Guild Wars 2

…Would they be viable? I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger, so I started thinking about traps/condi damage. I thought I’d get some opinions here before running out and crafting a whole new set of armor and weapons.

Sinister gear would obviously be the best pick, but for the purposes of being a cheapskate, I was thinking of running carrion armor/weapons with sinister trinkets (I already have all the trinkets).

Yeah, would do pretty massive damage, since you don’t really need any utility skills for PvE. Combine them with Aristocracy runes and Axe/Torch and you are doing pretty great AoE damage. There is a build in my sig like that, you can hit 2.4k power and condi damage with it, self stacked Might. PvE section, sinister trapper.

Actually, after thinking it over, my guardian would probably benefit more from running a condi build…He’s already running most of the traits, and his gear could use some consolidation.

I’m still interested in traps, and might try a condi ranger in the future

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

Quarktastic.1027:

…Would they be viable? I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger, so I started thinking about traps/condi damage. I thought I’d get some opinions here before running out and crafting a whole new set of armor and weapons.

Sinister gear would obviously be the best pick, but for the purposes of being a cheapskate, I was thinking of running carrion armor/weapons with sinister trinkets (I already have all the trinkets).

Make no mistake.
Rangers are the answer for condition meta by far.

We have lots of Fire Fields, huge AoE damage, and Spotter that actually helps for Sinister stats. And you might think about what Sun Spirit does to contribute.
Don’t forget our Poison Master, either.

Sadly, we have a long way till the new content appears. Zerk that will do 20K damage in 2 seconds cannot be compared to the long-to-stack condition builds. Not yet.

I’m running a variant of Guangli’s Sinister setup in Dungeons and general PVE (such as Silverwastes) on my 2nd Ranger and it’s working well. Below is the dungeon setup I use but you can sub out Sun Spirit for Spike Trap at any time for utility purposes.

Sinister Ranger

Tragic Positive.9356:

Make no mistake.
Rangers are the answer for condition meta by far

Hidden barbs competing with Spotter is a huge drawback, but still.

Lazze.9870:

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

I think you may have misunderstood my post.

In PvE, Traps deal amazing damage when used correctly. Mobs will just stand in the flames/viper traps, allowing you to just churn stacks on stacks. Trapper’s runes reset aggro each time you set a trap, letting the pet tank more for you so things like glass builds aren’t as fragile (though I still prefer Rabid). It’s great and fun, just don’t expect to set any speed records just yet.

What I’m wondering is why everyone’s condi trap build have sword main hand. I can understand using the axe for bleeds, but Serpent’s strike does less than half the damage of Splitblade at more than twice the recharge.

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

What I’m wondering is why everyone’s condi trap build have sword main hand. I can understand using the axe for bleeds, but Serpent’s strike does less than half the damage of Splitblade at more than twice the recharge.

The AA.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

What I’m wondering is why everyone’s condi trap build have sword main hand. I can understand using the axe for bleeds, but Serpent’s strike does less than half the damage of Splitblade at more than twice the recharge.

The AA.

The AA doesn’t inflict conditions. Please explain.

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

What I’m wondering is why everyone’s condi trap build have sword main hand. I can understand using the axe for bleeds, but Serpent’s strike does less than half the damage of Splitblade at more than twice the recharge.

The AA.

The AA doesn’t inflict conditions. Please explain.

Still does far better direct damage, plus it does inflict cripple and give might to your pet, plus the #2&3 skills are good evasion and apply cripple and poison respectively as well as having better mobility.

Wondrouswall.7169:

I’m running a variant of Guangli’s Sinister setup in Dungeons and general PVE (such as Silverwastes) on my 2nd Ranger and it’s working well. Below is the dungeon setup I use but you can sub out Sun Spirit for Spike Trap at any time for utility purposes.

Sinister Ranger

You give up so much of what makes Guang’s build great. Your changes don’t improve the damage of the build. If it suits your tastes better, then great. But Guang’s build is the more efficient by far.

jewishjoyride.4693:

You give up so much of what makes Guang’s build great. Your changes don’t improve the damage of the build. If it suits your tastes better, then great. But Guang’s build is the more efficient by far.

Not really. The major things I changed was taking a Sword over Axe on main-hand, Wilderness Knowledge instead of Empathic Bond, and taking Marksmanship instead of Beastmastery. Chose his alternatives for more burn focus since I was dropping bleeds from pets and axe.

Though, the Sword was done to suit my tastes. I would use Axe if I was doing his Rabid alternative but I’ve been a Sword Ranger for so long that I’m used to it. :P

Quarktastic.1027:

Lazze.9870:

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

I think you may have misunderstood my post.

Okay. Let me make it easier for you:

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Quarktastic.1027:

Sinister gear would obviously be the best pick, but for the purposes of being a cheapskate, I was thinking of running carrion armor/weapons with sinister trinkets (I already have all the trinkets).

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

Capiche?

Lazze.9870:

Quarktastic.1027:

Lazze.9870:

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

I think you may have misunderstood my post.

Okay. Let me make it easier for you:

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Quarktastic.1027:

Sinister gear would obviously be the best pick, but for the purposes of being a cheapskate, I was thinking of running carrion armor/weapons with sinister trinkets (I already have all the trinkets).

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

Capiche?

You know what, forget it. I’m not going to argue for the sake of arguing.

Quarktastic.1027:

Lazze.9870:

Quarktastic.1027:

Lazze.9870:

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

I think you may have misunderstood my post.

Okay. Let me make it easier for you:

Quarktastic.1027:

I’m tired of watching my guardian (mishmash of soldiers, knights, and zerker -with traveler runes) pump out bigger damage numbers than my zerk/scholar ranger.

Sounds like you’re confused by big numbers without paying attention to the actual damage output.

Quarktastic.1027:

Sinister gear would obviously be the best pick, but for the purposes of being a cheapskate, I was thinking of running carrion armor/weapons with sinister trinkets (I already have all the trinkets).

Full sinister is a must, otherwise you’re just gimping yourself.

Capiche?

You know what, forget it. I’m not going to argue for the sake of arguing.

rabid would be better than carrion due to the precision…and yeah, you’d not be optimal, but you’ll be fine…the difference isn’t that much since you have the trinkets

jewishjoyride.4693:

Wondrouswall.7169:

I’m running a variant of Guangli’s Sinister setup in Dungeons and general PVE (such as Silverwastes) on my 2nd Ranger and it’s working well. Below is the dungeon setup I use but you can sub out Sun Spirit for Spike Trap at any time for utility purposes.

Sinister Ranger

You give up so much of what makes Guang’s build great. Your changes don’t improve the damage of the build. If it suits your tastes better, then great. But Guang’s build is the more efficient by far.

don’t know about that…..if we’re going full sinister, i might rather have all those dmg modifiers in marksmanship, than companions might and honed axe in beastmastery. S/D 2nd set can keep me from using dodges most of the time….so that’s a 20% personal dmg modifier +5% on pet…that’s pretty significant

might also go flame legion runes for another easy to maintain 7% dmg modifer

Don’t waste your time with % dmg modifiers in this build, it only works on the power portion of your damage, which is like 1/8th of the damage or less. More uptime on splitblade, more pet stats and a stronger modifier for the pet means more damage in this condi build. I’ve had an apothecary set on my 2nd ranger that I never actually used (since I got bored of WvW long time ago), used the new MF formula on it. Totally didn’t regret it. More fun than the bow/sword zerk. And I still have that if need be.

EDIT:
Sharpened edges are a must, lowering the CD on flame trap isn’t such a big deal, compared to the free damage of sharpened.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJAnfjEqQ7K2sCuqAVLGKEq+DG2XgHg29B+EIaDgMeqEZTA-TxRFABDqEUY1fA4EAQsyPl2H46FG89BA6BCAcAsbdDgxHf8xHf82d3d3d8dLFAMLrA-e