Ascended gear for PvE ranger - Is full beserker + runes of the ranger too extreme?

[Taymar.5496]

Hi all, I'm getting ready to gear my ranger with Ascended gear and could use some advice please. I've already crafted a bow (zoija's greatbow). Right now, I have full Soldier's rascal exotic armor with 6x rune of the ranger (from the level 80 boost). I'm not doing fractals or raids, really just open world PvE like world boss trains & working on world completion.

 

I'd like to do as much damage as possible (ranged damage primarily) so I'm leaning towards ascended Beserker's armor. My questions are:

 

1. Is full Beserker's ascended armor viable, or should I go with a few pieces that give vitality and/or armor?

2. If I go this route, are the superior runes of the ranger still a solid choice, or would there be a better option?

3. Any rule of thumb such as 'you need this much HP or armor minimum'?

 

I'm terrified of putting in the effort to getting this gear and then either going so extreme that I constantly die in one hit, or leaving damage on the table because I played it too safe.

 

From my limited understanding it sounds like you can re-stat ascended gear in the mystic force but I don't really get what's involved in that.

 

thanks a ton for any advice.

 

[BlueJin.4127]

You can always play around with exotic gears bought at the TP to see if you like playing in full berserker before you get full ascended. You don’t need ascended gears for anything you mentioned, so it’s just purely preference. I personally aim for ascended trinkets then weapons, but not armors.

 

You can reforge ascended weapons/armors into different stats for cheap using 5 ectoes, an exotic inscription (for weapon) or an insignia (for armor) of the stat you want, and an Anthology of Heroes bought with 10 Spirit Shards.

[joneirikb.7506]

In general, the defensive stats are mostly about comfort level, the more you play/learn/master the combat and your class/build, the less you need. So it's all about experimenting a bit and finding your own comfort level.

 

But considering you already have all the soldier stats gear from the 80 boost, you can get/buy pieces 1 at a time with Berserk (or Marauder) stats, and replace. Play a bit, see how you like it, and then swap another piece.

 

Ascended trinkets are on the whole pretty easy to get with laurels(+boh), drops from fractals, or just grind some of the ls maps. They give the most stat points (after weapon) per piece, and since they are relatively easy to get, are good for swapping pieces to get a feel for how much defense vs offense you want.

 

Ascended armor is a pain, and the least useful/important. I'd recommend just go get the Karma exotix 80 Berserk armor from Orr.

 

Weapons are probably the best upgrade, you got one, great!

 

The traditional example: Berserk: weapons+armor, soldier trinkets. Replace trinkets 1 by 1 from soldier to berserk until you find the spot you enjoy.

 

No real suggestions for runes, run whatever you like in OpenWorld, the pirate on gives power and a funny bird.

[Neural.1824]

For Open World PvE, full zerker is viable. You need to know the class and your skills, but it works fine. Up until about 4 months ago, I had that gear from before Heart of Thorns (changed to Marauder a few months ago, but may switch back to Berserker)

 

Is it optimal? No.

Is it forgiving? Probably not

Can it be done? absolutely.

 

Just remember that if you craft Ascended armor, you can change the states relatively painlessly via the mystic forge.

 

*edited cause.. yeah.. legendary armor is a different animal. :)

[Ashen.2907]

Just keep in mind that if you eventually go SoulBeast runes of the Ranger may be less than ideal.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

> @"Neural.1824" said:

> For Open World PvE, full zerker is viable. You need to know the class and your skills, but it works fine. Up until about 4 months ago, I had that gear from before Heart of Thorns (changed to Marauder a few months ago, but may switch back to Berserker)

>

> Is it optimal? No.

> Is it forgiving? Probably not

> Can it be done? absolutely.

>

> Just remember that if you craft legendary armor, you can change the states relatively painlessly via the mystic forge.

 

I think you mean Ascended Armor. =P

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You really don't need Ascended Armor for Open World PvE, though it's nice to have. Take your time acquiring the armor, and if you want Ascended gear, go for trinkets and a Backpack, first.

 

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

[Neural.1824]

> @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> You really don't need Ascended Armor for Open World PvE, though it's nice to have. Take your time acquiring the armor, and if you want Ascended gear, go for trinkets and a Backpack, first.

>

> Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

 

I think the advantage in the long run is the ability to change it up with the mystic forge, but yeah, Exotic level would do just fine too.

[phs.6089]

Start with crafting full marauder on armor, weaponsand trinkets berserk. See how it goes. Beatty of ascended you can [swap start](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Stat_changing "swap start") after to full berserk when you feel good. Runes on power should be [scholar](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Rune_of_the_Scholar "scholar"), cheaper alternative is [runes of ogre](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Rune_of_the_Ogre "runes of ogre").

[Taymar.5496]

Thanks all, this is great info. Answers so many unknowns for me. Sounds like the mystic forge stat switch is pretty straightforward.

 

Interesting point on the Soulbeast - I have that & druid maxed out in the build tree, but every time I've tried Soulbeast, it feels like without the separate pet I'm slower to kill things. I imagine it's user error but would still appreciate any quick pointers on how the playstyle should differ. Just checked out some of the runes and noticed rune of the soulbeast had a lot of condition damage?

 

thanks again, I massively appreciate the insight.

 

 

 

 

 

[Voltekka.2375]

I would buy berserker stats exotic armor from tp, if i were you. Nika'a armor. Much cheaper that ascended. Give it a go. Ascended are ONLY necessary if you do high lv fractals

[phs.6089]

Trick is to learn your pets' abilities and use them accordingly as soulbeast you don't have to be merged whole the time.

Just ignore any 'class' rune Anet come up with. They do their best but community finds the perfect one to use for the classes.

Cus classes get nerfed/buffed while runes aren't.

 

p.s. yes, changing stats on ascended is a blessing, straithforward, for someone like me that came from other mmos where you had to roll and pray for proper stats, this is a wonder, lol.

[Daddicus.6128]

I'm not fond of berserker's gear. They're the epitome of glass cannons. In high-end content, they constantly have to be rallied by other players. Same with Assassin's.

 

The problem is that you can't just throw in some healing or vitality with runes and infusions; it has to be incorporated into the main gear stats. IMO, that is.

[Dami.5046]

When I started out I got my gear from https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Temple_armor (don't do want i did and get the rabid one ><)

My trinkets were a zerk/valk mix mostly from laurel vender and I crafted a marauders Bow and GS (Ascended).

The first Asc gear I made was a Marauders set with scholar runes.

My SB gets changed so often as i like to experiment, she is actually wearing a asc Zerk set at present, and swops between a bow/GS or a warhorn with either an axe. sword or dagger. Her trinkets are a asc crusader set. (power/toughness/ ferocity/healing) I'm quite random like that.

I would say look at Build sites and give yourself an *idea* of what works. You will go mad trying to keep up with all the changes.

But I will say get a Greatsword.

And you will this a dozen times

Trinkets >weapon >armour.

[casualkenny.9817]

if u ever get arnd to upgrading to asc armors on a tight budget, get the top and pants. the rest has really low significance.

 

also, the e-specs give some account-bound non-soulbound exo gear that you can play around with freely, and transfer away when done.

 

(that's after getting trinkets and weapons btw, like everyone else has said. if you dun have lw3ep3, consider saving and buying this with gems/gold - that one alone settles 1 acc, 1 back, 2 rings)

[Stalkingwolf.6035]

> @"Neural.1824" said:

> Just remember that if you craft Ascended armor, you can change the states relatively painlessly via the mystic forge.

Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia wants to speak with you ;-)

 

another big point, imo, you can use the ascended gear on any other character with the same armour type.

Do your profession dailys and after a few weeks you can craft the items. i did it this weekend for my 2nd set.

[Obtena.7952]

You are going to really need to know your encounters in ALL OW maps to pull off Berserkers. For most stuff, you should be fine but the odd time ...

[phs.6089]

> @"Stalkingwolf.6035" said:

> > @"Neural.1824" said:

> > Just remember that if you craft Ascended armor, you can change the states relatively painlessly via the mystic forge.

> Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia wants to speak with you ;-)

>

> another big point, imo, you can use the ascended gear on any other character with the same armour type.

> Do your profession dailys and after a few weeks you can craft the items. i did it this weekend for my 2nd set.

 

What is wrong with minstrel besides prices for pearls?

[thehipone.6812]

Just run berserker's. Seriously, don't faff around with defensive stats. Especially if your preferred play style is ranged. Learn to position and dodge. The offensive stats all act as multipliers and diminishing one has a substantial effect on your overall damage and time-to-kill. If you find you need more survivability you can swap out skills or traits on the fly and with no costs.

[Biff.5312]

Sure, it's fine - and as thehiphone says above why give up damage? Also, although some people are saying not to bother with ascended armour, I have never understood this. People who will argue about build/rune specifics that make a 0.5% difference in dps seem to think that having 5% higher stats is not important. I can tell you from experience, the extra bit of armor and higher stats helps. Expecially in HoT/PoF maps, I have many times found that switching from exotic to ascended armor makes the difference between being one-shotted, and being hurt but able to recover and come back to win a fight. If you have nothing more important to do, getting ascended is a good idea, even if you don't do fractals.

[Stalkingwolf.6035]

> @"phs.6089" said:

> > @"Stalkingwolf.6035" said:

> > > @"Neural.1824" said:

> > > Just remember that if you craft Ascended armor, you can change the states relatively painlessly via the mystic forge.

> > Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia wants to speak with you ;-)

> >

> > another big point, imo, you can use the ascended gear on any other character with the same armour type.

> > Do your profession dailys and after a few weeks you can craft the items. i did it this weekend for my 2nd set.

>

> What is wrong with minstrel besides prices for pearls?

 

i was talking about the price for the pearls. Its about 100g for all 6 pieces

[phs.6089]

> @"Stalkingwolf.6035" said:

> > @"phs.6089" said:

> > > @"Stalkingwolf.6035" said:

> > > > @"Neural.1824" said:

> > > > Just remember that if you craft Ascended armor, you can change the states relatively painlessly via the mystic forge.

> > > Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia wants to speak with you ;-)

> > >

> > > another big point, imo, you can use the ascended gear on any other character with the same armour type.

> > > Do your profession dailys and after a few weeks you can craft the items. i did it this weekend for my 2nd set.

> >

> > What is wrong with minstrel besides prices for pearls?

>

> i was talking about the price for the pearls. Its about 100g for all 6 pieces

 

haha, yes, that is people that own minstrel never change starts on it. Better make a new set lol.

Tralblazer use to be the same as both req RNG drops from maguuma