Guild Wars 2

Xavi.6591:

Is this build still an improvement over the first version of the WvW Melee BM Ranger build?

If you can survive, yes.

Ezrael.6859:

Because an attack with 1.25s of evasion that makes you travel 250 range automatically in the direction of your target and apply 10s of Poison on a 10s cool down for 100% possible uptime with no traits or sigils required is good game design.

Goes well with the 0.5s evade and 450 reverse dodge roll + 600 Leap on a 6.5s cool down on Sword, spammable with no target for easy disengage and mobility, why play with risk involved?
Especially when you also have a 0.75s evade on #3 every 12s. Just in case you might actually be in danger of taking damage while fighting.
It’s not like you have the ability to spam the normal dodge roll as well with 50% endurance gain rate for just 5 trait points.

Haha that sweet rage, kitten .

I wish rangers had more cool animations like Swoop, Serpent Strike, Maul ect.

Xsorus.2507:

Yea, never knew it did damage..that’s good info.

But yea, that’s a Clerics Build Sigil right there.

Anyway as for original topic, I’ve tried Axe/Dagger and Sword/Torch, but It feels weird to me..its probably the fact I’ve been playing S/D A/T for 6 or 7 months now that keeps me from really trying it…

Yah i almost went Hydromancy for my build but ended up with Battle.

I find A/D S/T better due to having evades on both weapon sets so you can dodge if you get imob.

JJBigs.8456:

sooo ive hit 56k and 52k in CoE.

only a fool puts 10 in vitality, thats asking to be kicked in CoF if known.

strife even says thats for BALANCED WAY BUILDS ^. with guardians/mes etc, not 4 war/1 mes cof runs.

why are people so bad/blind

Puandro.3245:

30-25-0-0-15 if you have 3 buffs or less. 20-25-0-10-15 if you have 4+ buffs.

Fave part was you getting away from the Guard with the legendary who led you to the zerg.

Tag for tonight.

30-25-0-0-15 if you have 3 buffs or less. 20-25-0-10-15 if you have 4+ buffs.

Forgetting the #5 on dagger bleed/cripple.

Miiro.3124:

Faux Sheaux.6179:

I went to a Chinese buffet last week and wanted to grab some lo mein. I accidentally dropped the tongs on the ground and dodged back so they wouldn’t hit my bare foot (wearing sandals). I feel someone’s hand on my shoulder and it’s this really cheery looking old man. Think of the happiest old guy you’ve ever seen, and this guy looked happier. All he said was “take it easy” in a really deep, soothing voice.

I read the title of this thread and that’s all I can hear. I try to read through the responses, but all I’m getting is this really cheery old guy telling me to “take it easy” over and over again. Some of the people in this game need a life changing moment like dropping lo mein tongs.

i like this

Where is my dinner you hoe. Better be done by the time im home.

Miiro.3124:

Wait until we are nerfed to start raging. Even with a nerf we can still do fine.

kitten noob you probably use a bear and LB in zergs.

Tag for tonight so i can watch you use LB, ill have a bottle of bleach ready.

Thank god they are nerfing pets!

Post this in the bug section not here. It will get better attention.

Terkov.4138:

jcbroe.4329:

Melpomene.2367:

Zenith.7301:

This guy has no idea 5-7k damage from a 5 second channel is pretty terrible.

Really? All the hours I’ve played ranger? That channel, plus your pet, plus the super low cool downs on sword, dagger, GS. Come on dude. Anet themselves said rangers are about sustained dps. We are NOT warriors or thieves. I think it’s a good thing they are reducing some of their dps. BM bunker is way too strong, I’ve put many hours into that build.

Rapid Fire is terrible because Crossfire (the auto attack on the shortbow) does the same damage until somewhere in the 3000 attack range (and the different is maybe 40-70 damage), and even then, the shortbow is like using Rapid Fire all the time with no cooldown, so it maintains a higher DPS.

So, if that’s the longbows burst, then the shortbow is simply bursting all the time, with utility options on top of that. So yeah, rapid fire could definitely use an increase in damage, and I made that comparison within the ranger class alone.

Rapid Fire has some advantages: tracking stealthed players and triggering confusion only once.
Idk wtf is wrong with ppl… if LB did more dmg than SB, then why would ppl use SB? LB deals more dmg on 1000+ and can use Rapid Fire if is forced to close distance for short time. Crying it’s weaker than SB in close combat doesn’t make sense.
Yes, it needs fixes to “obstructed” and arrows need to fly faster. Barrage on move would be nice too. Increasing dmg so it is as strong as SB on <1000 would simply make SB useless.

LB at max range does less damage than SB at any range before the bleed in the auto attack even takes into effect.

XII.9401:

Puandro.3245:

AlBundy.7851:

I don’t think Sanny uses HB or staggering blow much in his fights(cause they root him and a immobile warrior is a dead warrior)so that extra second isn’t much of a game changer. He wants as much damage as he can get to go towards his burst opportunities. At least that’s what I gather from reading what he’s wrote.

Probably because 2 sec stun isnt that long to weapon swap do half of a HB then WW. 3 secs is though.

Meh just use sword. 4 sec immobilize.

Imob is affected by condi reduction food, is also allows full use of abilities so ppl can counter your burst.

You need to take the pet trait that increases pet boon duration for the buffs that the pest cast to last longer.

You are using LB and talking about sustained damage…. not sure if serious. I dont know what you think but i have NP killing 90% of the people i run into in WvW. We are discussing pet damage being nerfed which in fact will hurt sustained and burst for Rangers.

Playing a game for a long time doesnt make you good at the game so dont bring in your hours of playing a ranger as a statement of your knowledge.

Rapid fire is crap, worse than auto attack at max range and LB Auto attack at max range is worse than SB auto attack before the bleeding is taking into account.

If you havent figured it out by now ill let you in on it, LB sucks.

Melpomene.2367:

I really wish people would stop saying Ranger dps sucks. Cause it doesn’t. Play your profession right and you wouldn’t have a dps problem :p

Dps is nothing when you have no reliable way to deliver it against good players. Example, Warriors, Glass Eles, Glass Necros ect.

Zenith.7301:

I could fraps a video where I tested with an engineer friend in our custom arena pet hit rates.

I had pet 30% speed trait. The pet could hit him if he stood still or stopped moving.

If he moved without swiftness, the pet would hit him every so often, but way less.

If he moved with swiftness, the pet would not touch him, period.

We also tested autoattacks with shaman and cleric amulets.

Greatsword damage with shaman amulet hit for about 170 damage per attack. With cleric it went up to 300-occassionally 400 damage per attack.

Our damage IS the pet. Unless you’re geared berserker you will not be competing with the damage your pet is doing, and even with knight gear the damage is pretty close, and the pet’s damage is still spikier.

Thats why people want the pet damage to go down because it is the threat. Why would they QQ about ranger damage when its so low.

Fire is a bit more overall damage then force. I use force on GS because i have Force/battle in Axe/Mace and weapon swap so i dont want to cancel my battle proc.

1) phantasm mesmer will always win but if they make mistakes you can kill them.
2) Use Jaguar but dont blow signet of the hunt since your pet needs the speed.
3) Concentrate on dodging the phantasm and kill them, leave pet on the real player, ignore clones.

Faux Sheaux.6179:

Puandro.3245:

Faux Sheaux.6179:

Puandro.3245:

Settler is superior but i would still run Apoth is i can pick an ascended piece, like rings ect.

Try running settler’s armor and weapons while keeping apothecary trinkets

Im not switching to condi anytime soon.

You say you “would still run apothecary”, so I’m letting you know there’s a better combo out there. What I said isn’t any less valid. Agreeing or disagreeing is fine, but just tossing what I said out because you’re not running condi anytime soon is kind of rude.

Why comment like that if you’re just going to throw away relevant responses? :/

I said if i would run it, i would pick settlers armor and weapons with ascended apoth gear, which is basically what you then replied to me. I still dont plan to run it i was just stating my opinion on the gear.

Faux Sheaux.6179:

Puandro.3245:

Settler is superior but i would still run Apoth is i can pick an ascended piece, like rings ect.

Try running settler’s armor and weapons while keeping apothecary trinkets

Im not switching to condi anytime soon.

hyjaxxx.1584:

Puandro.3245:

How do you get 3K on a mesmer?

I overstated that claim by a smidge, we did more testing lastnight and our mesmer buffed and field prepped had 2800 condi.

I think i took his buffed base and did the Might numbers based on 40/per rather then the correct 35/per….or im just kittened..one of the two 8P

Jaxx.

2,800 is still high.

I still dont know how people think you need 2+ ppl to kill a bunker ranger when i blow them up on my HGH Engi. They are also weak in team fights.

Settler is superior but i would still run Apoth is i can pick an ascended piece, like rings ect.

How do you get 3K on a mesmer?

AlBundy.7851:

Sanny uses his Greatsword like the majority of warriors as a tool to disengage and gap close but mostly to disengage. HB never really gets factored in unless to punish a person stupid enough to try a rez on a downed ally before dealing with the warrior.

3 seconds still isn’t enough since the actual channel is 3.5 the actual damage of HB comes at the end of the channel the last hit is the most damaging. Most people run a break stun ability or have some sort of stability when stunned as well.

I think you are giving too much credit to the common WvW person. Anyways if he doesnt want to use HB during stuns i can see how impact is better. Also the last hit of HB hits the hardest but it also takes twice as long to hit as the other ones.

AlBundy.7851:

I don’t think Sanny uses HB or staggering blow much in his fights(cause they root him and a immobile warrior is a dead warrior)so that extra second isn’t much of a game changer. He wants as much damage as he can get to go towards his burst opportunities. At least that’s what I gather from reading what he’s wrote.

Probably because 2 sec stun isnt that long to weapon swap do half of a HB then WW. 3 secs is though.

SB is a good power weapon. Its generally not good for PvE because sword does more dps, even GS does more but if you must range SB is good.

Loading.4503:

Puandro.3245:

Sanny.1270:

Cygnus.6903:

What sigil do you use on your hammer?

Nice footage, and like others have said, I’ve learned something.

i use sigil of impact on the hammer.

While sigil of impact is nice i think a paralyzation sigik to boost your hammer stuns another second is better.

i think paralyzation is better for groups, to help keep them locked down for everyon else, but for soloing, the damage is a better choice

I disagree, it affects your #4/5 and F1. Also Bull Rush if you have Hammer equipped and since he has GS he can HB for an extra second before using WW.

Sanny.1270:

Cygnus.6903:

What sigil do you use on your hammer?

Nice footage, and like others have said, I’ve learned something.

i use sigil of impact on the hammer.

While sigil of impact is nice i think a paralyzation sigik to boost your hammer stuns another second is better.

Gonna have to run some numbers to see once im home. I think toughness will end up winning.

Stay away from LB, SB is a good weapon. Condi SB builds are good for PvP but for PvE power builds are always superior.

NargofWoV.4267:

Puandro.3245:

Rangers get a lot of crap because a bad ranger brings almost nothing to a group while a bad war/mesmer/guard still brings some utility. Example today i was running CoF P1/P2 and i made the group. We get a ranger and he using a Longbow and a Bear pet. Sure i could kick him but i let it go.

If you want to be useful for dungeons you need a sword and a warhorn so you can melee, then use a River Drake or a Jaguar pet. Your 2nd weapon will be a Sword and Axe for Reflect. You carry a SB for the few fights you cant melee. You also go full berserker or if you cant dodge very will due to lack of skill or knowledge of the dungeon you mix the berserker with some Knight Gear. You wont match warrior DPS but you will be useful.

And there in lies the problem with the class… When you have to spec one way to do something as mundane as PvE dungeons, while other classes can roll multiple ways and be useful…. Sad.

Nope, what i posted is the most effecient way to play a ranger and i could post one for every class. Nothing is stopping you from playing how you want though.

Play a ranger until you find a build you like then buy the ascended version of it. Atm rangers and many other classes are supposed to get trait changes on the next patch which is in 4 weeks and our pets are getting nerfed so builds might change. You might want to wait until then to buy one.

Sanny.1270:

ArtemisEntreri.4138:

Nil.4320:

@Kaga

What would be an optimized knight/zerker setup? How much thoughness is really needed?

This is a good question. How much toughness/armor is needed if you know how to dodge correctly and counter attacks? I think that’s why Sanny went full Zerker. The kill them before they kill you strategy.

Other then the kill it before it kills you strat and i like to burst people in mmo’s i play. im of the opinion of the warrior is just gimping themselves more when trying to go defensive in gear. without protection the amount of toughness you stack isn’t going to change much other then just lowering your dps.

Its more of lack of ways to heal yourself back up you cant play the attrition playstyle most classes can. DPS is the way to go on a War.

Manekk.6981:

Puandro.3245:

Bredin.5368:

Hi Paundro,
Thanks for the build and analysis. I think your build is one of the most advanced (in the sense of being synergistic among the traits, weapons, etc) that I’ve seen. Your first build was fun, but this second build is far superior.

I’ve played this all day yesterday and it took a bit to get used to, but I am now1vXing really effectively! I note no real difference in effectiveness in 1v1 against a power/prec/tough build I was running, but your build is amazing in 1vX situations!

Here are three questions:
1. What is your tactic when fighting someone who stacks conditions (necro, thief)? Have you tried HS vs. TU and decided TU is notably superior? Or is this something you’d suggested experimenting with?

2. How central is mango pie to the healing effectiveness of the build? I’m thinking of running the -condition duration food, but I know it takes a lot of fights to determine what is best overall (one or to fights against exceptionally bad or skilled opponents can skew impressions).

3. How angry do you get when you accidentally step in deep water and your pet swaps and you lose 25 stacks of Master’s Bond?

1) Well if im fighting 1 condi player its no issue for me. If its a set up “duel” i can always switch to HS or run Lemongrass. Really HGH Engi is the only condi class that you should fear.

2) Its 85 HP a sec, its nice to have but if you need something else then go for it.

3) My reaction when it happens (rarely) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

I still can’t understand how conditions aren’t a problem for you, everytime I play around with my setup and drop empathic bond I run into some condition monster from hell, I have a diffrent setup than you with much lower healing power but it’s only 100h/s below you.

Haha i don’t know man, maybe its luck.

Kilaelya.1420:

I’ve solely played my ranger since launch (tried other classes, though). Rangers are excellent in solo PvE content for farming, leveling, getting achievements/dailies, etc. However, right now more than ever the ranger class is getting a lot of flack for a few different reasons.

- Our pets were just buffed so some people feel they are OP in PvP.
- Rangers can be a difficult class in group play content (dungeons). Our pets can screw up encounters and our longbow is pretty worthless there. You will need to be very aware of any present situation and be prepared to constantly switch out skills/traits/weapons. You will also be babysitting your pet all the time.

So, to answer the OP’s question it’s not a “bad” idea to roll a ranger, just know that right now we’re in a “transitional” state. I highly expect more ranger updates at some point. Shortbow is a good idea. Greatsword or axe/axe would be my suggestion for your other weapon set (although you probably want to bring along both in your bags to swap out). I love my longbow, but it doesn’t have much use in PvE/PvP right now (WvW, however, it can be useful). Aim for DPS stats (critical and power) for the most part. Try to be useful to other members in your group if you do dungeons with either spirits (frost, flame) and with healing spring. Bring along quickening zephyr for DPS if you don’t have it on any skill bars yet.

Also, for your pet consider looking at the moas or drakes. I like the red moa bird for the buff it gives to you and nearby people. They aren’t as hardy, so if you are just soloing/leveling a bear pet will do. However, when you get into dungeon play just know there is a stigma with rangers bringing bear pets into dungeons because they bring little DPS.

Being a “good” ranger right now brings a little challenge, but it’s still possible. I often pug dungeons, fractals, and WvW and have never been kicked or given crap for anything. However, if you are looking for a class free of stigmas or one that’s in a solid place right now you might want to play something else.

Dont use a bear ever. A devourer can tank better than a bear. Also a Drake should be enough to tank anything in open PvE if your cat cant tank it.

Rangers get a lot of crap because a bad ranger brings almost nothing to a group while a bad war/mesmer/guard still brings some utility. Example today i was running CoF P1/P2 and i made the group. We get a ranger and he using a Longbow and a Bear pet. Sure i could kick him but i let it go.

If you want to be useful for dungeons you need a sword and a warhorn so you can melee, then use a River Drake or a Jaguar pet. Your 2nd weapon will be a Sword and Axe for Reflect. You carry a SB for the few fights you cant melee. You also go full berserker or if you cant dodge very will due to lack of skill or knowledge of the dungeon you mix the berserker with some Knight Gear. You wont match warrior DPS but you will be useful.

Furajir.3815:

Think it’s under the youtube descritpion.

Correct.

Varonth.5830:

Lorelei.3918:

“Overall idea: look at bad/unused traits and improve them, or just rework them.”

Does this mean our minors in tactics will finally be changed? (please please please make Tactics the ‘burning tree’ how arms is the ‘bleeding’ tree )

400 toughness while reviving is an okay 5 point minor.
10% faster reviving is awesome for a 15 points trait.
1 stack of might on revive is just lol.

I agree i like the first 15 in tactics.

Charr warrior is the only way to go.

If the ranger pet stops being a damage threat ill stop playing mine most likely. I dont want a warrior, i already have 1.

Bredin.5368:

Hi Paundro,
Thanks for the build and analysis. I think your build is one of the most advanced (in the sense of being synergistic among the traits, weapons, etc) that I’ve seen. Your first build was fun, but this second build is far superior.

I’ve played this all day yesterday and it took a bit to get used to, but I am now1vXing really effectively! I note no real difference in effectiveness in 1v1 against a power/prec/tough build I was running, but your build is amazing in 1vX situations!

Here are three questions:
1. What is your tactic when fighting someone who stacks conditions (necro, thief)? Have you tried HS vs. TU and decided TU is notably superior? Or is this something you’d suggested experimenting with?

2. How central is mango pie to the healing effectiveness of the build? I’m thinking of running the -condition duration food, but I know it takes a lot of fights to determine what is best overall (one or to fights against exceptionally bad or skilled opponents can skew impressions).

3. How angry do you get when you accidentally step in deep water and your pet swaps and you lose 25 stacks of Master’s Bond?

1) Well if im fighting 1 condi player its no issue for me. If its a set up “duel” i can always switch to HS or run Lemongrass. Really HGH Engi is the only condi class that you should fear.

2) Its 85 HP a sec, its nice to have but if you need something else then go for it.

3) My reaction when it happens (rarely) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

Arganthium.5638:

Harrier.9380:

I had Lac.Strike crit for 9k once.

Just saying.

The skill doesn’t have a high enough coefficient to hit that hard, unless you went full glass against another very glassy build, realistically speaking.

Same Coefficient as HS 50%-25%. Thing is it allows you to steal might so if the enemy has high might you can and will hit hard.

2:50, its a game that happens with every class in WvW due to lag hiccups. Basically the engineer got KD by bull rush too far away from your character for the HB, like a rubber band effect. 2:52 you see him stand up at the correct spot he has KD.

11:53, waste of fear me, could had just blocked the CE from the Ele or Dazed him.

Overall ive always liked M+S/GS but i don’t like that it doesnt do that great 1vX and it has weaknesses vs mesmers. I much prefer using the Hammer stuns and having less surviveability but thats just my 2 cents. also not a fan of PVT on a warrior.

Good video though, nice to see other solo people in T1.

wat………..

Ill believe it when i saw it. Their track record with buffs is small boosts but their nerfs arent so overall ranger will be weaker affer the patch.