Guild Wars 2

Makes me wonder if anyone other than the community is watching this thread, this is definitely something that needs the attention of the developers, It’s frustrating and not fair. :/
That may seem rather childish and spoilt in reaction but it’s the way I and I assume many others feel.
I’d agree whole heartedly to having the option of a traited range enhancer, at least in that way I wouldn’t be putting my traits into something I don’t need.

Taushullu.6180:

Wholeheartedly agree on changing shortbow range back to 1200 (and increasing untraited longbow range to 1500). Sorry for the bit of a rant below.

This is the THIRD TIME I’m forced to adapt to out of the blue shortbow nerfs. First was the quite hefty damage nerf it received back in the early days of GW2. I recovered from that no problems since I always thought the damage was bit too much. “Balance update” I thought back then. The second was the infamous “animation fix”. This one really hurt since the difference in firing speed was something noticeable especially as it broke quickness at the same time (if I remember correctly). I cried some tears and bit my lip, but i survived. Number 2½ came in form of quickness nerf. This hit the shortbow’s burst capacity significantly but I recovered from that too since quickness was always considered something OP. I came pretty close to reroll at that time but I resisted the temptation. And now they are making me to face this range nerf, maybe the most significant of all the nerfs so far.

Not the most significant nerf in the terms of damage output or ranger effectiveness as a whole, but in something that changes the nature of the weapon so drastically. Because, really, bows are weapons that shoot targets at distance. Distance far greater you can throw your axe or torch with your bare hands. And the ranger is the master of that range. At this point someone is bound to remind that " aha, rangers are not archers and so you can’t have that long range you’re asking for". Don’t give me that. As long as there’s no profession called “Archer” in GW2, Ranger is the profession you turn towards when you’re looking for some bow&arrow action. Ranger fills that niche, it always has. In GW1 ranger’s only weapon of choice (defined by something you could call “traitlines”) was bow and accompanied with it, came pet (which no-one ever used). Together you formed something what was called Ranger.

Shortbow has always been my weapon of choice because it’s the 1 weapon that made me really feel like a ranger. But gradually with each nerf they’ve been taking the “fun” out of the weapon and at the same time out of the ranger class. And now, almost year in the game, they want to take that class defining range away from us (me)! This is borderline too much for my poor ranger to handle. No i won’t be rerolling for this but I won’t be spending much time on my ranger either, for sure. Hope they come to their senses and revert shortbow changes, asap. Please, Anet, please…

+1 Good post

I actually think what’s really stupid is being able to throw your axe 900 yards. Honestly, axes should just be redesigned as a melee weapon and they need to add something like a Chakram/Boomerang to take its place, which could be a medium range high pressure weapon.

I agreed with the change in range on the shortbow. It was 900 in beta and it should have stayed that way. The change they made in beta along with the huge longbow nerfs pushed the shortbow to the top. This made the longbow nerf seem worse since so many people seen the shortbow as vastly superior (which it was) hardly anyone used the longbow. Since hardly anyone used it there weren’t a ton of people voicing their concerns about it. Hence, part of the reason it took so long for them to buff the longbow. I mean, look how long it took them to buff the greatsword. That was another weapon that wakitten hard in beta.

While I don’t agree with a range bonus to eagle eye for the shortbow I see ANET doing exactly that. It would foster build deversity since as some rangers pointed out they don’t touch markmanship currently. This also proves this trait line needs more bling to promote this trait line more.

To those of you who keep saying 1200-900 yards… its inches. The game has it in inches. 1200 inches is 100 feet 900 inches is 75 feet.

The game calculates everything in inches, it has been proven a fact.

i find it funny how you all cry so much, when the fact is that you got the same damage, with a higher likelihood of hitting.

If a warrior hits you at 1200 range constantly, you are DOING IT WRONG.

DO NOT STAND STILL, MOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karril Daltaya.4980:

To those of you who keep saying 1200-900 yards… its inches. The game has it in inches. 1200 inches is 100 feet 900 inches is 75 feet.

The game calculates everything in inches, it has been proven a fact.

actually it’s “units” and nobody really know how it is counting in that way….
but that could be interesting thing to check – check how big distanse in game is that “900” and later measures 900 inches IRL and check if it look same

Dime Baggins.1058:

I tested the range of the shortbow versus the longbow an now it looks pathetically comical. My character could throw something that far! Oh wait, he can, an AXE!!! The idea of a bow, short or long, is to propel a projectile father using the potential energy of the flexed stick to increase its range, especially beyond the range the arm can throw. Decreasing the range by 300 is too much.

Polarbear.5896:

I’d agree, range is a significant “nerf”. I play a ranger to range kill. I do not want to be melee, it is not my play style! Please feel free to take back the damage increase and put the range back out at 1200, or give us a trait to do so.

Exocet.7306:

People choose rangers because of their play style that is kitting things and hitting foes from afar. None is saying that we can´t be good using melee weapons, that is not the point. So if you remove the one thing that make u choose that class you are basically killing the class.

Mardermann.7468:

Is it just me or is the “fun” (as far as it has been fun using the shortbow anyways) now completely gone in WvW?

I tried to use it – but man… you cant chase anyone down any longer with it… and for my condi build Longbow just isnt the weapon any more…

what about beeing the best Ranged class? I cant see it…

Abrilete.1439:

Yes, I miss a lot the shorbow range, either for deciding when to start the fight, either to chase people. We need the 1200 back at least on #4 to slow down fleeing enemies.

Lord Trejgon.2809:

…at WvW post-patch-shortbow usefullnes ends on small group roaming – with 900 range You are useless when it comes to defend tower/keep

TheLaughingMan.7951:

With the reduction of range on shortbow, can the bleed condition of being behind or beside the target removed? We are the only class that has this requirement on a ranged weapon. Warriors and thieves both can apply their bleeds from any position on a target.

Meglobob.8620:

Put SB in the eagle eye trait, so it gives players who take the trait a way of returning SB to 1200 range? Still a nerf because they are forced to take a trait, thus sacrifice another one. But it would mean a lot of Ranger players in PvE/WvW wouldn’t face a choice of buying all new equipment or quit Ranger completely…

lxtay.2715:

I made my Dreamer, only 2 weeks prior to the patch. Little did I know, post the patch I just end up neglecting my Ranger and went on to my necro. All the hard work – nullified. ):

Dear devs, please please please reinstate the 1.2k range. It has been a severe handicap on my WvW runs. I can’t chase, my kiting is impaired and I am now more of a burden than anything to my Guild when we do guild runs. Even if you don’t reinstate it to 1.2k, I hope at the bare minimum give us a trait which allows us to trait it up and get back to where we started.

Shiren.9532:

After this patch I find myself hating the shortbow. The range in which you engage an enemy is a fundamental part of how you play the game. If you play the game every day for almost a year at the same range (and they can’t disengage until they leave it) you become very accustomed to that range. When you use different weapons it becomes a considerable loss to not have access to that range. The weapon feels very unfamiliar and often weak now, in some situations it’s the same as before, but too often I am out of range.

One of the worst parts of this nerf is that it has nothing to do with the power level of the shortbow. Ranged DPS is automatically inferior to melee DPS by game design and the ranger shortbow wasn’t even the strongest ranged weapon. Yet despite the weapon not having a power level problem to overcome, the balance devs disregarded the players who were happy accepting inferior DPS for a weapon that felt good at range. They didn’t care that this weapon could exist in its current form without hurting the meta (the longbow issues are longbow issues, not shortbow issues). Now a game which people spent almost a year playing is dramatically different for no understandable reasons.

Laiboch.4380:

There are actually a few simple things they could do to fix the bow issue.

Change Eagle Eye to:
Increases range of Short bow, Long Bow and Harpoon gun
Increases Short Bow, Long Bow and Harpoon gun damage by 5%

Swap it with Remorseless Moving it from X to XII

This change would put it on par with other classes as nearly every class has the ability to increase the damage of all of their weapons by 5-10% as it is.

Change the effect of the trait Remorseless from “regain opening shot when you kill a foe” to “Short bow no longer requires you to be flanking or behind a target to apply bleeds.”

I play ranger. I vote no on short bow 1200 range. Because that would mean other classes would be op with short bow.

If anything increase longbow for ranger only to 1800. 1500 not enough and that is why not enough people playing lb ranger. Make this exclusive to rangers, should not be bunch of warriors running around in heavy armor doing crazy crit damage with a bow or riffle.

I agree totally

Either change eagle eye trait to include SB, so range goes back to 1200 if you take the trait or change LB to 1500 (standard), SB 1200(standard) and axe 900 (standard).

Before when SB was 1200, in WvW, I used SB as my skirmishing weapon for ‘dancing’ in front of a enemy zerg that outnumbered us, so it was like dancing along the edge of a very high cliff, one misstep you were dead. I was moving around 900-1200 range in this deadly dance…

Now at 900 range, I move around 600-900 range in front of the zerg, guess what happens now? Yes dead parrot…errr Ranger…its like dancing on the edge of a cliff with one foot permenantly dangling over the cliff…your always going to die…

Yes, basically 900 is not ranged. Anything and everything can close and hit you, there is no range ‘advantage’, you are melee with the worst weapon in the game.

Shortbow should never have had the same range as Longbow.
The shortbow range change is not a nerf, but a late error correction.

I do think a good idea is to add SB to that Eagle Eye trait.

dagrdagaz.4913:

Shortbow should never have had the same range as Longbow.
The shortbow range change is not a nerf, but a late error correction.

I do think a good idea is to add SB to that Eagle Eye trait.

I agree with this. Maybe Eagle Eye could make it 1000. If they do it. That would be grossly generous.

For the people saying 900 range is awful, if you’ve ever used a main hand axe, you’ve been using 900 range. Thief shortbow has only 900 range.

But really, try the longbow. It was buffed. It is a lot better then it was.

UrMom.4205:

i approve, played with my ranger for a few hours last night and it just felt shallow and weak.

As a non-ranger player that spends 90% on time in WvW:
I got pummeled by a ranger using Long bow in WvW. He had Huge range(seamed greater than 1200) and he was constantly hitting for 1200+ each hit. I guess power/crit something. Anyway it was impressive.
Another day me and 3 allies ran across a ranger; easy kill, I thought; well not really; as it turns out he got 2 of us down, we managed to ress and kill him eventually, but it was difficult: he had Alot of condition damage, some annoying traps & evades and Alot of regen. He was using Axe / torch and sword / dagger. Again very impressive.

Usually say 75%+ of rangers are unable to kill me, but around 20% are aware of their profession and are able to kill me / escape without leaving me any chance to catch up.

=> If it feels “shallow” sorry, maybe ranger is not the 1 button win proff you were hoping.
IMO ranger is a pretty complicated profession, when played at it`s full potential.

akjb.8372:

Staff has a longer range than a bow?

Thrown axes have longer range than the shortbow.

So what’s the big deal about bows having the same range? That’s exactly what they should have, same range and it should be 1200. I see no reason why sb should have 900 range. I would be maybe fine whit that if the range of all other proffesion was nerfed too, but explain me how come that:
– necro got 1200 range, can even put marks at 1200 range
– elementalists got 1200 range
– mesmer got 1200 range with 2 weapons, can even summon clones at 1200 range
– warrior got 1200 even 1500 range
– engineer got 1200 range, how come engi can throw granades at 1200 but you can’t shot him back with bow? makes no sence

I understand that ranger =/ archer, but according description “Unparalleled archers, rangers are capable of bringing down foes from a distance with their bows”, made me feel that the class is top range class, that’s why I chose ranger. But if all other classes having same or even bigger range then there is something wrong.

rogerwilko.6895:

=> If it feels “shallow” sorry, maybe ranger is not the 1 button win proff you were hoping.
IMO ranger is a pretty complicated profession, when played at it`s full potential.

All professions will benefit in the hands of a skilled player and a novice will die regardless of the strength of that profession. But no profession should require the player to be an expert to be viable.

Sandpit.3467:

rogerwilko.6895:

=> If it feels “shallow” sorry, maybe ranger is not the 1 button win proff you were hoping.
IMO ranger is a pretty complicated profession, when played at it`s full potential.

All professions will benefit in the hands of a skilled player and a novice will die regardless of the strength of that profession. But no profession should require the player to be an expert to be viable.

for me:
viable = win 1v1 50% of times.
more than viable = win 1v3 vs decent players.

Ranger is not viable?

rogerwilko.6895:

Sandpit.3467:

rogerwilko.6895:

=> If it feels “shallow” sorry, maybe ranger is not the 1 button win proff you were hoping.
IMO ranger is a pretty complicated profession, when played at it`s full potential.

All professions will benefit in the hands of a skilled player and a novice will die regardless of the strength of that profession. But no profession should require the player to be an expert to be viable.

for me:
viable = win 1v1 50% of times.
more than viable = win 1v3 vs decent players.

Ranger is not viable?

The isn’t another play mode in the entire game besides 1on1 pvp?

News to me…