Guild Wars 2

Worst patch ever.

Rangers now suck.

I’m going back to WoW.

I’m running a bunker build with Axe/Horn primary and Greatsword secondary.

Believe it or not, but I am doing far better with the Axe/Horn than with either Shortbow or Longbow or Axe with any other off-hand.

Axe/Horn combo seems to be doing about as much damage as I do with my Shortbow, which is peculiar. On top of that, the Axe is a god-send against multiple opponents, mesmers, and the occasional thief or charr who summons NPC allies.

The 900 range limit doesn’t mean jack unless you’re assaulting or defending a keep, in which case it might be proper to temporarily switch your Axe/Horn for a Shortbow or Longbow. Other than that, Axe/Warhorn all the way.

Daemon.4295:

Xsorus.2507:

If you want to fight P/D thieves, simply use Superior Rune of Melandru + the – 40% Condition Duration Food.

This will drop Conditions by 65%, most P/D Thieves tend to stack Condition Duration for their bleeds, and I find that its really all their damage..So if you hit them with that, They tend to have trouble with with damage to finish you off.

At that point all it takes is for them to screw up at least once and you can kill them..however they could just simply run away from you and really nothing you can do.

Or just wipe the bleeds with brown bear, signet of renewal, healing spring, or emphatic bond.

The only proper condition removal there is Healing Spring. Empathic Bond and the Signet of Renewal’s active only get your pet killed, and the Brown Bear’s special ability removes only a single boon. It also does incredibly little damage, making it not worth it at all. On top of that, Signet of Renewal’s passive removes only one condition every ten seconds. I would be laughing if it weren’t so pathetic.

I played a Hunter in World of Warcraft, and while that class beats Guild Wars 2’s Ranger by miles, it was in my time never a ‘one shot monster’.

The class was just much better designed, that’s all.

Give it to me. I’ll invest it in… something… and give you a slice of the cake… yeah…

I’d take the torch over the dagger for condition based builds any day of the week.

Dagger is just so unimpressive. It’s no wonder I am yet to run into someone who actually uses it.

You do realize that the pet-haters will now have found ammo to throw at us due to your revelation that the historical ranger was in no way a beastmaster?

You have doomed us all, TJV. Truly, you have doomed us all.

Sword benefits most from a power build, not a condition build.

In fact, the dagger is actually quite a terrible off-hand for main-hand sword. You’re far better off with a warhorn or hell, even an axe.

Your comment that rangers are usually ‘quite easy targets’ broke my heart.

ThirtyOne.3976:

ThirtyOne.3976:

^ This, seriously, just makes me feel awesome when being a Bird Master, I just don’t know if I want to complete the look with the mask and gloves or leave my pretty lil ranger as she is. I’ll post a screenie in the Ranger thread soon.

That armor is so worthless on female characters. Her inner thighs and the aerteries below are completely exposed. One single slash with something sharp would end her ranger career in the blink of an eye.

A better question would be: is there a reason to use either bow over the good old axe/warhorn combo? I’m having more succes in 1vX with axe/warhorn than with the shortbow (with which in turn I’m having more succes with than the longbow, but I digress).

It seems to be mostly glass-type Rangers who get ravaged by Thieves. Rangers who at least partially focus on vitality, toughness and/or healing power do a lot better, myself included.

I’d wager the thief level 1 hood looks good with Falconer’s.

I mean, that hood looks amazing with ANYTHING really.

Perhaps ‘evasive’ tank is a better way of putting it. Thieves and Rangers cannot soak raw damage like a Guardian, Warrior or Necromancer can, but what they’re good at is kiting, evading, and dodging. At least, the Ranger is. I am yet to try a similar play-style on my new Thief.

Falconer’s. The Assassin’s looks too much like an, well, assassin. You’re not an assassin. You’re a ranger.

Bonus points for equipping two bird pets while wearing Falconer’s.

Sarrow.2785:

Agadar.4931:

Why would sword/pistol be better than sword/dagger for Signet of Malice? The #5 is relatively useless without the dagger isn’t it? You want to leap through it to get stealth.

S/P is not a stealth build. Pistolwhip connecting with multiple targets works well with signet of malice is all. The AoE blind (pistol offhand #5) has greater utility than just +leap finisher for stealth. It is good for blocking downed skills, blinding melee, protecting teammates etc.

Also, yes stealth is bad for point control, but the OP didnt specify if he does WvW or sPvP.

Open WvW, mostly.

I just tried Pistol Whip, and apparantly you have to stand still in order to execute the second part of the attack (the sword slashing). This is a total dealbreaker to me. I’ll stick with the off-hand dagger due to the synergy between #5 and #1.

Any progress, OP? We exchanged messages, but nothing yet.

While I agree that the Greatsword is primarily a defensive weapon, it could definately use a boost to its damage output to make it viable as a main weapon. During Beta it did absurd amounts of damage and it certainly demanded a nerf, but the nerf it received was far too harsh. I do not expect a Greatsword Ranger to outdamage a Greatsword Warrior, but I definately expect it to be more effective at killing my opponents than waiting for them to catch some exotic disease.

Chopps.5047:

Agadar.4931:

Chopps.5047:

Agadar.4931:

I’m hoping, praying even, for some proper changes. Sword auto-attack not rooting you in place. Arrows and pets actually hitting their targets. Spirits and shouts becoming viable. Trap-related traits not being in a traitline completely unrelated to traps. Etcetera.

Any one of those changes will do. Literally. Just any one.

However, I am expecting nothing at all. That way, I won’t get disappointed.

Arah path 4 sparks follow only pets; my latest gripe. Ah, to be a ranger is to be universally hated in dungeon parties.

I never find myself hated in dungeons. Usually, I’m the one saving everyone’s kitten with my quick-ressing, Search and Resque, and Spirit of Renewal mass ress.

Also, Healing Spring + Whirling Defense = spraying healing bolts all over the place.

You apparently don’t run dungeons enough to see that.

I run plenty of dungeons, but apparantly not the ones where pets become a burden.

Whatever it is, it is not ranger specific. It’s probably just culling issues.

Eh, pretty much the same as before. Some very minor tweaks and semi-fixes, but nothing that makes you go ‘wow, the class is on par with the others now’.

I’m not going to deceive prospective rangers by pretending the class isn’t lacking in certain major areas.

That being said, I am very fond of canines, and considering the ranger class allows me to have two of man’s best friends by my side at all times, it is naturally one of my favorite classes.

The whole survivor/archer feel to it is also very satisfying, which is ironic considering I don’t even use a bow most of the time.

Why would sword/pistol be better than sword/dagger for Signet of Malice? The #5 is relatively useless without the dagger isn’t it? You want to leap through it to get stealth.

What about Healing Power? In theory, loads of Healing Power combined with Signet of Malice should keep you alive for a good time.

Greetings, my new colleagues. When my mind was finally at ease again after watching a Thief escape the clutches of my Ranger for the hundredth time, I have decided to roll a Thief. On my Ranger, I am a big fan of the more defensive builds, or ‘bunker’ builds, as one might call them. I was wondering whether it was possible to build a bunker Thief, as I am little interested in the glass cannon style of things.

The weapon set I am considering for such a build is sword/dagger and shortbow. The sword has a nigh spammable evade with significant damage on the number three, and the shortbow has the teleport which can get you out of nasty situations.

My question to you is, would this be viable, or would I only be making a fool out of myself?

Anthrage.2519:

Big +1 to the above regarding Range!

I love the Ranger, even with it’s many issues, because I can do stuff like this. I find ranger to be excellent for situations that are specific-task oriented…monitor/defend a chokepoint, take out a piece of siege or point defense, solo a camp, revive something critical, getting into a tower through a hostile zerg…it’s not the best at more than 1 thing, but it’s good at a lot.

‘Ranger Tactical Usage’, and the very first ability he uses is a Norn racial ability.

Stopped watching right there and then. This is not ‘Ranger Tactical Usage’, it’s ‘Norn Tactical Usage’.

Usually don’t partake in these things, but today is a different day.

Sword becomes a thousand times better when taking the #1 off auto-attack.

It definately requires getting used to however.

Recluse.6740:

Agadar.4931:

Recluse.6740:

Agadar, are you really telling him it does not get better?

Did I stutter?

Great comeback …

you now fall into the l2p category then.

You’re hurting my feelings. Stop it.

Recluse.6740:

Agadar, are you really telling him it does not get better?

Did I stutter?

I’d love to duel him.

Chopps.5047:

Agadar.4931:

I’m hoping, praying even, for some proper changes. Sword auto-attack not rooting you in place. Arrows and pets actually hitting their targets. Spirits and shouts becoming viable. Trap-related traits not being in a traitline completely unrelated to traps. Etcetera.

Any one of those changes will do. Literally. Just any one.

However, I am expecting nothing at all. That way, I won’t get disappointed.

Arah path 4 sparks follow only pets; my latest gripe. Ah, to be a ranger is to be universally hated in dungeon parties.

I never find myself hated in dungeons. Usually, I’m the one saving everyone’s kitten with my quick-ressing, Search and Resque, and Spirit of Renewal mass ress.

Also, Healing Spring + Whirling Defense = spraying healing bolts all over the place.

Rampage, that guy is using that overpowered Asura racial ability. It is in no way representative of what a Ranger can do.

Atheismo.5164:

Agadar.4931:

Atheismo.5164:

Agadar.4931:

I’m sorry, but no: it does not get any better at higher levels.

If you are not enjoying the class right now, then you will never enjoy it, unless we finally get the ‘significant changes’ John promised us.

Bleh…Just can’t seem to find a class I like in this game.

Really? Apart from Rangers and Engineers, every other class is more or less well-balanced. Exactly what kind of play-style are you looking for?

Well normally I like playing Rogue-like characters but I just didn’t really enjoy the thief in this game, mostly because I prefer having a single long-duration stealth ability rather than a bunch of super short ones.

My only L80 is a guardian and I pretty much just hate him, very boring to solo with although I do feel useful in groups.

Figured I’d try Ranger because I liked the idea of being a sniper with a bunch of traps, but that doesn’t seem to really work out.

Maybe it’s just the game itself, I usually get way more interested in an MMO to the point where I’m addicted. I played Rift and WoW for more than a year without ever getting bored (WoW for more like 3+ years), and this game just has be worn out after a few months…

I know how you feel. I too enjoyed WoW for several years, and the Rogue was certainly a fun class. However, I personally believe the Thief to be even more fun than WoW’s Rogue. It’s much more difficult to play. In WoW, a Rogue can stay stealthed 24/7. It’s rediculous. No such shenanigans in GW2, though some certain builds combined with a little bit of culling allows for near permanent stealth.

Rifle warriors are pretty much the snipers in GW2 with their class specific ability which is a charged high damage single target shot. You could try that one out.

As for the game itself: GW2 hasn’t got any real endgame yet, but neither did WoW in its early stages. Thankfully, GW2 doesn’t have a subscription fee, so you can leave and come back any time to check up on the state of affairs.

I’m hoping, praying even, for some proper changes. Sword auto-attack not rooting you in place. Arrows and pets actually hitting their targets. Spirits and shouts becoming viable. Trap-related traits not being in a traitline completely unrelated to traps. Etcetera.

Any one of those changes will do. Literally. Just any one.

However, I am expecting nothing at all. That way, I won’t get disappointed.

Atheismo.5164:

Agadar.4931:

I’m sorry, but no: it does not get any better at higher levels.

If you are not enjoying the class right now, then you will never enjoy it, unless we finally get the ‘significant changes’ John promised us.

Bleh…Just can’t seem to find a class I like in this game.

Really? Apart from Rangers and Engineers, every other class is more or less well-balanced. Exactly what kind of play-style are you looking for?

I love him because I have some strange affection towards broken things.

I’m sorry, but no: it does not get any better at higher levels.

If you are not enjoying the class right now, then you will never enjoy it, unless we finally get the ‘significant changes’ John promised us.

Never use Greatsword as a main weapon. Never. Its damage is way too little, and the Sword is much more viable for a defensive build considering it has two evades on demand, as opposed to the Greatsword which requires you to be hitting your opponent with your auto-attack in order to get some uncontrollable evades.

Why would you want to stay away from Necromancers? I have no trouble cutting them in little pieces with sword+warhorn.

This video is one of the reasons why I dumped by ranger for a thief. The ability to be both tanky while still dealing several 2k+ crits in a row is something a ranger will never have.

renmei.3102:

Yeah I’m pretty much regretting buying exotic toughness/healing/con dam gear for my ranger, she hit harder in tough/healing/pow rares.. there goes 15 gold down the drain >.>

I don’t know what weapon set you were running, but off-hand torch does quite an impressive amount of damage. I’d wager it’s the biggest damage-dealing off-hand we have.

I just checked GW2Spidey, and it seems they are indeed for sale.

Thank you for your time, Shark. Much appreciated.

Your build is already very solid, both for a PvE support role and a PvP bunker role.

Adding diversity would mean throwing both of those roles away. My suggestion to you is to stick with your current build and continue kicking kitten as usual.

Because we have a second character which can also deal damage.

Too bad it’s got kitten AI.

Thanks for the solid replies, gentlemen.

I noticed that the Emblazoned pieces are soulbound on acquire. I presume this means that I cannot buy them, but have to craft them myself? That’s quite a pain.

Hello. I’ve been browsing the official forums for quite a bit now, but I haven’t been able to find exactly which armor set is the craftable medium exotic cleric set (toughness, healing and power). Could anyone point me in the right direction?

deepwinter.9015:

vitigis.4160:

Canines.

…As a bonus, they do good damage…but mostly they are knockdown machines

+1 for Canines!

I run double wolves (Arctic and Timber [Eternal Battleground]) for the AoE chill and fear, but especially for the knockdowns!

They’re also tough and do damage sufficient for my needs. Their leap/knockdown also hits like a truck. Watch for the pounce and hit your Signet of the Hunt for a nice, big hit!

…what? No one uses Signet of the Hunt for the activate ability? O.o

I like to pretend it hasn’t. Somehow it makes the skill appear better.

I’d sooner trust the wiki than some random guy on the forums.

My heart skipped a beat in joy when I saw the little icon to the left of this thread indicating a mod had posted in the thread.

Soon after my heart skipped another beat, but this time out of sheer disappointment.

Curse you thread rezzers.