Curse

retro 5 ranger · Oct 22, 2011, 02:22 PM // 14:22

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to guild wars I've been playing for a week, on a lvl 12 e/mo it's kind of boring so I was thinking of switching to ranger.

I have the prophecies campaign only, but I thought an ranger/assasin would be decent? If I play all the way through prophecies on a ranger/? Could I convert to an assasin if I. Buy nightfall? How would I do that? Also I hate being an ele because it's so easy to die, and I have a slow internet connect (my ping is 1000-1500). Do rangers die any slower?? Thanks for any help you can give me, I really appreciate it.

Showtime · Oct 22, 2011, 02:34 PM // 14:34

You're playin what we call a squishie. Casters (Elems, Necs, Monks,etc) don't have the best armor and can do a lot except tank early in the game. Tank = playing up front and blocking/taking damage.

Rangers are ok and have better armor, but you will still have to pay attention and they overall suck later in the game. So unless arenanet fixes what they broke, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT PLAYING RANGERS. That being said if you really want to, do it.

I do recommend you play a NECRO and use minions. They will protect with your bad ping.

Join a guild for guidance and spend a few hours here reading existing new player guides.

Gl.

Pigl33t · Oct 22, 2011, 03:24 PM // 15:24

And no, you can't convert to a Assassin if you buy Nightfall, since Assassins come with Factions. But you do get Dervish and Paragon with Nightfall, but more importantly. Lots of heroes. Which rule.

Quaker · Oct 22, 2011, 03:33 PM // 15:33

Rangers are fun. Be sure to get a pet (body blocker).

RedDog91 · Oct 22, 2011, 03:45 PM // 15:45

No, you cannot change your secondary to Assassin if you only have prophecies and then buy Nightfall because the Assassin is from the Factions campaign. You would need Factions, not Nightfall.

As for if Rangers die slower...what do you want to compare it to? If you mean comparing to your Elementalist, then Rangers have better base damage reduction, as their base armor is 70 and Elementalist is 60. Rangers also have an inherent +30 armor versus all forms of elemental damage, which is usually the hardest hitting damage.

All damage is centered around a base of 60 armor. For every 40 armor above or below, damage is halfed or doubled. Since Rangers have a total of 100 armor against elemental damage, they only take half the damage that casting professions (ele, monk, rit, mes, necro) do.

There are countless advantages and disadvantages to every profession. I recommend learning how each one plays and then make a decision about which you want to make your main character. If you really want to play a certain profession, you can make it fit whatever needs you may have.
There are plenty of generic builds for every profession but professions with the most generic builds are usually what people consider to be the best. I personally believe that whatever profession you can play well is the best. For instance, Paragons are seen by the majority of players as a one-trick-pony when it comes to builds, however my little brother has dedicated a lot of time into learning how it can synchronize with various secondaries and has made himself at least a hundred builds that he can switch between and use for any situation and in a lot of cases it works out better than the "great" builds for other professions.

It all comes down to how much time you invest in your particular profession. Rangers are known for only one of two builds and most groups won't accept you unless you are running one of these, so many players don't bother trying anything else. However, the Ranger is one of the most complex classes and dedicated players can be the star of any group. You just have to work for it and learn what to do and when.

il Priscilla il · Oct 22, 2011, 04:41 PM // 16:41

I would follow the necromancer suggestion, until you have a firmer grasp on the game or a better internet connection, the minions will do most of the work for you, and it's always fun to have a little army.

Also, when you get farther into the game (any campaign) you will be able to switch your "secondary profession," however, you cannot ever change your primary profession.

I would suggest starting in Nightfall, since you will gain the advantage of having heroes, instead of only henchmen, you can upgrade you heroes armors with runes and insignia, as well as dictate what skills they bring. You cannot do this with henchmen.

Also, if you are having trouble with deaths, be sure to always bring a healer hench/hero, you will almost always require a healer in your group.

Guillotine Princess · Oct 22, 2011, 05:33 PM // 17:33

1. You cannot change your primary profession.
2. If you only have Prophecies then you will not have access to assassin as it is a Factions profession.
3. If you are dying easily as an ele, you need better armor and different skills. Additionally a change in tactics or strategy will help.

wilebill · Oct 22, 2011, 06:35 PM // 18:35

Ranger is my primary. Has been since I started one in Prophecies when it first came out over 6 years ago. These days I also have an elementalist, an assassin, a mesmer, a dervish, a warrior, a paragon, and a ritualist.

All the classes are playable, just depends on your play style and what you like. You cannot convert your primary profession, but you can have any number of secondaries. Ranger/Monk is popular because you have a hard resurrection skill. Very useful when there is an unfortunate party wipe.

Factions is the second chapter and provides Assassin and Ritualist. Nightfall is the third chapter and provides Paragon and Dervish. Once you reach Lion's Arch and level 20 it is easy to open the other chapters as well.

Eye of the North has no unique characters of its own and no starting area. You are expected to be able to hit the ground running and some of The Eye is very rough territory.

http://www.guildwiki.org/Main_Page lots of good info here.

gremlin · Oct 22, 2011, 06:46 PM // 18:46

You can change Ranger/* to Ranger Assassin if you buy Factions, Nightfall would offer you Paragon or Dervish as a secondary.

Rangers are an in between class mid way between squishy and Tank, they have good armour but not great they do have a very good elemental resistance options to their armour so that's one plus.
Rangers do a lot of different things fairly well rather than being great at one.

Mainly they are a leftover class from the early days of GW not having had the skill revamp that other classes did.
So many classes now have received skill boosts rangers are left behind a little, because they fixed the really weak classes and rangers being just ok have been left out till a later date.

Even with all the limitations they are a good survivable class since they are usually striking from long range.