Guild Wars 2

…by creating a ranger and playing one myself. I’ve been told THIS is the current meta for Power Rangers. Unfortunately I do not know anything about rangers so, here are some very basic questions:

1) Is that the correct build? Or at least a very viable one?
2) Are those pets good? Is the AI so much unreliable?
3) What’s better between GS and Sword/X for melee range, and why?
4) Is the Healing Skill the correct one? And the Elite? Why?
5) Is there any trick I should know about rangers before trying one?

Thanks in advance.

(1) there are better builds out there than Zerker bow Ranger For Pvp, if you want to be Helpful and contribute to team work.

(2)all Pets Compliment Certain builds take a f2 skill+ the pet skills to Compliment your build , eg your build has steady dps from sword or gs , you can take a bird for some steady spike damage , or a wolf for a bit less and some control.
the Ai is Good but its Pathing the route it takes to its Target can be annoying if you let it do whatever it likes , it needs Active Control from the player using it.

(3)gs is purely Agressive damage(with maul for spike) some Defence built into it.
Sword is Evasive damage(no burst on sword) used for Repostioning and the Off-hand is picked to support your build type. aka (warhorn for skill 4 Channeled Burst, or dps increase Off-hand Axe skill 4)

(4) Heal as one (not Optimal currently but it has its place if there is more than one source of waterfield)
Troll ugent (used for Regening hp while using Evasive skills or Damage Migration Not a spike heal might Struggle vs consistant heavy damage so Evades are used to Regain hp)
Healing spring , Party condi clear + water field and Regen(can be Traited to give Generous amounts)

Elite skill (should support your build if you lack Boons Rampage as one) if you don’t and have a good source of Boons already Entangle(also even if you don’t have condi it can now be used in team situation for a Group immob so you can wipe them quicker)

(5) Use the pet activly keep a eye on it and its skills , use pets that work with your build rather than just adding a skill when you already have dps or burst/spike.

Using dual Melee can be good but take a Ranged option it don’t have to be LB , but atleast work some sort of Ranged Options into your Overall build , like the off hand Axe skill 4 it throws and pulls , and works very well with Gs.

staying in Melee 100% of the time (in WvW or Tpvp) is not good.
for a ranger keep Moving as most of its skills are based around Migrating damage through Evasive combat , evades , keep Repostioning to where your skills are most Effective.

Try other builds in the different Types to get a better Feel of what a Ranger can do .
try out
Condi S/D + A/T or shortbow
a hybrid build Focus on damage and might stacking the pet.
Power ranger (easy to pick up , Hard to master due to its lack of Melee defence)
Regen bunker with Spirits(stats Power,Vit,condi / Carrion (take 1-2 Spirits for Utlity and Spirit of nature) Shortbow (damage) Greatword or S/D for Defence/evasion and condi pressure.

trying these out will Really help your Experiance playing ranger.

and the last most important tip be ready to think hard while your fighting , using purely Lb maybe boring but if you don’t learn how to Melee as a Ranger when that Melee class gets in your face, it will cause you problems later on when you try Player vs player Content.

No. HaO is not the “meta” heal.

You say “meta” but for what ?

It really comes down to what do you want to do as a direct damage ranger, what is your team composition, are you building just for sniping the teamfights or you want to be more balanced and able to 1v1.

It can really vary.

1) Not the correct build and not viable. At the very least you need condi removal, which can come from signet of renewl and healing spring combined, or the grandmaster traits empathic bond or survival of the fittest. Condi bunker rangers are a hell of a lot easier to play if that interests you.
2) The bear is terrible, the dog is decent. Almost everyone has a wolf as the swap-to pet and the main pet is either for damage or utility (i.e. lynx for damage or spider for lockdown utility.)
3) GS is easier, sword has more flexibility with the offhand and much better combat movement.
4) It’s usually considered the weakest of the 3 but some people like it. HS is great team support and TU is very good personal healing. Use it slightly preemptively since it ticks over time.
5) They’re super cool and they take a bit of getting used to.

This is what you want:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQJATRjEq0wa/Kusw1ag9gadAUAndreg9APChwFbUVF-TpBFwACuAAIOCA12fIxhAoaZAAPAAA

Good luck.

The only thing you need to know is that the difference between a good ranger and a bad one is pet control.

5) Longbow ranger isn’t just rapidfire all the time. You will need to squeeze most out of your utilities (both from longbow and from skills 6-10). Use autoattack for damage on bow, and everything else to stay alive/at range. Rapid fire is only there to finish someone off, unless you run in an organized team and they need you to stack vulnerability (probably not) You can buff yourself too of course, but you might find that a zerker ranger, even with Signet of Stone is pretty easy to kill. I know how boring it might sound to just autoattack from range, but things will become interesting pretty soon once you get someone’s attention.

when i play power bow, there is a few different builds that i use depending on my mood and team comp. i have a tendency flick around a few traits based on the opposition comp at the start of the match.

Full Glass bow
SotF 6/0/2/6/0

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNAT8fjEq0ya/KOsw1agDhq9J0ujAzCIAc+utQBrSA-TpBFwACuAAOOCALOIAQLDA4BAMf/BA

how would this turn out in a tpvp match, its a more balanced, celestial variant of a longbow build i made. Focused on quick longbow bursts+ might stacking and evasiveness while your pet crits hard with those loads of might stacks while stil having a lot of teamfight pressure with ur lb 5, an aoe fear, a fire field and overal more survivability

Eurantien.4632:

This is what you want:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQJATRjEq0wa/Kusw1ag9gadAUAndreg9APChwFbUVF-TpBFwACuAAIOCA12fIxhAoaZAAPAAA

Good luck.

The only thing you need to know is that the difference between a good ranger and a bad one is pet control.

Eurantine, I usually trust your opinion on ranger matters. I generally think the change to read the wind is overhyped when you can use an immob from pet to setup extra damage via predator’s onslaught – this also affords you the ability to take signet recharge reduction if you want it. Also, side note, holy cow 3 second stun on hilt bash. At first, I always questioned taking the moment of clarity elite, but the change to the duration on hilt bash is nuts with this trait now – rip warrior mace. Finally, I know it’s standard to have wolf and hound, but why not spider? It seems like it would have better survival rates in teamfights than two dogs also the poison is really nice on downed bodies.

The 10% increase in re-fire rate could be considered and always on buff, for the longbow anyway and the predator’s onslaught is under these circumstances 10% buff. i would favor RtW not mention the arrow speed increase.

as far as spiders go, i love using them in glass bow builds ill even pick up the pet condi increase as will when using them. Its good for a change.

First of all, thanks to everyone for the responses!

Yes, I should have pointed out that the “meta” is for TeamQ, and it has to cover the spiker role. My team is currently wondering wether to switch our DPS necro for a DPS ranger or not, and I’m just testing the DPS ranger to know the class better

RtW is mandatory for sniping. Without it, on 1800 range, you won’t hit about 40% of your shots. Some may be very crucial like Hunter’s Shot, so people prefer to have this trait and stop missing shots. Also, 10% attack speed is so so like 10% damage increase when you stay on Longbow.

As for why Drakehound over Spider, I think I could answer – it’s personal preference.

Canines are very reliable. They use their knockdown once they enter the fight, so you can control it and it’s “hard” CC. They also have okeish stats, cripple (!), land their attack unless it’s a blinking Mesmer or Thief, have very good F2 (Hound’s F2 lets you not only to escape from some group, but also hold target in place for Barrage).

At the same time, Spider is a….gambling pet. Sometimes they decide to use Poison Cloud once spawned, sometimes Web. Sometimes they decide to use Cloud after you activate F2 and thus waste it unless target is stationary. Yes, they land more attacks and their immobilizes are painful, but they’re not as reliable. If Poison Cloud had some better pattern/anything and I could predict when spider launches the web, when cloud and when AA, I would use it more.

Chicago Jack.5647:

Eurantien.4632:

This is what you want:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQJATRjEq0wa/Kusw1ag9gadAUAndreg9APChwFbUVF-TpBFwACuAAIOCA12fIxhAoaZAAPAAA

Good luck.

The only thing you need to know is that the difference between a good ranger and a bad one is pet control.

Eurantine, I usually trust your opinion on ranger matters. I generally think the change to read the wind is overhyped when you can use an immob from pet to setup extra damage via predator’s onslaught – this also affords you the ability to take signet recharge reduction if you want it. Also, side note, holy cow 3 second stun on hilt bash. At first, I always questioned taking the moment of clarity elite, but the change to the duration on hilt bash is nuts with this trait now – rip warrior mace. Finally, I know it’s standard to have wolf and hound, but why not spider? It seems like it would have better survival rates in teamfights than two dogs also the poison is really nice on downed bodies.

From my experience, when I am in a team queue, if I do not have read the wind then good players will simply strafe (back and forth) a majority of my arrows, if a target uses a movement skill I will also miss an arrow or 2 (I can’t lock people down forever especially when most of them have dmg mitigation even if knocked down). With read the wind I guarantee the dmg lands. Also, 10% attack speed increase also kind of means 10% dmg increase. Moment of clarity has always been 2 good to pass up. An interrupt and a maul or a lb auto and you can easily do a large chunk of hp, not to mention the buff GS 5 can give to things like wolf knock downs. The reason I use doubel dog is because I find them more reliable than the spider’s ranged dmg that can also be strafed easily, they are AoE so better for team fights, and I can skill cancel them as well as the kds in 1 v 1s in order to bait dodges and land my CC. As for the poison, well I take doom on GS for that. But poison on a corpse shouldn’t really be my job.

Eurantien.4632:

The reason I use double dog is because I find them more reliable than the spider’s ranged dmg that can also be strafed easily, they are AoE so better for team fights, and I can skill cancel them as well as the kds in 1 v 1s in order to bait dodges and land my CC. As for the poison, well I take doom on GS for that. But poison on a corpse shouldn’t really be my job.

You make good points. Definitely aoe fear/immob is great. Also the slow projectile speed of spiders is a thing.

Thanks again for the responses! I have other quick questions on Eurantien’s Build (which yes, is the one I was looking for):

1) why Shared Anguish? 90 seconds CD are a lot. There are, in my opinion (which is probably wrong) better traits in there.
2) Why no Signet Mastery?
3) Why Intelligence on GS? Isn’t that a bit redundant, especially if you consider you gain fury on weapon swap?
4) I read that Canines do their CC attack at the beginning of the combat. Are they “reliable” in doing so? Can I legitimately expect them to CC my target as soon as they get in range?
5) If I’m on LB and I trigger “moment of clarity” what should I do next? Simply autoattack?

Thanks again!

Shared anguish is just a life saver. You’re fighting a necro and you proc reaper’s protection or nightmare runes or get hit by a fear, you potentially just got saved from a fear bomb. More commonly, let’s say you’re in a team fight pew pewing from a ledge and you aren’t as hyper aware as you normally are, and an engi pulls you, you’re dead. unless you have shared anguish. In the end it saves you from a stun, often allows you go get clutch stomps, etc. It’s just too good not to take.

I don’t take signet mastery because I rarely use SoS (use the active, I only use it when I NEED it which is usually if i’m getting +1d )so the 80s cd isnt a big deal. + 10% free dmg a lot of the time is nice. SoR isn’t used too much on a 60 sec cd anyway, I only save it for the condi burst for me or an ally and If I’m getting hit by too many condis that I am getting overwhelmed with a 60s condi clear over a 48s then shame on me, I need to dodge better.

Intelligence on GS is just to make sure the hits crit, you know, the typical stealth → swoop → hilt bash → maul combo. I want that maul to crit. Also, it’s nice to just have guaranteed crits on other things like the GS throw when I swap to GS for stuff like GS throw → swoop → maul etc. You could take it off, but then that 1 time you do a GS burst, get a MoC proc, and then don’t crit on you maul, you’re gonna be sad. I don’t wanna be sad (besides I don’t really need any other sigil there).

All pets like to do their “4th skill” first (the skill furthest to the right on the pet panel). It is usually reliable that on swap they will try for a kd. I almost never use my kd’s like that. I usually swap and F2 because when I swap my pets I probably want that CC and it’s easier for me to guarantee/cancel the F2. That means for me, the kd is a bit more random, however, I watch for the animations and If I see a kd that won’t land I will skill cancel it with F3,F1 so I can get it to land later.

Most often, the moment of clarity is best followed by a lb auto. If you hit a squishy for 3k autos proc then a moment of clarity proc can get like a 5k auto. It’s not necessarily the best thing though, sometimes following a point blank shot with a barrage or rapid fire is better, even if it is an interrupt, depends on the situation.

Eurantien.4632:

I don’t take signet mastery because I rarely use SoS (use the active, I only use it when I NEED it which is usually if i’m getting +1d )so the 80s cd isnt a big deal. + 10% free dmg a lot of the time is nice. SoR isn’t used too much on a 60 sec cd anyway, I only save it for the condi burst for me or an ally and If I’m getting hit by too many condis that I am getting overwhelmed with a 60s condi clear over a 48s then shame on me, I need to dodge better.

Have you considered taking guard over SoS to better mask a spike/have better control over the pet? Seeing the dog charge up his knockdown can be a pretty big tell. Obviously the downside is you lose out on invuln period, which makes you weaker to direct attacks.

Thanks for your responses!

I do not know what a KT is, but I suppose it’s something that has to do with Pets’ skills. I have another question: why Rune of the Pack over Rune of the Ranger? I’m too lazy to do the math to discover which one provides more DPS (especially if someone has already done that!).

And again: what other pets are viable, even if not optimal, with this build? Fern Hound, Bear and Pink Moa seem suitable choices.

@ Frenk, kd* is my short hand for knock down.

@Chicago Jack, Guard is a 1 second cast time, I hate cast times, they make you extremely vulnerable. I also want my enemy to see my canine’s kd coming. It is telegraphed but you can skill cancel the kd (put it on like a 4s cd like you can with any of your own skills) by simply calling it back to you with F3 then just use F1 right after to reengage you pet. This can allow you to cancel the kd even if you pet is mid air, which mean 1. You pet gets a free leap through fields on about a 4ish sec cd. 2. You enemy WASTED a dodge so you can land the next kd, or your own burst since he dodged nothing and you have full cds still. You can do the same thing with drake F2, charge it up, and kite your enemy in front of it, if it won’t land cancel it and reposition your drake. If you do that, there is not much reason to use guard.

@ Frenk, the most optimal pets imo, have been fear wolf (always), drake hound (since I started skill cancelling), river drake (sheer damage), and immob spider, ravens, jaguar, DPS pets. In that order. Most optimal → less optimal. The reason for this break down is that the dogs have their AoE F2 which can be skill cancelled as well as the kd which are just great for 1 v 1s. They always wanna do their kd (if its up) after a swap which makes them great for self peeling, also they have decent dmg. The river drake is great just for damage out put, the F2 + storm spirit was the only way to deal with automated response engis for a long time. Then the spider, because the immob is REALLY long especially with malicious training, but with the issues of slow projectiles and like no tell on the 2nd immob I’d rather use other pets. After that, I always just preferred ravens since they had higher dmg than the other birds, the blind utility is awesome, and they have swiftness so they hit stuff more frequently (also hit harder) than the jaguar. Then the jaguar because of the invis. I don’t really use DPS pets anymore because I find in the current meta with all the might going around my pets can die pretty easy if I’m not careful. So the tankier/better utility of the canines is my go to. The utility they provide to set up my dmg is just too good imo.

Bears are only good for their F2, their dmg is pathetic. Moa’s got a sweet heal so if you are a melee ranger you could go moa, but their daze is in a cone (which is hard to land) and there isn’t much tell on the heal. If you learn to use them, they could be good, I haven’t really bothered to use them. The fern hound is just 1 of the worst dogs, the healing isn’t that good cause it’s based on the pet, and it is regen which you could be getting from other sources for higher ticks. It’s just a waste of a pet F2.

My thoughts. In the end it comes down to personal preference. Especially atm with the elite skill and the runes. Depending on enemy comp I would go lyssa/entangle.

I have heard that for DPS the best runes are Ogre → Pack → Ranger. I like pack a lot because the swiftness and fury combined with fury and swiftness on swap give a pretty solid uptime (and perma swiftness between fights). It also helps give a bit of fury while camping longbow. I won’t use Ogre cause I don’t want more AI that my enemy can use to find me while stealthed/use to stealth off of, gain life force off of, adrenaline, etc.

Alright, I’ve tried this build and followed your advice. Ranger is truly FUN and surprisingly challenging. I’ve taken signet mastery because I rely a lot on that “endure pain” and Signet of Renewal.

Speaking about SoR, I’ve found it to be very useful, but not very reliable. Sometimes my pet is just too far from me, and my conditions aren’t cleansed. I know I could swap pets, but sometimes I’ve got the swap on CD. The “return to me” pet command, also, is kind of broken: sometimes the pet immediatly comes back (like, immediatly) and sometimes it just takes 5 seconds, which are a very lot of time. Isn’t there a more reliable condi cleanse of some sort? Or do I need to stick to that?

Eurantien.4632:

This is what you want:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQJATRjEq0wa/Kusw1ag9gadAUAndreg9APChwFbUVF-TpBFwACuAAIOCA12fIxhAoaZAAPAAA

Good luck.

The only thing you need to know is that the difference between a good ranger and a bad one is pet control.

and timing. Bad timing and you won’t last a second

Frenk.5917:

Isn’t there a more reliable condi cleanse of some sort? Or do I need to stick to that?

There is a fairly meta LB build that goes the normal 6 in MM and then 6 in NM, which gets you “survival of the fittest”, also 2 in WS for reducing recharge of survival skills. That clears 2 condis and gives you fury every time you use a survival skill. I’m not a fan at all of the build, but it definitely gives you some more defense options.

Thank you again!

Other quick questions: when should I use the “guard” command on my pet and when should I not? What’s the difference?

The state your pet is in is not very important, just be sure to tell her to attack or come back to you. Guard means attack everything, the peace thing (passive? or something?) means don’t attack ever. But both are overriden by your commands to attack or come back.