Ranged profession

Hi everybody. I am just starting the game and i went to ranger because i like ranged class and bow. Looking at the specialization it seems the ranger is not so focus on bow and range anymore. Before continuing i want to make sure I am doing the right choice and don't end up with a melee class :)

Every class in this game has ranged and melee options.Ranger has the a lot of ranged options but also a lot of melee ones.Melee does more dmg than range does, melee takes a higher risk and thus gets a higher reward.Caster classes have several ranged options too and soldier classes have 2 (but rev and guard only with specializations).For open PvE and WvW ranged weapons are a goid choice. For fractals and raids id say that close to midrange will be more effective.

Nevertheless you can play a ranger as a full ranged class if you want. But keep a melee option at backhand. In some scenarios you need melee attacks.

All classes can play ranged or melee. In PvE, melee damage is almost always higher, since your allies need to be close to you to share buffs. (so everyone groups up near melee range)

However, outside of PvE, the Ranger is a great class for ranged combat, but as I mentioned every class can be ranged. Right now, longbow is part of the ranger meta in pvp, and I enjoy it a lot in wvw.

Here are the classes and a short bit on their builds:Elementalist: Staff (long range, aoe, support, dps) Scepter (medium range dps)Mesmer: Gs (long range, best burst in melee), Scepter (medium range utility/condi weapon)Necromancer: Staff (utility), scepter (single target dps)

Ranger: Longbow (longest range single target mostly), Shortbow (medium utility/condi weapon), axe (hybrid weapon)Engineer: Rifle (Shotgun), kits (grenades, mortar)Thief: Shortbow (utility), Rifle (sniper), p/p (medium range burst)

Guardian: Longbow (aoe dps), Scepter (good hybrid weapon, medium range)Warrior: Rifle (single target dps) Longbow (condi)Revenant: Hammer (range burst), Shortbow (condi, medium range)

Overall, for open world, I'd say: Elementalist, Ranger, Engineer, Thief, Guardian, Warrior and Revenant are best suited to maintaining ranged combat. (with the engineer landing large bursts in melee, while kiting)

For other game modes, it's rare to see Range Warriors, but they can be pretty funny to play in pvp. (huge burst with unblockable effects)

Thank you very much. It does help. I did not realize other classes had so many ranged options. For thief you mention the sniper with rifle. The rifle has his own skill bar as the bow has?

@oceanis.6287 said:Thank you very much. It does help. I did not realize other classes had so many ranged options. For thief you mention the sniper with rifle. The rifle has his own skill bar as the bow has?

Two handed weapons have alway their own skillbar. Weapons determine your first 5 skill. Two handed all 5. With mainhand (MH) the first 3 and offhand (OH) the last 2.

Riffle on deadeye has even more skills because they can kneel with skill 5 for more powerful effectsas an exchange for mobility.