Guild Wars 2

So i played for 6 months at launch.But left the game,and just came back this past week.
All ive been doing is pvp..so heres my question.
Why is it..that as a ranger..theifs seem so op to me?? i mean..when i see a theif even turning my way,i almost dont even try to fight anymore,i just let them kill me.
Cause theres no point,how can i target,let alone kill someone who can pretty much go invis anytime they want…

What build are you using?

What Sube Dai said. What is your build, what items are you using (main / offspec) and what runes are you using in those items?

I can’t say about the PvP specifics, i don’t like that mode. But in WvW i use LB and SW + Torch.

If your problem is you get killed fast because of condis try to use a tanky build. I would advise some condition clear also.
Otherwise usually is when the thieves use almost permanent stealth. For that Barrage + Bonfire will keep them at bay.
I would tell you to use sic’em but actually because in WvW usually you realize too late your are fighting against a thief i wouldn’t recommend.

For that a Pew Pew build with more than 17K hitpoints should suffice to take down a thief.

When they go invisible switch immediately to your melee weapon. If it’s sword, swing 2 to 3 times then use your evades at which point the thief will most likely be out of stealth. Then you change to longbow, use the Stealth skill followed by auto attacks. Your goal is to put enough offensive pressure to get thief to use his dodges at which point you want to use point blank shot and unload your rapid fire. Whenever you get too far from thief they will most likely try to shadow step to you some how, dodge that steal. Rinse and repeat.

Same tactics used for great sword but you just use the block instead of evade.

Also when they are invisible don’t keep still. You need to make it hard for them to land that back stab.

Sic’em. Pure awesomeness. Less experienced Thieves panic when they suddenly can’t go invis. You can bring them down pretty fast. More experienced Thieves…well they will probably just run until the Sic’em is done and then come at you. At that point do what those above me say.

I usually switch to greatsword and flail and scream like a baby until I am dead. That’s just cause I’m not that great at this compared to most. I am aware of my failings and embrace my death, kicking and screaming.

WvW and in my condi/trap build I’ll just toss a trap, go invis, and reset. Drop a few more traps and stand in. Once they engage I’ll know, drop torch aoe, few axe throws, then do what other said.

Knock back with LB, then RF, swap back to my axe/torch, more traps and they are usually dead or running off because I’m not an easier piece of meat.

thief is 10 times better than ranger.
Loose any hope man. Till Anet decides to balance ranger…well enjoy the sand

Alright. I’ve played ranger since release as well as played ranger in Guild Wars 1. Using longbow and great-sword is the best counter in my opinion, as it directly counters stealth. If you use ‘Rapid Fire’ before a thief goes into stealth he’ll continue to take damage until the skill finishes along with regular auto attack. Make sure you bring immobilize with you along with fear to help maintain an effective cushion between you and the enemy; this is important because long range damage is higher than medium and close range damage, you want to avoid using longbow when the thief is close to you.

Bring wolf and jungle spider. Once you immobilize a thief use ‘rapid fire’ on him. Also, bring ‘Muddy Terrain’ as it also immobilizes. Keep using ‘Point Blank Shot’ to keep a distance from you, but use it when you have immobilize and fear cool down, vis versa. Once the thief goes into stealth click ‘barrage’ (number #5 skill: longbow) and switch to your great-sword and time ‘counterattack’ as best as you can; this will prevent a thief from backstabbing you. If he uses ‘Shadow Refuge’ use barrage right on top of his SR. Bring ‘Entangle’ and ‘Lightning Reflexes’ as well as ‘Signet of Stone’ and ‘Troll Unguent’.

Generally speaking, make sure you use ‘Hunter Shot’ to engage combat. Use ‘Troll Unguent’ BEFORE combat too and during ‘Hunter Shot’ as it will avoids interrupts and knock-backs etc. as you are inside stealth, you don’t want to get stunned if you are trying to heal. As far as specs, I would strong suggest using Valkyrie armor with ‘Superior runes of Pack’ with berserker trinkets. I literally SMASH thieves without a sweat.

I’m sure I missed a few good point with regards to countering a thief with a ranger, but I had to go. Please, if you have further questions message me in game. I’m a true ranger enthusiasts! And here’s my ranger!

Like everyone has mentioned it’s very dependant on your build, but really it’s just practice.

Theives (and Mesmers) are the hardest classes to learn to fight just because, like you say, you can’t see them a lot of the time. It does just take practice to learn to predict what they will do.

I’m not a fan of giving exact rotation to win fights, simply because rotations never go as planned and actually to win fights it’s far more important to understand your skills and react to the situation. Going in assuming you’re going to do everything in a set order is a sure way to get your kitten handed to you… But with that said, the LB, the GS, Traps and Canine pets are all great tools for fighting theives, so give some of them a try

Sic em is amazing. i have survived so many theif fights just because of this one skill. In WvW, i consider it a win when i get the theif to run since im normally just trying to get to the zerg. In sPvP you can get some laughs just by using it while you’re group pounds the theif into oblivion. Sic em really is a great skill.

Glass thieves are crazy easy to kill because the majority of them rarely have more than 1 stun break and most of those end up blowing that stun break to close the distance on you.

When I’m running power and a thief gets in melee range I just swap to GS and use it to block/counterattack their backstab, leap to them, hilt bash, maul, wolf fear, rapid fire. (save point blank shot for if they use their stun break during fear)They are rarely alive after that.

If they are running condi I slot sic ’em and watch them panic as I kill them, and then I laugh spam their corpse for running such a toxic cheese build.

If I’m running condi it’s not even a fight, they just tend to fall over when they get close to me.

thnx for all the replies..im using longbow..sword/horn…using sigil of air and(without looking) the one that gives %5dmg bonus i believe? running power/might runes

Shalamahara.9283:

So i played for 6 months at launch.But left the game,and just came back this past week.
All ive been doing is pvp..so heres my question.
Why is it..that as a ranger..theifs seem so op to me?? i mean..when i see a theif even turning my way,i almost dont even try to fight anymore,i just let them kill me.
Cause theres no point,how can i target,let alone kill someone who can pretty much go invis anytime they want…

There have been a plethora of concerns and complaints about stealth that have continuously been ignored by the development team. By their (the devs) lack of responses or actions, we can only assume they think the system is fine and/or they do not have a strong interest in balancing classes and poor mechanics.

Now onto how to deal with thieves and stealth as others have mentioned…

You must build and run your character specifically to deal with the stealth scenario to have any chance. You must force yourself to have a melee weapon to swing around randomly, aoes from torch, damage trap skill somewhere and sic em elite. Additionally, you must develop and employ your “prediction” skills to anticipate your stealthy opponents whereabouts and attacks.

Good luck and have fun being pigeon holed into running a couple of viable builds in a pvp environment.

… I main a thief and rangers scare the kitten out of me whenever they get the “jump” first. I don’t get why you guys think thieves are hard to beat I mean come on we’re not, and stop saying we’re overpowered. We’re not overpowered, you’re just inexperienced. My tip for you is to learn about the class because rangers can easily counter thieves when played right. Take my word for it

I second what nephrite says. I run a condition/traps build with shortbow/sword+dagger, rabid amulet and krait runes. Heal as one, fire/snake traps and Sic’ em and Entangle. I rarely lose a fight against thieves it’s quite funny because I used to be as scared of them as you are :p

With any ranger build that isn’t double bow, thieves are free bags.

SuzukiMethod.4732:

With any ranger build that isn’t double bow, thieves are free bags.

Agreed.

Thief? Ready up your pew pew, 4 → 2 them, and when they go invisible, use 5 on their head. If that doesn’t down them, ready up your entangle or spider’s f2. Immobilize them. and then switch to wolf, kd them, and then press F2 to fear them while still pew pewing them.

If you’re a condition ranger? Great, you have even higher chance to toy with them!
Spam your dodges while throwing all your condition on them. The newly buffed torch cover the whole node of certain map.

If that’s not enough for you, then add the skill: Sick em! and use it on thief. Then he’ll become a big fat target who can’t hide in invisibility anymore :P

Basically thief is an easy target to ranger.

Signet of Stone and swapping into Sic ‘Em if you need to before the fight begins pretty much guarantees a win. GS+LB is a really effective set against most glassy thieves since GS4 + GS5 + GS2 pretty much instantly kills them after they try to engage by preventing BV/CC’ing them, and even if you get GS4 baited, SoS can stunbreak the BV and you can just swap longbow and kill them in one skill use. Using GS auo-chain lets for free evades and can force them to either back off from incoming damage or whiff their stabs easily while you troll around and often force a front-stab.

SA/stealth thieves are harder to deal with without Sic ‘Em, but the thief SA trait line is overpowered in itself defensively but forces a lot of damage cuts for them. A few hits first and then using RF should be enough to burst them down as Rejuv won’t be able to keep up with the damage. Again, SoS is your friend here.

With P/D condi builds… there’s really no advice to give. The build is just stupidly strong for how easy and simple it is to play (coming from a thief/ranger main). In most of these cases it’s just good use of your heal’s cleansing and just out-playing them by a huge margin.

In PvP, here’s what I normally use against thieves. When I feel that they are near my position, I use Entangle to stop them from moving even for a little while as I always find them rolling around the area to be one of their best assets. And to ensure that I kill them quickly, I switch from bow to greatsword and use Quickening Zephyr and Signet of Stone to deal as much damage as I can before the thief can break free. It’s not 100 percent effective, but it does give me a fighting chance against thieves.

there’s an absolutely horrendous number of zerker rangers doing pvp in this thread, and an awkward number of people claiming they only find ‘glass’ thieves

any good thief will kitten on you and you will be unable to kill them, you simply have nothing on a properly played thief. rangers are, quite literally, underpowered thieves

tip for you OP:

1. full zerk/glass lb doesn’t work in pvp
2. longbow is a substandard weapon in pvp
2a. it does serve its purpose if you just follow behind a zerg, but that’s essentially pve anyway
3. if someone suggest double bow, full melee, or axe mainhand without a torch in the offhand, you have been rused
4. torment sigils make fighting thiefs really funny

arron.7348:

there’s an absolutely horrendous number of zerker rangers doing pvp in this thread, and an awkward number of people claiming they only find ‘glass’ thieves

any good thief will kitten on you and you will be unable to kill them, you simply have nothing on a properly played thief. rangers are, quite literally, underpowered thieves

tip for you OP:

1. full zerk/glass lb doesn’t work in pvp
2. longbow is a substandard weapon in pvp
2a. it does serve its purpose if you just follow behind a zerg, but that’s essentially pve anyway
3. if someone suggest double bow, full melee, or axe mainhand without a torch in the offhand, you have been rused
4. torment sigils make fighting thiefs really funny

1. Except it sort of can
2. Good range, utility and damage is bad?
3. Why go axe/torch over axe/dagger?

Edit: Rangers have more than sufficient tools for dealing with thieves…

arron.7348:

there’s an absolutely horrendous number of zerker rangers doing pvp in this thread, and an awkward number of people claiming they only find ‘glass’ thieves

any good thief will kitten on you and you will be unable to kill them, you simply have nothing on a properly played thief. rangers are, quite literally, underpowered thieves

Maybe you’re just bad on your ranger

Step 1) Run with 4 other LB rangers
Step 2) Rapid Fire
Step 3) ???
Step 4) Profit