Guild Wars 2

Not F2P player, played back when the game first came out but didnt make it very far, returned recently.

Not a troll question at all, but there seems to be a lot of dislike for rangers, mostly around using longbow only with a bear pet.

Im still only level 20, but my main question is whats wrong with using a bow exclusively, it is a ranger class is it not? I guess the bear pet is a tanking pet, so people in dungeons may not like it, but why switch to melee weaps in dungeons and not just stick to bows?

VisualDeadlock.2163:

Not F2P player, played back when the game first came out but didnt make it very far, returned recently.

Not a troll question at all, but there seems to be a lot of dislike for rangers, mostly around using longbow only with a bear pet.

Im still only level 20, but my main question is whats wrong with using a bow exclusively, it is a ranger class is it not? I guess the bear pet is a tanking pet, so people in dungeons may not like it, but why switch to melee weaps in dungeons and not just stick to bows?

I always use a bow in fractals (short dungeons with a kick), pve, pvp and wvw, but I don’t hear many complaints these days with those I am with because I am not your average Ranger, I am not zerker and I do help the team with buffs and revives/rezzes more than any other team member.

Yes, it’s still a bit touchy out here for some “Bear/Bow” Rangers, but the builds are far more diverse now than before except for pvp where mesmers tear everyone apart with their permastealth and incredible uneven builds, but hey, we’re great in pve and I believe, truly amazing in WvW when built right.

Do I use a bear in WvW? No.

Do I use one in pve? No.

Do I use one in pvp? No.

But I have and I did but now my play style has changed, the pet didn’t.

Play the way you want.

Find out if you are more power or condition “based” and then find your build by going to places like youtube and metabattle – your build can start there and become all yours with just some practice in pvp and a lot of roaming in wvw.

Pve? You won’t have to worry much about that – you are a stronger character than most in pve and your pet has twice the health as the other two, very neglected and very sadly managed wvw. (i.e three years of pets being at half health, three years of bugs that have been recorded and reported and still not enough on “teams” but hey, we get a guild hall that many won’t use not being in guilds.)

Be a Ranger – then play the other characters and see how fast your Ranger really did level – the easiest to level and one of the most fun to play because you aren’t alone, your pet, albeit very hobbled from the time you tame it, becomes your friend, companion, and your healer.

Rangers are fun, but we are also of more utility than most give us credit for – ergo some servers have “Ranger Night” in WvW or PvE – those nights are epic just – plain – epic.

There is a reason why “bearbow” is so often seen… it’s brain-dead easy to play and still quite effective on typical PvE content. It’s not going to give you good DPS, and that’s precisely why you will be looked at sideways if you bring a bear into a dungeon, but it works.

DPS is also why it’s not advisable to go bow only in a dungeon – it’s not as good as the alternatives, but nonetheless it does show up in dungeon builds because the #2 (rapidfire) and #5 (barrage) skills give a lot of DPS while they’re up. You then switch to your other weapons – usually sword/axe or greatsword – while they’re on recharge.

I would actually recommend having something other than a bow as your swap even in general PvE though – you can close in to melee if you want to squish things fast, and pull out the longbow while your pet takes the heat if it’s a little more dicey. But by all means you can use a longbow. It’s great if you’re feeling lazy.

Shortbow is probably not worth your time though. It doesn’t show up in a lot of good builds.

There is nothing at all wrong with using a bow and a bear if that’s what you enjoy playing. If anyone has a problem, then it’s ‘their’ problem, and they probably were not worth playing with anyway.

Thanks for the serious replies. I have a couple melee toons I am trying as well, so I wanted a ranged one that wasn’t a caster archtype, hence the confusion on my part as why so many people looked down at Hunters for staying bow only. I have a 2 hander sword as my weapon swap, but I kind of only use that if melee is the only option and I can’t get back in range. Don’t even have a bear pet at the moment, using eagle, it seems to have a nice bleed special attack.

Also was wondering what “meta” meant, but from context, seems like it is the generally accepted go-to build for each class. I havent looked into it yet, was going to choose whatever played and seemed strong, then adjust later when I hit max level and want to do more group content.

Kaz.5430:

There is nothing at all wrong with using a bow and a bear if that’s what you enjoy playing. If anyone has a problem, then it’s ‘their’ problem, and they probably were not worth playing with anyway.

This is the worst kind of attitude. You are being extremely selfish and trying to make it sound like you’re somehow the victim in that scenario.

@Op
Open world PvE- play whatever you want, it is stupid easy. I could play weaponless and naked and get by without a problem in the open world.

Dungeons- you want to try and run a build that will compliment your party. The best thing you can bring as a ranger is spotter, frost spirit and a melee weapon. Sitting at range is not only a dps loss, it also hurts your party because you are causing the mobs to spread out making the fights take longer.

PvP- The main thing you need to understand is holding the points is way more important than getting kills. Ignore your personal score, if you see someone from your team capping an empty point don’t jump on with him, move on and help out your teammates somewhere else. This is a solid an pretty safe build to start out with http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRjEqQDLWyCusAVLGyEKPxTgG/n8I/x7kNAOgCWVA-TJBFABCcJAEvMgc7PAwTAAA

WvW Roaming- You need to balance your build around being able to quickly flip camps, be strong in a fight, and be able to escape when you need to. You can get by fine with the PvP build, it’s strong in a fight but it’s not great for disengaging. I personally run this http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnUqA9Ci9rAusActgh/gaf9FIA+04HOaefz3N4gVfeA-TVTBABWqOSh6AEVlgHuAAmpEMijAwVKz8UFDsUagnmAq2fYhDBAAPAACBYeMA-w

WvW Zerging- Organized guild groups will have a build they want you to run, or they may need you to run a different profession completely. For pug zergs you might want to run lead the wind for piercing arrows, but you have to be careful with that because you could end up killing yourself to retaliation when using barrage or rapid fire. This is how I would tweak my build for the pug zerg http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnUqA9Ci9rAusActgBChaL9Aoq/voG65eeXhU4gVfeA-TVTBABWqOSh6AEVlgHuAAmpEMijAwVKz8UFDsUagnmAq2fYhDBAAPAACBYeMA-w

http://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki is great starting place for builds for every profession . Take a look at what they have and then adjust them to suit your needs and playstyle.

Kaz.5430:

There is nothing at all wrong with using a bow and a bear if that’s what you enjoy playing. If anyone has a problem, then it’s ‘their’ problem, and they probably were not worth playing with anyway.

It’s a social and team game. At least everywhere other than open world (and even then it’s a team game more often than not.)

It’s like joining a 5 man dance squad and then purposely becoming morbidly obese. You have to consider how your behavior forces other people’s results. Even if they decide to stay on your dance squad because they value your friendship over success, you’ve eliminated their chance at success, which they might have wanted.

I would also argue there is nothing “fun” about a bear over any other pet, and rather it’s less fun because the bear doesn’t have any special attacks.

Puck.9612:

Kaz.5430:

There is nothing at all wrong with using a bow and a bear if that’s what you enjoy playing. If anyone has a problem, then it’s ‘their’ problem, and they probably were not worth playing with anyway.

This is the worst kind of attitude. You are being extremely selfish and trying to make it sound like you’re somehow the victim in that scenario.

@Op
Open world PvE- play whatever you want, it is stupid easy. I could play weaponless and naked and get by without a problem in the open world.

Dungeons- you want to try and run a build that will compliment your party. The best thing you can bring as a ranger is spotter, frost spirit and a melee weapon. Sitting at range is not only a dps loss, it also hurts your party because you are causing the mobs to spread out making the fights take longer.

PvP- The main thing you need to understand is holding the points is way more important than getting kills. Ignore your personal score, if you see someone from your team capping an empty point don’t jump on with him, move on and help out your teammates somewhere else. This is a solid an pretty safe build to start out with http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRjEqQDLWyCusAVLGyEKPxTgG/n8I/x7kNAOgCWVA-TJBFABCcJAEvMgc7PAwTAAA

WvW Roaming- You need to balance your build around being able to quickly flip camps, be strong in a fight, and be able to escape when you need to. You can get by fine with the PvP build, it’s strong in a fight but it’s not great for disengaging. I personally run this http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnUqA9Ci9rAusActgh/gaf9FIA+04HOaefz3N4gVfeA-TVTBABWqOSh6AEVlgHuAAmpEMijAwVKz8UFDsUagnmAq2fYhDBAAPAACBYeMA-w

WvW Zerging- Organized guild groups will have a build they want you to run, or they may need you to run a different profession completely. For pug zergs you might want to run lead the wind for piercing arrows, but you have to be careful with that because you could end up killing yourself to retaliation when using barrage or rapid fire. This is how I would tweak my build for the pug zerg http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnUqA9Ci9rAusActgBChaL9Aoq/voG65eeXhU4gVfeA-TVTBABWqOSh6AEVlgHuAAmpEMijAwVKz8UFDsUagnmAq2fYhDBAAPAACBYeMA-w

http://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki is great starting place for builds for every profession . Take a look at what they have and then adjust them to suit your needs and playstyle.

Completely Agree. There are times when having a tankier pet on swap is a good thing, like some fractal or dungeon bosses, in those cases you can usually use a drake and your DPS doesn’t completely suffer.

The class is called a Ranger but that doesn’t mean it must stay at range. Actually staying at max range is worse for you and your party than being with 600 range of the group. buffs only have that much range so you lose out on what they are providing and they lose out on your help.

I use Longbow in dungeons and fractals. Some bosses need to be ranged but most of the time it’s used as an opener with Rapid Fire and Barrage then swapped to melee for almost the whole fight.

I use bears in dungeons and fractals. If I get stuck with a horrible pug where everyones dead for most of the fight i’ll throw on “Search and Rescue” and a bear pet so I can revive people constantly. otherwise I’ve usually got a Drake and Cat on my bar.

Puck.9612:

Kaz.5430:

There is nothing at all wrong with using a bow and a bear if that’s what you enjoy playing. If anyone has a problem, then it’s ‘their’ problem, and they probably were not worth playing with anyway.

This is the worst kind of attitude. You are being extremely selfish and trying to make it sound like you’re somehow the victim in that scenario.

As are you. Not trying to be combative here, and am using ‘you’ and ‘I’ for the purposes of description rather than accusation, but why are you suddenly a victim because I want to enjoy myself?

Why exactly should my play time be all about your enjoyment and your benefit? ‘That’ is a selfish attitude.

It’s not selfish to want to play a game how I enjoy playing. I’d personally argue that being selfish is expecting me to play a game in a way that I don’t enjoy, because it’s more beneficial to you, and then accusing me of being selfish because I don’t want to.

Now I’m not saying that playing Bearbow is how I’d personally chose to play for enjoyment, I actually dislike the longbow and the brown bear, but this is a casual friendly game that is supposed to provide a method of relaxing from the stresses of the real world. You can complete any content with a brown bear and a longbow, and if that’s what the OP wants to do, then he should just find non-elitist groups to play with. Plenty of them out there.

VisualDeadlock.2163:

Not a troll question at all, but there seems to be a lot of dislike for rangers, mostly around using longbow only with a bear pet.

I think there was a case of someone taking an arrow to the knee and then got mauled by a bear with chainsaw arms.

Kaz.5430:

Puck.9612:

Kaz.5430:

There is nothing at all wrong with using a bow and a bear if that’s what you enjoy playing. If anyone has a problem, then it’s ‘their’ problem, and they probably were not worth playing with anyway.

This is the worst kind of attitude. You are being extremely selfish and trying to make it sound like you’re somehow the victim in that scenario.

As are you. Not trying to be combative here, and am using ‘you’ and ‘I’ for the purposes of description rather than accusation, but why are you suddenly a victim because I want to enjoy myself?

Why exactly should my play time be all about your enjoyment and your benefit? ‘That’ is a selfish attitude.

It’s not selfish to want to play a game how I enjoy playing. I’d personally argue that being selfish is expecting me to play a game in a way that I don’t enjoy, because it’s more beneficial to you, and then accusing me of being selfish because I don’t want to.

Now I’m not saying that playing Bearbow is how I’d personally chose to play for enjoyment, I actually dislike the longbow and the brown bear, but this is a casual friendly game that is supposed to provide a method of relaxing from the stresses of the real world. You can complete any content with a brown bear and a longbow, and if that’s what the OP wants to do, then he should just find non-elitist groups to play with. Plenty of them out there.

Go back and read what fluffball said. In dungeons, PvP, and WvW you are part of a team. If I joined a soccer team and decided to kick the ball out of bounds or back at my own goal every chance I got because I found it amusing, would it make the rest of my team selfish for not wanting to play with me?

People can do whatever the hell they want in the open world but if you join a team game and work against your team, you are the one being the kitten.

I don’t need to go back and read what someone else said ‘after you’, in order to respond to what you said.

Not all players are interested in running dungeons as quickly and efficiently as possible. Being one of those players does not make you selfish. Heck, if you’re going to go to that sort of position, then playing Ranger is always selfish, because you could just swap to a different profession that brings more to the table.

Also, wanting to play a longbow ranger instead of a melee ranger is not the same as kicking the ball out of bounds or back toward the own goal, that’s an extreme analogy, and so is Fluffballs dance example.

The dance example is much more like an ballroom dancer being partnered up with a street crew. Sure, they ‘could’ go out and learn how to street dance, or they could just go and find some ballroom dancers to dance with. You might not win a dance off, but maybe you don’t care about that and just want to enjoy dancing for dancing’s sake.

If you going to use football as an example, then it’s more like an overweight kid going to the park, and the other kids not wanting to play with them because they are not fit enough or not fast enough to keep up.

If the other kids just care about efficiency then they are being elitist by not wanting to play with the fat kid. That’s their choice, but that still doesn’t mean that the fat kid should just go home and starve himself until he’s not fat any more. Instead the fat kid could just go and play with the other group at the park, who are just having a fun and friendly knock about. He’d have more fun, and would not be expected to change just to suit others.

Of course, switching to a different build to please others, might not even have the efficiency boost that you’re after. If I’m no good at playing with that alternative build, then I’m hindering the group by switching to it far more than I would be hindering the group by playing with the tactics and skills that I am experienced with.

All that said, you’re not wrong, but neither am I. We’re just coming from a different group with different opinions on what makes this game fun. If a group is all about efficiency rather than casual fun, then if you want casual fun, that’s the wrong group to play with.

Sure, if you want to play with the highly competitive elitist speed runners, then you should be playing “meta”, but the great thing about playing an MMO is that they are not the only group out there to play with.