New lv 80 - could use some advice

[Mashugana.2843]

I just got my first 80 - Longbow Ranger - and I can use some advice on what to do next.

 

I tried going to Maguma and Path of Fire and I am having trouble just killing trash mobs.  If I do any content under level 50 I am a god.  But when I fight the lv 80s I struggle.  I do little damage and die in just a few hits.

 

I upgraded all my armor the the Named Armor Nika set (like Berserkers) and I am using the Basic Ranger Build from MetaBattle.

 

So:

• - What do you do at 80? Focus on Mastery unlocks? Finish zone completes?
• - Do I need to upgrade my armor? If so - how?
• - Any advice on fighting 80s? Do I need to dodge more? Better gear? More complex rotations?

 

I feel like this is two games.  Lv 1-80 was a breeze.  Level 80 is making me actually learn to play :)

 

Thanks for any advice.

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[Mppa.3250]

Regarding the fight troubles, HoT and PoF maps can be tough in general. Dodging and knowing the battle system helps a lot.

For example, if a mob uses conditions as damage, you will need skills/traits that give you condition cleanses. Otherwise you may use a heal skill that gives you some hp but you will continue take damage from the previous attacks as the conditions will still be active on you.

If a mob uses "strike damage" (power), having the boon protection will sustain you more. Knowing the encounter is also good 🙂

The little damage issue can be due to gear with wrong stats (for example soldier stats) and/or wrong traits (traits that dont increase your damage) and of course due to the lack of an effective rotation. As a ranger, having the right pet also helps. 

 

Assuming you have level 80, exotic gear, getting ascended or legendary ones will only increase your stats by a small amount and will not make things different. So practice and/or check some youtube guides

[Squigglez.1236]

Berserker armor is glass cannon gear. A lot of people use it because the damage is so high but if you're having issues with survival maybe try Marauder's armor, which is like berserker with some vitality for extra survival. The expansion maps are made to be harder, in an interesting bit of immersive design it's kind of like you learn to survive in the jungle/desert. You get an idea of what you to expect from the given enemies, who to target first, what skills to interrupt and so on. If you are using higher damage you should make sure the fight is on your terms so to speak. If enemies ambush you try and disengage and start again when you can land the first hit. If you're using longbow ranger I suggest using great sword as a secondary weapon. GS4 is a block, and GS3 has as dash built into it. If you can start a fight and kill a few enemies but start to get low on health you can swap great sword, use skill 4 to block while looking for a safe spot, then use skill 3 to rush to it and gain some distance until your heal recharges. Really you just pick up tricks as you play through the area learning a little bit each time you're murdered.

Edited September 22, 2021 by XDeathShadowX.2619
typo

[NorthernRedStar.3054]

Plenty of enemies in the expansion areas (particularly Awakened) apply weakness, which decimates your DPS output. Thankfully, core ranger has access to great condition clearing in Wilderness Survival grandmaster trait line + survival skills. Since a fair bit of ranger's DPS is reliant on the pet (particularly on core builds), you want to make sure you have a pet that has functionally apt tracking and non-tank stat line.

For cleaving trash mobs, greatsword is the best secondary option, and you might want to try out axe + axe besides it. The projectile denial in Whirling Defense can be a great sustain tool in large-scale fights, but also decimates the enemies in melee range.
 

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What do you do at 80? Focus on Mastery unlocks? Finish zone completes?

 

I solo legendary and champion bounties (toughest open world bosses available at the moment), go for world completion on various characters, collect skins and gear for builds, do fractals and raid with my guild weekly. 
 

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Do I need to upgrade my armor? If so - how?

Only for tier 2+ fractals, where you want ascended gear with agony resistance. You can do by with exotic gear otherwise.
 

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Any advice on fighting 80s? Do I need to dodge more? Better gear? More complex rotations?

Understanding what the most dangerous attacks and enemies in each mob are is the key to trivializing most fights. Same goes for bosses. Generally speaking, you might want to trait for added endurance regen / gain in your open world build. Rotations are much more improvisation-based here than in raids or fractals.

I'd recommend you use gear with some added vitality (Marauder for power ranger), or both toughness and vitality (Trailblazer) for condi builds. Celestial gear is also possible for soulbeast once you unlock it, assuming you won't go for Grieving stats.

 

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Edited September 22, 2021 by NorthernRedStar.3054

[TheRealGorthaur.1796]

Regarding what to do at level 80: You can complete the story in the expansion first, if you like, it will guide you through the map, too.
For your fighting troubles: Its hard to judge without having seen you fight but my advice would be: Keep moving
Experienced players might laugh at this because it's so obvious but if you dont move while fighting you will take much more damage. Even if you are melee range, just run circles around your enemies. They can be a bit slow to turn so they will attack less frequently and some attacks will automatically miss.

Edited September 22, 2021 by TheRealGorthaur.1796

[Mashugana.2843]

omg ty all so much.  I learned:

 

Boons and conditions: I have ignored them 1-80 because they had little impact on me.  Now I need to understand them better to survive.  Brilliant.  I wish I had a way for the screen to tell me when I have a bad dot on me like in some other MMOs.  But I'll figure it out.

 

Move and dodge: I could stay stationary in the old content. Thanks for telling me the expansions are harder and the old lazy tactics have to be more active.  I can do that.

 

Gear: I did not know my Berserker is glass cannon.  I'll get some other set that may have lower DPS but more survivability.

 

Know the Mobs: I need to understand mobs better, what they do, and how to counter it.  I cannot just blaze in to all packs the same.

 

Thank you again.  This will actually make the game more fun so yay!

[Moradorin.6217]

33 minutes ago, Mashugana.2843 said:

omg ty all so much.  I learned:

 

Boons and conditions: I have ignored them 1-80 because they had little impact on me.  Now I need to understand them better to survive.  Brilliant.  I wish I had a way for the screen to tell me when I have a bad dot on me like in some other MMOs.  But I'll figure it out.

 

Move and dodge: I could stay stationary in the old content. Thanks for telling me the expansions are harder and the old lazy tactics have to be more active.  I can do that.

 

Gear: I did not know my Berserker is glass cannon.  I'll get some other set that may have lower DPS but more survivability.

 

Know the Mobs: I need to understand mobs better, what they do, and how to counter it.  I cannot just blaze in to all packs the same.

 

Thank you again.  This will actually make the game more fun so yay!

Everyone is giving good advice. I would say tho that berserker is ok but yes you have no sustain stats so you do go down easier. As some said, Greatsword is a very good option on ranger too. It has a good block and it has good burst and cc potiencial. Longbow and GS are both equally good depening the situation, I would say. You should be able to see conditions on you next to the boons on you just above the utility bar. Also a utility like "Protect Me" and/or signet of stone can give you some extra ways to mitigate damage while you learn stuff or to survive occasional large attacks. "protect me" will give you barrier which is like an extra temporary health/healing and give you protection and is a stun break. Signet of stone will make you flat out invulnerable for I think 6 seconds in pve. Have fun m8.

[Dayra.7405]

55 minutes ago, Mashugana.2843 said:

Gear: I did not know my Berserker is glass cannon.  I'll get some other set that may have lower DPS but more survivability.

Don't forget the trinkets. In fact with Lvl 80 it's time to get Ascended trinkets, i.e  rings, accessories, amulets and also backpacks..

Amulett you should be able to buy for laurels at laurel merchants (e.g. in lion arch or in WvW if you play), rings you get in fractals, all of them for different LS3-4 map currencies..

If you buy them you can usually choose the stats you want, e.g. marauder trinkets combined with your bersi armor/weapons.

Now it's also time to make sure that you not only wear useful runes/sigils, but 6 equal runes, to get the bonus stats, which are better than the base stats. A cheap one increasing your survuvability is e.g. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Rune_of_Vampirism or https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Rune_of_the_Traveler whikle offensive max damage runes are usually more expensive e.g. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Rune_of_Fireworks or https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Rune_of_the_Scholar

Edited September 22, 2021 by Dayra.7405

[Dayra.7405]

1 hour ago, Mashugana.2843 said:

  I wish I had a way for the screen to tell me when I have a bad dot on me like in some other MMOs. 

It does: above your 6-10 skills.

[Dayra.7405]

2 hours ago, Mashugana.2843 said:

I need to understand mobs better, what they do, and how to counter it.

In HoT there are often invisible (you need a mastery to make them permanently visible) sniper, you see a cross over your head if they targeted you, time your dodge and get distance or attack them with prio after they shoot (they become visible after shooting)

Edited September 22, 2021 by Dayra.7405

[Gibson.4036]

3 hours ago, Mashugana.2843 said:

 

Gear: I did not know my Berserker is glass cannon.  I'll get some other set that may have lower DPS but more survivability.

To note, you don't necessarily have to switch over your entire gear set. You can switch your armor to marauder, and keep berserker weapons/trinkets and have a nice middle ground between survivability and damage.

[Pirogen.9561]

In case you don't know ... you upgrade your gear, not just armor.

Usual order is trinkets -> weapon -> armor.

Armor is like the last on you shoping list.

 

But as you will get exotic(kinda on the cheap side), just get everything at the same time. Yes, Marauder is a good choice.

 

You do need full exotic set for expansion maps or you'll be dead nonstop.

 

Build: im doing fine with core Ranger. Druid is more healer/support. Not the best choice for open world. Soulbeast is good, but is kinda different. Strong, but the trick with Soulbeast is that you merge with your pet, and so don't have a pet anymore. So I decided to stay on core. Its OK.

 

I don't use Longbow. Its kinda meh. Axe/axe + Greatsword much better.

 

Pet: until you get Jacaranda, use Drake+Drake(or drake+bear for super big boss only).

 

Tip: when starting a fight, use F1 and let your pet grab agro. And only then you attack. Don't forget to swap pets, so they don't die.