There are many professions to choose from in Guild Wars and the ranger seems to be one of the least selected. That should not deter you from having your hand at the glory of the bow and the skills of a marksman. The Ranger has the second best armor in the game but can sit back and relax with the rest of the casters. Secondly, the Ranger is not typically the first target in a battle (since they have no healing abilities) so you’ve got time to fire upon your enemies. Hide behind a stone, because a good Ranger will drop you to your knees in a heartbeat.
Why select a Ranger as your primary profession? They can sustain a good deal of punishment, they have a wide array of bow skills, they can interrupt casters, train an animal as a meat shield, and have fairly potent regenerative energy.
What attributes will you have at your disposal?
Like any other profession you cannot master all these skills. Typically your Ranger will choose a path in life: Become a great beast master, or a great bowman. You will probably find yourself keeping your Marksmanship skill up high regardless, and choosing between Wilderness Survival and Beast Mastery.
So should you work your life as a beast master, or an aerial warrior?
The Aerial Warrior
This offensive Ranger type can be a devastating advisary in battle spending most of there time specializing in Wilderness Survival, Expertise, and Marksmanship. They rarely miss their target; can cause Area of Effect (AoE) damage with Ignite Arrows, and health drain with Poison.
For the opposing caster professions a Ranger can interrupt many spells before they fire. Rangers interrupt arrows are fast and effective (you click “fire” and it hits almost immediately) and will put your casters at a sever disadvantage. Interrupting skills usually cause your caster to have a very slow regeneration time on the skill so you have put it out of commission for awhile. You may notice Rangers selecting “the perfect time” to hit you with an interrupt, for instance when you’re casting Orison of Healing (monk), Backfire (mesmer), and Firestorm (Elementalist). A group of rangers can nullify the effects of a group of casters almost immediately and will keep a monk busy by poisoning your entire party one by one.
The Beast Master
The beast master will spend most of there time training there little animal to hurt you. It can often be difficult to attack a beast master directly because their little animal companion will do everything in its power to keep you away. A beast master still has the force of their bow to keep you at bay, and a “meat shield” animal to keep you busy. So while your trying to take down a bear, wolf, bird, cat, or whatever animal the Ranger has trained that Ranger will be peppering you with armor penetrating arrows, and perhaps crippling you from escape.
The beast master’s animal will level up just like the beast master themselves. Unlike necromancers’ minions that they raise from the dead, a beast master’s attribute value does not reflect the level of the beast. The best levels up as any character does (from killing things), the beast masters attribute value will reflect just how many cool tricks there beast has for putting an end to your life. Secondly, the beast master's beast does not die over a period of time like a necromantic minion does, they are always there to cause you harm. Think of that beast as another powerful party member in a party of already powerful members.
An expert in the usage of skills
Like any professions primary attribute, expertise should be invested into highly. One of the keys to being a good ranger is fast attacks, and repeat attacks. If you invest highly into this attribute you will regain your cool skills faster, and be able to fire them quickly regardless of there energy costs. A Ranger only has an energy regeneration of three, where a typical caster has a regeneration of four. That means you will be hard pressed to fire off as many skills as a spell caster, so gain your advantage by making your skill attacks more efficient with the use of expertise!
Spirit Spammer
A highly requested name when playing in a PvP/GvG battle is the “spirit spammer.” This term is given to rangers that equip many spirits on there skill slot before a battle. One of the most annoying Rangers to battle against is the spirit spammer. Spirit are wilderness survival skills where global enchantments are placed on the ground in the form of an immobile ‘spirit’ of some level or another. Anyone within the range of that spirit gains the enchantment that spirit provides (for good or bad).
A popular spell caster annoyance is to drop a ‘quickening zephyr’ spirit. This spirit makes all within the area use 30% more energy to cast a spell with a recharge rate that’s twice as fast. That’s great for Rangers with high expertise attributes because they’re already cutting down on energy costs, but it can be the bane to the Mesmer, Monk, Necromancer, or Elementalist. Forcing a caster to spend 30% more then they expect is not fun, and many casters will not realize they’re under the influence of a quickening zephyr until its too late and they’re energy is spent.
Frozen Soil is a spirit that blocks resurrections from occurring. When a party is winning a PvP battle nothing will hurt the enemy more then not being able to bring there party members back from the dead. This gives you precious time to finish off the remaining enemies before they can gain any type of advantage. Just watch out, because you cannot bring YOUR party members back from the dead either.
The spirit spammer is also able to drop multiple spirits of the same type, and other partied rangers can do this as well. Why you ask? Because its fairly easy to target a spirit and ends its global enchantment, but if you spend your time killing four or five of the same spirit then you will have no time to kill off the enemies monks, and rangers leaving you extremely exposed. If you drop enough spirits the enemies will leave them alone because they know they will not have a chance to kill them all (especially since you will be able to re-create them quickly after they kill all the current ones off).
How do you best defeat a spirit spammer group of enemies? With other Rangers of course! Enemy rangers gain the same advantages as those that cast the spirits. You may also choose a warrior group to cut them down since adrenaline skills do not require energy the quickening zephyr will not be as large of an issue. If you find that the group only dropped one or two spirits then an Elementalist can use an AoE attack to put an end to them (unless they were smart and spread the spirits apart from each other).
The Archer Group
A group of experienced rangers can party in a PvP environment and take control by the typical “target and fire” technique. A party of six to eight Rangers can destroy an individual extremely quickly if all target them and fire off a high potent skill (Kindle Arrow, Penetrating Attack, etc.). If you’ve never been subject to this let me tell you that it’s an extremely powerful and frustrating way to die. When you notice the enemy party is a collection of rangers and you find yourself the target be prepared to fall dead within two seconds of time. Once they loose there arrows you will be ill prepared to defend yourself from the incoming punishment.
How do you defeat a group of archers? Take comfort in the fact that they can only effectively target one of your team at a time. A non-experienced group may stand in a group, hit them with AoE attacks. Casters can attempt to obstruct themselves from view, and use casting attacks like Firestorm, Enervating Charge, and others to stop the enemy onslaught. Remember, the other team must work in unison in order to be effective, if you can get them to panic and break formation they will break down. Try spreading your attack across more then a single archer and see if they disregard there leaders called shot and try to defend their own hides. If you’re entire group of warriors target attacks a single ranger then all the rangers will target attack the warrior in defense. If you spread across all the rangers their caller will have to make a decision while there party members are yelling “help help help!” and begin to break and run.
Finding the weakness
The Ranger has fairly good armor values, fairly good attack methods, and can stand back and fight from afar. Try not to give an archer ‘high ground’ in battle by fighting down hill towards them (fighting up hill gives them higher damage modifiers). Use skill interrupts if you have them, but hold out for there most powerful attacks (usually Penetrating Attack, Poison, or Ignite Arrows). If the Ranger has partied with warriors, attempt to kill the warriors out of direct site of the ranger or try to bring the warriors out of archer range (many archers use short bows because of the speed). Lastly, rangers are fairly immobile and feel comfortable standing still and attacking. Keep them on the run, use AoE attacks in there general area to make them move around. Rangers cannot attack while on the run, and that will give you a moment to recover from there prior attacks.
A good secondary profession
A monk secondary profession works fairly well with Rangers because they have a good amount of energy, and a fair regeneration value. The monk can also, typically, sustain a party member when the going gets rough if they hold back on bow skills and concentrate on healing.
A necromancer specialized in “Death magic” with attributes in beast mastery gives the Ranger plenty of little minions to get in the way of the enemy. This would be great for a “lone wolf” Ranger that likes to battle with a group of not-so-smart henchmen or by themselves.
A mesmer secondary is also a nice choice. Concentrate in illusion magic, wilderness survival, and marksmanship. Take out enemies with health drains, poison, and a penetrating attack. They will end up with at least seven negatives in health regeneration (which will make anyone think twice about battle), and penetrating attack will cut deep into their remaining health before the negative effects wear off. This also mixes “conditions” with “hexes” and will require a monk to have mend ailment and remove hex in order to perform all removals of negative effects.
In conclusion
When starting your newbie Ranger for the first time try not to be discouraged by the lack of damage obtained from bow attacks (the starting bows tend to do no more then 9 points of damage). Your ranger gets better with age. The Ranger has a very good mix of skills and you will find it frustrating to pick only a few for your skill bar. Unlike a warrior, Elementalist, or Mesmer where you use the same set over and over, the Ranger’s skills all fit the environment well. Some battles will call for more spell interrupts, others require more Fire AoE attacks, and yet others will require concentrated high-impact damage on specific individuals and bosses. Research your environment and pick the ones best suited for each situation.
Rangers attacks tend to be concentrated on one enemy (not too many AoE attacks), and they require a good party leader (if it is not themselves) to call targets for battle. The best ranger is one that knows their enemy and how to best destroy them. No spell caster is safe when a Ranger has been told to destroy them or has chosen them as a target.
What attributes will you have at your disposal?
- Expertise: Allows you to hone your skills as an archer, quicken the recover time after using skills, and allow skills to be utilized with less energy then is typically required by said skill. This ability seems to only work on the Ranger’s primary profession, not on the secondary.
- Marksmanship: The mastery of the bow is highly bound to the marksmanship attribute. If you want more devastating attacks raise this skill high.
- Wilderness Survival: This attribute does not make you more apt to find food in the wilderness. This attribute is very powerful for arrow modifiers such as Poison, Ignite Arrows, Kindle Arrows, and allows you to lay Traps, and summon the many “spirits” (more on that later) that you can create. Many of the skills under this attribute last for a duration of time, and can cause great pain/annoyance amongst your enemies.
- Beast Mastery: Gives you power over nature, allowing you to train an animal familiar to use in battle. Many skills revolving around this skill are directly linked to your animal familiar.
Like any other profession you cannot master all these skills. Typically your Ranger will choose a path in life: Become a great beast master, or a great bowman. You will probably find yourself keeping your Marksmanship skill up high regardless, and choosing between Wilderness Survival and Beast Mastery.
So should you work your life as a beast master, or an aerial warrior?
The Aerial Warrior
This offensive Ranger type can be a devastating advisary in battle spending most of there time specializing in Wilderness Survival, Expertise, and Marksmanship. They rarely miss their target; can cause Area of Effect (AoE) damage with Ignite Arrows, and health drain with Poison.
For the opposing caster professions a Ranger can interrupt many spells before they fire. Rangers interrupt arrows are fast and effective (you click “fire” and it hits almost immediately) and will put your casters at a sever disadvantage. Interrupting skills usually cause your caster to have a very slow regeneration time on the skill so you have put it out of commission for awhile. You may notice Rangers selecting “the perfect time” to hit you with an interrupt, for instance when you’re casting Orison of Healing (monk), Backfire (mesmer), and Firestorm (Elementalist). A group of rangers can nullify the effects of a group of casters almost immediately and will keep a monk busy by poisoning your entire party one by one.
The Beast Master
The beast master will spend most of there time training there little animal to hurt you. It can often be difficult to attack a beast master directly because their little animal companion will do everything in its power to keep you away. A beast master still has the force of their bow to keep you at bay, and a “meat shield” animal to keep you busy. So while your trying to take down a bear, wolf, bird, cat, or whatever animal the Ranger has trained that Ranger will be peppering you with armor penetrating arrows, and perhaps crippling you from escape.
The beast master’s animal will level up just like the beast master themselves. Unlike necromancers’ minions that they raise from the dead, a beast master’s attribute value does not reflect the level of the beast. The best levels up as any character does (from killing things), the beast masters attribute value will reflect just how many cool tricks there beast has for putting an end to your life. Secondly, the beast master's beast does not die over a period of time like a necromantic minion does, they are always there to cause you harm. Think of that beast as another powerful party member in a party of already powerful members.
An expert in the usage of skills
Like any professions primary attribute, expertise should be invested into highly. One of the keys to being a good ranger is fast attacks, and repeat attacks. If you invest highly into this attribute you will regain your cool skills faster, and be able to fire them quickly regardless of there energy costs. A Ranger only has an energy regeneration of three, where a typical caster has a regeneration of four. That means you will be hard pressed to fire off as many skills as a spell caster, so gain your advantage by making your skill attacks more efficient with the use of expertise!
Spirit Spammer
A highly requested name when playing in a PvP/GvG battle is the “spirit spammer.” This term is given to rangers that equip many spirits on there skill slot before a battle. One of the most annoying Rangers to battle against is the spirit spammer. Spirit are wilderness survival skills where global enchantments are placed on the ground in the form of an immobile ‘spirit’ of some level or another. Anyone within the range of that spirit gains the enchantment that spirit provides (for good or bad).
A popular spell caster annoyance is to drop a ‘quickening zephyr’ spirit. This spirit makes all within the area use 30% more energy to cast a spell with a recharge rate that’s twice as fast. That’s great for Rangers with high expertise attributes because they’re already cutting down on energy costs, but it can be the bane to the Mesmer, Monk, Necromancer, or Elementalist. Forcing a caster to spend 30% more then they expect is not fun, and many casters will not realize they’re under the influence of a quickening zephyr until its too late and they’re energy is spent.
Frozen Soil is a spirit that blocks resurrections from occurring. When a party is winning a PvP battle nothing will hurt the enemy more then not being able to bring there party members back from the dead. This gives you precious time to finish off the remaining enemies before they can gain any type of advantage. Just watch out, because you cannot bring YOUR party members back from the dead either.
The spirit spammer is also able to drop multiple spirits of the same type, and other partied rangers can do this as well. Why you ask? Because its fairly easy to target a spirit and ends its global enchantment, but if you spend your time killing four or five of the same spirit then you will have no time to kill off the enemies monks, and rangers leaving you extremely exposed. If you drop enough spirits the enemies will leave them alone because they know they will not have a chance to kill them all (especially since you will be able to re-create them quickly after they kill all the current ones off).
How do you best defeat a spirit spammer group of enemies? With other Rangers of course! Enemy rangers gain the same advantages as those that cast the spirits. You may also choose a warrior group to cut them down since adrenaline skills do not require energy the quickening zephyr will not be as large of an issue. If you find that the group only dropped one or two spirits then an Elementalist can use an AoE attack to put an end to them (unless they were smart and spread the spirits apart from each other).
The Archer Group
A group of experienced rangers can party in a PvP environment and take control by the typical “target and fire” technique. A party of six to eight Rangers can destroy an individual extremely quickly if all target them and fire off a high potent skill (Kindle Arrow, Penetrating Attack, etc.). If you’ve never been subject to this let me tell you that it’s an extremely powerful and frustrating way to die. When you notice the enemy party is a collection of rangers and you find yourself the target be prepared to fall dead within two seconds of time. Once they loose there arrows you will be ill prepared to defend yourself from the incoming punishment.
How do you defeat a group of archers? Take comfort in the fact that they can only effectively target one of your team at a time. A non-experienced group may stand in a group, hit them with AoE attacks. Casters can attempt to obstruct themselves from view, and use casting attacks like Firestorm, Enervating Charge, and others to stop the enemy onslaught. Remember, the other team must work in unison in order to be effective, if you can get them to panic and break formation they will break down. Try spreading your attack across more then a single archer and see if they disregard there leaders called shot and try to defend their own hides. If you’re entire group of warriors target attacks a single ranger then all the rangers will target attack the warrior in defense. If you spread across all the rangers their caller will have to make a decision while there party members are yelling “help help help!” and begin to break and run.
Finding the weakness
The Ranger has fairly good armor values, fairly good attack methods, and can stand back and fight from afar. Try not to give an archer ‘high ground’ in battle by fighting down hill towards them (fighting up hill gives them higher damage modifiers). Use skill interrupts if you have them, but hold out for there most powerful attacks (usually Penetrating Attack, Poison, or Ignite Arrows). If the Ranger has partied with warriors, attempt to kill the warriors out of direct site of the ranger or try to bring the warriors out of archer range (many archers use short bows because of the speed). Lastly, rangers are fairly immobile and feel comfortable standing still and attacking. Keep them on the run, use AoE attacks in there general area to make them move around. Rangers cannot attack while on the run, and that will give you a moment to recover from there prior attacks.
A good secondary profession
A monk secondary profession works fairly well with Rangers because they have a good amount of energy, and a fair regeneration value. The monk can also, typically, sustain a party member when the going gets rough if they hold back on bow skills and concentrate on healing.
A necromancer specialized in “Death magic” with attributes in beast mastery gives the Ranger plenty of little minions to get in the way of the enemy. This would be great for a “lone wolf” Ranger that likes to battle with a group of not-so-smart henchmen or by themselves.
A mesmer secondary is also a nice choice. Concentrate in illusion magic, wilderness survival, and marksmanship. Take out enemies with health drains, poison, and a penetrating attack. They will end up with at least seven negatives in health regeneration (which will make anyone think twice about battle), and penetrating attack will cut deep into their remaining health before the negative effects wear off. This also mixes “conditions” with “hexes” and will require a monk to have mend ailment and remove hex in order to perform all removals of negative effects.
In conclusion
When starting your newbie Ranger for the first time try not to be discouraged by the lack of damage obtained from bow attacks (the starting bows tend to do no more then 9 points of damage). Your ranger gets better with age. The Ranger has a very good mix of skills and you will find it frustrating to pick only a few for your skill bar. Unlike a warrior, Elementalist, or Mesmer where you use the same set over and over, the Ranger’s skills all fit the environment well. Some battles will call for more spell interrupts, others require more Fire AoE attacks, and yet others will require concentrated high-impact damage on specific individuals and bosses. Research your environment and pick the ones best suited for each situation.
Rangers attacks tend to be concentrated on one enemy (not too many AoE attacks), and they require a good party leader (if it is not themselves) to call targets for battle. The best ranger is one that knows their enemy and how to best destroy them. No spell caster is safe when a Ranger has been told to destroy them or has chosen them as a target.
