120 replies to this topic

[carlostheelf]

Can you post an image to the gear and stats the gear has? I've a little confused on what stats I should be focusing on. I get the idea behind power/precision/+%, but do your accessories have any stats to beef up vitality, or other defensive stats? How much of a glass cannon does the build suggest? Complete or hybrid?

[hoplite]

Ravnodaus, on 16 September 2012 - 11:21 AM, said:

I use a similar build, but with a noticeable twist fro what seems to the norm here.

http://gw2skills.net...IbRuikFtyYkxWEA

Rampager's all the way. Maximum crit% is essential. The build revolves around generating as many crits as possible, which causes might stacks, which the pet also gets. The Jungle Stalker can roar, which is 5 stacks of might, and he gets it twice...so 10 stacks. And between Call adding another 2, and double duration fury/swiftness, as well as might from sword attacks, fury/swiftness from weapon swaps. double duration boons from Rampage as one, plus the bonus boons from Lyssa rune set...the stacks of boons on an already beefier beastmaster spec'd cat will simply rip mobs apart...like...now. Sometimes I swap the last trait in skirmishing to V Crits grant Might to Pet...but the duration on that might is really short, like 1-2 second...and doesn't really let you stack it up for much effect. Don't worry though, your pet will maintain about 7-15 stacks of might at just about all time with this build. You can peak at the 20-25 stack range if you're trying to burst. And Insane stacks when you Rampage as one. No joke..Insane stacks. 30 % of your crits grant might. Your crit is roughly 80-90% (depending n gear quality), thats roughly 1/4 th of attacks. Auto attack with sword adds might. Call, adds might. Roar adds might. And then you activate Rampage as one and every atack adds might to your pet, and every attack your pet makes adds might to you....which adds might to your pet. Pop your QZ and watch as insanity unfolds before your very eyes. 30 stacks? Easy. More?? yep

If the going is tough, I swap a few things around a little, like so;

http://gw2skills.net...IbRuikFtyYkxWEA

This way you have a beefier pet, in the drake. Since it has higher toughness and vitality. The toughness signet helps a little too. The heal on crit talent (works better with cat though) changed the heal for the regeneration. See, if you and the pet stay in the area, your pet is getting double duration from the regen, meaning he always has regeneration, always. You can pull a similar trick with the Fern hound if you like...but then you'd wanna change the trait in BM. But the synergy for pet crits to bleed and huge stacks of might is incredible...so don't recomend anything oher than Cat, Drake, and Devourer (or shark). devourer works really great if you're doing duneons with this setup.

Anyway... Happy hunting.

How good is this build in PvP?

[Ravnodaus]

hoplite, on 19 September 2012 - 07:46 AM, said:

How good is this build in PvP?

Eh, ok...sorta. If you can lock an opponent down...especially with assistance, it'll work great. But any highly mobile enemy is going to avoid the bulk of your damage...by just avoiding your pet.

If you wanted to try a build built on the same principles, but modified for PvP's special difficulties, http://gw2skills.net...IbRuikFtyYkxWEA is more in line with that, imo.

[Maarius]

have you tried a GS build? I'd think it has it's benefits to stay close to the pet?! (boons, being able to hit the mob from behind - 10% damage trait from behind, Swoop-Combo-finisher from poison-fields (murrelow, devourer), ...?!)

[Liru]

Maarius, on 21 September 2012 - 12:49 AM, said:

have you tried a GS build? I'd think it has it's benefits to stay close to the pet?! (boons, being able to hit the mob from behind - 10% damage trait from behind, Swoop-Combo-finisher from poison-fields (murrelow, devourer), ...?!)

Maarius, thanks for you post. In fact, after modifying the guide to include Mighty Swap, the next thing I'm trying is to switch Sword/Horn to GS. Not convinced though,for two main reasons:

• I miss the Sword's cripple in WvW
  
• I miss the Horn's speed (&fury) - all the time. And the GS swoop doesn't replace it as you can't buff allies, and with autotarget you can't use it to run away effectively.

[Maarius]

is this guide only for pet-dps? I had an idea about an support-protection-allies-build. It uses a spirit but perhaps it could be useful for pet synergies as well.

http://www.guildwars...king-synergies/

just a though: Blue Moa's F2 is a 10s Protection to all allies (40s CD), so a 25% uptime of protection to you and your friends.

full 30 into nature magic -->
-) more vitality to you --> great for melee
-) longer boon duration --> 13s Protection --> 32% uptime
-) (25) Bountiful Hunter: You and your pet deal 5% more damage when you have a boon

major traits:
(10) IV: Vigorous Spirits: Spirits have twice as much health
(20) VIII: Spiritual Knowledge: Spirits have a 15% better chance of providing their benefits
(20) IX: Two-Handed Training: Greatsword and Spear damage increased by 5%

utility:
Stone Spirit: 60s CD: Summon a stone spirit that gives nearby allies a 20% chance a 35% chance (because of the trait) to gain protection.
Quicksand: 45s CD: Your stone spirit softens the earth around it, immobilizing and crippling foes.

as I have no idea what 35% chance means and on what CD this is I can't calculate the uptime of this. In group-battles I was under the impression that procs are more frequent.

[Ravnodaus]

Maarius, on 21 September 2012 - 09:10 AM, said:

is this guide only for pet-dps? I had an idea about an support-protection-allies-build. It uses a spirit but perhaps it could be useful for pet synergies as well.

http://www.guildwars...king-synergies/

just a though: Blue Moa's F2 is a 10s Protection to all allies (40s CD), so a 25% uptime of protection to you and your friends.

full 30 into nature magic -->
-) more vitality to you --> great for melee
-) longer boon duration --> 13s Protection --> 32% uptime
-) (25) Bountiful Hunter: You and your pet deal 5% more damage when you have a boon

major traits:
(10) IV: Vigorous Spirits: Spirits have twice as much health
(20) VIII: Spiritual Knowledge: Spirits have a 15% better chance of providing their benefits
(20) IX: Two-Handed Training: Greatsword and Spear damage increased by 5%

utility:
Stone Spirit: 60s CD: Summon a stone spirit that gives nearby allies a 20% chance a 35% chance (because of the trait) to gain protection.
Quicksand: 45s CD: Your stone spirit softens the earth around it, immobilizing and crippling foes.

as I have no idea what 35% chance means and on what CD this is I can't calculate the uptime of this. In group-battles I was under the impression that procs are more frequent.

I mentioned it in the other thread you posted this in, but I figured I'd say it here too because misinformation spreads too quickly when not challenged.

The Moa protection doesn't last for 10 seconds, despite what the tooltip says it does. Lame? Yes. Bug? Maybe. But true.

Any build "based" around that 10+ seconds of protection is going to fall apart in game.

I'm not saying you cannot build a tankier ranger, for certain you can...absolutely. And you've nailed a number of them right on the head.

[OnePunkArmy]

What armor stat type do you use? Full Berserker's or something else?

[fizzlevis]

Liru, on 03 September 2012 - 08:31 PM, said:

Yes. Precision & +X critical damage

Hi!

You say to go for Precision +X crit damage
But for the third stat: need to go for power or condition damage?

Thanks for the guide and sorry for the english

[Leoncoso]

I find this build amazing, thanks for sharing it! The sword is great with melee AoE, along with Piercing Arrows for ranged AoE.

[My Sweet Lily]

I have been following and using this build for 3(?) weeks. And it has worked great. I would recommend this build for any sb ranger.

I just hit 80 and I'm working towards full berserker gear (power, pre, crit dmg). I just want to know is that right? Should I get some toughness and/or vitality too?

[Mauwl]

I've been using this build and I love it. Soon coming up on full exotic Berserk armor gear, but I would like your advice on what to use for rings/amulets etc. Should I go Berserker there aswell for optimal glass cannon build? Or maybe Knight for some more toughness. I'm thinking toughness might be nice for some extra survival, or what do you guys think?

[Dixa]

Maarius, on 21 September 2012 - 09:10 AM, said:

is this guide only for pet-dps? I had an idea about an support-protection-allies-build. It uses a spirit but perhaps it could be useful for pet synergies as well.

http://www.guildwars...king-synergies/

just a though: Blue Moa's F2 is a 10s Protection to all allies (40s CD), so a 25% uptime of protection to you and your friends.

full 30 into nature magic -->
-) more vitality to you --> great for melee
-) longer boon duration --> 13s Protection --> 32% uptime
-) (25) Bountiful Hunter: You and your pet deal 5% more damage when you have a boon

major traits:
(10) IV: Vigorous Spirits: Spirits have twice as much health
(20) VIII: Spiritual Knowledge: Spirits have a 15% better chance of providing their benefits
(20) IX: Two-Handed Training: Greatsword and Spear damage increased by 5%

utility:
Stone Spirit: 60s CD: Summon a stone spirit that gives nearby allies a 20% chance a 35% chance (because of the trait) to gain protection.
Quicksand: 45s CD: Your stone spirit softens the earth around it, immobilizing and crippling foes.

as I have no idea what 35% chance means and on what CD this is I can't calculate the uptime of this. In group-battles I was under the impression that procs are more frequent.

if you want to be tankier i suggest you simply get different sets of gear. 30/30/what/what/what is mandatory for this class imo. you will be using a bow of some sort and it will probably be a longbow in group content due to bleed caps and how two classes in thsi game can reach that cap on their own and maintain it. eagle eye/piercing arrows are pretty much required as is cd reduction on bows. double condition duration or ground target traps is another trait i consider mandatory at 80 since we have on other viable utility outside of qz.

you can wear full bersekers, or mix in some toughness/vit gear for more tankability if you really want to explore being melee in orr. the sword is NOT recommended as you will need to circle kite a lot. most of the warriors i know ditched the greatsword for axe/axe or sword/axe when they hit orr because of this. they only use the gs when they are running the the herd doing circles of DE's.

My Sweet Lily, on 23 September 2012 - 01:23 PM, said:

I have been following and using this build for 3(?) weeks. And it has worked great. I would recommend this build for any sb ranger.

I just hit 80 and I'm working towards full berserker gear (power, pre, crit dmg). I just want to know is that right? Should I get some toughness and/or vitality too?

you should look out for and eventually gather several full sets of gear

full magic find

full rampagers

full bersekers

full knights

mix and match. when you are alone, full rampagers is great. when doing gropu content or de's or anyform of pvp, full berserkers is ideal or mix in some knights with berskers for pvp. full knights when survivability trumps all for you.

unless you have a guild making the expensive mats freely available, this will take some time to gather in the looks you prefer.

[Liru]

Dixa, on 23 September 2012 - 07:37 PM, said:

if you want to be tankier i suggest you simply get different sets of gear. 30/30/what/what/what is mandatory for this class imo. you will be using a bow of some sort and it will probably be a longbow in group content due to bleed caps and how two classes in thsi game can reach that cap on their own and maintain it. eagle eye/piercing arrows are pretty much required as is cd reduction on bows. double condition duration or ground target traps is another trait i consider mandatory at 80 since we have on other viable utility outside of qz.

Yes, but no. Your advice isn't adapted to this guide in particular:

• 30 MM is pointless as traits are meh whereas the 100 extra power is easy to get elsewhere (trait points are valuable). However, Piercing Arrows is a no miss, I agree. I invest 20 points in MM just for that trait.
  
• This guide uses shortbow for stacking crits, not bleeding.
  
• Same goes for traps & condition duration.

[Mauwl]

Where do you get the Berserker's Jewel I see you wearing on your rings etc. The only one's I've found are pvp only.

[stephencolbert]

What sigils and runes should I be using if I'm planning on only doing PvE (Orr stuff and Dungeons)? I'm afraid that going full glass cannon (Rampagers+Rune of Ranger/Lyssa) would make me a 1HKO in dungeons against normal mobs, but I also don't want to gimp my damage too much. I'm only in my 60's so I've not actually done much explorable mode, so are my worries unfounded?

[HollowDean]

Thank you for the guide!
But for anyone else, the link won't open?

[Maarius]

hi Liru

any news on your GS-testing? I've given up on the idea of a support-ranger for now and will go for your suggestions, but I'm having a hard time using the sword effectively. Did it take long for you to adapt to the sword-rooting and not-being able to dodge?

[valky]

HollowDean, on 29 September 2012 - 09:43 AM, said:

Thank you for the guide!
But for anyone else, the link won't open?

server maintenance, as it was visible on the page just yesterday. looks like they took the server down for the time being.

Anyway, nice guide

edit: though my pet-choice is different....
Bird-class for speed boost and to catch up those stupid risen (and for self-defense)..what good is a pet, if it doesn't score a hit :> [Kittens are only superior in an environment, where the target does not move..*hugh*]

Black-bear offers more defensive shit than the brown bear (10 sec weakness?! giev!) else for tanking stuff the canines are far more superior, thanks to their natural high toughness. The bears score only against condition heavy fights - thanks to their regen-ability.

[and I really doubt, that switching pets is better than to stick to a fully evolved MBond pet just for the 2 seconds of rapid fire ^^ Risen don't give a damn about your pet, so everything that helps them to catch up is welcome and so is the 30% speedboost]

Edited by valky, 29 September 2012 - 09:02 PM.

[rawwhide]

Liru, on 03 September 2012 - 01:30 PM, said:

The one annoyance I still have is that Sword [1] locks you in place.

Uncheck melee attack assist.

[Sh1ntu]

Anyone mind posting a link to the build on guildhead or something? I can't access this one on gw2skills.

[TehRav3n]

Yea links not working for me either, I even tried using different browsers

[Dusty Friday]

The website has been down for a while. I read it was 'dead' somewhere around the web.

[Liru]

Hi all,

Many thanks for your input. I have been very busy in the game and IRL this past week and haven't been able to post. I will reply to questions & give additional analysis in the coming days, in addition to putting the build on guildhead.

In the mean time, I wanted to say I really appreciate the discussion here (in particular suggestions to make the build run using different weapons/setups. I'd also like to thank anyone who contacted me in game about the guide, it's great to discuss it directly.

See you in game!

[Dark]

Quick question: is choosing between jaguar and lynx, which one would you recommend? because my other pet in the bear.

[Dusty Friday]

This depends on your situation. I would even suggest choosing between Stalker and Jaguar instead. For example, if you find yourself in a dungeon with a lot of AoE damage and you notice your pet dies a lot - choose your Jungle Stalker, keep it on non-aggressive mode, and use its F2 ability for area Might buffs. If you want to burst down a single target - switch to your Jaguar, combining Quickness with its F2 (stealth) + others buffs you can spare (Rampage, CotW, etc.). Make sure your pet is already close to the target, and all the buffs are already up, then pop up quickness.

I usually go with 2 bears in dungeons, simply because cats die a lot more faster, especially if you don't pay a lot of attention to them. Simply put - cats are pretty high-maintenance. After trying one of the earlier versions of this build, I was using the dual cat setup in normal lv80 PvE, needless to say it was going great. I've been trying power builds as well, but to tell you the truth they require much less attention and end up being a lot more boring. I'm definitely going back to the synergy build, and I also want to try various modifications to see if any improvements can be done. The more flexible builds are pretty much the awesome builds.

Also loving the idea of having a GS/x build, one which is actually viable. I was shamelessly having the MMO time of my life in the betas, when it was still quite OP.

[Liru]

Update: Moved build link to Guildhead.

A couple of additional notes:

• Pet remains Jaguar/Lynx
  
• In case of high level multiple targets, switch sword to axe. Less fun, but bounce is nice.
  
• In WvW zerg, use SB+LB. In WvW roaming, use Axe/Horn+SB.
  
• After testing GS quite a bit (thanks for the suggestions!) I can't really recommend it. Damage is WAY too low compared to other weapons/classes - see multiple other threads discussing this. Also, I miss Call of the Wild.
  
• Currently testing 20/25/20/0/5 for the additional toughness & crit/condition synergy. Really pleased with it so far, may update guide in the near future.

[Fizzgig]

I would really like to know how this build is performing in explore modes at level 80.

There is one major flaw I am seeing here on the melee side of things.This build plays off of good pet synergy and pet up time. While you can dodge out of attacks in melee your pet is stuck there cause you can't pull him out and away from melee while you are in the mix. Your pet can and will get one shot back to back even with swapping due to this. Also if you are going to be in melee yourself would a Moa with aoe protection or a Bear with condition removal not be better then a glass dps pet?

Pets are not in a good place right now as you say. Hell you are having to waste two utility slots with those signets just to keep your pet alive.

Whats your plan when dealing with massive aoe dmg from engineers or bombers in Sorrow's Embrace explore mode?

How do you or your pet deal with massive amount of aoe in most explore modes for that matter?

How do you deal with blinds, stuns, and knock downs being spammed by some explore mode mobs? RaO while great does not have the up time to be the only cover you have for those situations.

How do you deal with the massive amount of conditions being dropped on you in explore modes?

How much experience do you have running explore modes at 80? I guess that is the only real question.

Please don't take this the wrong way as I am not trying to be mean or rude.
This write up screams of someone who has not been in a lot of explore modes.


I like the time you put into this guide and feel this build would work great for solo pve.

Edited by Fizzgig, 02 October 2012 - 12:05 PM.

[My Sweet Lily]

So, as I have just obtained my full exotic armor (berserker's, no jewelry yet ), should I go for ranger's runes? And what about gems for jewelry? Power/presicion/cond. dmg, like you have in the build? Or should I just wait for the updated build with updated traits, if there will be rune/armor/gem updates?

[Dusty Friday]

I can throw in some tips for the CoE dungeon (explorable, all paths), using this build. I was reluctant to bring two cats into it, for reasons that have been mentioned here, but it actually works quite well with the right rotation. You really need to make use of everything you have to make this work.

You CAN save your pet if you pull it out of combat quickly enough, though it won't be a sure safe 100% of the time. If you know the boss animations - you can predict when to pull and when to not pull. Remember to switch your pets as soon as the cooldown is over, because after it has died - the cooldown will be 45 seconds or so. If you switch your pets while they are both alive, you won't have to wait more then 20 seconds for a swap (it's less than 20s while traited). Make sure you make good use of the F2 abilities while your pets are up - the jaguar has massive bursts. Its stealth ability will keep it out of most harm, then you can also use both of your signets to make it immortal for a while, or to enlarge it, again making it more durable. I haven't actually tamed the Lynx pet yet, so my setup has Jaguar+Stalker, which provides a bit of extra support for the team.

For the bossfight with the rifles and exploding golems - switch to bear, have it be on passive, making sure your condition removal is up and ready as much as possible.

I noticed that even when my pet is down - sbow dps is not bad, it's not that much weaker than a full-on glass cannon build. Having rune of the ranger means you will have higher dps even if your pet is set on defensive, standing next to you. For the bossfights with Subject Alpha - switch to bears, or use pets with AoE buffs. During all my fights with Alpha, I've noticed that at times even the cats manage to survive for a long time (especially if everyone is far away from the boss and he spawns his AoE circles away from himself, close to the players). What matters is that you are always ready for burst rotations, so it might even be a good idea to keep one bear (for cond removal) and a jaguar up. With the jaguar you can have 1 burst each minute, and every second minute will be with Rampage on you. Bring out the cat when QZ is up, use call of the wild, RaO if possible, then make sure your cat is close to the target and pop its stealth. That will be your burst. Use the sword when possible, as you will crit 1-2k with it MOST of the time, while your pet crits 2-3k. The jaguar has even landed crits as high as 6k in CoE explorable, and probably can do even better. It won't hurt you to switch up your traits before certain boss fights, because in some cases you will not need piercing arrows and your endurance will almost never be full. If you pet dies A LOT - switch up your pet traits to something that fits the scenario better, you will still do decent dps, though I don't really like this option.

Lightning Reflexes is another great skill to pick while doing explorables, as it will save your life very often. Also, Healing Spring is pretty much the best ranger heal you can have - it will remove a condition (that includes a condition STACK) once you activate it, it also heals your pet. Not only that, but if you do your sword leap towards it - you will get a 1-2k heal from the combo field, which really fits swordplay a lot.

I haven't done much of SE so far, so I can't really say anything about how this build deals with it, I hope Liru can provide some insights on that one.

P.S. Thanks for your work on the build Liru, it's great and so far it's the best PvE build I've come across. Plus it rocks to have a pet which is useful. ^^

Edited by bobtch, 02 October 2012 - 05:49 PM.