Guild Wars 2

So Im still not sure wich weapons to use as my Ranger… Im thinking about Greatsword, Shortbow, Longbow and Sword/Torch. Now I love Greatsword and it absolutely has to be one of my weapons but Im not so sure about the second one. I assume the GS is for Power/Precision (or is it?) and so is the Longbow. But is the Shortbow really for 100% Condition Damage build? Its auto attack is so fast and it doesent need to be so far away from your oponent like Longbow. And Sword/Torch, whats the build on that? It seems like a chaser/evasive kind of weapon set with added Condition Damage and it confuses me greatly. Also, from those 4 weapons, wich one would deal the most damage if build completely around dealing damage with it?

I haven’t done any formal experiments, but ignoring condition damage, I think shortbow and one-handed sword have the highest sustained DPS due to the fast attack speed. GS has the most damage per skill, so if you pop a quickness buff, it’s burst damage is surprisingly high.

GS will absolutely benefit from Power/Prec (any weapon will), but I think its real power lies in the amazing shutdown and mobility skills it has. Most of the traits that buff it are in the toughness and vitality paths, so that should give you some sort of indication as to how ANet intended it to be used – pressure with high survivability and occasional high damage bursts.

SB can go either way. Most ranger weapons have a variety of condition components, and I personally prefer Axe/Torch or Sword/Torch for a condition build. The high rate of fire on SB lends itself nicely to crit proc effects, and adding power to it certainly doesn’t hurt anything. My personal philosophy with the SB (1v1 that is) is to use the DoT conditions as annoyances and distractions while keeping up a fair amount of pressure damage. Then, when your opponent has exhausted their defensive maneuvers, throw out the CCs, swap to something bursty, and burst ’em.

I’ll say to you what I say to everybody – try all of the weapon combos and see what fits your play style. Ranger weapons tend to be a mixed bag of different damage sources and utility, so build with that in mind and you’ll do just fine.