Guild Wars 2

Heal as one is good for that part where you carry the orb that damages you in arah. Anywhere where you need a burst heal.

Troll is a great multipurpose heal and somewhat of personal condition damage negation.

Healing spring is usually taken for

• water field for blast/leaps/to a lesser extent, projectiles
• aoe condi removal pulses in a condi heavy game with limited removal options
• aoe for team regen

I wish I had a test server to try crazy ideas like this

Ya traits are tight. That’s definately a big issue with this idea. Unless you want to make peircing arrows a minor ttait or something. Ha eagle eye minor trait? Haha I’m not sure. It’s cool to think about though.

Not going to lie: I’d love a trait like this for a longbow build—maybe combine this with eagle eye? Gives a shortbow user a reason to take eagle eye over peircing.

Castaliea.3156:

We’re so tight for traits already because of our kitten poor Utility+Trait combo design.

This is a great idea but it just adds to the already overwhelming trait dependence we are plagued with.

True. It’s just a fun idea I had after reading through warrior traits. Every ranger likes speed. I also think it helps round out longbow. I’m not sure if hunter’s shot stealth is enough ‘passive defense’.

25% run speed if weilding a bow

Durzlla, seriously, how did you remember that? That’s incredible if you just rattled that off the top of your head.

It is not balanced.

Pet death penalty on downed, especially double downs, is way too long. I’d say cut the death penalty in half if not get rid of it altogether. Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme. I think cutting it in half is fair. Ten or fifteen additional seconds is AGES in a battle.

A few other observations/opinions about rangers:

• stability training should work for dogs and devourers (or more species) and should be an adept trait. Ok maybe not dogs haha, the idea is to allow players more reliable access to pet skill activation—I’m sure everyone has a different opinion about every pet so I’m sort of on the fence about specifics here
• if ranger Downed skills are OP, guardian’s downed skills are OP too lol
• Spirit ranger is not any more “OP” than phantasm mesmer
• Wellomancer / power necro is easier to play than spirit ranger IMHO. I know nothing NOTHING about necros and PWN with that build all day
• Rangers are in a good place in PVE mainly due to “vigorous spirits” combined trait patch and increased spirit health, as well as spotter
• I think spirits should have a .25 s reduction in cast time—might be a controversial opinion for a variety of reasons
• I do not think spirits need a nerf to anything except perhaps 5 to 7% less health, if anything at all.
• I’m trying to be fair here and just go off experience—just guesses
• Don’t tinker too much with the core mechanics of the game and profession anymore, right? Or no?

• these are just my opinions :p

That’s all for now.

I was talking to Bri about this the other day. Since it will be difficult to get ascended weapons, what stats are you going to get on your ranger? We came to the cursory solution to get ascended berserker for whatever you use in dungeons and then basically one of each ascended weapons for rampager stats. For me, that’s a requirement for 4 ascended berserker weapons and 11 ascended rampager weapons—a lot of work!

What are you guys thinking?

Khayoss.2019:

I missed something. WvW league?

There’s a blog post on it. Basically, there’s 3 leagues and a season is something like 7 weeks. I might have the numbers wrong. But basically they compete and you get rewards for winning in a league. I think that’s it in a nutshell. Something like 9 servers per league. And weekly rotating matchups.

Ya I am a big believer in ranger being one of if not the best siege profession for reasons like that.

I was doing it to chill them before my zerg collapsed on them. It was kind of fun. Teaming up with thieves is a blast.

Ryan.9387:

The animation is roughly 2-3 seconds long, so time it so that you will die 0-2s after you cast the active. If you don’t have the active up, you can try to stand on top of your spirit to have it cleaved to death alongside you, which can res you if you are lucky.

We need Nature’s Vengeance for that, right? To rez on death of spirit?

Prime.8792:

Also, current WvW meta favors zerg balls with Guardians/Warriors/Necros/Ele. Hopefully, that will change with the borderland updates in 2 weeks.

Maybe, but note that there is a difference between what the meta says and what really is. I don’t see enough experimentation in the field to truly believe rangers are as bad as l33t players think.

Durzlla.6295:

Chopps.5047:

Are you sure healing power doesn’t affect rez speed? Without it, I rez a lot slower. Very informational post btw, thanks durz.

Everything I’ve done (in the mists granted, never had gear for it in PvE until now) showed there was no change.

EDIT: Oh, I wanted to add that both Warbanner AND Spirit DO NOT give any benefits of rezzing the player that would be applied if you did it yourself because for w/e reason it’s coded so that something else casts the spell to Rez, not you.

All other skills IE sig of mercy, glyph of renewal etc, will all give the benefit of rezzing someone.

I will go to triforge waypoint in brisban wildlands and test rez and report back.

Edit: You’re right, the changes I was seeing were due to being out of combat it seems.

Kasama.8941:

I don’t mean to be harsh, so sorry if I come off as that.

Lol I was being kind of sarcastic; ayden’s a big boy, I’m sure he can handle it. Those are things we can all learn from, really, Kasama. Thanks for all the wisdom. Honestly, if you filmed me, I’m sure I would make the same mistakes.

Kasama has just shown the reason I don’t post any videos harsh man, that’s harsh. I’m going to defend ayden here, so hear me out:

There is really a LOT going on in a zerg battle and the ranger’s attention needs to be split between his positioning, cooldowns, buff/debuffs, the commander’s location, the enemy’s location, and the pet. That’s hard for anyone to manage and probably a big reason why devs are a bit turned off by the idea of adding more “micro” to pet abilities. Even experienced rangers like ayden forget to micro just one pet skill occasionally. Just food for thought

Are you sure healing power doesn’t affect rez speed? Without it, I rez a lot slower. Very informational post btw, thanks durz.

Substance E.4852:

Chopps.5047:

Someone may have said this already but I think they’re counting character slots. Myself and a few dozen regular posters on this forum are about the only ‘main’ rangers in the entire game. Last night in wvw, myself and Dewolfe were the only two rangers I saw playing for JQ on JQBL.

You only really see rangers on EB and late at night when the zerg train guilds are transitioning from West/Central players to Oceanic.

I can go for hours at a time on a BL and be the only ranger that I ever see.

I still see tons in PvE though. It’s still a very popular class amongst newbies and casual players.

Yep, I’m seeing more and more rangers in dungeons these days. Dungeons were always my favorite part about the game so I’m glad for that. Makes me happy

Just to add to this, I pwn with a wellomancer and I know NOTHING about necros. Sick of people saying spirit ranger is “soo easy” when their favorite profession is the exact same way.

Well, there’s some leeway on it. It’s not as bad as one may think—the spirit tends to save me more often than not. Try it there’s not much “hoping”, I mean, I’m usually able to get the rez off.

You guys are more well versed in other professions than me. Does any other profession compare to things like “healer’s celerity” or “compassion training + search and rescue + stability training + bear”? Or zephyr’s speed rez? Not to mention the spirit.

Pretty much that, yeah.

I think Serraphin is saying that you can change stats but it’s not confirmed that you can select sigils on the fly. In fact, it appears as if one cannot do that. Which, is a bit disappointing because sigils go along with stats to make the build. Am I interpreting you correctly, Serraphin?

AydenStar.4216:

Chopps.5047:

Has anyone tried playing a resurrection role in a zerg? Why or why not?

In my guild, you died, you run back. There is no rezzing because my guild focuses on wiping large zergs and doesn’t have the time to rez the fallen.

My rank on my Ranger in WvW is 125 which isn’t that high. My Guardian I leveled in late May is already rank 55 and I hardly play it. The Guardian ranks 3 times faster than a Ranger in WvW because of all the tagging and survivability the profession has.

That’s usually what happens, no time to rez. But sometimes, say, during a long, drawn out garrison fight, being able to “spike rez” is super helpful. And there’s not much time to run back or else you lose Lord’s room. Right? Or no?

I like OP and I like Kasama’s suggestions. Bran is right about pet names. Aegael has pointed out something that should have been fixed a long time ago. And Stice is providing evidence that stability training should be an adept trait that applies for most (or all) pets.

RyuDragnier.9476:

Wait, you mean manually by moving the camera? That’s the only way I’ve ever seen myself change the aiming of the bow.

That is correct. It’s awesome and extremely satisfying. Try it next time you’re on the ground and shooting up to the walls. One ranger with shortbow can scare off many people from standing near the edge of the wall. You can also throw your traps up there. >:)

Many aren’t expecting it which makes it all the better. I basically do it by clicking left mouse button first then panning with right mouse button. Pretty sure that’s the sequence to get you into camera mode, although it’s a little quirky because sometimes it doesn’t want to let you aim because you didn’t hit the sequence correctly to activate “pan camera” mode. If that makes sense lol

I know how you feel Ayden. \_ (._.) _/

On the bright side, capturing camps, defending towers, and escorting yaks are surprisingly rewarding. Most of the players in my guild who prefer defense roles have a higher wvw rank than me and I’m Colonel now.

Actually, maybe that’s what rangers should be doing? Defending towers and scouting? I was talking to Bri yesterday about how much we like Rampager gear. I know Xsorsus is a fan of that set. Maybe I was wrong about “Hydralisk” (skirmishing/nature magic traps+boon duration) as evidenced by most people’s negative reactions to it? Maybe Dire stats coming out will change that?

Has anyone tried playing a resurrection role in a zerg? Why or why not?

Edit: Ryu get out of my brain! lol

Actually more on that. If you manually aim your bow, you can shoot over the walls and avoid “obstructed”. I don’t know if you guys knew that.

Lol ya I hear ya. What is that something? I don’t know for sure. It’s a complicated issue. Thats why anet devs get paid the big bucks right? To figure this stuff out?

(I was referencing the apathy toward ranger in wvw)

Compounding the issue, I feel that even if ranger was OP, a lot of people would still hate them and not want them on their teams. Pretty much cant win

Blude.6812:

LostInSmoke.2590:

I think most of the people in this thread complaining never played anything in the 8bit generation or earlier. Not everyone thinks candyland-easy games are fun. That’s why ultra-hard games exist in the first place.

Absolutely true, and I have played a few. That being said, the problem for me is that I didn’t purchase the game (and a few Gem Cards) to play a ‘candyland’ game. I bought it to play a fantasy mmo. If I wanted such a game I would get one or pull out the old DS. If you like that sort of game that’s great. It has no place in the GW2 world imho.

Well, you have a point. I don’t know how long you’ve been here but platformer content has been extremely popular with the community and the first SAB received nothing but accolades from reviewers and players. So, naturally, ANET builds on that foundation.

CJohansen has said that SAB is part of their seasonal rotation they’ve defined after the first year. I take that to mean permanent fantasy content is on the way. These mini-games are just seasonal things done by very small teams.

Note: I grew up in the 8-bit era and am a huge fan of games like Super Meat Boy (that’s a newer game) so I’m a sucker for this. If they even make it remotely as hard as the games in that genre—but translated to 3D successfully—I’ll be very impressed.

Bambula.3649:

not on ranger..its nice to have much precision but if you habe no crit dmg, their is still dmg that get lost

Sharpened edges: 2s bleed on crit @ 66% chance

Assassin’s is very nice for “on crit” type abilities which usually involve conditions. Sigil of earth, etc. I originally thought it was precision/power/crit dmg though (doh!) so maybe not so good for pve like I suggested above.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

This is going to be hilarious and sadistic. I’m looking forward to a few hours of lots of cussing till I make it to the end…. only to be crushed by a giant 8-bit boulder as I grab the prize.

Epic

But “I wanna be the guy”
T_T

No, rangers do not get love.

It’s main stat is precision right? Sounds like a piece or two added to zerk for PvE could help non-ascended players get to 100% crit chance easier. Maybe you’re throwing in a few assassin’s pieces on the remoresless/valkryie build for a bit more precision? Any other ideas? Is there any reason to use a full set?

Someone may have said this already but I think they’re counting character slots. Myself and a few dozen regular posters on this forum are about the only ‘main’ rangers in the entire game. Last night in wvw, myself and Dewolfe were the only two rangers I saw playing for JQ on JQBL.

Might work out with hydralisk build—clearly hydralisk could be a lot better and Dire might be the tipping point that makes it work.

There’s definately a problem. Hopefully ANET still has some creativity left on their teams. We need something.

T_T I’m…just…so…happy! Thank you, Josh! I wanna be the guy is one of my favorite games! That Cat Mario video was hilarious! This kind of platformer is by far my favorite kind. Rock on! This might be the first real challenging PvE in gw2.

Yeah, it’s pretty slow isn’t it? Some in pvp circles have wanted this for months.

I feel like a lot of ranger was balanced around the old 5 points in beastmastery ZS. I could be wrong. Do you agree? Does that impact any of your suggestions?

R. Hrouda will be missed by many on this forum including me. Rock on dude! Good luck in your next adventure.

How to beat spirit ranger in five easy steps:

1) Crowd control
2) kill sun spirit
3) kill pet
4) ?
5) /laugh

mistsim.2748:

Chopps.5047:

Nature’s voice bunker builds are strong with "Guard". As far as search and rescue goes, with a bear traited for stability training, that’s actually really strong. Ressurection is an undervalued part of the meta right now. I’d say mercy rune ranger with healer’s celerity, compassion training, quickening zephyr, zephyr’s speed, spirit elite, trapper’s defense, and healing power stats is likely the best resurrector in gw2.

and how exactly do you rez without stability? u cant rez with SoW signet, and RaO has a long CD.

the best rezzers in the game are: Warbanner and Shadow Refuge. so u got the wrong prof bud.

You don’t understand how fast said ranger resurrects. Also, spirit elite is basically equivalent to war banner, for all intents and purposes. Also, I’m talking tpvp, I’m not sure how valuable rez is in wvw. It’s good but situational. In a Lord’s room battle, it could be clutch though.

We’re talking 20% faster rez speed with quickness on top of healing power and added toughness from mercy runes while rezzing. Spike trap when traited with trappers defense is more than enough defense. The bear has stability training anyways and you can take shared anguish. I think you need to test more. I have 2300 hours and 15 sets of exos for ranger. All I do is test. I don’t talk, I don’t theorize. I test ideas. Because 1 test is worth 1000 words.

Ya you can go perplexity runes or, my favorite, krait and afflicted runes for bleed duration with things like sigil of earth, sharpening stones (trait and skill bar), spike trap, sharpening stones (the trait), keen edge, shortbow, and just destroy enemies in pvp. If course, you’re squishy so build in some defensive stats if you can, try to keep it towards damage but find a balance that works for you. It’s very fun but you will die a lot, being a damager. I find myself to be less squishy in rampagers than I am in zerk for some reason. Retal? In any case, I hope that helps.

NRWP

/15characters

There might be better variants gorath but I know I’m onto something. What I do is get stability up early, can’t emphasize that enough. Also, if you have no source of stealth, you can’t divebomb their zerg. I work with a thief for that. If you’re alone, stay slightly behind your own melee train and stay out of their fields as much as you can. The idea is to get the vulnerable parts of their zerg in your traps.

For example, in the soldier’s armor variant, there’s little condi removal so you have a few options: lyssa runes, signet of renewal, or boon duration. Why boon duration? Because it makes your stability stay up longer. Or you can try empathic bond and lose the boon duration. It’s very important to still block with greatsword, be mobile, and stay safe.

Hydralisk is a community thing based on the premise that certain traps are good without condition damage when traited for traps. Maybe I’ll have to film my playstyle so you guys can see how I’m doing it? At the end of the day, if you don’t buy the premise, it’s hard to convince you to run this build.

• I got yelled at yesterday for beating signet rangers in SoR’s backline then typing /laugh (I feel zerker signet ranger is free bags) and I was making fun of people who used to be on my team but now aren’t. They couldn’t handle a little midwestern trash talk which resulted in the entirety of SoR attacking our spawn tower. It was epic.. If I can be that annoying—with 25 stacks accuracy most of the night—we have to be doing something right. They cleaned our clocks a few times man but the battles we won? How? Our melee train is highly skilled and I got a ton of support from them, keep that in mind garoth. I hope that helps, sorry you didn’t find immediate success. Thoughts?

In the last profession tourney we trolled warriors using 5 power rangers and kicked their teeth in. It was hysterical because they must have been planning on us using conditions. They probably took melandru runes and stuff. Rofl

Yep, the cool thing about the pet is you can build crazy bunker (think apothecary, settlers, soldiers, or sentinels) and still win a 1v1 with DPS pets. Ranger really is two entities and you should try to work with the pet instead of only seeing it’s drawbacks. For every time a pet has pathed poorly for me, it’s gotten me a kill too. So its not that bad.

Carrion and shaman are two popular stat choices for spirit builds, obviously nature’s magic—you can go full beastmastery with shaman or full wilderness survival with carrion. I hope that helps.

Well later versions have different stat sets. I consider hydralisk 2.0 to be the current version (its on this thread) uses soldiers armor. As far as “when stability goes does you’re in trouble” that is correct so what you do is two things:

1) go for boon duration
2) when stability is gone, become a midliner with axe.

In the build where I had marks instead of skirm along with lyssa runes, I mean, stability is almost always up basically. You cast one SOTW and one RaO and you get roughly kitten stability with max boon duration. So by the time your stability is running out, SOtw is off CD again. Its basically then a minute of stability and a minute of no stability. I have to believe 50% uptime is really good.