Guild Wars 2

So I finally made a Ranger, finally have a build (6/6/2/0/0, Zerk, Pack Runes, Longbow, S/d) and finally wandered into my first hotjoin.

I press 2 on an unwary target… 7k damage!

The Mesmer in me just suddenly threw up. 7k!? Do you know the effort it would’ve taken to set up a shatter for that kind of damage? And the cooldown is practically nonexistant! It was great, I’m already in love with the longbow.. But lawd oh lawd..

I do so suck with Sword/Dagger!

How do I do damage with it? Is it purely a defensive set? Does anyone have any advise, strategies, tactics, utility recommendations? I’m not too sure what my role is besides long range murder. I don’t really know if I have much team support, and not sure how to defend myself when someone jumps on me (granted I was a ranger for like 10 mins)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to Rangering when I’m not Mesmering or Celeleleleleing

1. Dont go 6/6/2 – 6/4/4 is greedy enough(some even go 6/2/6)
2. Take SoS
3.You dont have 2 go full zerk, you can minmax with kinght/cavalir/valkerie
4. Dont jsut spam LB 3 and 4, use it smartly
5.The s/d is more about evade and re-positon – try not to attack with this set 2 much. practice re-position with Sword 2 and evading enemy combos with sword 3 and dager 4. also, Most new rangers will take GS over S/D its easyer to learn.
5.Remeber that if you catch a shatter mesmer with your LB 4+ RP COMBO he most likly wont stand up after, so dont paly 2 much defence, offence is the LB best defence.
6. Give it some time, you cant learn a class in one day.
Have Fun.

You take gs over s/d because it does more damage. S/d is purely defensive and has no counter pressure in a zerker build. Utilities you should take are SoS, SoR, and LR. This is because SoS is essential for when you are taking damage you can no longer avoid, SoR is a full condi clear for not only yourself but also for your team (as well as a stunbreak if you need it), and LR is a great utility as it allows you to stunbreak, cleanse immob, have higher mobility, reposition, and occasionally do damage. As for an elite most take entangle because it’s great lock down on the other team. That leads us into the team support, you provide condi clear, aoe CC through pets, and single target CC. Those can be invaluable assets to your team. You main role should be just to kill people, however it should specifically be to protect the other dps on your team from their dps. You can either kill them to do that, peel with CC, or just lock down a different target so and kill that guy first. Most of the cc for a kill comes from your pets so learn to use the F2 well (and the kd if you use canines). That being said, when you get good enough you can kind of just do whatever because it can 1 v 1 fairly decently. In terms of defending yourself you have to rely a lot on positioning and lb3. If they get on top of you then you do have 3 defensive utilities and pet CC for self peels. If everything is going to kitten just try to run and reset or kill someone on the node before you go down.

I think you might like 6/2/0/6/0 or 6/2/6/0/0 until you learn to survive better.

You just discovered why ranger is harder than press #2. Everyone can press #2… but not all person can use melee weapon on ranger. My suggestion:

-go S/D when the opponent has closed the gap.
-use #2 to create distance before you switch back to LB so you have a sizeable range advantage over him.
-use 1st #2 to retreat and use casting animation such as your heal (bonus point if healing spring since you can leap right after), Signet of the wild or even Rampage as one.
- #3-4 are there too avoid major hit or apply poison before your opponent heals.
-i use #5 right before switching to LB as -50% movement is handy when you have LB equipped.

- AND THE MOST IMPORTANT: learn to chain the 2 leaps of the sword in the same direction.

Long bow is a first rate range weapon no doubt, but once you get into melee it becomes a handicap. Sword/dagger doesnt really have burst thats why I prefer sword/axe, you get nice synergies with sword #2 and pos. Its also handy for dealing with other rangers

Pewpewpew is a lot of fun. I myself prefer to go as deep as possible into dps and play on the edge. I sacrifice most anything considered sustain and rely on my positioning and heavy long range damage. Here’s how I play it.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNBjYDbkQlWWLZxiFuWDsHUrDgC4s7NEcH4RogVNA-TpBEwAGuAAM3fAyRAAwBBIbZACPAAA

Pretty easy to see the general idea behind it. My job with this build is to cast from the side and assist other fights. I do not look for my own, in fact I avoid them like the plague. I’d say this build works best on maps like Legacy of Foefire, where I can move from side to mid quickly and do heavy damage.

A Rapid Fire with 60% damage modifiers is going to hurt, a lot. On top of the air/fire sigils, it’s possible to 100-0 some classes. On top of that the AA from range hits like a truck. Fury on warhorn helps a lot, and RaO will give a good amount.

Sword/warhorn works much better for this build and the role it fills. You can melee if you’ve already done enough damage to finish the fight, but where it shines is it’s ability to escape. Using Lightning Reflexes > Hornet Sting > Monarch’s Leap can put a huge distance between you and the enemy. Even better if you can get a Hunter’s Shot off and escape unnoticed. Hydromancy sigil on sword to help slow them down while escaping, and a bloodlust sigil to boost your dps as you assist fights. If you do decide to stay in melee and finish a fight, the protection on dodge roll from Companion’s Defense will help a lot.

This build completely relies on your ability to first position yourself and then know when to move. A good sniper doesn’t sit in the same place, and they certainly don’t try to engage a losing close range battle. If you try to invest too much into close range combat, you’ll see diminishing effectiveness in your ability to swing fights from afar.

A lot of great advice here, thanks guys! Already learning a lot.

On the subject of pets, I was recommended double canines for their awesome CC ability, but I reealllyy was hoping I could rock out with a bird and a spider. Would that be an inferior choice? Speaking of which, does anyone have any hints/tips/strategies for using the pet? The longbowing is easy, but everything else is much more nuanced and intricate.

Also, as for trait spreads, I was given 6/6/2, but I’m more than willing to explore. What exact traits should I be looking at and why are they valuable?

Chaos Archangel.5071:

A lot of great advice here, thanks guys! Already learning a lot.

On the subject of pets, I was recommended double canines for their awesome CC ability, but I reealllyy was hoping I could rock out with a bird and a spider. Would that be an inferior choice? Speaking of which, does anyone have any hints/tips/strategies for using the pet? The longbowing is easy, but everything else is much more nuanced and intricate.

Also, as for trait spreads, I was given 6/6/2, but I’m more than willing to explore. What exact traits should I be looking at and why are they valuable?

I like using the drakehound and wolf for the great CC they provide. Each has their own knockdown, a fear on wolf that can help land a RF and a low cooldown immobilize on drakehound that can also be used for RF. They also both have a 6s cripple and both the cripple and knockdown both do great damage. If you were to use a bird you lose a lot of CC but may gain a bit extra dps. However, with the amount you’re putting out with LB you’re better off with the situational CC. If you do take a bird, the blind on raven might be handy. Jungle Spider on the other hand can be just as useful with two 4s immobilizes, it’s just that it’s on a much longer cooldown and only single target. Wolf/spider isn’t a terrible choice.

Some tips on pets huh. Well first off, if you’re about to run away using a LR > HS > ML combo you could always use your pet to slow them down even more. You can rotate setting up your Rapid Fires between PBS and pet CC, even immobilize them with drakehound under a barrage/RF with quickness. I’ve heard that Agility Training helps them a lot to not only get to a fight quicker but to keep up with the target and hit them more frequently.

A 6/6/2/0/0 spread will get the job done. The one reason I go 6/5/3/0/0 is because there really isn’t a third trait in skirmishing I’d want over protection on dodge. You lose 2% crit chance and 4% crit damage but I think the protection is well worth it. If you want 6 in skirmishing, you could work Agility Training in or if you run greatsword Moment of Clarity can offer you extra damage on Maul.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

A lot of great advice here, thanks guys! Already learning a lot.

On the subject of pets, I was recommended double canines for their awesome CC ability, but I reealllyy was hoping I could rock out with a bird and a spider. Would that be an inferior choice? Speaking of which, does anyone have any hints/tips/strategies for using the pet? The longbowing is easy, but everything else is much more nuanced and intricate.

Also, as for trait spreads, I was given 6/6/2, but I’m more than willing to explore. What exact traits should I be looking at and why are they valuable?

As far as bird goes, Owl is the “only” one useful because of the chill allowing you to kite. Some might say raven because his f2 blind and on a shorter cooldown but its up too you to choose chill or blind.

Spider pets are all great. Most people tend to go the poison spider as it provide almost a perma poison by itself (considering the aoe poison attack is landing). They also provide a nice 3 seconde immobilize.