Guild Wars 2

Atherakhia.4086:

I like the ebonhawke weapons.

I second this. You can buy them for karma too. I think you can just buy the lowest tier ones since the skins are all the same.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ebon_Vanguard_weapons

The pet has to be in combat.

If your pet is on “Guard”-mode, the pet will be in combat whenever the Ranger is in combat or if you press F1 on a target.

If your pet is on “Avoid Combat”-mode, the pet will only be in combat after you press F1 on a target. Instantly after you press F1 though. You won’t have to wait for it to hit something.

So technically, you could do the following with a pet on “Avoid Combat” to get the benefit of Concentration Training:
- select a target
- press F1
- press F2
- wait for the pet to finish
- press F3

Very rubbish, but it’s the only work-around we have. You might want to consider getting Commanding Voice (in Beastmastery) instead.

By the way, the same nonsense is true for Compassion Training, Maliscious Training, Pet’s Prowess and Expertise Training.

That doesn’t sound useless to me. If a pet dies, you basically get a revive instead of being forced to switch to another type of pet.

They should allow us to equip the same pet in both slots for this very reason.

So now the rune is going to give a 30% damage reduction, right? right? no?

It’s even worse, there is a Grandmaster trait dedicated to resetting it on kill and on stealth:
Remorseless

So that’s 3 minor traits and a grandmaster trait for 5 stacks of vulnerability for 5 seconds.

I completely agree.

There should be a way to at least get the following traits in 1 build:
Read the Wind
Eagle Eye
Piercing Arrows

Other good traits which compete for a spot:
Signet of the Beastmaster
Spotter
Remorseless

And yet, Skirmishing only has 1 good trait:
Quick Draw

Don’t go full glass if you 1v1 often.

If you’re always together with friends, go as much glass as you can handle.

bearbow is WvW zerg meta.

There I said it.

It’s not welcome anywhere else though.

Revealed should be 2s when the stealth times out (and 4 seconds when the stealth is broken).

They should remove the damage from the skill. It’s already extremely low anyway.

Then they should make the stealth instant, because the skill doesn’t do damage.

Then they should add a non-damaging condition-on-hit, like immobilize, cripple, chill, vulnerability, weakness, daze, stun, etc

Ranger

• Hilt Bash (Greatsword)
  Impossible to land.

• Hunter’s Shot (Longbow)
  Should stealth on-use rather than on-hit. Remove its low damage if necessary.

• Concentration Training (Nature Magic Adept trait)
  Remove the requirement for the pet to be in combat.
  Boon pets are often kept on “Avoid Combat”-mode, so they don’t get out of range or killed. (Fern Hound, Red Moa, Blue Moa, Jungle Stalker).

• Compassion Training (Beastmastery Adept trait)
  Remove the requirement for the pet to be in combat.
  Healing pets are often kept on “Avoid Combat”-mode, so they don’t get out of range or killed. (Fern Hound).

Quickening Zephyr is a nice burst skill and now it comes with Fury, so it’s even better.

But now that you’re using 3 survival skills with Survival of the Fittest, it might be worth considering Wilderness Knowledge (10 in Wilderness Survival) instead of those 10 points in Skirmishing, for the 20% cooldown reduction. Which also means more condition removal and more fury.

About the name: Yes, I’m on Gunnar’s Hold

On a general note: Nature’s Protection is an excellent anti-burst trait. It triggers exactly when you need protection the most.

Bast Bow.2958:

currently using condi-builds for roaming.

For zergs I try to avoid using Beastmastery traitline since pets are almost useless in zergs. Nature magic is ok for hp + boon extra %. WS ok for toughness, condi dmg nah because zerg-fighting so condi’s almost useless. Markmanship + Skirmishing is good for raw dmg.

So for zergs I come to use: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQJATRjEq0yaHL+rw1ag9gadAUANAvB27WcEp8irsWK-TFCEwA22fwpyPuKBJ8IAYp+TbdBHuAAAOCABAQAu5OTn7MgbuzduzduzSBwkwI-w

Use Troll + RaO just before u enter the zerg-fight. Slice through zerg with greatsword. If u get low on health or sticky situation, get out of zerg-fight with #3 GS or LR and some dodges, then snipe with longbow, chill-sigil to annoy even more. Muddy terrain for more CC. Brown bear for cleanse, Carrion Devourer for the poison(field). These 2 pets caus bears + devourers can hold out a lil time with no points in BM in zerg-fights.

With this build u won’t provide much boons/support for ur allies, ur more dealing damage and CC-ing.
Rest of the build speaks for itself I think.

If others could point out things I missed that would be fine too. Feedback always welcome

Considering you’re already using 2 survival skills, why not drop 5 points in Skirmishing and get Survival of the Fittest? It’ll give you more condition removals and also gives fury-on-demand. I personally find Furious Grip (Fury on weapon swap) one of our more useless traits. I only get it because I want Quick Draw, but you don’t do that.

ok that’s really good to know. I’ll delete my post then.

Kilger.5490:

Holland.9351:

Warrior and Elementalist can easily become immune to chill, cripple and immobilize in WvW, so beware of that.

Not “immune”, the condition duration modifiers are additive, so they subtract their reduction directly, then it gets calculated. If you have 100% duration modifier they will still eat full duration in spite of all their reductions. Aim for at least 80%.

Did that change? because I remember hearing that condition duration reduction gets applied at the end, so after the increases. Which would mean immune.

This is what the Ranger pets should be like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU9H7zaD6zs

• no damage output
• control skills (knockdown, knockback, stun, daze, etc)
• conditions (cripple, immobilize, vulnerability, poison, etc)
• boons (regeneration, swiftness, protection, stability, etc)
• fields (fire, water, smoke, lightning, etc)
• finishers (blast, leap, projectile)
• boon removal
• condition cleanse
• movement skills (leap, teleport, rush/charge)
• self-preservation (invulnerability, reflect, block)

There is plenty of variation to make an endless amount of useful pets. Just get rid of the damage output.

Then, add a Grandmaster Beastmastery trait that takes 50% power, precision and ferocity away from the Ranger and gives it to the pet. The pet also gains passive health regeneration and 10000 max health.

This is what the Ranger pets should be like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU9H7zaD6zs

• no damage output
• control skills (knockdown, knockback, stun, daze, etc)
• conditions (cripple, immobilize, vulnerability, poison, etc)
• boons (regeneration, swiftness, protection, stability, etc)
• fields (fire, water, smoke, lightning, etc)
• finishers (blast, leap, projectile)
• boon removal
• condition cleanse
• movement skills (leap, teleport, rush/charge)
• self-preservation (invulnerability, reflect, block)

There is plenty of variation to make an endless amount of useful pets. Just get rid of the damage output.

Then, add a Grandmaster Beastmastery trait that takes 50% power, precision and ferocity away from the Ranger and gives it to the pet. The pet also gains passive health regeneration and 10000 max health.

Viking Jorun.5413:

Holland.9351:

I’m finally fed up with the pet. It’s is nothing but a complete handicap.

• Ranger has less damage
• 24 traits dedicated to the pet
• several utility skills dedicated to the pet (shouts & signets)
• pet keeps Ranger in combat

• worthless in WvW outside of capturing supply camps
• worthless in PvE against champion-level mobs

They should get rid of the Ranger pet, it’s a worthless mechanic. I’d take any other class mechanic over it.

The pet has no strengths that make up for all its weaknesses

So you think it’s a weakness having the ability to damage your opponent while dodging and avoiding damage alogether?

I don’t see it listed as a weakness, do you?

Ranger panic buttons:
- Protect Me
- Lightning Reflexes

I won’t count Signet of Stone, but I’ll mention it anyway.

I’m finally fed up with the pet. It’s is nothing but a complete handicap.

• Ranger has less damage
• 24 traits dedicated to the pet
• several utility skills dedicated to the pet (shouts & signets)
• pet keeps Ranger in combat

• worthless in WvW outside of capturing supply camps
• worthless in PvE against champion-level mobs

They should get rid of the Ranger pet, it’s a worthless mechanic. I’d take any other class mechanic over it.

The pet has no strengths that make up for all its weaknesses

The Ranger pet is nothing but a complete handicap.

• Ranger has less damage
• 24 traits dedicated to the pet
• several utility skills dedicated to the pet (shouts & signets)
• pet keeps Ranger in combat

• worthless in WvW outside of capturing supply camps
• worthless in PvE against champion-level mobs

Get rid of the Ranger pet, it’s a worthless mechanic. I’d take any other class mechanic over it.

Belzebu.3912:

“Increased stat scaling”
O.o when that happened, I completely overlooked that.

not in WvW…

Ranger.

Strengths:

• longest range attack in the game (Longbow+Eagle Eye)
• a lot of evades on melee weapons

Weaknesses:

• everything requires a heavy amount of traiting to work (longbow, traps, signets, condition removal, spirits, shouts, etc). Often Grandmaster trait investments.
• close to no AoE, especially at range.
• pet can be a handicap rather than a strength in too many situations

Kryptonite:

• Someone getting in melee range when using a longbow. The longbow stops being able to land any hits at all. It’s especially bad because the stealth and the knockback require you to hit your target.
• conditions
• dead pets (24 out of 80 traits also become worthless).

Suggested improvements:

• improve the un-traited behaviour of longbow, traps, signets(actives affecting ranger), condition removal(Signet of Renewal), spirits, shouts(Guard).
• give longbow AoE-on-hit through traits (something with a radius)
• allow pet to remain stowed
• a dead pet should not increase the swap cooldown from 20s to 60s. That’s an increase of 300%.

Look at:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_pet_locations

Get at least 1 pet of each family: Bear, Feline, Canine, Drake, Bird, Porcine, Spider and Devourer.
Each pet in each family is exactly the same, except for 1 special skill (F2). You can get a great feel for their automated skills, range and general survivability this way. The special skill (F2) can make or break a pet though.

I think you’re confused with racial skills, but they are often superior as well, so your point still stands.

Hyble.4271:

Also, Sig, I see you are using the Longbow without the “signature” LB traits from Marksmanship (increased range/damage, increased projectile speed). Do you find it still works just as well? Do you focus less on LB and more on S/D instead?

I don’t know how people can play Longbow without Eagle Eye and Read the Wind. It’s such a huge difference. If you want to primarily use the longbow, make sure your build includes these traits.

Sabre Wolf.1657:

I place my Sylvari Hound on avoid combat and just spam the heal on c/d. yippie…

I do the same in WvW, except with a Red Moa for Fury.

Bambula.3649:

people that asked for this “perma remove/stow” never looked in our traits or? Oo

You’re right, the pet can’t be stowed permanently or 30% of our traits stop working (24 out of 80).
So instead, the pet should give a buff if it’s not in combat (a pet on “Avoid combat”-mode stays out of combat).

Zenos Osgorma.2936:

B – line for the Squishy Zerker ranger , no ranger should ever go Full zerker in WvW lol

You shouldn’t get more survivability than you need. If you survive for hours on end you should drop some survivability and get more damage output. If you still survive for hours on end, get even more damage. Keep going like this until you can’t get rid of any more survivability. This is the rule for any class and any build in the game.

Out-ranging every class in the game is a great amount of survivability in itself. The point is to make sure you keep out-ranging them.

Pure Heart.1456:

@Holland; I’ve never had that much power—Zerker build—I just hate getting downed so quickly. But other than those invincible enemies you fought, what about the general populace, did they melt like butter?

I’m only doing WvW and I don’t solo-roam (would be suicide), but this is the build I used:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNUQJATRnUqQtgWyCGsAXLGYPoWHAFwZz+CGhQw1Wkyr2RbtA-TlCEABEcBASU9ntUCy0+jyPDeAAdohpNdAAcICe4IAYimgAAIA38mBghO0hO0hO0u5NH6NHayAovFA-w

I can usually keep 25 stacks of bloodlust up (+250 power). I get Fury from Red Moa and Rampage as One, which is not 100% uptime, but good for bursts.

Yes some melt like butter, especially Rangers…

I’ve used a build with 3000 power, 80% crit chance (with fury), 226 crit damage, and quickness but it just barely seems to dent them. They’re always either warrior or guardian.

That’s why I like the idea of Longbow getting armor pierce on its auto attack.

I like this idea, but 20% is too much.

20% reduction means:
3000 armor becomes 2400 (-600 toughness)
2600 armor becomes 2080 (-520 toughness)
2200 armor becomes 1760 (-440 toughness)

I would suggest 5% reduction:
3000 armor becomes 2850 (-150 toughness)
2600 armor becomes 2470 (-130 toughness)
2200 armor becomes 2090 (-110 toughness)

It’s 50% more, not 150%. The tooltip is wrong.

So 2k would become 3k.

Retaliation is mostly a problem for longbow because it hits a lot of times in quick succession. The marksmanship line is already overloaded twice over, so there is no point in putting it there.

It would make sense in the Skirmishing line because also the shortbow and axe hit often.

That and Strider’s Defense could use some help, like they did with Moment of Clarity (by adding 100% daze/stun duration). The Skirmishing line lacks in useful traits if you don’t want to use traits on pets nor traps (7 out of 13 traits).

Strider’s Defense
Chance to destroy projectiles while executing a melee attack. You take 50% less damage from Retaliation.

Trigger chance: 15%
Damage reduction: 50%

The damage reduction would work with any equipped weapon (not just melee).

To give them a break: They would have to store 44 names for each ranger in the game. Now they only have to store 2 names, which is already 2 more than any other class.

If you can come up with a solution for them without having to store 44 names for each Ranger in the game, then I’m sure they would be glad to hear it.

3. Banner should be destroyable

Mesmer clones/illusions: destroyable
Guardian spirit weapon: destroyable
Ranger spirits: destroyable
Elementalist elemental: destroyable
Necromancer minions: destroyable
Engineer turrets: destroyable
Thief thieves: destroyable

None of the above are useable in WvW, except banners.

The “Not now” is not for charming it, but for equiping it.

It’s basically asking: “Do you want to use this pet right now?” And you answered “not now”.

So, you already have it. Just open the pet menu and select it.

Master’s Bond is also cleared if you enter the water.

It has been like that forever and it’s been pointed out many times, but never fixed or even confirmed.

If you have the same pet underwater as you had above water, it’ll still get cleared.

At least the sigil has a workaround by putting another sigil on your underwater weapon.

The pet does bring some advantages, but it’s mostly just a handicap.

To add insult to injury, if the pet dies, the cooldown duration triples from 20s to 60s.

Read the Wind improved the reliability of the longbow. It’s basically 100% hit chance at any range. So, there won’t be anyone side-stepping your shots anymore. Pair it with Eagle Eye to get the most enjoyment out of it.

Get as much damage output as you can without dying.

This advise is strictly for WvW.

The Ranger has far too many traits that require combat mode to work.

Traits that require the pet to be in combat mode:
Malicious Training (Marksmanship II).
Pet’s Prowess (Skirmishing I)
Expertise Training (Wilderness Survival V)
Concentration Training (Nature Magic II)
Compassion Training (Beastmastery IV)

Traits that require the Ranger to be in combat mode:
Spotter (Marksman VII)
Tail Wind (Skirmishing 5 points)
Furious Grip (Skirmishing 10 points)
Companion’s Defense (Wilderness Survival 15 points)
Mighty Swap (Beastmastery VI)

For pet traits, they will never work if the pet is kept in “Avoid Combat”-mode. They will also never work if combat is initiated with an F2(special) skill.

For Ranger traits, they’re already limited by an internal cooldown or endurance regeneration. None can be used to initiate combat with.

lordhelmos.7623:

I think removing all of the “combat” only stipulations of the pet skills would really help the ranger.

There are way too many traits that require either the Ranger or the pet to be in combat:

Concentration Training (Nature Magic II)
Requires the pet to be in combat mode.

Compassion Training (Beastmastery IV)
Requires the pet to be in combat mode.

Malicious Training (Marksmanship II).
Requires the pet to be in combat mode.

Pet’s Prowess (Skirmishing I)
Requires the pet to be in combat mode.

Expertise Training (Wilderness Survival V)
Requires the pet to be in combat mode.

Mighty Swap (Beastmastery VI)
Requires the Ranger to be in combat mode.

Tail Wind (Skirmishing 5 points)
Requires the Ranger to be in combat mode.

Furious Grip (Skirmishing 10 points)
Requires the Ranger to be in combat mode.

Spotter (Marksman VII)
Requires the Ranger to be in combat mode.

Companion’s Defense (Wilderness Survival 15 points)
Requires the Ranger to be in combat mode.

Signet of the Beastmaster
Active effects of Signets also affect you.
Passive effects of Signets also affect allies around you.

This would allow the ranger to give:
- AoE toughness
- AoE health regeneration
- AoE 25% movement speed
- AoE remove 1 condition every 10 seconds

I edited my first post a bit.

It just makes no sense why these traits require combat mode.

Concentration Training (Nature Magic II)
Compassion Training (Beastmastery IV)

These two traits should not require the pet to be in combat mode, because they affect pet F2 skills that are often used while the pet is outside of combat (Fern Hound, Red Moa, Blue Moa, Jungle Stalker).

So, these traits only work if the pet is in combat, the Ranger being in combat is not enough. So, the pet MUST be in “Guard”-mode or sent to attack with F1 before these traits will work. But oftentimes these pets are set on “Avoid Combat”-mode, which keeps them out of combat even if the Ranger is in combat, which makes the traits not work.

There are 3 other traits which work the same but they only benefit a pet that’s in combat anyway, so it’s not a problem and they won’t work if you initiate combat with F2:
Malicious Training (Marksmanship II)
Pet’s Prowess (Skirmishing I)
Expertise Training (Wilderness Survival V)

Very annoying

Concentration Training is a horrible trait because it requires the pet to be in combat. If the pet isn’t in combat mode, the trait won’t work. Same goes for Compassion Training.

Commanding Voice is a much more reliable trait because it always works.

GUFF.5692:

Non Ascended 100% Crit Build

That’s a really interesting build.

I slightly changed it by giving it Runes of Strength (+45% might duration) and ascended Knight amulets (the version with main stat in precision):

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNUQJATRjEqUwaLLesw1aADhqVLw+ACgGwdREDXdKPpCvNB-TFCBABVcBEA4JF0iuGeU/pm9H2S5HDHSAJVCSIgyLAA-w

I’d be curious how many stacks of might you can keep going with this.

There is one thing the Ranger excels at that no other class has:
Longbow + Eagle Eye = longest range attack in the game.
+ Read the Wind = it also won’t miss.

This works best in WvW and PvE open world(especially world bosses), but no group in any game mode (PvE, sPvP, WvW) will ask you for it.

You really want to try Read the Wind + Eagle Eye if you haven’t already. I suppose you could prefer Piercing Arrows, but you should at least have tried it.

Natsu Dragneel.1625:

Alrighty guys, I have a second video up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPW0TCd3K0c

I believe it is much better then the first, let me know what you think, and enjoy!

Quickening Zephyr is looking really useful. I’ll give it a try and get rid of Signet of Renewal.
I consider Signet of Renewal and Heal as One almost key to my build though, but Quickening Zephyr might be too important.

I’m running 30/30/0/10 at the moment, but I feel Moment of Clarity is worthless (but the passive stat bonus is ok), so I might change to your new build.

Other traits I’m reconsidering are:
Strength of Spirit (Nature Magic 10) adds 7% of vitality to power
Commanding Voice (Beastmastery 10) + Red Moa = almost permanent Fury

The Red Moa might be more useful anyway, even untraited.

By the way, what’s up with your inventory at 2:55?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPW0TCd3K0c&t=2m55s