Starting Attributes

I am fuzzing on this. When you start out you have to set your attributes how you want them correct? I am going to be a Ranger.. thats it just a Ranger..

My question is..How many attribute points do you start out with and for the ranger what areas can you put these in. I can't find a place with this info.


I would also like the MEANING of attributes.

You don't get any attributes to start. They only come as you level.
The attributes of a ranger and how many points you get per level are definitely listed on this site. Go have a look.

What exactly are Attributes?

Another question I am confused on is:
How many attacks do you get? I mean.. I have been looking at all of the Ranger attacks under the different categories of:

Beast Mastery (23)
Expertise (10)
Marksmanship (13)
Wilderness Survival (24)
Non-Attribute Linked Skills

And I have a wide varity.. Or do I get all of these?? As you can see I am totally confused!

You would do best to read all the stickies on this forum as well as the beginners guides on the main guru site.

dont worry if you made a mistake
because there is something called "refund point"
you will keep getting refund point even you reached level 20.
so feel free to test/try...and find your best mix

oh one more thing...
as you increase attributes, your skills link to that attributes becomes more effective and powerful
for example...if you put more points on "marksmanship", your marksmanship skills will be more effective and powerful.
hope it helps

I have why do you think I am here asking questions? Please someone help.

Funny that. When I read the info in the New Player's Centre and Professions sections of Guild Wars Guru I found I then knew all of the things you want to know. I guess things have changed since then...?

First of all, going with ONLY Ranger and not getting a secondary class is idiotic in every imaginable circumstance.


Secondly, there are no "starting" attributes. You don't start with any and you don't start with any levels in any attribute.

You get attribute points every time you level up. You can place these in any of your attributes. The attributes for a ranger are

Expertise (Primary Only Attribute)
Marksmanship
Beast Mastery
Wilderness Survival

The most you can level any 1 attribute using attribute points alone is to 12. You can boost this up to as much as 16 using runes (headgear + superior rune). But that is simply not a viable option. The most you will probably want your attributes to be at is 12 or 13 (11 or so +runes).

Boosting an attribute boosts the effectiveness of all the skills that are related to that attribute. It also allows you to use weapons that are tied to that attribute and have a requirement (for instance. Bow: Requires Marksmanship (#+). If you don't have that # or higher, then the bow will have horrible damage output. (worse than the min damage listed).

You only get 200 attribute points (by level 20), which means you have to distribute them wisely. It takes several attribute points to buy 1 level.

Thank you! That helps in most of my blanks. But I still have a few questions. And when I read.. There is a lot to learn when I havn't played game or anything so this is easier for me.

Questions:

1. Do I get ALL of the attacks listed under these links on this page?HERE!

2. What is the max attribute points that can go into one attribute?

You have access to every single skill from both your primary and secondary profession reguardless of whether or not you pump attribute points into it. Is it wise to use a skill that you have no attribute levels in? No.

Uhh... I'm not exactly sure how many attribute points to a level right now. But it will take a good chunk of your attribute points (out of 200 which is maximum available) to get any one attribute to level 10 or 11 (about a third).

I suggest you try to stick with using only 3 attributes and only using skills from those three.
Use something like
Expertise: 11 (+ any runes you can find)
Marksmanship: 10 (+ any runes you can find)
LastAttribute: 10

That will use all of your points except for 1.


Why only three attributes? Because the thinner you spread them, the weaker you are. 3 is a good number to stick with because the 11, 10, 10 is about as good as you can get without running into all that diminishing returns crap.

I said Expertise and Marksmanship because Expertise is essnetial to a ranger and marksmanship contains most of the good bow attacks. I left the last one blank because it could either be Wilderness Survival or a chosen attribute from your secondary class.

1: You CAN get them all eventually. You have to learn them and get them through quests. You only are allowed to equip 8 at a time however.

2: Under GUIDES there is a guide named ATTRIBUTE POINT DISTRIBUTION. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content...tion-id270.php this may or may not answer your question. Oh wait, that's right I actually READ things so I can safely say that yes, yes indeed it will.

3: It may be easier for you to ask these questions then find the answers, but it's easier for us to let you read them then to give you the answers.

Sorry to jump in late here, but...

I can disagree with you here for two reasons...ONE: I played a pure ranger in my first BWE and did better than I did with a Ranger/Monk...Before I knew much about skill sets and attributes...The game is set up so this won't cripple a character...some might offer that it focuses a character if played well. TWO: From what I understand, when you ascend to level 20, you can pick a secondary then if you like...I plan on playing a two class character (R/Mo), but if I were to choose a single class, it would not be idiotic by any means...each class has a great set of skills...Rangers included, can do quite well on their own. Only a lack of imagination can cripple your character.

Lets stop with the snide comments here guys. Yes, it's fine to point out if a question is answered in the stickies or on the site somewhere, but having several posts in a thread pointing that out just leads to flaming and nastiness.

What Weezer meant about choosing a second class is that there's no advantage to be gained by only choosing one profession, whereas you can gain advantages by taking a second profession. Even if you're only planning on using Ranger skills, taking a second profession can give you more options for getting past a difficult place in the game. Even just taking a Monk secondary to have the option to have resurrection spells can make a difference if you end up in a party with few or no people who can rez. You don't necessarily have to take the skills into every mission, but you still have the option to bring them along if you need to.

Appologies if I sounded "snide"...I was only trying to point out that it might be an interesting challenge to play a pure ranger and that doing so does not neccessarily qualify one as an idiot (from the greek: idiotes; an ignorant person)...although, it might.

...Your point is well taken on the advantages of a dual class character. The secondary profession is an excellent way to add depth to a character...If, however, you choose to play a single class character, or make the error of joining the academy before acquiring a second profession, your character is NOT broken or unplayable. You may ascend as all other characters can, and make due with a pretty fair set of skills...it may be more difficult, sure, but challenge can be fun too.

I didn't mean to step on toes, just disagree (respectfuly, I thought) with the idea that the choice of no secondary is not viable...foolhardy for a new player...maybe even an error in judgement...but then, picking the wrong profession for your style of gameplay can be equally, if not more hazardous to character development. Thinking that a Monk/Warrior will be the ultimate tank with smiting skills, is an error I'm sure someone will make...but, live and learn. We all need to consider how we want to play based on our own skills and preferences...

I hope in disagreeing with a statement that I thought a bit harsh won't incure wrath or flame or mod intervention...just an opinion after all. I thought I put up a well-formed argument. No intent to provoke or sound snide...Maybe it's because I'm a teacher...some of my students, I'm sure, read arrogance into things where it wasn't intended...

I get Weezer_Blue's point, but think it's a bit overstated...I might say it like: ...going with ONLY Ranger and not getting a secondary class is not a great idea unless you want to cut your potential skill set in half. The character becomes somewhat limited until level 20, where you have another chance to pick up the secondary profession.

In the case of a Ranger with or without a secondary, I load up on skills points in this order: Marksmanship, Expertise, Wilderness Survival...with the secondary class of monk, I put in a couple of leftover points in Healing Prayers, with no secondary, I put them in Beast Mastery. All Rangers, in my humble opinion, should focus first and foremost on Marksmanship and Expertise...the rest will fall into place as you refine your playing style. There are some great Ranger builds listed in this forum, and I would reccomend giving most of them a shot...skills are mix-and-matchable beyond what most of us are used to, so there's plenty of room for experimentation...

I've gotta say it...in spite of all the reccomendations against it...I STILL plan on running a Ranger focused on Beast Mastery, just to see how sucessful it can be...I don't play PvP much, but I'd be interested in seeing how I could hold up just the same...Ultimately, it's easy to love the folly of the foolhardy and I intend to play the fool...after all, my guild is The Rook and Jester.

There is no gameplay benefits whatsoever in having no secondary profession, and you migth need it later (yes, there will be a way to switch secondary after Ascension, but we don't know what it is (it _could_ require holding the hall of heroes or something absurdly hard), and you may need it before that).

If you have absolutely no idea what secondary to get, go with monk. If nothing else, getting a real resurrect skill instead of the signet can come in handy.

All during school and last night I was thinking of a strategic way to move my secdondary IF I was going to use one.

My ranger would be all I needed for the attack part of my region. After countless hours I have finnaly came to a decision that I want to help out my guild and myself when playing. So I will be a Ranger/Monk using:

Expertise
Marksmenship
Protecting Prayers
& if I have enough.. Wilderness Survival.

(But If I choose just to be a Ranger it will be:
Expertise
Marksmenship
WIlderness Survival
THEN Beast Mastery)

I choose protecting prayers mainly because if I protect my team.. then I shouldn't have to heal. And usally secondary monks choose Healing Prayers so it should be balanced. Also Protecting Prayers can help with hexes and curses.

I have another question:

valorien You said that you may only equipt 8 at a time.. So that means when I first start out I will get to choose 8 skill to start out with from my primary and secondary profession?

No, you can only use 8 skills on your skill bar at one time.

(The skill bar can only be sorted in Town)

Starting out you have No skills, and you learn a few after doing the first quest.

A large majority of skills have to be bought or learnt by stealing the skill from a Unique/Boss type monster.

Ok thank you I am clear on that for now. I appreciate all who help in my questions!

Even if you don't choose a monk as a secondary, you can still heal your team with Healing Spring...Does +39 health for all characters in range for (I think) 8 seconds...easily interrupted, but a relatively short casting time. When I got it, I abandoned my monk attribute points (kept res as a skill) and reallocated my points into Ranger skills...I used it with a necro's minions and kept them healthy for a while longer than they would have lasted...kind of nice to have 'em around for the next battle.

If you do go with a monk secondary, make sure you grab the bane signet before going into the academy...only does, like -26 holy damage, but it's a free hit (no energy cost) and it doubles on the undead...also, if the target is casting, it'll knock them on their butt for a couple secs...considering a regular bow shot can be as ineffectual as 12 points (good bow at higher levels)without a modifying skill...it's a good shot while you're recharging, and doubly effective on undead.

Say, you use Poison Arrows (fair d.o.t.(damage over time)) and take out a grasping ghoul...if your next target is a skeletal mage...bummer, the poison wont work because it has no flesh...now, use the bane signet for -52 holy damage (maybe knock him down if you catch him casting) and not waste the energy on a Kindle/Ignite Arrows before Poison Arrows runs out...helps keep your options open and conserve 5-10 energy, in the right situation.

How do you accomplish stealing skills from a monster?