If a class, any class , has the ability to choose who and when to fight , and on top of that has very good mobility , there needs to be a penalty . The best possible outcome against a solid thief is for them to run . The worst is that you die . That is it .
Hence why people complain about elementalist and thief . The first is just OP , without any doubt . The second , is very badly designed . The stealth has way to much influence on the class , and the 1v1 duel potential is totally dragging down Thief PvE strength .
Thiefs are inherently broken due to design . Elementalists are broken because of balance issues . Please , Thief players , stop comparing the two .
Did i mention that the thief used pistol+XX and sword+dagger . If not i am sorry
Meh i have come to the conclusion that thiefs are just poorly designed . Very frustrating to play against . It has nothing to do with Op or UP , just bad design .
I dont think ranger has burst, period . Other then some crazy kitten GS GC build … haha
I do not think he was pure GC, because every stealth healed him , and my attacks did not do the damage they would usually do . Funny bit is that i eat thiefs in SPVP even on my silly bowman beastmaster build . But this fight just seemed awkward
That being said i can completely accept being outplayed or even countered by build . As an RTS and MOBA player i have learned to accept this
I bought a Celestial amulet and MF infusion for my laurels a while back . It payed off 10 times over thus far …
Pets need to hit more reliably and not die to random AOE bursts in dungeons . That is all there is to it .
avery good alternative would be to go Axe+XXX and short or longbow . Or go dual melee . Melee+range do not really work out .
This morning i wanted to do my Eternal battlegrounds jumping puzzle . I ran into an elementalist and soon afterwards a thief . I killed both . Then not long after that the same elementalist and a different thief came along together and attacked my while i was harvesting orichalum nodes . I killed and finished off the elementalist, but there was nothing i could do to kill the thief .
He hit like a truck, was in stealth 85% of the time and the remaing 15% he kept dodging . Even if i get hits off on him it did not feel as if he was a glass cannon . but the damage i took sure felt like it .
So my question is , is there a new thief build out there or did i get massively outplayed ??
Rangers are really good when it comes to sustained damage . On the other hand their burst fails
What if the pet had a stack of X AEGIS TYPE BUFFS . Like for the few X hits it does not take damage irrelevant of the damage amount . But after that it would take normal damage .
In PvP it would be come trivial because attack speeds are pretty high , and players can always focus rangers and there is sufficient condition damage .
However this would fix boss fights entirely i think and other high level PvE content
Spirits do not suck, they are just hit or miss . They can either be very useful or totally useless .
my2c
I play a dual bow beastmaster and i am not having any trouble what so ever in WvW
Both are great at what they do . The GS is an utility and defensive weapon with moderate damage , while the Sword is a solid versatile weapon with evades, mobility skills and pet support (autoattack root and might for pet) that can go well with both damage and condition builds , while leaving 2 more slots for offhand weapon skills .
It entirely depends on your play style , although i think the GS is a bit more stable and easier to learn
Not all BM builds depend on pet swapping . There are at least 2 posted in this section that do the exact opposite , that is keeping 1 single pet in combat for as long as possible .
It has been mention multiple times that the solutions to boss OHKO on pets could be solved by giving pets AOE damage mitigation . Yet ANet has repeatedly refused to do so
The trapper ranger build is made specifically for 1vX duels . With 2 traps, torch and axe you have a lot of AOE, while your pet , usually dog , keeps up the pressure and controls their positioning .
Beastmasters, however, are amazing at 1v1 , but can do 1v2 vs certain class combinations .
The hardest class for me to duel are confusion mesmers, because its insane damage taken if you use shortbow … and Elementalists, because they are just that OP
The big complaint for Longbow players that trait heavily into marksmanship and skirmishing is that their 1500 range longbow shots are easily avoided by walking sideways .
Perhaps a simple solution would be done this way :
1)Make eagle eye a grandmaster trait and signet of the beastmaster a master trait , simply swap their place in the trait line
2)Make eagle eye improve projectile speed by a XX %
3)Reduce longbow 1 cooldown by 25% , reduce barrage cooldown from 30 seconds to 25
I think these changes would make all the rangers who want to play GC snipers happy and add 1 more build to the profession
Ranger melee is designed to be defensive + utility with a lot of pet support . Also u have condition appliers if you go condition builds . For better or worse the ranger is stuck with the pet so any weapon damage must account for its hits as well .
I am sorry, what? Only one build is not that viable, the berserker GC build . But that is it . Any form of condition damage or BM is viable
I take it this is primarily a support build for WvW ? If so there is no reason to use 1v1 or 1v2 logic . His goal is to apply conditions at 1200-1500 range, hence why longbow is better then the shortbow . The shortbow is a duel weapon
There is a difference between a Beastmaster and a bunker build .
As for Bunker builds there are 2 variants :
1)Cleric gear build with Runes of Lyssa or other healing runes , with 0 10 30 0 30 , or 0 0 30 10 30 trait distribution , with over 1200 healing power
2)Shaman gear build with 4 runes of the earth and 2 runes of water , 0 0 20 20 30 build that is bunker in nature but does condition damage instead of physical and has over 3100 toughness , but relies on passive regeneration and protection procs for defense but with lower healing power
Beastmaster builds are any builds that have 30 points in the BM line , irrelevant of other trait distribution
turn off the autoattack . click 1 manually. It will help ALOT. Alternatively break away with hornet sting before other actions
In WvW roaming rangers to great . In WvW zergs you bring a lot of crowd controll to the fight
I am using :
Knight – helm , shoulders, gloves , pants , boots
Cleric – coat
Divinity – rings , amulet , trinkets
Bows – Berserker longbow , Rampager shortbow
Runes- Superior runes of hoelbrak
Well if u set the jaguar on him before he spawns the illusions the pet will stay on him . Best bet is to open up with longbow and use the barrage around yourself . The clones will be decimated . After that keep killing the clones while letting your pet chase him around .
This is how i usually fight against mesmers, but if its a mesmer+someone else , you don’t stand a chance
The biggest positive is the composite damage that the ranger deals . You can go both condition spec and have the pet deal physical damage .
The second biggest positive is the tons of single target and AOE crowd control
Finally the endurance regeneration and generous amount of dodges and evasive weapon abilities .
All of these things make him a solid support and a great 1v1er , sometimes a 1v2 . However , pretty meh in dungeon and fractal runs
Well the point of the build is that pet has permanent might and swiftness . Also cripple , stun and knockdown allow your pet to land hits . The ranger also contributes pressure from range , constant damage .
A nice thing with this build is that when you use the catssinassion tactic , u can swap weapons even if you are far away , the pet will still benefit from all the bonuses you would get, swiftness fury and might . Also if you pop healing spring, it will get healed , and benefit from subsequent regeneration cycles .
catmaster shorbow-longbow sPvP and WvW duel build
People ranked sPVP classes in another forum.
1)elementalist
2)ranger and mesmer
3)everyone else
4)warrior
Albeit, this is the TRAPPER ranger build .
um, use 3 traps .
I posted a build i am using to great effect in sPVP and WvW . but it drowned in all the whine topics
I think that i have already wrote : Sigils of Battle
I just took down 2 groups 2day . First was a warrior and ranger , followed by a thief . Then it was a warrior + engineer at the same time . Smashed a mesmer not long after . Sometimes i am the one getting smashed . Ce’s la vie
Different classes will be better at different parts of the game , its only natural . Having said that , unresponsive pets have nothing to do with balance , because taking control away from the player is never a good thing .
What i am trying to say is this , balance comes and goes as the meta develops , but responsiveness is a must in any game , hence making pets more reliable should take top priority , even if the raw numbers need to be taken down a notch .
Until then, i will continue to play my ranger and do quite well in all parts of the game , but still scream at my stupid Kuroneko for missing moving targets sometimes
The longbow 1 is not fine and is clunky . Other abilities however are fine . Maybe Rapid Fire could use a slight execution time buff .
God it is so good that the only defining factor about gameplay is the DPS you do… tsk tsk
Hey guys,
I have been inspired by all the naysayers to post and explain a build i have been using recently . I would like to give a big shout to lordhelmos.7623 and his catsassination build for inspiring me to actually go through with this build and playing and testing it .
The logic :
-The ranger is stuck with the pet, for better or for worse , overwhelming opinion is for worse at the moment
-The only good innate advantage the ranger has , is that the class has no advantage what so ever… it just does all things moderately well , but it does them at the same time
-solid benefits to swapping weapons and mutual boon sharing with the pet when traited
-awesomeness of the cat pet class
So this build aims to play on those not so advantages to their full advantage …. haha
The Traits : 0 15 10 15 30
The selectable bonuses : pet prowess, vigorous healing , nature protection , rending attacks , natural healing , commanding voice
The build :
The build of gear is not really important and it is left to players preference and their budget . There are a few goals however :
1)one should aim to have over 1500 toughness
2)one should aim to have over 600 healing
3)one should aim to have under 400 condition damage
I personally run a full knight gear , with clerics coat and divinity trinkets .
The runes , however , are important :
Depending of whether you want to go more tank or balanced you have a choice between 2 runes . Melandru for tank , Hoelbrak for balanced *. The goal here is to get the reduced condition duration on self and combine it with Lemongrass poultry soup . This is because when not taking full wilderness survival you lose out on Emphatic bond , and thus have limited condition removal .
I am however using Hoelbrak as it dirrectly benefits my rotation, and i will explain how in the next section .
THE WEAPONS: Shortbow , Longbow , Panther, Sigils of battle on both weapons
THE SKILLS: Healing spring , signet of the wild, signet of the hunt , MATTER OF CHOICE , entangle or RaO
THE ROTATION : *
-The goal of the rotation is to keep your PANTHER in combat as long as possible , you do not utilize pet swaps unless Kuroneko is about to die . This is important to understand
-Your main advantage comes from staying in combat for more then one cycle by constantly swapping weapons and thus buffing self and pet . After the 3rd cycle you have perma 6-9 might and fury and speed uptime of 50% from weapons swapping only .
-Both the shortbow and Longbow have utilities that easy getting pet hits on enemy . Be it cripple , stun , speed , knockdown , or AOE cripple .
Say you open up with the longbow . You send your pet in first and apply pressure , if he comes to you unload hunter shot , rapid fire and if possible point blank shot . If facing mesmers or an annoying charger class like warrior or thief, Shoot barrage arround yourself . Swap to Shortbow , … unload whatever .. , switch to longbow…rinse repeat .
The end result is the 100% uptime of might and swiftness on your pet , constant CC pressure on your opponent and 50% uptime of fury . Sometimes you win, sometimes you die , as it should be .
Some practical observations
-It can be very useful to see what your opposing hero , or group is . If you see classes that are known to be good at condition damage i would advise using Signet of Renewal or Prayer to Kormir
-if you see a warrior , or general raw DPS class or group , lightning reflexes are your friend
-in WvW zerg the only thing you can really contribute is a lot of crowd controll , i suggest swapping vigorous healing for 20% survival reduction, and placing muddy terrain and entangle on . You will bring 3 AOE CC to the fight and multiple single target ones .
Final Notes
-This build is made for versatility , getting your pet to actually hit and 1v1 or 1v2 duels
-You are not a tank nor a glass cannon , but you can take hits and do good damage .
-Mesmers are a problem because they are gayy and i hate them
-warriors , engineers are food
-Thiefs can only win if they outplay you in a very tight room
-Guardians are annoying and unkillable if they went full tank, otherwise they are food .
If you need more advice on how to manage your pet , take a look at this topic
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Introducing-the-Phantom-Catmaster/first
Enjoy
actually warriors are only easy to play . They are , however, the worst class in PvP
lordhelmos.7623 posted a great build in this very forum. Some people added to it as well . I even added a build that uses the longbow in a great sustained cycle of dps , pet buffs and crowd control and not for its 1 . I would suggest you read the topic , if you have not already.
All ranger weapons are vible , if a bit of a hyperbole sometimes . Like i said , sometime the class is not intuitive at all
you guys seem to just prove my point , that you are too bias to work through all the problems . And no, this is not insulting anyone , this is just an observation . There are things that you simply cannot change . You adapt , one way or the other, by making and tweaking builds or by running another class .
Axes work great , both the main and off hand variant .
First off your build is bad and you need to change it . As of this moment the ranger still has the worst attack coefficients that turn power into weapon damage . The marksmanship trait line is also the worst line .
There are two ways to effectively play the ranger at the moment, and both ways maximize the only comparitive advantage the class has , inbuilt versatility of the pet .
I would suggest going the trapper , shaman, catsassin or beastmaster bunker route . There are builds out there, but if you need help with any of those, feel free to PM me .
After having my mind blown with all the negative topics in the last hour or so , i have come to the conclusion that most of the players here tend to think of the ranger with a limited perception .
I have read here , many a time , that the rangers fail in comparison to other classes when they choose to specialize in something.
Their full DPS GC builds are subpar.. Yes they cannot compare to the warrior .
Their escape mechanisms are subpar .. yes they cannot compare to the elemental or thief .
They cannot buff as well as a guardian .. so on so forth
Another gripe with the rangers that i have heard is that they do not have a clear role in WvW . Maybe , maybe not .
Now i will try to offer a different perspective on the matter :
1)There is no class in the game that can offer such versatility in a single build . Show me a class that can go full bunker build while maintaing significant condition potential and extreme physical damage pressure at the same time !!
I am talking about the 0 0 20 20 30 shaman gear ranger beastmaster build .
2)There is no class in the game that can stack so many bleeds while chaining evade after evade
3) One of the best 1vXers in closed spaces with the trapmaster spec
4) How does having barrage , muddy terrain and entangle not help teamfights in WvW ??? Need more CC ?? how about point blank shot, hilt bash , cripple shot , wolf leaps …
What i am trying to say is this ; The ranger class WILL NOT beat any other in a single specialization . But , when every other class specializes they become on trick ponies (warrior dash+HB combo.. easy enough to avoid , made for 50 IQ kids) . Ranger never is a one trick pony .
Sure , the ranger will not compare to the elementalist, but thats because eles are imba , and then some . Thiefs are one trick ponies as well . There are one trick ponies as well. They will beat GC builds , but they cannot touch even semi bunker builds , let alone full tank beastmaster , trapper or shaman . It is a simple matter of build counters .
To summarize :
1) Yes, ranger fails in fully specializing and then matching up to other classes
2)The ranger has a build in JackOfAllTrades mechanism with the pet . It is a crime not to take full advantage of it
3)There are problems with the pet AI , but there are also ways to work around it
4) The ranger is harder to play and not as intuitive as the warrior or the thief . So quit yer whining and start practicing!!!!
With all teh luv to my fellow ranger enthusiasts , Choko
ofc its still viable
what traits are you using ?? what stats are you aiming for ??
People its fine , its a low level trait . Rangers still get it super easy , and both you and your pet benefit from it . If you enjoy playing the ranger , keep playing . If not , play something else . I have played games online long enough to know to not expect good changes in patches . Developers are usually clueless , and will not listen to the community .
Have fun and enjoy the game for what it is
Every quickness ability got nerfed . Only ranger one got a buff to it as well
You can do the troll build as well.
0 0 20 20 30
You use wilderness training and Oakheart Salve in the survival tree , Natures protection and 33% regeneration duration in nature magic , and Natural healing , rending attacks and whatever else in the Beastmastery tree .
For gear you use Shaman gear , that is condition toughness and healing . As for the runes u use 4 superior runes of earth and 2 superior runes of water
Utilities are healing spring, signet of the wild , signet of the hunt , zephyr or LR , entangle
Weapons you use shortbow and axe+dagger or torch . Bleeding duration sigils on axe and shortbow , and smoldering sigil if torch .
With this build you are nearly unkillable with 3200 + armor , a lot of healing , and do obscene amount of condi damage . Plus your pet hits like a truck .
you can even go sword + torch instead of axe . It is an easy to do build without too much finesse , very effective