Guild Wars 2

So… According to the patch notes on the wiki. If you use a longbow, opening strikes doesn’t become useless in a prolonged fight when combined with the improved Remorseless trait. So, y’know, it’s kind of important to try and make some sort of build around that right?

Obviously you need 30 in marksmanship, this gives you the beautifully synergistic power and condition duration. Now, logically, this should open us up to condition damage for a conditions focused built. But you see, unless Vulnerability has been changed since I last tested it, bleeding ignores enemy armour and vulnerability is the reduction of that armour. However, there’s no reason we can’t also take condition duration based runes. There’s also the sigils of peril, yeah, let’s get them all, because this is what we’re doing. I don’t see why you won’t take Quickening Zephyr to boost you and your pet’s physical damage, while also breaking stuns.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/ranger/?6.0|3.0.he|0.0.0.0.0.0|0.716.0.716.0.7i.0.7i.0.7g.0.7g|0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0|u00c.0.0.0.0|0.0|0.4y.0.0.0|e

This is only 30 trait points down, a weapon slot and your upgrade components used. Already vulnerability is lasting 60 to 64% longer (depending on whether you can use mad king runes or not, you may use Lich runes instead of Nightmare ones), only 10% of which doesn’t apply to other conditions. With a cat and malicious training, because why not hit max stacks alone?

After this point, you can take the build in several different ways. You can always alternate between piercing arrows and eagle eye to fit your needs, your longbow gives enough range to justify using a spirits unbound build, the vulnerability getting silly with frost spirit. You could also go full blown conditions anyway since you already have high condition duration, your other allies and pets will still benefit greatly from the vulnerability. You could also pick up beastmastery, making sure you always have an ally on hand who’s making your vulnerability stacks threatening. Triple opening strikes from you, your pet and Remorseless on Hunter’s shot’s stealth, throw in Hunter’s Signet, Jaguar’s stealth, Sic ‘em and Rapid Fire’s for vulnerability, catsassination is back only more glass than before?

Personally, I feel there’s potential here, primarily for dungeons where marksmanship hasn’t been all that great. It might not be fantastic or game breaking, but it’s something.

Well, it doesn’t HAVE to be glass… I’m running a vulnerability Ranger with Soldier’s armor and 5 Superior Runes of the Lich. Maxed out Marksmanship and Beastmastery, put 10 in Nature Magic. I’ve got 40% Condition Duration, so far, and I’ll have 50% once I get a Superior Sigil of Peril on an exotic. The 10 in Nature Magic allows me to have brief Protection if I get hit hard (Nature’s Protection). With the armor and runes added, I have all the damage and still am not a glass cannon (at least, I don’t think I am). I use Quickness with Rapid Fire, which is nasty. Takes out individual people pretty quickly in WvW. Other weapon set is Sword and Axe.

Remorseless + longbow + valkryie gear causes many huge huge crits due to precise strike re-activating since opening strikes happens after stealth. Repeating 12k or great mauls with massie longbow damage. That’s the standard remorseless build, if you’re intersted in using that trait to it’s potential.