Guild Wars 2

Brazil has somehow mastered the art of being both polite and mean at the same time while also being hilarious. I want to make fun of you somehow man but I can’t. You’re too kitten funny. Lawl.

Ya signet of the beastmaster + signet if stone! And with all the evades ranger has, as well as runspeed and the ability to disengage with greatsword, makes a zerker ranger a lot of fun. But is shortbow the right weapon? As the longbow is usually associated with power? Also, you could wear zerker gear and just put points in NM for spirits unbound and get protection and a dps boost that way. Lots of ways to spin this one. Honestly, I feel like ranger has a lot of good builds, don’t you guys?

1) A longbow analogous to water…because water can flow and it can crush!

2) A staff or whip (whip might just be a dream but I love Indiana Jones what can I say?)

3) Removal of pet death penalty in dungeons. 15s is plenty in a dungeon; it would go a long way to stopping the “zomg pet always dead” bellyaching, it’s a straightforward change, and something that rangers wouldn’t have to “get used to” because it’s still a 20s or 15s swap so the split would not be too hard such that moving to pvp from pve is a big change. Skady Valda also agrees with this, I don’t think she’d mind me vouching for her because we’ve had this conversation before (she’s the most hardcore pve ranger I know…she has six world completions and 12 legendary weapons so she’s basically a beast…48+ FOTM, etc). I only bring up Skady because of her pedigree, I hope she doesn’t mind. Skady rocks! she runs around with dual frostfangs…how can you not love that?

Well aren’t you Mr. presumptuous?

My only question is why 5 in nature magic instead of wilderness survival? Extra dodges are invulnerability on demand but that 5 in NM is basically not very good. Natural vigor. Also, I run 30/25/0/15/0 or 25/25/5/15/0 in dungeons because fortifying bond and 5 person boon limit. I think fortifying bond is a requirement in dungeons…of course, the dnt noobs didnt take it in their video ripping on ranger dps.

Shortbow/greatsword no doubt. Please, look at the “new to rangers looking for guides” sticky for other information. A shortbow/greatsword trap (or bleed) build would probably be good for dungeons and wvw, if you want one for both, that’s decent. It’s tough because ppl want zerker in pve and thats awfully glassy in wvw.

Eeryone has a different playstyle too. I’d recommend testing with rares and seeing what you like. But ya greatsword and shortbow no doubt, especially for a new player. Over time you will learn to love sword/dagger or sword warhorn or sword torch! All good in various build

Hey, Jin, I think you have your first critic! It’s okay, it’s just a Nobody :p ahahaha just kidding, Nobody

Edit: Balance debates are healthy thing, it would be nice to see opposing viewpoints, the only problem is that it’s easier for us (like me, I’m just an enthusiastic player) to talk about how to play the profession than to criticize balance choices we have next to zero power to change anyways. Wherever you criticize like that, you need many examples and data for a convincing argument lest it devolve into QQ or worse, insults. If someone can bring that and keep it civil, I know they’d love to have you.

Lastly, Jin is just a normal guy like us too so I thought it was funny some—naming no names, Pedra—think you have special access. Anyone can make a podcast on the web…that’s the beauty of the web!

Swiftness and regen without standing and stacking then wasting aoe fields is nice…

Jub just wanted to say thx again for keeping this thread up to date

Frostfang, if you are willing to take the lead on managing this thread, keeping it up to date, etc, please sign up to he stickied…they talk about that here

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Guide-to-Thief-Guides/page/3#post2187591

Elusive.3065:

every single pet pauses for about 1-3 seconds after switching
before deciding to attack the enemy target

Confirmed…why is there an aftercast on swaps?

Oidmetala.8426:

well its not important because this pets and this trait are crap
but stability training dont give my pets stability when i swap them.
in german description it sounds like, the pet i switch away becomes the stability, but that whould be totaly useless then :P

the shorbow can shoot more distance when i press the 1 button all the time.
but dont fix that pls, so i have good old range…

river drake shoot most time in wrong way when im not command him with f3 and f1 all the time. he should auto shoot in the way the target is staying/running?

Lol that’s just anet’s awful tooltips. A pet swap is called “swap”. A “disable” is stun, daze, knockback, fear…did I get them all? So ya, what happens is in the zerg, with the buff to stability training, a bear can actually get off it’s channel. It ignores the CC and gets 3 sec stability making this a preferred trait for zerging with bears.

That’s pretty neat. Does remoreseless allow precise strike to proc again? Because you could end up critting a lot without even having precision when zerging…any thoughts on this? I would test but I’m on “vacation” and suffering severe gw2 withdrawl. I clearly don’t use the marks line enough bc this is a basic question :/

Honest question: if you could reskin pets, then how would an enemy know what pets you’re using? Or should an enemy not know a priori what to expect?

Remove “hunter/ranged classes in” from that sentence and I’ll agree with you. Just games. Especially online games. I suppose I’m one of them! Ahaha

Practice dummy tonic / mini practice dummy! We gotta figure out how to weaponize these things.

Ahaha What is the ranger’s role? To hunt down thieves. Nice!

Edit: hehe sry for blowing up forums I’m going to take a break. Suffering gw2 withdrawl my bad

Gotchaz.7865:

When I play my warrior in WvW I last a long time but don’t get that many bags and I’m more support then anything else, I can’t really kill anyone unless you spec as a glass tank but that doesn’t help out your zerg at all. Ranger I get a baziiiilion bags! mmmmmm

Play necro one time in wvw you’ll drop a pound of gold and jump through windows with joy…bags…so….many….bags

But ya a lot of times in the zerg I’m running full aoe traps and longbow, even at detrimen to my build. Need dem bags…only got 7000 wvw kills. I’ll never be ulimate dominator at this pace!

One cool thing ranger can do is stack tons of vulnerability basically for free if you go marksman (openijg strikes, alpha strike, remorseless, longbow hunters shot) that’s basically instant 20 stack vuln fwiw

Ofc wheneer I talk about benefits of ranger in dungeon I get laughed at. It’s just talking dunno why ppl are so scared of testing/talking. DnT would have laughed at mantra mesmers until the lupicus 41 s reveal the other day. The lesson is always keep an open mind. We don’t need thos high schooll BS

I’ve read through this thread, neat stuff. I just thought I’d chime in to say I wish there was more AoE on longbow. If there was a charged shot, hopefully it would do AoE.

@Simon
What is a telli tubby? For the record, I have 5 different exotic longbows for my ranger :p also, our soac profession team beat warriors with longbow/power/bear/dog so that was pretty funny. I love me some longbow but I prefer to switch to a greatsword since normally I’d be getting ganked by 5 people…can’t out evade that!

On a similar note, I always wondered why stability doesn’t function like this (your idea reminds me of defiant without unshakable when put in context of stability rather than life). I wonder how wedded the design team is to the way spirits currently work. Cool ideas, nonetheless, thanks for sharing.

Drakes attacks all cleave fwiw, for those who don’t know.

Oh, ya, I don’t disagree about that. I’d say it’s definately split in that it’s broken into tiers. Ranger can go from tanky to glassy, like you said, the ceiling is lower for how much power the ranger gets. Then, on the other side, the pet can also go from tank to glass. And you’re free to mix and match. For example, who else can replicate a theif’s backstab when they go regen/condi? (Apothecary/jag) What other profession gets a 30 or 40k health point meatsheild to suck up conditions or absorb attacks (bear/signet of renewal/protect me) even when in full zerk? Maybe you disagree that this is a good foundation for the ranger profession?

Part of what makes a ranger unique is that they can go half/half unlike other professions. Ranger can go tank and still burst (regen/apothecary) ranger can go glass and still tank (using a bear or drake). Ranger can go condi’s and still have direct damage (traps/cats) or ranger can choose one of the many other good options like dogs or spiders. So this dyanmic is an interesting enough foundation to stick with imho. However, jubskie makes a good point when he says “pet rng makes ranger uncompetitive” and maybe is something to work on (better control over pets).

Here’s the link, judging by the servers doesn’t look like it was you. Still, the mesmer was surprised at the effectiveness of guard and Nature’s Voice.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1ho0zn/met_a_strong_greatsword_ranger_in_wvw/

You got to spend time talking shop with Chaplan but didn’t write an SOAC piece / blog article on what you discussed! Bas! Please, please report out next time that happens. Please!!!

Anet loves all of their patrons, come on now. Ranger is quirky but it works. It would be nice to see the community come together and brainstorm instead of writing threads like this. I don’t know if you heard but DnT’s record was broken on Lupicus (post feedback nerf) at just 41 seconds. Yes, I know, no rangers were used but the point is that DnT never saw or used this mesmer build before. I’m sure they’ll be working all day today to crack that nut. It’s relevant because a week ago everyone would have said DnT knows the most about PvE team comps. But they don’t! The point is there’s always more to learn and we should be lifting ourselves up and taking that journey. Don’t write off the profession or assume it’s dead. Instead, how can we do it better?

Another great show! Now I’m hoping for Skady, Xsorsus, Faux, and Hyjaxxx in a wvw centered ranger discussion. Why all on the same show? Skady has mastered the zerg ranger, Faux has mastered the beastmaster, hyjaxx has mastered Nature’s Voice for roaming, and Xsorsus is a classic signet duelist. That sounds like four viable builds…none of which are trappers…

If it were such that bows are more damage flat out, then there is no reward for taking the risk that melee gives. Also, perhaps if you count the pet (which is basically a 2000 unit mobile autoattack), then the ranger truly is unparalleled at range?

Ya, I see what you mean. Fwiw I’m not defending ANET, just trying to toss up explanations.

Meh, I’d like to get rid of empathic bond completely and instead put equivalent removal on another skill such as heal as one. Also…why are you hating on ranger evades? It’s one of the few things rangers excel at. I’d say leave that where it is.

You’d think warriors could get a teammate to remove their condi’s for them? Maybe that’s design intent?

Nuage, you sir are a smart fellow.

Meh, they’re doing “ok”. But this is my first MMO and game I’ve played since I got a double hand transplant, so maybe I’m just not yet cynical?

Glad I’m not forced to read that entire post. Geez, are your fingers sore? But, ya, totally agree.

I thought he looks more like Elmer Fudd. Ooooo th th th that wiley wabbit! Or maybe the Mystery Machine is a better analogy: “I would have been OP if it wasn’t for you kids and your sandwhichmancer eating dog!”

I feel naked without greatsword tbh

Thanks for rocking it out, cool stuff dude. Dunno if you knew but there was a post on reddit from a mesmer who played someone using a similar build and they were impressed. Just thought you’d like to hear that

No, his point isn’t that ranger is OP at all. He’s clearly making fun of people who take rangers into dungeons. It’s a dry and sarcastic american-type humor.

Lmao now all I need to do is change my ranger’s hair to pink to min/max the humility of my enemies…

Define makes DnT look like noobs.

50% chance my kitten. Hahaha rock on dude

Oh, hey, Terkov. You’re the ANET employee who leaked the patch notes, right? :p I don’t know that for sure but you were awfully boastful about letting everyone know the notes were real and how “sure” you were. In any case, I’ll check out the video as soon as it’s available. Doesn’t appear to be fully available on all platforms yet…

Ya paz, Dogs/spides with some utilities and moment of clarity (even with boar) is surprisingly controlly. You can just stun/daze/cripple/knockback all day long it seems like.

Ya, totally agree with Mr Pin. I want be able to yell “AMERICA!!” when I use longbow. Agree 100%, spot on. +1

Umm…ya I see your point. I should point out that black bear gives a long weakness and weakness just got buffed. Also, protect me is a stun break now. Also, pet DPS is super low now anyways. Finally, condi builds don’t rely on pet dps.

Black bear aint that bad…in a zerg, brown bear does alright. Stability training in a zerg, for sure, if you want to get off that condi removal. Sometimes if I feel glassy I’ll throw protect me on my bar instead of LR and use black bear.

I hope that helps, sorry I disagree about bears. Are they great? No. But there’s not much great about ranger atm so what do you expect? Still, it’s one of the decent options out of many average options.

Raven.9603:

Chopps.5047:

But it’s pointless because might doesn’t scale well with the ranger, as DnT has so often pointed out. What you should be doing is giving might to your pet and using a fiery greatsword. You need fortifying bond, I’m not sure how that’s even a question.

His damage looked pretty darn good to me. He was doing more with FGS auto’s than I do on my 3k power +~15 might stack ele with 120% crit damage. Also, a lot of it was about exploiting weapon mechanics (using fgs3 against a wall, using fgs5 on a target with a huge hit box), which putting might on the pet is not going to amplify.

Fortifying bond in dungeons relies on pets being good. They need to be swapped very often on the off chance theyre not insta gibbed and generally require “Guard” spamming, which is an annoying way to try to play. If it wasn’t a movie about FGS abuse, it fortifying bond would be a more viable choice.

I think the time completion kind of speaks for itself.

Well, you’re wrong. Who are you going to trust? Someone who’s trying to make rangers look bad? Someone who obviously doesn’t know how to use the profession? Or a guy like me with 2000 hours of dungeon play, wvw, and spvp—all with ranger? Note that thy were surprise the fiery Greatsword or the banners did so much more damage…when people who have played ranger since launch have always known this to be the case. That right there should raise a red flag.

Fortifying bond + sigil of strength + high precision + quickening zephyr is instant 25 might stacks on the pet, using a cat this is the hardest you will possibly hit. In cof you shouldn’t lose pets because the boss should die before that happens. Add in a fiery greatsword and the ranger DPS becomes better than most think.

I know 7:45 is an awful time, Raven. I’m just saying it’s not even close to optimized. I’m not sure how you can try to debate that unless you’re just trolling.

To everyone who thinks I’m taking it too seriously, you seriously think I don’t know DnT is trolling us? They’re primarily trolling me. “Ranger dps is the new meta” is something I said and they use it to make fun of me. I’m not an idiot.

For the record, I said that meaning "rangers should go glass cannon now instead of 0/0/30/10/30 in dungeons. I didn’t mean ranger dps is the new dungeon meta, rather, it’s the new way for rangers to play in dungeons that previously wasn’t viable. But that was taken out of context.

All I’m trying to do is see “what is the actual best runtime”? Because rangers have boon sharing with pet, highest quickness uptime in game, and best gain from using environmental weapons…I mean, ya, it’s semi broken in pve but, hey, I’m here for the pursuit of knowledge, not to try and make fun of each other for liking this class or that class.

I think a lot of you need to grow the kitten up, gods honest truth. Just have fun for once.

I lol’d at

It’s like I got diplomatic immunity, killin’ scrubs with impunity
I mangle all Tyria’s races, equal opportunity

I never solo’d Lupicus.

My issue with the mechanics is that it relies on pulling aggro and aggro mechanics are sort of a black art in this game. I wish that there was risk/reward associated with the Mai fight for going range. Where the risk is you get 1 shot but the reward is that she loses a stack of Captain’s Defense or whatever it was called upon a successful evade. I felt like it was difficult getting a team to effectively pull her through aoe so the team resorts to stacking. Stacking again favors guardians due to aegis on her daggerstorm. So playing a mid range character ends up being difficult and unrewarding.

Regarding the laser walls, I feel like stability trivializes it because it makes you not have to worry about wasting endurance on dodging the pull. Now you can focus on other things. The fact that laser’s even do damage to pets doesn’t make sense, in my opinion. Why should I have to use an underleveled character that may or may not have stability just to play living story content? It’s just more fun with stability, period.

Maybe I’m idealistic, but in my opinion, good content is not dependent on group composition as strongly as this dungeon is. I hope that helps.

PS: I liked the Frog King in SAB because the boss model was huge, it was a throwback to old games—at least in terms of style and mechanics, and the tells were easy to catch onto once you got the hang of it. Other examples of good boss fights might be the Legendary Mining Suite where you have to dump lava on it to make it take damage…sort of like Mai but the aggro isn’t so weird to try and pull. I like Subject Alpha and Lupicus, of Course. I’m also a fan of Turmaine (caudecus manor) but I wish his player model was bigger. The Mossman is a fun fight. I think everyone likes Jade Maw. None of those fights make the player feel bad about taking a medium armor profession, though, at least not like AR. Except engi’s because engi’s rock. Of course, certain team comps can beat lupicus in 1 minute or less, but it took people a long time to figure that out. Eventually it will become “degenerate” but AR right off the bat makes many team comps look awful.

The boss? I play ranger. Do you have any idea how many evades ranger has? Pfft, Mai. Try to solo Lupicus one time. That’s a real challenge.