Guild Wars 2

I hate to make a new topic about this but I could not find an exact answer for this. Im returning to GW2 and want to main my ranger. I understand it takes some time to learn this class and im ok with the learning curve as I am a huge fan of bow/sword wielding classes that can command pets. I am wanting to eventually get into some WvW roaming and was wondering what is the best builds when playing solo and how big of a challenge is it for ranger to handle multiple opponents?

Condition/Regen Ranger is one of, if not the strongest dueling build there is. It doesn’t deal very high damage but it can whittle any build down and is durable enough to outlast even full bunker builds.

Ranger, if played correctly, is one of the stronger small scale professions. It takes a lot of practice but when you reach the epitome of what the profession can achieve, you won’t find many people that will be a threat to you.

However, on the flip side, Ranger can also be very punishing to learn since, as you’ve said, it has a rather steep learning curve. If you’re a quick learner you shouldn’t have much trouble but otherwise, I suggest you take your time, enjoy yourself, learn the in’s and out’s and you’ll be plenty satisfied with the reward.

On a side note, I roam with my Ranger more than I roam with my other characters. I have in the past won 1v4’s and once, mind you it was a very long fight and obviously not against very skilled players, won a 1v6. Ranger is totally capable of winning outnumbered fights but the more people you’re fighting the more melee weapons you’re probably going to want since they have built in evades. I prefer to use Sword/Warhorn and Axe/Dagger so I have evades on both weapon sets which allows me to be offensive while still able to be defensive if the situation calls for it.

No matter what build you’d run, a lot depends on the skill level of the opponents you encounter (when players). As SpellOfIniquity mentioned, you can win 1vX with a specific build, but don’t think you can easily win against X very skilled players..

Now, on point: With 2k+ hours on my ranger, with most of that play time in WvW: I run full berserker dual bow (yeah, frowned upon by lots of people, but I don’t care, I like the playstyle). Piercing Arrows is a must-have for solo-roaming, since you can easily cap a camp in under a minute.. Just let your pet take the aggro (stealth away with LB#3 in time, so that the guards go for the pet, troll unguent so that the pet survives some hits, Entangle + Barrage, …)

Addendum
With my ranger build I will rarely initiate 1vX, however..
_Unless there is a squishy target amongs them, since that can be almost one-shot with LB#2. And once an enemy player is down, his friends will soft-res him, giving you some more time to put down some DPS (barrage, …). Don’t forget to interrupt the ressing in time, of course.. _
/Addendum

It’s important that you like the ranger you’re playing.. Don’t just copy builds/setups from other people, just try to experiment.. Try all the weapon combinations and determine which one feels the most OK for you.. Build further on that..

I like seeing ranger getting love. I main ranger and to what Tribio said its great advice. If you have questions or need help feel free to message me in game. I have a lot of experience for the ranger profession. And don’t let everyone’s hate of rangers stop you from learning this awesome profession. Have fun and good luck

@ The op, please don’t run duel bow, Tribio may enjoy it but it is objectively worse than running any other weapon for your second set.

If you decide to run power I would recommend longbow/Greatsword. Main hands sword is also very effective but it is much more difficult to learn than greatsword. If you really want to play main hand sword you should stay with a condi build since they are much more forgiving.

Also if you do decide to run main hand sword make sure you turn off the auto attack and you go into options to disable auto targeting, actually you should do that anyway lol, oh and definitely turn off melee attack assist.

Jim Hunter.6821:

@ The op, please don’t run duel bow, Tribio may enjoy it but it is objectively worse than running any other weapon for your second set.

Objectively worse? sigh
I’m not interested in an entire build discussion here, but just stating: Piercing Arrows works on shortbow and longbow.. So I have double advantage with that trait on a dual bow..
and yeah, I know:
“You have no melee” —> full melee’s have no range
“Reflection will kill you” --> too many dumb people keep pew pewing a reflecting opponent
…. —> ….

Also, I stated it in my initial reply: Let OP just experiment with all kinds of weapons, until he/she finds what suits his/her playstyle best..

Tribio.8531:

Jim Hunter.6821:

@ The op, please don’t run duel bow, Tribio may enjoy it but it is objectively worse than running any other weapon for your second set.

Objectively worse? sigh
I’m not interested in an entire build discussion here, but just stating: Piercing Arrows works on shortbow and longbow.. So I have double advantage with that trait on a dual bow..
and yeah, I know:
“You have no melee” —> full melee’s have no range
“Reflection will kill you” --> too many dumb people keep pew pewing a reflecting opponent
…. —> ….

Also, I stated it in my initial reply: Let OP just experiment with all kinds of weapons, until he/she finds what suits his/her playstyle best..

Less damage, less utility, less mobility. 1 trait doesn’t make it a good choice especially when that trait is in direct competition for traits that are far better in WvW, ie Eagle Eye and Read the Wind.

Jim Hunter.6821:

Less damage, less utility, less mobility. 1 trait doesn’t make it a good choice especially when that trait is in direct competition for traits that are far better in WvW, ie Eagle Eye and Read the Wind.

But of course, one trait that benefits two weapons is very inferior to two traits that apply on one weapon.. Meta much? :p Also, Piercing Arrows is no grandmaster :p

Ah well, no point in discussing this further.. You enjoy your build, and have some nice results with it.. And the same applies to me.. :-)

Tribio.8531:

Jim Hunter.6821:

Less damage, less utility, less mobility. 1 trait doesn’t make it a good choice especially when that trait is in direct competition for traits that are far better in WvW, ie Eagle Eye and Read the Wind.

But of course, one trait that benefits two weapons is very inferior to two traits that apply on one weapon.. Meta much? :p Also, Piercing Arrows is no grandmaster :p

Ah well, no point in discussing this further.. You enjoy your build, and have some nice results with it.. And the same applies to me.. :-)

It is inferior when one of those weapons isn’t just unnecessary but is in every way a worse choice then every other option.

Like I’ve said in the past, run your build, enjoy your build, but you shouldn’t recommend it to people because literally any other weapon set would be better than running duel bow.

Jim Hunter.6821:

Like I’ve said in the past, run your build, enjoy your build, but you shouldn’t recommend it to people because literally any other weapon set would be better than running duel bow.

I didn’t recommend my build, I just stated what I’m running and how I actively play in WvW with my ranger.. Someone asked for opinions, I gave mine.. These are forums for a reason..

I would like to thank you guy for your replies, some great advice from everyone that I will consider. And Ttribio, I can respect that you choose to go against the grain and choose what works for you. I usually do the same to fit what I prefer the most, so (once I get a feel for the class that is) it is nice to know that something works for you that is not considered “meta” which at least tells me that some orthodox builds can work .

And I also understand where your coming from Jim. I know well about “run this as standard” if you want to be most effective. I heavily played necro as my main before leaving and in certain areas of the game if you were not running a particular weapon you were either going to be effective or non existence to your group (outside of world pve).

Tribio.8531:

Jim Hunter.6821:

Like I’ve said in the past, run your build, enjoy your build, but you shouldn’t recommend it to people because literally any other weapon set would be better than running duel bow.

I didn’t recommend my build, I just stated what I’m running and how I actively play in WvW with my ranger.. Someone asked for opinions, I gave mine.. These are forums for a reason..

And I simply informed the op that duel bows isn’t a good build. I didn’t want a new player to be confused by your post and assume that it was a good idea to run that. It would be much better for the op to start off with a good weapon set to get used to the class and then experiment from there.

Jim Hunter.6821:

It would be much better for the op to start off with a good weapon set to get used to the class and then experiment from there.

Wow, what a nice point you have there..
Oh.. Wait..

Tribio.8531:

Try all the weapon combinations and determine which one feels the most OK for you.. Build further on that..

Uriel.6310:

I would like to thank you guy for your replies, some great advice from everyone that I will consider. And Ttribio, I can respect that you choose to go against the grain and choose what works for you. I usually do the same to fit what I prefer the most, so (once I get a feel for the class that is) it is nice to know that something works for you that is not considered “meta” which at least tells me that some orthodox builds can work .

And I also understand where your coming from Jim. I know well about “run this as standard” if you want to be most effective. I heavily played necro as my main before leaving and in certain areas of the game if you were not running a particular weapon you were either going to be effective or non existence to your group (outside of world pve).

There is a difference between not running the meta and running something that is subpar. I don’t run the meta builds because I have found builds that work better for me, but my build is still going to be viable against any opponent and only needs minor tweaks for certain WvW situations like a quick pet or utility swap.

Tribio.8531:

Jim Hunter.6821:

It would be much better for the op to start off with a good weapon set to get used to the class and then experiment from there.

Wow, what a nice point you have there..
Oh.. Wait..

Tribio.8531:

Try all the weapon combinations and determine which one feels the most OK for you.. Build further on that..

The difference there is I’m advising the op to begin with a weapon combination that isn’t garbage.

Biggest thing to take from this is everyone has there own style. I will play different than you and you’ll play different from other people. Just take tips and pointers from everyone and develop your style. There is no right or wrong way to play.

@ OP: Take your time experimenting with as many setups as you can to find something enjoyable that works for you. Heart of the Mists is a good place to experiment as changes don’t cost anything. Sure the stat spread on the amulets won’t be ideal and not all runes are available, but you can get a feel for how a spec will play. If you want to see what the cool kids are running then check out http://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki but in no way is the meta the be-all and end-all.

@ Jim Hunter: Please stop using “duel” when you mean “dual”.

And stop trashing other players builds when they follow up with
“It’s important that you like the ranger you’re playing.. Don’t just copy builds/setups from other people, just try to experiment.. Try all the weapon combinations and determine which one feels the most OK for you.”

Sagramor.7395:

stop trashing other players builds when they follow up with
“It’s important that you like the ranger you’re playing.. Don’t just copy builds/setups from other people, just try to experiment.. Try all the weapon combinations and determine which one feels the most OK for you.”

It is also important that they run a viable build that isn’t contributing to the free bag bearbow stereotype. Tribio has stated in the past that he has trouble with 1vX situations and a huge part of that is because of the build he is running. I’ll say it again, less damage, less mobility, less utility. There is no logic behind running that build and I’m sure the other players on the ops server will be much happier if he isn’t acting as rally bait and a free point for the other team.

Sagramor.7395:

@ Jim Hunter: Please stop using “duel” when you mean “dual”.

The OP specifically asked about solo roaming and the challenges posed by 1vX encounters.

In that scenario it’s your game so YOU play how YOU want, and whether or not you’re a free bag doesn’t matter to anyone else (or at least it shouldn’t). Additionally “rallybait” only matters in group encounters so that comment is completely invalid since we’re talking 1v1 and 1vX here.

If you wanna bash another subpar Ranger build I routinely run dual Axe + Greatsword, and without Wolf, GASP. Sometimes I’ll go Sword/Axe + Greastsword and pick a fight with a D/D Ele so I can practice my two-step. I usually end up losing (probably in part to my lack of Sword skills), but it lasts a while and it’s a helluva good time.

Even solo roaming you are bound to run into other roamers and even if you don’t you can still feed the others servers free points by continuously getting stomped.

Nothing wrong with sword axe/greatsword if you know what you are doing. It’s actually a really strong build.

In the long run, to get the most out of a ranger, you need to learn how to use a 1h sword. So consider starting with it, perhaps in some PvE. It’s useful/used in a huge number of builds. Actually the only common build that doesn’t use it is the LB/GS, and even in that one I prefer LB/S+D.

As was mentioned, turn autoattack off. But also make sure you have auto target turned off and experiment how all of the skills behave differently when no target is selected. The autoattack in particular has a massive escape leap built in to it when the target is dropped. You know you’re a bad kitten ranger when you escape a series of hammer stuns from a handful of lost zerg-heavies using nothing but an autoattack.

Jim Hunter.6821:

There is no logic behind running that build and I’m sure the other players on the ops server will be much happier if he isn’t acting as rally bait and a free point for the other team.

I’m actually on their server and have seen them fight,they do surprisingly well with dual bows.

I personally dislike the shortbow in general and prefer to run LB with Sword/Dagger for my hybrid trap ranger and Sword/Dagger with Axe/Torch for my BM bunker (my usual roaming character)

That said, just because many people would see the dual bow builds as sub par, doesn’t mean there aren’t people that can hold their own whilst using them or that people wouldn’t enjoy the build.

For the OP, I highly recommend a standard condi BM bunker build using apothecarys or settler stats with melandru runes for when you start out, it’ll make your life easier and will allow you to learn how to use 1 handed sword with little risk should you choose to try it.

I think lb/sb is viable if you are using both piercing trait and -20% cdr for bows. Its more offensive then defensive though. On average, compared to typical lb weapon swaps, you are losing 1 evade, melee cleaving and mobility in exchange for another ranged attacking weapon.

So if you can roam without any movement skills for long travel, not die with just 1 evade and fight against other classes in melee without a cleaving melee weapon, then yes sb on swap would be better cause it offers more potential dmg against anyone thinking to try kiting you after swaping out of lb. SB got some nasty dmg if used properly.

But is MOAR dmg really the right choice on a defensive weapon swap complementing an offensive monster like lb?

Me, I like fighting people with my greatsword who think im just free bag once in melee range. In particular, thieves ;-)

I use a combination of dire and rabid stats on my rangers with traveler runes in wvw. My win rate vs mesmers and thives is very high probably 80%. Maybe i am just good on my ranger (have been a ranger main in pvp for 2 years now) or it’s possible that my build is very solid.

I use a 653 zerker lb build with stone signet and 2 knight rings
But as i see trapper with trapper runes and survivor condi tanks are working builds too

Jim Hunter.6821:

@ The op, please don’t run duel bow, Tribio may enjoy it but it is objectively worse than running any other weapon for your second set.

If you decide to run power I would recommend longbow/Greatsword. Main hands sword is also very effective but it is much more difficult to learn than greatsword. If you really want to play main hand sword you should stay with a condi build since they are much more forgiving.

Also if you do decide to run main hand sword make sure you turn off the auto attack and you go into options to disable auto targeting, actually you should do that anyway lol, oh and definitely turn off melee attack assist.

Let him use what he wants. If it works for him it works. Maybe it’s just me, but I believe in using the build that works best for you not the build(s) that are universally acclaimed as being the most effective. It can be a completely random never heard of build but if you’re making it work and you like how it feels, then use it. Dual bow is pretty silly but I’m sure it has it’s advantages.

If OP wants tips on what weapon/build is best he will ask. Otherwise, he’s free to use what he enjoys most.

Heck, I like to use a Shadow Fiend with my condition Necromancer just because it’s on demand blind and life force which condition Necromancer’s don’t generate a lot of. Never seen another Necro run Shadow Fiend as their only minion but it works for me and I like it.

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

Let him use what he wants. If it works for him it works.

I never told tribio to stop using dual bow, I just warned the op that it is a bad build.

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

Dual bow is pretty silly

I absolutely agree

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

but I’m sure it has it’s advantages.

In what possible way? Remember the key word here is advantages, that means it needs to bring something to the table to make it a better choice than any other weapon.

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

If OP wants tips on what weapon/build is best he will ask.

That’s exactly what the op was doing, and since the op is new to ranger I wanted to give him a warning, to keep him from running a bad build that might end up making him hate the class and switching to something else.