Guild Wars 2

After dueling and comparing many classes and trying out different builds, I came to a conclusion that right now, ranger/druid is in need of a big rework. I kid you not, please read carefully before you say “Oh what are you talking about? Rangers and druids don’t need a buff they are plenty strong already. You lack the skill”. Believe me, its not the skill, and its not the build, because I tested out many different trait lines and builds already against my guild mates. They all agree that something is wrong with the ranger/druid class because its weakness is so obvious. its the trait line of the rangers that are weak in comparison to other classes. People like me, I main support class. Guardian, Rangers/Druid and etc. But the main thing that supports need is to survive and be the last one to die they can’t go down before the front line dies otherwise that would be a useless support. They need to be tough enough to support from the back and out maneuver the enemy. Thieves, Mesmers, Warriors and etc all have either stealth, clones, and so forth to confuse, stun, knockdown and etc. Rangers? we have a god kitten bow that is useless, no stability skill, damage is almost none, and when enemy gets in close range, its GG. I tested out for over 1 months of competitive gameplay almost non stop since HoT came out about seeing if this game is balanced, and my final conclusion now is that it is NOT balanced especially for this class. I understand that if you main another class, you don’t want another competitor coming up but the ladder. But I am a veteran of Guildwars, and ever since GW1, Ranger class NEVER got any highlights in the game. EVER. They die so easy and you can’t even imagine the stress of seeing a Ranger who had so many potential dying… once again.

There are several problems that I would like to mention both pros and cons of the ranger class.

I will start with the cons first.

1. In PvE rangers can out maneuver the AI and survive. Its not that R/D are strong, its just that the AI is weak and has no focus. So stop calling Druids and Rangers don’t need a buff.

2. In WvW, Every class should be able to contribute their skill ability. The fact that GW2 is still stuck with the Zerker meta is a big issue that i have. Druids and Rangers are so weak that when we are targeted, we go down like bugs being squished. Trust me because I tried out EVERY build. I know what you’re about to say, Toughness and Vitality. Nope.

—> This is what happened when I built tank.

1. I lacked the damage in order to take out the enemy
2. Celestial form runs out so fast that I can’t do anything while in it. (works in pve because AI is not smart enough to focus) All I do in Cele form is heal and when Cele form gets CC’d its game over. Also in a tanky build, you sacrifice your healing power.
3. If the enemy has condition damage + power +precision you are literally screwed getting melted. There is no way around it because you DO NO DAMAGE.

okay, so you know what LETS BUILD CELE build. again… NOPE.

this is what happened when i build cele ranger.

1. skill trait lines don’t give you enough to out manuever players who do too much DPS. Reapers with chill, and etc already screw up the cooldown in a ranger skill which already lack in attack speed and cooldown. Mesmers with daze and stun also fks you up. and cele build sacrifice so much stats that again, you’re left with no other option but running like a pansie.

So please ANET. DO SOMETHING TO BALANCE RANGERS/DRUIDS! GIVE THEM SOME BUFF

why do i even bother complaining… they nerfed the druid healing and they are going to screw rangers up once again. no point. gg.

I wish they hadn’t forced us into a healing role.

The beauty of rangers is their independence.

in PvE, healing role is awesome. I am glad they made us be able to do that. but when it comes down to WvW or PvP. we are good as bugs. minion mancer, reapers, mesmers, warrior on rampage with hammer. our trait line is too weak to fight 1v1 with other classes.

they are not going to buff rangers. rangers have always been at the bottom since gw1. we need stability, and a better cooldown on the signet of stone. and i am almost 100% sure anet is not going to give us that. if they do give us that, they are going to nerf the druid healing and screw up our toughness. so I am giving up the hope that rangers will ever shine.

…Daze… you have LOTS of daze. Also, use evasion to mitigate damage. Defense is too low on ranger, but evasion is high.

Daze doesn’t cut it. Still too low on damage. Cool down is too low and when we’re chilled, it’s especially a problem. I have a better shot surviving on my ele or Mesmer. It’s almost unfair. Evasion? All we have to do is run because we can’t kill 1v1. Even if I am more skilled all I do is run. That’s not what this game is about. If you played gw1 it gave flexibility to take your own skills and custom your build. If I am forced to have a fixed 5 skill sets atleast balance them along with the utility. You tell me. Do you want to fight a rampage warrior berserker with your ranger? I doubt it.

In gw1 I loved how everything was team based. Everyone contributed something to the team. Gw2 it’s everyone for themselves. Which I find dumb. What’s the point of being in a party or a “guild” if you don’t work as a team? Look closer to how gw1 was balanced and the failure of gw2 trying to make everyone out to do your own thing all alone like a loner. It’s boring. It’s why I stopped playing this game and HoT got me back in and now I am like… wow Anet didn’t learn a thing.

Remember when Equality had a 6 second daze? Good days.

Well if you are better at other classes then you just solved your own problem.

I can certainly see how if you believe druid is meant to be designed that way it would need some massive changes. I personally dont believe druid should be designed how youd like it. I dont think anet wants to design it that way either.

I have personally found druid to be very rewarding to play. Ive found the efficacy of the spec goes up quite a bit when you pay close attention to positioning and the timing of your skills. Also, my ability to do damage goes down proportionally as my ability to support teammates goes up. And vice versa. This makes a lot of sense.

Rangers do need a buff. Anyone who claims otherwise is just clueless about the game.

Dunno about the druid though. Never played it, never got the expansion. But as a ranger fan, we do suck. I can win but it needs more skill and luck than other players.

I see that you got a very long post history…

First of all, revise how you play with astral force/druid. Do not try to spam 1 in celestial avatar. Just use the huge heal for a burst heal and save your astral force.

You are not forced to play with glyph, take RaO (you’ll be amazed how easy it is to whistand a lockdown when you have something that pulse stability.).

Use condition damage, the ranger is almost a god at beed and poison… beside you just need condition damage which mean that you have 2 other stat free of choice on your gear.

Don’t waste your time with new pets, they aren’t balance at the moment smokescale at an imba burst but it’s sustain damage are ridiculously low, when they remove the imba burst he lost it’s interest. Use a cat, a bird or a spider, they’ve been our best friend since a lot of time.

Celestial avatar is a way to burst heal not to sustain heal. Don’t think that this is the god mode button, it’s a pretty awkward tool that could have been replaced by a lot of thing more practical and more “ranger like”.

Celestial #1 needs to be reworked it’s such a noob trap.

Minardi.8276:

Daze doesn’t cut it. Still too low on damage. Cool down is too low and when we’re chilled, it’s especially a problem. I have a better shot surviving on my ele or Mesmer. It’s almost unfair. Evasion? All we have to do is run because we can’t kill 1v1. Even if I am more skilled all I do is run. That’s not what this game is about. If you played gw1 it gave flexibility to take your own skills and custom your build. If I am forced to have a fixed 5 skill sets atleast balance them along with the utility. You tell me. Do you want to fight a rampage warrior berserker with your ranger? I doubt it.

Before HoT, Ranger was strongest 1v1 class. After HoT, it still seems quite strong to me. I really don’t find warriors to be particularly strong in 1v1 situations. Necros and engies seem pretty good in 1v1.