Current Ranger status?

Hi

Sorry if this has already been discussed to death, I've had a break from the game and only just come back to my level 50 Ranger.

Just wondered what the current status is with the class. I've been doing fine in PvE and general questing i've just been reading about how AWFUL rangers are which confuses me. I don't do a lot of PvP so maybe the problem is there or some people say its the high end level 80 dungeons and how rangers do not bring anything to the group, they have low dps, no group buffs or support or anything.
I plan to do level 80 dungeons and I enjoy the ranger but don't want to be the class no one wants in a group.

So people who have run high end dungeons as rangers, I ask is this the case? I know there are threads on this and I've googled as much as I can but most discussions are a while back before newer patches so just wanted to get a current update if possible.

Thanks for your time :)

I have an 80 ranger, and I do explorable mode dungeons all the time. The real issue with the ranger is survivability of pets, and also spirits if you spec for that. You have to learn to swap pets out fast if you're going to do dungeons. But there's plenty of conditions available to rangers, and the damage is pretty good too.

The problem is trying to pug. Pugs are out to get dungeons done fast as possible, and they have an idea of what is good or isn't good. In my guild, however, we've run dungeons with two rangers in the party and had no problem. See the perception has nothing really to do with the reality.

My advice to you is find a good guild, and don't depend on pugs. Because I'd never let a pug decide what profession I should play. In a game like Guild Wars 2, it's just not necessary.

Thanks Vayne,

Even though its my first post i've been 'lurking' the board for a while, always enjoying reading your posts and responses they are always filled with good knowledge.


I'm glad to hear that the ranger isn't all that bad, I will stick with it and try to find myself a decent guild and practice with my pets a bit more :)

Compared to my engineer, I both survive better and kill stuff faster in PVe...but engies are still very much in demand for the support role. Mind you with spirits, you can play a support ranger. One of my guildies was experimenting with this. The spirits don't really survive long enough. Supposely Anet is working on this.

Also a couple of long term ranger bugs were fixed in recent patches, including the first trait line with opening strike, so it's definitely a good choice for profession.

Right now I have three mains. An engie, a ranger and a mesmer. All are great to play for different reasons, but you couldn't get me to give up my ranger on a bet.

Edit: Some of the complaining is PvP based, because people are saying the ranger isn't really great at one on one, compared to a lot of other professions. It was never really intended to go one on one in PvP...it's more of a harrassment profession. Always has been even since Guild Wars 1. And since I love to harrass people, even for PvP and WvW, my ranger does quite well.

There's nothing wrong with rangers at all. You see loads of rangers around and no ones ever said anything to me about joining a group with my ranger.

They are meant to be a very versatile character class, with all the different pets, with different abilities.

Use F3 alot to keep your pet on a tight leash, otherwise they can charge off drawing loads of aggro...

Thanks for all your replies. They were very helpful :)

I do love the ranger, I love the long bow/sword combo but not too keen on having to manage the pets.

I thought about trying a warrior class as an alt to start with with the same weapon setup? Would this work as well? I know i shouldn't really ask since i gathered guild wars was the type of game where you can play any class with and weapon combo and still be ok it just depends on your playstyle. But just thought i'd check some opinions first :)

I honestly think you're limiting yourself by trying to predict what would be fun. Ranger pets don't need "much" micromanagement. You do need to rein them in periodically and you need to swap them but swapping them is actually fun. Think of them in terms of weapons instead of pets. Would you play a ranger, use one weapon and never swap it? Because each pet gives you a different F2 skill, it means having two pets to swap gives you two skills, both of which can compliment your build or be useful in different situations.

But as for the rest of it, you can do great melee and ranged with a lot of professions, including the mesmer, which is ultra fun. It sounds to me like you're coming into Guild Wars 2 with the thought process of what these professions are in other games, and in most cases that's not really the case. Warriors, for example, can be either ranged or glass canons. They're not nearly as tanky as in other games. Even if you build especially for one, you're not going to end up being a tank in the traditional sense of the word. By the same token, there are spell casters that can be very tanky though they're wearing cloth. People who spend a lot of time thinking they're going to like one profession end up liking another and don't know until they try them.

I came to this game with the idea I was going to have a necromancer main. It turned out to be my last favorite profession, even though some people swear by it. But it's not for me. By the same token I could have sworn I'd never enjoy the engineer and that was the first character I leveled to 80.

You have five character slots...there are five races, give them all a try, at least till level 15. Go into the second zone, a 15-25 zone on each of the professions. Oh, and make sure you unlock all the weapon skills. One of my guildies hated the mesmer until she unlocked the greatsword skills. The game plays very differently with different weapons.

I am leveling a warrior at the moment, my ranger is lvl80 and well the warrior is abit of a tank, it is a little bland compared to the ranger.

Warriors have rifle (very, very nice) and can use longbow (okay), well Rangers can use Shortbow (very good) and longbow (okay) for ranged.

Pets are very easy to manage, all you need to use is f2 (activate pet skill), f3 (heel, only needed when groups/dungeons etc...don't bother in PVE) and f4 (swap pet, you use this when your pet is near death).

Warriors only use f1 which activates a special weapon ability based on adrenaline level.

I think I will do what you suggest Vayne and take the warrior to 15 or 20 and see how it goes.

Yeah i'm coming from the standard mmo model so it takes getting use to the way guild wars works (which just for the record I do love) its a breath of fresh air to play a online game without having to take a 'cookie cutter build' or press your buttons in the right order for the perfect rotation! :p