Curse

Kifix · Oct 05, 2010, 12:02 PM // 12:02

Hey rangers,
i started playing GW some days ago and i'm playing ranger. At the moment i'm doing the Prophecies PvE campaign (bought the trilogy though) and i was wonderinf if there's is a guide somewhere about ranger skills acquisition. I'd like to get the most skill i can througt quests but it's pretty hard to know where are all the quests that give skills. I'm not doing ALL the quests so i might miss some skills.

When i look at the skills description in the wiki and where you can get them, most of the time i don't even know the place because it's still very far away from where i am in the campaign. It would be great to have a step by step of the quests i must not miss

If such a guide doesn't exist (yet), it would be nice if someone could at least point out the "must have" skills and their associated quests.

Also, there are thousands of recommanded builds but it's always for characters that already have all the skills in the game and can chose their secondary. I found no advice for beginner builds, when you only have a few skills from, for exemple, the first 5 missions and the surrouding quests. That's a shame.

Thanks

Ailina · Oct 05, 2010, 12:21 PM // 12:21

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Skill_quests

This page has all the skill quests in the game, organized into helpful charts based on profession and campaign. Be sure to read the notes at the bottom, as they'll give you tips on what quests to do and when for maximum rewards.

My main, first, and favorite character is a ranger, and I'd love to join out or help you out ingame sometime. My ign is Ailina Havalii.

Good luck!

Lourens · Oct 05, 2010, 12:48 PM // 12:48

Just go do all quest there is and look at the end of prophecies what quest you still need and buy them at a skilltrainer that will save you a lot of money and always take a signet of capture with you for if you slay a boss and want an elite skill good luck

ZephyLynx · Oct 05, 2010, 02:14 PM // 14:14

There are many skills that can be obtained from skill quests, the link posted above is a great reference. Skills can also be bought from skill trainers, and the last skill trainer (in the Ring of Fire Islands) has all the Prophecies skills. However, skills get expensive pretty quick (caps at one platinum), so unless you have a lot of gold, it's advisable to do all the skill quests that you can.

You can also get skills from a Signet of Capture. After killing a boss, you can use a Signet of Capture to learn any of the skills the boss has. Although it is not really recommended to learn regular skills from bosses, as they can usually be bought or obtained from a quest. Magi Malaquire in Lion's Arch give you a quest with a Signet of Capture, and after you cap a skill, Magi Malaquire will give you another Sig for free. Most of the time, you will want to use cap sigs to get elite skills. The first time you encounter bosses with elite skills is the Crystal Desert. From the desert onwards, all bosses carry elite skills that you can learn. Of course you can only learn skills of you primary and secondary profession.

Also, every skill trainer sells you the skills they offer by default plus all skills (non-elite) that you have unlocked on your account in that campaign. You unlock skills when any character on your account learns them, if you use hero skill points (learned in Nightfall) to learn skills, or by unlocking them with Balthazar faction (mainly from PvP).

For more information:

Skills in general
Skill quests
Signet of Capture
Unlocking in Guildwars

In general, if you need information, there are 2 great wikis available:

Guild Wiki
Official Guild Wars Wiki

Kifix · Oct 05, 2010, 07:23 PM // 19:23

The Skill Quest wiki page i exactly what i need, thanks guys ! I can't believe i've missed it, i already spent hours on the wiki

About the signet of capture : i can't get one before Lion's Arch, right ?

About Unlocking and using tomes : to unlock a skill i need some faction points, right ? If i got i well the simplest, as a solo noob, is to do Zaishen training arena and Zaichen Challenge ? I saw videos about "zaishen solo traping", is it for the challenge ? To get a tome, as a low level player, i have to buy it from another player ?

Thanks.

**Marty Silverblade** · Oct 06, 2010, 02:17 AM // 02:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kifix

About the signet of capture : i can't get one before Lion's Arch, right ?

No. You won't need them until the Desert anyway.

Quote:

About Unlocking and using tomes : to unlock a skill i need some faction points, right?

Balthazar points are the easiest way to unlock skills but there are other ways. Obtaining a skill (by any method) is the other one but that doesn't help someone who wants the skill for their character on their first playthrough.

Quote:

If i got i well the simplest, as a solo noob, is to do Zaishen training arena and Zaichen Challenge ? I saw videos about "zaishen solo traping", is it for the challenge ?

You don't need to solo Zaishen Challenge. For a new player with limited skills you'll be much better off with a full group, and there aren't any benefits for going solo anyway. The henchmen provided are sufficient. Try fighting the Illusionary Weaponry group; they're the easiest.

Quote:

To get a tome, as a low level player, i have to buy it from another player ?

Yes. You could obtain tomes yourself by killing stuff in Hard Mode, but you won't have access to that until you beat the campaign. It's much easier to buy them anyway.

Kifix · Oct 06, 2010, 04:15 PM // 16:15

Thanks for all the answers, it helps a lot =)

Two more :
- i'm salvaging some stuff, but should i keep all the kinds of materials, or is there only some of them that are useful for ranger items ?

- i have the bow given as a bonus item for buying he trilogy (a blue flat bow of poison). Is there anything better i can get right now ? (i'm lvl13 and i just did the frost gate mission)

**Marty Silverblade** · Oct 07, 2010, 04:56 AM // 04:56

-You'll generally want to keep all materials. There is a wide variety in what you need to craft for certain things. You also may make other characters in the future that can use them.
-Don't worry too much about your weapon right now. When you've got a few k to spend you can buy a perfect green one from Lion's Arch.

Kifix · Oct 08, 2010, 06:37 AM // 06:37

So, i made it to lion's arch yesterday at lvl15. I went directly to Nightfall to unlock the heros

Hence a new question : as a ranger, what are the recommanded heros for pve (missions) and for zaishen ?

Also, what are the most usefull skills i should try to get asap from Nightfall ?

I think i'm going to finish the Prophecies story line and then go to Nightfall, which means i won't be doing Faction anytime soon. I well probably try to unlock Factions skills from PvP. Any suggestions on which to unlock first ?

@Marty : when you say "buy a green bow", you mean from players, or is there some kind of shop or auction hotel ?

Thanks again for the help

WhiteAsIce · Oct 08, 2010, 07:20 AM // 07:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kifix

So, i made it to lion's arch yesterday at lvl15. I went directly to Nightfall to unlock the heros

Hence a new question : as a ranger, what are the recommanded heros for pve (missions) and for zaishen ?

Also, what are the most usefull skills i should try to get asap from Nightfall ?

I think i'm going to finish the Prophecies story line and then go to Nightfall, which means i won't be doing Faction anytime soon. I well probably try to unlock Factions skills from PvP. Any suggestions on which to unlock first ?

@Marty : when you say "buy a green bow", you mean from players, or is there some kind of shop or auction hotel ?

Thanks again for the help

Heroes tend to depend on your build. For my Ranger, I run either a Barrage build or a WS Scythe build. Once you are able to change secondaries, you can unlock Dervish secondary, and start to learn scythe attacks.
My standard heroes (modified Sabway):
1) Minion Bomber
2) Resto Necro
3) SoS Rit
3a) With Strength of Honor and 12 in Smiting Prayers if using a scythe
3b) With 11+1 in Resto if using a bow

Once you reach NF, one obvious route is to go /D for using a scythe, so you can start to obtain those skills. Otherwise, some noteworthy skills:
* Toxicity - may be used in some farming builds
* Expert's Dexterity - for use in certain turret builds (old example)
* Infuriating Heat - rarely seen, but very useful if you're with Warriors and/or Paragons
* Prepared Shot - used in some turret builds, also often used with Concussion Shot
* Natural Stride - great for running, almost necessary in PvP
* Never Rampage Alone - maintainable IAS with a pet

* Mending Touch - used more for PvP, but great to remove two conditions from yourself

* "Fall Back!" - earshot IMS shout is always nice in many areas
* "Stand Your Ground!" - helps protect your party

* Scythe attacks - two sample R/D scythe builds: [1] [2]

Factions does not bring that much to the table. However, a few of the PvE-only skills from Factions are vastly useful in many situations. Other skills to look at:
* Enraged Lunge - good pet attack
* Glass Arrows - used in some turret builds
* Broad Head Arrow - I'm not personally a big fan of this, but it's darn useful when it's needed (Boreas Seabed, Unwaking Waters)
* Needling Shot - popular skill for turrets
* Famine - used in some farming builds

* "Save Yourselves!" - defend your party, core skill to Imbagons (different story)

* Vampiric Bite - clone of Vampiric Touch, used in Touch Ranger builds

* Ether Signet - used in some trapping builds

* Dagger attacks - Expertise lowers the cost of dagger attacks, but I would stick with scythes
* Assassin's Promise - often used as a calling spell to Discord heroes
* Death's Charge/Heart of Shadow - crucial to running, as it gets you out of tight spots
* Shadow Form - important if you want to become a runner (sample build, works as R/A)
* Shroud of Distress - synergy with Shadow Form
* Dash - learned automatically when you unlock the Assassin secondary

* Splinter Weapon - important if you want to use Barrage a lot, and you don't have a hero with it

* Aura of Holy Might - very important if you want to use scythes

Buying a green bow - he probably meant buy it from other players. A green bow can technically be obtained there, but you won't be able to do that for a long time.

I also advise you to obtain Eye of the North, as it contains many useful PvE-only skills.

---

If a lot of the terminology here sounds foreign to you, I'll gladly clear up what some of the stuff means. Other people can explain it too.

Amy Awien · Oct 08, 2010, 07:24 AM // 07:24

You can unlock/buy many factions skills with the trainer in Kaineng, which is the first stop in Cantha.
I used Olias, Melonni and Jin for my Mesmer, could replace Jin - since you're a ranger - with Sousuke.

Meridon · Oct 08, 2010, 09:01 AM // 09:01

One word: Barrage

It is the most used Ranger Elite skill. You can cap it in any campaign, and is basically a core skill in any bow build. Make sure you get it as soon as possible, or you will be stuck with running niche builds that rely on elites nobody uses, or on secondary professions with different weapons.

WhiteAsIce · Oct 08, 2010, 04:08 PM // 16:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meridon

One word: Barrage

It is the most used Ranger Elite skill. You can cap it in any campaign, and is basically a core skill in any bow build. Make sure you get it as soon as possible, or you will be stuck with running niche builds that rely on elites nobody uses, or on secondary professions with different weapons.

On that note, it can be captured quite early in Nightfall. You only get one shot at capturing it at this location though, so make sure you have the CapSig equipped, which you can buy at an outpost before that spot.

Kifix · Oct 11, 2010, 07:33 AM // 07:33

@Meridon : yeah it looks kinda like "the one build to rule them all" ^^
@WhiteAsIce : i'll try that since it seems pretty far away in Prophecies
@Amy Awien : i un locked the travel to Canbtha, i'll go take a look ! You didn't use a Monk hero ? Are they not good ? I didn't know that i had to chose between Jin and Sousuke and i did the Jin quest first, so now i can't have Sousuke :'(

Its sucks how every build, be it for me or or heroes, has at least 4 skills i dont have :-/ Some of them are even from titles that i have no clue how to get. At this point, except for ranger and necro (my secondary) i have really very few skills for the heroes. If i unlock skills with pvp points, are they available to heroes ?

**Marty Silverblade** · Oct 11, 2010, 08:58 PM // 20:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kifix

You didn't use a Monk hero ? Are they not good ?

Properly built Monk heroes are better than the henchies. It's just that the hench healers are sufficient so there is no need to waste a slot on one. Also, hero slots are valuable because you can fit in key midliner skills like Splinter Weapon and Mark of Pain which you can't get on a hench.

Quote:

I didn't know that i had to chose between Jin and Sousuke and i did the Jin quest first, so now i can't have Sousuke :'(

You can get Sousuke, you just have to wait until the end of Nightfall to do it. Also, A ranger hero is not a bad thing. They make perfectly good spirit spammers.

Quote:

If i unlock skills with pvp points, are they available to heroes ?

Yes, even elite skills.

Kifix · Oct 12, 2010, 09:36 AM // 09:36

I've got my Barrage \o/ Captured it in the NF "rescue Koss" quest as White suggested. Since i'm /N i'm using Mark of pain with it and i have to say i love it =)

I don't have a Rit Hero yet so i c'ant try Splinter. Would the hero cast it always on me ? I wish i could switch secondary before ascension to try /Rt or /El with conjure ^^

Since my heroes still lack skills, i tried something fun yesterday : a team with 4 pets. M/R, W/R, and R heroes and myself. I gave them all the pet IAS/IMS and 5/6 BM. I gave the R only barrage and Dshot attacks. I had to spamm Barrage for her though, cause she barely used it. But it worked quite well

I'm guessing a full team of Ranger Heroes with Pets and Barrage could be fun ^^

Most of the time i play with a M (/N for MoP), a N (/M for the rez) as a kinda minion bomber, and a D (/W for the armor buff). Is there any particular reason to bring a W (i'm not familiar with the prof, and i don't think there's aggro management in this game) ?

For myself i use a build with barrage, dshot, NRA, one pet attack, mark of pain, the spirit that replaces read the wind, and lighning reflexes (+ the pet skill). Can't compare with the "top builds" since i haven't tried one, but this is working well

On another topic, i just read this : "A player can't have more than -10 health degeneration". Damn ! I was already thinking of combining bleeding, poison and burning. Is poison + burning efficient enough ?

Anyway, i'm enjoying both the game and the ranger profession, and thanks again for the good advices

**Marty Silverblade** · Oct 13, 2010, 06:21 AM // 06:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kifix

I don't have a Rit Hero yet so i c'ant try Splinter. Would the hero cast it always on me ? I wish i could switch secondary before ascension to try /Rt or /El with conjure ^^

The hero will cast it on anyone provided they aren't wielding a wand or staff, even minions (apparently, I don't watch for this happening). Minions are at a lower priority than actual party members though.

Quote:

Most of the time i play with a M (/N for MoP), a N (/M for the rez) as a kinda minion bomber, and a D (/W for the armor buff). Is there any particular reason to bring a W (i'm not familiar with the prof, and i don't think there's aggro management in this game) ?

*Not sure what you mean by '/W for the armor buff'. Are you thinking that being a secondary Warrior grants you some automatic armor bonus? This isn't the case. If you're using a Warrior skill to boost armor that works.
*Melee heroes/henchmen have crap AI. Don't waste hero slots on them if you can help it.
*There is an aggro management system, but it is different from other games. Foes will prioritise targets according to lowest armor level, lowest health, etc. They will not automatically gravitate towards your Warriors just because they're Warriors. More often than not they'll just run straight past them. There are techniques that can be used to manipulate aggro, but it's more effort than it's worth on a hero.

Quote:

On another topic, i just read this : "A player can't have more than -10 health degeneration". Damn ! I was already thinking of combining bleeding, poison and burning. Is poison + burning efficient enough ?

Bleeding = -3 pips.
Poison = -4 pips.
Burning = -7 pips.

Therefore yes, Poison and Burning is enough. Also keep in mind that it's the net total cannot surpass +/-10, so if the foe has health regeneration of some kind any extra degeneration will still count against it. Example: Bleeding + Poison + Burning = -14 pips, then the target has Healing Breeze cast on them (lets say, +7 pips), they'll suffer from -7 pips overall.

PS: Degen is fairly weak and ends up more or less useless in high end PvE. Remember each pip is only worth 2 health per second. If you're using a skill slot just for bleeding, then you're only getting 6 DPS from that slot. You can do much better than that.

WhiteAsIce · Oct 14, 2010, 06:35 AM // 06:35

I would advise against bringing MoP on your own bar. Opt to have it on a Necro hero, as they not only have the energy for it, but also can use a higher level version of it with runes.

Heroes only use Splinter Wep on allies physically attacking, including minions, though the hero is more inclined to use it on you than a minion. If you are the only physical attacker in the party, the hero will use it on you whenever s/he gets a chance and you are attacking.

Heroes aren't great with pets. For serious play, don't try that. For now though, you can keep toying around with the "fun" builds.

In general, AI is bad with physical attackers. Wars don't spam adrenal skills as often as they could. Other attackers don't use attack skills on recharge - this is most noticable on Barrage Rangers, since Ranger heroes don't spam it. Stick with caster heroes for best results.

Barrage - Distracting Shot - NRA - pet attack - MoP - Favorable Winds - LR - ??
I never use pets with Barrage, so can't complain about that, but you have two IAS skills on your bar - NRA and LR. Just stick with one. As I mentioned above, it's better to put MoP on a hero instead. FW is good if you have another Ranger in your party, or you aren't on the move, because you can't bring your spirit with you that recharges in a minute. Also since enemies are likely to have multiple Rangers, you put your own party at risk.

Degen rocks PvP, but in PvE it is pointless. I only use degen for Discord triggering. Stick with pure damage, leave degen alone.

Experiment with the Ranger Scythe thing. It's a pretty good build.

Amy Awien · Oct 15, 2010, 04:38 PM // 16:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kifix

... You didn't use a Monk hero ? Are they not good ?

They're fine, but the hench monks are good enough. Took a bit of healing on Melonni and prot on Olias, then Jin (with pet), Alesia and the mesmer hench. In the desert the two hench monks, in later area's the hench monks, the mesmer and, I think, the ele.

Quote:

I didn't know that i had to chose between Jin and Sousuke and i did the Jin quest first, so now i can't have Sousuke :'(

Jin is just fine, you get plenty of ele heroes.

Quote:

Its sucks how every build, be it for me or or heroes, has at least 4 skills i dont have :-/

Stop looking at PvX builds, it's your first run, you're not expected to have all skills, nor heroes, and prophecies' difficulty does take that into account.

Quote:

If i unlock skills with pvp points, are they available to heroes ?

Yes they are, on all heroes on all your characters, account-wide.

Kifix · Oct 22, 2010, 09:15 AM // 09:15

Hello again ! I've been busy ingame and made quite some progress.
- i unlocked Zhed and Master of Whispers, and unlocked some elite skills for them : jagged bones, icy veins, and searing flames
- i became Weh no Su (it was the fastest so i could change secondary)
- i did the first +15AP quest and i'm in the middle of the ascension
- i got all prophecies skills and i captured burning arrow, rampage as one, BHA and Enraged Lunge

Heroes
I've been playing mainly with Olias and MofW as /monks protec (<3 Aegis) and Zhed full fire. It works well but i guess it misses interrupts. Maybe i should make one or two of them /Mesmer ?

Dervish
I'm playing /D at the moment. I found it underwhelming at first, but it's growing on me ^^ (i'm kind of a melee player at heart). The range of the attacks is really low and its pretty rare to hit more than one target. Plus, you spend a lot of time runing instead of hitting. But still, damage is nice with NRA + green scythe of darkness (15^50 vampiric) and i can spam the 5 energy attacks at will. Since i have no Elite (onslaught and wounding strike are to far into NF) i'm using enraged lounge. I also use the enchant that does cripple/bleeding at the start of the fight. I don't have the Kurzick one, which seems awesome, but i'll try to get it. Any advice ?

PvP
I tried a little bit of RA with a burning arrow build (apply poison, interrupts) and it was ok, i even got a glad point

. My dps was quite low though but i guess it's normal unless i use a spike build ? Also, the stuff on my pvp character sucks, i'll have to try with my pve one. But then i can't do kurzick without a guild, right ? I did Fort Aspenwood some times, it was nice. Looks like defending is easier, i never lost. I guess a condition build is the best there, standing on the walls ?

Ok, that's it for today, bye