Guild Wars 2

First off all please fix the 1st sword skill slot. In pvp you can’t get out of the rotation very effectivly to finish off a player, and to be honest trying to kick someone between sword swings is kind of stupid.

I find the Ranger is a good skirmish fighter and I’ve seen a variety of ways to do it. I personaly like to use traps, sword with dagger, and short bow along with good condition damage to bleed and poison my targets to death. Dps is descent and you can be someone to fear in spvp. I do however thing that the Ranger lacks in any type of marksman build and for me that is dissapointing since a Ranger should be unmatched in this area. As a Thief uses stealth and agility to suprize and ambush at close range, a Ranger should be your sniper using distance and conrol to ambush from afar. Both having similar dps just different tacktics.

Last would someone explain the use of a long sword? I mean I understand the usefullness it has with the tallents you gain from it, but couldn’t these tallents be used elsewere in other weapons? I have never seen a huntsman, Ranger or otherwise use a great sword. They are hunters not warriors. Has anyone known of a Ranger using a Long bow and Great Sword together? Its always been short swords, or daggers that way they have room to carry their bow. Their bow is their strength not the sword.

You honestly shouldn’t get that much range for gw2, leave that to seige weapons.

As to the marksman issue, if you are talking about killing people before they can get to you either by one/two-shotting them or by being able to keep them at range while you stand there shooting them, it is never going to happen. Ranged vs. Melee classes always have this argument. Being able to kills someone without them being able to get to you is OP, whether we are talking PvP or PvE. This game has given Rangers strong melee abilities. They are not going to give massive ranged advantages on top of that.

As to the Ranger and Greatsword comments, you are confusing the terms “hunter” and “ranger.” I direct you to:

ranger – noun – dictionary.com.

The term derives from one who is mobile, who ranges or “roves” (definition #5) over a large territory. It refers to a territory guard (definition #2) and references game/park wardens (definition #1 and #7). And so on. Not once in all nine variations of the word do you will find a single mention of them being “huntsmen.”

In fact, consider the word in context and refer to definitions #3 and #4, which refer to the U.S. Army units trained in small unit raid tactics and, more generally, soldiers trained in guerilla warfare tactics, respectively. When you do, you realize that the word used in definition #3, commando, is the most appropriate analogy. “Huntsman” does not even make the list. In fact, in the context of a warden, they would be better classified as “anti-huntsmen” as they would be pursuing illegal hunters.

That said, to the question, “Has anyone known of a Ranger using a Long bow and Great Sword together,” I have two comments. The most iconic Ranger of all, Stryder (Aragorn) of Lord of the Rings, used both a bow and a two-handed sword; at least, he did in the movies. Even without that, in all sorts of movies you see characters using a bow at times and a two-handed sword at times. The idea that bows and Greatswords are mutually exclusive and unseen is simply factually incorrect.

Second, you are confusing game mechanics with reality. First, I find it interesting that you balk at the idea of us carrying a Bow and a Greatsword, but you have no problem with people carrying both a Longbow and a Shortbow. That would be much harder to manage. Similarly, you have no complaint about carrying both an Axe and a Sword on your left hip and a Torch and Warhorn on your other hip? That would be far more awkward than having a scabbard for your Greatsword slung over your back and a bow over your shoulder or even hanging off of the outside of the scabbard. That is far less trouble to manage than the other configurations mentioned.

Either way, in reality, you would not be pulling out your bow and firing away until they got within melee range, then magically stowing your bow and pulling out either a Greatsword or any other weapon, then magically swapping them back when the close-in danger is over. You would go “Oh, crap! They are on top of me,” then drop the bow and pull out your sword. If you survived and needed to go back to ranged fighting, you would then look for your bow and pick it up off the ground or grab another from somewhere. The same would be true of any other equipment setup. You would not magically swap back and forth between a sword and axe and matching off-hand weapons the way you do in game. So not only is carrying a Bow and Greatsword more practical than many other equipment setups, arguing reality is nonsensical being that the equipment swapping mechanic does not in any way embrace reality.

Oh, and that doesn’t even address the fact that we are actually able to carry every weapon we can equip, including multiple copies of the Axe if you want to dual wield axes.

On top of all that, you are presuming, somehow, that being a Ranger requires you to use a bow at all. Again, this is out of the concept that “ranger” has to do with being a “ranged” class. As indicated above, it is a reference to area of coverage by movement, not the distance from which you fight. As such, being a ranger and using a bow is not some conceptual requirement. It is just as valid to be a ranger and use a Greatsword plus some other weapon set as it is to use a Bow plus something else.

The bottom line is that your perception of what a Ranger is is fundamentally flawed. There is no problem with a Ranger carrying a Greatsword, and there are plenty of cinematic depictions of characters doing just that, including the most iconic ranger of all.

I meant to mention that the idea that kicking someone between sword attacks is not “kind of stupid.” Thousands of years of martial training techniques would beg to differ with you. We are not talking about a controlled sporting environment where there are rules governing what you can and cannot do, such as a fencing match. We are talking about a life and death struggle in which you will use every advantage at your disposal to unbalance and disadvantage your opponent, including kicks and other techniques which may or may not include the weapon itself. And even if martial training did not specifically include such techniques, there are plenty of examples of someone getting kicked in various places, including the … ah … more sensitive ones, during a fight with blades. It is hardly “kind of stupid.”

^lol at trying to use reality to explain fantasy.

I really cracked up when I saw all that claptrap about the U.S. Army being pulled in.

Hint: a “ranger” in gw2 is whatever Anet decides it to be. Not some deluded person coming along trying to blur the distinctions between what is and what isn’t. It’s like using science in reality to explain magic found in fiction.

And the irony when you state the OP has a fundamentally flawed perception of what a ranger is when you can’t tell ranger in real life shouldn’t even be compared to a ranger in GW2, or in other fiction for that matter.

But you are a troll so no1 cares what you think. I agree sotaudi, I like hte 1h sword animations, and using hands and feet in combat inbetween weapon attacks is common practice in any martial arts.

SaboD.7290:

Last would someone explain the use of a long sword? I mean I understand the usefullness it has with the tallents you gain from it, but couldn’t these tallents be used elsewere in other weapons? I have never seen a huntsman, Ranger or otherwise use a great sword. They are hunters not warriors. Has anyone known of a Ranger using a Long bow and Great Sword together? Its always been short swords, or daggers that way they have room to carry their bow. Their bow is their strength not the sword.

Aragorn son of Arathorn wielder of Anduril, Ranger of the North and King of Men? He might be one.

Look at Rangers of the North (lotr) in general, not just Strider. Bow, Spear, Shield and sword and if you count them night times you might see them using a torch. They also wear heavy armour lol.

I prefer less reality in fantasy games. Still remember a game where you cant use your bows and you are forced to switch to swords when target gets into melee range; because in reality you just can’t shoot a bow when target is so near pounding your face. So yeah…let’s not explain fantasy with reality lol.

Most computer RPG’s trace the lineage of their combat stat mechanics to Dungeons and Dragons anyway, where the ranger character class has always had access to every martial weapon, including greatswords.

Regardless of that, though, there is no reason the design of the Guild Wars 2 ranger should be constrained by what rangers have been able to do in completely different games, novels or movies.

“Rangers rely on a keen eye, a steady hand, and the power of nature itself. Unparalleled archers, rangers are capable of bringing down foes from a distance with their bows. With traps, nature spirits, and a stable of loyal pets at their command, rangers can adapt to any situation.”

Anyone that tries to dispute what a “Ranger” is by using any definition other than the one the GAME give you is an idiot pure and simple.

Notice how it states that “rangers are capable of bringing down foes from a distance with their bows”. The problem is that we aren’t able to do this. Want to maximize dps ? Use a sword. Want to kill something from a distance? Good luck since there’s no effective way to do this since kiting in this game is non existent with the multitude of gap closers, crippling, immobilize, stun etc.

Rangers are “ranged” combatants that lack the ability to keep a target at range. Yet when you switch to a sword not only does your dps increase but your auto attacks cripple letting you stick to your target. Does it make sense… nope, but as long there is ranged vs melee in MMO’s melee will always have the upper hand and its stupid as heck.

gulmari.2904:

as long there is ranged vs melee in MMO’s melee will always have the upper hand and its stupid as heck.

You and I have apparently not played the same MMO’s.

SaboD.7290:

First off all please fix the 1st sword skill slot. In pvp you can’t get out of the rotation very effectivly to finish off a player, and to be honest trying to kick someone between sword swings is kind of stupid.

I find the Ranger is a good skirmish fighter and I’ve seen a variety of ways to do it. I personaly like to use traps, sword with dagger, and short bow along with good condition damage to bleed and poison my targets to death. Dps is descent and you can be someone to fear in spvp. I do however thing that the Ranger lacks in any type of marksman build and for me that is dissapointing since a Ranger should be unmatched in this area. As a Thief uses stealth and agility to suprize and ambush at close range, a Ranger should be your sniper using distance and conrol to ambush from afar. Both having similar dps just different tacktics.

Last would someone explain the use of a long sword? I mean I understand the usefullness it has with the tallents you gain from it, but couldn’t these tallents be used elsewere in other weapons? I have never seen a huntsman, Ranger or otherwise use a great sword. They are hunters not warriors. Has anyone known of a Ranger using a Long bow and Great Sword together? Its always been short swords, or daggers that way they have room to carry their bow. Their bow is their strength not the sword.

I agree with the sword bug. There’s also a separate thread on this.

Rangers does have the longest range in the game, if you trait the longbow. Only the Engineer can have the same range if you trait for the grenades. No profession should be unmatched in anything, as that would single out that profession, meaning that everyone would play a Ranger in Worlds PvP because you’d always have the benefit of range. Even a Thief only has one more stealth skill then a Mesmer (not counting steal). It’s a big reason of why this game is so balanced.

I agree that the greatsword doesn’t fit, but you get use to it after a while. It has some great skills too. I would like to have had a rifle instead, though.

Stice.5204:

gulmari.2904:

as long there is ranged vs melee in MMO’s melee will always have the upper hand and its stupid as heck.

You and I have apparently not played the same MMO’s.

Find me an MMO where ranged classes have as many escapes, slows, stuns etc as melee have gap closers, slows, stuns, snares etc.

Lets take this game for example…
Shortbow- Quickshot- leap backwards 3second swiftness 9 second CD
Crippling shot- 3second cripple 12 second CD
Concusion shot- 1second daze/stun 25 second CD

Longbow- Point Blank Shot- varrying KB 400-600 15 second CD
Barrage- channeled AoE cripple stacks 12 times (if they stay in the AoE)
its 1 stack per second if they get out of the AoE its 1second of cripple.

Warrior
Hammer- Earth Shaker- 1-2second AoE stun/gap closer 10 second CD
Hammer Shock- AoE 7 second cripple 12 second CD
Back Breaker- 2 second KD 30 second CD

Greatsword- Whirlwind- AoE short range gap closer 10 second CD
Bladetrail- Medium ranged 4 second cripple 15 second CD
Rush- long range gap closer 20 second CD

Sword/mace- Flurry- 2-4 second immobilize 10 second CD
Savage leap- medium range gap closer 8 second CD
Hamstring- 7 second cripple 15 second CD
Tremor- long range 2second KD 25 second CD

Mace/shield- skull crack- 1-2 second stun 10 second CD
pommel bash- 1 second daze 15 second CD
shield bash- 1 second stun 25 second CD

Oh and warriors are a “melee” class yet their ranged CC on the rifle is a combination of both our longbow and shortbow CC’s

Rifle- Aimed Shot- 5second cripple 10 second CD
Rifle Butt- knockback 15 second CD

So I take it you’ve never played WoW.

I also dislike the one-handed sword auto-attack animation. Afaik it is the only melee 1st attack that roots while being used. I’d prefer it didn’t.

Peno.3720:

So I take it you’ve never played WoW.

LoL this comment made me laugh… please obviously you’ve never played WoW. I have a question for you… maybe do a little research and find me a top 20 5v5 arena team with a hunter in it…. oh thats right there isn’t one, and there’s a reason for it that has nothing to do with player skill.

You are changing your argument now. You said “as long there is ranged vs melee in MMO’s melee will always have the upper hand” and that is simply not true. Using your own argument, go do a little research yourself and tell me how many of the top 5v5 arena teams are made up of more melee classes than ranged classes. Virtually every team in the top 50 will have Priest/Warlock/Mage (or Balance Druid). Not having Hunters is a problem with the HUNTER CLASS in particular, not with RANGED CLASSES in general.

gulmari.2904:

Peno.3720:

So I take it you’ve never played WoW.

LoL this comment made me laugh… please obviously you’ve never played WoW. I have a question for you… maybe do a little research and find me a top 20 5v5 arena team with a hunter in it…. oh thats right there isn’t one, and there’s a reason for it that has nothing to do with player skill.

Hunter no. Mage (frost) yes and I could always keep my distance from them.

A Mage, which is what I played, could roflstomp any melee class. It was always other mages and warlocks that gave me a hard time. So there is your range class that could counter and stay away from all your melee gap closers, snares, slows, stuns.

I love the current set with longbow and greatsword, I have those 2 that I swap between all the time.
What I am troubled with though is the current situation with the pet which makes me feel like I don’t want to have a pet at all. Not going to go in on that here as I’ve already been engaged in a discussion about this in another thread.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Pets-Got-Stupid/first#post179844

I also disagree that rangers should be only viable or most viable with the bow, a ranger is not a hunter, they should be equally powerful with the bows as with the swords. In the beta, the greatsword was a viable choice, though it was so heavily downgraded damage-wise that it is no longer a viable choice either for pvp or pve, other than for playing heavily downleveled solo pve content. I enjoy using its amazing skills, but I can only use it if I play in areas that are much lower level, so my gear gives me some advantage.

As far as range goes, from what i tested sofar (i have 5 different professions all weapons unlocked) the Ranger seems to have the furthest ‘range’ on all the weapons that these professions have in commen. So while you may feel you don’t have range, emagine how some classes (f/e thief shortbow) must feel when they see the range on their bow (or Axe for that matter, compared with Necro).

Now it’s just up to you to use this range and learn how to kite properly, and deal with those gap closing skills on melee fighters.

I feel somewhat the same about the 2H sword though, but for the sake of realy wanting a staff on the Ranger (that would combine staff fighting and nature magic). And seeing the 2H sword feels the least ‘rangery’ it was my prefered weapon to ‘go’. Who knows maybe in some expansion we get to see a staff … the 2H sword is here to stay though, and having used it at times, it’s a realy fun weapon in PvE…

SaboD.7290:

First off all please fix the 1st sword skill slot. In pvp you can’t get out of the rotation very effectivly to finish off a player, and to be honest trying to kick someone between sword swings is kind of stupid.

All three attacks are buggy and I sorely wish they would fix them. It is such a fun weapon to use!

SaboD.7290:

I find the Ranger is a good skirmish fighter and I’ve seen a variety of ways to do it. I personaly like to use traps, sword with dagger, and short bow along with good condition damage to bleed and poison my targets to death.

Whoah! Someone uses the dagger? Seriously? I thought it was the one weapon the class had that lacked any kind of purpose. The synergy with Sword seems terrible too. I initially played Sword/Dagger too, but quickly dropped the Dagger because it was so bad.

SaboD.7290:

Last would someone explain the use of a long sword? I mean I understand the usefullness it has with the tallents you gain from it, but couldn’t these tallents be used elsewere in other weapons? I have never seen a huntsman, Ranger or otherwise use a great sword. They are hunters not warriors. Has anyone known of a Ranger using a Long bow and Great Sword together? Its always been short swords, or daggers that way they have room to carry their bow. Their bow is their strength not the sword.

Is the question about longswords or greatswords, or both? Either way, they have been associated with Rangers since the birth of the fantasy genre. They are just as common as longbows. Rangers have never been the longbow-only class. Famous Rangers have used swords as much, or to the complete exclusion of, longbows (eg Aragorn, Drizzt). Most certainly, there have been many melee Rangers in RPGs over the years (sword, axe, spear, quarterstaff; less often, club). Even Robin Hood, who was best noted for being the greatest master of the longbow, often used a quaterstaff or a sword.