In other game types I seem to have found a happy medium that I can run, for example WvW I run Speed and Sustain. SW Speed and Condi. PvE speed and traps. The list goes on.
But because ranger and fractals both vary so much I can’t seem to find a build that suits all fractals.
Currently running Spotter, Frost Spirit, GoEmpowerment, then mix the other Utiities up.
Traits are Beast, Skirmish, Druid.
Zerk build with 45% power, 35% Condi, 20% Healing.
Axe/Torch + Staff.
But this doesn’t seem quite right and there’s my problem, fractals are all so different I can’t find a happy middle ground like I can in other game types
Any advice would be helpful, but please nothing stupid I do well already I just want to do better.
Proud member of uPOI, Undiscovered Point of Interest an OCX guild on NA.
The Ranger is not a class which deals high DPS. It`s the second lowest. Only the mesmer deal less dmg. So u have to fulfill another role and that is the Dmg boost of your team. The typical traits are skirmishing and druid. In skirmishing u take Spotter and in druid Verdant Etching and Grace of the land. As u utility u need healing Glyph, fost spirit and Glyph of empoverment. With every Glyph u activate u will give your team a 2% dmg boost and if u activate your Avatar#4 u will stack this up to 5times. So with this your team will have +17,5%more dmg.
The Rest belongs to you. U run zerker gear which is not bad at fractals but i dont understand your weapons. U only need Axe/Torch on condi builds and staff is only important if u play full healer druid (which only is needed in raids). So better go zerker gear with sword/axe and longbow. Take marksmanship as 3rd trait and always use the Quick draw trait in the skirmishing tree. This will give u the most dps.
If u prefer playing condi u can play with skimishing,wiolderness survival und beast. Gear, weapons(Axe/Torch and shortbow) and trinkets are viper and u use flame trap, sun spirit and frost spirit. U can take a look at the comment ranger builds at metabattle.com. They will be enough for fractals.
Rangers are very good this we got the druid. We can buff our team so nice and still can do pretty decent dmg. The power/Glyph build will usually be the best because you will be more usefull to a full dmg team. BUT if u have 2 other condis on your team u can probably go condi ranger as well to get more condi dps. Depens on the team but u personally prefer the power build.
If u still have some question feel free to ask
Sure u wont have any problems with this but u wont be as useful as other builds. Axe/dagger is a condi focused weaponset and with the bounce-nerf on axe (only 1 bounce now) it isnt useful on a power build. The gear will give u a lot of tankyness but i dont need it. With this gear u r a tanky ranger who deals no dmg and have a little bit of heal. Not useful. Totally uneffective. Only viable if u are the tank of the group.
Sure u wont have any problems with this but u wont be as useful as other builds. Axe/dagger is a condi focused weaponset and with the bounce-nerf on axe (only 1 bounce now) it isnt useful on a power build. The gear will give u a lot of tankyness but i dont need it. With this gear u r a tanky ranger who deals no dmg and have a little bit of heal. Not useful. Totally uneffective. Only viable if u are the tank of the group.
Thank you for your helpful reply Morlock and others.
Yes I typically like to play a Condi ranger which helps with my 300 ping.
Your advice on switching to a short bow might be a really good option for me, I think I’ll give that a try next time I’m on.
Though I have a zerk set I’m currently only in T1 and just about to start on T2, so with the pugs I find everyone dies really quickly. Because of that, I’ve since swapped my zerk out for my Magi and try to keep everyone standing and with your descibed DPS boosts I plan to make them hit harder for me.
Was your description of GotL 5 stacks 17% including the Gylph of Empowerment and Frost spirit?
Proud member of uPOI, Undiscovered Point of Interest an OCX guild on NA.
Was your description of GotL 5 stacks 17% including the Gylph of Empowerment and Frost spirit?
These numbers are always only for demonstration. Every class has at least some mixed damage in specific ratio that varies from class to build which makes Spotter, Frost Spirit and GoEmpowerment impossible to mathematically count.
But:
-GotL gives 15% DPS but is not constant and drops. Rough uptime may be around 5-10% overall DPS.
-Frost Spirit gives 7,5% Direct Damage. None for Condi.
-Spotter gives 7,14% crit. Varies from class to class (roughly 8% Power DPS; 1% Condi traits)
GoEmpowerment gives 3,5% Direct Damage. None for Condi.
If we take into consideration that boosts multiply, not add – we might end up at around 38% peak moments, but realistic overall DPS increase is roughly around exactly those 20% or less.
Sure u wont have any problems with this but u wont be as useful as other builds. Axe/dagger is a condi focused weaponset and with the bounce-nerf on axe (only 1 bounce now) it isnt useful on a power build. The gear will give u a lot of tankyness but i dont need it. With this gear u r a tanky ranger who deals no dmg and have a little bit of heal. Not useful. Totally uneffective. Only viable if u are the tank of the group.
Must not play ranger. It is top build for ranger.
You poor thing, I’m so sorry.
I think we need a Tragic Positive intervention here.
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Tragic you make perfect sense, thank you, it’s something I’ve always wondered about and thought that with a ranger they’re doing more damage than without, of course that depends on who is your 5th.
The sustain on a ranger is also quite good, along with CA we manage to keep everyone up longer and doing more deeps.
You explained it well and now I’m clear, cheers
Proud member of uPOI, Undiscovered Point of Interest an OCX guild on NA.
Sure u wont have any problems with this but u wont be as useful as other builds. Axe/dagger is a condi focused weaponset and with the bounce-nerf on axe (only 1 bounce now) it isnt useful on a power build. The gear will give u a lot of tankyness but i dont need it. With this gear u r a tanky ranger who deals no dmg and have a little bit of heal. Not useful. Totally uneffective. Only viable if u are the tank of the group.
Must not play ranger. It is top build for ranger.
You poor thing, I’m so sorry.
I think we need a Tragic Positive intervention here.
It is definitely plenty far from being top … But it might not be critically bad, either.
A lot depends on the traits he uses. For example, if he runs the perma-lock Fractal babysitter I used or any of it’s variation – it doesn’t really matter what stats does he use. That build negates damage income by 70% (doesn’t work on bosses).
P/V/T is far from being optimal but if he used something with healing power instead (Cleric is my personal favorite) – he’d be a much welcome member of the party. Naturally, it’s far from “being best” but given the fact we bring low DMG regardless – it’s fine as long as he knows his stuff and brings what Rangers are for – support.
I could “intervene” only if I knew anything about his traits. I might be strict and straightforward but I never point people out without a reason or proof. Plus – he said he doesn’t have any problem, which implies he has the skills and can make up for his stats. So where’s the harm? Just like you said – he might as well be the tank of the group. I’d definitely prefer Cleric, but one strategy of fast clear involves a tank.
Naturally, his setup is inferior to lots of others I can come up with right here and now … But if he can afford role-playing … Why shouldn’t he? Highest fractals are a nightmare without any druid of kind. Tank druid is helpful, Healer druid is helpful, for experienced runs the Viper is helpful… You just need to know what you are doing.
It’s always about that “Enjoy and let others enjoy” unlisted rule. Meta is a lie and applies to roughly 15% of the whole game. The real game is completely different.
Sure u wont have any problems with this but u wont be as useful as other builds. Axe/dagger is a condi focused weaponset and with the bounce-nerf on axe (only 1 bounce now) it isnt useful on a power build. The gear will give u a lot of tankyness but i dont need it. With this gear u r a tanky ranger who deals no dmg and have a little bit of heal. Not useful. Totally uneffective. Only viable if u are the tank of the group.
Must not play ranger. It is top build for ranger.
You poor thing, I’m so sorry.
I think we need a Tragic Positive intervention here.
It is definitely plenty far from being top … But it might not be critically bad, either.
A lot depends on the traits he uses. For example, if he runs the perma-lock Fractal babysitter I used or any of it’s variation – it doesn’t really matter what stats does he use. That build negates damage income by 70% (doesn’t work on bosses).
P/V/T is far from being optimal but if he used something with healing power instead (Cleric is my personal favorite) – he’d be a much welcome member of the party. Naturally, it’s far from “being best” but given the fact we bring low DMG regardless – it’s fine as long as he knows his stuff and brings what Rangers are for – support.
I could “intervene” only if I knew anything about his traits. I might be strict and straightforward but I never point people out without a reason or proof. Plus – he said he doesn’t have any problem, which implies he has the skills and can make up for his stats. So where’s the harm? Just like you said – he might as well be the tank of the group. I’d definitely prefer Cleric, but one strategy of fast clear involves a tank.
Naturally, his setup is inferior to lots of others I can come up with right here and now … But if he can afford role-playing … Why shouldn’t he? Highest fractals are a nightmare without any druid of kind. Tank druid is helpful, Healer druid is helpful, for experienced runs the Viper is helpful… You just need to know what you are doing.
It’s always about that “Enjoy and let others enjoy” unlisted rule. Meta is a lie and applies to roughly 15% of the whole game. The real game is completely different.
Why are you walking on eggshells? I was telling a bad joke.
I do have a question and a request, for those far more knowledgeable than me: Does Bountiful Hunter increase condition damage; and using this build as a base, how could I increase the amount of poison/poison damage I deal without sacrificing too much bleeding damage?
@Diak Atoli
I’m pretty sure Bountiful Hunter doesn’t increase condition damage. Your poison damage can naturally be increased by taking the Poison Master trait instead of Wilderness Knowledge.
And with this setup, you should definitely consider Sun and Frost spirit instead of Zephyr and Signet. Quick Draw as a replacement of Light on Your Feet is advised.
Your DPS will never be top noch so your contribution comes from supporting your group. Since you didn’t take druid – your only choice comes from spirits.
Oh, also, getting We Heal as One instead of Troll Unguent is a very solid pick. It’s a burst heal and keeps you mighted (Companion’s Might synergy), just like it can be paired with Zephyr’s Speed trait for prolonging the Quickness by a bit. That heal boosts the DPS by a lot if you’re not constantly 25 mighted.
For fractals, druid anyday! The buffs and heal you provide along with your dps is to valuable. Only scenario where i see running ranger would be viable is if you already have a druid in your group and you are running A/T condi, then ranger has a lil bit more dps. But of course if the other druid is good at his job of keep people healed and buffed.
