Guild Wars 2

Here’s my take on a Pistol/Pistol build, though I use it for S/D and D/D as well…

Anything and Everything Under the Southsun!

7/10. Good name, love the play with ‘Ernest’. Trystan throws it off for me, though.

1. Kitai, Knight Socius. Street Rat Ranger with a obsessive attachment to her pet.

2. Wren, Knight Umbral. A Thief born into nobility with an unfortunate case of kleptomania.

3. Aveline, Knight Custos. A Commoner Guardian dedicated to protecting those dear to her and proving her own strength.

Well, here’s my take on a human female ranger. Doesn’t really look attuned to nature, though.

My Thief’s new look, updated for the Chaos skins!

Here’s my pretty lady!

She’s looking for a new Longbow, though.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQJAsalcmCOXcy5E+ZEw2DAAAAA-jkxAYuAmILiGbjoIasqFM9KRUt/oIa1SBMqwI-w

There’s a baseline for you. Unfortunately, by focusing on precision, you’re giving up most of your options for vitality and toughness.

Considering some of the posts on the forums, sir, ‘utterly beside the point’ is exceedingly polite.

Forgive me if I sounded rude, but the main thrust of the ‘civilized’ ( ) discussion is the fact P/P users seem to rely on Unload to the exclusion of the other 4 skills. Quite honestly, I probably use it 70% – 85% of the time while running P/P, when I know I’m not going to be facing AI that requires special tactics (Read: Toxic ‘Baby Cat’ Nimross.)

Buffing Unload alone would, as I put early, just exacerbate what seems to be a large part of the problem. Buffing or changing Vital Shot could upset other main-hand pistol builds, creating a problem there if none already existed. However, this may not seem like a problem, nor may it actually be a problem, to some players. All I can say to that is: I have my opinion, you have your opinion, and I respectfully disagree with it.

Another problem could be that of the dual-weilding system itself, and trying to balance a unique dual-skill between 4 other unique skills, and among the other dual-skills. Unload: Reduce range to 130, add initial daze and root. P/P Pistol Whip, any one?

Want to go further? Think about how it’ll be affected by traits, utilities, a second or third player, a full party, an open world zerg, etc.

While I don’t mind the the additional cast time, simply because for mode preferences…

I agree with this suggestion!

redkat.1892:

Unload costs 4 initiative.

There fixed, next…

Utterly not the point. If anything, that would that would just exacerbate the discussed problem, namely spamming Unload.

When you look at mainhand pistol and offhand pistol separately, you see a condition-based set (mainhand) and a utility set (offhand). However, when combined, we’re given a direct damage dual skill that inherently promotes spamming of that dual skill. Unload needs to combo off of conditions the thief can reliably supply, if anything, without generating those conditions itself.

My first response to fixing P/P’s tendency to fixate on Unload, and increase the damage of the set as a whole, would be:

• Increase Vital Shot’s physical damage by 10%. Increase bleed duration by 1 second.
• Increasing the power coefficient by 0.2. Deal additional damage per stack of bleeding on target.

While not only buffing Vital Shot, these changes would encourage the user to stack bleeding from Vital Shot so that Unload hits even harder. Having to reapply the bleeds with Vital Shot prevents continually spamming Unload, thus hopefully leaving spare initiative for Head Shot, Body Shot, and Black Powder.

Unfortunately, this most likely would only work in vacuum, with no other source of bleeding than Vital Shot…

A Massive Headache.1879:

Also. considering the current poor writing and lack of a lot of character development, would you really want them to sully the gods?

You’re right. It would be utter blasphemy…

Abaddon!

I would love it if the Fallen Gods, as I call them, were woven into the GW2 lore and the story itself. Specifically Abaddon.

Yes, I realize he kinda-sorta, maybe, ‘died’ at the end of Nightfall, but these are gods we’re talking about. Kormir absorbed the power that was let loose upon his defeat, in essence stealing his divinity, but there are several ways he could still exist.

1. Not all of his power was actually absorbed. Remnants of it remained in the Realm of Torment, finally coalescing into Abaddon’s new form.
2. Similar to #1, but these shards of power were seeded in advance, maybe carried by Margonite handlers to safe places or realms.
3. As put forth by Zayd Akira, a part of Abaddon could be influencing Kormir, turning her into a two-faced Goddess of Truth… And Secrets!

As for the other two of our trifecta; Menzies is still running rampant in FoW having a temper tantrum ’cause Daddy liked Balthazar more, and Dhuum seems to break out of the divine super-max known as the Underworld more frequently than a lion in a wet paper bag.

I, at least, hope that they make an appearance, if not trying to capitalize on the Elder Dragons’ awakenings as a main plot line.

Domey.9804:

pw is crap , dagger offhand too

Not only does Pistol Whip have the best power coefficient, it triggers eight hits on the flurry. Eight hits, with evasion, on a 2 second flurry. That ain’t crap.

As for dagger offhand, good god, man! Cloak & Dagger is one of the harder-hitting skills of S/D, and it applies vulnerability. Dancing Dagger will deal the most damage out of any of the S/D skills if used against two targets, all the while being a 100% finisher and causing cripple… For three initiative.

So, really, how are they crap?

As for sword being dead come December 10th, I disagree. Aside from the change to Infiltrator’s Strike, nothing about Sword/x is being nerfed. As a matter of fact, it’s being buffed.

In my humble opinion, the functionality of Pistol Whip and Larcenous Strike should be switched.

Sword/Pistol is the utility set for swords. The new skill, therefore would look like this:

• Functionality: Pistol whip an enemy, dazing them and stripping a boon (Or two, silly ArenaNet). Follow-up sword strike is unblockable and deals additional damage if a boon was stripped.

Sword/Dagger is more damage-oriented, with several good skills already. As such:

• Functionality: A flurry of blows that deal moderate damage, plus additional damage if the enemy is crippled/vulnerable.

My reasoning is simply to consolidate the sets; one for utility and counterplay and the other for direct damage… That, and I want to use Pistol Whip with offhand dagger. -Innocent whistling.-

Would love to hear opinions, so please, discuss!

Celebratty.1632:

Antitoxin should not work in WvW, and those “nightmare seeds” shouldn’t spawn. Keep PvE out of WvW, thank you. No one wants your kitten seeds and AoE heals.

Then keep your PvP/WvW stomping and nerfing out of PvE.

Dand.8231:

I care how she dies.

Why? Because I want to make kitten * well sure it’s *GODkitten MOTHERkittenING PERMANENT.

Worst. Villian. Ever.

She doesn’t even have any redeeming factors, such as being amusingly campy like most bad guys… or a “love to hate” her vibe.

No. I want her gone forever.

So you want her to keep living and think she the best villain ArenaNet’s come up with, right? I couldn’t tell from your post.

(Sarcasm aside, I agree with the spirit of your post and am impressed by your passion. )

Nilkemia.8507:

Looks like we’ll need to get a Searing Cauldron to do some proper cleansing..

As a Prophecies launch player, I must say this is the BEST SOLUTION EVER! … Thank you.

As for it being Scarlet? Bleh. At this point, I just ignore any lore attached and/or attributed to her and play the content.

First off, I must admit that I like the current dual skill. Weapon sets should be focused, but every skill needs a reason to be used. Another vanilla direct damage skill would be pointless. Besides, variety is the spice of life, right?

With that in mind, however, I present several alternatives!

• Death’s Passage – Distract your opponent with an offhand strike, then whirl around your target and stabbing them in the back. (Like a BAMF. Imagine that skritt!)
  1/4 Second, 5 Initiative
  - First Strike Damage: 201 (1.2)
  - Second Strike Damage: 544 (2.14)
  - Blind: 1/2 Seconds
  - Finisher: Whirl

• Assassin’s Escape – Stab your target in the shoulders, flipping over them and double kicking to launch both you and your target apart. (Parkour, anyone?)
  _5 Initiative
  - Damage (2x): 501 (1.5)
  - Kick Damage: 188 (1.0)
  - Knockback: 600
  - Finisher: Leap

Take these as you will. I, at least, had fun coming up with them.

Here’s my pretty Noble… Who moonlights as a thief.

Head: Bare
Shoulders: Bare
Coat: Noble’s
Gloves: Noble’s
Pants: Rawhide
Boots: Whisper’s

Forgive me if I get this wrong.

• Global reduction of all Venom cooldowns by 10 seconds.

• Venomous Aura: Grants Venom abilities to nearby allies, up to a maximum of 5 allies.
  - For each target granted Venom abilities (IE: only 3 allies within range for transfer), the cooldown on used Venoms is increased by 2 seconds.
  - Stacks with 20% cooldown reduction granted by Quick Venoms.

To be utterly honest, I don’t really care if thieves have, will have, or master rifles. I just want a 1200 range option!

Yes, thieves have some of the best gap closers, probably more than any other class to begin with. 1500 range teleport that deals damage, poisons, heals, and stealths you? Awesome!… And then you die 3 seconds later in melee ‘cause you’re squishier than a Norn baby’s diaper.

What about the 900 range on pistols? Aside from the fact pistols do paltry damage in the first place, the 700-800 effective range you’re sitting at is nothing to a determined boss… And for some reason, bosses really like thieves…

Alright, here it is! Fair warning, this is gonna be a long post. Sadly, I can not actually make a table with this type format, but I will try my best.

First off, I’ve looked at the auto-attacks for Sword, Dagger, Pistol, and Shortbow. Buffs such as Might, critical damage, and inherent conditions are included in the calculations. This is a general comparison, and as such was figured with the widest possible set of builds in mind.

I have not done conditions such as vulnerability, as those would apply a flat percentage over all the weapons equally. I’ve also noted any +X% damage traits relevant to the weapon, however, they were not included in the calculation. Sigils, as well, were discounted because those are more the function of a specific build.

Notes/Disclaimer:

• All values are listed as damage over 1 second intervals.
• Power: 1000 (Base), 2000, 2500, and 3000 (Might)
• Critical damage is noted as critical chance/bonus critical damage.
  - 5%/0%, 25%/25%, 50%/50%, and 50%/75%
• Condition damage is listed separately, as a +damage per second.
  - Bonus Condition Damage: 0, 300, 1000, 1400

Sword

• 3 hits over 2.52 seconds.
• Hits up to 3 targets.

=== 5%/0% – 25%/25% – 50%/50% – 50%/75%
1000: 0,471.8 – 0,546.8 – 0,690.5 – 0,748.0
2000: 0,943.7 – 1,093.7 – 1,381.0 – 1,496.0
2500: 1,179.8 – 1,366.7 – 1,726.2 – 1,870.2
3000: 1,415.5 – 1,640.1 – 2,071.4 – 2,244.0

Dagger

• 4 hits over 2.07 seconds.
• +5% Damage Trait

=== 5%/0% – 25%/25% – 50%/50% – 50%/75%
1000: 0,448.3 – 0,518.8 – 0,655.1 – 0,710.1
2000: 0,895.1 – 1,037.7 – 1,310.1 – 1,419.3
2500: 1,118.8 – 1,297.1 – 1,637.7 – 1,773.9
3000: 1,343.5 – 1,556.5 – 1,965.2 – 2,129.5
Additional Condition Damage:
- 0: +84
- 300: +114
- 1000: +184
- 1400: +224

Pistol

• 1 hit over .95 seconds.
• +10% Damage Trait

===5%/0% – 25%/25% – 50%/50% – 50%/75%
1000: 172.6 – 200.0 – 252.6 – 273.7
2000: 345.3 – 400.0 – 505.3 – 547.4
2500: 431.6 – 500.0 – 631.6 – 684.2
3000: 517.9 – 600.0 – 757.9 – 821.1
Additional Condition Damage:
Stacks: —-1 --—- 2 —-- 4
- 0000: +42.5 – +85.0 – +170
- 0300: +57.5 – +115 – +230
- 1000: +92.5 – +185 – +370
- 1400: +112.5 – +225 – +450

Shortbow

• 1 hit over .95 seconds.
• Bounces between 3 targets.
• +5% Damage Trait

=== 5%/0% – 25%/25% – 50%/50% – 50%/75%
1000: 0,237.4 – 0,275.1 – 0,347.4 – 0,376.3
2000: 0,474.7 – 0,550.2 – 0,694.7 – 0,752.6
2500: 0,593.4 – 0,687.8 – 0,868.4 – 0,940.8
3000: 0,712.1 – 0,825.3 – 1,042.1 – 1,128.9

Well, there you go. Again, sorry for the impromptu and messy tables.

Sigil of Accuracy, global +5% chance to critical! Slinks back to his DPS calculations.

Anubarak.3012:

With full zerker and critical hits sword does more dmg than dagger.
You totally forgot critical hits in your calculation and this is an important thing since conditions can’t crit.

This is where we get into specific builds, mechanics, etc. Any auto-attack, if traited and built right, can do more damage than the others. Arguably, sword does 3x the amount of damage in the calculations simply because it hits 3 targets. Daggers have the potential for more critical damage and effects simply because of of it’s speed and the amount of hits in the chain.

At this point, I would advise thieves to come up with a build theory and then figure out which would do more. However, I like doing math, so I shall endeavor to run a new set of calculations. This time, hopefully, I’ll be able to cover everything.

- Base/Applied Damage
— 1000, 2000, 2500, and 3000 Power respectively.
- Condition Damage
- Critical Chance/Damage
— 25%/25%, 50%/50%, and 50%,75% Critical Chance/Damage respectively.
— Including On-critical Sigils

Any suggestion are welcome, and hopefully I’ll be finished by tonight. Who knows, I may even do pistols.

Yes, the skills will change. As for what’s best for leveling I haven’t the faintest clue. I kept switching ’em out and using the ones I liked.

At the moment, thieves can only use swords in the main-hand, but yes, you can use sword/dagger right now.

Yes, you would be correct.

Daniel Lee.8164:

Oh and, I have 1 more question, I can only use different combination of weapon like Sword / Dagger only after when I reach level 7 ? Is there a way to tell it ?

No. At level 7 you gain the ability to equip a second weapon set, which you can then switch to in combat. You can use any of the different weapon combinations right from the start, merely needing to unlock the weapon skills as explained earlier.

No. Look at it from the math.

The stat in the Hero panel is the sum of weapon strength and Power: (Max Weapon Strength) + (Power) = (Attack).
- (1000) + (2200) = 3200

The one used in the damage calculation is the product of the weapon’s strength and your Power, along with other values: (Average Weapon Strength*Power).
- (1000)*(2200) =2,200,000

- An additional multiplier, the skill coefficient, and then a divisor, the target’s armor, produces the amount of damage dealt.

Note the difference between the two.

For the most part, yes. Aside from Choking Gas and Black Powder, which are shortbow and pistol skills respectively, you won’t have many field-generating skills this early. However, you can combo off of other players’ fields, and they can do the same with yours.

The easiest way to tell if a skill will generate a combo field or finisher is by looking at the tooltip. That will tell you if it produces a finisher or combo field, and what specific type.

Attack is the sum of your weapon’s strength and your Power. The damage dealt by attack skills is the product of your weapon’s strength and your Power, then multiplied against that specific skill’s coefficient.

Utility skills only use Power in their damage calculations in the first place.

I’ve edited the mathematical portion to reflect the base DPS of the poison.

Just over 3200, I believe. Simply add 950-1000, the average strength of your current equipped weapon, to your Power and you’ll come up with Attack.

However, Attack isn’t factored into any damage calculation, merely a measuring stick for your character’s kitten. :P

Wonders if Daniel Lee is talking to someone behind him.

Before I answer your questions, and I’m quite happy to, might I suggest [url]wiki.guildwars2.com[url]? Aside from some mechanical misinformation, the rest is quite good!

Now, onwards!

Combos are interactions between a Finisher and a Combo Field. You generate a combo by using the finisher inside the field, which produces some kind of effect.
Finishers: Blast, Leap, Projectile, Whirl
Combo Fields: Dark, Ethereal, Fire, Ice, Water, Smoke, Lightning, Poison, Light
— Example: A whirl finisher inside a fire field produces bolts that set nearby foes on fire.

As for your second question… Welcome to thieves. One of their main mechanics is called the Dual Skill. The first two and last two weapon skills are determined by the weapon in that hand. The third skill, or dual skill, is determined by the combination of weapons. Note: two-handed weapons don’t have a dual skill, merely a third skill.
— For example, your dagger/dagger setup has two main-hand dagger skills, Double Strike (Chain) and Heartseeker, two off-hand dagger skills, Dancing Dagger and Cloak & Dagger, and the dual skill, Death Blossom.
— If you switch your main-hand weapon to Sword, you would gain the main-hand skills Slice (Chain) and Infiltrator’s Strike, and the dual skill would change to Flanking Strike. You would skill keep Dancing Dagger and Cloak & Dagger, because those are tied to your off-hand, and not the entire dagger/dagger setup.

As for my opinion on dagger/dagger? Well, I do run both sword/dagger and dagger/dagger.

Well, kitten… Math is right, but I’m wrong.

I did as you suggested, Walker, and found some pretty interesting results. I ran 2 tests, one with 918 base Power and the other with 2100 base power. Each weapon was timed while auto-attacking 5 Target Golem – Medium.

Test 1: 918 Power
Dagger: 5 kills in 3:34.6.
Sword: 5 kills in 4:01.3.

Test 2: 2100 Power
Dagger: 5 kills in 1:55.7.
Sword: 5 kills in 1:56.1.

I also timed each weapon against a single Target Golem – Medium at 2500 Power.

Test 3:
Dagger: 14.1 seconds.
Sword: 13.4 seconds.

After looking over my results, both from the DPS test and the previous math, I figured out the problem. I wasn’t including the inherent 84dps+ from the poison.

Final Conclusion: The dagger’s auto-attack has higher base DPS. However, the sword’s auto-attack will actually out DPS the dagger’s chain at Power levels of 2200 of greater.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

One flaw with your calculation is the difference between the “Total Chain Time”. As I mentioned in my post, by the time the Sword AA finishes its sequence, the Dagger AA already starts with its next AA sequence. So using the time frame of 2.52s, Dagger have dealt more damage than Sword, thus having the higher DPS.

The amount of time taken for each chain to complete is taken into account in the calculations. The formulas take the total damage and apply it to 1 second intervals.

To put it another way, in the time it takes for the sword chain to complete it’s rotation, a dagger chain will have, approximately, just hit with the first strike from Double Strike. That’s an additional 224 points of damage.

1808 + (448/2) = 2032 damage

Even applying the second strike, which admittedly is almost instantaneous after the first, is an additional 448 points of damage.

1808 + 448 = 2256 damage

Compare both these to the 2320 total from the sword’s chain, and you can see that sword deals more damage.

As for the aftercast delay, I believe it’s included. After watching it in game, I can say that the pause before either chain restarts is the same. As accurately as I can without an actual stopwatch, at least.

Velcome to da ranks of da Thieves!

To start with, your base amount of stats are automatically increased when you level up, to a total of 918 in Power, Precision, Toughness and Vitality at level 80. You artificially increase these stats through spending points in specific trait lines and equiping armor, weapons, and trinkets.
- Trait lines provide benefits as well as the aforementioned stat boost, so choose wisely. (Trait points can also be refunded if you want to try something new or make a mistake.)
- Depending on what build you want to run, you’ll choose from several sets of equipment with differing combinations of stats. Some of the more common ones you’ll hear about are Berserker’s, Assassin’s, Soldier’s, and Knight’s.

As for leveling up, go with what you like! Figuring out what weapon sets, equipment builds, and trait builds is what makes it fun. Personally, I stick to melee on my thief, and was switching between Dagger/Dagger, Sword/Dagger, and Sword/Pistol while leveling.

To clear up some information:
- You unlock the ability to swap between two different sets of equipped weapons at level 7.
- At levels 5, 10, and 20, you unlock the three utility skill slots.
- At level 30, you unlock the elite skill slot.
- When you first start using a weapon, only the first skill will be unlocked. To unlock the rest of the weapon skills, you earn experience from killing mobs with that weapon. The more experience per kill, the faster the skills unlock.
-Tooltips:
— Any damage listed on a tooltip is direct damage applied to the target.
— Tooltips will list conditions, and the duration/overall damage of the condition, seperately.
— Tooltips will also list information like skill range, number of targets, buffs you gain, etc.

Hope this helps!

Time to add my two cents, along with some math… Sword actually does more direct damage per second on autoattack than Dagger.

On to the math!
- First done with plain vanilla damage from the tooltips, or base damage, then done with weapon strength, power, and armor, or applied damage.

Equations:
Applied Damage: (Weapon Strength*Power*Coefficient)/Target Armor
Damage Per Second: (Base/Applied Damage)/Total Chain Time

Notes/Disclaimer:
- All coefficient values are taken from wiki.guildwars2.com.
- Power is set to 2000, target armor set to 2500.
— Sword Strength: 950-1,050 (1000)
— Dagger Strength: 970-1,030 (1000)
- Format:
Skill: (Coefficient) Base Damage Applied Damage – Equation for Applied Damage

Sword:
Autoattack Chain: Slice -> Slash -> Crippling Strike

1. Slice: (0.8) 269 640 – (1000*2000*0.8)/2500
2. Slash: (0.8) 269 640 – (1000*2000*0.8)/2500
3. Crippling Strike: (1.3) 437 1040 – (1000*2000*1.3)/2500
   Total Base Damage: 975
   Total Applied Damage: 2320
   Total Chain Time: 2.52 Seconds

Base Sword DPS: 386.9dps
Applied Sword DPS: 920.6dps

Dagger:
Autoattack Chain: Double Strike -> Wild Strike -> Lotus Strike

1. Double Strike: (.56) 188 448 – (1000*2000*.56)/2500
2. Wild Strike: (.85) 286 680 – (1000*2000*.85)/2500
3. Lotus Strike: (.85) 286 680 – (1000*2000*.85)/2500
   — Lotus Strike Poison Damage: 84 damage per second.
   Total Base Damage: 760
   Total Applied Damage: 1808
   Total Chain Time: 2.07 Seconds

Base Dagger DPS: 367.1dps
— Additional Poison DPS: 84dps
— Total Base DPS: 451.1dps
Applied Dagger DPS: 873.4dps
— Additional Poison DPS: 84dps
— Total Applied DPS: 957.4dps

Edit: Applied base Poison to Dagger DPS.
Hope that clears things up.

Ohhh! Me likey idea! However, I do have some notes for concern.

The first is synergy with other weapons, particularly mainhand Sword and Dagger. The suggested #4 is already implemented to a point, with both Sword and Dagger already having a powerful closer.

Replacement:
Sword Storm: You spin in a circle, hitting foes around you twice.
- Initiative Cost: 6, 1 second channel
- Damage: 327×2 (1.15)
- Finisher: Whirl
- Evade: 3/4 second

Secondly, in my personal opinion is that Deadly Paradox is a bit off-kilter, and has the potential to be unbalanced, even with the tradeoff.

Changes:
- Increase Quickness to 6 seconds.
- Fury & Might resolve after initiative cost. IE: Max 6-9 stacks/seconds of Fury & Might.

The third note of concern is more flavor. Mainhand Dagger/Pistol and offhand Sword? Hehehehe.

Also, what about dual skills? Any thoughts on those?

Suggestion: Sword/Sword
Cross Down: Strike with both swords, dealing more damage if opponent is crippled.
- Initiative Cost: 5, 3/4 second cast
- Damage: 327×2 (1.4)
- Additional Damage: 133×2 (1.4)
- Unblockable

Revival of a dead thread incoming! Just to see what the current community response is, and because I have an updated skill list.

Update:
- Damage is now ranked as 1-100, instead of Low-Medium-High, to give a clear indication of relative power levels.

Slot 1 – Piercing Shot: Fire a shot that pierces the target’s armor. (0 Initiative, 40 Damage, 1200 Range, Ignores 500 Armor.)
- Stealth Slot – Sniper Fire: Line up a shot at the target over 3 seconds, dealing more damage the longer it’s aimed. (Executes if stealth drops during charge.) (2 Initiative/Second, 100 Damage, 1500 Range, +28% Damage/Second.)
Slot 2 – Marker Round: Mark your target, increasing the damage of your next shot. (4 Initiative, 30 Damage, 1200 Range, +25% Damage, 10 Seconds.)
Slot 3 – Opening Round: Fire at your target, dealing double damage if their health is above 66%. (5 Initiative, 40 Damage, 1200 Range.)
Slot 4 – Gut Shot: Fire a snap shot at your target, stunning them. (4 Initiative, 1/2 Second Activation, 25 Damage, 1200 Range, 1/4 Second Stun.)
Slot 5 – Ghillie Suit: Camouflage yourself, gaining stealth for 6 seconds. (Move 33% slower while wearing it.) (6 Initiative, Self-Target.)

Fade.7658:

Instead of a rifle, I’d rather have a sawed off shotgun. Thieves are considered a close range profession, and it would fit pretty well.

Mmmm, shotgun. That’s not a bad idea.

However: Thieves need a 1200 range option. Yes, they are considered a close-range profession. So are warriors and guardians, the stubborn melee oxen we know and lov-hate, and they have consistent 1200 range options. Quite powerful ones, too.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQRAoY6alUmCP3ey5E+JFyOjKUn4UYUIl/hySrAOB-jwxAYuBRTYGEdisIasNiioxqWwUnER1+kioVDA-e

Assassin’s + Knight’s, 65% critical chance at +70% damage, and you don’t drop like a rock.

I’ve played a Ranger since Beta, and I’ve never been kicked from a dungeon group. I also main a longbow, though I prefer drakes over ursines. :P

I agree that these kinds of situations are probably hyperbole, and are rare in the the first place. As for the part about rangers being the master of all things ‘archer,’ I disagree. Rangers are not archers, though a bow is a large part of their skill set.

Aside from the fact that any race will make a good ranger, I gotta say I’m partially to Charr (Even though I’m Human… Laziness, yeah!).

Lightning Reflex + Hidden Pistol anyone? Artillery Barrage?

So… Which families do you breed together to get a spider-monkey? I already got my eye patch!

Well, short answer is yes.

Long answer depends on what build you’re using and what you’re trying to do with it. Try doing a mock-up of what you are looking at on GW2Skills.com and posting a link to it.

Here’s a simple solution for the theme of the Ranger’s longbow:

• Drop the range tiers for Long Range Shot and lower the damage slightly.
• Remove Rapid Fire and replace it with either a charge-up killshot-type skill or one that uses Long Range Shots range tiers.

In my mind, the longbow is first and foremost a slow weapon. We already have a fast firing weapon in the shortbow. Let the longbow fire slowly but do heavy, piercing damage.

Rapid Fire is incongruous with the other skills, and the damage is terrible.

I was speaking about PvE…

Molch.2078:

Signets are BAD BAD BAD BAD DON’T DON’T DON’T DON’T PLAY THEM!
…
Thats why.

This honestly made me laugh. A a lot of rangers actually have at least one signet in their builds, all of which are pretty powerful even when untraited.

As for why we don’t have power- or precision-based signets… I would think it has something to do with the pet’s stats and the signets’ interaction with them.

Only other reason I can think of, aside from there’s four of each type of skill and we already have our four.

Lonewolf Kai.3682:

Boomslang.4352:

Diak Atoli.2085:

Signet of the Wild + Quickening Zephyr, anyone?

This.

For PvE, I’m not sure if there’s a ranger burst that can compare to a trait-ed SoW+QZ on a shortbow ranger with zerk stuff on. I actually run this most of the time along with the piercing arrows trait and a fire sigil.

It’s like a Ranger on drugs with AoE.

For WvWvW, I just change the zerk stuff to cleric’s+knight’s and get a good enough crit chance (around 45%). Target the guy at the back of the zerg and make sure your arrows hit as many guys as possible. Watch how a group who tries to flank will back away from a small asura ranger.

What about SoW +Sic ‘Em + QZ + Rampage as One? Add in a Hilt Bash if you run GS. That’s a nice burst, no?

Very nice, but that’s a lot that has to go down at once. Though I do usually open Rampage as One with Quickening Zephyr…

jubskie.3152:

Personally, I find it a waste to go 30 deep into a tree and not pick up any grand master traits

If the master traits are worth 30 points, and worth more than the grandmaster traits…

From the looks of what’s posted, it’s like a glass cannon sniper build. On that vein, I’d drop those 5 points in Beastmastery, put them into Wilderness Survival, and grab the Wilderness Knowledge trait. Since you’re not traiting for signets, Lightning Reflexes and Quickening Zephyr would be better choices.

Another assumption is that you’re using felines, since you’re using Pet’s Prowess. If not, I’d strongly recommend it.

It helps a lot if you expound on the build and tell us what you’re using, and how it’s being used.