Guild Wars 2

Can rangers do good enough to partake in them? If so with which builds.

It’s not a matter if your Ranger is good enough, it is a matter if you are good enough.

I can speed run on my Ranger in a few dungeons, but I can do it much easier and bring more to the party on my Guardian and Warrior… even my Mesmer. Full zerker of course.

Having said those things speed clearing does involve knowing how to play your class and more importantly learning the encounters so much so that you don’t have to think about the encounters it is all instinctive reaction. That is how people can melee things like Lupi. Once you learn the tells of the moves that are coming it because easy… What tickles me pink is when people talk about content being trivialized by this or that when the real culprits are intelligence and the ability to learn. Of course, I raise my own difficulty by drinking heavily before a dungeon run and time it vs how much 151 I’ve had.

For anything but record runs rangers are fine. If you are running with pugs you will probably have hard time convincing people, though, since most people either don’t know the potential of ranger or think they are more likely to get decent player if taking something else than ranger. Concerning records, rangers are basically a weaker version of a warrior meaning groups run out of slots before it would be rangers turn to be picked.

You will want to use full berserker/assassin and 20/25/0/15/0 traits with last 10 being optional. For some rare occasions going 25 in wilderness survival for offhand training can be worth it . Try to use sword mh for everything but encounters that require you to stay at certain (melee) range, All oh options have their uses.

Yes rangers can speed run however you must be a spotter build and use Sword/warhorn these are MUSTS! your other wep can be GS if you can’t handle being sword all the time (or need moblity), or sword/axe (TA, CM, well anything that has projectiles) or Long bow the few times you need to range (generally fractals). Also try to avoid groups with a ranger already in them spotter builds don’t play well with each other.

wtf even for record runs a ranger can be used.
no even in most frac you dont need a longbow

Bambula.3649:

wtf even for record runs a ranger can be used.
no even in most frac you dont need a longbow

Rangers, necros, and engineers are currently not used in record runs. Even if you use one for an unclaimed record atm, another guild would beat it with a composition that doesn’t include one.

Most ranger players are going to need a longbow or ranged of some sort in fractals because the strategies in PUG environments or in disorganized, low dps groups are quite different for fractals. This is also even more problematic when you consider the lvl 49 instability, where you are sometimes just better off ranging if you can range without dodging where otherwise you’d dodge while meleeing.

TurtleDragon.3108:

Bambula.3649:

wtf even for record runs a ranger can be used.
no even in most frac you dont need a longbow

Rangers, necros, and engineers are currently not used in record runs. Even if you use one for an unclaimed record atm, another guild would beat it with a composition that doesn’t include one.

Most ranger players are going to need a longbow or ranged of some sort in fractals because the strategies in PUG environments or in disorganized, low dps groups are quite different for fractals. This is also even more problematic when you consider the lvl 49 instability, where you are sometimes just better off ranging if you can range without dodging where otherwise you’d dodge while meleeing.

I disagree that you must use a longbow, if you know how to play you can just stick to sword/axe or GS for that matter. A power build allows for signet use which can help a lot (signet of stone), you can gear for high critical damage rather than high precision, while maintaining 2000~3000 defense and not lose in power. Certain setups can also elevate melee play, for quickness rolling or max critical chance on a high critical damage setup, it all depends on how you approach it. Then again, not everyone is comfortable doing melee alone, I can see the need for ranged weapons depending on the speed run, but it really does come down to how well you know your dungeon and your play.

awge.3852:

it really does come down to how well you know your dungeon and your play.

That is the bottom line fact.

awge.3852:

TurtleDragon.3108:

Bambula.3649:

wtf even for record runs a ranger can be used.
no even in most frac you dont need a longbow

Rangers, necros, and engineers are currently not used in record runs. Even if you use one for an unclaimed record atm, another guild would beat it with a composition that doesn’t include one.

Most ranger players are going to need a longbow or ranged of some sort in fractals because the strategies in PUG environments or in disorganized, low dps groups are quite different for fractals. This is also even more problematic when you consider the lvl 49 instability, where you are sometimes just better off ranging if you can range without dodging where otherwise you’d dodge while meleeing.

I disagree that you must use a longbow, if you know how to play you can just stick to sword/axe or GS for that matter. A power build allows for signet use which can help a lot (signet of stone), you can gear for high critical damage rather than high precision, while maintaining 2000~3000 defense and not lose in power. Certain setups can also elevate melee play, for quickness rolling or max critical chance on a high critical damage setup, it all depends on how you approach it. Then again, not everyone is comfortable doing melee alone, I can see the need for ranged weapons depending on the speed run, but it really does come down to how well you know your dungeon and your play.

I did say PUG and disorganized environments only.

Mossman and archdiviner can be fairly annoying to melee without aegis/weakness spam.

Meleeing dredge mining suit/ice elemental can be detrimental to the group if you are the only one doing it and it locks onto you.

Molten Duo is easy to melee if your group “all in” it, but in a PUG berserker will start shadow stepping all over the place due to people ranging and spamming shockwave.

I haven’t quite figured out an effective ranger strat yet for grawl shaman yet. So no comment on this.

Unless I missed something, everything else should be easy to melee. But yea, Signet of Stone is amazing in fractals.

TurtleDragon.3108:

Rangers … are currently not used in record runs.

I am not part of any record runs, but it’s my understanding that most speed clear guilds take a ranger for spotter and FS. There is even a thread in the dungeon forum right now about the best DPS team available and almost everyone is answering with 1 ranger, and apparently people have done the math.

I do occasionally do some of those ultra fast runs (not trying for records, just having fun with like minded PUGs) and my ranger is always welcome. Typically it is something like 2 eles, a guard, a warrior, and me.

Fluffball.8307:

TurtleDragon.3108:

Rangers … are currently not used in record runs.

I am not part of any record runs, but it’s my understanding that most speed clear guilds take a ranger for spotter and FS. There is even a thread in the dungeon forum right now about the best DPS team available and almost everyone is answering with 1 ranger, and apparently people have done the math.

I do occasionally do some of those ultra fast runs (not trying for records, just having fun with like minded PUGs) and my ranger is always welcome. Typically it is something like 2 eles, a guard, a warrior, and me.

There’s a pretty big difference between a record run, and a “casual speed clear” run in dungeon guilds.

Record runs: You don’t do it for farm, gold or loot. You need to take the most optimal group composition available, use the best food, change your sigils etc. Stuff like 3:33 CM p3 and 5:51 hotw p1 are outliers. It’ll take more than 1 try too, you will be repeating the path multiple times within the same daily reset period.

Casual speed run: You do it for fun, gold and/or loot. You usually just take whatever class you feel like playing atm, but 1-2 people may swap to fix the group composition. ie. swap to a mesmer/guardian if you need reflects for example. You’re prolly not going to use 60s or 20s food, but using cheap food helps. Your end time will be inbetween the fastest runs possible and an average PUG runs. ( ie. 3-4 minutes for a record run group, 6-9 minutes in a dungeon guild, 10-12 minuets in a PUG for CM p3)

This will vary from guild to guild, but I doubt all their runs all the time are going to have record level clear times

Rangers are required for the max possible theoretical DPS, but highest possible DPS doesn’t necessarily mean the fastest time for a given path.

Aren’t those record runs usually using FGSs on 4ish players and stacking damage boosts (i.e. FS and spotter)? At any rate, since only 5 people out of the over 4 million copies sold are ever going to be holding the record, I’m not sure how relevant this is. :P

Fluffball.8307:

Aren’t those record runs usually using FGSs on 4ish players and stacking damage boosts (i.e. FS and spotter)? At any rate, since only 5 people out of the over 4 million copies sold are ever going to be holding the record, I’m not sure how relevant this is. :P

I think in a record run environment, the dmg boost is a minor convenience at best since they’ll have enough dmg boosters from 25 might and both warrior banners. Rangers suffer from handicaps such as having a pet, and being unable to max melee range with sword. Rangers are also middle of the pack in terms of DPS, prolly on the lower side too.

I haven’t gone for any records yet, so I don’t exactly know why rangers are not brought to them.
http://gwscr.com/records/current-meta-dungeon-records

Restricted record runs are not using Shop boosters, they´re not allowed.

TurtleDragon.3108:

Rangers suffer from handicaps such as having a pet, and being unable to max melee range with sword. Rangers are also middle of the pack in terms of DPS, prolly on the lower side too.

These are the problems, well written. Fixing Pet AI and/or AoE dmg reduce for them is important, otherwise the class can´t be balanced in PvE. And we need a second high dps melee weapon. Greatsword or anything new, but we need it.

I’ll just leave these here…

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/dungeons/Highest-DPS-Team/first#content

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/dungeons/Rangers-have-no-respect-in-dungeons/first

In short, yes rangers can very well be in speed runs since the spotter/frost spirit combo is a very strong group buff in terms of DPS and in a group that can put out 25 might/vuln rangers have similar DPS as warriors.

It’s just that rangers have a very bad reputation because of the usual "camp at 1500 range with a longbow and sending your bear to “tank” the mobs" mentality most players have.

Get a sword/warhorn and spec 30/25/0/15/0 or 20/25/0/25/0 and use frost spirit & spotter and any dungeon runner worth their salt will take you along to a dungeon run.