Guild Wars 2

First things first, i had a huge pause in playing gw2 and started again around 2 weeks ago.
To get a starting point i decided to play a ranger from scratch since it was the only class i havent leveled yet.

While leveling i decided to avoid bows and played sword/dagger + Axe/Torch (or warhorn from time to time just for the sake of the running speed).
Worked well so far til lvl 50+, even on champions from time to time, even with lousy equip (using lvl40 weapons til now at almost lvl60) . Of course i stacked condition dmg stuff on all items.
Recently i tried bow combinations of all sorts and ended up with either bow/bow or bow/greatsword (which for me is a pretty boring weapon).
only negative side i experienced with nobow was the event bosses, where i generally experienced problems wiht nobow due to the massive amount of players dropping down my fps^^.
lazy bow/bow works way better on events.

I now decided to go back to no-bow-ranger (aka pseudo thief), but i have no clue how it will work later on and how to distribute the traits (in terms of viability or general style, for example going completely into def and regen or so).

If there is any ranger with experience in playing the ranger like that in dungeons or at lvl80, i would appreciate comments or hints or even “dont do it, i tried and its not viable or doesnt make sense for teamplay”.
and i dont think i will play pvp/wvw in the near future with this ranger. thx so far

I wouldn’t recommend to go without a bow. I usually go sword/warhorn + longbow or sword/axe +longbow in dungeons (at lvl 80). This way you can just start of with a barrage and rapid fire and then switch to s/w, this has a really good damage output. The build I use is from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgWGLMXvKAk
With a few adjustments to make it suit me better.

I never tried to go without a bow at all, so I’m not really sure if it’s that bad, I’ve just never seen anybody do it :P. Of course you could always try.

The only reason I’d ever sacrifice the best range of all professions would for trying a fun build, temporary. You can’t expect the same efficiency while giving up your best asset.

In dungeons and fractals I tend to run sword/axe & longbow. Longbow is only for the initial burst which is undeniably good but nothing to fuzz over about if you prefer going full melee. Sword/axe & warhorn/torch/dagger are perfectly reasonable choices to use for their utility and survivability.

Main hand axe on the other hand is not that great for PvE since its auto attack is very lackluster damage in power builds and condition builds are rather bad in instanced content/world bosses.

If you want to be a good asset your team the I’d suggest getting full berserker gear with superior rune of the ranger or superior rune of the scholar for good personal dmg output and set your traits as:

6, I, VII, XI
5, I, V
0
3, IV
0

And your skillbar should include: Quickening Zephyr, Spirit of Frost, Signet of the Wild and Rampage as One. And as pets you should have a jaguar for best pet dps and river drake for best cleave damage.

With this trait and gear setup you will provide excellent personal dps while also increasing your party dps output by 14% thanks to frost spirit and spotter.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask. :)

OP, just keep lb in your inventory for those world events where you can’t even see the boss cos there are so many people around, switch back to whatever you want to play after the event. You don’t need lb in most dungeons.

I lvl’d my ranger with sword/warhorn & gs, I run double melee even on my thief . I use lb only at world boss events, gotta love that exciting gameplay with bow while I make sandwich. Yaaaaawn.

LB + Sword/Axe is the best setup for dungeons atm.

Here is a quick dungeon highlight video using the build for you OP so you can see how it works. As you can see, using the longbow for the burst at start of fights is well worth it.

http://youtu.be/OZtHTmXRBsk?list=UURApIGACT2ZUwMiduITX0JA

With the latest changes to Torch. Wouldn’t you think it deserves a try?
For me does wonders, easy to kill groups once the are on top of you…

I’ve never felt particularly attached to the bows with any of my rangers, if you’re going to be primarily melee for a fight then there are plenty of great opener options using Axe + X. Personally I like to tailor my secondary weapon based on who I’m teaming with when it comes to fractals and the like, if we’re low on burning I bring axe torch, if we’re low on vulnerability I bring LB, horn is great for an extra combo blast and a nice buff. Honestly I haven’t found a combo that didn’t work well, just came down mostly to preference. I think the only danger of going Axe as your only ranged option is when you find yourself in a big boss fight and you’re not comfortable in melee, since the Axe auto attack is pretty abysmal against a single target.

kk thx dudes for the response. appreciated it. makes my decisions a lot easier.

will play further on without bows, except events, til i hit 80 and run some dungeons. then its time to evaluate whats best for the team without gimping the damage too much.

torch and fire-dmg is amazing against mobs, especially with mobgroups with veterans. works well so far. no need for a bow^^.
poison-dmg is very special. lasts long, but no initial burst. very sustained. plus bleeding stacks.

but, i remember my first runs in the ruins of orr, thought im king of of the hill after all the other dungeons and got melted in seconds.^^
sometimes u need just fast delivered damage.

Taku.6352:

In dungeons and fractals I tend to run sword/axe & longbow. Longbow is only for the initial burst which is undeniably good but nothing to fuzz over about if you prefer going full melee. Sword/axe & warhorn/torch/dagger are perfectly reasonable choices to use for their utility and survivability.

Main hand axe on the other hand is not that great for PvE since its auto attack is very lackluster damage in power builds and condition builds are rather bad in instanced content/world bosses.

If you want to be a good asset your team the I’d suggest getting full berserker gear with superior rune of the ranger or superior rune of the scholar for good personal dmg output and set your traits as:

6, I, VII, XI
5, I, V
0
3, IV
0

And your skillbar should include: Quickening Zephyr, Spirit of Frost, Signet of the Wild and Rampage as One. And as pets you should have a jaguar for best pet dps and river drake for best cleave damage.

With this trait and gear setup you will provide excellent personal dps while also increasing your party dps output by 14% thanks to frost spirit and spotter.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

sounds reasonable to me.

and i am a reasonable man.
very reasonable (guess i a was watching too much of the wire haha)

anduriell.6280:

With the latest changes to Torch. Wouldn’t you think it deserves a try?
For me does wonders, easy to kill groups once the are on top of you…

indeed. recently melted down a group of moles in no time. 6+ or so. veterans included.
torch plus traps plus evades from sword/dagger does it so far.