Playing without "elite" specializations?

I've been playing now for a couple of days (still can't use the Trading Post :/) and, so far, I've have been enjoying my time in the game. I'm playing a Ranger who fights with a big Pink Moa. I thought I'd take a little time out to investigate the end-game part of my profession because I wanted to start putting together my end-game look. Well, much to my surprise, and to my chagrin, I found that my Ranger will be forced to become either a Druid, which is the polar opposite of a Ranger, or a Beastmaster, which is a classic extension of the Druid class. I felt like Arenanet just sucker punched me! At any rate, I spent $100 dollars to buy the two expansions...now I'm stuck struggling to get my money's worth out of this game. So, my question is this: how much of the end-game content will I be able to do as a Ranger? Will I be able to get a mount? Will I be able to get Legendary/Ascended gear? Will I be able to play through the episodic seasons of the Living World content as a Ranger?

Edit: I won't be doing 1vs1 PvP, or even small group PvP...my fingers are too big and not very dexterous, so I suck at PvP. That said, I would like to do WvW PvP at some point...so, hopefully that will be an option for my Ranger character.

99% of the content you'll be able to do as any class or specialization. Elite or not.It's entirely about your comfort and feeling of your classes' capabilities. If you feel you fight and do well, that's all that matters.You don't ever have to touch them if you don't want to.You can get mounts, gear and everything without them.

Really the only cases that Elites are generally desired over Core is high end content like Raids, high tier Fractals and some instances of PvP.

@GW Noob.6038 said:I've been playing now for a couple of days (still can't use the Trading Post :/) and, so far, I've have been enjoying my time in the game. I'm playing a Ranger who fights with a big Pink Moa. I thought I'd take a little time out to investigate the end-game part of my profession because I wanted to start putting together my end-game look. Well, much to my surprise, and to my chagrin, I found that my Ranger will be forced to become either a Druid, which is the polar opposite of a Ranger, or a Beastmaster, which is a classic extension of the Druid class. I felt like Arenanet just sucker punched me! At any rate, I spent $100 dollars to buy the two expansions...now I'm stuck struggling to get my money's worth out of this game. So, my question is this: how much of the end-game content will I be able to do as a Ranger? Will I be able to get a mount? Will I be able to get Legendary/Ascended gear? Will I be able to play through the episodic seasons of the Living World content as a Ranger?

You can do nearly everything on a Ranger just fine, only high end pve (high fractals/raids) and pvp won't be easy without the elite specs. Getting mounts, legendary gear (excluding envoy armor) and finishing the story is doable as Ranger. Why do you say that Druid is the polar opposite of Ranger? And the other elite spec is Soulbeast which is fundamentally different to Ranger/Druid.

I really really like my core ranger with beserker stats. Don't like driud but do enjoy soulbeast. I don't do fractals or raids so your experience will vary.

Hello

I don't know ranger much so I'm probably not the best to answer but here's what I think:

I'm not gonna lie to you. For all I know, elite specs perform way better than core class for most professions.

However, I think it's perfectly possible to do living world, open world, get a mount, ect...with a core profession. Just a bit more difficult.

For Ascended gear, you basically have to farm. Open world provides good opportunities but fractals and pvp are nice for that too. Which bring me to the point:

For high content pve (fractals, raid,...), it's highly recommended, and often a requirement from players, that you play an elite spec.

In brief, you can do a very large part of the game, including all story, without elite specs. I don't understand your problem exactly? Is it that you don't like the concept of elite specs, or that you are annoyed by the fact you are forced to get them? (Which I can understand).

However, acquiring elite specs is kinda part of the natural game progression and it go with many benefits. You have many ways to obtain hero point (including pvp and wvw reward track) so take your time. You can go to Pof, get the hero point, get your mounts, without a problem.

I hope I've been of some help. Is there any veteran ranger here who could bring more precsisions? Thanks

Have a good day

You are not "forced" to become Druid or Soulbeast (and I guess we could argue whether that is a beastmaster or not), unlocking and using the elite specialisations is in principle optional. As for your specific questions:

how much of the end-game content will I be able to do as a Ranger?Without elite specialisations you will you're probably not able to use any 'meta' builds (not sure since I don't play ranger), so you'll likely have troubles finding groups for raids or high level fractals, since most groups want maximum performance for the parts of the game. (You will also be at a disadvantage in any pvp mode).

Will I be able to get a mount?Yes, you'll get your first mount after the introduction mission to PoF, nothing else required (you need to be lvl 80).

Will I be able to get Legendary/Ascended gear?Yes, this is completely independent of specialisations

Will I be able to play through the episodic seasons of the Living World content as a Ranger?Yes, open world PvE - including the living story - is pretty much 'anything goes' in regards to build viability.

Not Beastmaster :) Soulbeast, that is ranger v2.0 at its finest that can go rogue if you wish. :)

Speaking of ranger, nobody would say anything if you go full power berzerk ( on trapper runes), longbow druid and do your story, open world and pvp

Elite specs are only required for certain high end content. But that's not just classes, specific equipment and builds fall in the same category. Elite specs certainly make open world and story content easier because of the higher damage output of certain classes. If you're enjoying ranger then soulbeast is not too far removed and I think you'll enjoy it.

You might not feel like it at the moment but this game is extremely alt friendly and you will get the urge to try other classes eventually. You'll get a good scope of all the different elite specs and find the one that's right for you.

I dont know where you've read that soulbeast is an extensiom of the druid, as it is fundamentally different from it, and actually much closer to core ranger. Also, soulbeast has absolutely nothing to do with other games' "beastmaster". It seems you are comparing the ranger profession and its elite specializations with other games' classes, which is wrong : GW2's professions are unique and their gameplay cant be compared with other games. You HAVE to try them to know how they feel.

What I can tell you is : if you like core ranger, you'll love soulbeast, as it feels like an extension of it. You'll have access to the same skills/weapons + more, and you'll be able to choose whether or not to have your pet out to fight. You can choose to play exactly as a core ranger without ever touching the new speciality, or play 100% merged without having a pet, or a mix between those two.

Also, as a ranger, whatever the elite you choose to play, you're gonna be able to play all content and get everything you want. You will NOT be limited. That said, high-end content will require you to be versatile with your profession.

Dont worry, the game has much to offer, you will not be disappointed, and the expansions are worth it :)

The expansions don't cost 100 €. They are more like 50 both together, sometimes discounted. Also, if you want mounts you need the PoF expansion anyway.

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:Why do you say that Druid is the polar opposite of Ranger?

The Classic Ranger is a fast-moving and agile hunter who seeks to exploit the natural environment to his advantage...whereas the classic Druid is a slow-moving scholarly type who seeks to use nature-magic to protect nature and, eventually, merge with it.

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:The expansions don't cost 100 €. They are more like 50 both together, sometimes discounted. Also, if you want mounts you need the PoF expansion anyway.

I paid $100 dollars for the two expansions.

@GW Noob.6038 said:At any rate, I spent $100 dollars to buy the two expansions...now I'm stuck struggling to get my money's worth out of this game.

I hope you are already getting your moneys worth even while only leveling to 80 and acquiring some masteries. You are pretty far from any game mode which might impair you or your chosen class.

@GW Noob.6038 said:So, my question is this: how much of the end-game content will I be able to do as a Ranger?

As mentioned, close to 99%.

@GW Noob.6038 said:Will I be able to get a mount?

Yes, this is tied to materies and has absolutely no requirement beside playing the PoF story and some gold.

@GW Noob.6038 said:Will I be able to get Legendary/Ascended gear?

Yes, though you might have to specify which legendary gear you are aiming for. Simply put: you will have the same chance and obstacles as every new player to getting ascended gear (meaning the first set will be quite expensive since you might have to craft it). PvE Legendary armor would be the most unobtainable simply because it requires group content which in turn might require specific roles. Spvp and WvW legendary armor are simply time spent with no such limitation.

That said, there is 0 reason to aim for any legendary gear in your position at the moment. Legendary gear takes a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) amount of time to get. Chances are you will never want to go down that road and you will certainly have gotten your moneys worth by then (we are talking hundreds of hours for a new account).

@GW Noob.6038 said:Will I be able to play through the episodic seasons of the Living World content as a Ranger?

The episodic Living World content has no restrictions in place and as long as you can manage on your ranger (and ranger with their pets do rather well in basic pve), you will have no issues.

TL;DR: worry less about things which are so far off, if someone were to explain how far off they are for you, he would need a couple of extra pair of arms.

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:Why do you say that Druid is the polar opposite of Ranger?

That shows that you are still comparing the GW2s specializations with other games's classes archetypes. That is a flaw and you will soon realize that they do not coincide. The "classic" druid isnt like GW2's.

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:Why do you say that Druid is the polar opposite of Ranger?

Power Druid running end-game fractal if it looks like a scholar to you, then OK

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:Why do you say that Druid is the polar opposite of Ranger?

You can't fully apply classic archtypes to GW2 classes and specs. The Ranger is a hunter/trapper/survivalist with an animal companion and access to some beast-like magic. A druid is just a ranger with access to more healing and an altered form with powerful healing capabilities. And a Soulbeast (not Beastmaster) is a Ranger with the ability to merge with their animal companion and gain access to some of their strengths and abilities.

@phs.6089 said:Not Beastmaster :) Soulbeast, that is ranger v2.0 at its finest that can go rogue if you wish. :)Speaking of ranger, nobody would say anything if you go full power berzerk ( on trapper runes), longbow druid and do your story, open world and pvp

I really hope that I can make this character work...I'm looking at the Soulbeast specialization more closely now. :)

@"GW Noob.6038" said:I've been playing now for a couple of days (still can't use the Trading Post :/) and, so far, I've have been enjoying my time in the game. I'm playing a Ranger who fights with a big Pink Moa. I thought I'd take a little time out to investigate the end-game part of my profession because I wanted to start putting together my end-game look. Well, much to my surprise, and to my chagrin, I found that my Ranger will be forced to become either a Druid, which is the polar opposite of a Ranger, or a Beastmaster, which is a classic extension of the Druid class. I felt like Arenanet just sucker punched me! At any rate, I spent $100 dollars to buy the two expansions...now I'm stuck struggling to get my money's worth out of this game. So, my question is this: how much of the end-game content will I be able to do as a Ranger? Will I be able to get a mount? Will I be able to get Legendary/Ascended gear? Will I be able to play through the episodic seasons of the Living World content as a Ranger?

You are going to find that traditional class roles and stereotypes are not as rigid in the game. Rangers can fufill a number of roles, some are very much centered around the traditional class fantasy you are bemoaning and others not.A Condi-Ranger using the druid spec can absolutely be a fast moving, death dealing fighter. Or they can be a healing druid (which by the way can trait for a movement speed increase).Likewise a Soulbeast can merge with their pet, or you never even have to merge and still gain much of what the elite spec has to offer.

Guildwars 2 has a very flexible build system which allows you to manifest your class fantasy in the way you see fit. Some ways wont be optimal, but for the majority of the conent in this game most ways you build your toon will be viable.

You might well consider that you don't have a ton of information about this game (being days in) to claim the developers "sucker punched" you in the slightest. You may want to wait until you have explored the buildcraft before you make a judgement and play the wounded consumer over your100 dollar purchase.

@Joraan Adenard.2061 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:That shows that you are still comparing the GW2s specializations with other games's classes archetypes. That is a flaw and you will soon realize that they do not coincide. The "classic" druid isnt like GW2's.

GW2 is just another MMO game to me, one of many, in a very long line of MMO's that I've played - stretching back some19 years. With the "Druid" specialization, ArenaNet has simply created another fighter class, with a few extra heals, and presented it as a Druid.

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@Joraan Adenard.2061 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:That shows that you are still comparing the GW2s specializations with other games's classes archetypes. That is a flaw and you will soon realize that they do not coincide. The "classic" druid isnt like GW2's.

@Joraan Adenard.2061 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:That shows that you are still comparing the GW2s specializations with other games's classes archetypes. That is a flaw and you will soon realize that they do not coincide. The "classic" druid isnt like GW2's.

Not really, go full magi and water runes and you will be a traditional healer that everyone blames when run fails :)

The popular build for druid atm is harrier that gives power(damage), concentration (boon duration) & healing power, druids heal, buff and deal damage.

One thing might clear this out for you. Having elite spec on your class, doesn't take away your core class abilitiesAs described below .

@JDub.1530 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@GW Noob.6038 said:Why do you say that Druid is the polar opposite of Ranger?

I've played nearly daily for 3 years. I still use core specs on some of my toons and have never had any issues. There are areas of the game I don't play - raids, for instance, so I can't speak to that, but I can assure you there's lots to do and which can be done with a core spec.

@"Biff.5312" said:I've played nearly daily for 3 years. I still use core specs on some of my toons and have never had any issues. There are areas of the game I don't play - raids, for instance, so I can't speak to that, but I can assure you there's lots to do and which can be done with a core spec.

I've heard lots of people say they don't play in raids or fractals...what's the deal with that content? Does it cater to the "Powertard" class?

Welcome to the game!

I love playing a Ranger. It has been my go-to class/profession since Guild Wars 1. I've played both of the Ranger elite specializations, and I still prefer to play a 'vanilla' Ranger.

There are some cases where the elite specs are more valued, such as Raids and WvW (at least in my experience). In PvP however, I have had success with my vanilla build, as well as in Fractals. You can absolutely play through all the expansions and Living World seasons, with all they have to offer such as mounts, without 'having' to use either of the elites.

I hope you will come to love GW2 and the Ranger! :)

@GW Noob.6038 said:

@"Biff.5312" said:I've played nearly daily for 3 years. I still use core specs on some of my toons and have never had any issues. There are areas of the game I don't play - raids, for instance, so I can't speak to that, but I can assure you there's lots to do and which can be done with a core spec.

No not at all. It is just like every other game though that has a sub population that enjoys it, sub population that doesn't and the rest could care less either way.

You may want to pose your concerns in the Ranger Sub Forum.