Guild Wars 2

I’ve been going through YouTube a lot, trying to find pvp video’s of ranger’s. It seems that the only way for a ranger to be viable in a PvP environment is by being a melee type. I have not found a single video of a ranger doing good, hell, doing decent, using a bow exclusively. The best video I have seen of a ranger doesn’t even equip a bow at all!

So, question is, in order to be viable in WvW, do I have to get rid of my bow for a sword/dagger, sword/warhorn, sword/torch or some other form of combo and get used to doing melee?

Don’t get too caught up on youtube videos for finding a good build. People run all sorts of terrible builds, then edit a video where they look good going against someone else that’s even worse than they are. There are also a some videos with good players using bad or mediocre builds.

As it stands now, the short bow is the best weapon for PvP rangers, hands down. It deals more damage than any other ranger weapon, whether you’re running a condition or direct damage build.

Sword/offhand is commonly used with a lot of shortbow builds as a swap for when you need some extra dodges, but most high end players still use the short bow as their primary weapon.

For WvW, even the longbow can be a good weapon, despite its lower damage because of its range and AoE, but in the end, player strategy and good use of siege weapons will make much, much, much more of an impact on success than your weapon set/build.

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

reason no one uses the bow in youtube WvWvW is because they don’t want to look like fools usign a weapons that is randomly obstructed for half the shots, despite being on an open field

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

It’s possible to work around the auto-root to some degree and the greatsword isn’t bad since it was buffed, although it’s a very defensive weapon.

The axe hits like a wet noodle for the most part and only performs well if you’re using splitblade at melee range with a heavy condition build. It’s a good swap weapon, but I would never suggest using it instead of a bow, especially in WvW where it has a small range for a ranged weapon.

Dahkeus.8243:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

It’s possible to work around the auto-root to some degree and the greatsword isn’t bad since it was buffed, although it’s a very defensive weapon.

The axe hits like a wet noodle for the most part and only performs well if you’re using splitblade at melee range with a heavy condition build. It’s a good swap weapon, but I would never suggest using it instead of a bow, especially in WvW where it has a small range for a ranged weapon.

Main hand axe is pretty delicious in WvW during zergs with it bouncing around everywhere. Using a torch with a condition spec or a warhorn with a power or a boon spec, and you’re set for zerging.

Agadar.4931:

Dahkeus.8243:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

It’s possible to work around the auto-root to some degree and the greatsword isn’t bad since it was buffed, although it’s a very defensive weapon.

The axe hits like a wet noodle for the most part and only performs well if you’re using splitblade at melee range with a heavy condition build. It’s a good swap weapon, but I would never suggest using it instead of a bow, especially in WvW where it has a small range for a ranged weapon.

Main hand axe is pretty delicious in WvW during zergs with it bouncing around everywhere. Using a torch with a condition spec or a warhorn with a power or a boon spec, and you’re set for zerging.

or grab a bow with piercing arrows to do some actual damage from a decent distance. If you want to spread burning, then tab target or, better yet, run a trap build.

Look, the dps of an axe is terrible. Go to the mists and do a comparison of damage.

Just because one weapon might not do as much damage as another doesn’t make it useless. I run longbow/greatsword (supposedly two bad weapons with low dps) and I kill people just fine. Don’t forget about your pets rangers, we are nothing without them.

My advice is try all the weapons and do NOT look at damage. See what each weapon brings to the table as far as skill usage (keep in mind combo fields/finishers). Decide off that.

I’m never going to drop my longbow or greatsword with my current build. Plus having a thief stealth to try and backstab me as I counterattack them with greatsword and dropkick them in the gut feels AMAZING.

Yes, damage isn’t everything, I agree. I wouldn’t say to not look at damage though, because in the end, you still gotta kill your enemies.

I have nothing against the GS and Longbow as primary weapons and agree that they do work well in the right build. However, the short bown isn’t solid just because it outdamages other weapons. It still brings a dodge, a cripple, and a stun for mobility and defense as well.

i think there are two strains of thought in WvWvW for rangers.

a support-sniper role (generally sb/lb, lb/gs, lb/axe+wh, sb/whatever): this role focus’ on staying at range and dealing damage from far away. you are generally on the middle or back of a zerging is your thing.

roamer-hunter type: this role’s focus is to stay a bit away from the zerg work solo, or in small groups to take camps, kill other roamers, harass the crap out of everything. generally these are the melee types, or shortbow users. generally focus on survivability and condition damage.

as far as zergs go, i feel like i’m not accomplishing anything by being there. i actually contribute more denying dolyks, taking camps, and killing solo-reinforcements. there’s so much more you can control by being a roamer. and you just have to play smart. set up traps, and require constant map awareness. if your in trouble be prepared to run into your zerg. in WvWvW i generally run solo, and if i run into a group. i lead them as if i was a master tracker. you try to ninja everything. and be as trollish as possible.

Dahkeus.8243:

Yes, damage isn’t everything, I agree. I wouldn’t say to not look at damage though, because in the end, you still gotta kill your enemies.

I have nothing against the GS and Longbow as primary weapons and agree that they do work well in the right build. However, the short bown isn’t solid just because it outdamages other weapons. It still brings a dodge, a cripple, and a stun for mobility and defense as well.

Yea shortbow has everything. It was very hard for me to pick longbow or shortbow. Honestly I picked longbow all because of the knockback.

Joey.3928:

Dahkeus.8243:

Yes, damage isn’t everything, I agree. I wouldn’t say to not look at damage though, because in the end, you still gotta kill your enemies.

I have nothing against the GS and Longbow as primary weapons and agree that they do work well in the right build. However, the short bown isn’t solid just because it outdamages other weapons. It still brings a dodge, a cripple, and a stun for mobility and defense as well.

Yea shortbow has everything. It was very hard for me to pick longbow or shortbow. Honestly I picked longbow all because of the knockback.

Yea, the knockback is pretty good. I bring one when I run dungeons from time to time since Point Blank shot with Piercing Arrows can be really handy, especially if you use Muddy Terrain after.

Shortbow is good if you want to zerg people down, or chase people..

1v1, Not the best weapon…as Condition Based it’s pretty awful (Power Based it’s good, but then Glass Cannon builds aren’t exactly amazing 1v1 for rangers) You won’t apply the bleed, The Poison is mediocre compared to Sword/Dagger Combo, The Evade Can’t Compete vs 2 Evades, the Cripples is about the Same as Dagger offhand (cept Dagger offhand applies your condition damage, not your crappy pets) but it does have the Daze, which is nice…

So it’s really up to you what you want to do..If you’re going to zerg surf, choose a Shortbow or Longbow …. you can’t really go wrong with either..

Personally when I zerg surf on my guy with Glass Cannon mode, I use Shortbow/Longbow combo…

When i solo, I run my main build…

edit

Why Axe/Torch as well? Because Torch Throw with Condition Build is absolutely brutal damage, and Bonfire is pretty decent as well.

Axe itself is alright, I mean it’s got the bleed and the bounces which is decent, But the main reason to use Axe is Winter’s Bite… I mean it’s a Chill+Weakness Combo, The Weakness itself is longer then the cooldown if I remember correctly with Rare Pizza. (i’d have to check that, not 100%) and Weakness can win you fights very easily in this game.

Thanks for all the reply’s and info. I tried my hand in WvW, I only have longbow and short bow, I don’t even own any other type of weapon because those are the only weapons I like to use. I’m a glass canon build and I did not have a good time in 1v1 in WvW. I just felt like I was picking away slowly while I was getting walloped for high damage. Then the only fight that I was starting to win 1v1 was a mez who took off doing while breaking the sound barrier! I found a zerg group and stormed a fort or a keep (1st time playing WvW so learning the map and idea behind it), and we took control of it which was nice I’m just not sure if I was able to contribute as much as the other players there where because of my build…which is why I was looking on YouTube to see what I could do better.

Thanks again.

One of the main reasons to use a shortbow is you CAN SHOOT RAINBOWS with the legendary.

Seriously though, my suggestion for W3 is to find a build that you enjoy playing. Once you have a build and play style that you’re comfortable with and you enjoy, then you work on modifying your build and gear so that you can still do what you enjoy while increasing your survivability. Ultimately it all comes down to staying alive longer than the other guy and Rangers don’t have the best burst out there. We do have incredible staying power. I would advise you (and anyone else who’s listening) to play to that strength.

So I just started playing a Rangers alt lately in WvW (still below lv 20) with a pure melee Greatsword + sword/x setup. I am not dealing great damage so far, but I have to say the play style is amazingly fun. I am constantly jumping in, away, and around the enemy. It has a really swashbuckling feel to it. With all of the evades, I can actually survive quite well even with under 2000 armor. Last night, I dueled a lv 80 bunker guardian for like 8 minutes and eventually lost, but it was one of the most fun fights that I’ve had in a while.

I haven’t play the class that long yet, but here is one observation with the sword: the autoroot was really annoying at first, but I have found that mobility with the sword comes with the other skills that it offers. Both of the other 2 sword skills breaks out of the root chain and are on fairly low cooldowns. It’s almost like that all of the skills on the sword are designed to be used as a huge long chain together. Now that I have gotten used to it, the sword autoattack has really grown on me. The autotracking and cripple makes it hard to get away.

Anyway, as for WvW, I have not had major issues yet with it even though I am really low-leveled. I think the important thing is that if you have enough experience with WvW, you will have some understanding of when and how to get into melee range and be effective. In this aspect, I think the Ranger is actually quite good in WvW melee situations because the large amount of evades. If you like this kind of play style and have some WvW experience already with other classes, I’d suggest you give the melee ranger a shot – it’s a lot of fun!

Akisame.9508:

Thanks for all the reply’s and info. I tried my hand in WvW, I only have longbow and short bow, I don’t even own any other type of weapon because those are the only weapons I like to use. I’m a glass canon build and I did not have a good time in 1v1 in WvW. I just felt like I was picking away slowly while I was getting walloped for high damage. Then the only fight that I was starting to win 1v1 was a mez who took off doing while breaking the sound barrier! I found a zerg group and stormed a fort or a keep (1st time playing WvW so learning the map and idea behind it), and we took control of it which was nice I’m just not sure if I was able to contribute as much as the other players there where because of my build…which is why I was looking on YouTube to see what I could do better.

Thanks again.

How to make Bow work is the question….

try this

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQJAVTjIV91VWOWsWCilCAFoWhJxUcIG9Uk+1XymeC;TMAA2WfM+A

Idea behind this build is simple, You want to use bows, You don’t want to get hit, and you want to keep your Opponent Locked down as much as possible.

For this setup, I’d probably use Knights Armor, or something similar to it, Basically Power/Precision/Defensive Stat (toughness or vit)

Put Sigil of Energy on both your bows, As it’ll give you 50% endurance each time you weapon swap, and you’re kind of short on Vigor with this build (only Lightning Reflex)

Anyway, how do you lock down the target is the question..and the answer is, Cripple…a whole buttload of cripple….

The way you do that is simple, Muddy Terrain, and your Spider Pets (also Shortbow)…With this setup your Spider Pets (Canyon and Forest Spider) apply cripple on their next 3 attacks and next 2 attacks, When you pet swap, these abilities are reset, So constantly being swapping your pets and letting them apply this cripple… ..With Malice Training from Marksmanship line, It increases the duration of this cripple by 50%, if your pet lands all 3 attacks for example that apply cripple, It’s 16 Seconds of Cripple… you can keep this up pretty much 100% of the time on the target (Though thieves I believe can remove it on dodge or stealth, forget which, that might only be immobilize)

A build like this might work fairly decently, you’d have to try it out and see if you like it, But if you’re wanting to use bows, I could see it working.

I want to thank everyone for the info. Last night when I logged in, someone that read my post sent me a /tell with a lot of good info and suggestions as well. So with all of your information I rearranged my build a bit, purchased some better foods, Change of pets, (trying to work on the armor but with only 2 gold to my name that isn’t going so well), I tried my hand again at WvW as an archer and feel I did much better, I was even able to win a 1v1 against a Mesmer. Was only able to get 4 tokens though so I know I still have a lot more to learn, but at least I feel like I was able to contribute something to my server without constantly dieing.

Thanks again for the great info everyone

Glad to hear that your build is working better for you!

But if you’re looking to farm tokens, your best bet is either farming jumping puzzles or getting seated in a well placed arrow cart during a big zerg.

Wasn’t really trying to farm tokens, was just wanting to have fun without dieing every 2 minutes and without dieing to every single person that ran past me. I wouldn’t mind the tokens, maybe I can pick up a couple of upgrades. But mostly just want to have fun. I think the funniest thing that happened to me last night was a 1v1 against another ranger, I took him down, my first 1v1 for the night so I was excited…so excited that I forgot to look at my health, ran up to him to finish him off and I got knocked down, so it ended up being a slug fest against our pets and us throwing rocks at each other, LOL. I won that one, if you can call it a win, but that’s what I was looking for, FUN. Not like the previous day that I was getting ripped a new one everywhere I went. It’s funny how a couple of small changes here and there makes a difference. I just can’t wait till I get better gear, I’m just in rare’s right now, the only exotic I have is my short bow, and it’s crafted.

Biggest tip I can give ya mate, is swap you pet out allot, not only do you get QZ but there have been so many times where I’ve got someone right on me and I’ve changed pet, and you get get QZ and your pet does as well so he knocks/stuns/crips the foe on you and saves you so you can turn the fight around.

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

Or just use a dagger off hand, slot LR, use the extra dodges!

I purchased an axe and torch to give melee a chance but melee is just not my thing, so I changed my build, got rid of the pet toughness with each kill and added it to regenerate when your hit 75% health. Now I swap pets constantly for the speed buff which I wouldn’t do before because I was afraid of loosing the stacks of toughness on the pet.

I didn’t try sword/dagger but it’s that hole chasing your opponent down to try to hit him that I don’t like. I prefer to run in circle’s and dodge around, I’ll chase you down but at a distance. Although I wish I could use the warhorn for the buff when using a bow.

Akisame.9508:

I purchased an axe and torch to give melee a chance but melee is just not my thing, so I changed my build, got rid of the pet toughness with each kill and added it to regenerate when your hit 75% health. Now I swap pets constantly for the speed buff which I wouldn’t do before because I was afraid of loosing the stacks of toughness on the pet.

I didn’t try sword/dagger but it’s that hole chasing your opponent down to try to hit him that I don’t like. I prefer to run in circle’s and dodge around, I’ll chase you down but at a distance. Although I wish I could use the warhorn for the buff when using a bow.

You could always use axe or sword and warhorn on one weapon set, then use a bow on your second set. Just keep your warhorn set on and use Call of the Wild right before you start a fight, then swap to your bow.

Warhorn is honestly too good to not have in at least one of your weapon sets.

I pretty much only use a longbow in WvW with the added 1500 range and a power crit build. pumps out ok dmg.

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

You don’t have to turn off auto-attack to make sword viable. You just have to learn to use evades more efficiently, get your timing down perfectly, and know what to evade and what to eat. Sword is actually incredibly viable once you get the hang of it. It’s probably out best PvP weapon, to be honest.

That being said, sword does need to be improved. Dodge needs to supersede the auto-attack chain.

nldixon.8514:

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

You don’t have to turn off auto-attack to make sword viable. You just have to learn to use evades more efficiently, get your timing down perfectly, and know what to evade and what to eat. Sword is actually incredibly viable once you get the hang of it. It’s probably out best PvP weapon, to be honest.

That being said, sword does need to be improved. Dodge needs to supersede the auto-attack chain.

Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.

Again, that is a clear sign of a bad weapon. A weapon must be viable on its own.

Agadar.4931:

nldixon.8514:

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

You don’t have to turn off auto-attack to make sword viable. You just have to learn to use evades more efficiently, get your timing down perfectly, and know what to evade and what to eat. Sword is actually incredibly viable once you get the hang of it. It’s probably out best PvP weapon, to be honest.

That being said, sword does need to be improved. Dodge needs to supersede the auto-attack chain.

Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.

Again, that is a clear sign of a bad weapon. A weapon must be viable on its own.

I wasn’t saying “l2p”, I think that sounds pretty condescending. I hate to say it, but that’s the gist of it, though. It takes a lot more time and effort to make the sword a viable weapon. Once you get the hang of it, it’s awesome.

I’m not sure that I agree that a weapon needs to be viable on its own. I like the fact that there are weapons that are easy to use and don’t require much practice to get good with, and that there are weapons that do.

The problem with Ranger weapons is that I feel like most of them do require lots of patience and practice to make them effective. That leads most people to the conclusion that Ranger weapons are bad (and consequently the Ranger profession in general).

I’m not disagreeing with you that sword needs work. It does need work. The easiest fix, in my opinion, is to allow dodging during the auto attack chain. But I don’t think that necessarily makes it a bad weapon. It just makes it a less accessible weapon.

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

it’s amazing that no one complaining about this thought to turn off auto attack. i feel like i’m the only ranger player not having this problem.

Lightsbane.9012:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

it’s amazing that no one complaining about this thought to turn off auto attack. i feel like i’m the only ranger player not having this problem.

The root sucks even with auto attack off. Not as bad is still not good.

Agadar.4931:

nldixon.8514:

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

You don’t have to turn off auto-attack to make sword viable. You just have to learn to use evades more efficiently, get your timing down perfectly, and know what to evade and what to eat. Sword is actually incredibly viable once you get the hang of it. It’s probably out best PvP weapon, to be honest.

That being said, sword does need to be improved. Dodge needs to supersede the auto-attack chain.

Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.

Again, that is a clear sign of a bad weapon. A weapon must be viable on its own.

Your comments blow my mind. You just basically said “I have to learn to play to be good”.

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

nldixon.8514:

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

You don’t have to turn off auto-attack to make sword viable. You just have to learn to use evades more efficiently, get your timing down perfectly, and know what to evade and what to eat. Sword is actually incredibly viable once you get the hang of it. It’s probably out best PvP weapon, to be honest.

That being said, sword does need to be improved. Dodge needs to supersede the auto-attack chain.

Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.

Again, that is a clear sign of a bad weapon. A weapon must be viable on its own.

Your comments blow my mind. You just basically said “I have to learn to play to be good”.

That’s not what I said, but nice try.

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

nldixon.8514:

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

You don’t have to turn off auto-attack to make sword viable. You just have to learn to use evades more efficiently, get your timing down perfectly, and know what to evade and what to eat. Sword is actually incredibly viable once you get the hang of it. It’s probably out best PvP weapon, to be honest.

That being said, sword does need to be improved. Dodge needs to supersede the auto-attack chain.

Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.

Again, that is a clear sign of a bad weapon. A weapon must be viable on its own.

Your comments blow my mind. You just basically said “I have to learn to play to be good”.

That’s not what I said, but nice try.

Actually that’s exactly what you said.
“Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.”

Nice try.

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

nldixon.8514:

Agadar.4931:

NaturalPortman.9562:

Agadar.4931:

For as long as sword auto-roots you, it’s essentially useless, and for as long as the greatsword has the damage of a wet towel, that too will remain useless.

If you don’t want to use bows, you’re far better off with axes.

Turn off auto attack , profit.

You shouldn’t have to do that in order to make a weapon viable. It is a clear sign of a bad weapon.

You don’t have to turn off auto-attack to make sword viable. You just have to learn to use evades more efficiently, get your timing down perfectly, and know what to evade and what to eat. Sword is actually incredibly viable once you get the hang of it. It’s probably out best PvP weapon, to be honest.

That being said, sword does need to be improved. Dodge needs to supersede the auto-attack chain.

Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.

Again, that is a clear sign of a bad weapon. A weapon must be viable on its own.

Your comments blow my mind. You just basically said “I have to learn to play to be good”.

That’s not what I said, but nice try.

Actually that’s exactly what you said.
“Basically what you’re telling me is to learn to play in order to make a weapon viable.”

Nice try.

I’m pretty sure I know exactly what I said, kiddo.