Guild Wars 2

Alright, I’m going to start off by saying that I know I’m kind of going backwards here. I should probably focus on class first, then start picking best weapons. But here’s the deal: I love archers in games. Always have, always will. So, acknowledging that I’m running in the “wrong” direction, I’m looking at the skills for the longbow on the warrior and the ranger, and I can’t quite make a decision about which I like better. I’m not looking to be cutting edge in WvWvW or sPVP or really anything. Just … decent, hopefully in as much game content as possible, with my main focus on just having a bit of fun after work.

No matter the class, I’ll probably wind up with my secondary weapon set being melee, so that’s a bit of a factor. My gut says warrior will be better for that, because, well… Warrior. They also seem to have a little bit more ability to buff their teammates through shouts and banners, which is nice. Most of all, though, I like the idea of a classical archer, not so much a fantasy one. So, a dedicated soldier with a bow, lobbing arrows and fire at enemies from afar. The heavy armor is a nice touch, and I’ve always liked a shield.

But on the other hand, I’m okay with handling pets and do like the idea of having a little tank follow me around and provide some extra dps. The second bow for a ranger might be kind of neat, too, since it’s heavy on bleeds and poison. Traps, a little stealthing, and some great single-target damage (it looks like) help make this a harder choice.

So, in your collective opinion:

1) Does the pet DPS from a ranger help in any significant proportion in PVP?
2) Does having a pet help offset the survivability gap between the classes in PVE or PVP?
3) Does the warrior have any skills or perks that help make up for the lack of range-based damage boost that rangers get with the longbow?
4) Which class is generally more useful in a small-scale engagement/party?
5) A large one?

Thanks in advance, folks. I know there have been some patches recently, so I’m looking for some more recent information than I can find just searching around.