Guild Wars 2

Same for me, as posted in similar topic.

Edit:

AMD user, temperature of GPU is stable, reinstalled driver and GW2, let GW2 auto-detect video settings and checked internet connection. Still, random black screens.

Unfortunately I am experiencing the same problems since a few days. Also AMD graphics card but no temperature problems, able to run other games at way higher settings. As the others, I have tried:

- reinstalling GW2
- reinstalling driver of GPU
- checked for temperature problems of hardware
- checked internet connection
- allowed GW2 to auto-detect video settings

Still, I get random black screens every now and then, while the music still plays in the background. Alt+F4 just closes the game, so it’s not really a crash of the video card.

Has anyone of the previous posters managed to solve the problem?

Being a PVE enthusiast, the nerfs to Seed of Life and Lunar Impact really disappoint me – It is time Anet split pve from pvp/wvw balance.

In raids and fractals, one thing I loved rangers for was their ability to provide condition cleanses for the team, given that their primary role is buffing/healing anyway. Gone.

The Lunar Impact CD reduction is simply a step to make CA more miserable, it is simply a further nail in the coffin.

Finally, it annoys me a lot (!) that these changes are presented without any sign of good will, e.g. fixing at least one of many small flaws that haunt druid gameplay. It feels like they simply don’t care, like they sacrifice the raid and fractal community’s fun (and usefulness) for the good of competitive pvp balance.

I wouldn’t mind it so much if there was anything druids could do besides supporting (buffing/healing) in pve but as long as we can fill only one single role, any nerf that affects our ability to fill this role hurts.

I started raiding as a newcomer as well, about 4 weeks ago, so maybe my 2 cents are helpful:

1. I wouldn’t worry about being colorblind on Vale Guardian or Gorseval, those are usually the first bosses newcomers will face. VG has green circles (4 ppl need to stand inside or everyone dies) but their shape/outline is very distinct from other things on the ground.
Moreover, squad commanders can put icons on the map (heart, star,…) so if u tell them that green and red look the same to you, they can easily put an icon onto the pillar you need to run to during the split.

2. You definitely should look for a raid guild, there is a reddit forum where I found mine. Many are willing to integrate newcomers and teach them, just apply to a few. (https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildRecruitment)

3. Join training runs, some are infrequently posted in the raid section of lfg, some via forums and people use them to get to know the mechanics. Most likely, none of these will kill the boss but it’s a great way to learn the mechanics so that you are a little prepared for when you join a potential guild the first time.

4. While some scepticism against metabattle is useful, the message of raids and the builds posted there is (imo) very valid: Life gets a lot easier if you min-max.

In my opinion, you should figure out which roles druids occupy in teams (usually healing or dps-support). While all druids have an easy time buffing (pop glyphs, use frost spirit & spotter), our other duties benefit a lot from dedicated gear.
If your job is to deal condi damage, then grab axe/torch&shortbow, acquire sinister trinkets and possibly a viper amulet and use appropriate runes on your condi armor. And if you are supposed to heal, then grab a staff and again appropriate sigils/runes/trinkets that specifically empower your healing.

+1

Speed improvements (movement & attack) on pets alone would already make my day.

I really appreciate the changes Anet made but two things bug me:

1. Sword aftercasts (see above)

2. Training grounds don’t have options to give pets boons as well. As they are a major damage source, I can’t properly test different builds/traits becoz I can’t simulate how pets damage changes under swiftness/might etc.

Would be cool if those two things could get fixed

Rangers/Druids have a lack of Condi DPS pets:

1. Phoenix (Condi DPS via Burning, medium range)
—> F2: Burning Aura (allied players inflict burning on critical hits for x seconds)

2. Desert Snake (Melee Condi DPS)
—> F2: Fiery Whip (Snake whips his enemy with his fiery tail for a short burst, including stacking a bit of might for itself, but “looses” the tail in the process, inflicting a certain amount of hp as damage onto itself)
—> F2 Alternative: Fiery Grip (Snake entangles enemy, immobilizing it for a short duration while pulsing burning)
—> F2 Alternative: Fiery Spit (Snake spits a pool of burning lava onto the ground, creating a small fire field around the target that inflicts burning)

Snakes could generally come in all condition variants (poison = swamp, bleeding = mountain, confusion = crystal) and could find a place as condition dps pets to provide builds specializing solely on conditions an alternative.

Vital to melee pets is that their auto-attack includes sth like a shadowstep or short jump towards the target so that they cling to the enemy like bees to honey and can deal with mobile targets.

I found it pretty cool due to its ambiguity

Pretty sure transforming into a wolf when going for the legendary Howler resets it

Mordrem Sniper abilities could be easily integrated into ranger, in addition with new bursty pets. After all, a big part about hunting is approaching your prey without being noticed and then – bam – bursting it down (with a rifle )

Camo Ranger (using nature for concealment), e.g.

- u and ur pet blend into the background for a few secs, giving the next attack a damage modifier
- getting some hard-hitting DH-like shot with the rifle or alternatively a juicy burst sequence with the Dagger main
- some stun/daze/knock-down + evade/invisibility
- new pets with burst or knock downs similar to bristleback to match the playstyle
etc.

This could synergize well with Quickdraw and similar traits, would offer us a damage orientated skirmishing/evade playstyle and be an evolution of current Ranger playstyle while pleasing those of us who hoped for a non-support spec. It could even synergize with druid because bursts in between of healing sequences are a nice flavour.

Edit: All I am saying is that while it would work with thief equally well, there is no problem at all to match nature & concealment.

Thanks for putting in the time to highlight this!

It probably has an internal cooldown (ICD), so you do not see the timer but it still exists. Have fun playing, btw

Sad story, I really enjoyed the BB burst in PVE. Guess this means back to double cats now.

It’s time for Anet to show rangers some love and tackle some of the fundamental issues of our class (pets not being able to hit moving targets, AF generation etc.) instead of providing us with virtual ducktape (aka hotfixes).

I’d love to help out but I haven’t raided before so unless you are short on numbers, probably prioritize people who are firm with the mechanics.

Can’t agree, I think despite the clunky design the druid itself is amazing.

The versatility of ranger/druid is insane and the sacrifices small compared to what other classes have to give up for similar levels of group support & utility (Revenant, Ele).

I am far from top notch but the fact that we can span the bridge between decent dps to breakbar shredderer to carrying fail teams through challenging content is pretty amazing.

Also, we are in a good spot because we have a distinct area of the game where we are really strong (group support/buffing) and I’d rather have this than short-lived DPS hypes like Burnzerker or Revenant had for some time. If you stick with this class, you know you’ll be relevant for more than just one update.

Nonetheless, I agree on that it would have made more sense to give Guardian a healing spec and traps to us. But I guess they wanted to give us a new weapon badly.

My question is the following: Could it be advantageous for the standard ranger/druid power build to run a torch as off-hand weapon besides the sword instead of an axe?

When playing PVE, I find it hard to maintain high levels of might in fights that last longer than 15 seconds because in lfg fractals or the open world, you often have to cater for yourself if you want boons and after our initial might burst, it starts dropping very quickly even with might generating pets like the smokescale.

Therefore, I am thinking: If I drop the off-hand axe and instead put down a fire field, instantly blast might with Clarion Bond and apart from that do the usual stuff (WHaO, SotP etc.), wouldnt i end up with more damage output? The trade to me seems the pretty good damage of axe 4 but in return i get might both for me and my pet.

Do you guys think this would be worth it?

PS: Haven’t tried it out yet but will do now, see how it goes. I’ve got an ascended torch with Sinister stats lying around which is obsolete due to Vipers’ and I can change this into Berserker.

Anet just said they wouldn’t force ppl into the trinity. Don’t see no problem here, time to move on.

I can see why you are so excited, it sounds too good to be true. +1

Thanks guys, those are some cool suggestions. I’ll definitely try that daze build, start climbing the levels and see how I fare. Looks like there is a lot of room for creativity with regard to ranger/druid builds!

Tragic Positive.9356:

I’ve already fractaled up to lvl 100.

What build are you searching for? Efficient one? One that can solo fractals (I soloed lvl 72)? A DPS one?

It’s basically as you suggested, I do have 3 different sets of gear and I used all of them (and then sent Viper gear to my engineer and kept Cleric and Berserker on Ranger).
And the most important question for you … Do you intend to play them through LFG?

- I am looking for an efficient build that I set myself as a goal or benchmark, e.g. if it was advisable to run full viper/sinister, I’d first mix in a few rabid trinkets and take them out one by one. Regarding playstyle, currently I enjoy a slight variation of the meta battle power druid build which seems to be a nice blend of damage and support. In addition, currently my largest damage increases will come from improving my gameplay and learning mechanics but as all this ascended stuff is such a long process, I thought I’d start working towards sth proper now.

- I don’t want to solo nor do speed runs

- Currently I use LFG a lot and sometimes play with fellow guild members (very casual guild) but nothing organized. However, I assume your questions implies that pugging higher level fractals is much harder and in that case, I will probably shift towards more organized play.

I guess fractals and rangers will change over time but I would like to have a general direction with regard to what type of build works for which level etc. E.g. you saying you have several sets is very helpful. Do you run your power or cleric set in all fractals then?

Hi dear Ranger/Druid community,

after having a lot of fun in lower level Fractals, I am looking for advise for higher level Fractals as I did not find anything up-to-date neither here nor on reddit:

1) Up to which level do you enjoy and play your Fractals as rangers/druids?
2) Do you mostly run Condition or Power builds in higher level fractals?
3) How glassy are your builds in higher level fractals? I have felt that playing with as little as 2 soldier/knight rings aside berserker gear feels much less punishing when I miss a dodge.
4) Do you slot your ascended equipment/trinkets/weapons with a mix of versatile and fine infusions or just invest everything in agony resistance after having attuned and possibly infused backpiece and rings? Or do you maybe have a Berserker set for lower levels (and thus fine infusions in armor/weapons but AR in trinkets) but a Condi set for higher levels (which then would run full AR)?

Thanks a lot for the answers.

Background: I have just finished crafting a full set of ascended weapons/armor with Berserker stats and am 1/3 into a Viper’s set. However, I am a bit confused about where to put my agony resistance and how much of it I actually need for which equipment and Fractal level.

PS: Also some experiences are welcome – I like theory crafting and min-maxing but it’s also nice to hear what ppl actually do ;-)

Just no. NO. no.

Sylvaries have the best physique variety, the most interesting hairstyles and have pretty characters that nonetheless do not look like being taken from the same 3 photoshopped pages of vogue (cough, human/norn, cough).

wupwup, pm send :-)

From my (newbie) experience, for HoT meta event trains, you can keep using your glassy zerker gear as a druid, maybe mix in a few trinkets that improve your toughness or vitality a little. In the end, it is more important to learn attack patterns of mobs and how to dodge them. In my eyes, going full cleric or survivability sounds pretty boring because it will take you ages to kill anything.

All you need is a little backup that one single mistake doesn’t kill you and this is exactly what druid does, it offers a backup heal, condi cleanses, escapes via staff, entangles and more. Don’t feel obliged to heal like crazy, just do the damage you would do anyway with a ranger and once in a while be give ppl a little heal.

Before crafting a zealot staff, i worked with a berserker staff and had no problem at all.

If you like a little more survivability, some condi builds here look pretty amazing, offering a lot of toughness. But if you have decent berserker gear, stick with it and better get used to dodging and evading with your skills, maybe run a few fractals for ascended rings that give you toughness/vitality and that’s it.

PS: Only talking about pve open world, ofc.

Thanks for the answers. :-)

Hi,

I’d like to learn about the (possible) roles of the warhorn in ranger/druid builds, how people use it and what sigils work well with it.

I am somewhat new to the game but as far as I understand it, we have burst-centric (berserker) weapons such as GS/LB, some condi weapons (SB, torch, dagger) and then hybrids such as staff or axe.

I wonder, however, how the warhorn fits into this – should I just regard it as a utility tool or also as a source of damage? I am having difficulties using it outside of dragon stand’s circle running or chest farming and also I wonder whether I should use sigils that (a) increase the damage or (b) give some boon (might, swiftness,…)?

I appreciate any answers – thanks in advance! :-)

As a newbie, I’ve had a good time using meta battle’s S/A-LB spotter build (http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Ranger_-_S/A_LB_Spotter).

I regret not taking ranger runes but scholar works fine as well. I often switch signet of the hunt for wild, get a stun-breaking skill when needed and sometimes exra mobility by using WH or GS depending on what I am fighting.

I am sure this build is improvable because it is not principally about solo play but in HoT you often end up fighting stuff together with a few people around you anyway. I assume if you were to improve on it, you’d take out some of the effects that spill to other people and add more survivability skills but leave the gear as it is? Please someone correct me if that is not the way to go :-)

I am not sure how experienced you are but I’ve found that the key to having fun in HoT is getting to know the standard enemy attacks and learning to evade them while being conservative about endurance, learning how to control aggro and using your pet and finally not being shy about skipping mobs because HoT is all about those events going on (imo).