I was a Hunter in WoW, but I quit before Burning Crusades.
In GW2, a ranger is my 2nd lvl 80. I’m disappointed and frustrated by the class. Arenanet built the class as a petcentric class and from what they’ve said they don’t plan to abandon those goals. A strong independent character with a pet would be too powerful; The problem with that is half the game is dodging red circles and being aware of your surroundings.
Pets don’t do that, they have pathing issues which cause them to bring unwanted adds, they don’t avoid obvious AoEs and you can’t stow them if you just want to run past things, because if you’re damaged, they decide that you need them and they just slow you down and lock you in combat longer.
Half of this class is a suicidal meatshield that you have little control over. It might be a good class for those new to MMORPG type games since half the class is automated for you, but I regret the time I put into the class.