5 replies to this topic

[Wicked]

I had a chance to dabble with my power ranger last night, but most of the changes in this patch seem to be tailored to condi builds, so I focused more on my condi ranger and necro last night.

I ran dire ascended with krait runes on my condi ranger which did and will continue to suit bleed stacks very well. The old vitality line (Nature Magic) worked well with 2 pts applied, but now seems more focused on spirits which are fairly useless solo roaming in wvw, but could be awesome in a zerg setting. Since I had pts in vitality previously the line was maxed and 2 alternate traits were randomly chosen.  The alternates didnt suit my roaming build, so, I scraped the Nature Magic line completely and maxed beast mastery which I didn't use before with this build.  Pets will be even more of a pain now if the user chooses the correct ones for their builds.  Not only has the base stats of the pets been adjusted, but using BM line, they can be tweaked further to be even more of a pain to enemies and a savior to their master when roaming. In a zerg setting, BM tweaked pets combined with Nature Magic group healing traits could make the ranger almost as important as a water ele.

I'll run more tests tonight with the condi ranger and other condi toons, and then begin experiments on power ranger later in the week.  But what I see coming from this is a ranger continuing to be an annoying roamer and finally a contributing zergling.

[Slein Jinn]

Wicked, on 24 June 2015 - 09:37 AM, said:

I had a chance to dabble with my power ranger last night, but most of the changes in this patch seem to be tailored to condi builds

Power ranger is one of the single most-buffed builds in the game with this patch.  Power Ranger is pretty crazy right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if it finds its way into the meta for sPvP & organised WvW in light of the changes.  The optimal build seems to be pretty self-evident, really: BUILD
For large scale WvW (zergs & zergbusting), you'll probably want Lead the Wind over Remorseless.  And you might take Shared Anguish over Refined Toxins, though really neither has a huge impact in that context; Refined Toxins is basically a free Doom sigil, though, which is incredibly useful for smaller fights.  You'll also probably re-adjust the runes/sigils to look more like THIS

Wicked, on 24 June 2015 - 09:37 AM, said:

I ran dire ascended with krait runes on my condi ranger which did and will continue to suit bleed stacks very well. The old vitality line (Nature Magic) worked well with 2 pts applied, but now seems more focused on spirits which are fairly useless solo roaming in wvw, but could be awesome in a zerg setting. Since I had pts in vitality previously the line was maxed and 2 alternate traits were randomly chosen.  The alternates didnt suit my roaming build, so, I scraped the Nature Magic line completely and maxed beast mastery which I didn't use before with this build.  

1) Spirits would be 100% useless in a zerg setting.  
2) Nature Magic has the Spirit trait, but it's hardly "focused on spirits".  It is arguably the most important line for the new-look condi Ranger, with some incredibly strong traits.  I doubt Condi Ranger will displace things like D/D or D/F Ele, Rifle Engi, etc. that fill basically the same role even in spite of these changes, but if it does, the Nature Magic line will have a lot to do with that.  Beast Mastery is definitely still the black sheep of the Ranger traitlines; maybe it'll be useful for open-world PvE or something, but not for PvP/WvW.  I'm not certain exactly how Condi Ranger will develop yet--it's going to depend a lot on what other meta shifts we see--but it'll probably end up looking something like this or this or maybe something a bit in between.  

Quote

Pets will be even more of a pain now if the user chooses the correct ones for their builds.  Not only has the base stats of the pets been adjusted, but using BM line, they can be tweaked further to be even more of a pain to enemies and a savior to their master when roaming. In a zerg setting, BM tweaked pets combined with Nature Magic group healing traits could make the ranger almost as important as a water ele.

The only way you'll be able to run Beast Mastery would be if you were to run it instead of Skirmishing, but that makes you basically a full bunker build, and there are almost certainly going to be other classes that can do that much better.

[thetoothpick]

Slein Jinn, on 24 June 2015 - 10:43 AM, said:

I'm not certain exactly how Condi Ranger will develop yet--it's going to depend a lot on what other meta shifts we see--but it'll probably end up looking something like this ...

Yea, that's basically what I had.  Any thoughts about Ambidexterity over Refined Toxins, and/or Evasive Purity over Vigorous Training?  Also, any thoughts on Most Dangerous Game in Skirmishing?  I tried that out a bit, not sure if it's worth taking over Light on your Feet.

[Slein Jinn]

thetoothpick, on 24 June 2015 - 11:45 AM, said:

Yea, that's basically what I had.  Any thoughts about Ambidexterity over Refined Toxins, and/or Evasive Purity over Vigorous Training?  Also, any thoughts on Most Dangerous Game in Skirmishing?  I tried that out a bit, not sure if it's worth taking over Light on your Feet.

Well, you quoted one of two builds, but a lot of your proposed alternatives are what are taken in the second...

I wouldn't run Ambidexterity unless you're running both Dagger and Axe.  Even then, it's tough to drop Refined Toxins, but without a Shortbow, you're not going to be as reliably above the 90% threshold anyway, and Ambidexterity is quite strong with both offhands.  

Evasive Purity is pretty redundant with all the condition removal you have from Wilderness Knowledge.  Especially since you're likely to be taking Sharpened Edges over Primal Reflexes in a condi build, Vigorous Training is your only real source of Vigour, and it's also a valuable boon to be sharing in team fights, although the 300 range isn't ideal.  Really none of the traits in that slot are game-changers, but Vigorous Training is the best of limited options.  

Most Dangerous Game is pretty much useless.  If you're not running Shortbow--and honestly, maybe even if you are running Shortbow--then you definitely get more out of Quick Draw than Most Dangerous Game.  Getting to double-dip on strong weapon skills is nothing to sneeze at.

[Slein Jinn]

Here's an interesting one...

Might drop Quickening Zephyr for Signet of the Wild and then take Brutish Seals over Moment of Clarity--that is still an open question at this time.  Also not completely set on the sigils--might end up with Energy+Intelligence on the Greatsword.  But regardless, it's a pretty ridiculous 1v1 build; it's got evades for days like the old S/D-Acro Thief, loads of sustain, quite a lot of burst with double Maul, and easy disengage if you get +1'ed.

[Sanji]

Skirmish with trappers expertise, striders defense and most dangerous game.
Wilderness Survival with ambidexterity, oakheart salve and wilderness knowledge.
Then Nature Magic with Natures wrath, evasie purity and protective ward.
Am thinking this build right now with trapper runes.

Axe/dagger and Sword/torch.

2 traps and survival reflex ability.

Edited took Nature Magic instead of beatsmaster....

So far am grinning at my wvw fights:)

Once committed tho in a fight I realized that melee rangers isnt for the light at heart since you cant run so its either kill or be killed ...even if the fight ends up being a blob,  dying my back with arrows no ty.