Guild Wars 2

I started my ranger because I have always played either a healer or a range dps class. I keep hearing Rangers are really low dps when it comes to PvE. Comparing my ranger/thief/warrior, I would tend to agree.

What I am asking, are rangers on the low end of dps when they are geared/spec’d for LB/SB? If they arent, how should I trait my ranger?

What professions are high range dps?

All ranger damage is scaled down from other classes on the basis that the pet will contribute as well. If you want to look further into this there are many previous posts on the forum.

All classes except the guardian have decent ranged damage and that ranged damage is typically less than melee damage (without dedicated traits). The guardian has missile reflections that give can act as ranged damage.

For the most part ranged damage in GW2 is inferior to melee with specific exceptions. The reality is, the vast majority of content is not only possible in melee, it’s usually easier because you kill things faster.

Rangers are in a kittenty spot in this meta because the only DPS melee weapon is the sword (the greatsword is more defensive and has low damage). Unfortunately the sword has an auto-attack leap which causes the ranger to be rooted in place and unable to move or dodge. As you can understand (but apparently the devs don’t) this becomes a serious hindrance when full unhindered control of your character is desired.

Long story short, if you want ranged DPS with the ranger go for a berserker build with the longbow. You won’t do as much damage as a ranger with a sword but you won’t have to deal with that weapon’s poor design.

Honestly I suspect you’d be happiest with a staff elementalist. They do ranged AoE damage which is pretty ordinary against single targets but make up for it with a large complexity of support options. How you utilise your combo fields, attunement swaps, blast finishers and which utility skills you bring, all these things will be useful for your party and help make up for your slightly lower DPS. Water attunement can help with some healing but primarily condition removal and there are lots of boons you can give out and share with a staff build. The conjure weapons are some of the most powerful utility skills in the game in the right situation.

The best ranged DPS would probably be a warrior, but I don’t think any “good” players use them for ranged DPS because their melee options are so much better and are fairly reliable (unlike the ranger sword).

Rangers… well they can contribute and pull their weight but they also have to pull the weight of the pet, cause it sure as hell ain’t doing it itself.

Stooperdale.3560:

All ranger damage is scaled down from other classes on the basis that the pet will contribute as well. If you want to look further into this there are many previous posts on the forum.

All classes except the guardian have decent ranged damage and that ranged damage is typically less than melee damage (without dedicated traits). The guardian has missile reflections that give can act as ranged damage.

guardian scepter is actually good ranged damage, just harder to hit (which isnt really a problem in pve)

@OP
for pve you should really use either sword or GS (sword having higher dps… but an annoying root… and not all the chain cleaves) double bow isnt a good set up

Linguistically Inept.6583:

@OP
for pve you should really use either sword or GS (sword having higher dps… but an annoying root… and not all the chain cleaves) double bow isnt a good set up

I’m intrigued by this comment.. Would you care to elaborate why LB/SB isn’t viable?

Tribio.8531:

Linguistically Inept.6583:

@OP
for pve you should really use either sword or GS (sword having higher dps… but an annoying root… and not all the chain cleaves) double bow isnt a good set up

I’m intrigued by this comment.. Would you care to elaborate why LB/SB isn’t viable?

Reflection

Tribio.8531:

Linguistically Inept.6583:

@OP
for pve you should really use either sword or GS (sword having higher dps… but an annoying root… and not all the chain cleaves) double bow isnt a good set up

I’m intrigued by this comment.. Would you care to elaborate why LB/SB isn’t viable?

its usable; just not effective
for dungeons you need cleave (or aoe… but barrage isnt on a short enough CD to count), youll be out of range for buffs and will be doing less damage (most pve encounters boil down to pure dps… kill stuff before it can kill you is the most effective strategy)

(most dungeon groups will want a ranger using sword+warhorn most of the time… and staying range is considered poor form – doing less damage means those in more danger (melee) will be in that danger for longer, and can really screw up mob group ups if you get aggro – or bosses… i hate having to chase a boss around the room because someone is trying to kite it with a ranged weapon whilst at full health)

for open world pve cleave is also very useful (piercing arrows whilst solo definitely isnt going to work well enough to compare to GS/sword+x)

I actually used LB/SB combo. This is very PvE. LB Rapid Fire dish lots of damage single target (you can hit multiple if you trait Piercing Arrow and right position).

PvE not including WvW. You can go for 30/30/10/0/0. Pump Marksmanship will increase your base damage and SB bleed. Skirmish will increase your crit damage and chances to crit.

This is what I take for my trait:
Marksmanship: 3/8/12
Skirmishing: 2/10/12
Wilderness Survival: 4

Gear you can focus on Rampager or Berserker or mix to have the balance of precision and power.

For pets: you can take anything you like. Bird and feline deal lots of damage. Bear is tanky and etc. You can do research on which pet suits your style.

Additionally, you can explore for Spirit build as well. The recent patch make spirit viable as well. 20 sec cd after they downed. Previously, the cd is 60 sec the moment they summoned. So if they are downed quickly, you will be very vulnerable.

Ranger is the only class that required less work in PvE. Just play around with traits. If you don’t like you can always refund the trait points/