked the right class to me. If you’re enjoying it, that’s all that really matters. Ignore the noise on these forums and keep enjoying the things you’ve been enjoying about the class.

I’m surprised Chopps hasn’t showed up yet spouting about how awesome the ranger is and how we all need to play better.

If you enjoy the ranger for any reason other than “hey, I have a pet!” chances are you will enjoy another class more. And you will probably preform better.

Unless you and your friends want to be optimised (make the best or most effective use of a situation, opportunity, or resource) dungeon runners, the ranger is fine. If you and your friends have a casual interest in dungeons and don’t intend on farming high end fractals (that is the most difficult PvE content in the game) then the ranger is fine.

In group content and WvW you will see a lot of dead pets. That’s probably the biggest flaw of the class, the pet will die a lot. It won’t prevent you from completing content or being useful, but it is a significant hindrance when it happens, and it happens too often. There are ways to minimise this and as you become more experienced you will become better at managing your pet (if you don’t want to manage your pet a lot and don’t want it to die, maybe you should reroll). Things like swapping it at the right time, calling it back (although a pet on standby is the same as a dead pet and calling it back is unreliable due to pathing and return speed), pet choice (ranged pets for some fights like a spider, tankier pets like the bear or drake etc) and building for a more durable pet (how much do you invest in BM, do you use defensive signets etc). Building your pet requires resources (like trait points) which means you can’t use those resources freely for your own DPS, so making them more durable does come at a cost.

You can still do everything in the game reliably on a ranger, there are just multiple challenges you will have to overcome and other classes are more proficient at almost everything. In open world content this won’t be a problem, but in group content you can get more mileage out of another class (but you won’t be a hindrance on a ranger, you just won’t be as efficient as some of the more powerful classes).

Honestly, this last patch didn’t create these problems. They’ve always been around. A lot of the frustration you are seeing has been building up for months of it being this way and a patch like the most recent one isn’t alleviating problems and making some of the existing ones worse.

If you enjoy the play style of the ranger, if you enjoy having a pet and you don’t need to be the most optimum class for end game farming, there is no need to reroll. You can still complete every dungeon in the game, you can farm with your friends (or pugs), you can play in WvW and you can even do high end PvE. There will be challenges specific to the class and you probably won’t be as helpful as one of the more powerful classes, but you can certainly do it.

I love the class. Its a lot of fun, and I find it quite powerful.

BUT

I might be doing very different content that most folks here, and I’m fairly sure my build is very different.

My ranger is all about melee skirmishing.

I define ranger like this:
*
A ranger is NOT a World of Warcraft Hunter. And the recent patch set out to make that crystal clear by hitting pet reliance very hard.

So What is a ranger? It is a skirmishing class meant to be highly mobile jumping in and out of melee and ranged combat, with a pet as support (not support as in the ‘role’ in GW2, but support as in a sort of mobile semi independent buff). The is modeled off of the idea of the wilderness survivor: Grizzly Adams, combined with the special forces soldier: an Army Ranger.

The true fantasy icon for the ranger is NOT Legalos, but Aragorn.
*

From my build on my blog:
http://kichwas.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/gw2-build-skirmishing-hardy-ranger/

The content I run is dungeons. BUT not the farmer dungeons. I run with balanced groups, where I focus on bringing solid damage and solid aggro control.

If you are looking to play a hunter, go make a longbow warrior. You can sit at 1000 range and spam your skills with not too much difficulty.

If you want a skirmisher, melee and/or ranged, ranger is fine.

But you cannot choose this class as the ‘easy sit back and collect loot’ class.
- If you just want to auto-attack and let your pet do the work, the class is very inferior. Even More-so with the new patch. So no hunters. But bow using skirmishers are just fine.

the class is just fine it was balanced because as it standed it was a hit 1 and relax while pet mows down enemy class bows got a nice buff and i still do huge damage just fine .

play ranger if you want .

OP, don’t believe the “ranger sucks circlejerk.” If you visit any other profession section, you’ll see a lot of complaints and QQing. It’s not limited to just rangers. Heck, even warriors (that are considered DPS gods) are complaining about their class.

Best advice I can give you is just play whatever you want and form your own conclusions. As long as you’re having fun with your class, other’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

jubskie.3152:

OP, don’t believe the “ranger sucks circlejerk.” If you visit any other profession section, you’ll see a lot of complaints and QQing. It’s not limited to just rangers. Heck, even warriors (that are considered DPS gods) are complaining about their class.

Best advice I can give you is just play whatever you want and form your own conclusions. As long as you’re having fun with your class, other’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

hes absolutely right, right on man =)

Code of the ranger, we know nothing about rangers.

jubskie.3152:

OP, don’t believe the “ranger sucks circlejerk.” If you visit any other profession section, you’ll see a lot of complaints and QQing. It’s not limited to just rangers. Heck, even warriors (that are considered DPS gods) are complaining about their class.

Best advice I can give you is just play whatever you want and form your own conclusions. As long as you’re having fun with your class, other’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

Except none of those other classes think they are as bad as the ranger, even the Engineers.

No matter how bad they think they have it they all know we have it worst. That special kitten shaped trophy is ours and ours alone.

Substance E.4852:

jubskie.3152:

OP, don’t believe the “ranger sucks circlejerk.” If you visit any other profession section, you’ll see a lot of complaints and QQing. It’s not limited to just rangers. Heck, even warriors (that are considered DPS gods) are complaining about their class.

Best advice I can give you is just play whatever you want and form your own conclusions. As long as you’re having fun with your class, other’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

Except none of those other classes think they are as bad as the ranger, even the Engineers.

No matter how bad they think they have it they all know we have it worst. That special kitten shaped trophy is ours and ours alone.

Looks like you missed the last part. I’ll repeat it for you in bolded characters for emphasis:

As long as you’re having fun with your class, other’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

jubskie.3152:

Substance E.4852:

jubskie.3152:

OP, don’t believe the “ranger sucks circlejerk.” If you visit any other profession section, you’ll see a lot of complaints and QQing. It’s not limited to just rangers. Heck, even warriors (that are considered DPS gods) are complaining about their class.

Best advice I can give you is just play whatever you want and form your own conclusions. As long as you’re having fun with your class, other’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

Except none of those other classes think they are as bad as the ranger, even the Engineers.

No matter how bad they think they have it they all know we have it worst. That special kitten shaped trophy is ours and ours alone.

Looks like you missed the last part. I’ll repeat it for you in bolded characters for emphasis:

As long as you’re having fun with your class, other’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

When I rely on them to let me into a group or get in on organized WvW nights it does.

Being asked or told to bring another class is decidedly not fun.

Substance E.4852:

When I rely on them to let me into a group or get in on organized WvW nights it does.

Being asked or told to bring another class is decidedly not fun.

Well, with people like you propagating the stigma that rangers are horrible, I’m not surprised. Funny how it works, eh?

Souries.4691:

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

Well for 1, the barrage damage with the LB was cut in half after the patch. This wasn’t stated in the patch, only the cripple duration was extended by 50%… big whoop. The dodges make cripple generally ineffective.

Barrage used to be a source of good damage to groups if you traited and geared yourself properly; after the patch, a full zerker ranger using barrage against another full zerker class does laughable damage. Your better off just standing back and spamming 1 and 2.

Both the LB and SB seem to not be able to hit anything inside the 500 range. The attacks either get obstructed or they miss entirely.

As for what the ranger does well? I’m guessing a BM bunker build is still probably decent to use; however it’s completely ineffective in WvW unless your solo roaming. Even then, except to get run over by a zerg more often than not.

Honestly OP, follow what others are saying.. just roll another class. Come back to the ranger when you see the following:

- LB barrage damage increased 50% (to it’s original damage)
- SB range returned to 1200
- Pets can now hit moving targets and gains the ability to dodge attacks
- Pets receive a global 50% damage reduction from all sournces
- Pets receive additional AoE damage reduction
- Pets damage restored to previous levels

When you see those in the patch notes, that’s when the Ranger will be worth playing again

jubskie.3152:

Substance E.4852:

When I rely on them to let me into a group or get in on organized WvW nights it does.

Being asked or told to bring another class is decidedly not fun.

Well, with people like you propagating the stigma that rangers are horrible, I’m not surprised. Funny how it works, eh?

No the raw damage numbers and lack of team support propagate the stigma.

My attitude towards the ranger has 0 effect on the damage it does or it’s ability to increase the effectiveness of the other players around me. Funny how it works, eh?

if you insist on playing ranger, i’d suggest going for a bunker build at first. when you get proficient with the class, you can go for a more offense oriented one with less survivability if you enjoy that sort of thing

DeadlySynz.3471:

Souries.4691:

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

Well for 1, the barrage damage with the LB was cut in half after the patch. This wasn’t stated in the patch, only the cripple duration was extended by 50%… big whoop. The dodges make cripple generally ineffective.

Barrage used to be a source of good damage to groups if you traited and geared yourself properly; after the patch, a full zerker ranger using barrage against another full zerker class does laughable damage. Your better off just standing back and spamming 1 and 2.

Both the LB and SB seem to not be able to hit anything inside the 500 range. The attacks either get obstructed or they miss entirely.

As for what the ranger does well? I’m guessing a BM bunker build is still probably decent to use; however it’s completely ineffective in WvW unless your solo roaming. Even then, except to get run over by a zerg more often than not.

You keep repeating this and I have not seen this issue at all. My Barrage is still hitting for 800~ non crit and 1k~ with crits in zergs.

Substance E.4852:

jubskie.3152:

Substance E.4852:

When I rely on them to let me into a group or get in on organized WvW nights it does.

Being asked or told to bring another class is decidedly not fun.

Well, with people like you propagating the stigma that rangers are horrible, I’m not surprised. Funny how it works, eh?

No the raw damage numbers and lack of team support propagate the stigma.

My attitude towards the ranger has 0 effect on the damage it does or it’s ability to increase the effectiveness of the other players around me. Funny how it works, eh?

You in forums: Ranger suck balls. We own the title for worst class in the entire game.
~~~
Pugs: I read in the forums that rangers are the worst class in the game. Its in the official forums so it must be true!
~~~
You in forums: QQ they won’t let me in groups T_T

Yes, your attitude affects people.

jubskie.3152:

DeadlySynz.3471:

Souries.4691:

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

Well for 1, the barrage damage with the LB was cut in half after the patch. This wasn’t stated in the patch, only the cripple duration was extended by 50%… big whoop. The dodges make cripple generally ineffective.

Barrage used to be a source of good damage to groups if you traited and geared yourself properly; after the patch, a full zerker ranger using barrage against another full zerker class does laughable damage. Your better off just standing back and spamming 1 and 2.

Both the LB and SB seem to not be able to hit anything inside the 500 range. The attacks either get obstructed or they miss entirely.

As for what the ranger does well? I’m guessing a BM bunker build is still probably decent to use; however it’s completely ineffective in WvW unless your solo roaming. Even then, except to get run over by a zerg more often than not.

You keep repeating this and I have not seen this issue at all. My Barrage is still hitting for 800~ non crit and 1k~ with crits in zergs.

Previous patch non crits range from 400-800. Crits from 1500-2500.

With this patch, non crits 200-400. Crits are 900-1400.

Tested damage on a buddy of mine in full zerker gear 3 weeks ago to test some ranges of damage both with LB auto-shot and barrage (to see if it was actually that viable for WvW)

Previous patch barrage damage ranged consistently from 700-2600

Tested barrage on him last night in his full zerker gear..

Barrage damage ranged from 300-1450. Low end never lower than 300, no crit ever higher than 1450. Crits averaged about 1200.

So yes barrage damage was reduced roughly 50% give or take. Perhaps they reduced the damage zerker gear has done; however my stats did not change.

jubskie.3152:

Substance E.4852:

jubskie.3152:

Substance E.4852:

When I rely on them to let me into a group or get in on organized WvW nights it does.

Being asked or told to bring another class is decidedly not fun.

Well, with people like you propagating the stigma that rangers are horrible, I’m not surprised. Funny how it works, eh?

No the raw damage numbers and lack of team support propagate the stigma.

My attitude towards the ranger has 0 effect on the damage it does or it’s ability to increase the effectiveness of the other players around me. Funny how it works, eh?

You in forums: Ranger suck balls. We own the title for worst class in the entire game.
~~~
Pugs: I read in the forums that rangers are the worst class in the game. Its in the official forums so it must be true!
~~~
You in forums: QQ they won’t let me in groups T_T

Yes, your attitude affects people.

No actually many of the people in charge of my guild have a ranger in their rosters so they know full well what they are talking about. You act as though people are incapable of trying the class out to make a judgment compared to another class in the same role. Maybe try playing another class and you might see things differently yourself.

And I’m pretty sure people are more turned off by things like dungeon guides that focus more on keeping your pet alive and buffed than actual team dynamics.

Oh and if people are affected by the forums then I guess the game will be dead within the week since you yourself have said “If you visit any other profession section, you’ll see a lot of complaints and QQing. It’s not limited to just rangers. Heck, even warriors (that are considered DPS gods) are complaining about their class.”

Warriors must be akin to god himself if they can kitten that much and yet still be so prevalent.

Substance E.4852:

No actually many of the people in charge of my guild have a ranger in their rosters so they know full well what they are talking about. You act as though people are incapable of trying the class out to make a judgment compared to another class in the same role.

And you act like your words have no consequences whatsoever. Words have power and you are spreading the word that rangers are crap despite proven many times over that they are viable in all formats.

Substance E.4852:

Maybe try playing another class and you might see things differently yourself.

I have a level 80 Guardian and lvl 80 Mesmer. I still prefer to play my ranger despite having the “elite” classes because I enjoy the ranger class more. Whenever I play those classes I constantly miss the presence of my pets because they are actually useful. We get so much CC variety from knockdowns to immobilizes and yet the only thing people focus is damage. The support that rangers provide is from these CC skills (of which rangers have a LOT of, and we can even opt not to have dedicate utility slots for them) and not from giving boons like might. It might not work well in PvE/dungeons but it is amazing in sPvP/WvW.

Substance E.4852:

And I’m pretty sure people are more turned off by things like dungeon guides that focus more on keeping your pet alive and buffed than actual team dynamics.

Yeah, because learning how to micromanage our class mechanic is horrible, right? Wait what? We have to micromanage our pet? Screw that! I can’t be bothered to learn that! I’m going back to completely ignorable virtues. /s

Substance E.4852:

Oh and if people are affected by the forums -snip-

How many posts have you seen that goes “new ranger here, looks like I picked wrong because of all the negative posts in the ranger section”? Huh what? We’re in one! Yes people are affected by posts in a forum.

Substance E.4852:

then I guess the game will be dead within the week since you yourself have said “If you visit any other profession section, you’ll see a lot of complaints and QQing. It’s not limited to just rangers. Heck, even warriors (that are considered DPS gods) are complaining about their class.”

Warriors must be akin to god himself if they can kitten that much and yet still be so prevalent.

Ah yes, the hyperbole. Can’t have a QQ post without one, yes?

You missed the point of that statement as well. I’ll spell it out for you: “Every class will have QQers despite their effectiveness and viability”.

Hope that clears it up for you.

DeadlySynz.3471:

jubskie.3152:

DeadlySynz.3471:

Souries.4691:

I wanted to be a ranged expert. The wvw videos I’m watching with Ranger many people use a Lb/gs. What nerfed the Ranger so badly that Longbow is no longer a viable option? Looking through the forums there’s no way a game company could obliviously make one class so bad people are jumping ship on it like this. Surely there’s something the Ranger does well at 80?

Well for 1, the barrage damage with the LB was cut in half after the patch. This wasn’t stated in the patch, only the cripple duration was extended by 50%… big whoop. The dodges make cripple generally ineffective.

Barrage used to be a source of good damage to groups if you traited and geared yourself properly; after the patch, a full zerker ranger using barrage against another full zerker class does laughable damage. Your better off just standing back and spamming 1 and 2.

Both the LB and SB seem to not be able to hit anything inside the 500 range. The attacks either get obstructed or they miss entirely.

As for what the ranger does well? I’m guessing a BM bunker build is still probably decent to use; however it’s completely ineffective in WvW unless your solo roaming. Even then, except to get run over by a zerg more often than not.

You keep repeating this and I have not seen this issue at all. My Barrage is still hitting for 800~ non crit and 1k~ with crits in zergs.

Previous patch non crits range from 400-800. Crits from 1500-2500.

With this patch, non crits 200-400. Crits are 900-1400.

Tested damage on a buddy of mine in full zerker gear 3 weeks ago to test some ranges of damage both with LB auto-shot and barrage (to see if it was actually that viable for WvW)

Previous patch barrage damage ranged consistently from 700-2600

Tested barrage on him last night in his full zerker gear..

Barrage damage ranged from 300-1450. Low end never lower than 300, no crit ever higher than 1450. Crits averaged about 1200.

So yes barrage damage was reduced roughly 50% give or take. Perhaps they reduced the damage zerker gear has done; however my stats did not change.

Durzlla also had the same thing happen to him, and later found out that he confused pet damage with barrage damage. Maybe thats what happened to you as well? Did you change traits? Did you have might stacks when you tested it pre-patch?

I dunno, dude. My barrage damage is still the same in my knights/berserker mixed gear that I use in WvW. Also, I’ve never seen my Barrage go over 2k per hit, even in a full berkser/ruby orb set.