Guild Wars 2

Maybe I haven’t played my ranger long enough but it feels awkward having lets say shortbow and sword/dagger combo and you use all your shortbow skills then switch weapons and now you have to spend time running up to the target and use melee skills. When is a weapon combination like that useful andwhy it feels like you have to use axe and torch or warhorn?

Is there just a ranged build or just a melee build?

Thanks

A Sword/dagger is really mostly used as a defensive weapon set to swap to when you’re getting focused since it provides extra evades and dodges. Once you’re ready to dps again, you swap back to your short bow.

moekhajavi.3540:

Maybe I haven’t played my ranger long enough but it feels awkward having lets say shortbow and sword/dagger combo and you use all your shortbow skills then switch weapons and now you have to spend time running up to the target and use melee skills. When is a weapon combination like that useful andwhy it feels like you have to use axe and torch or warhorn?

Is there just a ranged build or just a melee build?

Thanks

Not to worry. As soon as you level up and have decent gear the mobs will usually ignore your useless pet and charge right at your face. At that point you can kite with your bow, or you can switch to melee.

I use the same weapon set as you, using the SB whenever I can. I swap to the blades when something gets too close. Dodge around it, lock it up with a few cripples, then use 2 to make space to go back to the bow.

It feels very fluid and natural. Its one of the few classes where I actually use both weapon sets regularly.

I dislike the ranger’s melee options. I would dislike the sword a lot less if you didn’t get rooted every time you choose to use the auto attack. But the only time I’ll ever use a melee weapon is when I’m forced to face enemies that reflect projectiles. Like those blasted jade shards in the solid ocean fractal. They are immune to ranged weapons entirely.

Swapping weapons is generally done based on your situation. So, if you’re in melee with your 1h sword and things get dicey, leap back (#2), swap to shortbow, leap back (#3). You’ve just quickly escaped, put a lot of distance between yourself & the mobs.

Conversely, if you’re at range with your shortbow and get swarmed, you can swap to your sword, which has better aoe & evasion than your shortbow.

Quarktastic.1027:

I dislike the ranger’s melee options. I would dislike the sword a lot less if you didn’t get rooted every time you choose to use the auto attack. But the only time I’ll ever use a melee weapon is when I’m forced to face enemies that reflect projectiles. Like those blasted jade shards in the solid ocean fractal. They are immune to ranged weapons entirely.

Yea, same. Melee would also be a lot more viable if you could pump out comparable damage, but as it stands, you’ll almost always do more damage with a shortbow than with a melee weapon.