This is a post trying to outline suggestions for bringing the ranger up to be balanced with other classes and the new elite specializations. Few, if any, other professions get as much hate as rangers, both in the meta and in more casual situations. Part of this is due to the natural issues with the play style of ranger’s in game, but a significant part is also due to deficiencies in the profession’s design. There are many complaints about specifics, such as the auto attack on the sword, issues with spirits, etc. However the first issue that needs to be addressed has to do with the actual character of the ranger. Most of the other professions in this game have no issue with this. No one ever questions what a mesmer is supposed to, or how does an elementalist work; while their play styles might be complicated and nuanced, the flavor of those professions is specific and unique. To ArenaNet’s credit, the same can be said of all of the elite specs, including druid, which is why the most often hear legitimate complaint is that the druid is more like a new class than an improvement of the ranger.
On the official website, this is what the blurb for the ranger is: “Rangers rely on a keen eye, a steady hand, and the power of nature itself. Unparalleled archers, rangers are capable of bringing down foes from a distance with their bows. With traps, nature spirits, and a stable of loyal pets at their command, rangers can adapt to any situation.” From playing the current ranger as it’s gone through changes, this blurb is out of line with the actual play style evident in the game. Consider a current popular build, sword-axe/greatsword. This build has nothing to do with traps, bows, or nature spirits. Rather it’s about fast switches between two relatively lackluster weapons in order to utilize the three decent abilities out of ten. The long bow builds have damage issues. Trap builds aren’t that relevant considering that even among condition builds they aren’t spectacular. Spirit builds, while more durable due to the recent 95% change, offer less utility than a druid’s glyphs, and the internal cool down makes lackluster, so they just aren’t used often.
The problem with the ranger isn’t just a matter of bugs with the sword, or crippling internal cool downs for spirits. Rather the class just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do. Based off of the description, a ranger should be a class that punishes enemies by using builds that actively take advantage of inherent weaknesses. When playing a ranger I want to feel like someone who uses their superior speed to play those super obnoxious builds. The long bow should pose a significant threat in terms of shear damage. I want to be able to dance around enemies using my short bow and axes to kill them with conditions. The sword and great sword need to feel both powerful and at the same time not a ridiculous danger to my character’s survival.
I hope that moving forward this profession gets a serious reexamination of it’s purpose. This is the most generic of all of ArenaNet’s professions, but it doesn’t have to be. To make this class more fun, diverse, and nuanced is going to take more than cursory number changes. I love the ranger, but it is long past time for an update. We don’t need more damage control patches, we need Ranger2.0. No one should expect this to be easy or quick, but it should be coming.