Guild Wars 2

My fellow ranger stop acting like victims. Anet may be the creator of the game but they are not your daddy. You are giving tools and its you job to find a place in this world for yourself and the tools your given.

Yes some of the other classes are have a specific role. These roles are obvious and kind of pigeon wholes them in those roles. While the some rolls come easier to some class than others Ranger an able to will them all. Some roles better than others. While we may not be the be we adapt better than another class. For me that is our role the jack of trades.

For most of you balance is only about damage. It is not. You can QQ all you want about the short bow neft but really the buff is better. Like most of your damage was done at 900+ range.

Yes thieves target rangers but but the lose or win is based on your skill not your class. With that said a thief is easier to play.

People can complain about the Lb. The damage on the long bow has always been better that short bow at max range. The problem was it’s hard to keep that range.

You can QQ about the pet nerf to but its part of the balancing. We recieved pet buff last patch. With those buff it was determined pets were a bit to strong.

As for WvW the axe change is great. Being able to pull enemys from1200 is great. It easy to pull two invaders for a quick kill out of the enemy zerge.

Those of you who dont test the new change and just look at the number are the ones in disspear. I have even heard that beast master are doing better with the changes. (I wouldnt personally know).

It takes time to fully understand the changes in updates. Most of you havent even given it a weekend for things to develope.

Every single patch ranger cry that we have been nerfed even further. The fact is this the ranger class is better today than it was at any other point in the life of Gw2 Post release.

Evolution will weed out the weak among us so that we are stronger as a whole. We ranger are strong in body. We should not let our fears and douts weaken our minds.

It is poisonous to the mind and community to spout Anet conspricy theories.

So yes Rangers have a serious problem its not the body it’s our minds.

If a weapon has an ablitly that you find difficult then it doesnt suit your playstlye or your ablities. Most builds Have an underlining idea. Whether that be regen, might stacking, crit, chill or any other condtion or effect.

Implementing an Idea can be as difficult as jumping of a cliff and trying to survie. It comes down to your skill and knowledge of the game. While the formentioned cliff jumping may seem impossible it is not if you have the right gear. Like a parchute and or a glide suit. Circle straifing and dodging can put you in postion to get your bleeds. Fear as well. While you can argue that other class dont have to do this and that.

Bleed on the bow may not be the best way to build stacks of bleed. Just becuase its on the bow doesnt mean it was meant to be stacked in that manner. It might have been add just to bring the damge up a pinch to be more competitive.

While adding one pont in base damge may not have been enough and adding two point may have been too much when considering all other damage boost and bonuses.

In WvW is so easy to get flanking shot. You can alway choose your target you dont have to kill the guy attacking you. Also with the new path of scar changes you can pull an enemy as far as 1200 units (if traited) and watch as he running like a kitten after getting pulled into no man’s land.

The biggest limitation to the ranger is the mind of the user(s).

You can not and i repeat can not consider ranger weapons with out considering our pets. You have pets that can bleed we have other traits that can cause bleed or conditions. classes dont do things in the same way.

You want to compare a thief attack damage that uses one of its main mechinisms to do it but not compare the damage that ours is doing. Its a rather short sighted a narrow view.

The sb is a low skill based weapon. Auto attacking to win is a problem in my view.

Why do people incorrectly compare the classes?

The only thing that will save rangers is the understanding that ranger doesnt mean range. The ranger class is not a weak class its a well rounded class. What will truely save the ranger is evolution. Those who cant adapt as all ranger should be able to do. Let them go the way of the Dodo. Morn not the fall of the faithless. Thier demise is critical to the natural selection process.

There are those who will find fault with everything, Some complain about the pet ai then you kitten that the bm build has been destoried by the patch. Everyone want to play the OP class of the month. Then you are bewildered when you get no respect for playing said class.

There are those of us who truely excel with this class. Then those who complain they can’t do anything with this class.

It is said that it requires 10,000 hour to become an expert in something. While I’m not saying you need to put this much time into gw2. I just wonder how painful it really is to give up the class or the game as a whole.

The difference between those who merely participate in an activity and those that excel at them. Those who excel will always find away to overcome thier problems and weaknesses. The others will just use it as an excuse to quit.

What are rangers good at they are good at filling in the gaps.

projectile just dont stop once they reach thier max ranges. they continue to travel. You just have to press the button as auto attack wont work once they are out of range.

The range neft may not be that bad.

Range isnt the only factor for picking a weapon.

Becarefully what you wish for if they let pets avoid red circles or damage on thier own they would do thier job and send much of the time avioding and not attacking.

We are not sure if these changes are legit even if they were there may be changes to it before they go live.

I for one view the changes in a positive way. The pull on path of scar is a big deal in my eyes. (if it can pull more than one target).

I eat warriors up all the time. They taste like Guardian but not as tough.

IF you play the class its not difficult to figure out what works and what doesn’t with the exception of healing. I would have never thought of using healing power in my build. If you craft your way to lvl 80 or ac your way to lvl 80 it’s no wonder why you are clueless about the class.

I dont believe you need a special set up for most dungeons most of the time. If you know you class you can make just about anything work with a couple of weapon and utitlity swaps here and there.

If you add guard to you bar you can keep the weakest pets alive.

You should consider the 1h sword as a weapon set rather than just the sword it self. with a condition build you can go with torch and for Power you can go axe. If you need more stability you can go dagger. This stuff is pretty old and while I agree that at time we need to challege widely held beliefs this isnt one of them for it has been well tested and documented one just needs to look.

I do lvl 30’s factals and I never have a problem finding a group. Some om y eaiest run have been with mostly ranger teams. I find that groups with guardians have the most trouble. while they can make somethings a little easier they are not required and they tend to leave groups needing more dps.

Ranger and thier pet are a team. It doesnt matter which role the master or pet play but they need to work in tandom. This just proves how bad the player is not the pet.
If two object are moving in the same direction and the same speed but one of the object start its journey 3 seconds after the the other then that object will reach it destination 3 seconds behide the first object. Unless something changes. This isnt rocket science.

Rangers having trouble with the canach dungeon are simply rangers playing the class poorly.

Learn the pathing of your pet. On a flat surface its pretty much a straight line to the target. If you send your pet in and it detonates a mine its the rangers fault most of the time. If canach is on the run (chasing a target) it the its the whole teams fault.

First the kitter isnt leading Canach to another mine that is active in a logical manner. Second the team should of actived all near by mines to avoid unwanted detonation.

If you are standing in the corner and are simply trying to activate just the two closes mines becuase it to confusing to do otherwise then the ranger class is probably to hard for you.

Like Chopps some pet arent affected by kiting as much. But I would stay jaguars are also in that catagory if you use thier them properly. Anyone who know how to fight (boxer or Martial artist) knows you dont follow an opponent in a circle, but you cut thur the circle and meet him on the other side. Call your pet to you side then sending him to attack would do this added by the fact that you pet can stealth before going out bound. This would also work with swapping in a canines as thier first attack is a leap kd and there they will follow with a cripple.

Most of the video’s like this really show the failling of the player rather than the class. Some people complain that ranger have a set it and forget it pet. This is not the case. If you think this is the case and you dont play a ranger its understandable. If play a ranger and you think this then you have alot to learn ablout the class. Other classes have a set it a forget it pet. Rangers do not nor should we.

darkace.8925:

Serraphin Storm.2369:

Yes bosses have aoe that doesn’t mean your pet has to die. I have no points in beastmaster and it very rare that my pets are out of commision. Guard gives 10seconds of protection. Very few bosses kill pets with a single aoe if they have protection. With a 15 second recharge your pet is without it for 5 seconds not including the 2 seconds you can get from dodge if traited.

If you dont want to use guard fine, but dont kitten that your unable to keep your pets alive and are unwilling to keep you damage % up. Becuase you have chosen to use some other skill that cant compare to keeping your pet alive.

This is direct at you Taran Redleaf but all those rangers who dont even try to keep thier pets up or let them sit there like a dead arm.

What you’re saying is we have a choice between giving up 33% of our utility skills or 50% of our damage output. If no other class is forced to make that decision, why should rangers?

We are not other classes. Every class has thier cross to bear. Thieves have stealth skills. So yes you need to (only if your unable to keep your pet alive without it) use a utility skill to keep your pet up but you are also keeping your access to both of your pet skill and ablities.

I am also able to choose my role. I am not require or expected to run a bunker or heal build like Guardians. One of the great things about being a Ranger is that we do everything fairly well. While other classes might excel in one area they really fall off in others.

People harp on Anet definition of the ranger and one line in particular “Unparalleled archers, rangers are capable of bringing down foes from a distance with their bows.”

So are those of you who crying saying you cant bring down a foe at a distance. Oh I understand. Your saying that the other bow users have better skills (which is debatable). So the fact that a thief cant hit a single target makes him a better archer. I think not. Archery is about hit your target at the greatest distance. Ranger do this, not only that they are able to use both types of bows.

I also what to point out that rangers are suppose to be able to adapt to any situation.

Rangers dont suck in dungeons. It’s not the class it’s peoples’ reception of the class.
If your a Ranger and you think Ranger’s suck. Do me a favor take the time to really learn the class or just leave the class all together. Because its bad players that really hurt the class more than anything else.

For most encounters no class is always dps’ing (there are exception like cof). There isnt the conventional trinity in Gw2. However people still have that mentality. People try to make the Guardian and the Ele the healer class. No class can heal a party alone. As far as dps warriors go they are usually the first to fall. Guardians damage is meh.

Some people have stop playing cuz they feel like they dont have a specific role in a group.

The no trinity thing isnt new. Old school games like Ultima Online had no trinity. It took everyone to kill things like the Darkfather. Yes Tames and dex monekys had a big role but they had to keep themselves alive and the man or beast next to them.

Gw2 is the same. My fernshound regen isnt alot but every bit helps. The Healing spring isnt alot but the condtion removal helps. It’s all the little parts that make groups works not just the dps. I would run with any Dungeon with 5 Ranger than 5 of any class. We may not be the best in any one area but we can help in all.

Taran Redleaf.7912:

Why is ranger performance diminished in dungeons? Well, player experience aside, lets look at the mechanics of the situation. Every dungeon boss, yes, EVERY boss uses AoE attacks. Pets have no AoE dodge or damage mitigation of any kind, nor receives any stat bonuses from their Ranger owners (gear does not affect pets). So if the Ranger is caught unawares, the pet can die quickly. That instantly reduces the Ranger’s dps by 33-40% right there. ArenaNet has designed the Ranger/Pet combo to provide equal dps to other classes. Remove the pet, and the Ranger’s damage output drops considerably.

Now let’s suppose the Ranger is not caught unawares. Let’s imagine the party encounters a boss and they start the fight. The ranger sends in the pet to run up to boss and starts firing a bow. The pet is running (no dps is being done by the pet yet) so the Ranger is only putting out 2/3rds his/her dps. The fight continues. The pet gets in trouble, so the Ranger recalls the pet. Now the pet is running away from the boss (no dps is being done by the pet now). Lets say the Ranger swaps pets and sends in a new pet (no dps is being done by the pet until it reaches the target). The point of the example here is that pets hinder Ranger damage output when they are swapped or running to/from the target. With so many damage points invested in pets (by ArenaNet), the Ranger is actually handicapped whenever the pet is not attacking (especially when dead).

As a result, Rangers get a bad reputation in dungeons. It could be the player’s fault, but more likely, its a game design flaw as well. In the open world, if a fight takes a few seconds longer because the pet is running (or dies) its inconvenient. In a dungeon against bosses and encounters designed for a whole party putting out X amount of dps, however, its unforgiving.

Yes bosses have aoe that doesn’t mean your pet has to die. I have no points in beastmaster and it very rare that my pets are out of commision. Guard gives 10seconds of protection. Very few bosses kill pets with a single aoe if they have protection. With a 15 second recharge your pet is without it for 5 seconds not including the 2 seconds you can get from dodge if traited.

If you dont want to use guard fine, but dont kitten that your unable to keep your pets alive and are unwilling to keep you damage % up. Becuase you have chosen to use some other skill that cant compare to keeping your pet alive.

This is direct at you Taran Redleaf but all those rangers who dont even try to keep thier pets up or let them sit there like a dead arm.

You cant play dungeon at lvl 35 like you would at 80. At leavel a 80 you can just blow by things. At lower lvls you need to take you time. I see nothing wrong with doing a dungeon like ac and taking a hour or 2 to do it. Yes if you want to grind you need to do it faster. But at lower levels you should be enjoying the journey not just speed running.

When every I have done a dungeon for the first time i like taking people who haven’t done it. Figuring it out is part of the fun.

Armor, traits, rune, jewelry, and weapons make up your total stats. If these things are mostly healing or toughness heavy you will hit like a wet noodle. At lower levels focus on two stats. Then once you hit higher lvl pick the 3 stats that are most important to you.

Also keep in mind that rangers don’t hit as hard as other classes because damage is spread between the Ranger and his pet.

You guys are getting your panties in a bunch. You dont know how this nerf will happen. You guy are like little kids crying before you get your whoppen. Why don’t you enjoy the time you have and cry after you get your spanking. Start documenting you dps now for comparison later. It may come with buffs to other area’s so just wait and see.

Why would you need a party to kill one man. In other dungeon there are lots of other mobs.

Pet account for 40% of our damage you cant compare weapons straight up. one should consider pet damage in the calculations. Pets have thier own issue but you will find the damage is on par with that of the warrior.

Ranger is a challenging class in it’s self. Rangers have work hard to be where they are now. How do you beat a bunker ranger! Thats easy learn your class. Over come your weakness. Improve on your strengths.

Honestly I rather have Guard added to the f5. It can be used for postioning as well as damage reduction. 15 second cd with 10 seconds of protection. With protection on dodge you really only have to be without it 1 second.

I like guard over dodge because I rather have my pet continue to do damge and not be taken out of postion by the dodge. I also hate having to give up a skill for it when it really should be a class mechanism.

I run Axe/Axe in fractals pretty much all dungeons with some exceptions. It’s great for farming. sPvP not so great, WvW it can be ok while zerging.

Open world is the training ground dungeons are the test. There isnt anything wrong with mobs that one shot players when these skills are telegraphed. Even if you dont watch for the animation for the troll there is a big red circle. What other kind warning do you need. I guess anet should add the robot from lost in space screaming danger danger when ever you need to move. But seriously there are times when you can’t dodge reds circles. If players cant grasp the concept of dodging red circle it’s kin d of hard for them to add other mechnism when people cant understand the simplist of them.

AC is a ghost town compared to what it once was. Becuase they cant work together. 2. people think the only to do well is to have the most dps, so when they have to help a npc stay alive so he can help the player stay alive this concept is to alien. 3. To many players have learned to glitch and exploit at the cost of developing the skills to do it properly.

Death is the punishment for failing to learn. Hitting you for a 1/3 of your health is just a slap on the wrist . Also considering that when you are one shotted you don’t die you have a chance to rally. If you fail to learn your lesson you will be down multiple times which will lead to a one shot death. If you fail to rally in the first place your group still need to learn the value of team work and support (in most cases).
When Gw2 first came out people complained it was too hard, those same people now claim it’s to easy.

I have done ac story mode with a lvl 22 character (you can get in if your with a group). Once you learn the basics its not that hard.

It just a matter of perspective. I personally would rather take a ranger over any other class for a dungeon run in general. With the expection of eles for Ac for their ice bow.
In my experience if you take more than 3 of the same class runs usually end in failure. With the exception rangers, and warrior on a cof speed run. But thats just me.

I also dont believe you need x class for any normal dungeon. While some class make some runs easier in certain situation there isnt a class that is required.

It hammers home how important dodgeing is. The troll has a very long animation before it stomps. They can only hold your hand so long. Also it isnt the first time players have encountered a troll in Queendale there is the champion troll. It works the same way and I believe it’s a level 12 area. So by level 30 this shouldn’t be new to you.

Really doesnt matter that he can kill an entire party with one attack. You are suppose to dodge and or use invulnerbility. Learning basic skills are needed for later encouters in the game.

Some many players use glitches and exploits and never learn to master the basic then complain that x mechanism is to op.

Most people skip content like this saying it’s not worth it to fight x mob. Killing the troll will give you 5-20 silver. Thats like getting a guaranteed t6 mat. The real reason is they lack the skill and choose not to develope the skill and thus have similar problems in other dungeons.

I honestly have more fun with a group of first timers than an experienced because most experinced groups skill so much content and glitch in one form or another.

I totally disagree with the OP. Ones failure to stay at range doesn’t change the fact the melee in general does more damage. Melee weapons and pets both kill faster than thier counterparts. A good ranger will use his utility skills and pets to keep him prey or foe where he wants them. Snares and traps can be used to create distance or keep them close.

Bottom line you are normally in more danger if you are fighting in close.

Bm are not the only viable builds. To play a ranger you dont need to be a BM. You do however need to learn to manage your pet. Ranger are a pet centric class. You are not require to use your pet but dont complain if your proformance is lackluster becuase of it. As an Ele you can stay in water attunement all day but dont kitten when you cant kill anything. So it is with Rangers.

On another note Ele are force to have only one weapon with 20 skills to choose from my may think its not a big deal but being stuck with only a ranged or melee is a big deal in a game like gw2.

Also ranger is guildwars 1 had to carry 2 skills just to have a pet one to have the pet and another to heal/res

In WvW Ranger need a bit help I think that adding range pets with 1200 range or a trait that could increase range would go a long way in helping. Ranger who melee dont have as much of a problem as Rangers who go pure range. Doesnt really make sense that you would try to stay at range and then run a melee pet. Fluffy cant tank a zerg no matter how good your pet management.

Those of you that have picked the ranger and wish you could go petless have simply picked the wrong class.

As to why a pet centric class: Why not.

I would say overall they give the same stats however each class has a different base stat. The other thing to consider is while some classes share the same weapon they do not share the same skills. Maybe the best way to test this would be with ele weapons or enviromental weapons.

Pet already have a problem hitting moving targets dodging when I dodge would just add to the problem. Alot of time i will hold my ground allowing a player will attack me then dodge on a big attack. the reason I do this is to allow my pet to attack or regain postioning. pet dodge will make this useless.

While I disagree with pet dodge when the player dodge those of you unwilling to use a dodge to help your pet probly cant keep your pet alive becuase of this very thinking.

Dodging to give you pet protection is key to keeping your pet alive. Using Heal to keep your pet alive is also key.

You can kite and dodge your pet can not. Those of you who are unwilling to save half of your dps with a dodge or a heal are doing your pet,class and self a disservice.

You shouldnt die quickly. One of the first things you need to learn with any class is how to keep yourself alive. Once a ranger has learned this then he must learn to keep his pet alive. Once this is done you can then bring support to your team.

For the most part while group are always in need of more damage they also need more healing support. I take fern hound and jaguars for my pet. One damge one support.

While guardians can heal they usually lack damage when they do. Eles have the best of both worlds.

This isnt any other MMORPG. In Gw2 there are no set healers and no set tanks. Those of you who still play with this mentallity are really handicapping yourself and the groups you run with.

As a ranger we are viewed in a bad light. There are many misconception about what a ranger can and can’t do. Ranger have one of the biggest learning curves you dont need to kitten your development by placing limitations on yourself based on your own or other’s misconceptions.

I was talking about a heavy target not a light armor class. 30/10/0/0/0 should be enough.

It is often like that. People who say Rangers suck in dungeons have no clue. I was able to keep my pet Fern Hound alive aswell as the silly zerk warrior who was always going down before I had to stay by him.

We can actually Tank /Dps/and support without sacraficing anything.

If you want to hit for 10k with the great sword you need 30 points in markship to get the trait signet of the beast master. This allow signets to affect you. Youw will also need Sigent of the hunt and Sigent of the wild.

You need to pre pop signet of the the hunt. This will give you attack of oppertunity which will give your first attack 150% extra damage (it last 16 minunts until used).

Right before you engage your targer you need to use sigent of the wild this give you an additional 25% damage. You will have 8 second to hit with a big attack like mual or swoop.

Your result will vary based on other stats however you don’t need to be a class cannon. RAO can give you more damage but not reqired. With without stack a bunch of might or any other boon or condition. Your pets should do about 6k -12k damage as well add sick’m with a stealth jaguar if you want it to always be in the 10k plus zone (with 2 attacks).

Guard give your pet 33% damage reduction for 10 seconds. You really dont need this in pvp unless your a pure bm and someone is targeting your pet.

But any other time you want to keep your pet alive and you are finding it difficult to do so, it makes sense to take it

There are lots of problems with enlarging.

Anytime you have a 30 second window between fight is a good time to pop signet of the hunt. Running with the zerg you dont need the speed buff because everyone is use aoe buffs. As far as solo you pick your spots. In Spvp it pretty much the same.

Traits are only part of a build. Armor, Jewelry, runes and skill choices make up a build. Just becuase I spend 30 in WS doenst mean I have to run a trap build or that I’m a bunker.

I tend to run 30 in marksmanship how many Grandmaster traits do I have to chose from. I could go Beast Master with 30 In BM and and point here and there for pet regen,faster pet movement and more crit. I would still use signet of the hunt without it being traited. I would still pre load it so I could get two attack of oppertunity in a fight.

SoS is all about the active traited or untraited. Meaning even when not traited its on my bar for the active. The fact that you would only use it to save you own hide doesnt mean that is the only way to go.

If your only using it for the passive ablities then your missing out. This signet with sic’em and SotW and traited with signet of beastmaster can result in 23k damage in 3 seconds between you and your pet. The only fix i would make is interaction object while traited.

I use the signet of the hunt ablity all the time. 150% damagefor me and my pet. Once activated you have 16 minutes to use it. You can get attack of oppertunity twice in the same fight. With the right set up this skill can help you do 23k damage in 3 seconds between you and your pet (jaguar).

The passive ablities are nice but the actives can be a game changer you just need to know when to use them. natures renewal is nice but if you have 25 stacks of any condition you cant wait for the passive affects.

SoS that signet is all about the active ablility.

We have skill that dont need to be traited to be good like healing springs is an example you dont need to have any points in healing and it still removes condtions for the party and heals. a simple weapon change can help with the healing as well.

It would be nice if we had that ele trait that lets you keep the passive ablity of signet when you use them.

I think were expected to be more support but we as players just have to go dps. Also Spirits arent loved,maybe this patch will change that.

It comes down to what you think is important. For most of you it’s dps which is kind of funny since not being able to keep your pet alive reduces your dps by at least 40%.

You don’t need to call your pet back to use guard. Just use it at its current location. I for one I’m not a BM I dont have a single point in beast mastery since the quickness nerf and I am able to keep my pet alive.

For the most part keeping your pet alive gives you access to it’s f2 skill every 20-30 seconds depending on the pet. I dont know what build your guys are running but for me giving up one skill slot for two skills is worth it.

We havent even seen what kind of toughness and vitiality buff we are getting, yet we are alreadying dismissing it.

With each patch we Ranger are getting a little bit stronger. Some complain about the sb neft even till this day. I’m glad it was neft. On that day ranger began to look at our other weapons. Began to develope other builds. People say that we only have two builds that is bs. You may only have two builds but there are quite a few viable builds in the Ranger community.

Our player base has gotten better with this class. We are able to kick kitten in every aspect of the game. While we are lacking a bit in WvW by no means are we useless.

Infact becuase we have no set role to play we are very usefull. Since the other class roles are so critical to wvw why would they do anything but.

So the SotG mentioned some class change there by be a global change the wasn’t mentioned or things that just werent ready at that time but are ready for the patch

We only have part of the picture so let just wait till we get the other piece before we try to but this puzzle together.

SotG is great but we all know that it’s not the complete list. Once of the reason we dont get patch note’s on release of SotG is that things can still be added. Like the quickness neft in the last update.

As far as the cd on pet death: as long as when can attack at over 2500 their need to be a draw a back for allowing you pet to die. If they every remove this then i would be in favor of removing the cd. Also considering we have on demand 33% damage reduction for our pets (this includes aoe) by way of guard. I really dont see why people cry about aoe in WvW.

The pet ai update doesnt really worry me in that I am sure they tested it and if it does cause a problem. It will probably be remove the first day if not in the first couple of hours.

We as ranger don’t have any op skills except maybe lick wounds. Some of the other classess have op skill so in comparison some consider us underpowered.

We are balanced its the op skill of the other classess than need to be taken down a notch.

However with the right combination of skill like Signet of the hunt. This with any high damage attack like swoop or maul can result in a 10k hit. This with the right set up can result in 23k damage between you and your pet in less than 3 seconds.

Early on a Rangers pet tanks for the Ranger. Later on Mob bypass your pet. Those Ranger who can not adapt to the change soon find themselves feeling underpowered or uselss. Those that can adapt and continue to uncover the mystery that is the ranger continue to have fun and are effective in PvX.

There was a post a couple days ago about someone killing a Beast Masters pet leaving him unable to do anything. https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/So-here-we-go-with-the-pet-again

As far as signet of stone goes its a great skill and I use it alot. It’s the skill I swapped out guard for.

I dont need my pet to take no damage I just need it not to die. I can use guard 4 times during the 120 cd on sos. The only time I use sos over guard is when I want to the invulnerbility for me.

Granted most people dont target pets in spvp or tpvp. For WvW you want to see what 33% aoe damage reduction can do use guard.

The protection alone is the reason to use this skill. It grants your pet 10 seconds of protection. If you use it while your pet is in combat at it current location you pet wont stealth or stealths so quick you cant tell but it will still gain the protection. This protection stacks with other protections gained. I am not sure how this works with bark skin.

If you dont know what protection does. It reduces incoming damage by 33%. Those of you who rely on your pet for most or all your damage really should consider having this on your bar.

This skill alone can make a big difference on wether your pet lives or dies. Which in turn also affects your dps.

This problem is mainly because of your build not the class. Your a pure melee BM so your dont normally put your pet in bad situations: unlike most ranged rangers. The same care an tankiness you take in keeping yourself alive you need to apply to your pet by way of boons.

If you cant use fortifing bond because of point requirements then consider using guard. It provides 10 seconds of protection for your pet.

Bottom line you won’t be able to beat everyone with a build so learn when you can win and not win. If you cant win disengage combat. The reason Ele, thieves and mesmers have success is they can pretty much disengage combat when they need too.

So its advantage aswell as a disadvantage.

A warrior bleed trait is 33% on crit a rangers is 66% on crit. Ranger can get bleed for a pets regular attack as well as bleed on feline and other animals if traited. You can’t just compare the weapons on stuff like this you also have to consider what the rangers pet is doing.

Golem test is useful to a point. golem testing is affected by users ablility, framerate and internet connection.

Mathmatical calculation are also useful to a point. mathmatical calculation may reflect what isnt actuallly possible because of minor inacceracies or because to many thing are assumed.

As a whole melee weapons do have more damage, but acceratly comparing a damage weapon to condition weapon seem to be proving difficult.

Just as most of you assume the sb has better dps than the Lb because you lack the patients to calculate the bleed. The lb has better dps then the sb when used a max range no you can debate whether you can stay at max range or not that is another issue.

There is also a problem when using melee vs range for the rangers. The ranger melee weapons have a defensive componet in thier attack. So will for testing purpose you may have chosen not to use maul or swoop because you thought the cast time slow dps. Using these skill at the right moment may cause the auto attack chain to reset rather then using the defensive attack. I’m just saying both calculation and phyical testing are required.

But with all things consider a video showing you killing a golem in x seconds with x weapons in xx time is alot easier to for most people to understand.

Also understand that base weapon proformance is different from traited proformance and that can still be difference from combat proformance.