Will you buff Shortbow by 2025 or is it too soon, Anet?

Outside of people who've just purchased the game and don't know any better, when was the last time you've seen anyone using the Shortbow in pvp OR pve? How can you mess up such an iconic ranger's weapon for five years? I don't get it, really. They buffed Longbow years ago, but nothing was done to Shortbow.... oh yea! They buffed power damage on a condi weapon, great stuff.

You look at every single SB skill, and ask yourself what the hell is this garbage??? The CC sb5 is the only half useful skill, but even then, if you compare it to similar skills with the same CD (Magic bullet on mesmer's pistol and pin down on war longbow), its absolutely laughable in comparison. Do you wait for GW3 to be released to buff Shortbow, Anet?

Here's my quick suggestion on skill rebalance, so this weapon is even able to compete with Axe/Torch or Axe/Dagger on condi or cele builds.

Crossfire2sec Bleed from any angle. Pierces targets. Per pierced target, 1sec of bleeding is added to the targeted enemy. Flanking fact removed.

Poison VolleyAdd 2 additional poison darts for a total of 7. Narrow down the firing cone so this skill is usable to 600 range (5 darts should be able to hit at 600 range. If you want all 7 to hit, melee range will be needed). Poison duration is 7sec from any angle. CD and firing speed stays as is. Flanking fact removed.

Quick ShotIn addition to what it currently does, add 1 stack of Burning for 3sec if you hit the target. If you hit the target while having Swiftness, you apply 3 stacks of Burning for 3sec instead. Activation time, Evade duration and CD stays the same.

Crippling ShotIncrease CD to 15sec. You apply 5sec of Cripple. You also apply 3 stacks of Torment for 5sec IF the target was moving. YOUR three next attacks apply Bleeding for 10sec. Your Pet next attack apply 1sec of Immobilize. Activation time stays the same.

Concussion ShotFlanking fact removed. This skill now stuns for 2sec from any angle. If a skill is interrupted, you apply 5 stacks of Confusion for 5sec, and the interrupted skill takes 5 additional seconds to recharge (additional CD time shouldn't work on autos of course).

Nothing will ever improve for SB in this decade, but i had to get it off of my chest.

Will play devil's advocate here. Shortbow is the best dueling, skirmishing weapon for ranger. Only thing I would change is to add confusion on concussion shot and make crossfire deal % damage when flanking, then it will be a true hybrid weapon.

# AND CHANGE LIGHT ON YOUR FEET. SUCH A CONVOLUTED TRAIT.

SB is meta for condi builds and has been buffed several times now. Although, it could do with a touch more love, a new duration tweeks. LoyF could do with added functionality of "on evade" in addition to "on dodge" and some number tweaks.

Increase crossfire bleeding duration by 1 second.Quick shot gives 3 seconds of quickness.Concussion shot: rename to Confusion shot-> normal effect +applies 2 stacks of confusion, 4 if flanking.

If the flanking bonus is going to be dealt away with, I'd like to see more skill synergy applied to the weapon.

• Crossfire bleeds for 2s each shot. Bleeds last 25% longer against foes with movement-impeding conditions.
• Poison Volley fires 5 arrows that poison for 5s each. Each arrow inflicts weakness for 0.5s on bleeding foes.
• Quickshot also removes immobilize.
• Crippling Shot cripples for 4s and makes your pet's next 3 attacks inflict bleeding for 12s. Weakened foes are also immobilized for 1.5s.
• Concussion Shot stuns for 2s and inflicts 5 stacks of confusion for 5s if the foe is interrupted.

This adds self-synergy to the weapon while allowing it to be more versatile with other traits and utilities. Anything that inflicts movement-impeding conditions aside Crippling shot, such as Muddy Terrain, Frost Trap, traited Traps, Soften the Fall use with a heal, and pets that also apply cripple, chill, or immobilize bolsters Crossfire.

Poison Volley and Crippling Shot play into one another while Crossfire lends itself to Poison Volley in applying weakness. Traits and pets that also inflict weakness such as Wilting Strike, Black Bear, and Protective Ward can also fit into these adjusted moves.

Think the final part is Light On Your Feet. Flanking bonuses can be easily altered to strengthening each move by just a bit. Also, altering the Light on your Feet bonus from 10% damage/condition duration to damage/condition damage fits better while having it apply while the player has vigor instead of on-dodge or evade.

• Crossfire bleed increased to 3s.
• Poison Volley fires 2 additional arrows.
• Quickshot grants 3s of super speed instead of swiftness.
• Crippling Shot additionally inflicts 2 stacks of torment for 4s.
• Concussion Shot additionally inflicts 10 stacks of vulnerability for 10s (same).

If that can happen, the changes are much more meaningful and can create some additional synergy with other traits, utilities, and pets that the class has to offer. Some will be more effective than others, but hey, at least they would be more options - ones that'll have synergy.

If none of you asked for a reduction of Concussion Shot's aftercast, you don't or haven't played shortbow in PvP that much at all.

Shortbow on condi ranger is pretty much what most people who are condi rangers use. It's short bow and axe/torch. Not sure where the OP is getting his information but at least in PvE, I see short bows used pretty much every day and my condi ranger uses one as well.

Can I just add that the current trait which makes all SB attacks flank, is bugged, and actually DOES NOT WORK reliably? Especially the SB 4 and 5 seem to bug out alot. Nice fake trait there Anet. Just another bug us rangers have to live with.

It's meta in pve because they buffed aspects of it that are easily maintainable in pve.The weapon itself is still as boring as it ever was. I actually hate this weapon, might very well be my least favorite one. Bow skills that are interesting were given to other classes. Choking Gas, Pin Down and whatnot. 250 years went by and rangers forgot how to light up their arrows with fire.

And lets not even start with the shortbow trait. What a convoluted mess.

@Khenzy.9348 said:If none of you asked for a reduction of Concussion Shot's aftercast, you don't or haven't played shortbow in PvP that much at all.

I roam a bunch with SB (only because of perma swiftness... the only useful thing on that weapon for roaming). The aftercast never bothered me. Why? Because this game is plagued with aftercast on almost everything. Its the norm.

Another suggestion i'd like to add is to change Poison Volley for GW1's Burning Arrow. I feel like without the Torch, you absolutely need Burning on SB or the DPS is simply mediocre (i'm talking about pvp btw).

Burning Arrow10 CD1/2 casting time3 stacks of Burning for 3 secPower Damage should be equal to Winter's Bite, ranger Axe3 skill.

if there's one ranger skill i miss from GW1 its Burning Arrow! There are no other weapons where it'd fit, but it would be nice on SB and fits in there perfectly.

@Vayne.8563 said:Shortbow on condi ranger is pretty much what most people who are condi rangers use. It's short bow and axe/torch. Not sure where the OP is getting his information but at least in PvE, I see short bows used pretty much every day and my condi ranger uses one as well.

In pve a power soulbeast with LB/X is much better than a trapper condi ranger. Not to mention that in pve you see a bunch of new players that aren't aware of SB's underpowered dps. What deals damage on a condi ranger is traps, SB is only there to spam autos half afk while waiting for traps CD.

@"Nuka Cola.8520" said:Another suggestion i'd like to add is to change Poison Volley for GW1's Burning Arrow. I feel like without the Torch, you absolutely need Burning on SB or the DPS is simply mediocre (i'm talking about pvp btw).

Burning Arrow10 CD1/2 casting time3 stacks of Burning for 3 secPower Damage should be equal to Winter's Bite, ranger Axe3 skill.

if there's one ranger skill i miss from GW1 its Burning Arrow! There are no other weapons where it'd fit, but it would be nice on SB and fits in there perfectly.

How about Incindiary Arrows? Just change the Poison to Burning. https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Incendiary_ArrowsThen maybe add poison to flanking on Crossfire instead of a longer bleed.

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:Shortbow on condi ranger is pretty much what most people who are condi rangers use. It's short bow and axe/torch. Not sure where the OP is getting his information but at least in PvE, I see short bows used pretty much every day and my condi ranger uses one as well.

that's completely false from a pve aspect. SB#2 and the bleeds on auto are what you take SB for in a pve condi ranger build and it outdps's power lb/x by a large margin unless you mean open world where anything goes. SB#5 is also fairly useful on breakbars, another thing is the fact that the attack speed on SB is high and used with sun spirit can provide a lot of burning on hit.

@Prophet.1584 said:

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:Shortbow on condi ranger is pretty much what most people who are condi rangers use. It's short bow and axe/torch. Not sure where the OP is getting his information but at least in PvE, I see short bows used pretty much every day and my condi ranger uses one as well.

Point Blank Shot is there for breaking bars and deal considerable damage as well. With how hard soulbeast can hit in a power build, i personally do not believe a trap ranger is better for pve anymore. Even if it was the case, i'd run Axe/Torch X/X or Axe/Dagger Sword/Torch in a condi build.

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Prophet.1584 said:

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:Shortbow on condi ranger is pretty much what most people who are condi rangers use. It's short bow and axe/torch. Not sure where the OP is getting his information but at least in PvE, I see short bows used pretty much every day and my condi ranger uses one as well.

qtfy has run the numbers and while they are not perfect since i'm not going to be testing it myself i'll go with their findings. SB+a/t is the best condi dps setup followed by a/t+s/t and power builds lag behind condi by around 10k dps in raid conditions. I wish power was better, i want to play power ranger again and the fusion mechanic seemed really cool at first but it's just not enough in raid/fractal scenarios to outshine condi.

@Prophet.1584 said:

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Prophet.1584 said:

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:Shortbow on condi ranger is pretty much what most people who are condi rangers use. It's short bow and axe/torch. Not sure where the OP is getting his information but at least in PvE, I see short bows used pretty much every day and my condi ranger uses one as well.

Did he/she ran those numbers on a Soulsbeast?

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Prophet.1584 said:

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Prophet.1584 said:

@Nuka Cola.8520 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

Yes, condi soulbeast using sb + d/t averages between 37-40k dps and is the best setup for ranger dps at this time. it's pretty similar to the old condi ranger setups we've been running, SB got added after the SB buff patch.

Power DPS builds are averaging around 20-25k dps, which isn't horrible, but not competitive. The bottom line, though, is play how you want. As long as your group will take you as a power ranger no one else should care. I just wanted to point out the dps differences, there's a lot of new rangers on the forums.

edited for science! https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/74b1ik/qt_path_of_fire_builds_and_benchmarks/

Yes upvote for science! Quick reminder that numbers you see on screen or burst dmg does not always equal high DPS. It is the amount of damage done in the long run. Please spread more of the gospel and less touchy-feely stuff regarding dps where things can be discussed in math (Don't mean to sound elitist but misinformation spreading pains me).

And a very huge reminder, qtfy builds are normally for raid usage mainly. If we are talking about open world content and just going around, anything works...

I like the idea of concussive shot having a lower aftercast and inflicting a few stacks of torment or confusion. Otherwise I'm not of the opinion SB is terrible.

THROWBACK TIME: At least its not like back near launch through LS1 where SB did more POWER damage than Longbow and condi was for the lulz. I do miss power ranger though.

Let's bring Rupter Ranger back from GW1.Concussion Shot stun removed and CD reduced by 80% if you interrupt a skill (5s CD). Or, if a skill is interrupted, said skill has an added 20s CD as penalty. It now always applies some confusion stacks.

@Khenzy.9348 said:Let's bring Rupter Ranger back from GW1.Concussion Shot stun removed and CD reduced by 80% if you interrupt a skill (5s CD). Or, if a skill is interrupted, said skill has an added 20s CD as penalty. It now always applies some confusion stacks.

Wouldn't x/p thief work for that? Interrupt rangers didn't typically use pets, and if you're limiting yourself to 900 range anyways...

@Unholy Pillager.3791 said:

@Khenzy.9348 said:Let's bring Rupter Ranger back from GW1.Concussion Shot stun removed and CD reduced by 80% if you interrupt a skill (5s CD). Or, if a skill is interrupted, said skill has an added 20s CD as penalty. It now always applies some confusion stacks.

Yup, x/P thief is always going to be better unless they give concussion shot zero CD. Not to mention the plethora of other CC they have in the form of Steal/SoH, Basi Venom, Pistol whip, Tripwire, Scorpion Wire, Palms Strike, Distracting Daggers, Shadow Gust, Blinding Shadow, I'm sure I missed some...

I'd love Ranger to be a rupter again, but it would never be as effective. They could always give us Needling Shot with a Daze on it though...

@Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582 said:

@Unholy Pillager.3791 said:

@Khenzy.9348 said:Let's bring Rupter Ranger back from GW1.Concussion Shot stun removed and CD reduced by 80% if you interrupt a skill (5s CD). Or, if a skill is interrupted, said skill has an added 20s CD as penalty. It now always applies some confusion stacks.

Noone's saying that you'd have to compete against thieves for a rupting role. It's just added utility to the shortbow, with additional condi damage. And come on, 2s daze on 5s CD? Yes please. Might even be a little too much lol, but hey you'd be actually rewarded by interrupting things.

@Khenzy.9348 said:

@Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582 said:

@Unholy Pillager.3791 said:

@Khenzy.9348 said:Let's bring Rupter Ranger back from GW1.Concussion Shot stun removed and CD reduced by 80% if you interrupt a skill (5s CD). Or, if a skill is interrupted, said skill has an added 20s CD as penalty. It now always applies some confusion stacks.

I've always liked the suggestion of making it apply confusion stacks, that would be a good idea (I think LR should too, remove the power damage and give it AoE Confusion). Or, if you interrupt with it, it knocks them down. I do like the idea you suggested, you could go even further really. In addition, you could have LoyF apply confusion on interrupts as well or make it daze on every attack (except XFire).

It's just a shame that we don't have the target's casting bar in this game, it was pivotal for 'rupting in GW, I had that thing half the width of the screen so it was really noticable for that DShot 'rupt. I also loved running Practiced Stance with Choking Gas, high expertise and Needling Shot, you could really make a mess of monks in RA with that.