TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Filterkat.2143

Filterkat.2143

Hi. So i have been playing around with some stuff and I seem to have come up with a pretty descent power/crit based build using some of the new traits. I wanted to come up with a good build that used longbow with a melee option as a swap, as I was getting bored with bunker/condi spam builds. I have been using this build in tPvP since the new trait update with minor tweaks and I have been pleasantly supprised with the results.

Here is the build link.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQJATRjMqUyaLLGsw1ag9gadAUAndrhw9WcwtdBnqA-TJRBwAUuEAP3fgcZAAPBAA

I used to run BM/Condi bunker and spirit ranger, but found the playstyle quite boring and a little too safe. This build doesn’t have the autopilot healing of bunker BM or Spirits but has quite a lot of active defence built in, meaning if you are proactive with your dodging and evade skills, you can mitigate a good amount of damage. This does not mean however that you should expect that you can facetank on point in melee against 2 opponents. Remember you are using the zerker amulet so you are technically “squishy” This build is based around doing great direct damage, providing good control, and having good mobility.

Basically, the role of this build is to roam/skirmish/defend. I usually roam between home and mid, mainly assaulting mid, and returning to home point when homepoint bunker is being overwhelmed. The big advantage of this build is the 1500 range, and increased velocity. This means you can do substantial damage to targets from a great distance while staying at a safe range. The increased velocity means that even at max range, its almost impossible to dodge the LB attacks, unless you actually physically dodge or use an evade as opposed to just strafing to evade without the velocity trait on. This build also incorporates a good amount of mobility with GS and SOTH, and has a lot of built in active defence, making it a perfect roaming/skirmishing build.

Damage:

The majority of your single target damage will come from longbow auto attack, which is quite substantial at max range. Take into consideration your positioning also, as positioning can give you a HUGE advantage on certain points/maps

Damage wise, LB AA is superior to rapid fire, with the exception that you are closer than 500 range. Consider this also when using Quickening zephyr.

Your ranged AOE is barrage. Barrage is great for applying pressure on point to multiple targets and doubles as a soft CC (cripple). It is also useful for theives trying to hide in refuge.

Depending on the situation, consider using Quickening zephyr before casting barrage, as it reduces the channeling time, which allows you to become mobile a lot quicker, and you should still have a few seconds of quickness after barrage is done to get off a few AAs.

Rapid fire is mainly used against theives when they are getting low, as rapid fire tracks theives in stealth. It can also be used as a short range alternative (below 500 range) if you happen to be stuck in longbow and weapon swap in on cooldown.

Greatsword can be a good damage option if you have enemies who happen to be in melee range. It is not recommended to intentionally go into melee range but if you find yourself in a situation where you are, GS is your best option. Maul does substantial burst, has a short CD and GS AA does descent sustained and cleaves. The AA’s built in evade also means that 1/3 of the time you are evading so this helps with defence.

I like using sigil of strength because this build crits a lot, and one of the traits in the build makes you and your pet do %5 more damage when you have any boon. Having easy access to might makes this almost a constant. (check alternative setups for alternatives if you dont like this option)

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Filterkat.2143

Filterkat.2143

Control:

You have plenty of control with this build, from skills to pets. You have access to knockdown, knockback, chill, cripple daze fear and immobilise (depending on elite, utility and pet choice).

Longbow has several handy forms of control. Longbow 4 is a great tool for knocking people off point. Use this in both home point defence and when helping teammates assaulting mid/far point when enemies are actively defending on point. As stated before, Barrage doubles as a cripple, and is good for slowing enemies down within the AOE radius, meaning they will take more damage.

Greatsword also has a few handy control options in its skillset. Greatsword 5 is a daze, which is particularly useful for interrupting enemy stomps. Greatsword 4 is primarily a block, and a great one at that, but in a pinch, can also be used as a 900 range cripple when double tapped.

Pets also provide a great amount of control, while also dealing descent damage. With twin wolves you have access to on demand fear and chill. Fear is another tool particularly useful for getting enemies off point and stopping enemy stomps. Wolves also consistently knock enemies down and cripple them which are both great forms of control. Finally snow wolfs chill is a great on demand soft CC if you need to slow an enemy down and the pet is near them.

I alternate between RaO and Entangle as an elite but Entangle is another great form of CC that you can use in this build and synergises really well with the traits I have chosen. (see defence)

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Filterkat.2143

Filterkat.2143

Defence/mobility:

Weapon wise, you have GS which is arguably the best defensive weapon available to the ranger. It has swoop which is great for map mobility and engage/disengage.
Longbow has #3 which is a stealth. The stealth isnt long, but can be the difference between life and death in many situations. The knockback can also be used defensively if an enemy is getting too close.

The traits and utilities I have chosen primarily focus on defence. The new Nature magic GM trait means that all survival skills cleanse 2 conditions on use. This build can support up to 4 survival skills (although this is not optimal). The wilderness survival minor reduces the cooldown of survival skills meaning you will have access to these skills more often as well as active condi cleanse. I have also included a trait which is great against spike/burst damage. It gives the player protection when hit by a certain threshold of damage. This is great against glass theives or warriors trying to spike you.

Lightning reflexes is essential for this build. It provides a stunbreak, immob break, evade and shoots you back aprox 900 units of distance, as well as being a condi cleanse. This is a great defensive tool in situations where you might get stuck in melee or attack range and are taking too much damage, or any time you are stunned/immob or need a condi cleanse.

I find the defence in this build to be quite sufficient and supprisingly effective. It is a much more active style of defence as opposed to the passive defence of bunker/regen, but find it to be more rewarding, and allows for a much more robust and effective damage build.

SotH is higly reccomended over muddy terrain in 3rd slot as it allows for better mobility and effective kiting. Muddy terrain is viable but have not found it to be optimal.

Alternate options:

RaO swapped with entangle for more CC and Condi removal on a shorter cooldown.

SotH swapped with Muddy Terrain. More CC/condi removal, however less mobility which makes kiting much less effective.

Sigil of force/strength swapped with Fire/air. More burst with fire/air, more sustain and trait synergy with force/strength.

Wolves swapped with Felines. More DPS from felines, More CC from Wolves.

(edited by Filterkat.2143)

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

This does not mean however that you should expect that you can facetank on point in melee against 2 opponents.

The big advantage of this build is the 1500 range, and increased velocity. This means you can do substantial damage to targets from a great distance while staying at a safe range.

This build also incorporates a good amount of mobility with GS and SOTH, and has a lot of built in active defence, making it a perfect roaming/skirmishing build.

1; That means it isn’t exactly made for tPvP.
2; This also means you are not helping with the objectives. (points > dmg)
3; This build has very nice mobility – that’s for sure. But your skirmishing is only mediocre. You don’t provide enough burst, you are too squishy, you are not able to kill any bunker with this build, it’s easy to LoS your shots away from points, and you are VERY EASILY focused.

What exactly is the point of this build? Steady DPS is not much needed in tPvP unless you are capping a point – which you can’t with this build.
Roaming is not needed if you can’t take a point.
If you are only giving a helping hand to your teammates while providing zero objectives yourself … That’s not a competitive build.

I’m aware of the potential of this build. I used to run a similar one myself. But it’s definitely not made for tPvP … Solo arena – might be a better scenario where people actually rush for levels – which is ideal with this build.

“Observe, learn and counter.”

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Filterkat.2143

Filterkat.2143

1; That means it isn’t exactly made for tPvP.
2; This also means you are not helping with the objectives. (points > dmg)
3; This build has very nice mobility – that’s for sure. But your skirmishing is only mediocre. You don’t provide enough burst, you are too squishy, you are not able to kill any bunker with this build, it’s easy to LoS your shots away from points, and you are VERY EASILY focused.

What exactly is the point of this build? Steady DPS is not much needed in tPvP unless you are capping a point – which you can’t with this build.
Roaming is not needed if you can’t take a point.
If you are only giving a helping hand to your teammates while providing zero objectives yourself … That’s not a competitive build.

I’m aware of the potential of this build. I used to run a similar one myself. But it’s definitely not made for tPvP … Solo arena – might be a better scenario where people actually rush for levels – which is ideal with this build.

I think you misunderstand the role this build is supposed to fill. This isn’t supposed to be a solo/roam build but more of a team damage support build. I am basically able to cover 2 adjacent points at any given time with support. I can be supporting multiple players on my team who are assaulting mid with extra damage and CC, while usually staying completely safe, and if the enemy decides to rush our home, I can be back within range to help home bunker within 10 seconds.

I have killed plenty of bunkers with this build and my guild tournament team seems to think its a highly effective build. I think you underestimate the damage this build is able to provide. Sure it may not be backstab theif spike damage-like, but 3-4k Longbow Auto Attacks coupled with quickness plus pet damage are a pretty lethal combination and can melt through a health pool really quickly.

Sure, I am easily focused by a group, but if your playing smart, you shouldn’t be anywhere near the attack range of a group with this build. If they decide to try focus me, theyre going to have to come off point to do so allowing my teammates to backcap, and with my mobility and range i can kite for days. So while I may not be standing on point doing damage, I am still doing damage and CC – on point. So enemy players have a choice. Either they stay on point and continue to take damage and CC from me, while still dealing with my teammate/s who ARE ON POINT, or they try focus me, forcing them OFF POINT allowing my teammates to backcap.

So far, the only partially accurate statement that you have made is that I cant cap a point. Its true I can not sit on a point and hold or bunker it, but I have 3-4 other teammates who can fill that role. While I may not be able to solo or hold objectives, my mobility and range allow me to support virtually 2 points within seconds of each other.

Say theres a 2v2 on mid point, I can be there within seconds and provide damage and CC from a safe distance. While it may still technically be a 2v2 on point, my teams damage just went up to a 3v2 while one player (me) is completely out of harms way. Which team is more likely to win that fight? Or say home bunker is holding up against an enemy but doesn’t quite have the damage to take him out. I rush back and smash the crap outta that guy, and then get back to supporting mid. How is this not helping with objectives? While I may not be directly standing in the circle actively capping a point, I am helping my teammates to acheive this, and we have enough skilled point holders in our team, so why not include a damage/support role instead of just another bunker.

If our team comp already consists of 3-4 people who can successfully hold a point solo, it would be redundant to have more players able to hold a point solo, as there are only 3 objectives on the map to hold anyway. It doesnt hurt having teamspeak either and being able to communicate quickly.

90% of situations you are better off having 1-2 players in your team comp that are supportive roles. Sure full bunker is viable and can be quite effective, but its super cheezy, and as I stated, im sick of playing bunker builds.

It entirely depends on your team comp and individual playstyle, but so far my team has found great success with this build in the team comp. Dont knock it till you try it

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

It entirely depends on your team comp and individual playstyle, but so far my team has found great success with this build in the team comp. Dont knock it till you try it

Well – as I said – I already tried it =)
… The point is that I was able to deal almost as high damage with condition builds and noticeably more tankiness. While I was able to support my team with resurrect (which is like 2 times more important than the Zerk role) and even Sun Spirit (bonus burning + AoE blind) and Earth Spirit (bonus protection + root) all while helping to soak up damage AND cap the point. With your build it’s impossible to help your team once they are downed or low on health. You just deal damage which is not even comparable to Thief’s.
Don’t forget I provide the team with the most powerful Water Field in the game ON POINT.

As I already said – that build IS VIABLE. You can practically be at 2 places in a matter of few seconds. But it’s far away from being “mostly efficient”.

“Observe, learn and counter.”

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Dave Pare.2069

Dave Pare.2069

This does not mean however that you should expect that you can facetank on point in melee against 2 opponents.

The big advantage of this build is the 1500 range, and increased velocity. This means you can do substantial damage to targets from a great distance while staying at a safe range.

This build also incorporates a good amount of mobility with GS and SOTH, and has a lot of built in active defence, making it a perfect roaming/skirmishing build.

1; That means it isn’t exactly made for tPvP.
2; This also means you are not helping with the objectives. (points > dmg)
3; This build has very nice mobility – that’s for sure. But your skirmishing is only mediocre. You don’t provide enough burst, you are too squishy, you are not able to kill any bunker with this build, it’s easy to LoS your shots away from points, and you are VERY EASILY focused.

What exactly is the point of this build? Steady DPS is not much needed in tPvP unless you are capping a point – which you can’t with this build.
Roaming is not needed if you can’t take a point.
If you are only giving a helping hand to your teammates while providing zero objectives yourself … That’s not a competitive build.

I’m aware of the potential of this build. I used to run a similar one myself. But it’s definitely not made for tPvP … Solo arena – might be a better scenario where people actually rush for levels – which is ideal with this build.

That’s exactly what I think: this is a good build, it deals high damage, is mobile, it has lots of cc….but is there a role for using this build in tPvP? No there’s not. Thieves and mesmers will burst you down in a few seconds, their mobility is far superior then yours, you are forced at max range to deal damage while they don’t and you can’t rely on mechanics such stealth (thief) and clones/stealth (mesmer) to disengage efficently as them; and you don’t have a burst. Thieves and Mesmers are still preferables to Rangers for the “roaming role”, that’s the truth unfortunately.

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Filterkat.2143

Filterkat.2143

It’s fairly subjective honestly, based on your team comp, playstyle and strategy. We already have a spirit ranger, 2 guards and a warrior or mesmer. The benefit of the ranger zerker is that you have the advantage of range and can actually provide significant support in teamfights. The theif does provide more damage this is true, I am not going to argue that, but the theif has to be in melee range to do that damage, and has minimal CC. In teamfights on point there is generally a lot of cleave or AOE going on, meaning it is a very dangerous place for a theif to be regardless of if he is in stealth or not. This limits the theifs role and ability to assist in larger team fights as he will most likely go down if he stays on point and cannot cap or decap while in stealth. While I may not provide as much burst as a theif, I can still apply my damage safely on point with additional control.

This build essentialy allows me to fill a theifs role, addmitedly, not doing quite as much damage, but still getting the job done, while also being able to support in a teamfight.

Having run several variations of condi specs for nearly 2 years, and with the 50% nerf to condition damage in PvP, I can assure you, you wont be doing anywhere near the damage of a full power/crit build. Especially with the condi meta being so prevelant, most well composed tournament players should have a few effective condi cleanses meaning most of your damage will be negated quickly once they realise they have conditions. Lets assume a 700 bleed tic, a 200 poison and a 400 burn (this is being extremely generous considering the nerf). thats 1300 per second damage. A condition cleanse will negate a majority of that damage. You may be able to reapply some of those conditions, but not as much as your initial burst, since most of your skills will be on cooldown. You wont be able to apply that same level of condition damage until your rotation is completely off cooldown. By then, the enemy has most likely saved a second condi cleanse waiting for the second burst if he is smart, and once again, a large portion of your condi damage is completely negated.

Meanwhile, my longbow on average crits between 2-3.8k at 1.5 attacks per second, or 2 attacks per second with quickness. thats (roughly) between 60% and 280% more damage per second than you at peak condition damage without quickness. Add an extra 50% damage when quickness is activated (roughly 110% – 330% damage). All of this being direct damage, which cannot be cleansed or cleared.

There is no point trying to fill roles that other players on a team can already do. This build just gives the ranger another alternative role to fill other than bunker/spirits. I know what other ranger builds do, I ran bunker BM and spirits for nearly 2 years. This is just another alternative role that the ranger can fill without being pidgeonholed into bunkering. Build variety improves the quality of tPvP and MMOs in general. There will never be a build that can fill every role for tPvP, otherwise there would be serious balance issues and QQ. This build just provides an alternative to the current meta ranger builds on the other end of the spectrum, for people who may not like to bunker and enjoy more active gameplay while still serving a purpose in tPvP.

If our spirit ranger is away or cant play, I will gladly play spirit ranger for the team, but if that role is already filled, I would rather fill another role than just add another spirit ranger to the comp and this build has proven to be viable and effective for its purpose.

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

Here are some miscalculations.

Longbow has a cast time of around 1.0 – don’t forget attack animations. More importantly, I usually hit for around 1000 damage into balanced Classes. 700 to Guardians.
If I was able to crit – the numbers would rise to 2,2 or 1,7. It’s theoretical, but you have to take into account that poison can be reapplied easily with 3 of your abilities on fairly low CD – also reducing healing by 33%.

You also said you can deal damage from safe distance. And what exactly is the point of that? Okay – so it’s not you who is suffering. That means your teammates are suffering for you.
Let’s be frank – I just tried to get back to that build just from curiosity today. And it took me around 20 seconds to get down a warrior from max range with no damage taken since I was not focused. 20 WHOLE SECONDS.
Who’s going to be able to fight 2v3 (most frequent scenario in tPvP) since YOU are not present in the fight – just your damage is.

The build you are presenting is a … It’s definitely a build of a solo player. You are safe all the time providing firepower. Your fellow soldiers are taking damage for you – they have to finish off enemies for you – they have to CAP points for you… But what’s worse is that they HAVE TO TRUST YOU. Because it’s you who is the GlassCannon damage dealer THEY HAVE TO PROTECT. You are their key member of teamfights – while … You are not even there.

“Observe, learn and counter.”

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Rym.1469

Rym.1469

God, another LongBowMan in Tpvp.

It doesn’t work, sweetie. If it did, people would actually play it, not only running for some lolz.

I really want to play LB power Ranger in some serious pvp too and we got the first step in lastest patch – SotF.
But that’s the first step and long way ahead.

I would rather not like to see more LB Rangers running around in pvp and trying to snipe from afar. 99% of them can’t play it, don’t have required knowledge and high situational awarness, run wrong pets. Condibunk, as it stands, is just a easier, better way for them.
Even if they suck, there are still some spirits buffing the party.

So please, don’t post another LB/GS glass canoons tpvp threads or we will see more Rangers dying rapidly, being useless.

We will be kings, one day. But that day is not today, my son ~ Wise Balance Teneras Words.

[rude]Antagonistka – Revenant, EU.
[SALT]Natchniony – Necromancer, EU.
Streams: http://www.twitch.tv/rym144

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

God, another LongBowMan in Tpvp.

It doesn’t work, sweetie. If it did, people would actually play it, not only running for some lolz.

I really want to play LB power Ranger in some serious pvp too and we got the first step in lastest patch – SotF.
But that’s the first step and long way ahead.

I would rather not like to see more LB Rangers running around in pvp and trying to snipe from afar. 99% of them can’t play it, don’t have required knowledge and high situational awarness, run wrong pets. Condibunk, as it stands, is just a easier, better way for them.
Even if they suck, there are still some spirits buffing the party.

So please, don’t post another LB/GS glass canoons tpvp threads or we will see more Rangers dying rapidly, being useless.

We will be kings, one day. But that day is not today, my son ~ Wise Balance Teneras Words.

I used to play LB/GS … I was able to steal points easily. If I blasted my RaO, my SotH, and gave it a gentle push with greatsword (after stacking vulnerability of Rapid Fire). Everyone except guardian died (those needed to be poked until they blew their CDs – going full in afterwards). I was an undefeatable duelist.
The RaO + 25% increase of the signet (also stability) with prolonged Stun/Daze from traits was a downfall for almost anyone.
But in tPvP no one needs a duelist. We need objective-cappers.

“Observe, learn and counter.”

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Dave Pare.2069

Dave Pare.2069

It’s fairly subjective honestly, based on your team comp, playstyle and strategy. We already have a spirit ranger, 2 guards and a warrior or mesmer. The benefit of the ranger zerker is that you have the advantage of range and can actually provide significant support in teamfights. The theif does provide more damage this is true, I am not going to argue that, but the theif has to be in melee range to do that damage, and has minimal CC. In teamfights on point there is generally a lot of cleave or AOE going on, meaning it is a very dangerous place for a theif to be regardless of if he is in stealth or not. This limits the theifs role and ability to assist in larger team fights as he will most likely go down if he stays on point and cannot cap or decap while in stealth. While I may not provide as much burst as a theif, I can still apply my damage safely on point with additional control.

This build essentialy allows me to fill a theifs role, addmitedly, not doing quite as much damage, but still getting the job done, while also being able to support in a teamfight.

Having run several variations of condi specs for nearly 2 years, and with the 50% nerf to condition damage in PvP, I can assure you, you wont be doing anywhere near the damage of a full power/crit build. Especially with the condi meta being so prevelant, most well composed tournament players should have a few effective condi cleanses meaning most of your damage will be negated quickly once they realise they have conditions. Lets assume a 700 bleed tic, a 200 poison and a 400 burn (this is being extremely generous considering the nerf). thats 1300 per second damage. A condition cleanse will negate a majority of that damage. You may be able to reapply some of those conditions, but not as much as your initial burst, since most of your skills will be on cooldown. You wont be able to apply that same level of condition damage until your rotation is completely off cooldown. By then, the enemy has most likely saved a second condi cleanse waiting for the second burst if he is smart, and once again, a large portion of your condi damage is completely negated.

Meanwhile, my longbow on average crits between 2-3.8k at 1.5 attacks per second, or 2 attacks per second with quickness. thats (roughly) between 60% and 280% more damage per second than you at peak condition damage without quickness. Add an extra 50% damage when quickness is activated (roughly 110% – 330% damage). All of this being direct damage, which cannot be cleansed or cleared.

There is no point trying to fill roles that other players on a team can already do. This build just gives the ranger another alternative role to fill other than bunker/spirits. I know what other ranger builds do, I ran bunker BM and spirits for nearly 2 years. This is just another alternative role that the ranger can fill without being pidgeonholed into bunkering. Build variety improves the quality of tPvP and MMOs in general. There will never be a build that can fill every role for tPvP, otherwise there would be serious balance issues and QQ. This build just provides an alternative to the current meta ranger builds on the other end of the spectrum, for people who may not like to bunker and enjoy more active gameplay while still serving a purpose in tPvP.

If our spirit ranger is away or cant play, I will gladly play spirit ranger for the team, but if that role is already filled, I would rather fill another role than just add another spirit ranger to the comp and this build has proven to be viable and effective for its purpose.

I tried actually a very similar build but the reason I found it unplayable is basically one: thief.

With this kind of ranged dps build you are the perfect target of any thief with a little bit of experience: first of all (as you already said) a thief cannot stay in the core of the team fight, that’s why a thief usually target people who are leaving the team fight (maybe because their health is going down or whatever reason). Tell me what kind of help can you provide to your team when a thief is bursting you down; if every time you jump into a 2v2 or 3v3 fight, a thief just starts focus you ignoring everything else. Your build is great if you are left alone on top of a peak at 1500 range, but seriously not a single thief will allow you to do that, he’s designed for jump to you in a fraction of a second and keep you buisy until his teammates do their job, then, without your team fighting in the point, you are good as dead cause you are not designed to buker, not even for a few seconds and your build is in a disadvantage in a 1v1 situation against most classes other then, maybe, a warrior.

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Filterkat.2143

Filterkat.2143

@ Dave Theives have given me some trouble, I will admit. In the circumstance you stated, generally I am unable to continue assisting mid point and have to get out if I am focused by a burst theif. I can usually stay alive long enough to get back to home point where home point bunker can help defend and ward off the theif while I heal, but sometimes I dont make it back. And usually, If i go back to mid later, the theif will most likely be back very soon. I found though many team comps dont include theives and have found that this build shines for its designed purpose without a theif on the opposing team.

I will have to do some testing with sic em the next time I come up against a theif with this build, and might possibly switch out a utility in the circumstance that a theif is on the enemy team. I have found sic em to be incredibly successful in wvw against theives in combination with rapid fire and barrage, or GS if you know they are hanging around close by.

I never said it was the perfect build and I dont expect it to become the new meta by any means, although I do think I did a pretty descent job with it and is effective at its purpose in most situations. Also I do think the new traits are a step in the right direction in opening up new roles aside from bunker for rangers. I am just a little tired of playing an auto regening bunker thats basically autopilot once you learn the rotation. I preffer active/reactive playstyle rather than basically spamming the same rotation no matter the situation.

I may have to try some variants maybe focusing more on conditions/toughness using shortbow coupled with either s/d, s/t, a/d or a/t, and trying out possibly rabid gear and the new poison master trait in WS. Not sure what runes to use with this setup yet though. This setup would be a lot more robust defence wise and would allow for combat on point with the increased survivability. I dont know, im thinking out loud here. I kinda just want a good tPvP build that incorporates a bow and a more active playstyle. Getting real tired of A/D S/T autoheal/cleanse.

TPvP power LB/GS build with new traits

in Ranger

Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

Well, I can throw you my build I used to play for some time.
With the exact same reason as you.
I get bored of Spirit Bunker easily.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQJATRjMq0waFLusw1agAhY9RQRrY2TXVlMqKA-TpRBwAP3fozhAQzFAgcZAAHBgHPAAA

It’s also a build that has it’s downsides – but it’s definitely more fun to play (and some of us know that what entertains us gives us better results than meta).

Believe me – with this build you are not forced to “max range only” – and I have won some nice duels even 1v1 against a thief.
This build is hugely cooldown oriented – and you can take upon most of enemies you encounter if you time them right. If you don’t – it’s a weak version of fighting build.

Pros:
~ insane damage tunnel potential
~ fair damage burst with GreatSword
~ high amount of utility offense-defensive cooldowns (Stun, KnockBack, Immobilize, Fear, Short Stealth, escape through GreatSword, Ranged Block/Melee knockback)
~ fair ranged damage output that gives advantage against melee roles like Guardians or Warriors
~ You can come up with many ability sequences that will make your game enjoyable and make you feel rewarded (because they reward you a lot).
~ The AoE damage can’t be compared.
~ can actually roam thanks to GS Swoop even without SotH
~ You are made to finishing off targets (3 sec stealth of LongBow + 2 cooldowns of stability)

Cons:
~ your are squishy if you don’t use cooldown to stay alive
~ your DPS doesn’t have any straight burst if you are focused
~ few condition removals – the worst weakness of this build
~ you are not made for bunkering a point. You can win most of 1v1 fights if you strike first and have cooldowns ready, though. (but you can never go 1v1 against Necro and some other class builds)
_____________________________________________________________________
If you are aware of your capabilities – this build is almost ideal for playing PvP. You just have to learn how and when to use your cooldowns – and if you give this build a try – I promise you that you’ll find it at least a nice experience.

“Observe, learn and counter.”