The only other modification I made from the default setup was to bind ‘x’ to look behind. I find this very useful, particularly when soloing a camp in wvwvw when I want to watch for someone sneaking up behind me.
I did this too. Comes in handy for me with using the Ranger 1h sword for mobility.
I’m thinking about making my A D straif keys & then Q E R T can be 6 7 8 9.
Hmmm…..how to solve the F1-4 problem. I think ALT+1-4. Anyone use this effectively?
I’ve got to do something with my keybinds. I play with the default setup (always have with MMOs) but it’s just not working. With Ranger as my main I’m using the F1-4 keys way too often to not remap them to something more convenient.
Another thing is that I usually use mouse-turning. However, I revert to being a skill-clicker for those hard to reach keys, so when I’m doing that I have to keyboard turn. It’s clunky & clumsy and I gotta stop.
Any suggestions for how to lay out a Ranger’s F1-4 actions or a gaming mouse that’s not too ridiculous? I don’t want a mouse with 20 buttons on it, then I’ll just be thumb dancing while maneuvering my character.
I’m expecting a small pet buff (maybe pathing or F2 responsiveness). Nothing earth-shattering but helpful. Maybe a bump to our sigents or shouts, since JP said they’re sad. It seems like we get a morsel with each update. Something helpful but super-tiny just so that they can say they attended to some of our needs but ran out of time to fully implement all of their big plans. Again.
Thieves are great. Good for PvE but with slow start. Fantastic for PvP.
Mesmers are tougher to level in PvE with a long ramp up, but good @ 80. Less of an issue for you if leveling with a friend. They’re tops in PvP. More complex combat style.
Necros are one of the classes that get no love right now. Minions are so-so, but other builds are more viable. Good mobility and condition control.
about pet f1 first of all not all f1 skills are attacks and sometimes using it first will waste the skill and no if u try u will see despite that some of them ignore the pet anyway.
there are mobs that attack person with highest dps i gave exp in my first post u can try if u want.
F1 is the button that sends your pet to attack, not use its unique skill. Something you really should be familiar with by now. Anyway, send your pet to attack with F1 (not F2) and let it hit once or twice before opening up with your attacks. This will help to keep your target on your pet, not you.
I love the Porcine pets. They’re hearty for tanking, have a KD, and their Foraged items are amazing. I only wish their F2 mechanics were a bit less clunky. I tend to use them only when fighting melee because they item will appear right next to me. Tip: If using a LB, use their F2 ability before entering combat. Then the items will be at your feet and at range.
I also don’t like that an enemy player in PvP or WvW can pick up & use the item. If their Foraged item acted more like a thief’s Steal (the ability replacing the F2 button) that would be ideal. However, that would make it so that allies can’t use it, only the Ranger.
I can see Porcine pets being valuable in dungeons, digging up heals & boons for melee party members to use when needed.
Ranger. Versatile, travel light, jack of all trades, can heal people and cure diseases, one with nature. Plus with animal companions and spirits you’re never lonely, no matter where you are.
Unless real life goes all apocalyptic & Road Warriory…then Engineer for sure.
I have a friend who doesn’t play GW2 because she loves being a dedicated healer (was in GW & WoW). She hated the idea of a healer Pally a la WoW (despite Guardians totally not being like that).
I’ll have to let her know that Eles can be quite effective as healers, despite no profession being able to be true 100% healers. Also, the necro design that Brannidus mentioned was something I had played with a bit. Seems that party healing is generally done as an aoe skill, combo, or boon spreading.
I’ve heard of plenty of people doing it. Can’t imagine it’s a bannable exploit. You’re not really exploiting anything anyway. No monetary gain or griefing or the like.
Ah, there-in lies your problem. GS & S/D really shine in PvP imo. GS is key for mobility and bunker defense, S/D are great for control & mobility.
For PvE & dungeons, you’ll be better of with Horn or Torch offhand, depending on if you’re power or condition focused. GS is ok for PvE, but for dungeons you’re better off with 1hSword for any melee. I’d recommend sticking to your bows or axe.
ALL builds, support builds are an integral part of group play, who contributed equally should have an equal chance to get good loot, not just those with high burst damage and high DPS. There is much more to fight than just causing damage. A lot of content cannot be done or becomes much more difficult without some sort of group support and that should be rewarded equally. Currently, it is not.
It’s off topic, but I want to say that I agree with this. Support is a big part of GW2, and it’s not rewarded the same as direct damage. If I play my Guardian, heal and protect my team, spread might, pull conditions, and still deal damage (but less than my warrior ally) I don’t get the same credit. Even if it was my support that let the rest of my team muscle through an event.
It’s probably more just the way condition damage is meant to be unique from direct damage. It can’t crit, but in return it ignores armor. A whole stack of bleeds can be removed instantly with a cure, but in return a player can be tagged with a condition and still take damage even if they leave LoS or get out of range of the attacking player.
I’d have to say this. Condition damage is different from direct damage in many ways (both good & bad) for a reason. Can’t crit, but ignores armor. Easy to remove (if you brough the right skills) but persists beyond LoS & through invulnerability. If you could stack crit & condition, nobody would every play power builds. It’d just be too OP. Plus, ‘on crit’ effects would need to be reworked because they’d in essence just be ‘happens all the time on internal CD.’
What about the use of sharpening stone, and the trait that gives crits a chance to apply a bleed? I wonder if the two of those would make it worth switching to LB at all. Lots to try, I appreciate the input everyone has given.
Just remember that if you trait for bleeds on crit then you need to make sure you have enough precision for it to be worth it. And if you’re using that + Sharpening Stone you’ve got to have your condition damage stacked too. Now you’ve got 2 utility slots left and your gear doesn’t have any toughness on it….Think about survivability as well as control. As others have said, using LB/Axe+torch means you have to keep things away from you. If you get hit, you need to make sure you won’t go down in 2 seconds. Gonna have to trait for toughness and vigor.
Agreed. If you’re talking PvE and you’re running conditions use a torch. If you’re making a power build (which wouldn’t really utilize a SB) then horn is best.
Dagger is more useful in PvP. Incredibly useful in fact, especially when paired with 1h sword.
Actually, sharks kill faster than every other pet underwater if you have rending attacks and the + condi damage trait, they are a very condition oriented pet, another thing I found is that sharks (and drakes) hit players A LOT better than the other pets do due to all their movement, where a totally stationary mob, like the golems, freaks out their AI and makes them perform at a lower lv.
I’ve never tested the dps of my pets, but just playing I’ve always felt that shark burns enemies down faster than any other aquatic pet. Squishier for sure, but a bleeding Shark frenzy is awesome.
you dont need to be someone elses class to enjoy the game, if you really want to be a ranger despite its class lacking abilities, i suggest you go with it.
(i personally love rangers even if the world tells me otherwise)
**tip to be happy, acknowledge what others will/might say, but dont let it rule your life
^Agreed. Despite the known issues with Rangers, Necros, & Engies people still play them because they’re fun. And at the end of the day this is a game, the sole purpose of which is to have fun. I play 3 classes right now (Ranger, Guardian, Necro)…2/3 of which are on the they-suck-don’t-play-em list but ya know what? I enjoy them, especially Ranger. Ranger, more than any other profession I’ve tried yet, is adaptable to kitten near every situation. Melee, range, support, bunker, speed, control….have a ball.
You can tailor your build/playstyle around how important you want your pets to be. Personally, I’ve been leveling with whichever pet suits my current mood with no problems. Call em back or switch their target if you want them to focus on your target or keep another busy. Or just ignore them and let em attack whatever they feel like.
You can trait BM for extra emphasis on your pet’s damage and survivability and role, or trait into other things and just let it act as a passive dot on your targets.
They have such cool & varied functionality that I think you’ll start to enjoy them more & more as you play your Ranger and your management of pets will become just 2nd nature. Remember, every profession has F-key mechanics that define the class. This is Rangers. You can treat them like Guardian virtues, left on passive (to their own devices) or trait into em and use em on CD (pet skills, traits, management).
“Dynamic leveling.” Bah. You don’t Dynamically up-level me when I run into monsters, seemingly at random, that are well above my level.
But the game does dynamically up-level you so you can play PvP & WvW against other high level players. Are you saying those 80’s you’re fighting inWvW should hate that you got up-leveled just to play against them?
How rewarding is it to beat up on creatures 40 levels below you? I mean, there’s no challenge, there’s no loot, there’s no excitement. With down-leveling you can still be challenged playing thru an area you missed while leveling. And you can get loot that’s appropriate for your true level.
One of the things I used to love about Guild Wars, was that: Once I acquired my awesome AOE skills I could cluster enemies and then make it rain. I felt all powerful. It was freaking awesome and it was well deserved, I earned the right to feel awesome.
Except in GW you had to bring a party full of henchmen to stay alive. You weren’t all-powerful. You had half a dozen allies with you.
I don’t know how many times this has happened:
I’ll be five or more levels above a small horde of monsters (3 or 5) that I’ve gathered up and then start my string of devastating attacks only to be utterly destroyed within seconds, it’s at this point when I realize that I’ve been NERFED. Me THE PLAYER has been Nerfed.
Can you do this at 80 against 80’s? Cuz if so you should be able to steamroll thru downleveled content. Level 30’s in a lvl 30 zone don’t have access to all the traits you’ve got & have maybe 1 elite to choose from. Plus you should be experienced with your class by 80 to know how to defeat lvl 30 foes that don’t have nearly the range of abilities lvl 80 mobs do.
Weeknghts:
come home from work
grab an alt and goof around for 30 mins till my wife comes home
dinner, wife, etc
tuck her in, play GW2 till 1am
Weekends (if no plans):
sleep in
GW2
play with wife
GW2
play with wife
GW2
play with wife
GW2 till 2am
how I play:
altoholic so I have 3 main characters between 40-60 that I’ve been playing (plus a few more alts <20). Explore, hearts, DEs, craft, storyline. I’ve finally decided which of my 3 toons will be my true main so when my computer’s fixed it’s off to the races to 80 with my Ranger.
All the pet classes are perceived as weaker, so the problem must be in the pet AI, It needs to be buffed.
Pet classes (Ranger, Necro, Engi) are hampered by a reliance on an ally without the ability to dodge/avoid damage, have less health than ourselves, are unresponsive to commands, and when killed have a long CD before they can be brought back up, thus severly hindering damage output. If you place 40% of a Ranger’s damage into the teeth of its pet, and then make it so easy for a pet to die, you’ve severely cut the Ranger’s ability to deal consistent damage. Same goes for turrets and minions. Not to mention sub-optimal AI and pathing.
Use food/potions for XP boosts.
Hearts (quests) shouldn’t take long. They’re nearby & you don’t have to turn them in.
Storyline quests give great XP.
Crafting can be expensive for a new player. But it also gives decent XP.
Gather. Make sure you have all 3 gathering tools and gather everything you see. It’s easy XP & a source of potential money (sell) or XP (craft).
Get bored of questing? Explore. I hunted tameable pets with my Ranger at a fairly low level and got fantastic XP just for exploring and hitting the POIs or vistas I passed nearby.
As others have said, try different builds or tactics. As straight damage dealers, warriors are one of the best. But Rangers can be made to be extrememly tough to kill. We can trait to have just about perma-regen & perma-vigor, meaning we can dodge endlessly. And if traited, our pets will have tons of protection from so much dodging. That’s just a quck example of Ranger survivability. That doesn’t even take into account skills.
Also, as Oldgrimm (great name) mentioned, try being support. Healing Spring, Fern Hound howl, Warhorn #5, Entangle…these are some great tools to help your party in WvW.
Rangers are completely viable at range & melee. Try em both.
The art for Mesmer looks amazing, it seems like more a support prof though? Will definitely speak to you in-game later Killyox
Mesmer is definitely not a support class. It’s not straight-forward like warrior (hack, slash, shoot) but it can deal some pretty fantastic damage. It has probably the best Elite in the game (party-wide buff) and can be a beast in PvP. Tougher to master than most classes, don’t underestimate Mesmer.
If it’s between Guardian & Mesmer, I’ve heard that Mesmers are diesel in PvP but just good in dungeons. Guardians on the other hand are fantastic in dungeons. Great survivability, fantastic group support, good damage. kitten near all melee though with Guardians so if ranged combat is your thing go Mesmer.
Try em both in the Mists and see which seems more enjoyable to you though.
I’m going to agree with those above me, saying the Mesmer or Necro might be good fits for you.
Also, I want to add that GW2 isn’t like most MMORPGs. Racing to 80 so you can get to end-game content & the gear grind is not what this game is about. It’s about the storyline, new builds, exploring. Dungeons and PvP and WvW are accessible very early in the game, allowing you to enjoy most of what GW2 has to offer while you level instead of after you’ve hit 80. This means that if you take your time, enjoy your character, maybe an alt or 2, explore a bit, try some PvP, and are still level 53, you haven’t lost anything. You’re maximizing your experience.
Well, the Thief should definitely fulfill your desire for a rogue-type class.
As for an affliction lock, sorry nothing like that in GW2. But the Necro profession does deal & manage conditions better than any other in the game. And GW2’s Ele is quite diverse and may offer some fun mage-style play for you. Also, check out the Mesmer. It’s very different than it was in GW1 and is a caster with some pretty unique abilities.
thank you all for the awesome answers.. I guess my next question would be.. What are some incentives to keep playing at 80?
I’d answer this but Link & DA already have quite nicely. This game is about fun, and enjoying the game from level 1 to 80. The auto-scaling to 80 for PvP means you can enjoy that from day 1, the auto-scaling down to lower zones means you can enjoy the quests and stories there even after you’re 80.
Gear level isn’t as important as gear composition. Smart builds revolve around chosen traits, skills, & which stats are on your gear. There are no min/max builds that every warrior must take or rotation that a ranger has to follow. It’s about finding the playstyles you enjoy and can make successful. Experiment. And instead of grinding endlessly for a piece of gear that has 4 more power, explore have fun & maybe you’ll find a really cool looking hat.
Can’t see why it wouldn’t work. But unfortunately Axe offhand has 1 really good skill, and 1 awful one. At range (which is what mainhand Axe forces you to fight in) the #5 is useful only defensively. I prefer Axe offhand better in melee (1h sword) because I can utilize both #5’s functions. Still, #4 is a wasted skill and while #5 looks cool & is highly functional, there are better options.
Mainhand axe works better with Warhorn or Torch. At range, they’re just such better weapons.
This can be easily resolved by adding players ranking, so mostly only players with same rank will battle.
Player rankings are based on win/loss ratios and the rankings of those battled. But those wins/losses could be due to a gear gap or skill. GW2’s PvP model ensures that wins/losses are all based on skill. Imo, that’s a better model. I’d rather lose to a superior opponent, not someone who sucks but has gear 2 tiers higher than me and practically wins by default.
Land: Fern Hound keeps me alive. Jungle Stalker has good dps and love his F2. Porcines…yea they’re clunky but fun & hearty. Water: Shark..he’s so bitey.
I like the female animation with GS. It’s more realistic but doesn’t hinder the ability to use it in battle. That’d be a real mess…all GS attacks with female toons take 2x as long to swing, due to swords being stupid heavy lol.
As an aside, female Norn used to have the same animation for holding GS. Anet changed it to something a little more befitting a giant Norn, still not wielding it like a male, but not dragging it either. More parallel to the ground now.
Do Not Touch My Sword. Its root is a double-edged sword, but can be overcome. The root sticks you to a mobile enemy, making it hard for them to escape. #1 chain has a built in dodge, mini-leap, and cripple. #2 & #3 are both evasion skills that also deal damage. Better than a dodge and doesn’t use up endurance. OR turn off autoattack and you don’t even have the root issue anymore.
Your specific build couldn’t drop a trap ranger’s specific build. So it must be OP. Don’t know what profession you are but I’ll guarantee that you have access to a build that can take down the trap ranger that killed you. Every build has a counter. Ranged damage will keep you out of his traps and if you bring any decent condition removal you’ll be fine. Adapt. Stop whining.
They do have a common theme though. So you know that if survivability is your main issue, use Pig. If you’re heavy on conditions, use Siamoth. Boar control is good for PvP. Warthog’s blind/stealth is awesome for 1v1.
Why do you want fishing? Adding fishing & casino games does not get people playing GW2….it gets people fishing & playing casino games. Those are different. Not to mention that it’s not Anet’s intention to make a game just like every other MMORPG. I’m sure you can find a ton of free apps for your phone/iPad to fish & play poker.
AOE reduction or immunity is just a bad solution it will cause more problems and a big inbalance. There needs to be a better solution. The disortion idea is just a bad with all the ways to gain vigor. You could turn that 1.5 seconds of let call it what it is “Invulnerability” into 7.5 seconds of pet god mode every 15 seconds.Then you could always throw signet of stone on top of it. Then put that on a guard jaguar.
I want rangers to improve but not like this.
Ok, I definitely did not think that idea through. Good call on no distortion.
What about making the Call Back skill more responsive (interupts pets current action)? And then add an F5/utility to make your pet instantly shadowstep to you with a cooldown comensurate with such an awesome ability.
I just want a way for my pet to be just as present in dungeons and WvW as he is in PvE open world. Get used to the mechanics of your pet while leveling, accept that he’s a big chunk of your damage (revel in it even), and then watch him spend most of his time dead in a dungeon.
Give the Porcine pets a try when fighting in melee range. Their foraged items are amazing if you can deal with the clunky mechanic. Since you & your pet will be fighting side by side (and porcine are pretty hearty) their F2 item will pop up next to you, easy to pick up. Study the items each Porcine forages, and use them according to your build. Can also really benefit teammates in dungeons, so long as they know what Foraged items are/do.
Pig – heals, invulnerability
Siamoth – conditions, ethereal field
Warthog – blind, stealth, boons
Boar – control, ethereal field
Warning: I don’t PvP, but I’ve heard that an enemy player can pick up Foraged items (who came up with that idea??). Use wisely if in PvP.
Swap pets and a new one spawns next too you, the only thing thats bugged about pet is F2 u hit it and nothing happens and skill becomes in a cooldown for like 10sec which is REDICLOUS in sPvP
That’s a work-around. If my pet swap is on CD I shouldn’t have to just live with my pet eating a spike. Especially since a lot of Rangers use pet swap almost on cooldown to keep up Quickness trait.
I do agree that F2 responsiveness needs to be addressed. F2 should interupt the pet’s current action and immediately cast.
It does seem that the general theme of weapon skills is #1 is for damage, #2-#5 are for control, aoe, conditions, combos, effects, etc. This isn’t a bad theme if all combat forces us to use these mechanics (like PvP). But often times when solo PvE combat doesn’t require these effects. Might need a single dodge against an ettin, or a cripple against a fleeing, nearly-dead stag. But a lot of times you can just auto-attack and make it through.
Having said that, there are still plenty of PvE combat scenarios that require an assortment of mechanics. But, the fact still remains that (generally speaking) #1 for sustained damage, #2-5 for effects.
To warrant such long cooldowns on spirits in a game that emphasizes mobility as much as GW2 does, spirits need to move with us as a baseline function. Either that or reduce their CD. I understand that they are powerful, aoe, party-wide buffs. And that would be impressive if I could actually use them more than every few minutes. As it is, their CD doesn’t restart until they die. If I’m running PvE and they aren’t killed before my battle is over I’m forced to move on and wait for them to die before their CD starts. Sun Spirit lasts a minute. Wait for it to die, another minute for the CD, and I’m without its effects for way too long. The flip-side of that is in WvW or dungeons when they die in 3 seconds, nobody benefits from them, and you’re stuck waiting a full minute for what you hope will last longer the next time you drop it.
TL;DR – spirits need more HP (or aoe damage reduction) and to be mobile.
It took forever for me to get this achievement too. Made me realize though that you don’t have to repair your damaged gear constantly. Takes quite a few deaths to truly break gear. All I have left is the ‘mailbox full’ hint so I’ll have to get some guildies to spam me mail. Cheers & gratz!
So you don’t like the ’it’s optional, dont do it’ statement eh?
The problem lies in that you ‘do’ want to do it… you just want it to be easier and or more catered to ‘you’. Cry babies cry.
Read it again. Never said I didn’t like the argument. I said it’s an invalid argument. ’It’s optional" refers to every aspect of GW2. Never said I wanted it to be easier. Said that World Completion (a PvE achievement) should logically be limited to PvE play. Pull up the world map, and you see the world. Except apparently the WvW maps (which don’t appear on the world map) are a part of the world, required for 100% completion. But they’re not there. And, unlike the non-WvW maps, to complete them you have to rely on the efforts of others (PvP), not yourself.
It’s not an “I want it, make it easy for me” argument. It’s a “this doesn’t make any kitten sense” argument.
So the idea is to CC as a group until the boss has 0 stacks of Defiant. Wait for that uber skill he uses, & interrupt him. Defiant restacks and repeat?
While WvW may technically still have aspects of PvE, being able to reach POIs and vistas is completely reliant on the PvP aspect of the game. If one realm controls a POI, you’re unable to reach it unless it’s recaptured. Which can potentially require fighting through an enemy PvP zerg.
“World Completion is optional” is a terrible argument. Everything in the game is optional. You don’t have to do hearts, or unlock skill points, or earn karma, or even gold. But you want to. And it makes the game more enriching to be able to do so.
I think the WvW points are cool, and a nice incentive for those that WvW. But they should not count toward World Completion. The PvP battleground maps don’t count, why should the WvW maps? They aren’t technically part of the explorable world imo.
