Guild Wars 2

I have a precision stacking sigil on my longbow and the same precision stacking sigil on my axe. When I swap between longbow and axe, both weapons will contribute to the stack until it reaches the stack limit.

I also have a +5% crit chance sigil on my warhorn, and afaik this stacks with the added crit chance from the precision stack, but not sure …

Has anyone received it twice??

I get repeat drops of all sorts of common and some uncommon dyes.
Never any repeats on rares, so far …

Oh, and I don’t even use abyss dye anymore …
Frankly, I find it boring on my own kit, and you see it everywhere …

The server I play has lots of chat! Map chat is usually used for players looking for groups to do dungeons, or to tackle champs, spawned dragons and the like. Also for when Orr temples are clear, but there is some banter going on.

I stay mostly in my guild chat, and this is very lively!
Cannot keep up with most of it ..

Here is a guide that can help:
http://dulfy.net/2012/10/03/gw2-endgame-gearing-guide/

Abyss dye dropped for me very early, shortly after game launch. I must have been around level 15 or 20. I didn’t know what it was at the time. Well, of course I knew it was dye, and activated it just like any other dye I came across at that time. I just didn’t know how valuable and sought after it would be!

If only I knew then what it is worth now …

Yes, in the NE section of Fireheart Rise. there are many, and near the dungeon entrance. However, I think FR is too low level (60-70) for cores to drop. I never got any when I explored this map …

Dolan.3071:

I suppose if you enjoy exploring, crafting wouldn’t be tooooo bad. Most of the higher level areas only have a bee line to the dungeon explored, it bores the absolute kitten out of me.

Crafting is and always will be a complete and utter chore. It is legitimately cheaper to buy armour as you’re going along, and just get the dungeon armour when you hit 80.

Ah, well yes .. You need to explore and farm mats to craft, otherwise it gets expensive buying everything off the TP. I love map exploration, so this was not a problem for me.

To level a craft from 0 to around 300 or so, the mats are cheap to buy, so you can easily do this without leaving LA. Once you get into the T5 (rare) level, mats become more expensive to buy. Then the T6 (exotics) mats have sky-rocketed in price since the Nov game up-date.

Wintermute.7529:

Thanks for the addtl replies!

@bri
I didn’t know there are exotics that can be purchased with Karma as well, I have about 200k karma to spend. And the karma set power/toughness/vitality sounds like a solid set for tanking. I think I might go with that.

The temple armour costs 42k karma per piece! So, 252k karma for the full set …

Also, not all the temple vendors sell all the pieces with the same stats. You will need to visit at least 2, perhaps more to get everything with the same stats.

Then there is the problems that the vendors only appear when the Pact control the temple. If the temple is contested, and many of them are most of the time, no vendors…

This guide will help you determine which temple vendor sells which bits you need:
http://dulfy.net/2012/09/08/gw2-templegod-karma-armor-sets/

Then is a matter of waiting until the specific temple is uncontested on your server so you can get what you need.

Dahkeus.8243:

Personally, I think you ideally want to get your defense from your traits and your offense from your gear (as a general rule of thumb), but if you’re running up in melee, it may be prudent to have a decent amout of defense on gear too.

For my ranger, I built her in the opposite way, offense from traits (30/30/10/0/0) and weapons (Berserker); defense from armour and accessories (Knight & Valkyrie), but with offensive runes (Rangers).

My reasons are due to poor trait options in the defense trait lines and the role I want to play as a ranged damage dealer, at least as much as I can. I can maintain a 50% crit chance without being too squishy.

I don’t PvP or WvW, so this is for solo PvE and dungeons …

I agree with LithePanther, and would add a glass cannon ranger to the list of classes that can out damage the elementalist.

With a pure power/precision/crit elementalist you will not be able to solo explore the higher level maps very well. The mobs there hit hard and fast. Even some of the mid-level tougher map areas will be a challenge for you, unless you can play with a group of friends or team up with other players on the map.

@Dolan
Sorry, but grinding the same dungeon over and over for 1400 tokens for a set of exotic armout is not fun for many players. Besides, you need good kit before even attempting to do such a thing. The only stat variation dungeon armour offers that you cannot get from crafting is power/toughness/vitality, and you can get this stat from the temple karma vendors in Orr or from WvW tokens.

I have 2 crafts at 400, and it is by far the easiest thing to do in the game! Last evening I crafted myself a full set of exotic armour (with 2 different insignias), 2 exotic and 3 rare weapons. The most difficult thing was placing buy bids on the TP for some of the mats I was short on. There are plenty of crafting guides out there, if you find it such a challenge…

@OP
My advice is keep on exploring to get all your explorer achievements. The game will reward you well for map completions, and all the mats, gold, and items that will drop along the way. Keep on with you personal story, and level your crafting skills. You will soon have more than enough to either buy the exotics you want off the TP, or craft them yourself.

By this time you will be set to tackle the Orr maps for exploration and/or farming.

The sigil of air does higher single target damage than the sigil of fire.

Well, if you have a 60% crit chance before adding runes, and you think this is enough, then look for runes that could fill another role. Survivability is always good to have ..

This timely for me cos I am considering swapping out my full berserker armour for a mix of Knight and Valkyrie. Something like this:

helm Valkyrie
shoulder Knight
coat Valkyrie
gloves Knight
leggings Valkyrie
boots Knight

My accessories are currently a mix of Knight and Valkyrie as well:
2 Knight rings
2 Valkyrie earrings
1 Valkyrie amulet

My build is 30/30/10/0/0
The above will provide me with the most balanced amount of toughness and vitality, without loosing too much precision. I will add in a full set of rune of ranger’s.

EDIT: I will be crafting these myself and splitting the inscriptions like this means needing less of one type of T6 creature part when spread across 2 of them

Yes, a lot of sigils that trigger off crit do condition damage but these 2 are different:
Superior sigil of air – single target lightening damage
Superior sigil of fire – AoE fire damage

Check them out…

Something to keep in mind …
To benefit from crit damage, you first need to hit a crit, At 60% or more crit chance you are hitting crits 2 out of 3 times. This good, and if you use a weapon sigil that triggers off of crits, then you have good synergy to do some serious damage.

@Elowin
Like you I have solo’ed all the PvE maps. and would recommend you continue exploring, particularly the 3 maps in Orr, plus Frostgorge Sound and Fireheart Rise. The personal story takes you all over the Orr maps, and as a solo player it is easier if you have these previously explored.

Also, you get rare and sometimes exotics items for Orr map completions. These are much better than the personal story rewards.

Five superior runes of the ranger will give you this:
165 precision
8% crit damage

I am not sure what you are trying do, but the 165 precision will give you a hefty boost to your crit chance. Depending on the rest of your build/armour/weapons this can be more useful than the 120 power and 84 precision from the 6 ruby orbs…

Lol!
LB/GS is my favorite solo PvE map exploration and mat farming weapons set up.

I really like following around a Guardian or Warrior in maps, and whipping out my GS to swoop in and begin wailing away. They usually stop and do a wtf??
Hilarious stuff !

PS This is just with a ‘normal’ GS, nothing fancy, so a legendary would gobsmack them..

I would second the ranger!

Well, level 6 is a bit early to decide if the class is for you or not … I suggest taking your warrior to at least lvl 20 and open all the various weapon combination skills.

As for the ranger, I took mine to lvl 80 and still enjoy playing the class. Yes, rangers currently do not have the greatest variation in build due to borked skills, pets and the like. However, rangers are still one of the most successful PvE classes. If you play PvP, then level your warrior instead…

Check out the Ranger sub-forum for builds, if you are stuck for ideas.

Hope this helps!

A lot depends on your playing times. Some of the mid-level maps on Gunnar’s can seem empty during non-peak hours. Also, as you move into the higher level maps, you will see a lot more players doing events, waiting for dragons, farming mats, and the like.

Also, there are plenty of guilds on Gunnar’s Hold, with large memberships. Check out the one in my sig, if you are over 30 .. Otherwise, just google the server for a full list of the registered guilds.

Edit: Just wanted to add that if you whisper me in game, and I am on-line, I will join you for map exploration and DE’s …

Oh, if you are transmuting items of level 79 or lower, you use basic stones. To transmute level 80 you need fine stones.

Ok, this how it works.

Activate the stone anf you will se an interface. Put one of the items on one side, put the other item on the other side. Then begin selecting the bits you want to combine. You have a choice of skin, stats and any items in slots.

The interface will show you what you have selected, and will ask you to confirm your selection.

It makes no difference which item goes on the left or right.

The important part is to the select the combination of stats, items and skin you want. You can see what the outcome will be.

Yes, lvl 80 exotics of the same type have the same stats, but can be obtained in various ways. You can craft them (if your crafting skills are 400), use dungeon tokens, use karma, or buy off the Trading Post.

@OP

This is my PvE ranger.

The Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQFATjEVR21VGWs2Bg1DC7bwWhMZPMkxHLwlF;TsAZUCvkQp+S5FFVGqEUZpyRlkKA

The Armor:
Berserker stats (Power/Precision/Crit%) with full set of Superior Rune of the Ranger (Precision/Crit Damage%/+5% damage with pet)

The Jewelry:
2 rings Knight stats (Power/Precision/Toughness)
2 earrings Valkyrie stats (Power/Crit damage/Vitality)
1 amulet Valkyrie stats (Power/Crit damage/Vitality

The Weapons:
(Primary) Longbow – Berserker stats (Power/Precision/Crit Damage%) with Superior Sigil of Perception (stacks 250 precision for increased crit chance%)

(Secondary 1)
Short Bow – Bow of the Pale Stag Rampager stats (Precision/Condition/Power) with Superior Sigil of Force

(Secondary 2)
Main hand: Axe – Carrion stats (Condition/Power/Vitality) with Superior Sigil of Corruption (stacks 250 condition damage)
Other hand: Warhorn – Adder’s Hiss (Condition/Precision/Toughness) with Superior Sigil of Earth

(Secondary 3)
Greatsword – Berserker stats (Power/Precision/Crit Damage%) with Superior Sigil of Battle

The Gameplay:
I swap secondary weapons around a lot, depending on situations. My main is usually a longbow. I might use a shortbow primary with axe/warhorn secondary for more close quarter engagements like in dungeons. In this case I will drop Eagle Eye for Piercing Arrows. and drop Trap Expertise for Honed Axes. I will also swap out the trap utility for Signet of Renewal to help deal with those nasty conditions ..

With 2 stacking sigils, and being allowed to build/use only 1 stack at a time, I need to think before hand which type of stack I want to use. I usually go with the precision stack, cos higher crit chance helps all weapons. The condition stack is good for the dungeon set-up, since both shortbow and axe/warhorn can benefit from this.

Regarding Toughness & Vitality.
I try to maintain a balance between both through accessories and some of the weapons I use. Having said that, for a ranger I find Vitality more useful than Toughness, since rangers have crap condition removals, you need Vitality to help mitigate condition damage. With a power/precision/ crit build, you should be able kill off things quickly enough to avoid relying on a high defense to see you through.

Jono.1085:

How and what did you use to update your drivers, I have updated mine heaps of time and it has never solved the problem, please help

Updating graphic drivers requires some extra steps to avoid any problems.
1- only download drivers from the manufactures web site, don’t use 2nd party sites for this. Read, and I mean read the release notes to make sure the driver is suitable for your GPU model.
2- download and install a free driver removal programme. (I use Driver Sweeper)
3- uninstall the the current driver using the device manager by selecting the GPU device, properties, and uninstall driver options.
4- use the driver removal program to find and remove the driver files left on the computer.
5- reboot, and let the O/S find and install the default driver. Don’t worry about the low-res, and just wait until it finishes. Do not re-boot after this …
6- run the new driver installation utility. Use custom install to avoiding installing drivers you don’t need like 3D vision, HD audio and the like, unless you have devices that support these.
7- Re-boot

You should be good to go. However, you should go into your driver manager to check all your settings and to define game profiles.

If you want a non-scientific indication of how a game is doing, check the game rating in on-line game vendor sites.

After game launch there were mostly positive,4-5 stars. Now you see the 1-2 star reviews are beginning to add up …

nottsgman.8206:

@bri
Glitch is right though, they do need a different way of thinking, which I think needs practice to get. you never know, with a few more runs you could get to the point where you’re not going down all the time.

My build and play style is based on solo map exploration, which I have done in every PvE map in this game. I routinely solo farm in Forstgorge, Malchor’s Leap, and Cursed Shore without dying. So, it is not me ‘going down all the time’ that is the problem…
A statement I find rather patronising, btw ..

As for dungeons, if you, or anyone else, had a good time, then I am happy for you. Perhaps it is more about how one values rewards for effort. Sorry, but I do not see 12s as being a justifiable reward for 1-1,5 hrs effort in a dungeon. Most certainly it is not enough of a reward for me to even consider changing my playing style, since my current one nets me more in Orr.

As for the experience .. well, my first one was terrible, even omerk admitted that doing Fractals with the party we had was a bad mistake.

The second time it was not clear to me who was leading the show, and it seemed more chaotic than it needed to be. Did this contribute to me ‘going down all time’, as you like to describe it? I don’t know .. Despite this, we did manage to finish the path. Could I have played it better?? Most certainly, particularly knowing what I know now.

However, the big question is, would I do it again? My answer is: no. My interest in doing dungeons is gone for now. If I ever want to do a dungeon again, and I doubt I will, I’ll take my chances with a PUG. At least it couldn’t be any worse experience than what I have been through …

PS. While I was outside AC for almost 2hrs on Sat evening waiting for Glitch to show-up (which he never did …) I had 3 or 4 party requests to do the dungeon. So, there are still people around wanting to do these and not Fractals …

Frotee.2634:

I’m really curious about your notions of good armor design now (not that I don’t have my pet peeves with the GwW2 armor design) – could you show us some examples of what you deem ‘good armor design’?

If want to see examples, search mod downloading sites for games that that have active modding communities. Here is the link to the Nexus site for Skyrim:
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/

You can access all the other Nexus sites through the nexus network menu.
Select ‘Categories’, and go the armour section.

Not saying everything listed in there is great, there is ugly stuff as well, but at least you have access to a vast variety for all sorts of tastes, with some being very well done. Remember, these are done by people who enjoy the games, and not game developers.

I had 15g when I reached 80 by being cheap, knowing what to salvage and what to vendor, and up grading my kit only with loot drops.

LithePanther.5027:

That SS looks amazing.

I don’t get people hating on medium armor…i think GW2 has the BEST medium armor in any game I’ve ever played.

Then you need to play more games …

I could fill this thread with 100’s of images of various great styles and types of leather and/or medium armour from other games, many made by modders and not so called ‘professional’ designers.

The problem with MMO’s is that you are stuck in one persons vision of how the game should look. Single-player games with a good modding community can let you select the look and feel you want in the game.

Having to put up with someone’s very bad notions of armour design will be one of the main factors that drives me away from GW2 …

All you need to know is right here:
http://dulfy.net/2012/10/03/gw2-endgame-gearing-guide/

I am on Gunnar’s Hold, and it is mainly English.
Don’t know about WvW, though …

Rune of the Ranger. These boost precision and crit damage

KeeVasha.5874:

Once again coming from a newbie to this game.. ANet took how long to create this game? 5yrs or more.. correct? In all that time they couldn’t of come up with more gear designs from lvl 0 to 80? Hmmm

Considering the designs they did come up with look like something from a bad acid trip, I would rather see less then more. My eyes hurt enough whenever in LA as it is …

I would be happy if there was 1 set of female leather armour that actually looked like female leather armour…

Yup, a personal opinion, but one shared by many ….
Not a fan of coats, and even less so with the way they are designed here.

PS: If you don’t believe me, check the ranger forum, There is a thread running about this.

Sorry to disappoint you, but there isn’t any cool armour, particularly if you are a human female medium armour class. Just lots of horrible looking stuff…

See for yourself: http://www.gw2armorgallery.com/

Elfia.5348:

I just started my adventure with GW2 and made human ranger female. After playing many games ( mmos mostly) I must admit that medium armors are simply terrible. Im aware not everyone like short skimpy outfits but kitten pls add some more skins/armors. Ive checked and there are maybe 2 relatively good looking armors. Rest of them are short/long coats. (

Oh my! I could not agree with you more !!

I have been complaining about this since game launch. Have a look here: http://www.gw2armorgallery.com/

These images are the best examples on how not to design game armour. Some these are simply horrid …

Nels the Cornwhisperer.8025:

Never buy armor. It’s just a waste, with how easy it is to get good gear.

Option 1: Dungeons
3 storyline branches a day, over 8 days, and you’ve got a full dungeon set of exotic armor. Takes about 1.5 hours a day of play time. Start in AC at a low level, and run storymode 3 times a day, and you’ll have full exotics before you hit 80.

Option 2: Personal story.
You will be decked out pretty well by your own storyline, in blues/greens, and everything is stupidly easy to solo until the very last one.

Option 3: Crafting.
If you did a lot of world completion, you got a lot of zone completion chests. Those chests have good amounts of materials in them, and hopefully you gathered while you were exploring. Jewelcrafting + Tailor will get you the most equipment slots filled with the least amount of work going in to it.

Gathering for Tailor is simple, you just have to know what to farm. The short answer to that question is: Humanoids. Bandits, Centuars, Seperatists are usually the best to go with.

I beg to differ on this …

1- Grinding dungeons are not for everyone, and you need decent kit to survive. Doing dungeons in blues/greens 10-20 lvls below your character level is daft, and you become a liability for the rest of the group. Besides trying to find a group to do any dungeon. beside Fractals, is difficult right now.

2- With personal story, apart from the initial parts, I was always at least 10 levels higher than the story rewards and had found much better kit in loot drops.

3- Crafting is good, but you need to get T5 mats to craft rares. For exotics you need lots of ecto and T6 mats. Again farming Orr maps n blues/greens 10-20 lvls below your character level will be a challenge …

When I reached 80, I had 15g saved by being cheap. First thing I did was buy a full set of exotic armour and 2 exotic weapons. Best investment I made all game. I easily made back the investment in no time ..

Something else regarding stacking sigils I recently found out …

I have a precision stacking sigil on my longbow and a condition stacking sigil on my axe/warhorn secondary weapon set up.

I cannot have both stacks running at the same time. In other words, if I begin play using my longbow and start stacking precision, if I switch to my axe/warhorn, I cannot stack condition. Precision will remain as the only stack buff.

If I start play using the axe/warhorn and begin stacking condition, and switch to longbow, then condition will be the only stack running.

I spent a lot buying a superior sigil of corruption, thinking I could run 2 different stacks at the same time … Precision is more critical for my build, so now I will probably have to destroy the superior sigil of corruption in my axe with another sigil …

Keep in mind the Mystic salvage kits have an 80% chance of rune/sigil recovery, while the Black Lion kits have 100% …

Some runes sell for well over 4g on the TP, so you do not want to risk the 20% failure chance on these. It is best to have both …

If you want to craft rare or exotic, you need to first buy the recipe for the insignia you want from the tailor crafting merchant …

Click on the recipe in your inventory and you will see it the next time you look in your insignia crafting section.

Edit: Also, you can find all the tailoring recipes in the wiki …

You do know that you have access to more storage at the bank, yes?
You can access it from your crafting stations, or the charr standing in front of the bank in LA.

Also, if your inventory bags are full, you cannot salvage since the salvage items have no place to go …

Drops rates for shells seem no worse or better than any other mat.

For now, the map is good for collecting mats.
There are a few T6 creature parts that drop. Also, some orich ore and ancient wood nodes, etc …

Here is a very useful website:
http://orrmaps.com/server/gunnars_hold

You can select the server you are on, and the info is updated by players on that server.

I think you would be better off going for specific stat buffs suitable to your play style and other kit rather than a shotgun style approach.

For example, I have a glass cannon build, armour and weapons. I used specific exotic trinkets (2 Knight rings, 2 Valkyrie earrings and Valkyrie amulet) to add some toughness and vitality to my build.

Not saying this is this is right for you, but just something to consider.

My Ancient karka shell is sitting unused in my bank. I will probably salvage it for ecto and other mats …

I have a lvl 80 ranger, but have done only PvE and a wee bit of WvW, no dungeons yet. I also started a Thief way back at launch, so can give a bit on that as well.

Thief
Really fun class, requiring a very tactical play style, lots of movement, burst, etc. Downside, it is very squishy, particularly at lower levels. Not great for solo PvE, in fact probably one of the worst classes for PvE, but better if you have a group to play with. You need to operate from the fringes of fights, striking at mobs already weakened and darting back to safety, and repeat.

From what I read, Thief class is great in PvP and WvW.

Ranger
One of the best class for solo PvE. I solo’ed in every map zone, including Orr. You have a lot of weapon choices and some versatility in builds, but there are still major problems with some ranger utilities, like spirits and pet mechanics.. This class also requires a tactical play style, and lots of movement, particularly if you like using bows.

The thing with rangers is that they can do a lot, but do not excel at one thing. In PvE this is not a problem, but in PvP, this is the worst class of lot. In WvW, it really depends on your play style.

I hope to take my ranger into dungeons very soon.

Hope this helps!

Have you completed Frostgorge and all the Orr maps yet? Doing that will net you a variety of tier 6 creature parts.

Apart from that, all I can suggest is to take a break from dungeons to farm Orr for awhile, or buy the mats off the TP …