Guild Wars 2

Ive just reached the magical 80 with my alt, an axe/torch/warhorn ranger and I originally planned on running with 4 runes of the Afflicted for the specific bleed/poison duration and 2 runes of Lyssa for 10% duration to all. I am however having second thoughts because I am making a dungeon build ranger and I do not intend on using the character for much else.

As a result it seems as though having condition duration seems a little wasted considering pretty much every party ive been in is close to maxing bleed on the boss mobs. I can reach 10+ stacks of bleed without the runes at the moment.

So question for you lovely people- what runes do you run and what would you suggest for me. I repeat that this char is for dungeons and messing about with. I have a warrior for everything else and I love it to bits TY in advance!

I run rune of the thief. Price is solid and the effects work well

rune of thief is good stuff too…but i am going for divinity. kitten thing is hitting 8g already….ridiculous.

Thief is great if you can back up the crit chance with crit damage, which I cannot. Divinity I find is great but only for those not sure which runes to pick.

Ok so if I gave you the following choices, while stating that this was specifically a dungeon build, which would you pick?

Four Runes of the Afflicted plus:
1) 100 condition damage + Death Nova (poison on down?)
2) 25 power + 20% might duration (equates to 4 seconds of 3 stacks of might with my own buffs but would include external buffs)
3) 28 condition damage + 15% bleeding

Use Orbs, you get MUCH more stats + far less cost…

/15words

Stats yes but specific buffs/effects no. Any boon duration % on runes with a guardian in the party and youre far exceeding the sats from orbs. The only way id consider using an orb is if I didnt want the #6 ability on the rune.

Thereon.3495:

Stats yes but specific buffs/effects no. Any boon duration % on runes with a guardian in the party and youre far exceeding the sats from orbs. The only way id consider using an orb is if I didnt want the #6 ability on the rune.

There are very few runes that have a worthwhile #6… And even with boon duration + guardian your stats are still worth more than runes.

Id disagree, certainly in the case of my warrior. I run 2xWater, 2xMonk and 2xPirate for a total of 30% boon duration, 20% might duration, 50 healing and 10% MF. That gives me constant fury, swiftness and approx 10 stacks of might. I also run with a strength sigil on my rifle for 30% chance to gain might on crit, and during the day use those pepper poppers for 40% chance on crit to gain might. All in all around 14 stacks of constant might and that is just my boons. If two other players in the party give me might I have to drop the pirate rune pieces! I then have the Empowered trait, giving me ~1.5% extra damage per different boon on me.

I know a warrior isnt a ranger but im just using it as an example of making use of boon duration. It is certainly a lot better than orbs for my warrior. In the case of my ranger boon duration isnt whats needed but I certainly wouldnt like to run with a full orb set.

I found the issue for me in dungeons is mitigating condition damage, either direct or from AoE. Rangers are lacking in this, so my armour and runes are for survivability.

My main dungeon armour is power/toughness/vitality with a full set of Runes of Melandru.

I have another set of power/toughness/vitality armour with a full set of Runes of the Wrum I use on occasion.

In a way, I also agree with bri in that a dead ranger has zero dps. Therefore, I went with an armor similar in Power/Vitality in Dwayna along with all the healing benefits it grants the wearer and folks in the group. For sure it doesn’t provide the most damage, but when I’m the last person standing and rezzing in a group, I feel better.

Thereon.3495:

Thief is great if you can back up the crit chance with crit damage, which I cannot. Divinity I find is great but only for those not sure which runes to pick.

Ok so if I gave you the following choices, while stating that this was specifically a dungeon build, which would you pick?

Four Runes of the Afflicted plus:
1) 100 condition damage + Death Nova (poison on down?)
2) 25 power + 20% might duration (equates to 4 seconds of 3 stacks of might with my own buffs but would include external buffs)
3) 28 condition damage + 15% bleeding

Actually..i have gone through the entire list of rune and did calculations on damage, critical chance, critical damage, condition damage and divinity is actually the best rune for my game style. Infact, it is the best rune for a ranger class because it provides an improvement in all areas. Its makes it even worthwhile if you play traps.

At level 80, your character built should be fixed to your particular game play. then adding divinity rune does not skew your character to a particular area of expertise neglecting the others. The devinity rune will make your character overall a level 83. You then use your accessoies like ring, amulet, with jewels etc to give you a boost in an area you think needs a bit more attention or gives you the little extra advantage based on your gameplay style.

My advice to anyone using Divinity Runes is to take Orbs of the direction their normal combat preference is. If you’re a damage build, Ruby Orbs will give you more of the stats you need than Divinity Runes, at the cost of stats will are mostly worthless to your build. Having minor toughness, vitality, and especially healing power, are wasted on a glass cannon (for example, works in inverse for tank builds, etc).

The reason you choose a Rune set over Orbs is if your build can benefit from the 2/4/6 effects and have a stat you feel you’re lacking.

just to simplify things….using all ruby orb (armour) and exquite ruby (accessories) compared to all divinity and exquite orb (accessories), it works out that the ruby orb setup will give you about 10 more damage hitpoints and 1% more critical chance while critical damage gain is almost the same. So whilst divinity is stupidly expensive, if you can afford it, it is a better upgrade as you also enjoy a small increase in all the other stats. And because you also get a small boost in condition damage and if you use traps or whatever condition damage you can get going, then the damage advantage gain from using ruby upgrades is nullified.

I can afford Divinity but I see it as a rather expensive way to add a mere few % damage and a great way to opt out of a set build. One of my three armour sets on my warrior has Divinity runes inserted and I only really use them to replace broken parts or replace the 20% might duration buff from runes of pirate when im stacking too much. If there was a way to remove runes and keep the armour id drop them completely.

As for my ranger I know I dont have the build that does the most DPS but I feel happy using Axe/Warhorn/Torch with traps so ive got my build sorted. Just interested in what runes people have used for near pure condition build rangers.

Thereon.3495:

Id disagree, certainly in the case of my warrior. I run 2xWater, 2xMonk and 2xPirate for a total of 30% boon duration, 20% might duration, 50 healing and 10% MF. That gives me constant fury, swiftness and approx 10 stacks of might. I also run with a strength sigil on my rifle for 30% chance to gain might on crit, and during the day use those pepper poppers for 40% chance on crit to gain might. All in all around 14 stacks of constant might and that is just my boons. If two other players in the party give me might I have to drop the pirate rune pieces! I then have the Empowered trait, giving me ~1.5% extra damage per different boon on me.

I know a warrior isnt a ranger but im just using it as an example of making use of boon duration. It is certainly a lot better than orbs for my warrior. In the case of my ranger boon duration isnt whats needed but I certainly wouldnt like to run with a full orb set.

Warrior can stack infinite Might/Fury without any boon duration….
With ONLY 20 in tactics (20%)… they can get infinite Might/Fury/Swiftness. You runes are useless… especially on a warrior

full berserker armor with rune of melandru to help with condition and stun is also an option

Jay.3284:

Warrior can stack infinite Might/Fury without any boon duration….
With ONLY 20 in tactics (20%)… they can get infinite Might/Fury/Swiftness. You runes are useless… especially on a warrior

I have 30 in tactics so can assure you that you are wrong. Im also willing to bet that you have forgotten that % boon duration works for all boons given to you, and that the Empowered trait gives 1.5% damage per unique boon on me. Making external boons such as protection, vigor, regen etc last as long as possible not only benefits me by gaining the boon, but also by gaining damage.

Anyway that is all off topic on a ranger thread. Just looking for some tips on condition damage runes for dungeons.

Thereon.3495:

Jay.3284:

Warrior can stack infinite Might/Fury without any boon duration….
With ONLY 20 in tactics (20%)… they can get infinite Might/Fury/Swiftness. You runes are useless… especially on a warrior

I have 30 in tactics so can assure you that you are wrong. Im also willing to bet that you have forgotten that % boon duration works for all boons given to you, and that the Empowered trait gives 1.5% damage per unique boon on me. Making external boons such as protection, vigor, regen etc last as long as possible not only benefits me by gaining the boon, but also by gaining damage.

Anyway that is all off topic on a ranger thread. Just looking for some tips on condition damage runes for dungeons.

Wrong? FGJ + Signet of Fury + 20 in Tactics + Warhorn trait = Infinite Might/Fury/Swiftness.

Boon duration only works to the boons you GIVE OUT, not what you GET. Your ally’s boon duration determines how long your EXTERNAL boons are. Sit down and do some research. Having that excess boon duration on a warrior is useless

Okay so you seem pretty certain that the boon duration only affects the buffs that I use. No problem, I cannot find the info that says this but lets assume that youre right. Instead of increasing my power by boosting external boon duration, im boosting FOUR people’s duration for boons given to them by me. So im losing a small amount of damage to increase my entire party’s F/S/8xM by 30/30/50%. Thanks, youve actually made me see that my build is even more useful to the party!

Next I should mention that im 30 in tactics due to the fact im a shouts heal build. I need Lung Capacity and Vigorous Shouts, leaving no room for the warhorn trait not to mention the fact that I only use the warhorn for a swiftness boost. Im Axe+Shield/Rifle.

Lastly I think you mean Signet of Rage, not Fury.

If you want to talk about my warrior further feel free to private message me from this point on and i’ll be pleased to answer any questions you may have. I apologise to everyone else for letting this thread de-rail.

ORIGINAL QUESTION: Which condition based runes would you suggest for my Axe/Torch/Warhorn ranger?

Thereon.3495:

ORIGINAL QUESTION: Which condition based runes would you suggest for my Axe/Torch/Warhorn ranger?

- Chrysocola Orbs
- Coral Orbs
- Crest of the Rabid