Guild Wars 2

Heyas everyone! I’ve been contemplating a build for my Ranger that doesn’t focus on using the bow (I find the bow playstyle very boring and monotenous) and I came up with this!

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/ranger/?6.3|1.1p.hd|7.1g.h15.7.1g.h1d|1n.7f.1n.7f.1n.7f.1n.7f.1n.7f.1n.7f|1c.9c.21j.0.2t.0.1c.9c.1p.61.8c.9c|0.u17c.k3a.0.k51|15.7|4j.4q.4r.4w.0|e
(just an FYI the soldier’s trinkets are actually the new sentinel’s trinkets…there’s no option for sentinel yet)

Idea behind this build: I made this build because I love the amount of evades / blocks / interrupts the greatsword has akittens disposal, and wanted to try to capitalize on that while also keeping a ranged option for both chasing / initiating purposes via axe/axe.

Playstyle: This build is tanky enough that you can go into the middle of a group encounter and get some serious damage in, while being able to absorb some punishment as well. I use wolf / fern hound as my pets to maximize intimidation training, as well as having ready access to fear and a free group regen. Also with the reduced hostile condition duration food being able to shake off conditions is fairly easy and manageable (shame signet of renewal’s active is so buggy.)

So far this build has been awesome in pve, and in pvp it does great on 1v1’s, and small/large group battles (the axe bounces work wonders since you can target a pet in the front of the zerg/group and the axe will ping to 2 enemies who might otherwise be out of reach.) Haven’t really tried 1vX, but this build can take some punishment from being outnumbered.

Let me know what you all think!

-Edit- I changed the traits to reflect how I currently use them. DPS has been much better this way!

Yeah, knights is a solid spec. Grats for rocking ranger and having fun!

I’ve heard Moment of Clarity doesn’t affect Hilt Bash.

PsionicDingo.2065:

I’ve heard Moment of Clarity doesn’t affect Hilt Bash.

Hilt bash triggers an attack of opportunity for you and your pet with moment of clarity, it’s just that it won’t stack on your pet with the damage boost hilt bash provides on its own.

That’s not too bad at all. I’ll have to revisit my 30/30/X builds.

Thanks for the feedback all! I really am enjoying my ranger quite a bit, don’t know why I didn’t make one sooner!

Looks pretty cool, glad you’re enjoying your ranger My only comment on the build is that skirmishing II is a truely aweful trait. The bleed it gives lasts only 1 tick, and since you arent even a condition build it adds very little to your build. Try looking at I or IV as they will probably be much more useful.

Cufufalating.8479:

Looks pretty cool, glad you’re enjoying your ranger My only comment on the build is that skirmishing II is a truely aweful trait. The bleed it gives lasts only 1 tick, and since you arent even a condition build it adds very little to your build. Try looking at I or IV as they will probably be much more useful.

Yeah I’ve been contemplating of changing out the chance to bleed trait for the increased pet movement trait so my pets will be able to stick onto players easier in pvp. Thanks for the input! =D

Finally made a video to show off the build! I also modified the build a tiny amount, and have a new link to the build itself in the description. Enjoy!!

Why Axe at all, SB also benefits from the clarity trait.

In any case I would move points out of clarity and max out BM for regen and change trinkets a bit to gain near 500 healing.

Cempa.5619:

Why Axe at all, SB also benefits from the clarity trait.

In any case I would move points out of clarity and max out BM for regen and change trinkets a bit to gain near 500 healing.

Point of axe/axe is for splash damage via #2 and #4, chills, and projectile reflect. I also mentioned at the beginning the bows in this game are boring to me. Also this build isn’t a defensive regen build, it’s a tanky offensive build, with pet traits for faster skill recharges all around / crit damage.

Just a FYI, Stun/Daze Sigil is rounded up, so a 2.2 sec would become 3.

Would be great if others chime in on what they think about this build?

You have very similar stats to my own build, except I have 2200 power and 1500 toughness. I use axe/axe as main weapon, and greatsword as second. Since you are playing greatsword as main hand, I would suggest you go with Frost Trap. This will also help you make Whirling Defense hit up close. If you want to get away, you always have good old Swoop, and I can see you already have a stun removal in traits. You should also try the River Drake as your main pet, only because the F2 skill is superior. After you use that, change back to Snow Leopard for its F2 chill.

Cempa.5619:

Just a FYI, Stun/Daze Sigil is rounded up, so a 2.2 sec would become 3.

Well now, that is very interesting indeed! Thought it only rounded up once a duration was above .5….I’m going to give it a shot, thanks for the tip!

haha you lindsey stirling fan awesome!, looks like fun. I guess I should get my ranger up to par too soon.

Not bad. A few things to point out though.

First of all – you have 2 “on critical” sigils on your axe/axe set. This is a mistake. On critical sigils share internal cooldown, so when one of them triggers the other one won’t be able to till it comes off cooldown. By having both you’re seriously crippling both of their activation frequency. Since mainhand is checked first, this means that more often than not, it’s sigil of nullification that’s going to waste.

Second, sharpened edges… why? You have no condition damage. Sharpened edges is a no internal cooldown 1 second of bleed. The point is to, essentially, add condition damage to your normal attacks. But you have no condition damage at all. Why not Pet’s Prowess? Free 30% critical damage for your pet.

I’m also not a fan of Shared Anguish due to the massive internal cooldown and uncontrollable use, and would rather have vigor on heal, but your call.

I’m also very much not a fan of Runes of Vampirism. Sacrificing too much for too little IMO. Either go full offensive runes here (or Orbs), or take something like Dwayna. Extra regen is always nice on a ranger.

Additionally, you have almost no condition removal, so I’d seriously consider trading Troll Unguent for Healing Spring.

Lastly, I wouldn’t pick off-hand axe myself. #4 is ok but unreliable damage, #5 roots in place, so it leaves you very vulnerable for the little defense it gives you. Personally I’d rather have warhorn. Better damage on 4, and 5 gives you extra swiftness and fury.

ProxyDamage.9826:

Not bad. A few things to point out though.

First of all – you have 2 “on critical” sigils on your axe/axe set. This is a mistake. On critical sigils share internal cooldown, so when one of them triggers the other one won’t be able to till it comes off cooldown. By having both you’re seriously crippling both of their activation frequency. Since mainhand is checked first, this means that more often than not, it’s sigil of nullification that’s going to waste.

- I understand the internal cooldown part, but since sigil of nullification has a higher chance of proccing + a 10 sec cooldown, they both tend to pop fairly regularly. Just my observations though during a fight.

ProxyDamage.9826:

Second, sharpened edges… why? You have no condition damage. Sharpened edges is a no internal cooldown 1 second of bleed. The point is to, essentially, add condition damage to your normal attacks. But you have no condition damage at all. Why not Pet’s Prowess? Free 30% critical damage for your pet.

- I actually changed that for the 30% pet crit damage trait a day or so after I made this post. In the youtube video I posted I left my build in the comments with the changes I made (gonna change the original build to reflect it.)

ProxyDamage.9826:

I’m also not a fan of Shared Anguish due to the massive internal cooldown and uncontrollable use, and would rather have vigor on heal, but your call.

- Shared Anguish has come in handy quite often with blocking that 1st CC opening move most players try to open up with, and has blocked out a downed state stun that would’ve prevented me from finishing off an enemy faster as well. The CD on it is indeed very long, but it’s proven its worth keeping it on for me anyway. =)

ProxyDamage.9826:

I’m also very much not a fan of Runes of Vampirism. Sacrificing too much for too little IMO. Either go full offensive runes here (or Orbs), or take something like Dwayna. Extra regen is always nice on a ranger.

- I love the vampirism set for a number of reasons. First are the lifesteals it provides (free 500-600 heal.) A guaranteed lifesteal after using a heal (comes in handier than it initially sounds), and a chance to proc another lifesteal on hit is extremely nice. The mistform at 10% has saved my kitten so many times when in large group fights that turn sour or just in situations where I would normally be overwhelmed it’s crazy. Aside from any pre-existing conditions on you when mistform hits, you are 100% invulnerable for 3-4 seconds, which if you have the luck I do, is just enough time for either an escape move, or heal to come up. What’s nice about this build though is that it’s open to different rune sets of your choosing.

ProxyDamage.9826:

Additionally, you have almost no condition removal, so I’d seriously consider trading Troll Unguent for Healing Spring.

- That’s where the food comes in. -40% condition duration on you helps out tons with regards to that. I also use heal as one (another change I need to update) since for the most part you’re in the front / mid lines during fight, having a big heal you can pop is pretty vital imo since troll unguent and healing spring’s regen may not provide that extra healing buffer that is needed. I’ll still give healing spring a shot and see how it works with the way I play though!

ProxyDamage.9826:

Lastly, I wouldn’t pick off-hand axe myself. #4 is ok but unreliable damage, #5 roots in place, so it leaves you very vulnerable for the little defense it gives you. Personally I’d rather have warhorn. Better damage on 4, and 5 gives you extra swiftness and fury.

- I use axe off-hand’s skills after getting a good snare or chill on an enemy before tossing the #4 skill. I will admit I love having a guarenteed reflect on #5 just because people who are mostly/pure ranged (shortbow/longbow rangers, bow/rifle warriors, engineers, etc) can’t touch me for 5 seconds, or can only do a minimal amount of damage with any ground targetted moves they have. Meanwhile I’m throwing everything back at them. Granted in a large zerg situation #5 can be spotty on usage, but overall axe mainhand’s #3 has great synergy with offhand #4. I’ve done 10k to people with just one toss of the #4 (4k one way, 6k return). Guess I just like having options for dealing with specific playstyles and builds. Thanks for your feedback Proxy! =D

Setun.4368:

- That’s where the food comes in. -40% condition duration on you helps out tons with regards to that. I also use heal as one (another change I need to update) since for the most part you’re in the front / mid lines during fight, having a big heal you can pop is pretty vital imo since troll unguent and healing spring’s regen may not provide that extra healing buffer that is needed. I’ll still give healing spring a shot and see how it works with the way I play though!

I would indeed give healing spring a try, but only used it combined with vigor on heal.
With gs i can easily stay within the circle boundaries and gain vigor every tick. Also the #3 skill gives leap finisher on healing spring.
Healing spring is the worst choice when ur on the move, though when u don’t need to move much, it’s a good alternative, cuz with evades u even stay inside the circle.

Does nobody use conditions in wvw? A lot of builds I see have no condi removal.

Eurantien.4632:

Does nobody use conditions in wvw? A lot of builds I see have no condi removal.

There’s a lot of condition builds used in wvw, that’s why I incorporated the -40% condition duration food. I really want to use signet of renewal in this build more so than signet of the hunt, but the active effect for signet of renewal is mega buggy. It almost never pulls any conditions off myself or anyone around me from what I’ve seen. Now my Guardian on the other hand is an anti-condition machine with his meditation build lol

Eurantien.4632:

Does nobody use conditions in wvw? A lot of builds I see have no condi removal.

A lot of players use condition removal in WvW. The problem is that the Rangers condition removal is really bad:

• Signet of Renewal, is too unreliable with 10 seconds in between removing one condition, and having a 60 second recharge time.
• Healing Spring, works nicely in PvE, where you can stay in the same spot for quite some time. But in PvP, you are constantly moving around, trying to avoid AoE fields and dodge incoming damage, so all you really get is one condition removed and 7260 healing. Which would be nice, if it wasn’t because of the 30 seconds recharge time.
• Next to these two skills, you have the brown bear that can remove one condition every 25 second. But it’s a horrible pet outside of dungeons, as you always need more damage as a Ranger.
• Spirit of Nature, can remove conditions with it’s active ability. But summoning the spirit takes 1,5 seconds, and activation the ability also takes around 1 second. You’ll be dead before you can activate it. And the Rangers other two elite skills are also far better.
• And finally, when it comes to traits the Ranger only has two ways to remove conditions, which both are grandmaster traits. Empathic Bond is basically just an improved Signet of Renewal, and Evasive Purity only removes blind and poison.

So overall, it’s not really worth taking condition removal as a Ranger, in PvP. You’re better of just going with Bowl of Lemongrass Poultry Soup (-40% condition duration), and try your best to escape foes with evade skills.

I honestly can’t agree with “We don’t have great condition removal, so best to not take anything at all!” approach.

Yes, rangers have limited condition removal, but limited isn’t the same as none at all. Signet of Renewal isn’t fantastic but it’s something, and Healing Spring will usually guarantee at least 2 conditions removed. Just having the ability to quickly cleanse a condition or two is extremely important.

Also don’t forget HS is a water field, which means free regen and extra healing if you have a leap/blast finisher.

ProxyDamage.9826:

I honestly can’t agree with “We don’t have great condition removal, so best to not take anything at all!” approach.

Yes, rangers have limited condition removal, but limited isn’t the same as none at all. Signet of Renewal isn’t fantastic but it’s something, and Healing Spring will usually guarantee at least 2 conditions removed. Just having the ability to quickly cleanse a condition or two is extremely important.

Also don’t forget HS is a water field, which means free regen and extra healing if you have a leap/blast finisher.

Signet of Renewal is a waste of a utility slot, which is also why so many Rangers use Lightning Reflexes as a stun breaker. As said, the passive will not always trigger when you need it to, and a 60 second recharge is way to long for it to be reliable.

Healing Spring is a good skill, yes, but the recharge time is a bit too long, considering the initial healing amount is 7,260 health (with the regeneration). To get more out of it, you have to stand in the field for 3+ seconds, or use a leap finisher. Compare it to Troll Unguent which heals you for 8,560 health, and has a 25 second recharge time. Or ‘Heal as One’ that heals you for 6,520 health, with only a 20 seconds recharge time. These two healing skills will heal you for 6,024 or 5,040 more health a minute, compared to Healing Springs initial healing. So if you have a build that can’t afford to be stationary, then Healing Spring won’t be that good. It’s also worth mentioning that you can be knocked out of Healing Springs combo field, and that the regeneration can be removed, which greatly reduces the healing you’ll get out of it. So while the condition removal is good, the healing part of Healing Spring means that it’s not always the best choice.

It’s not all bad, though. The Ranger does have some good interrupt prevention in ‘Shared Anquish’ and ‘Hide in Plain Sight’ next to our three stun breakers; Lightning Reflexes, Quickening Zephyr, and Signet of Renewal. The Ranger also partly makes up for having bad condition removal, by having access to a few regeneration sources, and having a lot of ways to increase endurance.

Kasama.8941:

Signet of Renewal is a waste of a utility slot, which is also why so many Rangers use Lightning Reflexes as a stun breaker. As said, the passive will not always trigger when you need it to, and a 60 second recharge is way to long for it to be reliable.

Hardly, it’s condition removal, on a class that barely has any. It’s not our best stun breaker, but it is a stun breaker, and it provides something we lack – condition removal. You’re seriously underestimating the ability to simply clear a condition every 10 seconds, which, by the way, is a continuous loop and not “clear a condition after 10 seconds”, so you’ll quite often have a condition applied only for it to be instantly removed.

Kasama.8941:

Healing Spring is a good skill, yes, but the recharge time is a bit too long, considering the initial healing amount is 7,260 health (with the regeneration). To get more out of it, you have to stand in the field for 3+ seconds, or use a leap finisher. Compare it to Troll Unguent which heals you for 8,560 health, and has a 25 second recharge time. Or ‘Heal as One’ that heals you for 6,520 health, with only a 20 seconds recharge time. These two healing skills will heal you for 6,024 or 5,040 more health a minute, compared to Healing Springs initial healing. So if you have a build that can’t afford to be stationary, then Healing Spring won’t be that good. It’s also worth mentioning that you can be knocked out of Healing Springs combo field, and that the regeneration can be removed, which greatly reduces the healing you’ll get out of it. So while the condition removal is good, the healing part of Healing Spring means that it’s not always the best choice.

What it does have over those two, on the other hand is, again, condition removal, and a water field for free extra regen/healing from finishers.

Keep in mind I’m not saying you should always take healing spring, but when you have no other source of condition removal… then yeah, healing spring is practically mandatory. Or you can just die horribly everytime a condition build targets you.

Yes, these aren’t the best options to tank white damage… Yes, you have better options for that. What those options don’t have, on the other hand, is any defense against conditions.

You can choose to disregard condition removal and fill up on “anti-power damage” defense, which makes it, indeed, problematic to take down with power based builds… but a pathetic target for condition builds. Or you can sacrifice some of that, still be very strong against power-builds, and at least have some defense against conditions. Your call.

If I can chime in about condition removal, Ranger can build in a way 10sec is plenty, all you need to do as a player is figure out a good point between +healing, +toughness, +power or +condition. You can go for Cleric, Soldier or Opeth -err I forget its name the condition toughness healing gear.

Just play around with a mix until you find YOUR sweet spot…GW2 gives us the player this and I think its awesome…

Moment of Clarity is actually really powerful as far as talents go.

Xsorus.2507:

Moment of Clarity is actually really powerful as far as talents go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hJvzVeXqPw

Ya, I’m a big fan of that trait. Stuns are so freaking powerful. Yesterday I was running moment of clarity with a condition build in EB. I saw a warrior attacking someone from a distance with rifle so I ducked down and ran behind him using the nearby valley and terrain. Meanwhile, I got a tuft of hair from my Seeyamoth. I popped that stealth, ran up to him and BOOM hilt bash into bonfire. GG

Eurantien.4632:

Does nobody use conditions in wvw? A lot of builds I see have no condi removal.

My build doesn’t have any condition removal besides healing spring, in my guild we have shout warriors that can control them so isn’t a real problem, we rely and coordinate with everyone else.