Rangers in GW

Anyone that like to play as a ranger will appreciate this thread, anyone else will probably flame me.

I used to play as a ranger, and I found it pretty interesting, although once I got to the desert, it was almost impossible to find a group to do those missions. I was lvl 20, and experienced at that. I've done the missions before with other characters, so I know strategies and what not. I decided to delete my character just because I was getting bored of sitting in town getting no response.

Anyways, recently I've been doing some new UW runs. The first 3 runs I did, I joined mixed groups. These were alright, but took forever to finish. I think the first 3 completed runs averaged about 2 hours and 15 minutes per run. I decided to join a ranger barrage group with my necromancer and spam orders. Not only was this faster, but much easier and I never died once, in 5 runs. The barrage teams usually consisted of 5 rangers, 2 monks and a necromancer. Sometimes there would be 1 less ranger and a tank, depending on if they decided to bring pets or not. Anyways, I completed 4 out of my first 5 tries with barrage teams, and the average time was somewhere around 1 hr and 30 minutes.
The funny thing is, rangers are a lot better than people make them out to be. I thought this might just be a case of being in the UW, so I formed a party for fun and did the Thirsty River mission with 5 rangers in it. We completed the mission in like 9 minutes and there was only 1 death.

I think rangers are gonna make a comeback. Don't delete them just yet!

I dont think rangers were ever "weak"

They can do almost anything in the game.. tank, interrupt, degen, etc..

More people delete their mesmers than their rangers
Mesmers have a much harder time finding groups... believe me =)

I've been playing my ranger since the last beta weekend, and after having been through the game with 3 other characters, and started 2 more, I still prefer my ranger above all others. I don't know why exactly, I suppose it's that rangers can be so... self-sufficient. Solo or with a group, a ranger that knows what he/she is doing is capable of handling nearly any situation.

Plus she looks great in Druid's hehehe

Barragers are nice to have anywhere in high-end places. They can kill or contain runners, and with all the arrows flying, combined with Favorable Winds, Winnowing, and some hexes from other classes that make them less resistant against certain types of damage, can whip 'em a good one without them running around.

I also started with a ranger, and over time grew weary of begging to get into groups for FoW or Sorrows farming. So I created a tank and have used him almost exclusively these past several months...

Then, with the recent UW greenie quest update, and my groups constant failures, I noticed some ranger groups assembling for the run... so I dragged my ranger out of mothballs and we finished it fast. A mix of barrage, spirits and traps did the trick.

Now, I'm getting back into my Ranger... and I think there just might be some new found respect for this class.

as you can see, m y favorite profession is ranger. we're really versatile. I usually delete my other charcters before they get far because a ranger is just funner to me than anything else.

From my gameplay experience, I don't tank very well, and I don't really like the notion of hanging back, doing little damage, and just healing others. That's why I use a ranger along with a mesmer, necro, and ele.

I hardly find groups for my ranger unless it's in ToA, and I've yet to try my barrager in Tombs--UW. I've been using my necro the most for SF questing and farming. I'll have to give Emerald a few runs in Tombs--UW, see how I do there after my MM didn't go very far in the first try there because a healer left.

At lower level missions most players have their mind set on tanks, monks, and eles. Necros, rangers, and mesmers are simply not called on because for the most part people really don't understand their power. Give me a skilled ranger, necro, or mesmer any day. Barrage arrows, minion armies, and fast casting spellbreaker and energy draining spells can rule.

My first char was also a ranger, and i find my self playing him more than any other char. I like him so much because i learned everything i know today about GW on him. i also have a tank, but i only use him for farming.

Rangers have the second strongest offense in the game next to warriors and can fill a variety of roles.

They also are the best class by far at dueling.

<---Ranger Hater...
Just kidding y'all . If you look at the sub-forum Ranger, you'll see I post builds more often there than any other class. Why? Because Rangers are awesome, that's why.

Why do people underestimate them? I don't know, but I know this(Wha--?),
-They don't know the True Power of a the Rangers
Warrior/Monk: Is there a way I can have these skills?
The Infamous Ranger: Not from a Warrior.
-Also they haven't played them before or don't have the intelligence to run a ranger.

I agree. Rangers have a big learning curve. Sometimes it's too much for new players.
Example:
<---Me.

Rangers are masters at everything imaginable.
Masters of...
-Interruption
-Traps
-Nature Rituals
-Expertise
-and the list goes on and on.

No class is more versatile than the ranger. No class! It is uncomparable...


The Infamous Necro: Well, I can do twice as much as that master chris_nin00. Why don't you play with me?
Chris_nin00: Get back to your spiteful spirit build you emo .

I think any class can do anything...

Nah, most classes dont have the range of skills the ranger has at its disposal.

Doesnt make ranger an easy class to play though, as a ranger I generally have to think far more ahead to what is needed on a mission then as a warrior for instance.
I love playing ranger, I love the versatility, the ability to take a lv 20 pet in one mission and go for a full interrupter build in the next or switch to trapping and hey, there's barrage for damage dealing as well.

I dont exclusively play ranger, I also like to monk and be a warrior, they all can be fun and challenging but on versatility the ranger is king imho.

I play mostly a ranger. Often in missions I take the role of marksmanship damage dealer + interrupter. This is because when going the wilderness survival + traps route, just one uninformed party member can effectively nullify 80% of my work. That's right, there's almost always someone in a PUG that doesn't know or care about pulling which is crucial when trapping (unless going the offensive trapping route, which is cool too, but not as handy in missions IMO).

Interestingly in Fire Islands missions after Thunderhead Keep (#1 place for trappers to show that they're useful) I've found groups that have been much more aware of traps and their usage. We had two trappers in a RoF cap group and we wiped the floor with the Mursaat. Live and learn I guess. The biggest problem seems to be that some people don't have the patience to stand still while a ranger lays down 3-6 traps (even with SQ).

whilst i disagree they're superior, they're far from inferior. My first char was a R/Me (yep, the two most hated classes in general ) and she's still my fave. Over 300 hours of my 500ish are on her (yeah ok, not many hours since April but sssh!)

She regularly goes round SF, Ring of Fire, Desert and other places with only 4 henchies, and can also solo fairly well (Ettins, Hydra, Ice Imps, not tried anything else). I can interupt. I can mass degen. I can spike. I can tank. I can trap. I can set a level 20 feathered killer *hugs my Deathbird* on them. Heck I can do anything I like. I do have one each of every profession, and depending on my mood, I love them all, but its always my ranger I come back to.

In my opinion rangers are the demi-gods of this game!

I have seen AWESOME things that rangers do.......

so, yes, praise thy ranger!!!!

My first char was a ranger, in fact I pre-ordered from EB games just to get the Ithas Bow because I was going to make a ranger.

And Ranger is the one I always go back to. I've been able to do quests/missions with Henchmen that my monk and warrior are not able too. I think this is because the ranger henchmen suck at being a true Ranger - which is why nobody takes them. The tank henchmen tank. The healer henchmen heal. The caster henchmen cast. The ranger henchman - umm, shoots arrows and dies.

on a side note, they should make henchmen customizable - or a bigger variety of them, trapper, interrupter, air elem, earth elem, water elem, etc.

All professions have a use. Too many Narrow-minded people think rangers and mesmers are useless.

My ranger always have rocked. I just feel sorry for people who didn't give me a chance - they truly missed out.

Female Rangers never have hard time finding groups as I had a male once now it is a female.