So....What is a ranger? What's it do? - Page 2 - Guild Wars Forums

idicious · Jul 08, 2008, 08:47 PM // 20:47

If your thinking of going R/Rt something better than Splinter weapon + Barrage would be something along the lines of this: [skill]broad head arrow[/skill] with [skill]volley[/skill] + [skill]splinter weapon[/skill] and [skill]triple shot[/skill] + [skill]nightmare weapon[/skill] and [skill]I am the strongest[/skill], use [skill]ancestors rage[/skill] on the party tank for even more aoe ownage, and maybe think of adding in [skill]spirit rift[/skill] (if you time it well you can basically let Ancestors, Spirit Rift and Splinter Volley hit simultaneously for a huge aoe spike), or block stance/heal if you aren't confident in party monk/hero monk.

Only thing is rits run this build better but then use [skill]spirit's strength[/skill] as elite.

You have incredible shutdown + heavy aoe + spike damage that heals you

Div · Jul 08, 2008, 08:56 PM // 20:56

Barrage + splinter = big damage

Monk Gsb · Jul 08, 2008, 09:23 PM // 21:23

well imo take a ranger with BHA and volly take /Mes as ur 2ndary

find a group of casters and go....

BHA ---> epidemic ----> volly ---> volly ---> volly.

and if u have a rit hero put splinter on him and force cast it onto you.

pew pew pew

toastgodsupreme · Jul 08, 2008, 09:53 PM // 21:53

Rangers make you angry in AB.

Rangers keep a sustained interrupt on any mob without condition removal nearby.

Rangers run SWAY and win shit.

Alazardragoon · Jul 08, 2008, 11:35 PM // 23:35

So far Iv enjoyed it quite a bit, Does more Damage than my rit by the end of a fight, But not by much, Both are without elite skills. I guess Im going to have to force myself to play prophecies to the end to be able to unlock some decent skills. Im trying to come up with a good build for Damage, That does not require pets,(Or beating all 4 games to get the skills for it like so many builds on wiki

I dont like how pets work here, If you cant control a pet like a hero then I don't really want to use one. Not for it to have the power, Just the control. Ill do more wiki searches for stuff about ranger, Builds, and a good Marksmen damage dealer, See what i can dig up.

Fungus Amongus · Jul 08, 2008, 11:40 PM // 23:40

It will take you a while to feel how to play a Ranger in this game, well past when you first hit lvl20 with one. One day things will click and you will understand.

You can do good damage once you figure out to apply it. Expertise works wonders, you'll realize when you have enough attribute points to get at least 9 points in it. You'll be able to fire off Bow Attacks on nearly every attack and not see your energy drop too quickly.

gremlin · Jul 09, 2008, 06:35 AM // 06:35

For ages I played a ranger totally out of step with the advice going around.
Never put any points into expertise or beastmastery and so formed my build around Max points in Wilderness survival and Marksmanship.
This let me have a great heal in troll unguent and max effect for all the preperations.

I totally ignored barrage and the like because you were getting one attack for 5 energy which is common to most of the ranger skills based in Marksmanship.
Barrage cost 5 one attack does +5 to 17 damage hits target up to +6 targets adjacent to that target.

Ignite arrows cost 10 arrows explode on contact doing +3 to 15 damage to target and all adjacent foes.
Double the energy but it runs for 24 seconds and with apply poison I could shift target and poison a lot of targets.
never worried about interrupting heck my first character was a mesmer mesmers are interrupters rangers are burners and poisoners.

even though I love the rangers I run I do get annoyed about the way the skills work.
Marksmanship is needed to use the weapon and get decent criticals so you need a lot of points there.
Expertise is energy management so you need a fair number of points there.
Wilderness survival is your healing so you need points there.
I suppose its because your the class midway between spellcasters and warriors.

Warriors can choose a weapon type and build around that they only use the attack skills of that class plus some strength and tactics.

Spellcasters can choose one sphere of their skills ie fire death domination etc and have a weapon based in that sphere.

Rangers must by necessity spread their points accross 3 or more areas, but its probably that challenge which both annoys and interests me about the class.

Ben-A-BoO · Jul 09, 2008, 07:13 AM // 07:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by gremlin

Rangers must by necessity spread their points accross 3 or more areas...

As do Mesmers, Paragons, Assassins and Dervishes, as well as most Elementalists with decent utility on their bar or any decent Hybrid Monk.
The only ones that usually are fine with two attribute line skill bars are Warriors, Necromancers and Ritualists. There are exceptions of course but some of the strongest most persitent builds in Guild Wars spread over three attribute lines. For me an indicator for balance.

If you just go for damage output on the Ranger you are usually fine with Expertise and Marksmanship. No need to spec in Wilderness just for [[Troll Unguent], let the Monks do their job and an Ritualist support you with [[splinter weapon].

In general I find it hard to put the Ranger in one category as they are very versatile and can be masters in many domains ...

Interrupting
([[Broad head Arrow], [[Magebane Shot], [[Practiced Stance] + [[choking gas], and of course [[Distracting shot] & [[savage shot]);
Trapping
([[spike trap], [[Smoke trap], [[Trapper's Focus])
Pressure
([[Burning Arrow], [[Poison Arrow], [[Prepared shot], [[Barrage])
Spiking
([[Glass Arrows] & [[Punishing shot])
Gimmicks
([[Escape] + Scythe or Dagger, [[Rampage as One] + Hammer, [[Heal as one] + Spear, [[Offering of Blood] + Touch skills)

And these are just a few examples of what your Ranger can do, once he or she is out of puberty.

You can find more basic information on the wiki's:
Unofficial Wiki and Official Wiki
Or here on Guru:
Ranger Subforum and Celestial Beavers Guide to Playing Ranger

Have fun.

santaclaus66 · Jul 09, 2008, 07:17 AM // 07:17

I'm a ranger primarily,

and love it.
It was my first toon and is my most played of all toons I have.
The variety of options, the flexibility in the damage is what makes me like the ranger so much.
A lot has been said about what the ranger can do and how, I won't go that way.

What I would like to address is the fact that the ranger is fun to play when you create him and level him a bit.
Then comes a very boring part around lvl8-10 and up to 18-20 because you get the impression that you just grind for level and really get nothing out of it.

And that is partly true. The only thing you do gain is experience with the class. And that is valuable, very much indeed. But still, very boring.

I have always said after lvl20 with all attribute points, you really learn the ranger because then you can really play around with skills, get the elites and see, what is a ranger really capable of.

And that list is long ...

/Santa

free_fall · Jul 09, 2008, 03:28 PM // 15:28

I can sympathize with you. My very first char was a ranger because I came from D&D CRPG games where I usually played dual-wielding melee weapon rangers, only using a bow to smash exploding chests. Imagine my surpirse when I found I was limited to a bow in GW.

I stuck with it but I just couldn't get hang of it I guess. I had a lot of trouble trying to get through missions and quests. I eventually put him aside (using him as a mule) and made a warrior. I was amazed how much easier the game became when playing him. Then I made a curses necro and that made the game even easier. I eventually deleted that ranger.

When I needed another mule, I made another ranger, on the theory that I wouldn't be tempted to play him. One day, however, when I was moving a lot of bows I'd collected on to him, I was struck by the fact that I had a lot of really nice bows and they were just going to waste, so, ya, I started playing him.

I was surprised how much fun it was and how much easier it seemed compared with the first one. That might be the difference between starting in Factions and starting in Proph (the new one was Factions). Maybe, I'd just become a better player overall or had a better understanding of the mechanics involved. It was so much fun, in fact, that, after dying 40k XP short of rank 2 Survivor, I eventually made another one, who did make it to Legendary Survivor.

Just be patient. You'll eventually get better skills that will do more damage. There's been a lot of good advice posted on that already.

My own preference is for Barrage and interrupts, so I only put points into Marks and Expert, although a nice combo I have used (and keep on a hero) is Ignite Arrows + Poison Arrow - that works especially well if you have a fire ele using Mark of Rodgort.

Jul 08, 2008, 08:47 PM // 20:47	#21
idicious Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Holland Guild: LoD Profession: P/W	If your thinking of going R/Rt something better than Splinter weapon + Barrage would be something along the lines of this: [skill]broad head arrow[/skill] with [skill]volley[/skill] + [skill]splinter weapon[/skill] and [skill]triple shot[/skill] + [skill]nightmare weapon[/skill] and [skill]I am the strongest[/skill], use [skill]ancestors rage[/skill] on the party tank for even more aoe ownage, and maybe think of adding in [skill]spirit rift[/skill] (if you time it well you can basically let Ancestors, Spirit Rift and Splinter Volley hit simultaneously for a huge aoe spike), or block stance/heal if you aren't confident in party monk/hero monk. Only thing is rits run this build better but then use [skill]spirit's strength[/skill] as elite. You have incredible shutdown + heavy aoe + spike damage that heals you Last edited by idicious; Jul 08, 2008 at 09:01 PM // 21:01..

Jul 08, 2008, 08:56 PM // 20:56	#22
Div I like yumy food! Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Where I can eat yumy food Guild: Dead Alley [dR] Profession: Mo/R	Barrage + splinter = big damage

Jul 08, 2008, 09:23 PM // 21:23	#23
Monk Gsb Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: England Profession: Mo/Me	well imo take a ranger with BHA and volly take /Mes as ur 2ndary find a group of casters and go.... BHA ---> epidemic ----> volly ---> volly ---> volly. and if u have a rit hero put splinter on him and force cast it onto you. pew pew pew

Jul 08, 2008, 09:53 PM // 21:53	#24
toastgodsupreme Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: May 2005 Location: United States Profession: Me/	Rangers make you angry in AB. Rangers keep a sustained interrupt on any mob without condition removal nearby. Rangers run SWAY and win shit.

Jul 08, 2008, 11:35 PM // 23:35	#25
Alazardragoon Academy Page Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Currently in National City California. Guild: Wish We were Profession: Rt/E	So far Iv enjoyed it quite a bit, Does more Damage than my rit by the end of a fight, But not by much, Both are without elite skills. I guess Im going to have to force myself to play prophecies to the end to be able to unlock some decent skills. Im trying to come up with a good build for Damage, That does not require pets,(Or beating all 4 games to get the skills for it like so many builds on wiki I dont like how pets work here, If you cant control a pet like a hero then I don't really want to use one. Not for it to have the power, Just the control. Ill do more wiki searches for stuff about ranger, Builds, and a good Marksmen damage dealer, See what i can dig up.

Jul 08, 2008, 11:40 PM // 23:40	#26
Fungus Amongus Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Fifteen Over Fifty [Rare] \| [Rare] Alliance	It will take you a while to feel how to play a Ranger in this game, well past when you first hit lvl20 with one. One day things will click and you will understand. You can do good damage once you figure out to apply it. Expertise works wonders, you'll realize when you have enough attribute points to get at least 9 points in it. You'll be able to fire off Bow Attacks on nearly every attack and not see your energy drop too quickly.

Jul 09, 2008, 06:35 AM // 06:35	#27
gremlin Furnace Stoker Join Date: Oct 2006 Guild: GWAR Profession: Me/Mo	For ages I played a ranger totally out of step with the advice going around. Never put any points into expertise or beastmastery and so formed my build around Max points in Wilderness survival and Marksmanship. This let me have a great heal in troll unguent and max effect for all the preperations. I totally ignored barrage and the like because you were getting one attack for 5 energy which is common to most of the ranger skills based in Marksmanship. Barrage cost 5 one attack does +5 to 17 damage hits target up to +6 targets adjacent to that target. Ignite arrows cost 10 arrows explode on contact doing +3 to 15 damage to target and all adjacent foes. Double the energy but it runs for 24 seconds and with apply poison I could shift target and poison a lot of targets. never worried about interrupting heck my first character was a mesmer mesmers are interrupters rangers are burners and poisoners. even though I love the rangers I run I do get annoyed about the way the skills work. Marksmanship is needed to use the weapon and get decent criticals so you need a lot of points there. Expertise is energy management so you need a fair number of points there. Wilderness survival is your healing so you need points there. I suppose its because your the class midway between spellcasters and warriors. Warriors can choose a weapon type and build around that they only use the attack skills of that class plus some strength and tactics. Spellcasters can choose one sphere of their skills ie fire death domination etc and have a weapon based in that sphere. Rangers must by necessity spread their points accross 3 or more areas, but its probably that challenge which both annoys and interests me about the class.

Jul 09, 2008, 07:17 AM // 07:17	#29
santaclaus66 Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Dec 2006 Guild: Santas Little Helper [XMAS] Profession: R/Mo	I'm a ranger primarily, and love it. It was my first toon and is my most played of all toons I have. The variety of options, the flexibility in the damage is what makes me like the ranger so much. A lot has been said about what the ranger can do and how, I won't go that way. What I would like to address is the fact that the ranger is fun to play when you create him and level him a bit. Then comes a very boring part around lvl8-10 and up to 18-20 because you get the impression that you just grind for level and really get nothing out of it. And that is partly true. The only thing you do gain is experience with the class. And that is valuable, very much indeed. But still, very boring. I have always said after lvl20 with all attribute points, you really learn the ranger because then you can really play around with skills, get the elites and see, what is a ranger really capable of. And that list is long ... /Santa

Jul 09, 2008, 03:28 PM // 15:28	#30
free_fall Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Oct 2005	I can sympathize with you. My very first char was a ranger because I came from D&D CRPG games where I usually played dual-wielding melee weapon rangers, only using a bow to smash exploding chests. Imagine my surpirse when I found I was limited to a bow in GW. I stuck with it but I just couldn't get hang of it I guess. I had a lot of trouble trying to get through missions and quests. I eventually put him aside (using him as a mule) and made a warrior. I was amazed how much easier the game became when playing him. Then I made a curses necro and that made the game even easier. I eventually deleted that ranger. When I needed another mule, I made another ranger, on the theory that I wouldn't be tempted to play him. One day, however, when I was moving a lot of bows I'd collected on to him, I was struck by the fact that I had a lot of really nice bows and they were just going to waste, so, ya, I started playing him. I was surprised how much fun it was and how much easier it seemed compared with the first one. That might be the difference between starting in Factions and starting in Proph (the new one was Factions). Maybe, I'd just become a better player overall or had a better understanding of the mechanics involved. It was so much fun, in fact, that, after dying 40k XP short of rank 2 Survivor, I eventually made another one, who did make it to Legendary Survivor. Just be patient. You'll eventually get better skills that will do more damage. There's been a lot of good advice posted on that already. My own preference is for Barrage and interrupts, so I only put points into Marks and Expert, although a nice combo I have used (and keep on a hero) is Ignite Arrows + Poison Arrow - that works especially well if you have a fire ele using Mark of Rodgort.