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Sort of new to game have some questions as a Ranger


Vengy.6213

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  • Random TLDR OF me coming to the game...So I recently purchased the xpack and used a boost on a warrior which I regret since there is far to much items/terms/exploration that over whelmed me (Which the good news is I unlocked the mount on him before throwing in the towel) I made a new character which is a Ranger & currently leveling it almost level 28. My friend who got me to come back has me doing WvW since pvp is our favorite aspect of games.

  • The question...So I tried to look up guides but I find them confusing...So I enjoy the Longbow and Greatsword weapon combo what type of dps pvp build can I create with that. I'd be happy with being a long range sniper or even the best of both worlds what should I build and I could careless about PvE ill never run dungeons/raids probably unless i have to for pvp.

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Hello o/I'm a returning player but I've played ranger since launch, and mainly played WvW after I finished the main storyline (never played dungeons either). If you're going for a power build in general, LB + GS is a fine choice. You can definitely do some good kiting with your pet as a bonus annoyance, then switch it up for heavy hits on GS. You also have to consider what kind of gameplay you're interested in. If it's small-scale fights and roaming, then your build will surely differ from the large group fights. When I was still playing a few years ago, I was running a dps/tank soulbeast that relied heavily on boons that served me well in small scale fights, but I also became an off-hand support as I share my boons to other players. Saved a lot of people's necks :)

I suggest going over to sites like metabattle and browse through their builds for pvp/WvW. There are other sites that give build recommendations, so just type in "WvW ranger roaming build" or something and it should garner you some solid sources, though metabattle is the most popular.

When I was trying to tailor a build, I also often used gw2skills.net. Play around with various combinations of skills, armor, trinkets, signets, etc. I think you running around and leveling your ranger from start is a great idea because this gives you more intimate knowledge about the class. Even the least "meta" builds out there can surprise people and most of the time, it's because that player has spent considerable time playing and learning their class. So I say, take your time. Spend a lot of it with base ranger then move on to the other specs would be my suggestion.

Hope you enjoy your time in WvW! It's changed a lot from when I was active in there, but I hope all the newcomers still find a ton of enjoyment out of it :) Good luck!

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Both core and soulbeast builds mainly use GS/LB. And those are power builds (condi is mainly druid).

So the builds you're looking at would be, as you yourself said, "long-range sniper" (Sic' Em + damage modifiers from One Wolf Pack or Strength of the Pack). While those builds are fairly monotone in nature, greatsword does add some flex into it. Since Maul is so ridiculously easy to dodge, you'll mainly be using GS to create distance w/ Swoop and block key abilities (like Backstab and Bull Rush) via Counterattack, and to occasionally set up longbow burst.

Recommend you only go ham on Beastmode once you've exhausted your other options or your opponent has. Keep in mind that neither of those builds is particularly good in 1vX combat, because ranger has such highly telegraphed attacks unless bolstered by either Quickness or Stealth.

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@Vengy.6213 that'd be the spvp section then, tho. spvp builds u find @ godsofpvp for example, and Wvw builds @ gw2mists. in wvw u never fight on even terms, and

ranger isn't a wvw class, u can at best roleplay as walking arrowcart (there is some trait or sigil that makes longbow 5 have barely cooldown)...

@meerfunkuhtron.9725 well, the new players make a quite big population there by now. it got way more casual, since no tournaments = no competitiveness in ppt anymore. barely anyone knows how to proper siege keeps. also shortcuts and doublegate/wall siegespots are only known by a not huge amount of the population

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@kamikharzeeh.8016 said:@Vengy.6213 that'd be the spvp section then, tho. spvp builds u find @ godsofpvp for example, and Wvw builds @ gw2mists. in wvw u never fight on even terms, and

ranger isn't a wvw class, u can at best roleplay as walking arrowcart (there is some trait or sigil that makes longbow 5 have barely cooldown)...

@meerfunkuhtron.9725 well, the new players make a quite big population there by now. it got way more casual, since no tournaments = no competitiveness in ppt anymore. barely anyone knows how to proper siege keeps. also shortcuts and doublegate/wall siegespots are only known by a not huge amount of the population

I assumed that's how it would be. Sadly, but things change and sometimes for the worst.I'll one day have to jump in and test your statement about rangers not being a WvW class. If true, then more things have changed for the worse, I'd have to imagine. Because a few years ago, I and my fellow rangers were doing quite well both in roaming and blob fights. (Not that I can't trust your statement, but just out of general disbelief 'cause that is some sad news! XD)

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@kamikharzeeh.8016 said:@Vengy.6213 that'd be the spvp section then, tho. spvp builds u find @ godsofpvp for example, and Wvw builds @ gw2mists. in wvw u never fight on even terms, and

ranger isn't a wvw class, u can at best roleplay as walking arrowcart (there is some trait or sigil that makes longbow 5 have barely cooldown)...

@meerfunkuhtron.9725 well, the new players make a quite big population there by now. it got way more casual, since no tournaments = no competitiveness in ppt anymore. barely anyone knows how to proper siege keeps. also shortcuts and doublegate/wall siegespots are only known by a not huge amount of the population——-lol , that tells me that you have no idea how to play ranger. I command groups on my soulbeast baby and if you think that’s something that isn’t viable then I just have to shrug. ?

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a squad leader = tag in Wvw is normally there to coordinate things. you lead the way, provide stab/heals/cleanses or group ccs. that's why the common class for leads is FB, nearly any serious group is lead by those. exceptions are chrono and rarely scrouge and spellbreaker (last two rather for opentags). as comm u shouldn't be carried by your group, that's why non-selfish classes make more sense.

rangers are rather a class that focuses on sniping lonely targets and fast bursts. lacks any real sustain under heavy pressure (only for itself, that's like the thief leads that port around and their group just dies trying to follow)

also rangers get hardcounterd by the bubbles, which ideally a squad has in several ways. there's so much potential missile reflects around. you'll see what damage is when u fight against a strong group alike.

also, i only talk about 20+ squads, smaller groups are just roamergroups... there's no class that couldn't "lead" a roamergroup. some people also "lead" 5-8 people groups but the impact of that sized groups is marginal. the damage caps removed the possibility that these groups can effectively do much alone.like, a strong 20ish group can effectively kill 60, but at less than 10 u don't even have 2 parties, so u'll have hard issues with even 30 ppl on the opposing side. only winnable if the other group completely routs at the first push, but that's manage again on any of the meta dps way better. if i bomb into some not coordinated smaller group on scrouge with wells, marks, shades, people tend to panic and split up, and cleaning up needs no big abilities by the rest of your players. whereas as ranger i could only longbow2 or 5... that's no pressure compared to that herald or scrouge can dish out at once and in AoE-dps.

ranger specs are used in raids, fractals, that's their thing. hit big hitboxes that move rather slow and in patterns. or burst things down 1v1 in spvp.

we had this discussion here so often... idk why people don't want to accept that 2 classes are more handicaps than anything else in wvw... and u can still roam, just if roamers get too numerous during primetime, it rather cuts the fun for everyone.

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@"kamikharzeeh.8016" said:a squad leader = tag in Wvw is normally there to coordinate things. you lead the way, provide stab/heals/cleanses or group ccs. that's why the common class for leads is FB, nearly any serious group is lead by those. exceptions are chrono and rarely scrouge and spellbreaker (last two rather for opentags). as comm u shouldn't be carried by your group, that's why non-selfish classes make more sense.

rangers are rather a class that focuses on sniping lonely targets and fast bursts. lacks any real sustain under heavy pressure (only for itself, that's like the thief leads that port around and their group just dies trying to follow)

also rangers get hardcounterd by the bubbles, which ideally a squad has in several ways. there's so much potential missile reflects around. you'll see what damage is when u fight against a strong group alike.

also, i only talk about 20+ squads, smaller groups are just roamergroups... there's no class that couldn't "lead" a roamergroup. some people also "lead" 5-8 people groups but the impact of that sized groups is marginal. the damage caps removed the possibility that these groups can effectively do much alone.like, a strong 20ish group can effectively kill 60, but at less than 10 u don't even have 2 parties, so u'll have hard issues with even 30 ppl on the opposing side. only winnable if the other group completely routs at the first push, but that's manage again on any of the meta dps way better. if i bomb into some not coordinated smaller group on scrouge with wells, marks, shades, people tend to panic and split up, and cleaning up needs no big abilities by the rest of your players. whereas as ranger i could only longbow2 or 5... that's no pressure compared to that herald or scrouge can dish out at once and in AoE-dps.

ranger specs are used in raids, fractals, that's their thing. hit big hitboxes that move rather slow and in patterns. or burst things down 1v1 in spvp.

we had this discussion here so often... idk why people don't want to accept that 2 classes are more handicaps than anything else in wvw... and u can still roam, just if roamers get too numerous during primetime, it rather cuts the fun for everyone.

Sure, the ranger may not be the top of its class. I mean... It took me about 3 years of playing the class before I felt confident enough to take her out to pvp and wvw. And that's mainly because it can feel underwhelming. BUT that doesn't mean that it can't be great either, it might just take a bit more effort and tweaking.

My bf commanded both small and large groups as a ranger, and so did many of my server mates. I've also mained WvW with my ranger. Whenever I played with other characters, I found myself too frustrated from dying too much, so I'd say, "Let me take out my ranger," if I wanted more success.

Also, in terms of the bubble issue you mentioned, rangers don't have to just play with the longbow. I know that's the meta, but I played pretty efficiently with axe/warhorn/sword/greatsword in various combinations. I got up to people's faces and survived because of the several survival utilities a ranger's build can give. So bubbles don't really stop people like me. Couple that with the maneuverability/mobility of the class, then I was able to dip out when it got too hot, switch to my long range weapon and use my pet's skill to deliver some kind of annoyance (stun/fear/blind etc.) and to keep some pressure, then go back to melee.

And yes, though core ranger is definitely a selfish dps spec, the other specs aren't. Druid for group heals and support? Soulbeast as support when sharing stances? Again, the Druid may not be the best at healing, but it doesn't mean that what they bring is moot either. Like I mentioned in my first comment, I was able to help keep my teammates alive by using the stances, or boost their dps even further. And apart from longbow's 5, its skill 4 also provides a really good punting utility that I saw worked really well against enemy players especially if they're next to a high spot lol

Anyway, my point is, the things you mentioned that makes a ranger not great in WvW are just kind of narrow IMO. No disrespect intended, I just have a very different experience from what you described. There was a ton of friendly rangers that were giving enemies hell, and also a bunch of enemy rangers who were equally giving us hell. So unless something drastic has changed in the past years since I've played, I'm just going to say that we probably have a very different understanding on the ranger :)

EDIT TO ADD: To turn this back around to the thread's original purpose... OP, my personal stance is, if you enjoy the class then keep going at it. They're not Anet's favorite (we're like the middle child out of a dozen kids XD), so be fairly warned that you'll most likely hit some walls more-so than you would in other classes. With that said, I've played with and fought against great rangers out there, both in small skirmishes and huge blob fights. So if the class provides the flavor of gameplay you want, then it'll be worth it regardless.

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Axe/Axe Greatsword soulbeasts can put up some solid dps in group scenarios if properly supported in melee-oriented comps. They can do this whilst contributing a solid amount of lockdown through immobs (signet, elite, merged with hyena ability), too. If your Mesmer pulls 3~5 folks together you can root them and burst them all with either a maul or axe 3/5, (or both).It's a bit niche, harder to land combos and riskier than simply rolling a scourge, hammer rev or staff ele, but it's a lot of fun and it one of the highest melee damage outputters. You can also stance share bear, dolyak and/or one wolf pack with your party, though your own damage output will suffer about 10% if you choose to do that.If your group is coordinated with proper support, put down the longbow for a sec and you'll do fine.

As for roaming, I like the dps sniper build, but it's not without its weaknesses. Bring an unblockable if you play this, everything and its mother spouts reflection and blocks in this game.

~ Kovu

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Yeah, let's not act as if Ranger is useful in zerg play, because it isn't. Well, frontline useful--you can still hang around the fringes and take people out that way or repair stuff and field incoming stragglers. But that's not really zerg play, it's being near a zerg--being in the middle of one a Ranger is entirely useless as every weapon we have is single target outside of axe, staff, gs, and one skill on LB.

We also have next to zero sharing ability; SB stances are about as good as it gets and they're outclassed by literally everything. So at most you are going to be the receiver of boons which you can't do too much with as usually SB runs glassy to actually do damage. So if you aren't careful you will be a rallybot.

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yeah u can leech if the zerg does the work for you. @Kovu.7560

plus, u forget that scrouge isn't basic dps but does AoE field dmg and booncorrupts + groupsustain...

also, offhand herald uses sword/sword usually, which is - together with active dwarf hammers - a brutal meleeball. u don't need ranger for that. herald is the top dps and has two fast quick bombs, despite their heavy dmg loss on hammer 5, elite skill and the horrific changes on hammer2 aiming.herald is top dps normally for a reason. if u run sb full melee, ur doing kinda nothing than waiting till your group has a stealtpush (you cannot even blast the smoke field i guess?)

and about druid... that class is still selfish. it's a weak healer with still much bunker and offense abilties. it'd be surely more useful for a group than a core ranger or soulbeast, but this ain't static raids where u can kite around against a big, slow target with huge hitbox. druid is just not viable enough to be called metaclass.

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@Gotejjeken.1267 said:Yeah, let's not act as if Ranger is useful in zerg play, because it isn't. Well, frontline useful--you can still hang around the fringes and take people out that way or repair stuff and field incoming stragglers. But that's not really zerg play, it's being near a zerg--being in the middle of one a Ranger is entirely useless as every weapon we have is single target outside of axe, staff, gs, and one skill on LB.

We also have next to zero sharing ability; SB stances are about as good as it gets and they're outclassed by literally everything. So at most you are going to be the receiver of boons which you can't do too much with as usually SB runs glassy to actually do damage. So if you aren't careful you will be a rallybot.

Since when is ranger single target? My sweet longbow hits multiple enemy with every skill shot. It’s a simple specialization selection.

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Immobbeast is pretty usefull in 15-25 sized fights, though is mostly meelee oriented wich in fact cripples its viability due to being in a poke and push meta so sb is only usefull 50% of the time. That said boonbeast is prob one of the easiest and strongest solo roamers and could get more wanted in zerg play if scrapper superspeed gets nerfed bec of the broken dolyak stance. Immunity to soft CC, stability and dmg reduction that stacks on protection, giving it 1 - 1 0.66 dmg reduction instead of the usual 1 - 1 0.33 - 0.67 * 0.33 and making it even better than dwarf stance.

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@"Balthazzarr.1349" said:

@Gotejjeken.1267 said:Yeah, let's not act as if Ranger is useful in zerg play, because it isn't. Well, frontline useful--you can still hang around the fringes and take people out that way or repair stuff and field incoming stragglers. But that's not really zerg play, it's being near a zerg--being in the middle of one a Ranger is entirely useless as every weapon we have is single target outside of axe, staff, gs, and one skill on LB.

We also have next to zero sharing ability; SB stances are about as good as it gets and they're outclassed by literally everything. So at most you are going to be the receiver of boons which you can't do too much with as usually SB runs glassy to actually do damage. So if you aren't careful you will be a rallybot.

Since when is ranger single target? My sweet longbow hits multiple enemy with every skill shot. It’s a simple specialization selection.

If you count lining enemies up in a line AoE, then...ok

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@Gotejjeken.1267 said:

@"Balthazzarr.1349" said:

@Gotejjeken.1267 said:Yeah, let's not act as if Ranger is useful in zerg play, because it isn't. Well, frontline useful--you can still hang around the fringes and take people out that way or repair stuff and field incoming stragglers. But that's not really zerg play, it's being near a zerg--being in the middle of one a Ranger is entirely useless as every weapon we have is single target outside of axe, staff, gs, and one skill on LB.

We also have next to zero sharing ability; SB stances are about as good as it gets and they're outclassed by literally everything. So at most you are going to be the receiver of boons which you can't do too much with as usually SB runs glassy to actually do damage. So if you aren't careful you will be a rallybot.

Since when is ranger single target? My sweet longbow hits multiple enemy with every skill shot. It’s a simple specialization selection.

If you count lining enemies up in a line AoE, then...ok

In group play it works like a charm. I mean, it’s not like they all stand beside each other like a wall. ?

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