Are there ANY good ranged class options out there?

[Raarsi.6798]

So when it comes to PvE, I know melee tends to be more favorable due to various things such as fight mechanics, buff mechanics and the "higher risk, higher reward" damage design. That being said, a mix of nerve damage in my hand and visual issues from ASD hamper my ability to play well enough in more packed melee scenarios regardless of whatever I change any technical settings to (in-game or otherwise), so is there anything that plays decently enough beyond melee range for instanced content (i.e. strike missions, fractals, etc.) or have high-end fight mechanics made that an impossibility?

As for content, this is mainly for PvE, pushing more into instanced content along with some roaming ability (where playing melee normally isn't as much of a problem). Role doesn't matter as much to me, just as long as I can play with at least a little bit of distance from the crowd.

[Taril.8619]

Rifle DeadeyeLongbow SoulbeastScepter Tempest (Both Power and Condi works)

Are all decent enough and ranged builds that actually play at range.

[Mini Crinny.6190]

Ranged weapons are good but the buffs and Heals are all melee based, so going ranged doesn't help at all

[Raarsi.6798]

@Taril.8619 said:Rifle DeadeyeLongbow SoulbeastScepter Tempest (Both Power and Condi works)

Are all decent enough and ranged builds that actually play at range.

Thanks! I'll look more into Deadeye and Tempest.

@Mini Crinny.6190 said:Ranged weapons are good but the buffs and Heals are all melee based, so going ranged doesn't help at all

Every heal and group buff has a radius that is typically wide enough that I wouldn't have to be completely stacked in the middle of the melee mosh pit. The goal is to stay just in that comfort zone, and not necessarily at whatever maximum possible range I may have.

[otto.5684]

I think only rifle DE is used in instanced content. For OW there are some pretty good ranged options.

[Fueki.4753]

I like my Mesmer beam sword.But Ranger Longbow, especially with Soulbeast, probably is the hardest hitter among ranged weapons.

[Astyrah.4015]

@Raarsi.6798 said:

@Taril.8619 said:Rifle DeadeyeLongbow SoulbeastScepter Tempest (Both Power and Condi works)

Are all decent enough and ranged builds that actually play at range.

Thanks! I'll look more into Deadeye and Tempest.

@Mini Crinny.6190 said:Ranged weapons are good but the buffs and Heals are all melee based, so going ranged doesn't help at all

Every heal and group buff has a radius that is typically wide enough that I wouldn't have to be completely stacked in the middle of the melee mosh pit. The goal is to stay just in that comfort zone, and not necessarily at whatever maximum possible range I may have.

assuming it's open world PvE: atleast for DE Rifle (not sure about Tempest), if you trait Invigorating Precision (at the expense of reliable Fury uptime, which you also generate having Critical Strikes) you can have decent sustain while Rifle 3 will take care of your Might generation, so if you follow a build / make a decent build yourself, you'll be fine at any range as long as there are no mobs/bosses with reflects. if you need cleaves/aoe you can have a backup melee weapon such as D/D or S/D, etc etc or if the mobs line up properly, kneeling+Rifle2 is very powerful as well.

[Arcaniaxs.4519]

Rifle deadeye has highest burst dmgIn open world its better to use pistols bec mobs are too weak to even sustain 1/3 of the opening rotationIn raids it has a high risk build that if done correctly... it can bring very high burst dmgs. Though u cant move much with this build and the rotation has a sort of limitation ( it ends after 2mins or so. Then u switch to daggers to spam 2 and 5 snd backstab)As a whole very strong build. High risk high reward. Easy rotation but also easy to fail. Very low boon Reliance as it generates most of boons for it self. Also can have insane constant self heal mentioned in upper comments

[ASP.8093]

The main thing holding you back is group comp, imo. You may find it hard to get a raid group &c. with a weird build.

That said, here are a bunch of options that I think might work for something:

Rifle Deadeye — A good single-target damage build, able to do big bursts during vuln phases as well. The Deadeye has less need to stack because it self-buffs to 25 Might and perma-Fury very effectively, but you do suffer a significant damage loss in any fight where a lot of stuff happening makes it hard to Kneel in one spot. People say the Deadeye is terrible at cleaving but, honestly, if you line up your targets or bring a Shortbow, you can do that just fine as well. People crap on Deadeye a lot, and it definitely has some limitations, but I've done Fractals with quite a few decent ones and it was fine.

Viper Shortbow Renegade — In terms of buffs, you're basically half of an Alacrity Renegade, but you bring twice the personal damage. Ramp-up is a bit slow (even compared to, say, Condi Quickbrand) but sustained DPS is quite respectable. A build like this mostly wants to sit at ~240 range to apply extra Torment from Mallyx, and to make sure your allies can enjoy all your buffs. Pretty flexible, too, if you learn how to use all the Legends.

Healbrand — Hear me out here! Yes, you're half the reason the "stacking" meta exists in the first place, but also: your Mantra effects extend about 400 units in front of you as well as in a shorter area around you, the Symbols you put down reach further than melee range, most of your other buffs have ground targeting or some very generous radii. And your personal damage is almost negligible so it doesn't really matter if you're constantly swinging your axe at your foes. (The catch is you can't solo anything with this build/gearset since, well, its personal damage is almost negligible.)

[steki.1478]

Chrono and deadeye work great at long range. Tempest is mid range and overloads are mostly melee. Soulbeast with only longbow is meh. Condi soulbeast is also good, but it's mid range as well, same with scepter dh, scepter scourge and sb renegade.

For groups I'd only use tempest and chrono from this list. Dh is great, but not if you only want to stay st range. Others are too slow.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Due to Fibromyalgia I've been playing the game one-handed. The class that I do it with is the Deadeye. The way I do it is simple: I kneel at maximum range, and kill everything before they reach me. I take Mug and BQoBK to maintain effectively permanent quickness and constant self-healing, making it extremely hard to kill me.

However, for instanced content the mechanics make it nigh impossible. There are a lot of AoEs that require dodging or specific movement, no matter what range you are in. But don't fret, because most instanced content is just a trust fall for your healers and buffers. So long as you stay within their range and they are competent, then you will be safe. If you have trouble surviving, there are a few classes who have a lot of self-sustain if you take the right traits. Those would be the Thief (Invigorating Precision), Revenant with Jalis (Dance of Death OR Thrill of Combat), Spellbreaker with off-hand dagger (Sun and Moon style), and Scrapper (Adaptive Armor). You'll still have trouble getting a group, because these builds take a pretty big DPS loss to have those traits, but it should make melee combat much more tolerable overall.

For ranged builds, there's a few worth noting.

(1): Rifle Deadeye.(2): Shortbow Renegade (condi)(3): Greatsword Chronomancer(4): Scepter Scourge.

[archmagus.7249]

Engineer is a good choice. Your weapons aren't that great, but grenades area good choice. The mortar kit works wonders and is one of the best with great combo fields; mortar shells also don't need a line of sight to hit their target ,one of the few projectiles that can do that.