Guild Wars 2

Honestly , every PvP balance change floods over to PvE and WvW making havoc there because something is maybe OP in a limited 5v5 controlled enviorment . second class my kitten

Our procs from vigor traits are 5 seconds on fairly long cooldowns . Other classes usually get 10s of vigor + something else

LR is a solid skill , but it does not break immob , cripple or chilled . Ranger has poor other defensive options be it block , invlunerability or stealth . Ranger has no built in sustain ala warrior healing sig + adrenal health . The only thing going for us was our natural vigor that allowed us to dodge more .

To get invulnerability you need 30 into MM for signet trait , or you use protect me which will most likely kill the pet in pvp or wvw . To get sustain you need to actually build for healing power , unlike warriors who get 600 hp/sec from just putting on healing signet and 15 into defense . To top it all off our burst is pretty meh , and due to how pet burst was also nuked , we rely on damage over time , which again puts us into a bunkerish role .

As the title says , I am just asking for confirmation if this is true . Ty in advance

Honestly , I do around level 40 fractals all the time , and most of the times the only real must have is 1 guardian . Everything else can work if the players know what to do . 15 mins up or down for a run is irrelevant

Honestly , why would anyone run a boon duration support build for 1v1 roaming ?

As for PvP , the spirit build will remain the same but nerfed . Some people will probably try guard with NV , but will realize it is pointless and go back to cookie cutter spirits if they actually play spirits

warriors can get 400 hp/sec from HSig + 350ish hp/3sec from adrenal health and 70 from food , so its a bit less then 600 hp/sec usually .

The rapid fire damage is not a spike . It is actually lower DPS then when auto attacking . Rapid fire is used to stack up vulnerability or to track opponents into stealth

Again , as i have said in a different topic , nature voice is a bad grandmaster trait . You do not need swiftness or regeneration because if you are playing a support/boon build you will take warhorn and HS regardless . This is where you get your regeneration and swiftness , with a long lasting fury as well .

Playing spirits in WvW or PvP just for their passive bonuses is folly . In PvE you take a Ranger for high speed clears when you already have a warrior , because the ranger offers that extra bit with spotter and frost spirit , but never because of swiftness and regeneration .
And you sure as hell will not convince me to take a useless utility that is guard just to activate a trait that gives two of the most available boons in the game . I would rather spec 20 into BM for vigorous training in an AOE since vigor is getting nerfed in availability and will give me 20% shorter swap times which was proven by Xorus to me a major fault with ranger guard/shout builds .

I am saying , you can go boon ranger , but nature voice is a waste of a trait .

As for spirits , think of them like this . A spirit is a jack of all trades sort of utility . it gives a passive and an active AOE , neither of which are good by themselves . Even a single spirit is bad by itself , because the best part of spirit builds is that spirits proc each others passives . The only solo spirit that is good in competitive play of WvW or PvP is the elite .
Now by taking nature voice you lose out on 1 spirit because you need traited Guard . If playing such a build , SoTW is a given because boon tanks are attrition builds . So you are left with a single spirit and an elite . And even on that single spirit you lose out a major component of its use , the AOE is smaller and it will not proc its effect on death , which is HUGE to lose . To top it all off , spirits will be nerfed next patch when it comes to the offensive spirits .

This is a pointless change to give a perception of choice . Remember the shortbow nerf to make the longbow more attractive ? I do , now both are kind of crap . This is the same thing

Another global nerf that will hit rangers the hardest as did quickness when it was nerfed . So sad

I can get permanent swiftness by equipping war horn. Regen i get out of my whazoo .
The point is that the shout itself is kitten and needs 30 into NM to get what every other shout using class gets for free .
If the AOE for Guard gave some benefits itself for players , for example a 20% reduced damage taken , then it could be very well worth it . But it does not , and quite honestly , swiftness is the last thing on my mind .

Nature vengence as a future grandmaster trait , even though it used to be master , is a good trait . It changes the dynamic of a utility class and increases its usability significantly . Vigorous spirits is a filler trait quite honestly , there is no reason spirits should not be 70% proc chance to begin with . Spirits unbound is a klunky trait that you would use for PvP or WvW but not for PvE .
Nature voice is a stupid filer trait to make a utility class seem appealing but to cover up how useless shouts actually are . As long as there is no party or player benefit from the shouts themselves ( not trait proc ) the whole family will be useless and badly designed .

Take a look at warrior shouts .
-25 second CD stun breaker and condition clear
-25 second CD fury and 3 might buffer
- AOE fear
-vulnerability stacking … this one is meh

Now look at the trait , 1 trait !! , heals for 1.5-2k per shout . Now THIS is a proper grandmaster trait . And the shouts themselves are useful even untraited . Do not buy into the whole nature voice makes support builds possible BS

I really wish people stop thinking that moving spirit and Nature voice will make for a good support build . * IT WILL NOT * . Why ?

1 – Spirits are not pure support tools , because spirits give a bit of of offense and support the only way to make it worth it is to run 2+ utility spirits and the elite

2 – You will still need to trait spirits 2 times to make them usable . The Adept spirit trait could might as well come as default as it is a must for spirit users , it could be already given to spirits to begin with and replaced by another trait that benefits something else

3 – Nature voice may be a decent trait , but its problem is that shouts in general suck . So in essence you are using a shout to trigger a trait …. thats tier1 designer poop right there .

In essence you will end up with a barely functioning clunky support build that people will say works good when it is in fact the very opposite of fluid and intuitive

Actually a stacked DD ele is totally OP in WvW . Boon duration , bloodlust sigil , battle sigil , guard leech is insane to combat … but then again , so is warrior , necro and thief when minmaxed

The problem with Longbow is that it is a very selfish weapon that does not even do solid DPS . It has some utility functions for WvW or PvP with knockdown , stealth and rapid fire tracking … ofc barrage for bag tags in WvW as well . Sword + warhorn is the way to go , but then again u cant do covering melee with kitten groups .

In PvE u want frost and maybe stone spirit . So the trait swap is pretty irrelevant for PvE . For PvP or WvW however , the actives are half the value of the spirit especially the on death proc . So in essence , spirit builds will stay the same in function but nerfed in performance and some people will try to make a silly build that will be proven to be useless .

Horn + sword , HS + vigor renewal , frost and stone spirit . I run high fractals with rampager/celestial gear and i never get kicked .

Also , offhand axe for shaman fractal instead of horn

The spirits are so much more then the passives , which are kind of meh tbh

@Bambula : i am on EU , Gandara to be specific

Cookie cutter apothecary with some celestial pieces was my favorite for a long time . Now I am into a rampager / celestial mix longbow traps . Very fun

moving spirits are not as good as nature vengance is . This trait is beyond important

yes it does proc sharpened edges , its worth about keeping 5-6 bleeds on for the duration as well as arround 2-3k damage all in an AOE . Works really well with entangle and traps

staff staff staff staff . Please staff , and stick control and party buff functions to it . Example :

auto attack – slashing winds * – same attack pattern as the guardian staff . Moderate damage and attack apply bleeding on enemies hit .

number 2 – thorn pit * – spawn an area of say 240 range that applies immob and weakness every 2 seconds for 2 seconds , pulses 3 times .

number 3 – Natures blessing – clear up to 2 conditions from pet , allies and self and heal the pet for every condition cleared .

number 4 – Thunderstruck – instantly magically switch positions with pet dealing damage and blinding at both places . Effects would be a lightning strike at both places

number 5 – Tremors – take 2 seconds to summon a gorilla spirit (effect like maul or swoop ) that smashes the ground 3 times over 6 seconds every 2 seconds dazing and crippling oponents for 1.5 seconds . First strike is a blast finisher .

drooooooooooooooooool

I am thinking about traveler runes , but the problem i have with them is this :
-very expensive
-Mad king actually gives me power , condition and bleed duration, all of which i actually use
-i can actually use signet of the hunt active , and I am not a stranger to swapping it before i enter combat

I am using viper and spike trap because i have enough burning from offhand torch , and quite honestly the frost trap does not help with my two biggest worries , thieves and warriors due to thief no cooldown abilities and warriors dodged march

Hey guys , I was dead set on playing a trapper with a long bow ever since the longbow got stealth . I had tried rabid gear with perplexity runes and had played that for a while but i disliked the clear lack of pressure i would get from very low physical damage and lack of conditions from the longbow as it is a power weapon.

But for fluff reasons i never could abandon the idea .

So , having experimented with various builds and gear , not least of all with a carrion spirit build in WvW ( which is total trash btw , as are all WvW spirit builds ) , i settled on a rampager and celestial mix . And quite honestly , this has opened up a lot of build opportunities for both PvE and WvW .

So i decided it was time to revisit the longbow trapper concept . Without further ado , here is my build .

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/ranger/?6.0|3.1o.h16.0.0.0|c.5j.h1k.f.5o.h5.0.0.0|1o.7g.1o.7g.1o.7g.1o.7g.1o.7g.1o.7g|411.0.2y.0.3w.0.211.0.311.0.2w.0|a3.u28b.u17b.0.0|0.0|4j.53.52.4q.55|e

Ok , so my reasoning for using this kind of silly setup ? Well , fun and fluff as i have said , and also because for better or worse , condition is the way to go be it hybrid or bunker . I like the longbow in concept even if its lacking .
As for traps , well , alternatives for a power longbow build are what ? zephyr ? its bad . Muddy terrain ? pretty meh for WvW , it can help but .. eh . The list of lacking ranger utilities goes on and on and on .

Anyway , this is in concept , and limited practice in WvW that i have had thus far , a control build .
So the usual tactic would be to toss traps between you and the opponent and open up with a throw torch to get a hit . Ofc send the pet ( dual spiders for the immobilization and condition coverage ) to get in combat . Once that happens the opponent will usually start the charge and while that is happening , if there is time , shoot barrage somewhere near the traps or on top of them if it sprung the spike trap or he got immobilized by a spider . You can skip this if you deem there is no time and start rapid fire under fury . Again , the whole channel does around 6000 damage and covering your burn , poison and bleed with vulnerability and more bleeds , and ofc physical damage . As silly as it sounds , this actually does quite a lot of damage . Not to mention you have a distinct advantage at peeling squishies . I have actually taken down some food using hammerrhoid trolliors that had no clue what happened . If he misses his earthshaker , he does not get the condition clear .

Against thieves , u want to throw traps and bonfire around yourself and anticipate him coming out of stealth . When he springs the traps , point blank shot him and rapid fire . That will usually send them running . Well if he catches you off guard and stuns you , he can probably down you very fast if you are unlucky .

As i have said , peeling necros , mesmers , engis and elementalists is fairly fun and seeing how you have plenty of control they can hardly catch you if you play i well . The only thing i am actually scared of is the ranger bunker … knowing how good it can be as it is my main build .

Final notes
-dual spiders for condition coverage and immobilization
-poison and spike traps for healing countering pressure and additional area control
-Mad king runes due to power for longbow damage pressure and condition and bleed duration for conditions applied
-sword + torch because you need swords mobility and utility , burning is a good condition and bonfire is in essence a free trap and i have Rodgort :p
-position and control build . Surprises people who think you are a loot bag due to longbow
-you are not a steamrolling hammerrhoid warrior , you can die so do not act Rambo . Keep your distance and strategize
-EXTREMELY FUN TO PLAY

Ty and enjoy

pointless change , nature vengance is extremely important for spirits

It is a bad trait , hell most pet traits are . You would be wasting a major trait slot for an unreliable trait bonus thats poor to boot . Honestly i just wanted for the ranger to benefits from some traits that would give extra build options .

Actually , that passive endurance regeneration trait accounts for most of rangers survivability across all builds . Why ?

1)ranger has access to poor vigor , you can get a 5 second proc every 15 – 30 seconds from traits . Usually in places where you have to place something else very important to the build

2)ranger has access to few blocks and zero free invulnerabilities , everything comes at a penalty be it a long animation like counterstrike , having to trait 30 MM for stone signet or killing your pet with protect me .

3)the endurance trait nerf is a product of a SPvP nerf to a build that is pretty useless everywhere else in the game ( spirits ) , but will affect multiple other builds considering rangers defense is dodging . For example :

-trapper will be nerfed as the only vigor you could possibly get is vigorous renewal , but you probably have to opt for the anti-stun trait . Skirmishing vigor cannot be taken as usually sharpened edges is a must

-beastmaster builds that opt for rending strikes in the BM line usually have to take expertese training in wilderness for the extra pet condition damage , otherwise the rending strikes trait has no point if bleeds do 44 damage per tick . Hence you cannot take either the wilderness or BM vigor

-different weapon combinations will take a hit . What if someone developed a build for axe/torch + shortbow for example ? or if someone barely made it and played longbow +axe/axe , or dual bows ? Anything that does not use sword/dagger or greatsword will see a massive hit to survivability .

You underestimate how huge this nerf is gonna be for rangers . And there is no reliable and genorous vigor traits , LR is a poor utility , especially since it does not clear one of our biggest problems , immob .

the last thing you want is to have spirits unbound for PvE runs . Nature vengance is amazing though .

So , whats the build ?

Traherne as a character concept is fine . The problem is the terrible voice acting that just ruins the whole experience

Suggestions i would like to give as far as some weapon changes and trait chances are concerned :

Marksmanship :

-Eagle eye affects longbow cooldowns by 20% as well as its current benefits

-Predators instinct , instead of a 10 second cripple , it could be a 3 second immobilize with a 15 second cooldown

Skirmishing :

-Sharpened edges bleed duration from 2 to 3 seconds

-Carnivorous apetite also affects rangers allowing them to lifesteal on crit , perhaps for a value between 150-200 hp

-Honed axes , critical hits with axes give 1 stack of might to allies for 5 seconds as well as the current effect .

-Quickdraw , reduces shortbow cooldowns , conditions inflicted by the shortbow last 50% longer

-Trapper master and grandmaster trait merged , trap condition duration and buffed AOE given by default . New composite trait gives cooldown reduction and throw range .

-New grandmaster trait * , Skirmishers gambit , critical hits transfer conditions , 2 per hit , ICD 10 seconds

Beastmastery :

-Instinctual bond * minor trait changed from pet quickness on downed to removes 1 condition on pet swap *

Weapon abilities :

-throw torch does a daze/knockdown for 1.5 seconds

-bonfire physical component buffed

-lightning reflexes removes immobilize , cripple , chilled

-Sharpening stones cooldown reduced from 45 seconds to 30

-Signet of the hunt cooldown reduced from 30 to 15 seconds

-Protect me does not kill the pet anymore , clears 2 conditions as well .

-Guard gives a 20% reduced incoming damage taken to allies within the circle , circle expanded slightly

The content gameplay itself is great , the story not so much . I actually enjoy the tower , its hard and interesting

The issue people have with pets is that they die . They are integral to the class to such a level that the rangers dps suffers for having it . Ok , fine , I can live with that . It raises the skill floor in theory .
But , then we have the added problem of the pet not hitting moving targets or being able to die , depriving us of that damage and utlity we give so much for . That is the major problem number 1.
Number 2 is not having complete control over our pets abilities . We give up our own utility and damage to have a companion , but then we cant control it properly . Srsly , wtf?

On the notion the ranger is broken , it is not broken really , it does what the developers want it to do . The problem is , the ranger is badly designed !!

i would love a staff . Total druidism ftw

because its clearly a useful trait now….

Pets would work perfectly fine if they took no damage what so ever . Then it would be far more reliable and maximizing dps would not be dependant on on hit KO mechanics in the game . Everything else could be subjected to numbers change

uh if u went 20 into Skirmishing i doubt you would get half as much healing from the other sources . The point is to diversify options

I know it is , but if it affected the ranger as well , as in get buffed , it would open up so many possibilities

This trait ….. so much potential for good builds if it also allowed the ranger to steal health on criticals.

Thoughts ?

the whole situation would be infinitely better if pets did not take any damage but could not take agro either .

even at max range the longbow does poor damage

That is the main problem though . The pet CANNOT be managed to be effective . There is massive delay in its ability casting and AI issues . The pet is far more likely to not do what you have told it to then the opposite . Usually its just click and pray . We dont even have say in when pets use 66% of their abilities . It is just sad

I have been a competitive RTS player for a long time , after that i did MOBA-s . Quite honestly , its quite distressing what passes for pro players in GW2 .

scratch that , restarting the game seems to help, sry

I cant seem to enter any of the instances . wtF?

the biggest pile of doo doo i have read is that SPvPers are more skilled then the rest of us . Some of the most skilled players i have seen in the game have been WvW roamers . Why ? WvW lets you use everything and lets you push your class through combat , juking , terrain, cliffs , positioning , trolling and whatnot . Not to mention the different stat combos , foods , baiting into guards . Basicly it simulates not only combat but strategy and tactics very well . Cant kill a guy dirrectly 1v1? NP , lure him to a cliff and knock his kitten down .

sheesh , WvW is THE MOST COMPETITIVE PART OF THE GAME

Again, i have no problem with the pet . I have a problem with HOW the pet works , or does not work and atm IT DOES NOT WORK . When your main mechanic is a burden instead of a boon then you have a major problem

If they gave me an option to just switch my class , i would do it in an instant . I love the ranger , hell i even like the feel of having a pet with me . The problem is , IT DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY . In harder dungeons i am handicapped , in WvW i am handicapped . In living story content… oh boy am i handicapped , remember aetherblade retreat ?

Just make the godkitten pet invulnerable to damage but unable to take agro . There , problem freeking solved

Again, SPvP will end up ruining rangers in PvE and WvW . So sad

I also find it kind of funny that they are using the too much endurance from traits bit * when warriors can get so much more sustain from just healing signet and a 15 point trait . This is on the level of 600 hp/sec without any healing power gear . Obscene . Hypocrits