Guild Wars 2

Rampage.7145:

Ranger rocks for PVP/WvW, it is bad at dungeons…

Our main roll in dungeons is ranged single-target and AoE DPS. If you take a ranger into a dungeon that cannot do this, or don’t understand this roll, then you are a liability to the rest of the group.

In dungeons, I run a 30/30/10/0/0 ranger with full zerker weapons, for survival I use p/t/v armour with full set of Runes of Melandru and mix of Knight and Valkyrie accessories. I use master maintenance oil and eat condition damage reduction food.

This is a pretty balanced ranger with +50% crit chance. I constantly swap between longbow/shortbow to keep up a steady stream of ranged damage while staying alive. I use 2 devourers, swapping between each when health gets too low.

Btw, I ran Arah story with a group of 3 rangers, 1 thief, and 1 engineer. It was one of the best dungeon runs and groups I have ever been in.

So no, rangers are not ‘bad’ in dungeons, however, there are many bad players using rangers in dungeons ..

Provac.3598:

Medium: 500
High: 1000
Very High: 1800

Do we need this high gem cost?

The cost should be much higher!
Something like this:
Medium: 1000
High: 2000
Very High: 3000

Switching servers should not be something players do on a whim …

On 14 Jan I created my first alt. Yesterday (2 weeks later) the alt hit lvl 76. I work, so play only on weekends and evenings. Also, I used my main to complete dailies …

I played the alt until lvl 20, then speed crafted 2 crafts to 400. So, at lvl 40 went back into the world, concentrated on Shiverpeaks map completion (up to Dredgehaunt) and did PS until the start of Claw Island. Then did the all city and starter maps, now in Kessex Hills.

I went from 70 to 74 in Metricia playing solo and using food, 100% XP kill streak boosts. and killing almost everything I came across. At lvl 70, even with the DS, you are very efficient in a lvl 1-15 map, you can speed through completion, SP’s and all the boss vets and even the odd champ.

I rather level this way than pounding through all the risen in SoD .. Time enough for Orr once the alt hits 80 and properly kitted out ..

Our guild has chapters on both NA and EU servers, and have run some performance tests.

The conclusion was that generally EU based players on NA servers suffer more lag and slower speeds than NA based players on EU servers.

Off the top these two gave me a chuckle:
WTF
ooOoo

My main is a ranger, and 90% of the problems you read about pets are from players who don’t know know how to use them properly.

Yes, there issues with pets, pathing was mentioned, stowing, vulnerability to AoE attacks, and ranged pet targeting are the main ones, but the biggest issue are players using the wrong pet at the wrong time and poor pet management. There 41 pets, plenty to choose from for all play-styles and situations.

Ranger is fun class to play. The class is best at ranged single-target and AoE DPS, this is the most effective roll for the class in dungeons. You can trait for more survivability and go melee but the class will never be a warrior or guardian.

GW2 is a MMO, but does not stress the grouping aspect. If you were expecting this, then you will be disappointed.

For map exploration and general leveling, this is something you do solo. For Dynamic Events (DE’s), you cooperate with the other players on the map to complete the event, then move on. The only in-game requirement to group is for dungeon instances.

If you need help with some content or you want to group for map exploration or to do DE’s, then say so in map chat and see if anyone responds. A lot will depend on the number and type of players in your map at the time. You can try whispering other players you see to ask if they want to party up, just don’t send party requests without asking first…

As for a guild, if you are over 30 years old and don’t mind switching servers to either Yak’s Bend (NA) or Gunnar’s Hold (EU), give MARA a try. The guild website link is in my sig ..

congratulations on lvl 80!

Here is all you need to know about end-game kit :

http://dulfy.net/2012/10/03/gw2-endgame-gearing-guide/

http://dulfy.net/2012/09/08/gw2-templegod-karma-armor-sets/

@Ceder Of Tyria

Since day 1 there has been a distinct technical differences between EU and NA servers. The fact that you could enter dungeon instances only with players on servers from your region was the biggest clue, at least to me, that there would never be cross-region guesting.

I think the best hope now is a server consolidation that might make off-peak times on Gunnar’s more attractive for our US members, or visa-a-versa with Yak’s ..

@TRON,
Being of a similar bent, I tend to agree with you. My goal was the map completion rewards and the Bluestone achievements for each area.

The problem with many DE’s and DE chains is that they are often bugged, they don’t fire or work properly. So, you never know if or when there should be a DE or a DE chain. It is not a matter of spending days in a map, you need to be in a map right after a server reset and hope everything works as it should.

For JP’s, I need to be in the right mood for them, then do a bunch in a row.

Been playing since game launch, and when my ranger was lvl 20-something, I decided to begin collecting all the ranger pets.

This began a big world tour, and really enjoyed it. I leveled quickly to 80 from all the exp, earned lots of karma and gold even before entering the Orr maps. Was able to afford a full set of exotic armour and 2 exotic weapons when I hit 80.

After finishing all the PvE maps, I started doing dungeons, got 3 sets of end-game armour, etc. Then, for completion sake, began mapping in wvw over the xmas holidays. I finished this around 2-3 weeks ago.

Just very recently I began my first alt (a guardian) and re-discovering map exploration, but my goals are somewhat different. I first cleared 2 of the maps where the personal story took me, and the starter cities and LA. Currently about to finish the 3rd PS map in the Shiverpeaks. Next, I will discover the dungeon entrance wp’s for as many as I can, then gradually complete those maps as well. 100% world is not a priority for my alt, but will probably get there at some point

@GummiBear
No problem, happens to me all the time …

Zaxares.5419:

No, Nightmare Court (and Nightmare Wolves/Thorn Wolves) count towards the Nightmare Court Slayer achievement. The only creatures that count towards the Plant Slayer achievement are:

- Oakhearts (Kryta/Ascalon)
- Pinesouls (Shiverpeaks)
- Mosshearts (Maguuma)

And all three of the above only seem to be found in Veteran or Champion versions. I have never seen a single normal Plant.

Cheers for this!
Been playing since game launch, and never knew which mobs were considered plants for the the plant slayer achievement.

Mundane??
Map completion and exploration was my favourite thing to do while leveling my ranger, and I did it all solo. The game rewards you very well for doing this, and I was disappointed when there were no more PvE maps to explore.

I am now leveling an alt, so get to do it all over again …

GummiBear.2756:

knight gear are power/toughness/vitality,

Knight kit is power/precision/toughness and can be crafted or bought off the TP

Power/toughness/vitality cannot be crafted and is obtained through the temple karma vendors, or using tokens from certain dungeons or with wvw tokens.

I can recommend Gunnar’s Hold.

I have been on this server since game release.
English speaking, friendly, and pretty lively, and some good guilds.

Having played a ranger since game release, Guardian range attack is utter rubbish. I don’t see any situation where you would want to use ranged attack when melee works so well.

Staff is probably a decent group support tool, I just haven’t had the occasion to use it as such. Would never consider it as an offensive weapon .Not sure what scepter is supposed to do. I suspect it is meant for single-target control with some damge but it seems to be not very good at either. The #1 auto-attack blobs are a joke. Of all the guardian’s weapons, this one needs some serious attention.

I have been playing the guardian for only a week (lvl 57), so still lots to learn about the class, however, I do know ranged attack is far from the guardian’s best option …

EDIT: Just to add, this has all been in PvE and one dungeon (AC)

Here is a link to everything you need to know …
The best of the lvl 80 needs to be bought (with gold or karma or dungeon/wvw tokens) or crafted buy you.

http://dulfy.net/2012/10/03/gw2-endgame-gearing-guide/

Noppy.1348:

Gunnar’s Hold is a good one, most area’s are active with players in the evening and weekends, and they are nice people!

Hey Bri!! Doing good?

Hi Noppy!!

Yup, doing great, thanks!
Doing lots of dungeons, finished 100% world, just started my first alt – a female norn guardian now lvl 43

How did your new computer work out??

Never played a mes, but very familiar with ranger.

Have you un-locked all the ranger weapon skills yet?? If not, I strongly suggest doing this, as rangers have access to a lot different weapons that you might find more suitable to your play style. Also, do not forget your underwater weapons – you need to un-lock those skills as well,

I always preferred longbow with greatsword as my second weapon while leveling. I never used shortbow very much until I started doing dungeons after I hit lvl 80. Axe/warhorn or axe/torch are also good second weapon sets.

There are 41 pets for you to charm in the game with many different strengths and weakness and functionality to match your play style and situation. Most are very easy to find in the starter cities (no combat required) and in the various starter maps (lvl 1-15). Then the rest are in mid-level maps, Going out to find them all will level your ranger to around 50, if you fully explore/complete each map you visit. One pet is in a lvl 80 map, so you won’t complete the set until you can survive there.

The key to surviving with a ranger is to max the damage from your longbow. This means staying at max range from the mobs when opening attacks. Use all the skills to slow or knockback the mobs as they advance and kite. When they get in melee range, swap to your greatsword to finish them off.

Also, pull individual mobs from groups 1 or 2 at time and avoid aggro’ing too many at once. Use the terrain to your advantage, and plan your tactics beforehand with an escape route in mind. All this will help you to deal with the more difficult content yet to come .

If you use Healing Spring with your pet inside the AoE, it will heal up quickly.

Currently leveling an alt on Gunner’s as well, and see players all the time.
Granted not as many as at game release, but still enough around.

I also go into Orr with my main regularly, and see players there as well …

I use this guide for all the crafting professions.
Just finished speed-levelling armoursmithing and huntsman on an alt,

http://www.gw2wiz.com/

Here is Kaja, my norn guardian alt at lvl 40 in crafted scale armour

Yup, this is what I have been doing. My reason for the swap is more out of convenience in keeping crafts associated with the best suited character.

My ranger (main) has leatherworking and weaponsmithing (many recipes)
My guardian (alt) has armoursmithing and huntsman (few recipes)

Makes more sense to shift huntsman over to the ranger and weaponsmithing to the guardian. Also, my main has a shed-load of karma, while my alt is only lvl 40, so can easily afford to purchase more inscriptions, if necessary.

Also, un-activated inscription recipes are account bound, so can be bought then banked for an alt to then un-lock. I found this out by mistakenly buying 2 of the same inscription awhile back. When my guardian reached 375 huntsman, she was able to activated the recipe.

EDIT: Just to add, while my guardian levels, she will be needing weapons to keep up. It will be a pain crafting these with the ranger, then banking them every time for the guardian to use.

You mean Griffonrook Run …

The entrance tricky to find.
It is underwater along the west shore of False Lake almost directly due south of the wp. Check the attached image for the location.

However, you still need to find the entrance which is hidden behind some underwater plants. Look for a red plant just to the right of an underwater structure.

You will need to hit your ‘w’ key to poke around until you find the narrow entrance.

Thanks Tup!
I suspected this was the case, but wanted some confirmation before I went ahead and did something I might regret

And just to clarify:
I have character A with weaponsmithing at 400 with a lot of karma inscription recipes and character B with huntsman at 400 with only a few inscription recipes. I was thinking about swapping huntsman to A and weaponsmithing to B.

If I swap crafting professions between my characters, do the recipes purchased with karma transfer along with the profession, or do they stay with the character that purchased them?

Malchor’s Leap and Cursed Shore in Orr
Frostgorge Sound
Southsun Cove

Good choice!
Since you are about 9 hrs behind me, not sure if we will be in-game at the same times, but like Morrigan said, send a PM in-game if you need anything.

Thanks akamon, Excursion and Damarus the comments and suggestions!

Yea, my guardian is a pretty hot norn! Will post a screenie soon …

Yup, I did some lurking in this sub-forum before going ahead with the guardian, so was able to plan out a strategy. The stickied 101 guide was very helpful as well. I wish there was a similar guide for all the classes!!

A side note:
I also lurked in the Warrior sub-forum while trying to decide between the two classes. From the posts in that sub-forum, my impression of the warrior players is not great … Speed running dungeons is of no interest to me, and this is the lot who don’t play nice with other classes, particularly rangers. So, this turned me off the warrior class.

I thought the quality of posts in the guardian sub-forum are much better, and the level of understanding of the class seems much higher. So, this had a big impact on my decision to play a guardian …

Ok, back to the interesting stuff ..

From my Ranger leveling experience, I know there is a huge difference between 1-70 and 70-80, and beyond. Then there is the open world PvE vs dungeons, where different set-ups are required.

It is about adaptation, and as long as the class allows some flexibility, then all is good. As I play the class, and open up more utility skills, I am sure some thing will change as I settle in on play-styles that I like for various situations. At level 20, there are not many options, the focus is just staying alive.

Last evening I finished my speed crafting to 400 in 2 crafts and now at lvl 40. I crafted up a set of lvl 35 ‘green’ Hearty armour with toughness/vitality stats. This evening I will craft up a set of Strong weapons or whatever gives me some power/precision or power/crit, and some runes/sigils.

Build is now: 0/10/10/5/5
Signet Mastery; Purity

I need to buy a manual to open the next tier of trait options, and then she is ready to hit the open world again. Now at lvl 40, the class should begin to develop into something.

Depends on what you want or looking for – WvW or PvP or PvE or RP’íng. Do you have a language preference?? You need to provide more information for people to help you ..

Also, find a guild you like, and that matches with want you want to do in-game. This is more important than the server you are on

I am GMT+1 and been on Gunnar’s Hold since game launch. It has a great community, and there are always players on-line during the evenings and weekends.

Hello!

Created my first alt over the weekend, a female norn guardian, and looking for some suggestions on build, utilities and weapons.

First off, I played a ranger since game launch, so this is quite a switch for me. After battling as much with the limitations and bugs of the class as with the PvE foes, playing a class that works as it says on the tin is a relief! Also, even at low levels, the guardian seems a bit op’ed to me, but that might change with more difficult content.

I have my guardian up to lvl 20 by doing the personal story and some low-level map completion and all weapon skills are unlocked. I am now speed crafting her through the 20’s and 30’s, so she should be at or very close to lvl 40 when going back out into the world. The plan is to solo PvE map content for some time and then start dipping into AC at around lvl 50-60.

So far, I like a mix of signet and shout utilities. For weapons, I have been giving them all a go, but mainly greatsword or hammer with secondary being mace/focus for tough fights or scepter/focus for ranged lesser mobs. Sword/torch is pretty good as well, but not impressed with the staff so far. I use focus rather than shield since the focus skills seem better to me.

The current build:
0/10/0/0/5
Signet Mastery

After the speed crafting or soon after:
0/10/10/10/5
Signet Mastery;
Purity;
Superior Aria

Considering a final build of this:
0/15/30/20/5
Signet Mastery;
Purity; Retributive Armour; Altruistic Healing;
Superior Aria; Two-handed Mastery

Weapons: all Berserker
Armour: initially a mix of crafted Knight and Valkyrie. then p/t/v either from dungeons or temple karma vendors
Runes: undecided, but probably Soldier
Accessories: mix of Knight and Valkyrie.

Any comments and/or suggestions welcome!

I second Gunnar’s Hold. It has always been a pretty friendly place.

I just started playing my first alt, and was surprised at the number of players in the lower level maps. Not quite the same as at game release, but more than I expected.

Best time to check your borderlands and EB maps is just after the weekly (Friday) WvW re-set.

I started doing WvW mapping gradually, while completing all the PvE maps. Then over the xmas holidays made an effort and completed EB and 2 of the borderlands maps. To get the final map, I switched servers to Whiteside Ridge just after a re-set and got my 100% world.

I’m now back on Gunnar’s Hold, and the transferring was all very easy to do as both servers are at ‘medium’ capacity

I just started playing my first alt – a norn guardian on the weekend.
I did map content and personal story until lvl 20, and now speed crafting her through to lvl 40 by maxing 2 crafts.

I find this avoids the difficult ’20’s’ and ’30’s’ where some content is harder to solo and weapons/armour are crap. Also allows you to get a reasonable build together, so going back out into the world will let you complete lower level map content more quickly.

I swap between 2 devourers (lakittenail and carrion)

I swap between 2 devourers (lakittenail and carrion)

I solo ‘ed a ranger through Orr, back before the loot and karma nerfs and Fractals. Yes there are less players around Orr these days, so use whatever method works for you. There are ’safe’ areas and paths you will find once you become more familiar with the maps.

My advice is be patient. Plan the route you want to take beforehand, use tactics and strategy to avoid most of the mobs. Clear out only the mobs directly in your path, advance, clear, advance, etc … Keep moving until you reach your destination and/or a safe zone, then relax for a bit and plan your next move.

The worse bits for me were the conditions around statues you need to reach for poi’s and sp’s. Any buffs that remove or mitigate condition damage will be a great help for you.

While leveling I solo’ed though all the PvE content. At that time, just after game launch, there were many players doing the same, so almost every map event had a zerg.

If there was a difficult poi or skill point you needed, just wait a few minutes and a couple of players would come by and you do it together. There was never a need to party.

These days, it is far different. You are lucky to find 5 players on a low or mid level map. So, I think parting-up is more necessary now to complete PvE content, particularly for the squishier classes.

The infinite salvage nets you only 2 points each tick!
One would need to salvage 24/7 since game launch to get anywhere close to 20k …

I’ve been playing since launch, and have 2561. I try to always do my daily but never completed a monthly cos I hate Fractals and went into WvW only to map. I have only 1 toon (no alts) with only 2 crafts maxed to 400.

As for events, I did the Mad King and the Karka events, but had no interest in the Wintertide event. Only did the snowmen building cos the snow patches were everywhere…

So, most of mine came from doing dailies, exploration (100% world completion), and Slayer achievements.

EDIT: just wanted add in personal story. You get points for completing various sections in the PS.

I found the issue for me in dungeons is mitigating condition damage, either direct or from AoE. Rangers are lacking in this, so my armour and runes are for survivability.

My main dungeon armour is power/toughness/vitality with a full set of Runes of Melandru.

I have another set of power/toughness/vitality armour with a full set of Runes of the Wrum I use on occasion.

I solo’ed a glass cannon ranger (LB/GS) though all of Orr without much trouble. However, I was lvl 80 with full exotic armour and weapons at the time.

I would suggest completing all the other maps and getting to lvl 80 before going into Orr. It is not like the other map areas …

Skins!
I use lvl 35 rares to skin my exotic weapons …

As someone mentioned, complete/explore all the maps in the game. Use a good salvage/vendor system and this will earn gold quickly. Sell the mats you don’t use on the TP.

Farm the 3 dragon events. Search for the event timer for your server so you can cycle between all 3 events on a regular basis

Dungeons are not for everyone. I didn’t start doing dungeons until well after I hit lvl 80 with a full set of exotic armour and weapons. Loot drops are not much better than what you find else where in game – lots of blue items, a few greens, now and again a rare. In the month or so I have been running dungeons, I had 2 exotic drops I was able to sell for around 2g each.

Players I know run dungeons mainly for the tokens, not the loot drops. The tokens can be exchanged for exotic weapons and armour that can help you survive the more difficult dungeons. Some players like the looks of the various dungeon armour and weapons, so collect tokens for cosmetic reasons.

Oh, and stay away from MF buffs. These are a waste of the gold you are trying to save, they don’t work very well, and gimps your toon.

I always use BL salvage kits on rares, but before I salvage, I check the TP value for the item, the sigil/rune, and the price of ecto.

If the item’s selling value (the offered bids, not the listed selling price) is less than the combined selling price of the sigil/rune and 1 ecto, then I salvage. This is the usual case, and more often than not, I get 1 or 2 ecto and sometimes 3. Rarely I get none …

PS. You can get BL salvage kits from opening BL chests as well …

Simple answer, you need to wait or transfer.
I am at 99% with 2 borderlands and EB fully mapped. I have around 2/3 of the last borderlands left to do, but it is currently mostly occupied by another server.

My server is not particularly great at WvW, so not sure when I will get the last bits done ..

Been playing since game launch, and not once have I made my ‘monthly’ cos I don’t do WvW nor like Fractals. Although I like JP’s, this addition to the monthly is just another bad idea …

As other have suggested, complete all other map areas before going into Orr. Oh, make sure you have exotic armour and weapons before starting your Orr map completions. I solo’ed a glass cannon ranger through all the Orr maps, so it is doable.

As a high-level thief you should not have any probs, you have all the stealth to by-pass most of the mobs. Once you get into Malchor’s Leap and Cursed Shore, you will find the mats and loot drops in ML and CS are still good and well worth the time. SoD is not so popular cos it is lower level and there are no high level harvest nodes.

I farm both ML and CS on a regular basis, and find others around, so it is not void of players on my server.

I am on Gunnar’s Hold and was able to acquire the temple armour with the stats you want without too much trouble. I use medium armour, and if you do as well remember that there is currently no temple p/t/v stat leggings …

This is where I got mine:
Boots – Arah entrance – this is usually clear as players do Arah dungeon
Leggings – medium temple does not exist (I use AC leggings for this stat)
Gloves – Grenth – longest wait, but on GH it does get cleared now and again
Coat – Dwayna – this is cleared more often on GH
Shoulders – Dwayna
Helm – Dwayna