Guild Wars 2

Hi there, I’ve been playing since release and I’ve had some real trouble playing anything lately.

I’ve only played Charr since release and now I am just…sick of them. I’ve grow very bored of how they look, I love them but I want to actually look different for once!

I’m very stuck on what to play Race and Profession wise, can someone give me some pros and cons as a Thief/Ranger? I’m a PVE player.

I thought rangers were a myth?

Warrior.

Has the range of a ranger, mobility of thief, survivability and damage of a god.

I’ve already got a Charr Warrior and as kitten as he is, I just don’t enjoy playing him.

Zero Day.2594:

Warrior.

Has the range of a ranger, mobility of thief, survivability and damage of a god.

All classes have the same cleave range. I can’t argue against warrior having the best survivability and mobility, those are most definitely true. However, warrior’s damage is pathetic. Its bottom of the barrel. That being said a lot of classes tie with warrior for this spot. The only class that is lower is a mesmer not using any phantasms.

Depends what you like to play best…WVW roaming?…play a thief…WVW zerging?…a ranger.

In SPVP, I’d go for the thief over the ranger although both classes have been funnelled to very little build diversity in order to be able to be successful…

Jakkson.4076:

Depends what you like to play best…WVW roaming?…play a thief…WVW zerging?…a ranger.

In SPVP, I’d go for the thief over the ranger although both classes have been funnelled to very little build diversity in order to be able to be successful…

I did say I’m pretty much just a PVE player

Have you tried… Guardian?
They’re similar to warriors a bit, plus they have a ranged cleave auto attack (staff).

Ele? Necro? Engineer?

It might help if you specified what you enjoy and intend to do in PvE. Do you like open world zerging, running dungeons, running dungeons efficiently, etc.?

Clumsy.6257:

It might help if you specified what you enjoy and intend to do in PvE. Do you like open world zerging, running dungeons, running dungeons efficiently, etc.?

I enjoy all of these things aside from open world zerging

could you go a little deeper into specifics, like are you 100% set on either ranger or thief, what type of playstyle do you want? high damage, lots of support, easy to play, high survivability? since you said you like dungeons are you the type of person that doesnt care if you spend 5 hours in a path or do you like to complete them as efficiently as possible?

Thief.

Ranger get’s extremely boring, extremely fast.
Sit’s at back and fires the same animation over and over again. Sword is great on Ranger, but it can be extremely annoying in AoE fights, as the built in leap stops you from dodging a lot.

I’ve made several Thieves, got them to 40+ and deleted them. I recently decided I was finally going to get 80, and crafted it. I’ve been 80 for maybe a week or two now, and I love it. It does insane damage, in PvE you are pretty squishy, but it makes it more of a challenge, and in the end more enjoyable.

I have five 80’s at the moment, one being a Warrior. I completely agree that they are just too easy to play, they also get boring fast.

playing sword dagger ranger is pretty much like playing a thief without stealth and ridiculous backstab damage.

The leap on sword chain 3 is a pain atm, but Anet has said they are working on some server side features to allow dodging during the AA chain. If this truly is implemented, the sword will be perfect, both in terms of DPS and function.

As for the two professions. If you choose to roll thief, from a WvW perspective, roll Venomshare. It is a powerful support build, not much seen nowdays, but boy is it strong. One of the strongest combos iv’e seen so far is venomshare thief with SB and trap ranger. This combo allows you to blast spam water and fire fields, alongside with ridiculous amounts of conditions.

My tip to you, get one of both. They both serve their purpose. Thief for up-close combat, ranger for ranged combat. And don’t underestimate the longbow, at 1200 range, with a signet-zerker build, you can deal up to 5k crits with the AA alone.

A lot of you really need to read the whole post before posting… in the first post he especially asked for PvE… so why are you guys suggesting WvW or PvP builds.

To OP.. I will say neither… both of the professions mentioned are known for being ineffective in PvE dungeons… They are in fact the 2 most kicked class from pugs…

roll any other class should yield you mroe results…

While I cannot give any comment on ranger, S/P thief is the only thief build that is comparable in PvE with other professions IMO…

If you like the pet, pick Ranger, otherwise play a Thief.

Noliver.1475:

…
To OP.. I will say neither… both of the professions mentioned are known for being ineffective in PvE dungeons… They are in fact the 2 most kicked class from pugs…
…

Its true that these classes are typically insta-kicked from the average pug. That being said, both ranger and thief are amazing classes when they’re in coordinated groups. The problem with pugs is that the average ranger’s and thief’s skill level is so low that not moving or doing anything would actually improve their performance. A capable ranger or thief is highly sought after in certain dungeons. Another factor is that rangers stack well while thieves do not. A party having 2 warriors has a slight DPS loss from stacking 2 warriors but the difference is slight. A party using 2 rangers can have 1 ranger trait for frost spirit and another ranger use frost spirit without the trait so the DPS bonuses stack. 1 Thief provides more than enough stealth for the entire party so taking 2 would be a waste of a slot.

Frost Spirit, Spotter and Sword + Warhorn and you’ll be accepted by 99% of pugs into dungeons and champ trains. But yeah, thief and ranger is quite close in terms of their PvE usefulness. I think though, that ranger’s are slightly more valued due to the +7% crit chance and +10% damage buff though.

Go thief. Sadly, Rangers are in a pretty bad spot for PvE. In a perfect, min/maxed group, a ranger can be good with a specific build like Prysin mentioned, but the 1h sword mechanics are really wonky and it doesn’t adapt to messy situations very well since the pet and spirit are very vulnerable to dying early. The 1h sword auto-attack can also be a liability since it prevents you from dodging during the autoattack animation (unless you weapon swap).

The Ranger profession in this game seems like not very well thought out of.

The main problem is that, most of the skill that should be defaulted to Rangers are given to Warrior — simply compare the Longbow Skills. Pin Down, given to Warrior, seriously? Rifle skills that are well suited for Thieves, seriously? But I digress.

Another problem with Ranger is the pet AI. Whether you choose to be Beastmaster or Spiritmancer, you’ll end up frustrated on how clunky the pet AIs are.

So given the problems with Rangers, you are left with one choice; Thief.

Although, there are some players who simply deny the problems with Ranger and see them as a challenge. So if you are one of these guys, roll a Ranger.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

The Ranger profession in this game seems like not very well thought out of.

The main problem is that, most of the skill that should be defaulted to Rangers are given to Warrior — simply compare the Longbow Skills. Pin Down, given to Warrior, seriously? Rifle skills that are well suited for Thieves, seriously? But I digress.

Another problem with Ranger is the pet AI. Whether you choose to be Beastmaster or Spiritmancer, you’ll end up frustrated on how clunky the pet AIs are.

So given the problems with Rangers, you are left with one choice; Thief.

Although, there are some players who simply deny the problems with Ranger and see them as a challenge. So if you are one of these guys, roll a Ranger.

Contrary to popular belief, ranger pet AI is in a fairly good spot. Granted it takes a considerable amount of micromanagement, a ranger’s pet is actually useful. My normal group has been running with a ranger for the past week or so and its worked out great. The original issue of pets dying too fast has basically been solved in regular dungeons by the current meta.

Clumsy.6257:

Sir Vincent III.1286:

The Ranger profession in this game seems like not very well thought out of.

The main problem is that, most of the skill that should be defaulted to Rangers are given to Warrior — simply compare the Longbow Skills. Pin Down, given to Warrior, seriously? Rifle skills that are well suited for Thieves, seriously? But I digress.

Another problem with Ranger is the pet AI. Whether you choose to be Beastmaster or Spiritmancer, you’ll end up frustrated on how clunky the pet AIs are.

So given the problems with Rangers, you are left with one choice; Thief.

Although, there are some players who simply deny the problems with Ranger and see them as a challenge. So if you are one of these guys, roll a Ranger.

Contrary to popular belief, ranger pet AI is in a fairly good spot. Granted it takes a considerable amount of micromanagement, a ranger’s pet is actually useful. My normal group has been running with a ranger for the past week or so and its worked out great. The original issue of pets dying too fast has basically been solved in regular dungeons by the current meta.

ranger pet AI is only in a “fairly good spot” in PvE and 1v1 or 1v2 PvP/WvW battles. To effectively use pet, you’ll NEED a gaming mouse with atleast 5 programmable buttons, 3 for pet functions, 2 for utilities/healing skills.

As for ranger DPS, it is very good, but unlike other professions, rangers does not rely on bursts but constant DPS. This is why you appear to do so little damage, while infact, you may do a little bit more damage then the others. It’s just hard to notice, as pet damage isn’t show in combat log sigh

As for playing a ranger, you will be forced to learn about pretty much all the pets. Bringing the right pet is alpha omega. There is no single pet that does all roles and all modes equally good. You’ll need moas and drakes for dungeons, bears for open world, spiders and canines for duels, cats and birds for DPS. And Pigs, well, pigs are just for giggles, but does have some useful RNG items that your party can use. Especially the Siamoth or was it Pig, which can give thieves a Egg that restores 100% initiative instantly.

Clumsy.6257:

Contrary to popular belief, ranger pet AI is in a fairly good spot. Granted it takes a considerable amount of micromanagement, a ranger’s pet is actually useful. My normal group has been running with a ranger for the past week or so and its worked out great. The original issue of pets dying too fast has basically been solved in regular dungeons by the current meta.

Having to micromanage pets is solid enough evidence to prove that the pet AI is clunky.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

Having to micromanage pets is solid enough evidence to prove that the pet AI is clunky.

If you didn’t have to micromanage pets then half their uses would no longer be possible. Micromanaging allows considerable amounts of control over the pet. It just requires effort. If you really think about it not being able manage the pet to the extent that we currently can would make it clunky.

Clumsy.6257:

Sir Vincent III.1286:

Having to micromanage pets is solid enough evidence to prove that the pet AI is clunky.

If you didn’t have to micromanage pets then half their uses would no longer be possible. Micromanaging allows considerable amounts of control over the pet. It just requires effort. If you really think about it not being able manage the pet to the extent that we currently can would make it clunky.

Managing pet’s uses and managing the pet themselves are completely different. Commanding your pet to attack, guard, or heel are acceptable management control, but making bad decisions on when to use their innate skill (i.e. Brutal Charge (canine)) demerits the AI.

If the AI is going to be bad at making those decision, then sure, allow us to micromanage those also. Leaving that decision to a clunky AI makes the pets less and less attractive.

In GW1, we don’t need pet as a Ranger, not sure why they are forcing that in GW2.

Anyway, this is off topic and that’s that.