Guild Wars 2

I play a ranger since ever and is my main…..every patch i am waiting to see some real changes but every time i am getting more and more dissapointed..To be fair there are real changes which is a BIG MUCH HATED NERF.
I understand that everything u do about this game has some logic and understanding behind it and i understand this is your main motive but i would like to point a few things

1. The class is ranger. In the literally sense range=range damage. In Lord of The Rings sense ranger=two handed sword fast and agile and little armor. In broader sense ranger=someone who loves wildlife for the hunting and the trapping and sometimes has o canine with him. A ranger is skillful at hiding/not dissappearing and lurk in shadows to hunt.
Question to the devs: In which of the forementioned or other fantasy/otherwise senses a ranger is someone who always has a pet with him and waits with his bow till the prey comes and eats him? (Just trying to grasp the logic of it)

2. Ranger ingame is not agile or sneaky. Many of his traits are revolving around stationary position which in some cases is good (wvw) but in most cases is a death penalty. LB5 has u waiting for 3+ seconds.LB1 is slow and after the patch a little quicker but still slow. SB was good cause gave u right away condition damage (brilliant) but got nerfed too. We are stationary and when we are “made” it;s over.
Question to the devs: Why didn;t u give enough mobility to ranger through traits-skills and have him waiting for the reaper?

3.Rangers are most hated members in groups/dungeons. Surely u can see why. Because there is nothing they can give to the group (no dps, no support,no survilability, no sneaky mechanics) except a healing spring. I understand that after the patch there is some support but the build for it is too fixed and not rather enjoyable. I feel sometimes like a not so beautiful guy but with a good heart and soul. I will not get many girls, only those who will invest in my personality. That;s the thing with rangers too. When they see u they turn away, but if they give u some space u can show them that u r good and useful to an extent.But is hard to try everytime to persuade others that u can play to the max of your class’ potential and even then they will tolerate u, not love u, not even sympathise u.
Question to the devs: Don;t u want for all classes to have equal opportunities in all games’ content. I think that is the reason u have big graphs and stuff for the classes of the game. I am too small to even begin to tell u how to do your work but i sincerely like to know the reasoning behind all this.

4. Why the ranger genocide? For a lot of us rangers are fun to play….and that is the point behind this game….as u so often mention…to have fun. But i can;t have fun when every now and then u take a little bit of it away with nerfs. We the rangers have gone from hated to pitied. Although i am not a Jew i feel like one. Before world war 2 (ww2 and not wvw) and in some cases till now jews were hated. After the Germans the jews were pitied. Same with rangers. We have gone from laughed at from the most of the other classes to present day where they pity us because they see that what was before a laughable matter, it became now a tragic genocide.
Question to the devs: WHYYYY?

To end this i would like to ask u Anet Devs

WHY DO YOU HATE RANGERS?

DO THEY EXIST TO FEEL OK FOR THOSE OF U WHO LIKE ANIMALS AND NOTHING ELSE?

IF U DON;T LIKE THEM WHY DON;T U KILL THEM RIGHT AWAY INSTEAD OF TORTURING AND KILLING THEM A BULK AT A TIME

I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC BEHIND ALL OF THIS.NOT THE SHORT SIGHTED ONE BUT THE BIGGER PICTURE.

I EXPECT FROM ALL OF U TO BE GAME/GAMER LOVERS kitten MANY TIMES U HAVE PROVED AND NOTHING MORE

I WANT TO KNOW IF THERE IS HOPE BEFORE I LEAVE WITH TEARS FROM MY RANGER

I WANT RESPECT FOR US AS U HAVE FROM ALL OF US.

THE GAME IS RPG.LET US BE RPGERS AND ENJOY OURSELVES NOT KILLING OUR FUN

Thank u very much in advance

PS. I do not expect to have a reply…i just wanted to express myself and to feel i am not alone. I am feeling so lonely as a ranger. The tragic irony is that maybe that is the point and the challenge of being a ranger….the survilability in wilderness and in your solitude.

I have a Ranger as my main and I’ve gotten extremely good at moving while shooting. It takes timing and some pet micro-management, but it is doable. I use the longbow as my main weapon and the greatsword as my secondary.

By having a pet that fights up close, I can shoot and run around a single enemy while dodging others around me. The only move that makes me halt is the LB5 — as you mentioned — and I have to be very careful when I use it to hold my own.

I also use the regenerative health ability, which seems to be far more useful, even in a group, to have. By becoming really good at survivability (which that skill helps), I can make myself be the last one standing and revive another person just in time to keep the team alive while still dealing damage.

It’s not easy… but it isn’t impossible. I do like the range changes for shortbow however. Realistically a shortbow can not shoot as far as a longbow due to the force exerted by the string itself. So it makes sense to me (as an archer in real life).

Informality.1279:

I do like the range changes for shortbow however. Realistically a shortbow can not shoot as far as a longbow due to the force exerted by the string itself. So it makes sense to me (as an archer in real life).

Longbow 1500 vs Shortbow 1200, they were not equal before.

Shortbow 900 vs Axe 900 and you don’t see a problem with that?

well the world of guild wars have never feels like a deep fantasy world like something, when i read books like the elves and the dwarfs
or watch fantasy movies like lord of the rings, hobbit or maybe other no fantasy medieval movies.

i dont like world of warcraft, but i like warcraft 3 and that was a real fantasy world and good feeling to play the story there!

but i agree the nice name PeterPan about how ranger should feel in every game.
and in this game it feels not like a woodrunner or hunter… :P
it feels for me atm like zookeeper when i watch this zoo movies on tv

Sandpit.3467:

Informality.1279:

I do like the range changes for shortbow however. Realistically a shortbow can not shoot as far as a longbow due to the force exerted by the string itself. So it makes sense to me (as an archer in real life).

Longbow 1500 vs Shortbow 1200, they were not equal before.

Shortbow 900 vs Axe 900 and you don’t see a problem with that?

The thing is, there’s a trade-off for every weapon. The shortbow before was op in comparison to the longbow, making the longbow not worth it. They had nearly the same range (once you’re that far back, just a bit more does not make that significant of a difference), but the shortbow had rapid-fire where the longbow took longer. This left the longbow weaker in comparison.

What they did was balance the weapons for Ranger. To get the rapid-fire, you now have to give up some distance. To gain the distance, you give up rapid-fire. To me, it was a good change. Both player wise and development wise.

Sandpit.3467:

Informality.1279:

I do like the range changes for shortbow however. Realistically a shortbow can not shoot as far as a longbow due to the force exerted by the string itself. So it makes sense to me (as an archer in real life).

Longbow 1500 vs Shortbow 1200, they were not equal before.

Shortbow 900 vs Axe 900 and you don’t see a problem with that?

Exactly. The distance between shooting a bow (any bows) and throwing an axe should never be of equal distance. I thought Dev of all people should know this.
And by using GS swooping to 1100m for gap closer and switch to SB to attack is a broken mechanic. It should be the other way around infact.

I bet now for the next Olympics, Archery uses Axe instead Bows. For this case SB.
Yes its a fantasy game but common logic is common logic. If not why should we run? We could just fly!

Informality.1279:

Sandpit.3467:

Informality.1279:

I do like the range changes for shortbow however. Realistically a shortbow can not shoot as far as a longbow due to the force exerted by the string itself. So it makes sense to me (as an archer in real life).

Longbow 1500 vs Shortbow 1200, they were not equal before.

Shortbow 900 vs Axe 900 and you don’t see a problem with that?

The thing is, there’s a trade-off for every weapon. The shortbow before was op in comparison to the longbow, making the longbow not worth it. They had nearly the same range (once you’re that far back, just a bit more does not make that significant of a difference), but the shortbow had rapid-fire where the longbow took longer. This left the longbow weaker in comparison.

What they did was balance the weapons for Ranger. To get the rapid-fire, you now have to give up some distance. To gain the distance, you give up rapid-fire. To me, it was a good change. Both player wise and development wise.

The shortbow was OP compared to the longbow because the longbow was utter crap. You need a masters trait to even make it worth considering. Shortbow’s function was mobile ranged pressure and it filled that role trait or not. Axe’s role was multi-target ranged DPS and it filled that role trait or not. GS role is high dps mobile melee weapon and it filled that role trait or not. Longbow’s niche is 1500 range weapon (because let’s be real, it sucks without that gimmick) and you need a master level trait to be able to fill that role.

It is the nature of an MMO to have both overpowered and underpowered classes. Overpowered classes exist so that the unskilled masses can still feel like they accomplish something, despite their inability to play the game well. Underpowered classes likewise exist to appease these masses, as well as to give the people who enjoy being an underdog and facing a challenge something to flock to.

Look at the balancing cycle of nearly any MMO in existence, and you will see evidence confirming this. It is entirely intentional, and arguably necessary. Adapt, rise to the challenge, or switch classes if you can’t handle it… But more than anything else: deal with it.

Stormleaf.1769:

It is the nature of an MMO to have both overpowered and underpowered classes. Overpowered classes exist so that the unskilled masses can still feel like they accomplish something, despite their inability to play the game well. Underpowered classes likewise exist to appease these masses, as well as to give the people who enjoy being an underdog and facing a challenge something to flock to.

Look at the balancing cycle of nearly any MMO in existence, and you will see evidence confirming this. It is entirely intentional, and arguably necessary. Adapt, rise to the challenge, or switch classes if you can’t handle it… But more than anything else: deal with it.

Unless you are a game developer, level designer, programmer, or someone who works in the gaming industry, you have no evidence that they intentionally make classes overpowered and underpowered. They are supposed to be BALANCED.

I am in fact going into a gaming program and I have a friend that is looking for a job in the industry. They aim for balance. You should be able to play every class at an equal level. The strive to be better comes from looking at higher level players or those with more experience. NOT because of the class.

Developers strive for balance. That is fact. They balanced things with that last large patch and they did a great job of it. Yes, things changed. OP things are now average and so are UP things average. All players are equals with the exception of experience. That is how it should be.

Stormleaf.1769:

It is the nature of an MMO to have both overpowered and underpowered classes. Overpowered classes exist so that the unskilled masses can still feel like they accomplish something, despite their inability to play the game well. Underpowered classes likewise exist to appease these masses, as well as to give the people who enjoy being an underdog and facing a challenge something to flock to.

So basically what you are saying is that we should be proud of all the nerfs that are coming our way and the ranger being ranked low (if not the lowest) when it comes to PvP? I am aware that there are people who enjoy taking the challenge of being good while playing an underpowered profession, but I’m sure the majority of players didn’t have this in mind when they chose to main a ranger.
As for the SB being OP prior to the patch, you don’t promote one weapon (LB) by nerfing the other (SB). Rangers were choosing SB over LB for a reason: SB is a fast-paced weapon with good defensive skills and ability to aid in catching the runners. LB skills have always been subpar and you needed to trait for this weapon to become somewhat okay. And while the patch didn’t change the SB skills besides the range part, now you have to choose between putting yourself at a greater risk by being closer to your foe or staying at the max range and having to deal with the LB flaws. SB didn’t need this nerf. LB should have got more love, but not at the expense of the SB.

Oh they don’t hate you, they just ignore you.

Stormleaf.1769:

IAnd while the patch didn’t change the SB skills besides the range part, now you have to choose between putting yourself at a greater risk by being closer to your foe or staying at the max range and having to deal with the LB flaws.

I still am not understanding what “flaws” of the longbow everyone keeps talking about. I am a longbow user and I have not noticed any flaws. In fact, I can deal significant damage and have good survivability and group skills. Would you please let me know what these “flaws” are?

And you should never… NEVER add power to something in a game to make it equal to something else. Unless it is the only thing that is down. The more you add power to equalize the more it overpowers the game and ruins it. They nerfed the range on the shortbow for good reason and they did a good job with the balancing. They are now balanced.

People didn’t use the longbow not because it itself is weak — mine has a lot of power — but because for bow’s the shortbow was a better option with long range and rapid fire. They fixed the OP problem.

mistermoo.6720:

Informality.1279:

Sandpit.3467:

Informality.1279:

I do like the range changes for shortbow however. Realistically a shortbow can not shoot as far as a longbow due to the force exerted by the string itself. So it makes sense to me (as an archer in real life).

Longbow 1500 vs Shortbow 1200, they were not equal before.

Shortbow 900 vs Axe 900 and you don’t see a problem with that?

The thing is, there’s a trade-off for every weapon. The shortbow before was op in comparison to the longbow, making the longbow not worth it. They had nearly the same range (once you’re that far back, just a bit more does not make that significant of a difference), but the shortbow had rapid-fire where the longbow took longer. This left the longbow weaker in comparison.

What they did was balance the weapons for Ranger. To get the rapid-fire, you now have to give up some distance. To gain the distance, you give up rapid-fire. To me, it was a good change. Both player wise and development wise.

The shortbow was OP compared to the longbow because the longbow was utter crap. You need a masters trait to even make it worth considering. Shortbow’s function was mobile ranged pressure and it filled that role trait or not. Axe’s role was multi-target ranged DPS and it filled that role trait or not. GS role is high dps mobile melee weapon and it filled that role trait or not. Longbow’s niche is 1500 range weapon (because let’s be real, it sucks without that gimmick) and you need a master level trait to be able to fill that role.

gs dps weapon? we are talking about ranger yes?
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA
that was funny really

to be serious GS isn’t dps weapon – it’s more survi/CC (evade on auto, block with knockdown, and number 5 as interrupter – here you gets swoop for mobility and maul as condi/try of dps)

If you consider gs on ranger as DPS you will never made it to consider ranger as a good class – any other gs that really is dps weapon have much bigger dps – it’s same as considering guardian mace as dps weapon…

btw. about OP devs don’t hate ranger as for me.
and I don’t agree with something like 90% of the statements made there.
Ranger just need skill to play. (and advicing it for begginer players as “learn the game class” that I’ve seen somewhere on the net is big mistake)

They need to release a hot fix now to change the Short bow range back to 1200 – it’s not a question. The change was completely unwarranted.

If the longbow is that bad, then fix the kitten longbow and don’t just nerf the short bow – i still can’t believe this happened.

Avigrus.2871:

They need to release a hot fix now to change the Short bow range back to 1200 – it’s not a question. The change was completely unwarranted.

If the longbow is that bad, then fix the kitten longbow and don’t just nerf the short bow – i still can’t believe this happened.

The nerf was needed. The longbow does not need to be fixed. It is not that bad. The shortbow was OP and the range should not be changed back. The change was warranted for balance purposes.

Informality.1279:

The thing is, there’s a trade-off for every weapon. The shortbow before was op in comparison to the longbow, making the longbow not worth it. They had nearly the same range (once you’re that far back, just a bit more does not make that significant of a difference), but the shortbow had rapid-fire where the longbow took longer. This left the longbow weaker in comparison.

What they did was balance the weapons for Ranger. To get the rapid-fire, you now have to give up some distance. To gain the distance, you give up rapid-fire. To me, it was a good change. Both player wise and development wise.

the extra 300 for longbow is not insignificant. And if the intent was to make the longbow more desirable then buff the longbow skills, there is nothing in the longbow 5 that gives anything but different ways of doing slow pew pew. Nerfing the shortbow doesn’t make the longbow better.

And the trade off wasn’t for rapid fire (crossfire) it was to the whole weapon, even for different professions, so that isn’t it, you are just trying to make excuses for a really bad update.

Not denying longbow sucks, it still does. But the shortbow was not over powered, it sucked too compared to many other profession weapons.

Informality.1279:

Avigrus.2871:

They need to release a hot fix now to change the Short bow range back to 1200 – it’s not a question. The change was completely unwarranted.

If the longbow is that bad, then fix the kitten longbow and don’t just nerf the short bow – i still can’t believe this happened.

The nerf was needed. The longbow does not need to be fixed. It is not that bad. The shortbow was OP and the range should not be changed back. The change was warranted for balance purposes.

Just no, not even close. Are you REALLY trying to say that the pre-patch longbow was fine? REALLY?

OMG!!

Sandpit.3467:

Informality.1279:

The thing is, there’s a trade-off for every weapon. The shortbow before was op in comparison to the longbow, making the longbow not worth it. They had nearly the same range (once you’re that far back, just a bit more does not make that significant of a difference), but the shortbow had rapid-fire where the longbow took longer. This left the longbow weaker in comparison.

What they did was balance the weapons for Ranger. To get the rapid-fire, you now have to give up some distance. To gain the distance, you give up rapid-fire. To me, it was a good change. Both player wise and development wise.

the extra 300 for longbow is not insignificant. And if the intent was to make the longbow more desirable then buff the longbow skills, there is nothing in the longbow 5 that gives anything but different ways of doing slow pew pew. Nerfing the shortbow doesn’t make the longbow better.

And the trade off wasn’t for rapid fire (crossfire) it was to the whole weapon, even for different professions, so that isn’t it, you are just trying to make excuses for a really bad update.

Not denying longbow sucks, it still does. But the shortbow was not over powered, it sucked too compared to many other profession weapons.

Informality.1279:

Avigrus.2871:

They need to release a hot fix now to change the Short bow range back to 1200 – it’s not a question. The change was completely unwarranted.

If the longbow is that bad, then fix the kitten longbow and don’t just nerf the short bow – i still can’t believe this happened.

The nerf was needed. The longbow does not need to be fixed. It is not that bad. The shortbow was OP and the range should not be changed back. The change was warranted for balance purposes.

Just no, not even close. Are you REALLY trying to say that the pre-patch longbow was fine? REALLY?

OMG!!

Maybe you should get better at playing a Ranger. The longbow works wonderfully and did before the patch as well. I’m no longer going to argue my point here because it’s clear that all of the complainers about the balance don’t seem to comprehend the necessity of what areanet did with the balance and why it was good. Good day.

Informality.1279:

Maybe you should get better at playing a Ranger. The longbow works wonderfully and did before the patch as well. I’m no longer going to argue my point here because it’s clear that all of the complainers about the balance don’t seem to comprehend the necessity of what areanet did with the balance and why it was good. Good day.

Really? Learn to play is all you have?

I’m glad you are no longer going to argue. But please come back if you want to contribute to a rational debate instead.

Do you really expect to receive an answer with that kind of aggresivity?

solrik.6028:

Do you really expect to receive an answer with that kind of aggresivity?

We’ve tried asking nicely for civil, rational discussion. They either ignore us or drop a one-line response saying ‘we do care!’ Their efforts to address the core issues with the ranger have looked, to me at least, half-hearted. The GW2 ranger still doesn’t have the smooth functionality of the other classes. At this point, they should be communicating to us what they intend to do next and probably asking for ideas from people who favor ranger. This closemouthed bullkitten is not helpful at all.

They’re not going to respond to you regardless of if it’s aggressive or if you pander to them and give the whole fanboy spiel. Their reason being, they don’t think there is anything wrong with the class and are happy to ignore the majority who say otherwise.

swiftpaw.6397:

They’re not going to respond to you regardless of if it’s aggressive or if you pander to them and give the whole fanboy spiel. Their reason being, they don’t think there is anything wrong with the class and are happy to ignore the majority who say otherwise.

I’m not ignoring what people say. I’m trying to get all the complainers to understand the why of what was done and the fact that it was important. I am, however, still curious about the longbow flaws all the shortbow users keep talking about when they say that it is crap. Which is extremely not true. I use the longbow and deal significant damage and have both before and after the patch. And I am no where near boss at this game. I am only decent.

However, all the shortbow users that lost their range — yeah, it sucks. Get over it. You lost your OP bow. Grow up and learn to use the changes to your advantage because the likelihood of them changing it back is basically zero. You simply have to learn the difference and play like the rest of us.

I’ve no doubt Thiefs who used the stealth skill are all upset and whiny about the changes as well. It was OP and they lost it because of the necessary balancing of the game. Time to learn a different way to play and accept the changes. Simple.

The only class that gained the largest benefits were the Elementals. Because they needed it. The Rangers are not hated. They longbow does not “suck” or have “flaws” in any way that I — or many other longbow users — have noticed.

Being a Ranger takes a certain skill set and play style just like every class. Everyone has their niche. I know I’m not too good at Warrior for some reason and I feel much weaker than others. But I’ve seen some very powerful Warrior characters. Maybe Ranger isn’t your best choice of class if all you can do is complain about an OP weapon being fixed to fit the game.

IMHO what they need to do now is drop the range of the axe to ~600(since the #2 is most effective close range) and increase its dmg so it can be a mix between power and conditions. So it will be longbow=power short-bow=conditions/control and axe=condition/power.

Zapperx.1649:

IMHO what they need to do now is drop the range of the axe to ~600(since the #2 is most effective close range) and increase its dmg so it can be a mix between power and conditions. So it will be longbow=power short-bow=conditions/control and axe=condition/power.

I completely agree with that. High five for Zapperx!

I feel like you misinterpreted what i said, I mean that A-net will ignore the OP because that is their trackrecord regardless of how good someone’s argument is.

The topic is not another SB/lb nerf hater. I acknowledge the fact that is a realistic base behind all these. But the game is a fantasy game not a realistic one. I don’t see anyone saying that opening portals, being invisible etc isn’t realistic. When someone comes knocking at your house and you don’t open him doesn’t open the skies and shoots fireballs at u.I don’t understand why we must be realists only with rangers. U are right to think that some people can do better things with what they have or sometimes suck it up, but I really would like you to be there when someone doesn’t want me to go even to cof1 which by now they are some people who do this butt naked and explain that to them. It shouldn’t be this hard. It should be fun. It isn’t the SB/lb which bothers me it’s the potential for great things for the class. Balance is the key word and IMO there isn’t balance when I’m being kicked right away or I have to explain myself for being a good player. Sure there are other builds other weapons even other classes but it shouldn’t be that hard. There is a BIG problem with our much beloved class and we should express ourselves to better it.
I LOVE BEING A RANGER AND I WILL ADAPT BUT I WOULD LIKE MORE (brief example perma stow pet)

MY NAME IS PETERPAN AND I AM A RANGER
(long time member of RA-Rangers Anonymous)

@PeterPan the cof1 problem is not problem with class but with ppl mentionality – there was just so many “rangers” that was just kids that don’t even know what it is “dodge button” and sadly that is majority of rangers, that other ppl while gathering party don’t want to take a risk that this one is or isn’t good rangers.

there are also bad warriors, bad guardians etc. but in percentage they are less than bad rangers.
and here we have a problem.
(yes once I met in cof1 2 bad rangers – that was team me 2 rangers necro and guardian or warrior I don’t remeber now really – and that two rangers that wasn’t me had just estated wolrd record “how many times it is possible to die in cof p1”)

@Zapperx @Informality I agree with that about axe range and further

To many rangers were over reliant on the sb. The nerf also cam with a damage buff. You can complain that it makes no sense to have the sb have the same range as axe. It a ranged weapon on a melee weapon. Even I in the back of my mind consider it a melee weapon but its not. Each weapon in a bag each have a specific strenth. While the shortbow and the axe share the same range for the most part if they have differen strenghts. Sb is a great single targer weapon and the axe is good for multiple targets.
Axe actualy kitten other rangers up because deal double damage to the ranger and also damage the pet.

Saying Anet is against ranger is so ridiculous. We rangers are in a better place now.
Look at the other classed. Honestly, the only real fighters are warriors and rangers and maybe the Guardian. These are the only classes that stay in a fight. Thieves and Mesner are the two most cheap shotting classes ever. Blink in and out of view calling their homies to fight you cuz you would kick thier kitten straight up with or without your pet.

We ranger are strong in body. We are stronger today than we are yesterday. But it seems that the mind of the community has been poisoned with conspirecy theories.
Those of you who spout this none sense weaken the heart and minds of the young rangers joining our ranks.

Those of you who only use bow need to learn to branch out a bit. It is a fact that range damage is inferior to melee in a general sence. The idea that ranger have less dps is a bit true when you could have used a nother weapon choice but don’t. The best weapon isnt always the bow.

While you can play anyway you wont those of you holding on to the Ideal that ranger are only ranged hurt yourself. I have never been kick from a group becuase I was a ranger. Those of you who main ranger and do certain content will encounter the same people over and over the get to know your name and face. Most likly you being kicked becuase of past performances.

The Sb nerf need to happen for the good of the ranger class. The first SB nerf was one of the best thing that happened to the ranger class. It spawned so many new build. It propelled the ranger class unlike anything since. Those of you who still cry for the first nerf just so us who selfish your really are. Just as this patch may make some of us scramble for new build in the end they will be better than what we had before.

Cultures and communities that can’t change will be left in the dust. The cultures and communities that can change are among the strongest and fastest growing in the world.

Rangers adapt change become stronger do not hold yourself or the rest of us back with your ideals of what once was.

@Serraphin Storm.2369

Amen!

I have 6 of 8 classes at 80, and just getting my Mesmer there now.

If I didn’t have Dreamer, I would stop using my ranger. Ranger was my favourite class in GW1.

Short bow has no AOE.. So the only way I see to keep up with the number of targets other classes hit is tagging as many foes as possible by next targeting after each shot.

This worked better, earlier in the game, but at some point ArenaNET increased the amount of damage you must do to a target to get credit. That’s fine and was more consistent with other classes.

Then, for reasons not related to the ranger (at least in PvE) the quickness Sigil got adjusted. Previously, it enabled two shots before next target. Now, the extra damage in return for slower shots doesn’t quite do enough damage (ex: in CS)

Next, the changes to the targeting system have made it very difficult for target selection. I cannot target with my mouse if I am using the right mouse for navigation. Even when it does find a target, I have to STOP before I can get it ito fire. I usually use 2-button for running since it works with rt mouse navigation.

Now, the SB (which does less damage than the LB when traits/buffs/etc aren’t consisted) having a shorter range means that it is even harder to get enough tags. On top of that, right now in the animation I’m still seeing my rainbows fire past the new maximum range, which it did not do before. The rainbows and unicorns make it very obvious the distance of the animation..

Watching the short bow from a side view, I must say that if I could only shoot that far in real life, I’d be embarrassed – for a professional marksperson to have that kind of range is silly.

ArenaNET: if you want to make something better, please make it better on its own terms, not by nerfing innocent bystanders.

Ranger is the bow class for this game, so why make bows so unattractive? Especially with all the work you put into the design of the Legendary item for the weapon class.

Please a) fix targeting and b) give us back at least SOME range.. 1200. Heck, how about making LB even more range?

Allisa Wonderland.8192:

Ranger is the bow class for this game, so why make bows so unattractive?

Please a) fix targeting and b) give us back at least SOME range.. 1200. Heck, how about making LB even more range?

OMG this ^ Give the ranger something to actually have an edge on other professions that try to use bows. Warriors out-bow us, thieves out-bow us… what gives? Extend the range on longbow #1 to 1700 or something, give the shortbow back its 1200 range and let us be the archers we’re meant to be. Make barrage better at hitting siege on walls by adjusting the whole line-of-sight thing… after all, we’re raining down arrows on top of them, aren’t we? My main is and will always be a ranger because I love the archer archetype, but it needs some serious work on the bow aspects. And either let us run without pets or fix them too, please and thank you.

Allisa Wonderland.8192:

(1)I have 6 of 8 classes at 80, and just getting my Mesmer there now.

If I didn’t have Dreamer, I would stop using my ranger. Ranger was my favourite class in GW1.

Short bow has no AOE.. So the only way I see to keep up with the number of targets other classes hit is tagging as many foes as possible by next targeting after each shot.
(2)

Then, for reasons not related to the ranger (at least in PvE) the quickness Sigil got adjusted. Previously, it enabled two shots before next target. Now, the extra damage in return for slower shots doesn’t quite do enough damage (ex: in CS)

(3)Next, the changes to the targeting system have made it very difficult for target selection. I cannot target with my mouse if I am using the right mouse for navigation. Even when it does find a target, I have to STOP before I can get it ito fire. I usually use 2-button for running since it works with rt mouse navigation.

Now, the SB (which does less damage than the LB when traits/buffs/etc aren’t consisted) having a shorter range means that it is even harder to get enough tags. On top of that, right now in the animation I’m still seeing my rainbows fire past the new maximum range, which it did not do before. The rainbows and unicorns make it very obvious the distance of the animation..

(4)Watching the short bow from a side view, I must say that if I could only shoot that far in real life, I’d be embarrassed – for a professional marksperson to have that kind of range is silly.

ArenaNET: if you want to make something better, please make it better on its own terms, not by nerfing innocent bystanders.

(5)Ranger is the bow class for this game, so why make bows so unattractive? Especially with all the work you put into the design of the Legendary item for the weapon class.

Please a) fix targeting and b) give us back at least SOME range.. 1200. Heck, how about making LB even more range?

(1) good luck
(2)pick piercing arrows trait – that would definitelly help
(3)I would advice key-bind function “closest target” – as for me it works just fine – I just need to find good binding to sstill have good key for “next target”
(4)yep that one I must agree – but consider that army focused on archers in lots of historical battles prooves to be much better than melee fighting one – and in MMO we need balanse so….
(5)I don’t agree they are unatractive – hey You are dealing damage and you are still able to mitigate all enemies atacks via dodging, skill etc. – If You are skilled bow ranger in 1v1 nobody would be able to hit You without own ranged weapon – this is unatractive for You? (but yes it need a little skill and also It forces You to be in move all the time

btw. after reading this forums and reading guardians forums, and playing a little WvW as guardian (my alt) finally I overcomed my lastly doubts about how I want to play my ranger – now I’m finally sure that I want play something like beastmaster-archer-hybrid (I’ll just sacrifice 10 trait point in wildernes survival and nature magic and give it to have 20 in marksmanship and I’ll pick piercing arrows trait) – thanks guys

(1) level 69 on the Mesmer now.. so close…
(2) just checked – I do have it
(3) I bind TAB to closests and Q to next. I believe the problem is related to the field of view coded into the targeting system for determining what your intended target is. It feels like the horizontal spread of the FOV was narrowed to avoid shooting things off to the side, but when strafing around targets, if I fall out of the narrow field, the firing stops – and doesn’t pick up when I get them back. I have autotarget on, promote skill target on, right click and doubleclick … wait a sec, I see there are two options for attack/interact now.. with both on. I’ll experiment with that.

(4) isn’t the medium armor and lesser damage per arrow balance this? Seeing hundreds of points damage per shot vs. thousands of points damage from warriors and guardians. It feels already balanced… and thinking from a historical perspective, as you say, I feel that’s the whole point of a ranger — keep the enemy from getting too close. IF any get past the arrow fields, well then you’re out to lunch.

(5) I <3 dodging, jumping , have the animation timing solid, etc.. I’ve done my runs through TA, plenty through CoF. I still prefer using the bow — but when compared to other weapons I feel a significant reduction in combat effectiveness, beyond using the rainbows to direct people to targets

All this in spite of the fact that the pet attracts aggro and ruins the ranger’s ability to run more than any other class I’ve experienced it with.

I don’t mean to sound defensive about my skills, but after 2300 hours i’d be pretty disappointed in myself not to be pretty good. 6,205 achievement points.

If you’re up to it, I’d love to join you on some run around and compare notes on our fighting.

You play the guardian too… do you find it’s so much easier to solo that the ranger? I never feel I have to run from anything, AND I have a plethora of support skills.

Thanks for your very thoughtful message!

OP has some good points, sadly hes pretty frustrated and rightly so. I don’t think Anet will respond to Rangers players, they have that high and mighty feel to them here in Anet (the we know better than you low customers)..

Doubt its just me, but that’s how Anet staff comes across to me..on this forum.

Informality.1279:

Avigrus.2871:

They need to release a hot fix now to change the Short bow range back to 1200 – it’s not a question. The change was completely unwarranted.

If the longbow is that bad, then fix the kitten longbow and don’t just nerf the short bow – i still can’t believe this happened.

The nerf was needed. The longbow does not need to be fixed. It is not that bad. The shortbow was OP and the range should not be changed back. The change was warranted for balance purposes.

When did you ever hear anyone complain about Rangers and their uber shortbows?…. that’s right never… because it was never a problem to begin with.

BM Bunker GS/S was causing all the issues… if anything the evades on the melee weapons were more deserving of a nerf than the shortbow.

The BM and trap bunkers are still strong. The great sword is decent in PvE but it still doesn’t touch warrior melee DPS (which is also able to stay alive), bows in general are scum in the eyes of ArenaNet so don’t expect them to be viable in comparison to alternatives.

I never heard anyone complain about the shortbow being powerful. It was inferior to alternatives in PvE (maybe not alternatives the ranger has, but that doesn’t make it the problem) and it wasn’t seen in the most competitive sPvP builds. If it was truly OP you would see it in almost all the top sPvP builds (like daggers on eles). Shortbow rangers never put out OP DPS and they were never flooding the meta in sPvP. It was the axe/torch/sword/dagger builds which were causing problems in sPvP (and largely because of the crazy number of dodges and passive healing combined with pet DPS).

When a weapon is OP and needs a nerf you see it show up in almost every match and every dungeon farm group. This was never the case for the shortbow and yet it got hit by a massive nerf.

The devs don’t hate rangers, they have tunnel vision when it comes to balancing the game. They can’t think outside of sPvP and so most build changes are tailored towards that meta, disregarding the incredible imbalance which is steadily growing in PvE.

If I was a dev I would hate rangers because of this forum.

PerfectOctave.5172:

If I was a dev I would hate rangers because of this forum.

First off, I can agree with this.

For my own response, the devs that balance the game “hate” rangers because the competitive PvP community (the gametype that the game is balanced around currently) hates rangers. The PvP community hates the ranger pet mechanic, they hate the simplistic nature of the skillsets available to rangers, and they hate how spam capable the weaponsets can be.

There are barely any rotations, especially ones that can be completed without the RNG of most pets (and they just nerfed the birds F2 spike that could be set up). Rangers also completely lack in burst and burst setup for the most part, except maybe greatsword 5 into maul, which is a key component of what idealistically makes PvP good for most people (aka having big setups for big damage, and needing to avoid them and land your own).

In most people minds, when they hear ranger in pvp, they immediately thing autoattack spamming and dodge spamming while the pet does all of the heavy work and the player doesn’t have to have a high skillset to be effective.

I’m not saying I agree or any of it is true, but it does seem to be the general consensus from the “loud majority” of the PvP community, in which the game is balanced primarily around PvP.

incoming axe range nerf to 600 points lolololol

well srsly guys ranger has no 600 range weapon! anet please fix that!

And PvP is the antithesis of one of my favourite features: reviving instead of killing other players. If this is the path ArenaNET indeed wants me to take.. is there anything in the pipeline from other companies that will be a worthy alternative? Neverwinter is not going to be it, and Wildstar’s graphic style isn’t what I’m after… PM please to avoid hijacking this thread.