Guild Wars 2

My primary weapon thus far is a Greatsword. I like the function, feel and aesthetics of it, so it’ll likely be my primary weapon all the time. also, so far I am using mostly traps for my Utility skills.

I’m looking at Bows for my secondary weapon slot, just so that I have some range if and when I need it (especially considering WvW in the distant future)

that said, I am interesting in seeing some more experienced rangers debate the merits of the Longbow vs the Shortbow, for my particular usage.

i prefer longbow
but i mostly use my ranger for open world pve and wvw (… and sab)
for open world pve i find longbow to be great with 1.5k(+) range, letting me be lazy with world bosses or tag things easier if im lagging behind, barrage is also pretty nice for tagging groups

wvw… longbow is better imo for zerging
-stealth (stomps, escaping and getting off mauls/entangles/muddy ground)
-ranged aoe (although hindered… if a guard pops SyG then i take over 15k damage… which is ridiculous – considering i have 17k health)
- piercing arrows (longbow takes better advantage of it than shortbow imo)
- longest range so you can take down stuff other classes cant/have difficulty with
- longer range interrupt (for saving allies from stomps)
- aoe… well… line… knockback (so so fun)

for solo roaming shortbow is probably better… but i still love longbow there too

I always have a shortbow equipped, but I never go anywhere without having a longbow in my bag. Imo longbow is only good for WvW defending keeps or just afk and sit back at some world bosses.
I feel longbow is too slow for me.

It depends on what your after. The shortbow is a more “active” weapon than the longbow in the sense that you’re really not that far from your target. 900 range is well within the all the gap closer skills so the enemy can get in your face at any time. It can handle being in melee though, so it’s semi fine. You have a dodge, a cripple and a stun, and your damage isn’t affected at all, except losing the bleed if you’re face to face with your target.

The longbow on the other hand, is a distance weapon. You have to be at 900+ range for it to be effective. Being a default 1200 range weapon means its just outside gap closer range so you can still react. Unlike the shortbow, you’re penalized for being within 900 range. But then the longbow has a bit more utility when at 900+ range. First, the obvious: it has 1200 range and can be traited to be 1500. This means you can still hit fleeing enemies a lot longer than with a shortbow. Second is that Barrage is a really nice AoE attack that can trigger your on crit effects. And last, Stealth lasts longer than the dodge on the SB.

In the end it’s up to you to decide. Personally, I love the longbow. I hate that feeling that I’m on a short leash when I use the shortbow :P

Just go for a longbow. You wouldnt need that 900 range with short bow if you’re already using a greatsword.

jubskie.3152:

You have to be at 900+ range for it to be effective.

rapid fire doesnt get a damage reduction at different ranges
hunters shot stealth activates quicker at closer range (and makes it minorly more difficult to dodge)
PBS does more knockback at closer range
barrage doesnt suffer damage reduction either
… its just the auto attack thats only effective at 900+range

To be honest they’re on about equal footing now, so it’s more of a matter of which feels better. I prefer the Longbow, simple as that. (Don’t trait for 1500 unless you wvw)
I’m just wondering. GS is a power weapon and you use traps (condi), I’m not saying it’s wrong, just odd. For traps you usually run sb/axe+torch or something like that. GS is usally paired with signets or survival skills.

It’s sad, but I find the short bow does more damage and has more useful utility than the longbow. I prefer the longbow, but it’s just an awful weapon.

The fast attack speed, directional bleed, evade, snare, and daze are infinitely more useful than Rapid Fire that does about 10% more damage than autoattack, a knockback, and stealth. Barrage is lawlworthy.

Longbow is way better for damage and rapid fire will still hit people even when they go invisible.

The stealth and knockback are also useful.

Look at your build, if it is more on condition might as well use short bow to stack on whatever vulnerability you’ve created via great sword. you get 2 stuns that so you can follow up with traps at close range.

If it it is more towards damage, long bow might be good for you to soften up the targets. But once you reach ranges where you’re using great sword, you might just end up using rapid fire to stack vulnerability to finish off with your maul. but there is a knockback to help push people into barrage range again and maybe a shot or 2 to get the range buff.

condition or power?
stun or knockback?
poison on short bow could potentially replace a trap, or large vulnerability to finish off someone?

*my build is sorta like yours, i tend to use crits to build bleed, and traps (but not trait it to the max) to add variety (well for my case, CC with frost and spike). If i was more on marksman would have went for longbow since i have low condition damage and i get to have piercing arrow.

I always prefer SB.

I’ve tried LB many times, even tried it today with a new build, but I just cant get into the feel on it. Its slow attack speed really clashes with dodging and kiting.. and when you combine that with low damage at anything less that 600 range I struggle to find any use for it other than the “sniper” role, which I dont enjoy.

SB on the other hand lends itself so perfectly to dodging, pew pewing a bit here, kiting round, pew pewing some more.. it feels much nicer.

To me at least^^

I’ve found the SB has very limited it any use in WvW since the range nerf. Main hand axe does more damage, hits multiple targets and has a superior snare that rarely ever misses.

LB lets you operate at extreme distances for respectable damage and has about the best CC AoE available to us. Both are very valuable to have in WvW.

I can’t even begin to describe how satisfying it is to kill someone by blasting them off a cliff in Borderlands with PBS.

The other thing to keep in mind is that much of the SB’s damage is going to come from bleeds which requires high condition damage. The GS no longer has any condition damage on it just like the LB so pairing them up with a focus on physical damage boosting stats is the most efficient way to go.

It is all preference. I use greatsword/longbow and have been for many many months now. I use it in tournies and WvW. I prefer roaming in WvW and the stealth has really offered a lot of fun tricks now with that.

I don’t really have “a build” yet. I’m not that far along yet. still working things out, using what I feel is fun at the moment, and unlocking skills still.

not entirely sure what kind of build works with Greatswords tbh, I’m kinda just using skills randomly as I level up still.

I’ve revisited the bows recently just to get out of the sword META.

Keep in mind that in PVE, enemies will run toward you, while in PVP / WvW they will often strafe laterally or run away. The shrinking distance gap in PVE isn’t very conducive to longbow, while the static / increasing gap in PVP is ideal for longbow.

Shortbow is condition and longbow is raw damage, personally I love longbow cause it just feels like it does more damage with the control (knockback and cripple). Plus it has stealth which aimed at ambient animals makes an easy escape.

In wvw, the longbow stealth synergizes very nicely with the GS leap for getting an escape run headstart.

As you may have noticed, most people prefer the Longbow. However, as my main is a Ranger and I use the Shortbow, let me sell you on the Shortbow, shall I?

So, yeah, Longbow has longer range, good for it. It also does more damage by attack BUT it has a lower attack speed. For 2 attacks you get with Longbow, you do 3 with Shortbow. If we compare the damage output that way, the damage for Longbow is 634 at long-range, 458 at mid-range and 352 at close-range. Compare it to the shortbow’s 402 damage PLUS 128 damage over 3 seconds for bleeding (which it does each attack), the Shortbow is superior at close-range and slightly better as well mid-range. Sure, the Longbow has Rapid Fire to compensate, but the Shortbow don’t need that and can get Volley Shot instead for poison.

Quick Shot also beats Point Blank Shot. Here’s why: Point Blank shot, yes, is better at one-on-one, but it will knockback only ONE enemy. And even then, bosses often have immunity to it. Quick Shot allows you to evade ALL enemies and give you an escape. Now I guess Hunter Shot can do that as well, but why need 2 skills that keeps the enemies at bay?

Finally, Concussion Shot: Dazing! Enought said!

Now I’m not saying that the Longbow is bad, far from it! But seeing as everyone else uses it while I personnally prefer the Shortbow (mostly because it has a slightly better damage output IMO thanks to the speed, the bleed and the poison), I was just trying to sell it to you! In the end, the choice is yours, I think you’ve head opinions from both sides by now!

Have fun!

P.S.: Almost forgot: If you’re using the Rampage as One elite skill, then Shortbow is certainly the way to go! Every time you attack, your pet will gain a stack of Might, and with the attack speed attached to the Shortbow, the Might will stack like crazy on your Pet! People sometimes underestimate that!

so…suppose I want to be a more “Critty” type ranger. I guess I would focus on Power and Crit? Does that necessarily take Shortbow out of the equation for me? If I use a SB on a Power/Crit build, would I be missing out on anything?

I’m not sure exactly the basics of how Ranger Builds work, especially weapon-wise. But I figure going for Power and Crit with the Greatsword is a viable option?

JMadFour.9730:

so…suppose I want to be a more “Critty” type ranger. I guess I would focus on Power and Crit? Does that necessarily take Shortbow out of the equation for me? If I use a SB on a Power/Crit build, would I be missing out on anything?

I’m not sure exactly the basics of how Ranger Builds work, especially weapon-wise. But I figure going for Power and Crit with the Greatsword is a viable option?

It all depends on where your playing. I’m a power/crit ranger (30/30/10/0/0) and I use LB and SB and carry a GS with me at all times. The LB works great with power/crit especially rapid fire. I have 60% crit chance and 95% crit damage and LB would be my choice if GS is your other weapon solely so that you can deal a few hard hitting crits before you close in with GS. Barrage and PBS are underrated in the sense that the knockback is extremely useful and the CC AoE is something almost no other class has. Although I would recommend a different setup of armor or traits if your going WvWvW. I use LB/SB for PvE and LB/GS for WvWvW. For PvP i play a completely different build.

Imho gs is actually not that great weapon for crit. The cast time the cd is just not viable. If you want power + crit to proc all the time. You should go for SB/LB and Axe/sword + warhorn.

SB is very good weapon for mid range to short. The cast time is almost non-existence and has relatively low cd. Your escape will be to concussion shot follow by quick.
But if you are going for power + crit, you will be very vulnerable with sb unless you trait natural vigor.

Anyway back to the main topic. If you want to dish tons of crit with 50-60% of crit chance (without fury), go for SB. If you have more power and about 30%+ crit chance, go for LB (trait piercing arrow). Burst shot deal 10 arrow and each arrow has 30% chance of crit. Barrage shot 12 arrows.

Running dungeons, I find SB to be a bit more useful because dungeons tend to have close confines that make it difficult to get ideal LB range.

In open world PvE… it depends, as part of a large group with multiple mobs, I like longbow. By myself, I prefer SB.

In dungeons, either bow is worthless. Go 1h sword or go home. As a guard I hate those rangers who sit in the back and pewpew and then drop the kitten healing spring on themselves all the way in the back while the rest of the group is up in the mobs face. But then again, whenever a ranger joins the group i’m in, I let out a little sigh as I know the run is gonna prolly take longer than it should.

sword + horn

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