Guild Wars 2

I’m looking to start PvP(not hotjoin) with my Ranger. I know this is a masochistic endeavor. However, are there any tips or info that I should know before hitting the “join now” button? Recommended builds? Expected role Information?

The two better builds you can be using right now are either a rabid/carrion spirit setup or a Settler’s BM build. Empathic Bond is an absolute must, and usually most builds utilize WS III for the free additional stunbreaker.

I can post out some builds if you’d like. Spirit choice is either Sun and Stone, or Sun, Stone, and Storm for the active. When only going for 2 spirits, run with a stunbreak as your third utility. Lots of people opt for Signet of Renewal for the cleanse factor.

Healing Spring is the preferred heal for the cleanse and group support, but Troll Unguent is the next best option if you don’t need the utility that Spring brings.

Wolf is the most common choice, with either Jaguar (usually more BM builds) or River Drake as the other pet choice.

Honestly, the rest of it is just PvP tactics. Hold points for as long as possible if you are defending and recognize when to rotate. Most solo Q teams don’t dedicate a player to pure defense on their home point, so recognize when you can go get a free capture or neutralize, and recognize when you are beaten, because giving the other team kills only makes the score snowball in the enemy teams favor.

Your goal is going to be to manage to hold 2 capture points out of three (all three if you can) for longer than the enemy team. More than anything though, recognize secondary objectives and when to/not to push them. Don’t give up a capture to go kill a forest creature, and remember when the important top and bottom buffs spawn on Temple (11:30 for double points, 8:30 for double points and three cap, game usually doesn’t last longer than this, but if it does, double points again at 5:30). Skyhammer is Skyhammer, but make sure you don’t dedicate too much effort to holding the skyhammer and not enough to maintaining capture points.

Those are just some basics.

Thanks for the feedback, since this is my first real foray into PvP, should I try to learn the nuances of the map in hotjoin or should I just start out in soloQ?

Could you link the BM build? I’m not sure what to choose in regards to weapons/traits/utilities for the PvP setting.

Is 0/10/30/30/0 Rampager Spirit Build worth it for the extra damage, or should I just go all condi?

Recommended weapon choices for the two build? I planned on using SB + A/D or T or is there a better weapon choice.

Join hotjoins that are 5v5. You’ll get yelled at in Solo queue.

The typical setup right now is to go shortbow (so you can pressure from a distance) and sword/torch or sword/dagger. Sword is used for its evasiveness and mobility (with no target, sword 2, 180 turn, sword 2 leap), and torch is the more common option for it’s long lasting burn and the ability for torch 5 to basically be flame trap when traited with offhand training.

Dagger is usually chosen for Dagger 4, for a very nice evade on a very decent cooldown, and then of course dagger 5 for more damage, making sword/dagger a very evasive and defensive weapon set.

That being said, I know of a person who had lots of success with shortbow and axe/dagger, if the sword doesn’t suit you or you aren’t comfortable with yourself using it. However, it sacrifices a lot of your mobility, and there are less situations you can use the axe in. Mainly, if you do decide to go with shortbow and axe/dagger, you should do it for when you need the dagger evade and the enemy pushes you and gets in your face. You’re going to want to swap, hopefully landing the sigil of geomancy, and then shotgun axe 2’s bleeds onto the person, and even land dagger 5 if you can. Hopefully they don’t cleanse it, which is something to look out for, but this build is going to play much more as a point defender without the swords mobility.

For the BM build, I use this layout: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQNAV8fjEVl19VKWg2Bi2jMZeM9UMLA4UUKSdxSVJB-TsAg2CuIuRdj7GzNybs3M8Y5xeBA

About the traits in that builder, they haven’t been updated yet, so 20 points in Nature Magic is for Spirits Unbound. Also, I left the last BM slot open because it’s really up to preference. Some people would prefer Vigorous Training now, but with a Wolf and Jaguar, I prefer Commanding Voice for shorter cooldown wolf fears and jaguar stealth bursts.

For Spirit Builds, Rampagers is usable and I have used it in the past for a decent amount of time, but the issue is that the stat allocation just dedicates too much precision, and in the current condition of the game it is better to build more defensively than offensively.

Which does bring up the question, why is Carrion an option with no toughness then? Well, it’s because it uses this setup: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQNAV8fjEVl1dVOVg2BiVBB1ekJzjJ3jSRqTdxSVJB-TsAgyCuIATBmDMDYSwsgN8Y5xeBA

Basically, the protection is meant to cover up the lack of toughness, and the vitality is to deal with the condition meta. An option now would be to drop the 10 in Marksmanship to run Mighty Swap, but it there hasn’t been enough time yet to test which setup would be more optimal, though I have a hunch that the 10 points in Marksmanship for Keen Edge is outright better DPS.

The rabid variant is this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQNAV8fjEVl1dVOVg2Bi2jMZeMxKYI3jSRqTdxSVJB-TsAAzCpIaS1krJTTymsNN8Y5xeBA

I have had some dispute in the past about running Sharpened Edges, because people believe that it refreshes the bleed stack making it more likely to be cleansed. However, conditions in this game are cleansed off of more criteria than just First In Last Out, meaning that while it does use that criteria, cleanses also tend to cleanse conditions with the highest stack first anyhow, and because you’re autoattack applies bleed and ideally even without Sharpened Edges you would be applying and refreshing the bleed stack to begin with, I find it to be a poor argument.

However, some people do take Agility Training instead. Against a moving target, I’m sure there is a good debate against which provides better DPS out there, but I haven’t seen one, so I leave that up to preference as well.

Sorry, It’s a whole lot of information at once.

With the new patch: If you choose not to build around Nature’s Vengeance, it opens up 10 points to work with and a utility slot (no more storm spirit). The skeleton for the build would be x/x/30/20/x, depending on your selection. So, Carrion would be 10/x/30/20/x and Rabid would be x/10/30/20/x. There are quite a few different options to play around with this. I’ll list the ones I’ve though of out:

Carrion:
20/0/30/20/0
-Pick up Spotter for team support, may also run Frost Spirit for an entire team DPS boost
-Pick up Malicious Training and go with Black Widow (if available) and Jungle Spider for massive control through immobilizes

10/0/30/20/10
-Might Swap

Rabid
10/10/30/20/0
-Keen Edge and Sharpened Edge for about as much DPS pressure as you’re going to be able to achieve with a rabid amulet

0/10/30/20/10
-Mighty Swap

ChillyChinaman.6057:

I’m looking to start PvP(not hotjoin) with my Ranger. I know this is a masochistic endeavor. However, are there any tips or info that I should know before hitting the “join now” button? Recommended builds? Expected role Information?

There’s 3 roles the ranger does very VERY well, 1) Home Point Defender, 2) Roamer, 3) Back Point Assaulter.

1) I’d suggest any bunkery build for this one, however i feel trapper is the Apex build for this role since any poor kitten who walks onto your point is going to be lit up like the kittening fourth of july. What ever you build for should be REALLY good at 1v1s and be able to last easily in 1v2’s

2) Roamers job is to go to wherever you’re needed most, if the enemy natural is undefended take it, you can flank a team fight, steal enemy objectives (IE keep lord, repair kits, jungle buffs etc), you just run around the map going to where you’re needed most, as such you should be mobile (duh), and have good damage, you don’t normally need to be sturdy at all, and long bow actually works pretty well for this role because you can tend to run in from a distance and just pick people off from a range and then run off to the next place you need to be. (This is what i normally play)

3) Back Point Assaulters main goal is to take and hold the enemy back point, you sneak in and snipe the guy on it, decap, cap w/e, you just make sure it’s not in their possession. This build needs to be really good at 1v1s and should either have enough burst, or enough sustain + CC to be able to decap the point quickly whether or not someone is on it.

Hope that helps on the general roles, if you say which one you’re interested in the most or w/e i can help with a build.

kekuso.5837:

Join hotjoins that are 5v5. You’ll get yelled at in Solo queue.

It’s pvp, you’ll get yelled at for breathing wrong if you do everything else right.

JROH pretty much has all the viable builds covered.

I want to thank everyone who posted everyone who posted. You’ve all given me a nice solid starting point to work with.

I look forward to seeing you all on the battlefield.

Builds and roles and all that are all fine and dandy but this solo q is really just hot join.

As often there is only one bunker. If you are lucky of course haha.

There is very little communication. Thank god for being able to see opponent icons. That being said; always have the mini map in the corner of ones eye. Use it to plan where you should be moving to.

Prob not worth mentioning, but as a ranger you will get targeted first. Do not over extend.

Regardless of what weapon set you are using you must learn to use those built in weapon invades. There are very few ‘real’ spvp builds. Just learn the animations for all those knocks downs.
When rooted by a memser just weapon evade and /lol.
Blow a evade or two when a thief stealths as it is very important to dodge the backstab (that you can only predict is coming).

Always fight on a point unless you can somehow tie up 2 or more people for a good minute. No sense dying in the middle of nowhere for no good reason.

A fully traited Spirit of Nature is extremely powerful. Get off one normal rez (also master the self rez via the spirit) then do ones best to time it so it gets a 2nd rez off when it dies. It may sound hard but when people are blowing aoes like mad….with some practice you can time it so you are downed as the spirit gets chopped in half.

I really think the best thing in a hot join is just to be a killing machine.
Don’t stay on a point just for that worthless 10 score points. And if you down a guy. It don’t take a full team to finish him off. Letting a thief bleed out is fun to watch.

These are tips from a guy on the front page of the leaderboards.
I only run the sun and elite spirit.
My rune and sigil choices are also not the norm.
I use a lynx and wolf so my pet choices are only half standard.

With that being said. I believe a lot of builds and whatnot can work in the mess that is a solo q match. You just need to be able to use everything to its full potential and carry the team as hard as possible.

I came from classic GW1 RA Solo-Q shouldn’t be too much different.

ChillyChinaman.6057:

I came from classic GW1 RA Solo-Q shouldn’t be too much different.

They’re pretty much the exact same thing except conquest edition.

Try 30/10/0/30/0, ranger runes and soldiers amulet + berserker gem
After the patch this build got a huge buff

Can someone explain the use of the sigils? Are they that useful or just more condi for the condi build? Also with the 1H Sword, should I bother using the AA at all or is it purely for the evades and ability to use an offhand. Would GS work as an alternative?

So far I’m going to test this in hotjoin to get a feel for it.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQNAV3fjEVl1VWOWgWCgVBAbPykTMfFi1po0TvYpqkA-ToAgyCuIATBmDMDYSwsgN8YvA

Would Stone Spirit be better than Muddy Terrain for increases Prot Uptime?

The sigils of Geomancy are for getting more bleed stacks, but the reason they are good is because on top of doing some decent direct damage, the Point Blank AoE the provide is very strong, and because you are “node” fighting in a lot of situations in PvP, the AoE spans the node and generally helps you keep pressure off of you because as long as it’s landing, its forcing enemies to either back off of you because they are taking too much damage, or blow their cooldowns to heal and cleanse the damage you are doing.

As for the mainhand sword, it is used mostly defensively for it’s evades on the initial sword 2 and sword 3, as well as leaping through your Healing Spring and Torch 5, for additional healing and a fire field respectively. However, the sword auto attack is also a powerful tool, because, and especially with Carrion, it is our highest DPS weapon, and it cripples the opponent and gives Might to the pet, which in PvP, the pet is actually very useful, so it allows you to output some good damage from that perspective.

I haven’t personally seen anybody using the Greatsword, since all of our builds have been condition builds in PvP for just about ever now, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t work. It would be much better suited for a Power based build though.

And yes, Stone Spirit would be much better than Muddy Terrain. Stone Spirits active does everything that Muddy Terrain does, on top of passively giving you and all of your teammates a chance to proc that protection, which is a huge boon in teamfights.

On top of that, all of the spirits actives have a chance to proc each others effects, meaning that Stone Spirit can apply Sun Spirits burning as a third source (you, your pet, Stone Spirit).