Guild Wars 2

While waiting for today’s patch I had some time to kill so I thought it might be a nice idea to share my very first gaming video!

First of I would like to mention that I have been reading this forum since launch, and would like to thank for all the contribution made by the Ranger community!

I enjoy all the different setups Rangers use to play and I enjoy learning different ways to play the ranger. And I also feel that we need more of that sweet “Ranger Youtube video” candy!

I’m running a BM/Healing (0,0,30,15,25) set, and would call myself an evasive Ranger. Earlier I ran with the sword which gave me the edge too often, so to spice it up a bit I’m going for the two handed.

The pets are our best friends, so don’t forget to give them love! You don’t always have to finish the opponent fast, let the pet have a snack from time to time!

Enjoy! And if you have any suggestion or comments, please do share!

The build that is used in the video:
http://www.gw2build.com/builds/simulator.php#1.6.12.10.0.0.32.32.0.0.132.145.139.144.152.0.0.14.0.0.0.0.0.0.411.415.416.425.0.0.441.440.0.0.0.30.15.25
30 at WS to get Empathic Bond.
15 at NM to get Fortifying Bond (But like xev.9476 pointed out this can be kept at 10, and then put the rest in BM)
25 at BM to get all that pet candy! Plus we get some nice power bonus.
This build is all about the pets. Need to swap them and keep them on target (also alive)

I would like to know what gear are you using.

Ahh Rangers with bears…

Nothing says free kill more then that…

Good video, totally enjoyed it.
Good use of terrain. You don’t see enough of that in WvWvW. I love the guardian attacking with a scepter, in melee range, on a hunter…that just made me laugh. I like how you wait until opponents are in melee and then hit vines. It catches them off guard. I’ll have to try that tactic. The ambush (3v1) was great also.

How did you strip the conditions from the memser chaotic field? It looked like they dropped early, or is it just the video speed?

If you could post you build, which traits you selected etc, I would love to try it.

Great video.
I would like too to know what gear you are wearing.
Cleric or PTH?
And the weapons?
This build seems ok for pvp but:
Are u using the formal 30/10/30 in pve?

Thx in advance

Awesome watch! Thanks for posting.

I will never understand what goes on in the minds of those who focus their attacks on your pet.

I would just like to commend you on your success
I wish i was half as good as you on my BM/Heal build
You give me something to aspire towards

Thanks

Xsorus.2507:

Ahh Rangers with bears…

Nothing says free kill more then that…

Hahah that comment made me laugh.. then you haven’t met any good rangers in WvW yet

To the original poster that was a nice video and nice build^.^ and a nice show off.
Just remember some day you will eventually run into somebody that will counter that build. That is the wonderful thing about WvW! and I’m happy to see that you have found use of sigil of fire xD

Btw Gza, now i can see you are playing against Dzagonur, which server are you playing on?

kesuh.3891:

Xsorus.2507:

Ahh Rangers with bears…

Nothing says free kill more then that…

Hahah that comment made me laugh.. then you haven’t met any good rangers in WvW yet

To the original poster that was a nice video and nice build^.^ and a nice show off.
Just remember some day you will eventually run into somebody that will counter that build. That is the wonderful thing about WvW! and I’m happy to see that you have found use of sigil of fire xD

Btw Gza, now i can see you are playing against Dzagonur, which server are you playing on?

I’ve killed countless …and I mean countless Rangers…..and I can say 100% that any Ranger running a Bear in World vs World is going to be an easy kill.

The only benefit to running Bear is if they’re running something like Signet of the Stone and Protect Me for the damage absorb..however…..This still comes down to them using a Bear…Which is absolutely awful damage wise…

If you’re going to run any type of pet that’s not a Bird or Cat, it better be a Dog.

Expiatus.4210:

Good video, totally enjoyed it.
Good use of terrain. You don’t see enough of that in WvWvW. I love the guardian attacking with a scepter, in melee range, on a hunter…that just made me laugh. I like how you wait until opponents are in melee and then hit vines. It catches them off guard. I’ll have to try that tactic. The ambush (3v1) was great also.

How did you strip the conditions from the memser chaotic field? It looked like they dropped early, or is it just the video speed?

If you could post you build, which traits you selected etc, I would love to try it.

Thanks for the feedback!

I think this would be the build that I’m running in the video:

http://www.gw2build.com/builds/simulator.php#1.6.12.10.0.0.32.32.0.0.132.145.139.144.152.0.0.25.0.0.0.0.0.0.411.415.416.425.0.0.441.440.0.0.0.30.15.25

30 at WS to get Empathic Bond.
15 at NM to get Fortifying Bond for some QZ action.
25 at BM to get all that pet candy! Plus we get some nice power bonus.

This build is all about the pets. Need to swap them and keep them on target (also alive)

Sete.3168:

I would like to know what gear are you using.

I think all the gear was Cleric and Zho’s!
But I do change it alot of the time depending on if I want to be more offensive or defensive. But I guess a good start would be Cleric and Zho’s.

Xsorus.2507:

kesuh.3891:

Xsorus.2507:

Ahh Rangers with bears…

Nothing says free kill more then that…

Hahah that comment made me laugh.. then you haven’t met any good rangers in WvW yet

To the original poster that was a nice video and nice build^.^ and a nice show off.
Just remember some day you will eventually run into somebody that will counter that build. That is the wonderful thing about WvW! and I’m happy to see that you have found use of sigil of fire xD

Btw Gza, now i can see you are playing against Dzagonur, which server are you playing on?

I’ve killed countless …and I mean countless Rangers…..and I can say 100% that any Ranger running a Bear in World vs World is going to be an easy kill.

The only benefit to running Bear is if they’re running something like Signet of the Stone and Protect Me for the damage absorb..however…..This still comes down to them using a Bear…Which is absolutely awful damage wise…

If you’re going to run any type of pet that’s not a Bird or Cat, it better be a Dog.

I use wolf and Bear in WvW
Never going to use cat or bird in there.

There are many types of builds and somehow many rangers still goes “glass canon” in WvW, I have battled other rangers with my own ranger. I use greatsword and sword/dagger and I’m not a glass canon.
But yes sometimes Ranger does look like they have a sign above the head that say “look at me i’m easy kill”
The surprise is usually the first win and key to success in WvW

The thing about rangers is that if the player behind one doesn’t know how to play, then they’re the easiest kills in the entire world.

Agadar.4931:

The thing about rangers is that if the player behind one doesn’t know how to play, then they’re the easiest kills in the entire world.

Problem with the ranger is that I think the learning curve is steep.
First you have to master whatever build you pick (like all other classes).
But then you need to master the Pet. And the pet is not easy to keep track on. It took me a while. Swap it, keep it alive, use the f2 in the right moment (could be the difference between life and death). And! You need to time your skills with the Pet so that he can get better hits on the enemy.

This is the reason why I think alot of Rangers dont bother with the Pet, and thats also the problem with the class.

Just wondering, how have you done against a shatter Mesmer? I have been toying around will rolling a ranger for some time though I’m not certain if I want to try something new or spend more time learning my original character.

I was expecting this:

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-FFkV;1wEFx-v2kDV-0;9k2D;3T9T;437A5;058BaoG6;2nBnBnBnB9FH

Agadar.4931:

The thing about rangers is that if the player behind one doesn’t know how to play, then they’re the easiest kills in the entire world.

That goes for every profession..
Ranger with GS vs Warrior with GS.. Ranger won, Awkwaaaard xD

So that statement goes for every profession and not just the ranger. If you don’t know how to play the class, you are an easy kill.

kesuh.3891:

Agadar.4931:

The thing about rangers is that if the player behind one doesn’t know how to play, then they’re the easiest kills in the entire world.

That goes for every profession..
Ranger with GS vs Warrior with GS.. Ranger won, Awkwaaaard xD

So that statement goes for every profession and not just the ranger. If you don’t know how to play the class, you are an easy kill.

No. A bad warrior still has plenty of health and armor to survive for a good long time. A bad mesmer still poops clones like no tomorrow. A bad thief will still be able to land huge crits and still has plenty of escape abilities. Likewise for elementalist. A bad necromancer will still have plenty of survivability. And so forth.

The ranger has none of this. Out of all classes, rangers depend the most on their own skill, not the innate abilities of the ranger class itself.

I’m wondering why you go 15 into Nature Magic instead of 10. You write, “15 at NM to get Fortifying Bond for some QZ action,” but QZ already affects both you and your pet and thus receives no benefit from Fortifying Bond.

That’s where I want to give him advice, best friend of NM 15 is ROA. Entangle is not effective VS good players, ROA rocks all the time and works perfectly with fortifying bond.

this is very close to my build which I post month ago. But I am now already get bored about it. Yes it’s a good roamer, but that’s all. OP is still enjoying it, but maybe will feel my pain of boring after a while.

xev.9476:

I’m wondering why you go 15 into Nature Magic instead of 10. You write, “15 at NM to get Fortifying Bond for some QZ action,” but QZ already affects both you and your pet and thus receives no benefit from Fortifying Bond.

Xev: Thats true! Was some other reason but cant come up with it now.

CRabbit: ROA just doesn’t do it for me. Thing is even good players do get stuck in entangle, and all i need is them to be stuck for 2 sec for it to be worth it. But its kind of a 50% chance you get it.
I do agree with you, its easy to get bored with this build. But I guess the same applies to any build you play to long. BTW, I have read your posts and defiantly got some inspiration from there! Thanks!

Entangle can be dodged, even easier than warrior’s HB. I never being caught by entangle during small fight. Even if entangled, any class with teleport skill can get out instantly.
Guess you haven’t met enough good mesmers and D/D eles yet. (those are very popular roaming classes) ROA is almost a must-have to against them (coz you need to give them pressure uninterruptedly).
Also if you nether use ROA nor war horn, I would say NM 15 is kinda waste. Put that extra 5 to BM maybe will give you better result.

Gza.8490:

Xev: Thats true! Was some other reason but cant come up with it now.

CRabbit: ROA just doesn’t do it for me. Thing is even good players do get stuck in entangle, and all i need is them to be stuck for 2 sec for it to be worth it. But its kind of a 50% chance you get it.
I do agree with you, its easy to get bored with this build. But I guess the same applies to any build you play to long. BTW, I have read your posts and defiantly got some inspiration from there! Thanks!

CRrabbit.1284:

Entangle can be dodged, even easier than warrior’s HB. I never being caught by entangle during small fight. Even if entangled, any class with teleport skill can get out instantly.
Guess you haven’t met enough good mesmers and D/D eles yet. (those are very popular roaming classes) ROA is almost a must-have to against them (coz you need to give them pressure uninterruptedly).
Also if you nether use ROA nor war horn, I would say NM 15 is kinda waste. Put that extra 5 to BM maybe will give you better result.

Gza.8490:

Xev: Thats true! Was some other reason but cant come up with it now.

CRabbit: ROA just doesn’t do it for me. Thing is even good players do get stuck in entangle, and all i need is them to be stuck for 2 sec for it to be worth it. But its kind of a 50% chance you get it.
I do agree with you, its easy to get bored with this build. But I guess the same applies to any build you play to long. BTW, I have read your posts and defiantly got some inspiration from there! Thanks!

D/D eles are a simple match for me at least. Or simple is maybe a bad word, but I do tend to win against them. Its a game of endurance.
As for mesmers! I do agree that they can be a pain to handle. My biggest problem is confusion. Do you have any suggestions to counter that?

But it could be that I like you stated never have meet a good player. My 11k kills (mostly small fight roaming) could have all been super bad players. I’m not usually that good at games and i find it odd that I manage so well at GW2. j/k

As for the entangle, the trick is to use it while they are not able to evade. And I do switch weapons more then I switch builds. So I do use war horn from time to time. And its not like i never use ROA. Just not the past weeks as I have gotten better at getting entangle to stick.

But you are very right that 15 can be put to 10 and them 30 at BM.
With the setup used on the video it would have been better to go that way!
Jeez, I could have even had a better scenario =)

Thanks for the feedback!

You know what make me feel bored by using BM ranger in WvW ? Yes it’s a good duelist, but even if you win tons of 1v1, it didn’t help your server at all. My BM ranger can beat my guardian for sure, but my guardian can solo a camp in 30 seconds which takes my BM ranger 2 mins to finish. But you know in higher tier it will never happen that no one come after camp being atk for 1 min (maybe even shorter). You might meet some roamers in open field but most of time they are just scouting, they won’t even fight you.
However, in group fight, BM healing ranger is kinda powerless, our pet won’t rock anymore under the crossfire and our best offer to team is just a water field.
I am now missing my old-day trap ranger although he has big survival problem, but I can feel I am devoting something to the result but not just some pointless victories VS some random passing by.

if I recall correctly, NM 15 is the trait that shares every boon you get with your pet. I find that really helpful when Im running warhorn, since it’s a 50% increase in swiftness and an extra stack of might to go with what should be 4 stacks already if traited right right (not to mention if you have any buddies that can blast into your bonfire).
Also I find BM 25 not very helpful, I usually run 5/0/30/15/20

why are u running rune of pack?

kiwituatara.6053:

why are u running rune of pack?

Im a poor ranger that only spends time in WvWvW and that rune was already on the Zho’s gear But the important part is the healing boost

Zho’s is flock not pack.
Pack is actually not bad if not bugged.

Gza.8490:

kiwituatara.6053:

why are u running rune of pack?

Im a poor ranger that only spends time in WvWvW and that rune was already on the Zho’s gear But the important part is the healing boost

CRrabbit.1284:

Zho’s is flock not pack.
Pack is actually not bad if not bugged.

Gza.8490:

kiwituatara.6053:

why are u running rune of pack?

Im a poor ranger that only spends time in WvWvW and that rune was already on the Zho’s gear But the important part is the healing boost

True! my bad .. flock / pack .. they sound the same so I mistook one for the other.
I’m running Flock

Isn’t healing power kind of a waste? Unlike Guardians or Eles that have multiple healing sources, you only get a regen on 75% HP trait and that’s it, the scaling is very poor with TU, wouldn’t those stats better be spent elsewhere?

Agadar.4931:

kesuh.3891:

Agadar.4931:

The thing about rangers is that if the player behind one doesn’t know how to play, then they’re the easiest kills in the entire world.

That goes for every profession..
Ranger with GS vs Warrior with GS.. Ranger won, Awkwaaaard xD

So that statement goes for every profession and not just the ranger. If you don’t know how to play the class, you are an easy kill.

No. A bad warrior still has plenty of health and armor to survive for a good long time. A bad mesmer still poops clones like no tomorrow. A bad thief will still be able to land huge crits and still has plenty of escape abilities. Likewise for elementalist. A bad necromancer will still have plenty of survivability. And so forth.

The ranger has none of this. Out of all classes, rangers depend the most on their own skill, not the innate abilities of the ranger class itself.

Eng is in same boat.

Moddo.7105:

Agadar.4931:

kesuh.3891:

Agadar.4931:

The thing about rangers is that if the player behind one doesn’t know how to play, then they’re the easiest kills in the entire world.

That goes for every profession..
Ranger with GS vs Warrior with GS.. Ranger won, Awkwaaaard xD

So that statement goes for every profession and not just the ranger. If you don’t know how to play the class, you are an easy kill.

No. A bad warrior still has plenty of health and armor to survive for a good long time. A bad mesmer still poops clones like no tomorrow. A bad thief will still be able to land huge crits and still has plenty of escape abilities. Likewise for elementalist. A bad necromancer will still have plenty of survivability. And so forth.

The ranger has none of this. Out of all classes, rangers depend the most on their own skill, not the innate abilities of the ranger class itself.

Eng is in same boat.

Aye, though our engineering brothers apparantly have been buffed into the sky.

Agadar.4931:

kesuh.3891:

Agadar.4931:

The thing about rangers is that if the player behind one doesn’t know how to play, then they’re the easiest kills in the entire world.

That goes for every profession..
Ranger with GS vs Warrior with GS.. Ranger won, Awkwaaaard xD

So that statement goes for every profession and not just the ranger. If you don’t know how to play the class, you are an easy kill.

No. A bad warrior still has plenty of health and armor to survive for a good long time. A bad mesmer still poops clones like no tomorrow. A bad thief will still be able to land huge crits and still has plenty of escape abilities. Likewise for elementalist. A bad necromancer will still have plenty of survivability. And so forth.

The ranger has none of this. Out of all classes, rangers depend the most on their own skill, not the innate abilities of the ranger class itself.

Above all else, your statement is probably the way to explain to the Devs in a way that would make sense to a new player on day 1 of any game.

Our tool set isn’t anywhere near the rest of the other characters.

Expiatus.4210:

I like how you wait until opponents are in melee and then hit vines. It catches them off guard. I’ll have to try that tactic.

I love doing that, if I’m running a trap build (without targeted traps, which I only use if I’m zerging) I’ll wait till they are in melee range, hit vines and then drop a spike and fire trap on them, then hit either Protect Me or Lightning Reflexes if I’m in trouble, depending on my build.

Timed right even those that are quick to get out of the vines will take a heap of damage.

I like it. Run something similar with Sword/dagger and shortbow in WvW… just curious why you went into Nature Magic instead of taking Pet’s prowess from 10 points in Skirmishing and then going the full 30 points in BM since your main DPS is from a cat.

ozidylan.9186:

I like it. Run something similar with Sword/dagger and shortbow in WvW… just curious why you went into Nature Magic instead of taking Pet’s prowess from 10 points in Skirmishing and then going the full 30 points in BM since your main DPS is from a cat.

That’s not a bad suggestion, I will try it out tonight!

Khenzy.9348:

Isn’t healing power kind of a waste? Unlike Guardians or Eles that have multiple healing sources, you only get a regen on 75% HP trait and that’s it, the scaling is very poor with TU, wouldn’t those stats better be spent elsewhere?

Healing power helps both the ranger and it’s pet. Every other stat only helps the ranger. This build needs the pet to stay alive, especially seeing as it uses a glass cannon pet.

ozidylan.9186:

I like it. Run something similar with Sword/dagger and shortbow in WvW… just curious why you went into Nature Magic instead of taking Pet’s prowess from 10 points in Skirmishing and then going the full 30 points in BM since your main DPS is from a cat.

I agree with this but only because the build makes poor use of Fortifying Bond. I ran a beast mastery build which focused on Healing Spring (regen for the pet, usually up on tower walls), Beast Master’s Bond (Fury and Might when pet’s health reaches 50% – the pet gets this with Fortifying Bond) and a few other boons. It was an awkward kind of build, and as much as I wanted to make it work, I always felt like ArenaNet should make Fortifying Bond work both ways (boons applied to pets also get applied to the ranger). When you look at the crazy boon stacks other professions can get, I doubt it would break rangers to make that trait more powerful.

I’ve often wanted Fortifying Bond to work both ways as well … though I’d be happy just for Ranger talents to be of the same quality as others.

For example:
Ranger 20 pts in Marksmanship for Piercing Arrows – Longbow & Shortbow projectiles pierce.

Ranger 20 pts in Skirmishing for Quick Draw – Shortbow & Longbow recharge 20% faster

Warrior 20 pts in Arms for Crack Shot – Rife and Harpoon Gun recharge 20% faster and their projectiles pierce.

40 pts and 2 mid-tier traits consumed for the Ranger to get the same as a warrior pays 20 pts and 1 mid-tier trait for. Getting the same for half the expense doesn’t sit well with me and I’m curious how that math got overlooked, especially since the Warrior used to be in the same boat as the Ranger but got that patched early on in the game.

I’ve been running this build since the patch and have had a lot of success. Maximizing condition damage really makes entangle formidable now, coupled with the bleeds from flanking and a burst takes down most players for me. I even had success in a 1v3 match up recently. Fun build. Thanks for sharing it!

I’ve been running a GS over a sword lately as well, but not to spice things up because I can’t seem to pick which I prefer. I like the block and escape of the GS (useful for thieves, nothing funnier than knocking them on their butts) but I love the on tap evasion of the sword (with the missile reflect of an off hand axe), sword has an evade as well but it’s a little more fiddley to use than the GS, which is very good at covering ground.

Djornak and I roll survival type BM builds. We both meet a good deal of success. He is build for power with mostle Clerics and Soldiers gear while I am built for conditions with mostly Apothecary and Shaman gear. Both seem to be fun and viable. (Especially since we are just making pretty colors while the pets do the dirty work!)

ski.4927:

Djornak and I roll survival type BM builds. We both meet a good deal of success. He is build for power with mostle Clerics and Soldiers gear while I am built for conditions with mostly Apothecary and Shaman gear. Both seem to be fun and viable. (Especially since we are just making pretty colors while the pets do the dirty work!)

Do you notice any major differences in your builds? I run mostly clerics and have been thinking about adding in some condition damage instead but.. I dunno I’m just not sure right now. I have run a trap build before in sPVP but I always come back to my clerics bunker.