lasersgo.2941 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Hi all, I’ve been wanting to level a ranger since coming back to the game but have heard they are no longer suited to actually being ranged. Is core ranger viable in anything at level 80 or should I roll a diff class for pure ranged (if so what class?) Thanks so much in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoodie.1045 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Core ranger is perfectly viable for open world, dungeons and low tier fractals. Longbow is mainly used in the open world, but in fractals and even dungeons it's lackluster because you can't do much with it in terms of damage. Either play greatsword + axe/axe core ranger/soulbeast or play support druid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teratus.2859 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 I main a core Longbow Ranger myself and I very much enjoy it. Longbow gets a bad rap because of it's single target damage which isn't overall that bad imo, certainly not the best by any means but the Longbow is at it's core an AoE weapon not a single target DPS weapon. The way I see it far too many people focus entirely on DPS and ignore everything else about the game.. which is why so many builds and playstyles get written off. I'm no fan of that mentality or the Gw2 meta culture in general and prefer to play my own builds and my own playstyles. If you want to use a Longbow Ranger then go for it, I do and I love it. I love being a glass canon with more survivability than a Warrior. I love being able to manipulate aggro with spirits and pets so I can focus entirey on pressure dmg. I love being able to obliterate groups of enemies by tactfully positioning myself to burst down multiple foes with piercing arrows. I love playing Ranged support and not being a burden on my team by constantly going down, dying or requiring any healing or support myself. LB Ranger is one of the few builds/playstyles that I consider more effective without any elite specs involved in it. Positioning, pet swapping and aggro manipulation are important if you want to play an archer.. but master those things and you'll be breezing through the harder PvE content on a glass canon and not even feeling any kind of difficulty spike at all.. even in dungeons and low end fractals you won't really feel it either.. hell some dungeons you can outright solo with a glass LB Ranger.. I've done it myself. Build I use specifically is Full Zerker stats Gear + 6 Superior Rune of the Ranger. Longbow: Superior Sigil of Strength + Superior Sigil of Blood Sword and Warhorn: Superior Sigil of Rage + Superior Sigil of Battle As for traits. Marksmanship: Lesser Signet of Stone, Farsighted & Lead the Wind. Nature Magic: Bountiful Hunter, Windborne Notes & Natures Vengeance. Wilderness Survival: Oakheart Salve, Shared Anguish & Wilderness Knowledge. Skills: Water Spirit, Quickening Zephyr, Frost Spirit, Stone Spirit & Strength of the Pack Pets: Jungle Stalker & Smokescale/Shark & Armor Fish. Lots of boons and AoE boon spam from spirits (upto 10 allies), damage reduction and damage increase from boons as well, some stability and protection from disables as well as a Stun break (Quickening Zephyr) which doubles as a riposte.. get knocked down, break the stun and take advantage of the quickness and fury for extra dmg which can also give you more health and boons. Smokescale and Longbow skill 4 can be used effectively against break bars and so can Frost and Stone Spirits sacrifice abilities if you position and trigger them at the right time. Once you're used to conserving Hunter's shot to stealth and de-aggro an enemy to one of your pets or spirits you'll soon find it's very easy to maintain constant pressure damage and also learn when it's a good time to swap to your sword and warhorn and rush into melee for a good burst of damage while keeping an easy escape route to back off and go back to range if need be. Oh yeah and you get passive healing from both Regen and Protection with this build.. and thanks to Water and Stone Spirits you'll be getting spammed with both of those Boons constantly so long as both spirits are active :) add the little bit of lifesteal from your Sigil too and more lifesteal or passive regen from food as well as the damage reduction from both the protection spam and the regen.. (33% from protection, 5% from Regen) you will certainly notice that despite being pure Zerker.. you're a lot less squishy than you might think :P I've been using this build for years with only minor changes, most of which came from balance patches and not actively swapping traits and skills. It's one of my personal favorite builds and I have no plans to ever change it unless one of Anet's updates utterly breaks it or something lol but since I've been using it since pre HoT that's really unlikely :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Paladin.3871 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Yeah... LB will help you pull your own weight... Need not depend on a party member to rezzz u at all... Deal dmg and use lb3 to drop aggro and break targeting and lb4 is a life saver and a strong cc ... Lb5 inflicts cripple on pursuing mobs and u'll have enough time to make decisions... Try going SW defend during mordrem attacks... U'll know the difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleazar.9478 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Core ranger is not viable in any endgame pve or wvw content since they nerfed condition ranger For open world and PvP you you could run ws top mid mid /bm bottom mid mid/mm bottom mid mid gs long bow, go demoliser or paliden for PvP zerker for pve For core pets go a bird and wolf or drakehound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biff.5312 Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 I agree entirely with Teratus, and share his sensibility about playing the game for fun. However, the question seems to suggest the OP wants to fit into what is generally considered 'viable', and in that respect I agree with Eleazar. So it depends on whether you enjoy the mechanics of core ranger and just want to have fun, or if you want to be effective in 'endgame' content and welcome in groups. Personally I don't think any spec/build I've made for ranger is more fun than core with axe/axe and traps. But that's just me, my playstyle. I would never suggest that this would be any good for example in wvw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderzShadow.2506 Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 > @"Eleazar.9478" said: > Core ranger is not viable in any endgame pve or wvw content since they nerfed condition ranger > > For open world and PvP you you could run ws top mid mid /bm bottom mid mid/mm bottom mid mid gs long bow, go demoliser or paliden for PvP zerker for pve > > For core pets go a bird and wolf or drakehound I have a paid gw2 account I havent played in quite some time. Its soft. Way softer than I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderzShadow.2506 Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 I recently dusted off my core ranger and what I've noticed First, it was fun but... SB stats are better SB dmg difference noticeably better SB Instant cast stability, toughness, condi removal and resistance SB Team support. Ranger is very Lone wolf non support. SB Escapability and Survival of SB FAR better than Ranger. SB Utilities are a HUGE advantage to Rangers available Utilities The SB is better, not just in terms of pure stats but the synergy of stats and utilities Running Divinity and Demolisher on my Core Ranger lb/gs with SoS gives me 18,372 hitpoints (mark, wild, beast) 2128 Attack Power 1818 toughness 2637 armor Lesser muddy Terrain Traited 2 Condi removals each with Removal with, Troll, light reflex, sig of renewal and sor. With Eagle and Marauder 21522 Hitpoints (23022) while melded 2029 Armor 1000 Toughness Wild, Beast, Sb 2050 non melded attack power and 2400 Melded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaijinGuy.8476 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I play core ranger because I don't have PoF and I don't like druid. The build I use works in WvW and is great for open world as well. The best thing about it is having near permanent swiftness and with the runes you are at 66% speed (awesome if you don't have mounts like me which are also going to be in WvW soon). Maybe this can give you an insight. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAT8YjUqQJL2yCOsAVLGmEqPIq1PuDgHfC8JvCy8SUZaA-jFDFQBpRXASUGgj9HShqKoQtiFcQAEwDAQhK9uiSwMoRAAXAAIcEAIFQ5KjA-w Sometimes I switch out NM for Marksmanship to get Clarion Bond for some unblockable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vukorep.3081 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 open world pve makes everything viable, tho youre always better off relying on active defenses while being glass cannon burst dmg build (raw dps is prefered but strong condi dps is also good nowdays). As a ranger you have a lot of dodges via skills on top of your regular 2, and you also have 2 pets to switch around that can tank for you. Longbow /gs berserkers gear burst dps ,or shortbow /axe+torch condi is also good (Rampager, sinister, vipers gear is all good) Druids still rely on core weapons and skills for dps, and soulbeast while leaning towards condition dmg, also has the ability to perform very strong bursts of raw dmg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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