Guild Wars 2

As a person who has just leveled his Mesmer:

I would recommend Great Sword and Sword/Focus. Great Sword has a good phantasm and the #2 ability produces a clone on a relatively low CD. Until you get traits to make clones for you, this is key.

Sword/Focus gives you IWarden. You can use this when you want to hit an enemy in melee range. Pair it with blurred Frenzy to get the best effect. Rule of thumb is to let your phantasms do their entire first attack chain then use the F1 shatter once you have 3 clones.

Like others said, Mesmer is a trait dependent class. You will find that each trait tier you unlock you see a massive boost in your effectiveness. The above weapon combo should get you to that point where you can then specialize via traits.

We on Blackgate only kill doors because they are defenseless creatures that you other servers refuse to protect.

Rhysati.4932:

Urthona.3198:

As a roleplayer (although not in this game), I feel obligated to point out that using tells or party chat is both common sense and common courtesy. This game has a T rating, and the content is actually extremely tame for a T rating. Expecting everyone who plays it to be okay with mature topics is unreasonable. They are considered “mature” or “touchy” topics by society in general for a reason, whether you are personally bothered or not.

I also feel obligated to point out that GW2 is a horrible platform for roleplaying anyway. There are so many other things hindering your experience that focusing on this one is laughable.

And I know that it has become popular to whine, cry, and kick your feet when you are offended in this day and age…like when you hear something on the radio that you find offensive and decide to try and get them thrown off the air.

But, and bare with me here…there’s this thing people used to have called ‘common sense’. And what you do when you don’t like something is you ignore it or go where you don’t have to hear/see it. In the radio example that would be to simply change the station. In the game it’s for you to go where the RPers aren’t. Usually they are in taverns and such, so…don’t hang out at a tavern. Problem solved.

I don’t know why we’ve gotten to this point in our lives, but you do not have the right to not be offended. Arenanet, however, can choose to run things that way if they wish. And if they do, then they’ll suffer the consequences of such oppressive, PC-friendly garbage.

OR you could use that “common sense” and realize that if my current method of RP breaks the TOS…maybe YOU should do it in a more private channel rather than in public.

So to summarize for the TC folks:

SOR is only attacking you with a fraction of their total power and you still can’t hack it.

Good Luck!

If you REALLY want to make the axe a big dmg weapon, pair it with the torch.

Bonfire, 2 at point blank will make you really happy.

Ranger is bad because A-net pointed at us and said we are a pet class first.

Some of us, like myself, wanted to play as RANGERS first with a pet sidekick. How effective that pet is was SUPPOSED to be on how we spend our trait points: on us or on the pet. I spend points on my pet and my pet does more for me. The downside is I am not specializing in myself.

So personally, I wanted to spend points on ME to make myself more effective and use the pet as the sidekick. The reality is my pet is a LARGE portion of my total effectiveness from step 1. So there really isn’t a choice. I can’t be the master explorer ranger..I’m pet class.

The last thing I wanted was for a large portion of my DPS to be controlled by an NPC AI. Unfortunately that is exactly what happened. The sad truth is your enemies can ALWAYS exploit an AI and defeat it. In the end it is a string of code with a pattern. Anyone can eventually figure out how it works and get around it. When they do say goodbye to half your effectiveness.

I am glad people who spec into beast mastery are having their pets be useful.

For me, I did not spec into beast mastery. My pet does very well in everyday PvE but it is lacking in WvW where you can focus fire a pet VERY quickly and in dungeons where the pet has a delayed reaction to my orders.

Pets do need some love. They are not competing in PvP situations. Others are right, we are the only class where our unique function can be completely negated when we may need it most.

Dungeons are a mixed bag. Sometimes pets are great but in others I have to go out of my way to ensure my unique feature doesn’t become a hindrance.

A professions unique feature should NEVER be a hindrance.

I had a ranger setup similar to this. Same weapons, same mentality, slightly different pets and runes.

It was great for world PvE but in WvW it just wasn’t viable. That part was disappointing for me.

If spirits had more health OR a lower cooldown like other conjured items\pets it would make spirits far more useful for WvW and dungeons.

It is easy to say “give them a chance!”

The reality is I play a ranger which received ZERO patch notes last month and the majority of patch notes this month geared towards underwater combat…something I can safely say MANY of us do not care about.

The bottom line is they have wasted time. That is something we as players cannot get back and it is the most VALUABLE resource I have.

So yes, I think myself..and especially rangers can be quite upset.

If they kicked you for your comment OP then most likely there are other factors not mentioned here.

It has always been this way. The fact it ended 12 hours early for you means you also had +12 hours at the beginning of the month. Just like for all my dailies/monthly I get extra time to do them the night before.

Everyone just needs to accept that they calculated their time wrong, take it as a lesson in procrastination and simply move on. You know better than to wait until they very last minute next time.

Guilhermezz.2601:

Kyias.1845:

I typically play 90% WvW 10% explorables, so whatever I rec keep that in mind.

If you are going to use the longbow you just have to remember to spec into power and some prec to make the dmg respectable. First and foremost though it is a utility weapon.

I tend to like it, it lets me battle boss fights at longer range, drop down healing springs and keep an eye on friendlies who get in trouble.

I would say that the secondary weapon you use is going to define your role for when you have aggro on you.

My general setup: Signet Ranger, LB/GS weapon sets. I have a full rampager armor set for prec bonuses and a full valkyrie set of jewelry and weapons. LB sigil is superior perception (+10 prec per kill) GS has the sigil for 3 stack might on weap switch.

The dmg is respectable and having GS and stone signet for emergency gives me mediocre tanking ability.

I can’t stress it enough: In my experience LB can deal some dmg and makes a good consistent source from range. It is primarily a utility weapon and you want to be sure to be switching weapon kits when available to take advantage of fury, and in GS case, might.

Build: 30/20/5/10/5

Thanks for the advice. So all my set should be replaced for Power + % crit dmg ?

When you are in the WvW and thiefs poup right in your back, do you live enough to swap to GS and “tank him”?

For gear: rampager armor is prec/power/con dmg. It isn’t optimal but I had to mix and match to get power/vit/prec in my build..and use that sigil to get some numbers for it. I number crunched several different sets/options but this seemed the best.

When fighting a thief it depends. If they spend most of their time abusing culling you probably won’t win no matter what. IF you can see them, your GS can stand toe to toe with them in a melee. Let them burst you to 30% health, then pop stone signet, switch to GS and start rotating all your quickness buffs to burst them as fast as possible.

Chances are the thief will be heartseekering you since you are at 30% not realizing he’s doing no dmg (until 2-3 heartseekers in.) Pop your heal after you begin your counterattack and he will either die or run away (via stealth.)

I’d practice against thiefs in sPvP first to get your timing down and some practice but even in sPvP you will only lose against the best of thiefs. You have to remmeber, thiefs are overconfident and if you can burst them to death while they are trying to get off their entire burst chains then you are going to beat them.

The moment they use their cooldowns to try and escape you rather than as a means to attack then you already have the upper hand.

Side note:

1) you can solo in Orr with a LB, I spend lots of time doing just that.
2) In PvP the fact people underestimate you is a strength not a weakness.
3)When I can do 2k crits before someone even GETS in melee range with me means they are that much weaker when I pull out my “nerfed GS.” with 40% crit…PLUS FURY for crits every other hit (over 14k dmg with quickness.) thank goodness they think I’m weak.
4) You can be successful and competitive with this build.
5) I cannot take full credit for this setup. I found it via the help of another member of these forums. I don’t remember his name but I took his ffedback and tweaked it to find something viable for me.

Don’t take other people’s word for how a LB or any weapon can perform. Use some of the things mentioned here by people and tweak it to fit your own style and you’ll do great; both in PvP and PvE..orr explorables and all.

as long as you are on an active WvW server, every time they take a guard post, supply camp, dolyak convoy, tower etc etc etc they ALL count as events.

Great way to help your server and get your monthly done in a night…if you playing only 2 hours a day maybe 2-3

I typically play 90% WvW 10% explorables, so whatever I rec keep that in mind.

If you are going to use the longbow you just have to remember to spec into power and some prec to make the dmg respectable. First and foremost though it is a utility weapon.

I tend to like it, it lets me battle boss fights at longer range, drop down healing springs and keep an eye on friendlies who get in trouble.

I would say that the secondary weapon you use is going to define your role for when you have aggro on you.

My general setup: Signet Ranger, LB/GS weapon sets. I have a full rampager armor set for prec bonuses and a full valkyrie set of jewelry and weapons. LB sigil is superior perception (+10 prec per kill) GS has the sigil for 3 stack might on weap switch.

The dmg is respectable and having GS and stone signet for emergency gives me mediocre tanking ability.

I can’t stress it enough: In my experience LB can deal some dmg and makes a good consistent source from range. It is primarily a utility weapon and you want to be sure to be switching weapon kits when available to take advantage of fury, and in GS case, might.

Build: 30/20/5/10/5

If you have a 52% crit rate currently I would go for a rune that gives you “% chance to proc on critical hit” type of sigil.

That way you get a consistent secondary effect from your weapon due to your high critical rate.

What specifically are you looking at?

SOME vendors T3 skins are unique. Lionsguard and Ebonhawk culture weapons are the same across all 3 tiers.

I didn’t forget anything about the karma sets. They do what they are intended to do.

If you don’t want to spend your karma in this manner that is fine but it isn’t a wasted resource like you try to make it out to be. It has value for high end merchandise.

No need to be aggressive in a thread about feedback.

Sleepy:

One is an EXOTIC armor piece part of a full rune set you can ONLY get from karma vendors or the TP (rune that is.) It is the highest tier of armor in the game in terms of stats and a unique armor skin which cannot be obtained via another method. (Orr Temples)

The weapon is a RARE weapon that will become obsolete the moment you can afford your first exotic: be it TP purchase or a dungeon drop. Also the skin itself could have been purchased via T1 cultural vendors for a fraction of the price, in some cases even cheaper than that.

The difference is simply one is an investment into an endgame set. The other is a temporary purchase which will only be a skin in the near future (and a skin you could have gotten for much cheaper.)

My assessments are based on time investment vs reward given. If someone WANTS to spend 67k karma on an item skin they could get for 10k or LESS then that is their choice. It however is not the most profitable decision.

Hey Dave:

I want to first say that my response is dictated based on time vs reward. I play a good amount but not enough to be hardcore and not so little to be considered a casual player. I have a family FT job etc so time is my most precious resource in the game. That said I would lay out the following for you:

A Rare Shortbow on the TP will cost: 20s-25s
An exotic shortbow on TP will cost: 1.5G-2.5G

Karma in my experience takes more time and effort to gather compared to gold. You cna gather 1G per hour by only gathering before loot. To get 67k Karma for a rare weapon will take you significantly longer.

HOWEVER You could take that same 67k karma and go to Orr and trade in 45k-47k of it for an exotic armor piece (or save it until you can aafford an entire set) or spend that karma on a weapon skin to make your weap look better instead.

In 2 hours of money grinding you will have an exotic weapon. In 15 minutes you could have the silver to buy a rare. To get 67k karma however will take you days to recoup so spend it wisely. Money is far easier to acquire than karma is and you can have an exotic weapon in under a day. You cannot say the same for that 67k of karma.

My personal recommendation is to use greens and then upgrade directly to exotics as you afford them. If you really want to get rare equip though the options I show above are FAR more effective in terms of your time and effort than a 1 time 67k karma drop.

That is my opinion as a Guild Leader helping my guildmates get the items they like and as a player who likes to maximize my enjoyment of this game in the time I am allowed.

Hope this helps.

Cloud.7613:

Kyias.1845:

I would NOT buy a rare Karma bow at all.

If it is exotic, that is great. That means it is top tier. If it is only a rare simply buy an exotic bow (1.5g to 4G) of the stats, not skin you like then buy the T1 version of the karma bow you like.

Then just transmute the skin. This way you get the stats you need AND the skin you like. I wouldn’t spend 67k Karma on a weapon that isn’t exotic OR doesn’t have the stats I want.

Mind blown.

For starters, you act as if spending karma for an upgrade is a bad thing. If it helps him do dungeons he can get free exotic weapons AND armor. With the money he doesn’t spend on a weapon he will just replace if he does in fact do dungeons with bags that will increase sellable items.

You didn’t read my post.

67k karma for a RARE weapon is a bad thing. Nothing wrong with karma purchases. You are reading too much into it. chill.

I would NOT buy a rare Karma bow at all.

If it is exotic, that is great. That means it is top tier. If it is only a rare simply buy an exotic bow (1.5g to 4G) of the stats, not skin you like then buy the T1 version of the karma bow you like.

Then just transmute the skin. This way you get the stats you need AND the skin you like. I wouldn’t spend 67k Karma on a weapon that isn’t exotic OR doesn’t have the stats I want.

I HAVE done the entire daily quest by utilizing 2 zones and keeping my cost under 5s and under 1 hour.

This is by utilizing 1 level 80 zone and one that isn’t.

Rangers are great.

You get to control your engagement range and conditions in WvW (unless it a thief) and in PvE you can take on several enemies at once with relative ease. Currently I use my ranger in Orr and I can take on up to 7 enemies with relative ease.

Rangers do fine you just have to like the playstyle.

Xarog you are just cheap.

I’m not a super market guru, I TP places and I managed to get TWO yes TWO sets of FULL exotic gear (power set and condition set) by TP’ing where I need to go.

My average play time is 2-3 hours per night..and over half of those are spent helping out my guildies (which I ALSO TP to.)

Suck it up and learn to make money.

a teleport to a location on the same map costs 1.5s.

A teleport across the ENTIRE game world (cursed shore to frostgourge) costs almost 4s.

If I teleport to a WP on the same map I can just do 1 DE, of which there are many, and I instantly recoup the money lost.

If I teleport across the ENTIRE game world then I just farm some trash loot for 10-15 min (the time it would have taken to walk there anyway) or do the dragon event to make up and profit on the cost.

Teleports are really cheap and easily recouped in a VERY short amount of time. If teleports seem expensive because someone is dying a lot then that player simply needs to re-evaluate the difficulty level they are playing at and readjust.

Signet of stone active is great for those thiefs that stand toe to toe with you and blow all their DPS.

Get out your GS or other melee choice and just stand there while popping quickness. Bye bye thief!

People love to trash Blackgate for the transfers we get to our server but easily forget that we have a strong WvW core presence period.

Last night our server held off assaults in the TC battlegrounds at Ascension Bay from both servers the entire night. You know what the kicker is? We had INSTANT Que times the entire time.

I distinctly remember multiple occasions TC had a numerical advantage on our defenders by a good margin an hour before the reset as they sat on our outer wall. We had MAYBE 20-30 defenders at the bay and even LESS skirmishing them at their spot on our outer wall.

Had you pushed down and hit us hard it would have wiped that skirmish force out. Instead you stayed on the wall and we whittled you guys down after building emergency siege.

It is things like this that helps BG win. We have a zerg but more importantly we have a VERY strong WvW core that support each other when needed at all times. Do we beat you in coverage at certain times of day? Absolutely but for most of the time it is NOT by as much as you think. We simply respond faster and act quicker than your groups do.

It isn’t about if you can push BG to our spawn point…it is about it you can keep us there. Each time I’ve played and been pushed back our team was already gathering together to take it back within the hour.

That is the difference.

Honestly guys,

We are rangers. If you want to play another class go play another class. I know a great deal of my abilities deal less dmg and I know that half my utility abilities are complete garbage.

The reality: We have to deal with it. I myself and maybe others come to the forums to look for conversations about how to use the skills we currently have rather than kitten about the ones we don’t.

It is getting to the point that the ranger community is a giant pity party. Lets have some semblance of dignity and respect. tear down doc if you want but at least he’s thinking positive. The negativity is overwhelming, sounds like most of you simply give up.

That’s my 2 cents and I don’t expect many kind responses. I’ll just have to talk to rangers who want to play their class today on a third party site until things change here.

I will preface by saying do NOT take this post as a vote that spirits are fine, they are not.

I will say that I ran a spirit build for a while (3 days) in cursed shore. I picked up the traits that gave double health, mobile and proc 15% more often and I was happy with them. Sun one burned people, stone one gave reliable prot buffs and storm I only used when I was in DE’s and needed to tag something.

I found sending my pet in ahead of me would keep aggro off my spirits. If they pulled aggro I focused on crippling and CC to keep them off while I kited. Sun spirit AOE blind and stone actives were good at keeping enemies off.

The double health would allow my spirits to survive up to 2 encounters. By that time, if they died they were instant re-summon anyway.

So in summary, you can use them and the double health trait is useful. That said, I specced out of spirits because I found traps worked faster and I was just not a huge fan of the passive gameplay. If not for a matter of taste I would still be specced in my spirit build.

Hope this helps a little.

I played Ranger when it was top of the world in beta and still playing it now that it “sucks.”

If people want to roll something different to have fun, cool but I’m just going to go back to my roots from other MMO’s and start making “outside the box” builds for WvW combat and small group raids.

Still loving ranger. Not going anywhere.

Jungle Spider/Black Widow lay down a combo field which applies poison from projectiles, applies poison conditions regularly and has an immobilize attack.

Plus they have a RANGED F2 stun ability. When it comes to utility/DPS they are definitely a top notch pet. The fact people tend to ignore them is a huge bonus.

This pet is very popular in PvP for these reasons listed and should be on that list.

You should tell them to please fix spirits Dalmarus

I really want to play a viable spirit ranger.

I’m not terribly vocal in WvW chat but Kaide was never exactly a team player.

Glad you are liking DB. I’m loving the trash talk as you xfer mid match. It shows a great deal about you and what DB has to look forward to.

Sorry DB for your loss.

Snoring Sleepwalker.9073:

Mental assault ?

How did they win that one ?
Physical assault I can understand. Was I asleep while mentally assaulting them ?

Seriously though, it’s a gold sink. A very effective one. As inflation pushes prices up, it takes more coin. But a players rate of income remains constant. So inflation will eventually stop because of the tax.

Mesmers.

Remember all those people you maliciously attacked getting yourself to 80?

They sued you and won. The 15% tax is them garnishing your wages for the rest of your guild wars life as compensation for mental and physical assault.

I have submitted a ticket for this issue with no response yet from support (a few days ago.)

My example:

Bought items for 26c 65s for full stack, sold for 31c. full stack goes on market for 75s, 4s posting fee.

When all items are sold, my pickup amount is only 67s. So in essence I lost 12s total to taxes and posting fees. 4s to post, and another 8s to a hidden sales fee.

As a result, and by doing these trades several times to validate results, I have taken a loss off something that should have been a profit.

If the tax is supposed to be there, let us know. If not, can they reimberse via the ticket I’ve submitted?

When items come back,

I remember this from when we on Blackgate fought Gate of Madness.

It happens because of elevation. The siege equipment has an effective range with a firing arc, but since they are at one of the highest points, and you are at one of the lowest it will travel further.

The firing arcs give siege weapons range outside their listed but it also means they can NOT hit things within their range due to these arcs as well simply because they are too close.

I would not call these “main concerns.” These were serious issues in the WvW scene. After A-net made dolyaks give no rewards people magically started to actually participate in WvW rather than yak farm.

I do dolyak escorts as well post fix and yeah having no rewards can suck. I prefer the current situation of not getting rewarded but having a good WvW experience over the alternative; watching people follow their yak rather than helping their keep that is under heavy attack and about to fall.

Low levels are useful in their own right.

Most of them realize that they are not huge dmg dealers, so instead they focus on support skills and logistics.

My guild has SEVERAL low levels who play WvW and we as a small team can take supply fast, defend ourselves from enemies and win battles.

I would say that is the goals of WvW combat.

Daish.6139:

move your guild/friends to another server

make another World your home if your worried about queue times

This.

There are servers out there that have HUGE queue times and there are servers with nearly ZERO queue times.

Make a move and get in the battles more often.