Guild Wars 2

like you said you’re trading condition for crit dmg. it all then relies on how reliably you can set in conditions. at that point.

Shortbow is still good for control for a power-crit build, but ultimately it’s a condition weapon.

immobilization can be mitigated with high defense and a sword 3 + another evading skill.

if you’re immobilized using a sb you’ll be spammed with an attack so…

SB3 -> ~ -> S3 => immobilization done -> S2 or lightning evade.

i can usually get out of most situations that way so long as it’s a melee-user attacking me.

i go with high toughness as a clutch so.

lore wise…

Silvari Ranger (nature stuff for literal tree people)

Silvari Necromancer ( nature stuff, power over life and death. curious about death)

silvari Elementalist (cause magic)

Silvari Warrior (cause hit stuff)

…

list continues

try anything, if you plan on role playing though (and not as a rainbow-unicorn bringing people happiness with your rainbow thrower pyro) then go for ranger or necro.

if you want…

instead of SB, try an Axe + warhorn on your off hand. this will focus on your skirmish play, still give you decent AoE (on either) and conditions on both (poison + bleeds). while allowing you some distance, but not too far to prevent a burst sword attack

also Warhorn is probably the best thing ranger’s have based on it’s 4 (giving 2k-3k burst – for me on average) auto hit and a great buff that increases, movement speed, crit change by 20% and 1 point of might. (though 4 is bugged, and completely dodgeable if they manage to evade the first eagle)

> Assumption 3: You need a minimum of 2 people to take a supply camp

i don’t really agree with this…

i can take an unupgraded supply camp as a single player by just isolating 1-2 enemies, have a bear tank and justPvE tank and Spank. minimum required is 1 but the time required to take a camp is negatively exponential.

depend.

i’ve had a mixed outlook on thieves (as a ranger).

in a 1v1 (with no chance of zerg following) i will win 50% of my engagements. i find encounter’s with thieves are 1 sided with no room for middle ground (e.g. you die horribly, or he dies horribly)

so it’s either you die right away, or you just evade all his loads (i usually chain a 5 dodge, followed by a heal and trap) and then counter attack till he tries to reset. once he does that you start backing off (if you want to run), or stick around to try and kill him.

it get’s annoying though. i wish pet’s (like hawks and dogs) could attack invisible targets.

i just hate pistol whip… so much stun…

also when they go invisible. if you have a gs or melee weapon just start spamming 1 and run around. if you have a weapon that does AoE then you just start spamming it till he appears again.

YumCHA.8706:

The main issues I see that takes a big toll in the ranger Profession are as follows in this list: (If I missed some other issues feel free to add them to the list)
- Lacking in Damage Output. (Ranged wise)
- Not enough Crowd Control Skills to counter group Ganks (zergs)
- Most skills are one to one combat and not enough AoE offensives.
- Survivability laughable.
- Pet functionality flawed. (Maybe some sort of coding could fix this issue)
- Pets being too squishy.
- Damage split between the Ranger and its Pet does not compute.
- Arrow projection easily evaded.
- Arrows easily out of range. (Mentioned as a bug supposedly)
- Arrow obstructions easily exploited.
- Medium Armor defensive capabilities questionable.
- Weapon choices questionable. Ranger’s should be mastered in the use of a Bow increasing their damage output, yet they do more damage with melee weapons? Does not compute.

- i agree, dmg output is split. it’s not bad but a minimum of 1/3 is not hitting all the time (pet)
- i’ll agree on this one. but easily solvable if your a back liner (Wv3). ranger should be the first to run and notice if things are slowly turning against them.
- i’ll agree with this some issues (mainly ranged) melee and axes actually have decent aoe
- survivability isn’t up there but to be able to chain 5-7 dodges and if you have a toughness build survivability is pretty good. i can 1v1 a warrior and win by simply reading what they will do. a timely dodge or stun break will save your kitten
- i agree with pets
- what pet’s do you use? i’ve been running a duel-dog set up and they are a good mix for my skirmish style.
- agree
- depends on the arrow and range. usually in spvp i’m fighing within 900ft at all time, unless they are evading they alwayse hit (short bow user). this is much more noticable with longbow at longer ranges. try to be circling around everyone trying to keep them contained.
- Medium Armor defensive capabilities questionable. i’m running 2.8k defense in wv3 and 3k in spvp. i’m not tanky by anymeans but i can shrugg off a few good blows to cast my heal.
- it’s more risky to be in melee. you have to push up. it balances out. i use melee to burst down (hawks + melee + poison) and then pull out and deal DoT’s and suppression with SB. i’m fine with ranger’s being a middle man that’s alright with both blade and sword. i’m playing like a nights watchman not as a legolas. but i would like to make both play style feasible.

YumCHA.8706:

Minor Issues:
- Spirits squishy.
- Utility/Elite Cooldowns unreasonable long. For something to have a really long CD, the performance of such a skill must be so great that it alters the situation in combat.
This is not the case.
- Signets provide little to no benefit.
- Shortbow decreased in arrow speed. (An Unnecessary Nerf)
Evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_W75Zw5fqU

- don’t just focus on attack power, a glass cannon build is supposed to be squishy. i’m not as tanky as a guardian, but a highly mobile tank isn’t really balanced.
- i really only run spike trap and a stun break, or even not have the stun break for another signet (most of the time moving 10% faster is better then a 1-time stun break, i’d rather go where i’m needed faster or run away as fast as possible)
- signets are kinda helpful to just keep on you. protect me + signet of stone are meant to synergize. you pet takes no damage and it absorbs all the damage you are suppose to take for almost exactly the same time. you have a condition removal signet, and what not (doesn’t mean a 100% get away, 100% get away means sneaking off before things get bad).
- SB nerf sucked, we have to live with it. it’s still a decent weapon, only thing that irks me is the swiftness speed isn’t pushing my attacks any higher.

at this point i try not to think negatively. i’m trying to think outside of the box as possible while still sticking to the sb/s+wh weapons set up. i’m thinking a power+toughness build with the other two stats being vit and precision.

it seems to work well in SPvP but not as well as i hoped for in Wv3.

combo finisher is added on Sword 2 – part 2

check your melee weapons.

ranger is technically counter stealth… lay down a spike trap and stand directly in the middle of it. I usually run sword+horn the instant the trap fires i hit s3->s2(1)->~→sb3->sb5->sb4 and start kiting.

i don’t mind. it … if i managed to be ignored i can just have my pet rez me.

some of my favourite duels ended with me and guardian hitting each other while my pet was rezzing me.

on a side note: I think killing a pet, mesmer’s image/clones, necromancer’s ads, thief’s ads should resort in a rally…

i play a lot of spvp, wvwvw, and dungeon run.

in spvp (in a full game) i’m usually one the top 3 players on my team. It’s not just about killing but CP. i stay away from zergs and have about 3k in armor with 22k hp. i’ve been playing around using a shortbow:crit+toughnes+condition build. i’ve actually flatly exchanged sword 1 with a glass cannon thief (who blew his initiative) with a sword+warhorn and pretty much won at half health (basically a garbage thief though).

you can also get top kills easily as a sb ranger (when they are down just tag em and continue with the next person).

a ranger is under-powered but they aren’t unplayable. make due with what you have and try and play it as best as possible. i don’t want to roll an alt because i feel like i haven’t truly mastered being a ranger.

the important part here is that your optimizing your dps without much thought into survivability. your healing ability (while good in a group) means you have to stay in a general area to get it’s full benefits. you might get the benefit of the combo field, but if your focused on dodging you’re not attack while it’s up.

as it stands right now, Ranger has some of the lowest straight up dps in the game.

what are you using for pet’s ? (while not really good, they do sometimes hit, and their utility skills can range from finding items, healing, and dps).

also, ask yourself what you want to do in WvWvW. are you the guy behind the wall? are you a back-liner? are you a roamer taking out stragglers and such.

also, are you using the LB or the SB as your main dps? LB is great for it’s cooldowns but SB (even with the “animation fix”) still out classes it in DPS (based off use and mobility, i find myself getting angry at LB animation times so i don’t use it unless i have to)

so fix’s:

1) use troll ungent, it’s better in the long run, provides higher healing capability and higher survivability

2) travel in packs. a glass cannon isn’t meant to travel by themselves.

3) live with it, and wait for a ranger fix.

that being said, my wvwvw npc kills are probably only 15 seconds longer at most (mainly because i can’t stack bleedss).

I think that ranger is bad because:

• lack of direction/class dynamic other then pets. many of the melee weapons are focused on mobility and moderate damage, but many melee players will get mowed down very quickly by other melee classes. our supposed “ranged superiority” is non-existant as a i can get mowed down pretty fas due to a mesmer’s “ranged” greatsword.

• it seems to me that the devs put on balance and ranger skills didn’t know what to really do with the ranger, it’s all over the place. we can’t be a bunker like a guardian, we can’t just kills a guy in 2 seconds like the thief, nor can we be that effective for support like the warrior (who is also pretty tanky and pretty good with their dps)

I think that ranger is good because:

• i find the profession fun, it’s pretty frustrating though now that the weapon i built my entire build on since the beginning of the game is 20% less effective then it used to be. this isn’t a bad thing though as it forces more dynamic play.

• i designed my character as a lone-wolf travelling around, raiding camps and planning ambushes with my trusty fernhound companion. and it fits. i like the concept.

• i don’t mind the pet dynamic, i like it actually. it allows me to be very adaptive. the unfortunate thing is pet’s are easy to kite and easily 1/3-1/2 our dps is gone. the dps we that allowed us to be on par with everyone else isn’t hitting so what should we do?

Or: I think that people should stop complaining because:

• rangers feel like they were backed into a corner to the usage of SB+quickness. i’ll probably run sb/sw+wh for a while even if it’s not the most effective ranger tool set, because i just got used to playing how i play. i think rangers do have a right to complain.

Other notes:

• nerfing effectiveness (case-study: shortbow) doesn’t make more builds suddenly better, it makes that build just as crappy as the others. increasing the effectiveness of the other weapons/fixing the current problems brings out more competitive builds. a class should have a direct 50% win rate against all other classes and all other builds.
  i don’t mind a short bow nerf. because numbers wise: if our pets did hit we would actually be pretty good.

…i’ve turned off sword auto-attack. i find it’s use is best for getting away then actually damaging. i also like it for indiscriminate attacking while something is hidden.

in a 1v1 fight, i’m traited to have sword be a dodging/counter/parry weapon, horn be the dps/buff, and then switch back to shortbow for dps.

a pure melee warrior is pretty easy to kite and i have access to traps and multiple slow skills. my pet is 30% faster and are for removing conditions (bear), being an annoyance and healing (fern hound).

i’m wondering if chain:2 for sword attack should also provide an evade as well.

that could potentially make sword-axe the ranger-tank and provide more survivability. this goes along with the apparent mobility-focus of the ranger.

nope…chuck testa

ranger isn’t unplayable learn to live with it, maybe alter your build. the problem has been voiced.

Fort Aspen: usually on anytime between 8pm-2am GMT-7

I’m used to being a roamer, i also didn’t join a guild till i was lvl 80 doing solo runs from lvl 40-50, lvl 60-65, and lvl 75-80.

i like to go into areas where we are absolutely losing, and just raid the back. i’ve focused on surviving, and running away when it’s not a 1v1 or a favourable 2v1.

given enough distractions, i can solo raid a supply camp then be on my way. the ranger will do extremely well against mobs because of it’s ability to simultaneously tank and spank almost all pve enemies. that means you can disrupt supply lines and lower down the points as a roamer.

I also gank people doing the centaur and skritt quests because they tend to split up to increase the speed of the killing rate. throw down a warhorn buff, enter with eagles and mow them down. after that get out asap and repeat against the next foe.

i always check my map and do a 360 check of enemies holding cntrl so that i can plan where i ambush where i hit and what path i take. stay ahead or behind the zergs and take out stragglers. there have been plenty of times where i manage to cripple a small party or delay a few running foes enough that the zerg just wipes them. travel a bit with them and plan your next move.

…the swiftness-nerf is probably the only thing that i don’t like about this patch. the attack speed is actually not that bad but i rely heavily on my crit-rage-rune shortbow for dps.

most silvari-based armor has a color base that matches your character’s skin. it’s supposed to represent that the armor is growing out of your character.

that being said…it’s a pain in the kitten to colour because of that.

There are very few classes which can solo a supply camp, a simply tank and spank using a bear and shortbow and i can clear out a supply camp in 8-12 minutes.

i’ve been running a sword+warhorn/shortbow build since the begining of the game and i wouldn’t give up the massive amount of slows and mobility this build offers. the drop in shortbow dps has definitely affect my 1v1 ability, but it’s like saying it takes 1 minute to kill a thief instead of 50 seconds. unfortunately i’m running away 60% of the time so that i can continue to roam in the back.

also a general warrior will blow their load asap, a shortbow 3, `, sword 3, sword 2 (first tap), trap, dodge-roll. will essentially mitigate almost 80% if not all that damage, and give you the distance required to throw down a healing. a thief will either be killed completely one sided by you or take you out in 1-2sec (they do that to almost any other class so it’s not like it’s unexpected).

…i for one would revel in the tears or laughter coming from my enemies as they paint grass while they slowly go to sleep…

the armor set i’m trying to build up is

silvary -Male

C2 – hand
C2- Leg
C3 – shoulders
Nightmare helm
Nightmare – boots
nightmare – arms
Nightmare – chest.

using, precision, power, and toughness sets.

> Do you have some similar ideas when you have fight in Tyria?

not really.

> Fighting against ogre i notice that their hunter someone have 2 pets with him.
This made me to think to a possible new elite skill that for some seconds give you the possibility to use 2 pets at the same time.

tbh, even if this is a passive i probably wouldn’t use it. in pvp ranger pets need to stop before attacking. dropping a skill (or a usable trait) for a pet that may not hit is pretty risky. In PvE though, it would be really nice.

I use the sword as a completely defensive hand weapon for just the fact that it makes me one of the most mobile classes, and puts a distance between me and my enemy, and if used properly you will dodge more than a greatsword block.

Shortbow/Sword+Warhorn Ranger

Pets: Fern Hound, Bear
Healing: Troll Unguent
Skills: Spike Trap, Signet of Stone, Signet of the Hunt
Elite: Rampage As One
20/20/25/5

-=-=-=-

• What i generally do in WvWvW is actually not even join in major skirmishes, and basically run down people who are running to the front. usually i try to avoid more than 1v1 engagements, and basically kill every dolyk and take out the veteran outposts. Also Kill people trying to do the “kill the mob + leader” quests.

i try to play axe + shortbow but compared to how i usually feel i’m not that mobile.

If i switch spike trap for Lightning Reflexes i can pretty much chain a 6 dodge chain where i end off on my short bow.

But lately i’ve been using spike trap with the two evasion skills offered by using a sword to basically mitigate the theif burst (on activation hit 3, hit 2 once, ~, shortbow 3, shortbow 5, short bow 4, heal, fern hound healing).

I don’t run QZ because i tend to crit enough that i can at least activate the rage rune on my bow, atleast 1 in a battle.

i’ve been running a high toughness-condition build focusing on surviving instead of dps.

i switch between shortbow and sword/warhorn. i usually have a fern hound, healing salve, and traps (last utilities are for signets, speed and toughness)

if you know how to use it properly you can dodge 5 seconds worth of dps and get away clean with maybe 1-3 hits on you.

my guild mate plays warrior, does a run at you combo (Which stuns) and pulls out greatsword for hundred blades (usually kills what ever target he attempts to hit). i can essentially dodge the entirety of that combo then lay a spike trap (to slow him down). switch to bow stun, then slow and keep circling him. if he catches up to me again i simply pull out my sword again, hawk him, dodge and repeat.

i tend to just pull a healing spirit (what ever it’s called). after the initial load, i clinch a revive and basically run circles around them with my short bow while healing (i use fern hound so added 1.5k hp of regen, along with my healing). usually once the initial strike is over and (if i survive) i simply just fight them until they decide to run away or kill them off (if they tend to stay).

a rangers sword (dodges) helps quite a bit, and laying down spike traps while getting chased works as well.

…though i just find thieves to be a hard counter to rangers (Should they get the jump on you). and almost every other class is pretty simple to fight against.