Guild Wars 2

An issue I’ve noticed with the ranger is that many of its mechanics are heavily dependent on traits, often requiring a grandmaster or 2-3 separate traits, to be effective.

• Longbow requires 3 traits for piercing arrows, range increase, damage increase, and reduced cool-down.
• Greatsword requires 2 traits for cool-down reduction and damage increase (also applies fury in the next update).
• Off-hands require a trait for cool-down reduction and range + radius increase.
• Opening strikes eat up the 5, 15, 25 marksmanship traits and a grandmaster to be effective.
• Traps require 2 traits, including a grandmaster, for double condition duration, larger radius, reduced recharge, and manual placement.
• Signets require 3 traits, including a grandmaster, to grant might, reduce cool-down, and affect the player in addition to the pet.
• Shouts require 2 traits, including a grandmaster, to reduce cool-down and apply regeneration and swiftness.
• Spirits require 3 traits, including a grandmaster, to double their health, double their benefit chance, increase their active skill radius, activate their active skill on death, and move with the player.

Why are traits tied so heavily into the skills and why are the traits so numerous instead of condensed? Improving the core skill and merging some traits would go a long way at increasing build variety.

For instance, why not:

• Buff the longbow to 1,500 range by default (and the shortbow back up to 1,200) and merge the reduced cool-down and piercing arrows?
• Give off-hands the radius increase by default?
• Merge pets having opening strike and the guaranteed critical and move remorseless to the 25 point trait in marksmanship?
• Make signets effect you and your pet by default and merge the cool-down reduction and might on use?

While your concerns are noteworthy, I seriously doubt Anet takes any of this seriously. I think they take a far more slower approach to changes rather than radically altering entire traitlines in a single sitting.

I will admit though, Opening Strikes just seems so lackluster. Everything about it, really. It seems really awkward that Opening Strikes is almost designed, forwardly, to be so dependent on the passive 15 and 25 traits in Marksmanship to have potency… I don’t think any other profession has anything quite like it. Plus, we’re not a burst class.

It’s not the only class where I get that feeling. But it is the class with the most numerous instances of that.

Signets are definitely not worth it. Are they supposed to be for bursting?

Try hitting Signet of the Wild ( +25% damage, 8 second), Signet of the Hunt ( +50% damage, next attack) and then f2 on a drake.

Yeah. They’re for bursting .

Nike.2631:

Try hitting Signet of the Wild ( +25% damage, 8 second), Signet of the Hunt ( +50% damage, next attack) and then f2 on a drake.

Yeah. They’re for bursting .

I don’t know what you pve bunnies do, but in WvW you couldn’t land that combo on anything that moves more than the broad side of a dolyak’s kitten .

And even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to stomp for the entire duration of Signet of the Wild, more than long enough for the downed guy’s friends to have you… removed.

Try standing IN the path of the breath weapon – people will chase you right on in there .

And I don’t get this obsession with stomping – it only takes an occasional hit to keep them down if you’re that butt-deep in enemies, and people cuddling up to heal a downed target is when something like the multiplied breath works best.

Besides: They’re FIXING the stomp limitation.

well compare to warrior which is only class using lb after ranger ..ranger has still shorter end of rope .. simple warrior need 1 adept and 1 master trait for having bow very viable .. ranger need 3 master traits ..which automatically sacrifice grandmaster trait in marksmanship…
this is the issue which anet have to fix .. merge marksmanship piercing hit and skirmish cd trait into marksmanship master trait.. and move lr bonus to adept trait ..so we can have access to our grandmaster trait ..
dmg increase on short range for lb is something anet had to do at first place i cant call it viable buff for ranger ..just small fix for something which shouldn’t be there in first place .

The marksmanship trait line is way too loaded, with the skirmish line full of traps and pet traits.

*Spotter would benefit being moved to skirmishing as adept. Similar traits in other classes are adept too.
*Combine both 1500 range and piercing arrows and put them as a grandmaster in skirmishing. Remove the 5% damage increase and add it to quickdraw (20% cooldown on bows)

Those three traits being moved from the power line would make a positive impact on the synergy of power builds. It would open up room to use some of the signet traits while still effectively using your long bow.

Swap the trap traits over to marksmanship to fill the holes. Makes more sense with the condition duration buff on marksmanship anyways.

Ultravalefor.5038:

Nike.2631:

Try hitting Signet of the Wild ( +25% damage, 8 second), Signet of the Hunt ( +50% damage, next attack) and then f2 on a drake.

Yeah. They’re for bursting .

I don’t know what you pve bunnies do, but in WvW you couldn’t land that combo on anything that moves more than the broad side of a dolyak’s kitten .

And even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to stomp for the entire duration of Signet of the Wild, more than long enough for the downed guy’s friends to have you… removed.

In sPvP I stand infront of my drake, where most Melee will be trying to pummel me as long as possible , then you drop a muddy terrain on their sorry kitten and watch em fry!

Shanks.2907:

The marksmanship trait line is way too loaded, with the skirmish line full of traps and pet traits.

*Spotter would benefit being moved to skirmishing as adept. Similar traits in other classes are adept too.
*Combine both 1500 range and piercing arrows and put them as a grandmaster in skirmishing. Remove the 5% damage increase and add it to quickdraw (20% cooldown on bows)

Those three traits being moved from the power line would make a positive impact on the synergy of power builds. It would open up room to use some of the signet traits while still effectively using your long bow.

Swap the trap traits over to marksmanship to fill the holes. Makes more sense with the condition duration buff on marksmanship anyways.

Why in gods name would you take the bow and arrow traits out of the MARKSMAN like instead of just moving the signet traits into skirmishing? Swap signet traits with trap traits, bam, traps now are in a line that applies a benefit to all of them, you can go signets and longbow,

Do something to relieve my trait migraine!
And fix opening strike. It needs love. Best if it would refresh itself with some skill.

Durzlla.6295:

Shanks.2907:

The marksmanship trait line is way too loaded, with the skirmish line full of traps and pet traits.

*Spotter would benefit being moved to skirmishing as adept. Similar traits in other classes are adept too.
*Combine both 1500 range and piercing arrows and put them as a grandmaster in skirmishing. Remove the 5% damage increase and add it to quickdraw (20% cooldown on bows)

Those three traits being moved from the power line would make a positive impact on the synergy of power builds. It would open up room to use some of the signet traits while still effectively using your long bow.

Swap the trap traits over to marksmanship to fill the holes. Makes more sense with the condition duration buff on marksmanship anyways.

Why in gods name would you take the bow and arrow traits out of the MARKSMAN like instead of just moving the signet traits into skirmishing? Swap signet traits with trap traits, bam, traps now are in a line that applies a benefit to all of them, you can go signets and longbow,

Any way they do it really results in the same thing. There’s already a bow trait in skirmish so it’s not like marksmanship is the only place bow traits belong. Really though, it’s spotter that needs to be moved over to skirmish (adept). Seems to me that there’s too many signet traits to move, so it might be easier to make the simple swaps I suggested.

I think trap potency could be dropped to a master trait too. Didn’t that get a stealth nerf last update? It would make room for either the signet of beast mastery to move over or a combination of piercing/range.

Either way it’s done, I could see a viable damage build be put together that could compete with other classes.

Shanks.2907:

Durzlla.6295:

Shanks.2907:

The marksmanship trait line is way too loaded, with the skirmish line full of traps and pet traits.

*Spotter would benefit being moved to skirmishing as adept. Similar traits in other classes are adept too.
*Combine both 1500 range and piercing arrows and put them as a grandmaster in skirmishing. Remove the 5% damage increase and add it to quickdraw (20% cooldown on bows)

Those three traits being moved from the power line would make a positive impact on the synergy of power builds. It would open up room to use some of the signet traits while still effectively using your long bow.

Swap the trap traits over to marksmanship to fill the holes. Makes more sense with the condition duration buff on marksmanship anyways.

Why in gods name would you take the bow and arrow traits out of the MARKSMAN like instead of just moving the signet traits into skirmishing? Swap signet traits with trap traits, bam, traps now are in a line that applies a benefit to all of them, you can go signets and longbow,

Any way they do it really results in the same thing. There’s already a bow trait in skirmish so it’s not like marksmanship is the only place bow traits belong. Really though, it’s spotter that needs to be moved over to skirmish (adept). Seems to me that there’s too many signet traits to move, so it might be easier to make the simple swaps I suggested.

I think trap potency could be dropped to a master trait too. Didn’t that get a stealth nerf last update? It would make room for either the signet of beast mastery to move over or a combination of piercing/range.

Either way it’s done, I could see a viable damage build be put together that could compete with other classes.

there’s 3 trap traits (including trappers defense) and 3 signet traits, hardly too many to move… you just swap their places and call it good, as for quick draw that kinda makes sense to be in skimishing, granted i think it should be merged with piercing arrows.

And spotter makes sense to be in marksman the whole point is to give you the option of providing some crit in the power tree so you don’t NEED to go into the crit one, not to mention they just nerfed warriors similar trait by making it a master tier, so i doubt we’re going to be seeing it as an adept anytime soon.

The following quote makes me wonder if the Devs are even aware of this:

(Commenting on the nerf to natural vigor)

I don’t think this will ruin survivability, and I think by buff other traits further down this line it will encourge rangers who are looking to survive to go further into this trait line.

So now they want to force us further down the wilderness survival line and put more focus on our traits for defense when we are already heavily dependent on them for just our utilities and weapons.

Bri.8354:

The following quote makes me wonder if the Devs are even aware of this:

(Commenting on the nerf to natural vigor)

I don’t think this will ruin survivability, and I think by buff other traits further down this line it will encourge rangers who are looking to survive to go further into this trait line.

So now they want to force us further down the wilderness survival line and put more focus on our traits for defense when we are already heavily dependent on them for just our utilities and weapons.

i face palmed when i read that myself, it’s like…. you want us to invest more into WS, the tree that is already essentially “Go 30 points into or die horribly” I mean kitten, you can get away with 20 points… but i’ve always had severe issues with surviving with anything less than 20pts in that tree…

the more they talk about ranger the more i realize they probably don’t know what they’re doing…

Durzlla.6295:

Ultravalefor.5038:

Nike.2631:

Try hitting Signet of the Wild ( +25% damage, 8 second), Signet of the Hunt ( +50% damage, next attack) and then f2 on a drake.

Yeah. They’re for bursting .

I don’t know what you pve bunnies do, but in WvW you couldn’t land that combo on anything that moves more than the broad side of a dolyak’s kitten .

And even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to stomp for the entire duration of Signet of the Wild, more than long enough for the downed guy’s friends to have you… removed.

In sPvP I stand infront of my drake, where most Melee will be trying to pummel me as long as possible , then you drop a muddy terrain on their sorry kitten and watch em fry!

lol. so there goes ur 3 util.. so where is your stunbreaker, your conditionremove, or anything else? 1 block or invul during this “fun”-combo and you are dead after.

The following breakdown is for SPvP and WvW rather than PvE which is basically easy mode which does not allow anyone to learn their class to its full potential.

Ranger is different from most of the other classes due to its learning curve. Unlike classes such as warrior where its easy to learn and master Ranger has a different style. From all my time playing (1700hrs) I have seen many rangers cause the class is easy to play. It maybe easy to play but it is one of the hardest classes to master.

Rangers have many disadvantages effecting them that no other class has.

1. Lack of effective condition removal. Unlike any other class in the game Rangers have a lack of reliable condition removal which changes how you have to play substantially.

1. Lower damage outputs on many weapons. Various weapons in the ranger’s kitten nal deal less overall damage compared to other classes with the same weapon. Such as warrior GS vs Ranger GS.

1. A difficult to master class mechanic (AKA pet). Unlike any other class mechanic in the game the ranger has a micromanagement component that takes your attention. Rangers who are able to master their pet controls are far better off than rangers who let the pet “run wild”. The pet is the ranger’s greatest strength along with its greatest weakness.

Out of these issues Rangers have some interesting mechanics that allow for interesting combat.

Since there is a lack of condition removal you need to fight using a ranged/melee combination. To go a straight range or straight melee will allow to much standing still which will make it easier for AOE and conditions to stack. All ranger melee weapons have evades built in and if timed right can lead to many saves.

The key to a ranger (and any class for that matter) is to learn your opponent and to counter their actions. From all the classes I have played (6 classes: Guardian, warrior, ranger, mesmer, elementalist, and engineer) I find that Ranger is the least forgiving class when it comes to a single mistake. Such as using Point Blank Shot on a person with stability can cost you dearly.

Utilizing your skills is key and knowing your opponent. Keeping a close eye on their boons and conditions to determine on the fly and knowing what needs to be done. In SPvP my ranger I find it easiest to fight necros and warriors even thou I have 0 condition removal. Mesmers being the hardest to fight (havn’t found a class yet that actually has it easy against mesmers).

If you disagree on any of these points please state why in a clear concise manner since people will have had different experiences.

hooma.9642:

Durzlla.6295:

Ultravalefor.5038:

Nike.2631:

Try hitting Signet of the Wild ( +25% damage, 8 second), Signet of the Hunt ( +50% damage, next attack) and then f2 on a drake.

Yeah. They’re for bursting .

I don’t know what you pve bunnies do, but in WvW you couldn’t land that combo on anything that moves more than the broad side of a dolyak’s kitten .

And even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to stomp for the entire duration of Signet of the Wild, more than long enough for the downed guy’s friends to have you… removed.

In sPvP I stand infront of my drake, where most Melee will be trying to pummel me as long as possible , then you drop a muddy terrain on their sorry kitten and watch em fry!

lol. so there goes ur 3 util.. so where is your stunbreaker, your conditionremove, or anything else? 1 block or invul during this “fun”-combo and you are dead after.

So muddy terrain is now 3 utilities? kittening news to me…

Durzlla.6295:

hooma.9642:

Durzlla.6295:

Ultravalefor.5038:

Nike.2631:

Try hitting Signet of the Wild ( +25% damage, 8 second), Signet of the Hunt ( +50% damage, next attack) and then f2 on a drake.

Yeah. They’re for bursting .

I don’t know what you pve bunnies do, but in WvW you couldn’t land that combo on anything that moves more than the broad side of a dolyak’s kitten .

And even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to stomp for the entire duration of Signet of the Wild, more than long enough for the downed guy’s friends to have you… removed.

In sPvP I stand infront of my drake, where most Melee will be trying to pummel me as long as possible , then you drop a muddy terrain on their sorry kitten and watch em fry!

lol. so there goes ur 3 util.. so where is your stunbreaker, your conditionremove, or anything else? 1 block or invul during this “fun”-combo and you are dead after.

So muddy terrain is now 3 utilities? kittening news to me…

+ the 2 signets the quoted guys was speaking of.