Guild Wars 2

Back again, finished my preliminary crafting with the hunter class in PvE. Again, if you havn’t noticed, this is NOT a PvP build, this is NOT a pvp post. This has NOTHING to do with PvP. At all. PvE.

Ranger DPS Build

I tested quite a few builds, 30/30/10/0/0, including 20 in nature, 30 in beastmaster ect… This one has not only the most damage, but the highest pet survivability. I also tested a bunch of different traits like Companion’s might to see if they came out ahead, the traits i have listed are the best. Hornet/Monarch is a total loss in dps and shouldn’t be used. Serpents Strike can be used as a high dps dodge, so i included that instead of a normal 1 dodge per 10 second baseline I use (this also helps keep steady focus up). Hunters call is a loss in DPS, it is however ranged so, it can be used on approach of a mob. Note that frost spirit is either glitched or they accidentally added the tooltip about the cooldown, because there is NO internal cooldown, i was able to string together 4-5 procs in under 4 seconds. If your wondering why the cast times are lower then normal, it’s because thats how i chose to calculate quickness in, as a “cast reduction modifier”

Things I included:
Quickness
Self Generated Fury
Rampage as One
Bleeds from pet
Average might on pet

Things I didn’t include:
Opening Strike
Furious Grip
Exact pet damage (I don’t know how exactly the game calculates pet damage, but it’s not the normal way it does with players, for the “damage” i had to create and average from the pet attacking a heavy golem with the correct build, the calculations match the in game damage, i just hate to not be mathematically accurate T.T)
Maul’s crit damage glitch (if it hasn’t been fixed yet)
3.5% bonus damage to all party members
Party buffs

SO
Topping off at almost 8000 dps (more then a backstab thief) and 5000 (a little less then an axe/mace or greatsword warrior) when your pet is down, the hunter’s PvE DPS is still in a perfectly acceptable place.

Class Analysis
Pros:
Higher DPS
Some Defensive Support (Healing spring is SO GEWD)
Some Offensive Support (Frost Spirit)
Utilities for Large Pulls and Heavy Condition Bosses (muddy ground, signet of renewal)

Cons:
Above average DPS depends on pet survival (a fair trade off)
Low personal survivability (S/W is not the easiest to pull off, even for a berzerker build, you lose damage when you dodge, and taking 5 points out of any trait line to put into endurance regain in wilderness survival, is going to drop your DPS significantly, if you do however, I would take it out of marksmenship, just because if your having trouble surviving, your prob dodging alot, and your prob not getting the bonus damage anyways.)

All and all I think people underestimate the hunter, it doesn’t have good <5sec burst, but it has a great 20 second burst, and it’s average DPS is quite good when built correctly. I feel a lot of people are going to complain about the build not having enough “survivability” but, what I wouldn’t give to have healing spring and an 8 second dodge on my 30/30/10 thief <3 I think this build is very much possible

disclaimer: i’ve been known to make some pretty giant mistakes on my preliminary calcs so, i’ll be double and triple checking and updating as needed.

….Hunter class?

Bredin.5368:

….Hunter class?

Like i said, prone to errors >.>

More than a backstab Thief.

Show me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFnbuHbc774

hornet’s sting is never only for the sake of dps.
It’s for the combo finisher.
1.2~k health or fire armor, both are pretty worthwhile most of the time.

Raw numbers mean little in PvP.
In terms of those… warriors probably still take the cake threw greatsword, even the frenzy nerfed version. Its pretty easy to get to 15+ stacks of might on a warrior greatsword setup, from there the deeps just roll out.

The thing is, its everything else that needs to be taken into account, like how consistent the dmg is, what type and how bursty.
Consistent dmg is notably worse than spike.
Backstab thieves aren’t known for their 20s parses, but their 2-3 second jokingly easy to land KOs.

If you want good burst damage, pop signet of the wild and use raven F2. It’s a nice surprise in your opponent’s face.

Problem: bad pet AI can cause your pet to miss the target because they moved :-/

garethh.3518:

hornet’s sting is never only for the sake of dps.
It’s for the combo finisher.
1.2~k health or fire armor, both are pretty worthwhile most of the time.

Raw numbers mean little in PvP.
In terms of those… warriors probably still take the cake threw greatsword, even the frenzy nerfed version. Its pretty easy to get to 15+ stacks of might on a warrior greatsword setup, from there the deeps just roll out.

The thing is, its everything else that needs to be taken into account, like how consistent the dmg is, what type and how bursty.
Consistent dmg is notably worse than spike.
Backstab thieves aren’t known for their 20s parses, but their 2-3 second jokingly easy to land KOs.

I’m surprised you didn’t notice that this was about PvE. Well I edited the first sentence of the post, this is indeed applicable only to PvE.

Scootabuser.4915:

I’m surprised you didn’t notice that this was about PvE. Well I edited the first sentence of the post, this is indeed applicable only to PvE.

In PvE your pet will often not be alive. In my experience (in dungeons) if you run a sword, you often won’t be alive. Frost Spirit will usually be either out of range, or once again – not alive.

I’ve love to see videos of rangers successfully running swords in dungeons. I’ve seen a few people post about it but I’ve never seen it. I’ve seen great sword rangers in dungeons, but never main hand swords. Add to that videos of DPS pets living through some of the harder hitting or big AoE bosses.

I’m not saying neither of these things can be done (people can solo Lupicus, they must be able to run a glass sword ranger through a lot of content) I’d just love to see it done. Partly to learn from it and partly to back up all this theory crafting with some solid demonstrations.

jkctmc.8754:

More than a backstab Thief.

Show me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFnbuHbc774

… Not ready for esports … :-/

Sebrent.3625:

jkctmc.8754:

More than a backstab Thief.

Show me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFnbuHbc774

… Not ready for esports … :-/

I like how you interjected into our PvE discussion to post your kittenty WvW Thief Solo video with overused music.

public service announcement

I really like your organized group build. I too run sword and warhorn though I pair it with a longbow.

I’ve found that since the quickness nerf, shortbow dmg is a little boring. Shortbow also has no skills that will actually increase your dps during a fight against something like the searing effigy or subject alpha.

With reduced cooldown of bow skills and 20 points in marksmanship I can keep 10 stacks of vulnerability on a target almost 100% of the time, thanks to hunters shot. That’s a 10% dmg increase for me, my pet and my party.

Carnivorous appetite is wicked huh? I can’t believe how much easier it is to keep felines alive with this trait.

Your spreadsheet will take me a few reads to decipher.

jewishjoyride.4693:

I really like your organized group build. I too run sword and warhorn though I pair it with a longbow.

I’ve found that since the quickness nerf, shortbow dmg is a little boring. Shortbow also has no skills that will actually increase your dps during a fight against something like the searing effigy or subject alpha.

With reduced cooldown of bow skills and 20 points in marksmanship I can keep 10 stacks of vulnerability on a target almost 100% of the time, thanks to hunters shot. That’s a 10% dmg increase for me, my pet and my party.

Carnivorous appetite is wicked huh? I can’t believe how much easier it is to keep felines alive with this trait.

Your spreadsheet will take me a few reads to decipher.

I can email it to you if you’d like