===========================
= Guild Wars Ranger Guide =
===========================
= Version 0.63 11/8/2006 =
===========================
= by Hahnsoo =
===========================
Send all constructive comments, corrections, and questions to hahnsoo@gmail.com
with "Guild Wars - Ranger Guide" in your subject. All other e-mail will be
marked as spam or ignored. Do NOT send me sample builds... such things can more
easily be discussed and critiqued in the Ranger Strategy forum at
http://forums.gwonline.net/forumdisplay.php?f=120
I tend to keep this guide up-to-date weekly, coinciding with the weekly updates
to the game. You can expect a new version with more information in this Guide
on a weekly basis. The most recent version of this guide will always be at
GameFAQs.
To easily search this document, use the (gwrgXX) search terms listed in the
table of contents (with the parentheses). When I refer to another section
using the (gwrgXX) in the document, it will be in Brackets [] instead.
Note: With the release of the Chapter 2 Expansion "Factions", the original Guild
Wars game has been labeled "Prophecies" in the character selection screen. Thus,
I will refer to content pertaining to Chapter 1 as "Prophecies" and content
pertaining to Chapter 2 as "Factions". Further chapters will also be referred
to their proper campaign name. Chapter 3 is "Nightfall" and will be referred to
as such in the appropriate sections.
=====================
= Table of Contents =
=====================
The Ranger... when most folks think of Rangers, they think of hardy woodland
warriors and hunters, a breed of men and women who brave the wilderness to test
their skills and instincts in the shadow of Mother Nature. Guild Wars Rangers
certainly fit this stereotype (and dispense with the "dual-wielding" scimitar
dancers found in certain Pen-and-Paper roleplaying games). Rangers are
survivalists, skilled archers, tamers of animals, and nimble folk who are just
as likely to dodge attacks as they are to weather a firestorm.
Rangers in the game of Guild Wars are jacks-of-all-trades, masters of few. They
are the second-best in nearly every combat category imaginable. They have the
second best energy regeneration, second best armor, and they possess a wide
skill selection that can easily fill any role in both Player vs. Player (PvP)
and Player vs. Environment (PvE). They also are the archers in this game,
being the only class that is skilled in the use of a bow.
I'm writing this guide because of a general lack of good Ranger guides out
there (and believe me, I've been searching), and because it helps me out with
my own Ranger experience. I hope you can gain as much benefit from this guide
as I have from writing it. By no means is this guide the final word on playing
a Ranger, so feel free to challenge and critique this document with an open
mind. I will always strive to keep this guide up-to-date and accurate, but
everyone makes mistakes and hears misinformation. This guide may also change
as my understanding of Rangers changes.
Why Should I Play a Ranger?
===========================
* Rangers are versatile, being able to run disruption, healing, pure damage,
defense, speed, and pretty much any single role you can think of. A ranger
can find a niche in just about any party.
* Rangers are masters at ranged attacks. With their plethora of bow skills and
high-damage bows, Rangers can deal death at a distance and are the most
effective at "luring" enemies.
* Rangers who focus on Beast Mastery get animal companions, which are a welcome
addition to many parties.
* Rangers are energy-efficient. With many low energy-skills and the Expertise
attribute, you will rarely run into energy problems using Ranger skills.
* Rangers are the only class with access to both Traps and Nature Rituals.
* Rangers have strong armor. Almost as strong as a warrior, and stronger than
a warrior against Elemental Attacks, Rangers have excellent armor coverage.
* Rangers mesh well with other classes. All class combinations of a Ranger can
uniquely complement the Ranger's primary abilities.
* Rangers have an excellent /dance emote for both genders. *grin*
Why Shouldn't I Play a Ranger?
==============================
* Rangers lack effective Energy management. While Expertise lowers costs for
Ranger skills, it doesn't help for the Energy costs of spells. With lower
Energy Regen than primary casters, Rangers have problems when their Energy
reserves bottom out. There are few skills that allow them to reclaim Energy.
* Rangers are ONLY masters of the bow. They are second-best in any other role,
and thus are not as effective at taking punishment, healing others, etc. If
you want to be the BEST Tank or Healer or Spellcaster, this is the wrong
class.
* Rangers deal less damage than Warriors on average. If you want to max out
your combat damage, then play a Warrior. Rangers often require unique combos
of skills to be effective damage dealers. The slow rate of fire on Bows also
compounds this problem, as well as the ineffectiveness on moving targets.
* In the grand scheme of Guild Wars, Rangers are often ignored. Most groups
require a Tank (Warrior), a Healer (Monk), and a Spellcaster (Elementalist).
Beyond these three roles, the other roles (Disruptor, Trapper, etc.) are
often ignored, and thus the Ranger (along with the Mesmer and Necromancer)
are also ignored when forming Pick-up groups.
Rangers have the following characteristics and attributes:
* Energy Regen +3 (+2 default, +1 from armor)
* High Elemental Resistance (all Ranger armors have +30 Armor vs. Elemental)
* Beast Mastery - linked to skills involving animals and animal companions
* Expertise - linked to skills involving dodging, reduces Energy costs
* Marksmanship - linked to skills involving bow attacks, increases bow damage
* Wilderness Survival - linked to a variety of skills, including traps,
spirits, and preparations
Expertise is the Primary Attribute of a Ranger, and is exclusive to the Ranger
as a primary class. All of the rest are given to secondary class Rangers.
The majority of primary Rangers use bows as a main weapon, depending on
Marksmanship and Marksmanship-based skills for damage. Some Rangers use Beast
Mastery to supplement their damage through an animal companion. On the defense
side, Rangers use Expertise-based skills to evade attacks. Rounding out the
Ranger's abilities is Wilderness Survival, which is a grab-bag of healing,
traps, utility skills, long-lasting Spirits, and bow preparations.
In this section, I will discuss each attribute, and highlight a few useful
skills linked to that attribute. If you want exact stats for the skills, head
on over to the Skill List in the Appendix [gwrg9a].
--------------------------
- Beast Mastery (gwrg3a) -
--------------------------
Note: The words Pet and Animal Companion are used interchangeably in this guide
but the nomenclature used by Guild Wars is "Pet", so I try to adhere to that
name as much as possible. Though oddly enough, the skill descriptions say
"Animal Companion".
This is the main attribute for Rangers who wish to focus on a pet, but it also
contains a few non-Pet skills. Just as Marksmanship is the focus of a Ranger
who does damage with Bows, Beast Mastery is the focus of a Ranger who does
damage through his/her Pet. There are several useful Nature Rituals in the
Beast Mastery line, and Tiger's Fury is a popular stance linked to this
attribute.
Pet Mechanics
=============
Note: Much of this information was gleaned from the work by GammaRay and
SonOfRah. The research is still going on in this matter, so stay tuned.
Note: Further research has been done by by Jenosavel and Epinephrine. They
have done some incredible work and debunked a lot of speculation about pets.
Increasing Beast Mastery increases the damage done by an Animal Companion, in a
similar manner as Marksmanship. In other words, a Beast Mastery of 12 will
allow a pet to do full damage to a target with an AL of 60. Each point of
Beast Mastery offsets 5 points of AL, and 40 points of AL doubles/halves the
damage in each direction. Points above 12 Beast Mastery undergo diminishing
returns. For more information on damage mechanics, hop to the Marksmanship
section [gwrg3c].
The base damage dealt by a pet (unmodified by its evolution) correlates well
with its level. A level 3 pet deals 3-5 damage, while a level 20 pet deals
17-28 damage. However, it seems that in the case of critical hits, pets can
deal a varying amount of damage (i.e. it is not always the maximum base damage
of the pet). Beast Mastery and evolution adjusts this damage.
All pets get 3 Armor Level per level, so at level 20, Pets have a base Armor
Level of 60. A level 20 Pet has the same amount of Health as an unmodified
character of the same level. In other words, a pet has a base Health of 80,
with 20 additional Health per level.
Note: As of the 8/25/05 Update, Pets now have an AL of 80 at level 20. This AL
increase is global, which means the AL of a pet is equal to 20 + Level times 3.
Also, they have an additional 25% running speed.
It seems that pet choice is a mostly matter of cosmetic preferance rather than
a matter of strategy. The only main difference is that each pet does a
different kind of damage, based on its type.
Pet Damage Types
----------------
* Black Bear - slashing
* Lizard - piercing
* Lynx/Stalker - slashing
* Moa Bird - slashing
* Snow Wolf/Wolf - slashing
* Spider - piercing
* Strider - slashing
* Warthog - slashing
Note that previously it was listed that Striders and Warthogs had different
damage types. This has been subsquently proven to be slashing instead. (Thanks
to Jenosavel and Epinephrine)
Canthan Pet damage types are unknown so far, but probably match their Tyrian
counterparts.
Pets cannot cause Bleeding, Poison, or other conditions without the aid of a Pet
attack skill. Thus, the Spider does NOT cause poison, nor do Warthogs cause
bleeding. These are just rumors.
As of the 9/29/05 you can now see how much damage your pet is doing. Very cool.
Pet Evolutions
==============
Occasionally when a pet levels up, it "evolves", changing its stats slightly.
Evolutions do not change the appearance of a pet, although a pet will change
size corresponding to its level. When a pet evolves, it will gain a prefix to
its name (if you haven't renamed the pet using /petname or /namepet).
Pet Evolution Prefixes
----------------------
* Aggressive - about +5% Damage, -30 Health
* Dire - about +15% Damage, -60 Health
* Elder - +0 Damage, +0 Health
* Hearty - about -15% Damage, +60 Health
* Playful -about -5% Damage, +30 Health
Exhaustive attempts to prove that an Elder pet is better than other Evolutions
have been proven to be false. Elder pets seem to be the equivalent of unevolved
pets.
The damage bonus (or penalty) from an Evolution isn't an exact number, but
rather a percentage multiplier that increases/decreases damage, with the percent
changing as a pet levels up. At level 20, with a Hearty/Dire evolution, this
percent is close to 15%.
Pets typically evolve at around level 10-13 and have a second evolution at
around level 15-17. More evolutions can happen, however, depending on unknown
parameters. Although the "paths" of evolution aren't fully known, a few have
been discovered:
* Pet -> Playful -> Hearty -> Elder
* Pet -> Playful -> Elder (?)
* Pet -> Aggressive -> Dire
* Pet -> Aggressive -> Elder (?)
It is thought that letting the pet take a lot of hits makes the pet into a
Hearty or Playful evolution, while letting the pet deal a lot of damage
(compared to the master) in combat gives it an Aggressive or Dire evolution.
Once on an evolution "path", you can't go back.
Note that there used to be a trick in which folks would charm a pet, cancel the
charm before it finishes, and have the hostile animal kill them repeatedly near
a shrine. After a couple of hours, the pet will have gained enough XP to level
up to 20, complete with Dire status. Unfortunately, this trick was removed in
a June 2006 update which removed the ability for creatures to gain XP from
killing characters.
Miscellany
==========
Pets gain XP at the same rate as their master, but it is prorated by their
level. This is only important when the Pet's level is different from the
Master's level... a 20th level character killing a 13th level creature will get
zero XP, but his 13th level pet will get 100 XP from the kill. Apparently, pets
can learn through osmosis. Even more disturbing is the fact that pets gain XP
while they are dead. So don't worry if your pet dies during a mission and you
can't raise him... it is still leveling up along with you.
You can rename your pet using the /namepet (Pet Name) or /petname (Pet Name)
emote. Pet names are limited to 12 Characters. Good times, but if you rename
your pet, you will not know what evolution the pet is in. As of the 9/29/05
update, you can now just type /namepet and it will rename your pet back to the
default so you can figure out what Evolution it is in.
Pets CANNOT be raised by a normal Resurrection skill or the Resurrection Signet.
They can only be raised by Comfort Animal or Revive Animal.
Overall, any combat skill possessed by the ranger is duplicated in the Beast
Mastery line as a "Pet Attack", a special attack that is executed by the pet.
In general, these attacks are extremely cheap in Energy and Cooldown Time, and
have effects that equal or exceed existing attacks. The only disadvantage is
that they require a pet to execute. A Beast Mastery specialist can easily
Bleed, Interrupt, and Tank an opponent using the pet and the combat skills in
this line. Pet Attacks were updated on 9/29/05 to "function just like a shout".
I'm not sure what this means, other than perhaps that pet attacks can be used
concurrently with any other skill being cast.
Beast Mastery tends to hog a lot of space on the skillbar. Between Charm
Animal, Comfort Animal, and Pet attack skills, it is difficult to squeeze in
anything other than Beast Master skills when focusing on this attribute. Given
the general ineffectiveness of Pets in the late PvE game (although the June
29th update gives them the equivalent of infused armor, thus keeping them alive
when you are up against the Mursaat) and the fact that pets need to be kept
alive to make use of them in PvP, many Rangers skimp their points on this
attribute by the time they reach Lion's Arch or beyond.
Some Skill highlights:
Charm Animal
============
This is the main skill in the Beast Mastery line. You only have a Pet if you
have this skill equipped in your skillbar. To get a Pet (if you don't already
have one), you must use this skill on an appropriate animal. This immediately
makes the animal hostile, so be sure you can survive its attack, and that your
other party members don't attack the animal, killing it before it is charmed.
The 10 second casting time is rather long, which makes charming an animal
during combat impractical.
If you have a current pet, you CANNOT charm a new one. If you wish to change
your animal companion, you need to hand it over to a tamer. The main tamer in
Post-Searing Tyria, named Jarrel the Tamer, is just outside the gates of
Ascalon City. There's also a Tamer next to Master Ranger Nente (who gives you
Charm Animal) in Pre-Searing Ascalon.
List of Charmable Animals (Prophecies)
--------------------------------------
* Dune Lizard (found in the Crystal Desert) Level 5
* Warthog (found in the Maguuma Jungle, Pre-Searing Northlands)
* Lynx (found in Kryta) Level 5
* Stalker (ONLY found in Ascalon, near the Shrine of Melandru in Regent Valley
Pre-Searing or near Gate Guard Hollis Post-Searing) Level 5
* Snow Wolf (found in the Shiverpeaks) Level 5
* Strider/Moa Bird (found in Ascalon) Level 2-3
* Black Bear (found in the throughout the Southern Shiverpeaks) Level 5
* Elder Wolf (The pet of "Thul the Bull" in Spearhead Peak) Level 15
* Elder Black Widow Spider (Underworld) Level 20
* Wolf (found in Pre-searing Lakeside County) Level 2
List of Charmable Animals (Factions)
------------------------------------
* Tiger - Throughout Shing Jea island, Pongmei Valley
* White Tiger - Between Tanglewood Copse and Arborstone
* Crane - Throughout Shing Jea island, Pongmei Valley
* Reef Lurker (red) - Around Cavalon
* Reef Lurker (blue) - Shenzun Tunnels, Pongmei Valley
* Black Moa Bird - Charmable after Beak of Darkness quest in House Zu Heltzer
* Phoenix - Charmable after the last mission of the game in Divine Path
LIst of Charmable Animals (Nightfall)
-------------------------------------
* Crocodile - Lahtenda Bog
* Flamingo - Churrhir Fields, NW coast of Plains of Jarin, Issnur Isle
* Hyena - The Alkali Pan, The Ruptured Heart
* Jahai Rat - Grand Court of Sebelkeh, The Mirror of Lyss, Vehtendi Valley
* Lion/Lioness - Yatendi Canyons, Barbarous Shore
* Warthog - Plains of Jarin, Fahranur, The First City
How (NOT) to Charm a Pre-Searing Bear
-------------------------------------
Black Bears in Pre-Searing Ascalon can be targeted with Charm Animal. However,
they also possess a skill which allows them to break the charm attempt. In
previous versions, one could capture the bear with a combination of Bane
Signet, Hammer Bash, and Faintheartedness to keep it busy. However, it has
recently been patched, so now it is nearly impossible to capture a pre-Searing
Black Bear (research is still being done). Sorry, folks.
Update: Apparently, some folks have been able to "trap" a Bear between a
partner's pet and themselves, allowing the Ranger to Charm the Bear because the
bear would not be able to move into range to use Break Charm. The research
continues...
Update: Another method is to have the Bear attack a friend, and have that friend
run away from you. You activate Charm Animal just as the Bear is leaving your
skill range, and the Bear will continue to follow the friend. When it comes
time to "Break Charm", the bear will not be able to interrupt you.
Finding an Elder Black Widow
----------------------------
Elder Black Widows are a special pet that can only be found in the Underworld.
They are made available after you get the chest quest reward for the quest
"Wrathful Spirits". This quest is given by the Reaper of the Forgotten Vale,
who appears after finishing the quest "Restoring of the Monuments" from the
Reaper of the Labyrinth.
I've taken the liberty of making a map of the beginning part of the Underworld,
which you can find at this link:
I want to charm a Rabbit/Devourer/Swarm of Bees/(insert animal here)!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry, you can't. The only pets that can be charmed are listed above on the
table.
Factions: What about the Pandas?
--------------------------------
A lot of folks have asked about Pandas in Cantha. The official line that I've
read is that it is illegal in a certain populous country (the Panda is
indigenous to this country) to portray a Panda being mutilated or killed, even
in a video game. Thus, it would have made things difficult for Guild Wars to
be sold in this country. The end result is that Pandas can't be captured to be
used as pets (and potential meat shields). This makes me wonder about the
Panda combatant in the Tekken series of fighting games. Or any other game with
cartoon Pandas, for that matter.
Nightfall: What about Pygmy Hippos?
-----------------------------------
There used to be Pygmy Hippopotamus pets in the Lahtenda Bog during the World
Preview event. They have since been removed for unknown reasons, although it
is speculated that they have been removed because they are an endangered
species, similar to the situation with the Panda and the changed Crane graphics
in Factions. They have been replaced by Crocodiles, apparently.
Nightfall: Do Jahai Rats cause disease?
---------------------------------------
Occasionally, you'll see Jahai rats use a "Gnaw of Sickness" attack, similar to
the Brutal Mauling attack of the Bears. It has not been confirmed whether or
not this attack causes disease or any other status effect, but it certainly
adds fuel to the fire of an old rumor...
Comfort Animal
==============
There are only two* skills that can revive a Pet, Comfort Animal and Revive
Animal. Comfort Animal is received at the same time as Charm Animal and thus
is usually the pet resurrect of choice, simply because of availability. In
general, I would think carefully before adding this to a skillbar. If you are
heading into PvP or a Mission, then the skillbar slot is probably better served
by a different skill. If you are exploring large regions of land, then take
along Comfort Animal to revive your pet on those long treks far from a
convenient city. "Casual" beast masters who don't focus on Beast Mastery should
never take this skill along.
As of April 29, 2006, skills are no longer disabled for casting this, making it
a lot more useful than it was before.
* As of October 27, 2006, this short list of pet resurrection skills includes
the skill "Heal As One" (Elite)
Call of Protection
==================
An underappreciated buff for your pet, Call of Protection gives a straight
damage reduction bonus to your pet, allowing it to live much longer and survive
in tough combat situations. It lasts for a whole 2 minutes (and has a recharge
time almost as long), and gives an incredible amount of damage reduction for
a small amount of Energy. The main problem is the opportunity cost of taking
up a skillbar slot, especially since Beast Masters already have problems with
skillbar space, needed for Pet Attacks and other Ranger skills.
Ferocious Strike (Elite)
========================
This Elite skill in the Beast Mastery line is actually rather lackluster, other
than the fact that it's the only Elite available in Prophecies. You gain
adrenaline (which is only useful for Warrior/Ranger or Ranger/Warrior
combinations) and some Energy. This is a good Energy management skill for the
Ranger (who lacks good Energy management in general), but overall it may not be
worth selecting as your Elite skill.
Edge of Extinction
==================
It's been a while since I've updated entries in the Prophecies/Core Beast
Mastery section, but I feel that Edge of Extinction deserved an entry,
especially in the realm of Cantha. Edge of Extinction is a spirit that causes
damage to all nearby creatures of the same type whenever any creature dies.
The main utility of this skill is to soften up the rest of the monsters in a
homogenous group. The area of effect is rather wide, and you can really do
some major damage. It is a great skill to use against Mursaat, Afflicted, and
Charr.
If you do enough area effect damage to multiple opponents, however, sometimes
you can cause a chain reaction that will wipe out ALL of the monsters of the
same type in the area when one dies. This chain reaction effect is often used
in various farming builds, including the "Grawl Bomb" build.
Be careful when laying this spirit around human monsters, as when they die, all
of your human teammates will be affected. Sometimes, you can even cause the
same EoE chain reaction, but instead of killing your enemies, you kill off your
whole team! It takes careful thought and consideration when using this spirit
in any given area. Also, this spirit is anathema to Minion Masters. When you
have a Necromancer using Minions in your party, leave this spirit at home.
In PvP, this spirit can cause major havoc, especially in the Hall of Heroes and
Alliance Battles (which have a large amount of human opponents). As a spirit,
it cuts both ways, but if you have a lot of healing, then it typically hurts
the other teams more than you. Alternatively, you can lay one deep in enemy
territory while your teammates are safely outside its radius.
Note: As of the August 17, 2006 update, this skill has been nerfed. It now
only affects creatures with 90% Health or below. This greatly limits the
utility of the skill, although it still has some use in PvP and farming.
Fertile Season
==============
Most people who grab this spirit are awed by the increase in maximum health
and armor offered by it. On paper, the stats look good, and it lasts a long
time due to the fact that it's a Spirit. However, since it IS a spirit, the
bonuses apply to both your party AND to all monsters within its radius, making
it significantly harder to kill most monsters. Leave this spirit at home,
folks, unless you want to be mauled by stronger, more armored versions of your
enemies. On the other hand, a Necromancer might find this spirit useful.
Otyugh's Cry
============
At first glance, this appears to be a bad skill. Animals aren't found in many
locations, and even then, they tend to be low level. However, the 20 Armor
bonus applies to all animals, including your pet. This reduces damage by about
20 to 30 percent to your pet (as well as other pets owned by your allies). It
also lasts for 30 seconds (with an equally long cooldown time), fairly lengthy.
It requires a target, because of the "main" ability (which in my opinion is
secondary to the armor bonus). Also, you need at least a 4 Beast Mastery to
make effective use of it without failure.
I have not seen a Otyugh anywhere in the lands of Tyria, although I suppose the
devourer line of creatures resembles the "classic" Otyugh monster.
Tiger's Fury
============
This skill is one of the best "increased attack speed" stances available in
Guild Wars. It is less useful for spellcaster classes (as it disables non-
attack skills while in use). It is also a bit expensive at 10 Energy, but with
a high Expertise, this can be negligable. More points in Beast Mastery extend
the overall duration, giving you more seconds of berzerk attacking.
A variety of skills have been added to the game with the release of Factions.
Along with many new pet attacks and nature spirits, there are some interesting
additions that increase the variety of tools at a Beastmaster's disposal.
Enraged Lunge (Elite)
---------------------
This Factions Pet Attack packs quite a punch. For every recharging Beast
Mastery skill, it deals bonus damage, up to a total bonus of 80! Of course,
with this sort of power, the skill is an Elite, and makes a nice replacement
for Ferocious Strike (the previous "Core" Elite). The cooldown is only
5 seconds, allowing you to quickly attack again with devastating spike damage.
You may want to have a line-up of Pet Attack skills that have a longer cooldown
time, such as Pounce, Savage Pounce, and Bestial Mauling. Energizing Wind can
help slow down the cooldown as well, but it isn't friendly to your casters in
the group.
Note that this skill counts for every recharging Beast Mastery skill, not just
Pet Attacks. Thus, the recharging Call of Protection, Tiger's Fury, or any
other support skill that you may have running in your skillbar counts for the
Enraged Lunge damage, including Enraged Lunge itself (since there is typically
a delay between activating the skill and the pet using the attack). Tiger's
Fury/Bestial Fury is especially lethal, because it counts as a recharging Beast
Mastery Skill and causes both Charm AND Comfort Animal to recharge, adding 3
recharging skills for the price of one activation, with very little downside.
Heal as One (Elite)
-------------------
A useful heal in the Beast Master's repetoire, it is one of the few ways Rangers
can heal directly. It is an Elite, and thus takes up your Elite slot. The 10
second cooldown makes this skill less useful than Monk heals, but it heals a lot
of damage at higher levels of Beast Mastery skill. I'm more inclined to leave
this one at home (it IS an Elite), personally, but if you have trouble with
healing or you want a substitute for Troll Unguent that also benefits your pet
and you don't mind sacrificing your Elite slot, you can give this skill a try.
The difficulty, of course, is finding this skill. It has only been seen in Yeti
beastmasters and Luxon Rangers, and no boss has been identified for those folks.
Stay tuned for more details...
Update: Salke Fur Friend in Melandru's Hope, southwest of Jade Quarry has this
skill. Apparently, the skill was missing before a patch fixed it.
This skill was updated on October 27, 2006 to have a faster cooldown time (10
seconds), but more importantly it now resurrects your pet. This allows you to
save a skill slot normally devoted to Comfort Animal, as well as gives you an
effective self-heal. With the great Elite pet attacks, I still am inclined to
leave this one, but it may prove to save you some slots in an already cramped
skillbar and possibly prove to be effective for solo hunting.
Poisonous Bite
--------------
This is another useful skill in the line of Pet Attacks. It's simple, it costs
5 Energy, and has a reasonable cooldown of 7 seconds. All it does is afflict
the target with poison through a Pet Attack, making it one of the few direct
ways to "zap" an opponent with the Poison condition. This is generally one of
the new Factions Beast Mastery skills that I keep in my skillbar.
Note: A Poisoner's bowstring won't add to the duration of poison on this skill.
Viper's Nest
------------
Here is a novel skill: A trap in the Beastmastery line. It does some piercing
damage and adds the poison condition to the victims that trigger it. While a
Beastmaster's repetoire doesn't really require trapping, it can be useful in a
pinch, especially if you don't have many points invested in Wilderness Survival.
One trick that you can use is bringing a Poisoner's bow or melee weapon. The
Poisoner's mod increases the poison length on this skill, even though you don't
physically attack with your weapon.
Nightfall adds a handful of skills for the Beastmaster. They are fairly
redundant, but interesting.
Heket's Rampage
---------------
This is yet another stance (like Bestial Fury and Tiger's Fury) that increases
attack speed. The difference is that it is canceled when you use an attack
skill, instead of "blanking out" your non-attack skills. This limits its
general usefulness in builds that rely on standard attacks for DPS, but it is
cheaper in Energy than its Fury brothers from the other games.
Rampage as One (Elite)
----------------------
This Elite skill gives you the package deal... increased attack speed AND run
speed for both you and your pet. However, it costs an expensive 25 Energy
and has a cooldown longer than its duration. You only have enough "juice" for
a short burst, and the expense may break your Energy bank, so to speak. With
other choices for Elites and better ways to increase your own attack speed,
you might want to give this one a pass.
Strike as One (Elite)
---------------------
This Elite Shout is a straight damage increase, a very rare bonus in Guild Wars
indeed. It gives your next 5 attacks a small amount of increased bonus damage.
This increases your DPS by an average of about 3-5 points, depending on your
build. It is cheap and recycles fast. However, it takes up your Elite slot.
Toxicity
--------
The token new Beastmastery Nature Spirit in Nightfall is a bit lackluster. It
simply adds more DoT to conditions that already DoT, much like Lacerate in
Factions. At least this spirit is not an Elite. If you are a DoT nut, this
Spirit can make your Poison or Disease a bit more virulent, so you won't have
to do as much "stacking". It certainly has more utility (even with few or no
attribute points) than Lacerate, and it's not an Elite.
Expertise is the Ranger primary attribute. By itself, it is a useful passive
attribute, reducing the costs of Ranger abilities. However, Expertise does
NOT affect spells, hexes, or enchantments. Expertise rounds to the nearest
integer, making for some very interesting breakpoints. This can be tested by
extending your energy bar across the length of the screen and using skills at
various levels of Expertise. These breakpoints can be found in Appendix 9d -
Expertise Breakpoints [gwrg9d]. Breakpoints should NOT be your only
consideration for your level of Expertise, as a higher Expertise level also
enhances the quality of its linked skills.
Expertise has many skills which improve the defensive capabilities of a Ranger.
Skills like Whirling Defense and Throw Dirt prevent melee combatants from
touching you. Expertise also has a few bow attack skills, mostly interrupts
and disruption.
As of October 27, 2006, Expertise was changed to the following:
Expertise: For each rank of Expertise, the Energy cost of all of your attacks,
Rituals, touch skills, and Rangers skills are decreased by 4%. Several skills,
especially those related to Energy costs and skill recharge times, become more
effective with higher Expertise.
Some Skill highlights:
Distracting Shot
================
Distracting Shot is probably the best interrupting attack in the game. Not only
can it be used at range, but it has a quick attack time (0.5 seconds), costs
only 5 energy (often reduced by Expertise), and disables an interrupted skill
for a whole 20 seconds. The main disadvantage is the low damage, along with a
slightly slow Cooldown Time.
"Buffering" a Distracting Shot is a useful technique to squeeze a little more
damage out of your usual bow attacks. Basically, while one bow attack is
being used (and is flashing in your skill bar), hit Distracting Shot as well.
The first attack will fire off, followed almost immediately (in 3/4th of a
second) by a Distracting Shot. The following shot after that is at the normal
rate of fire. You can consider the Distracting Shot a "bonus" arrow that was
quicker to shoot. This is mostly useful in builds which have added damage to
each arrow, using skills like Ignite Arrow or Conjure Lightning.
Lightning Reflexes
==================
Lightning Reflexes is a short-duration stance that gives both 75% evasion
against attacks and a 33% increased attack speed. This is a potent combination
that allows a Ranger to both attack quickly (doing more damage) and evade
attacks. It has a disadvantage, though, of a long cooldown time, so you can't
continually activate it (unlike the Mesmer skill Distortion). It is best used
as a supplement to another defensive stance, like Whirling Defense. Between
Whirling Defense and Lightning Reflexes, an opponent will be hard-pressed to
hit you.
Marksman's Wager (Elite)
========================
Marksman's Wager is one of the few good Energy management skills that a Ranger
can use. Since the majority of your arrows will hit, you can reasonably expect
to gain a significant amount of Energy per hit, allowing you to power your high
energy bow attacks (or whatever... spells, perhaps). It is an Elite, and thus
you won't have other Elites, but you'll be swimming in Energy with this skill.
It is a preparation, so you won't be able to use your other preparations while
it is active. Just don't use it when you are blinded or against warriors who
can block your shots.
Oath Shot (Elite)
=================
Oath Shot is a unique ability that recharges all of your skills if it hits.
There is a minimum Expertise requirement for consistent hitting, which places
this skill out of the hands of low Expertise Rangers or secondary Rangers.
Still, instantly recharging the long cooldowns of, say, Whirling Defense or
Lightning Reflexes gives you an instant advantage in tempo. Hopefully, you'll
have enough energy to use your recharged skills. It is also an Elite skill,
and as with other Elites, you forgo the use of other Elites by choosing this
skill.
Similarly, you can use this Elite is to recharge skills from your secondary
with long cooldown times, like Signets, Spirits/Binding Rituals, and Glyphs.
Throw Dirt
==========
Throw Dirt is a touch range, Area of Effect Blind condition. It has a
relatively short duration, but this is lengthened by High Expertise. It is
best used on non-spellcasters, mostly frontline warriors (although you can
catch the occasional ranged attacker with it). Because it adds Blind, it makes
the targets blind to everyone, and thus protects everyone from those creatures'
attacks.
Throw Dirt is a Condition, and thus can be removed by a number of things. While
most monsters don't carry around Mend Ailment, most W/Mo characters in PvP do
(mostly BECAUSE of this much-hated skill). Throw Dirt is also touch range, so
if you are using this, expect to get up-close and personal. Throw Dirt is best
used to either support warriors in the front line or to defend yourself at
melee range (similar to other Ranger defensive skills). Throw Dirt affects only
the creatures within melee range of your target, thus it can only affect one
"side" of you if you are surrounded, making it less than ideal in swarm
situations.
Whirling Defense
================
Whirling Defense is probably the most balanced of the defensive ranger skills,
and it comes with the longest duration to boot. The longest duration alone
makes this skill worth taking over its relatives (Lightning Reflexes, Dryder's
Defenses, Escape). Whirling Defense is a stance, so be sure you don't cancel
it out with another stance before its duration is through. Also, the cooldown
time is rather long (which is typical for the Ranger defensive skills), so it
works best in concert with another defensive stance to cover the duration from
the end of Whirling Defense and the recharge of the skill. The additional
damage from deflecting projectiles is cute, but negligable.
There aren't many skills added to Expertise with the release of Factions. The
non-Elite skills that were added mimic existing skills (Zojun's Haste is similar
to Dodge; Zojun's Shot is similar to Point Blank Shot). The only particularly
interesting skill is the new Elite preparation:
Glass Arrows (Elite)
--------------------
This Elite preparation ensures that whether or not your arrows are blocked,
you'll still have some sort of effect. It's a preparation in the Expertise line
(Which is rather unique), and causes extra damage on striking and Bleeding when
they are blocked. The only thing that can stop these arrows are evades, which
unfortunately are pretty common outside of the Warrior profession. Still, it's
a great way to strike at warriors who are fond of tanking behind blocking
stances. It is still an Elite, however, making its use limited.
Archer's Signet (Elite)
-----------------------
This Elite signet allows you to use Bow Attacks without taking any Energy.
However, the casting time is prohibitive (3 seconds) as is the recharge. It
might be effective to use this in conjunction with several powerful high Energy
bow attacks, but it takes up your Elite slot, which limits your options. There
could be some use when being attacked by an Energy denial Mesmer or Ranger.
This skill was updated on July 13 2006 to no longer disable pet attacks. It was
updated on October 27 2006 by increasing the number of bow attacks it affects.
Trapper's Focus (Elite)
-----------------------
This short-lived preparation prevents your traps from being interrupted by
normal attacks. Note that this preparation only prevents the traps from being
easily interrupted. Standard interrupts like Distracting Shot will still
cancel your trap. It's still probably a good idea to use Whirling Defense or
other evasive stances when laying down your traps in the middle of combat.
Nightfall's Expertise skills include some surprises (a Nature Spirit!), but
the real gem is for Trappers, in the form of Trapper's Speed.
Expert's Dexterity (Elite)
--------------------------
This is an odd Elite, to say the least. It decreases your cooldowns for your
attack skills and unlike other Expertise skills, it actually increases your
Energy costs. Frankly, I'm not sure I see the point. I can think of better
preparations to use. Perhaps there is some combination that works amazingly
with this Elite that I'm missing, but I've not had any problems with recharge
times that warranted giving up both my Elite slot AND my prep slot.
Infuriating Heat (Elite)
------------------------
This is a bizarre Nature Ritual, in that it is linked to Expertise AND it
doubles adrenaline gain. The obvious application is with Ranger/Warriors or
Ranger/Paragons (or Warriors and Paragons with a Ranger secondary), but it
can be a great support skill for the rest of your combat-oriented party.
Even without Expertise, it gives its full effect (for a shorter duration),
and I'm sure there are several Bunny Thumpers who appreciate the ability to
spam their Hammer attacks faster. The 15 Energy cost is a bit prohibitive,
for a Nature Ritual, but it has the duration to compensate.
Trapper's Speed
---------------
This is the Serpent's Quickness replacement that we've been waiting for. It
increases both your trap-laying speed and the recharge on your trap. It's a
stance, which means it replaces the role of Serpent's Quickness. It lasts a
reasonable length of time (just short of its cooldown), but best of all, it's
not an Elite. The only disadvantage is the fact that if you attack, you
cancel this stance, but Trappers probably shouldn't be attacking when they
are laying down their trap layers anyway.
Marksmanship is considered by many Rangers to be the bread-and-butter skill
that defines a Ranger. Increasing Marksmanship increases the damage of a bow.
The actual damage equation is a bit complicated, but in general, 12 points in
Marksmanship against an AL of 60 will do 100% of the bow's damage range. Also,
most bows have a minimum Marksmanship requirement. If you wield a bow with
less Marksmanship than what is listed on the bow, then it does as much damage
as a bow of the same type dropped by a Level 5 enemy (the actual damage range
varies, just like those dropped by Level 5 enemies, and it is hidden).
Bow Damage Equations
====================
This is based on the excellent work done by SonOfRah, but it is subject to
change. This information is accurate and tested as of July 2005. For a more
detailed look at damage, check out SonOfRah's guide at:
http://www.gwonline.net/page.php?p=157
The basic equation for Bow Damage is as follows:
Actual Damage = (Base Damage) x (Bow Bonuses) x (Skill vs. Armor Level)
The Base Damage is picked from the effective damage range of the bow. For a
max damage bow, this range is between 15-28. The Skill vs. Armor Level is
based on a complex equation, but a couple of general rules apply:
* Every point of Marksmanship offsets 5 points of Armor Level, up to an
attribute rank equal to the character's Level/2 (round down) + 2. There are
diminishing returns if your Marskmanship attribute rank is above Level/2
(round down) + 2 (for Level 20, this is a value of 12). This "baseline" value
is compared to the Armor Level of the target to determine the actual damage.
* Every point in Marksmanship above your Character's Level/2 + 2 gives 2 points
in addition to the baseline value below that threshold. Thus at Level 20, a
13 attribute Rank gives a baseline of 62.
* If the baseline is equal to the Armor Level of the target, then you do 100%
of your damage. If you have a higher baseline than the Armor Level of the
target, then you do more damage. If you have a lower Baseline than the Armor
Level of the target, then you do less damage.
* Every 40 Armor Level that the target has above your baseline halves the
damage, and every 40 Armor Level that the target has below your baseline
doubles the damage.
For example, since 4 points of attribute offsets 20 points of AL, you can
expect a Marksmanship of 4 (baseline of 20) to do half damage against an AL
of 60 (which is 40 points above the baseline).
An equation that models this behavior is as follows:
Damage = Base Damage * 2^{[(Baseline) - Armor Level]/40} * Bow Bonuses
Bow bonuses are multiplied with this along with the Armor Level calculation. If
you have multiple bonus percentages, then these percentages are multiplied
together. I.E. A customized weapon gives a 20% bonus. When you combine it with
a 15% damage bonus, you multiply 120% and 115% to give a total of 138% enhanced
damage. All damage is rounded to the nearest integer.
Hit Locations
-------------
Guild Wars uses a Hit Location system. This means that each piece of armor has
a chance of being struck individually, rather than an abstract armor level from
the pieces summed as a whole. In general, these are the percentages:
* Chest is hit 37.5% of the time.
* Leggings is hit 25% of the time.
* Feet, Gloves, and Head are hit 12.5% of the time.
These percentages are augmented by positioning. It is said that hitting the
head provides an increased or automatic chance for critical hits, but this has
not been confirmed.
Critical Hits
-------------
Critical Hits always do maximum base damage of the bow. They also give the
equivalent of -20 Armor Level reduction, increasing your damage by 41.42%.
The chance for a critical hit is not well-known, but the chance for getting a
critical hit is approximately 16% at attribute rating 12 (giving a chance of
about 1.25% per attribute point), with the chance for a critical hit doubling
for every 5 levels you are above the target, and the chance for a critical hit
being halved for ever 5 levels you are below the target. This is an approximate
equation that models the critical hit chance (but it may not be completely
accurate):
Chance = (1+[1.25*Attribute Rank])*2^([Character level - Target Level]/5)
Situational Damage
------------------
It is not known if attacking from the flanks or from behind gives a measurable
damage bonus, although anecdotal reports seem to say that enemies who are
running away from you tend to take more damage. Whether it is due to higher
chance of critical hits or from a damage bonus remains to be tested. It was
thought that opponents did not get the benefit of a shield when attacked from
behind or the flanks, but this has been tested to be false as of 5/1/2006.
Attacking from an elevated position has a greater likelihood of hitting the
head. Being above your target increases your range somewhat and grants a 15%
damage bonus.
Attacking from a lower position has a greater likelihood of hitting the legs
and feet. No damage bonuses are known for this position. Being lower than
your target reduces your range somewhat.
If your attack is a critical hit, the damage bonus from positioning is ignored.
Bonus Damage from Skills
------------------------
The bonus damage from skills is generally applied AFTER all armor and damage
percentage bonuses from the bow are calculated into the equation. So if your
bow skill lists a bonus damage of +10, then +10 damage gets directly added
after calculations. This means that armor generally has no effect on the bonus
damage done by Bow Attack skills.
The exception to this rule is Power Shot, for some reason, as this skill adds
to the Base Damage of the weapon rather than adding bonus damage after the
calculations (this fact is not confirmed, but it is in a few forum posts made
by SonOfRah). This is important to know, because this means that Power Shot
damage changes based on the armor level of the target. A highly armored target
will take much less damage from a Power Shot, while a lightly armored target
will take much more damage from a Power Shot.
Damage Absorb
-------------
Absorption provided from Runes of Absorption, certain item properties (Received
damage -2, for example), and Ascalon/Knight's armor is directly subtracted from
the damage after all armor and damage percentage bonuses are applied, similar
to the bonus damage done by skills. When up against non-Warriors, very few
things give a Damage Absorption bonus. Damage Absorption is mostly in the
realm of primary Warriors, who have Knight's/Ascalon Armor which gives a -3
Damage Absorb, Absorption runes (from -1 to -3 Damage Absorb), and magical
Damage Absorb mods on shields. You will usually face between -4 to -9 Damage
Absorb on any particular warrior. Damage Absorb used to apply to all damage
done to the target, even cutting back on damage that ignores armor. However,
the July 13, 2006 Update changed several types of Damage Absorb to only affect
physical damage.
Call of Protection is a Ranger skill that gives a lot of Damage Absorption to
your pet, allowing them to tank better.
Armor Penetration
-----------------
Armor Penetration is a percentage adjustment of the Armor Level of the target.
For example, 10% Armor Penetration means that the base Armor Level of the
target is multiplied by 90% to determine the effective Armor Level. Armor
Penetration comes in two varieties, Base AP and Bonus AP. Base AP comes from
the Strength attribute, Penetrating Attack, Penetrating Blow, and certain Air
Magic spells, among other things. Bonus AP comes from Judge's Insight and the
Sundering weapon mod. Only the highest value of base AP applies, but all
values of bonus AP stack on top of the Base AP.
The maximum armor penetration that a Ranger can have with a bow attack is 60%,
from a Sundering bowstring (+20% bonus AP) plus Judge's Insight (+20% bonus AP)
while using a Penetrating Attack/Sundering Attack (20% base AP).
Damage over Time
----------------
The Damage over Time done by Conditions such as Poison and Bleeding are at a
rate of -2 Health per second per "pip" of degeneration, up to a maximum of 10
"pips", or -20 Health per second. This is not reduced by armor nor are there
any bonuses/penalties that augment this rate. Conditions stack with each other
but not themselves. The final Health Degeneration is determined by the sum of
all the Health Regeneration bonuses and the sum of all the Health Degeneration
Bonuses, so while you cannot go below 10 pips of Health Degen, you can apply
more health degen to offset gains from Healing Breeze, Mending, etc.
List of Health Degeneration Conditions
--------------------------------------
* Bleeding -3 pips or -6 Health per second
* Poison/Disease -4 pips or -8 Health per second
* Burning -7 pips or -14 Health per second
Some Marksmanship-linked skill highlights:
Barrage (Elite)
===============
Barrage is the spammable low-Energy Area Effect skill that Elementalists can
only dream about. At the quick Cooldown Time of 1 second and the low Energy
cost of 5 Energy (which can be brought even lower by Expertise), Barrage also
adds damage comparable to other Marksmanship skills. This makes Barrage an
incredible weapon in the hands of a capable Marksmanship expert.
Barrage is an Elite skill and thus cannot be used with other Elites. Also,
Barrage is incompatible with preparations, as it removes all preparations when
it is used. Keeping this in mind, Barrage works very well with bonus damage
enchantments from other classes, such as Judge's Insight and the Elementalist
Conjure line. It is a good way to soften up a group ganging up on a tank
(possibly your pet?), and often you can take down a whole group in just a
handful of Barrages in a row, and not break a sweat with your Energy bar. You
can also use Favorable Winds to increase your Barrage damage. Speaking of
which...
Favorable Winds
===============
Favorable Winds is an excellent "enchantment" in the Spirit line of Ranger
skills. It lasts a long time, affects a large radius, and adds a significant
amount of damage and arrow speed.
Remember, this is a spirit, and thus also affects enemy arrows as well as all
of your allies' arrows. In a party of multiple rangers, sometimes it's a good
idea to negotiate who will cast this spirit, so that only one person has to
carry the task of laying down this spirit. Or multiple rangers can carry this
spirit and alternate laying down the spirit, speeding up the "recharge" time
for spirit coverage. But if you are going up against enemy rangers, leave
this spirit at home. Often, the monster groups will have many more archers
than you do, and will benefit far more from this spirit.
Penetrating Attack
==================
At first glance, this Bow Attack skill looks very similar to all of the other
Bow Attack skills. It compares quite well to Power Shot, as it does a similar
damage profile. However, it has a speedy cooldown of 3 seconds and 20% armor
penetration. If you need a 10 Energy bow attack skill, this is the skill that
I would recommend, as it will probably deal the most damage out of all the 10
Energy Bow skills simply because it has 20% base armor penetration. The fact
that its cooldown is among the fastest of the non-Elite bow skills is definitely
a plus.
With Factions, you also have access to Sundering Attack, which is a clone of
Penetrating Attack. Theoretically, you can carry both of these skills on your
bar and continually spam Armor Penetrating attacks for massive damage.
Pin Down/Crippling Shot (Elite)
===============================
Pin Down is the ubiquitous PvP snare skill. A snare is a skill that slows your
enemy's movement. It has a rather long cooldown, and it is quite expensive at
15 Energy. Nevertheless, it should be a staple in most PvP builds and certain
PvE missions (such as Aurora Glade). Use Pin Down to cripple the Monk on the
opposing team, or to slow down Warriors so that you can run out of their Melee
range.
Crippling Shot (Elite) takes 15 Energy and a 1 second cooldown, and the Cripple
duration is 1-8 seconds. It cannot be blocked or evaded, either. Crippling Shot,
while typically having a shorter duration than an equivalent Pin Down, can be
spammed multiple times. Use Crippling Shot to disable several people with a
guaranteed snare (due to the "cannot be blocked or evaded" property). In short,
Crippling Shot is superior to Pin Down but it is still Elite, and thus takes up
your Elite slot. On March 2, 2006, Crippling Shot was hit with the nerf bat and
significantly reworked. It is still useful as a "spam crippling" attack, but
not nearly as powerful as it was before.
Read the Wind
=============
The only Bow Preparation in the Marksmanship line, Read the Wind provides many
of the same benefits of Favorable Winds. The damage bonus from both skills
stack, but the arrow speed doesn't appear to change much. Being a preparation,
it does not stack with other preps. However, it is a viable alternative to
Favorable Winds if one expects to face enemy archers in an area and wishes to
retain some sort of arrow speed bonus. Note that as of the 9/29/05 update, Read
the Wind got a duration boost to 24, bringing it on par with the other
"standard" Wilderness Survival-linked preps.
Some of the Marksmanship skills in Factions are close copies of existing skills
from the Prophecies campaign. For example, Sundering Attack matches very
closely to Penetrating Attack. In effect, with both skills in your skillbar,
you can have two of that particular attack.
Broad Head Arrow (Elite)
------------------------
This is a skill that carries a lot of baggage: The arrow is slow, it has a long
15 second cooldown, it costs 25 Energy, and it is an Elite. It's also possibly
the best Mage-killer in the game. Unlike Concussion Shot, which requires you
to interrupt a spell to apply the "Dazed" condition, Broad Head Arrow adds the
Dazed condition, simply and easily. If there happens to be a spell being cast
it also interrupts that spell, but that's just icing on the cake. It helps to
think of this skill as a "20 second spellcaster lockdown" rather than a standard
interrupt.
From a tactical standpoint, a clever Ranger can lockdown two opponents with this
and a standard bag of interrupts. Just use Broad Head Arrow on one target,
preferably a target that's already being attacked (perhaps by your pet?) and
use your standard interrupts on another opponent. Alternatively, you can just
keep flipping between targets, shooting regular arrows to interrupt as needed
on the Dazed target and using standard interrupts on the other target. This
works especially well against targets that use long-casting devastating spells
like Meteor Shower and resurrects.
Watch out for "block" and "evade", particularly Distortion, Aegis, and Warding
Weapon. Your arrow may be easily pre-empted by a wary spellcaster using arrow
dodging/blocking techniques, so it's best used when catching a spellcaster off
guard. Also watch out for Condition removal. In other words, this skill
probably won't do very well in structured PvP with well-organized teams.
I found this skill to be invaluable in the Boreas Seabed mission. You can lock
down the big bad bosses in this area (and you know which ones I'm talking about)
with a single skill.
If you need your Elite spot, and you are comfortable with your ability to
interrupt, you may want to bring Concussion Shot instead. If you want a simple
way to shutdown spellcasters, though, this arrow will do the trick.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Cooldown was reduced from 20 to 15.
Focused Shot
------------
It's cheap, it has a fast cooldown, and does decent damage. The only penalty is
that it disables all of your other attack skills. Ouch. Still, you can consider
bringing this skill as your primary attack skill, spamming it for repeated high
damage hits. Good for skillbar economy, if your bar is full of spirits and
stances.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Now disables pet attack skills.
Marauder's Shot
---------------
Possibly one of the most damaging Bow Attack skills in the game, this skill
gives a huge bang for your 10 Energy buck, dealing more raw damage than even
Power Shot or Precision Shot. The main disadvantage, however, is that it shuts
down all of your other non-Attack skills for 5 seconds. This can be a problem
when you suddenly lose access to skills that you need, like Stances or Troll
Unguent. The cooldown is a bit long at 6 seconds as well. Still, if you are
looking for a good sniping skill that deals great damage, you can use this.
Updated on July 13, 2006: No longer disables pet attack skills.
Melandru's Shot (Elite)
-----------------------
Who says that Rangers have poor Energy reclamation? Melandru's Shot (Elite)
gives a substantial amount of Energy and deals great damage to boot. If you
are running an Energy-hungry build of some sort, and find yourself facing
Enchanted opponents all the time, perhaps this Elite will suit you. Unlike
other Energy Reclamation skills, this one is based on Marksmanship and the
Energy returned does not depend on the attribute. It does take up your Elite
slot, however.
Needling Shot
-------------
Another answer to the "Quick Shot" Ranger, Needling Shot does a small amount of
damage, but can rapidly fire if your target is below 50% Health. Great to use
with preparations (which will probably be your main source of damage), and to
finish off a target. If you bring along Quick Shot (Elite) as well, you can
really churn out the arrows by alternating Needling Shot and Quick Shot.
Because it has damage set by your Marksmanship skill, it can work well even
against heavily armored targets.
Seeking Arrows
--------------
For the Called Shot lovers in all of us, this new preparation is short-lived,
but prevents your opponents from blocking or evading your attacks. It is rather
expensive for a preparation at 15 Energy, but it is a great way to make sure
your interrupts and spike damage hits their mark. Because it is a preparation,
though, your damage is likely to suffer, and it cannot be used with Barrage.
Nightfall can possibly be called "revenge of the Bow Attacks" due to its large
"quiver" of new and diverse arrows to hail upon your opponents.
Burning Arrow (Elite)
---------------------
Extra damage AND burning? Where do I sign up? This attack combines a high
amount of bonus damage and the ever-popular and deadly Burning condition. With
Apply Poison or Barbed Arrows, you can smack a foe with the full -10 Degen in
a single shot! For a quick takedown and high damage, it is difficult to
recommend another Elite.
Forked Arrow
------------
It seems that while the developers are nerfing Dual Shot more and more, they
have a new "double arrow" attack up their sleeve in Nightfall. This dual shot
does full damage with each arrow, unlike its original brother. It costs 10
Energy, but the interesting thing is the fact that you only get two arrows if
you aren't under the influence of a Hex or an Enchantment. This presents a
sticky conditional situation, which makes this attack almost worthless in PvP
(how many times have you been hit with a Hex or an Enchantment). It probably
can find some use in certain farming runs (low on Enchants and Hexes), but in
general, it would be difficult to use this attack unless you are an expert at
dropping Hexes/Enchants.
Wilderness Survival is a motley category of skills that contain pretty much a
little bit of everything, from healing to bow preparations to traps. Most
rangers who sink points into this group do so to take advantage of the
preparations (which add significant amounts of damage to bow attacks) and the
ever-popular Troll Unguent.
Which Bow Preparation is right for me?
======================================
Because one can only use one Preparation at a time, it is important to choose
which preparation would be best for any given situation and for one's own
personal style. Having multiple preparations, while versatile, certainly isn't
efficient, and thus one should carefully consider which preparation is optimal.
Kindle Arrows and Ignite Arrows are similar in scope (adds fire damage), but
different in effect. Ignite Arrows does less damage, but applies the damage
over an area. Kindle Arrows does more damage and cost less. It is difficult to
ponder which one is better, as it is entirely situational. If you think that
you are going to get swarmed by large groups of enemies, Ignite Arrows is
probably better. If you want to do more damage per hit, go with Kindle Arrows.
Both have reasonably long durations (24 seconds), both work well in concert
with Dual Shot, and both preparations will do damage even though your are Blind
or your opponent is blocking/evading. One major difference between the two
preparations is that Kindle Arrows actually changes all of your damage to Fire
damage while Ignite Arrows does not.
Then there are the two Interrupt preparations, Incindiary Arrows (Elite) and
Choking Gas. Both of them have the disadvantage of having short durations, and
thus having Practiced Stance (Elite) would be beneficial. Choking Gas only
interrupts spellcasters, who are 90% of the targets of interrupts anyway. Both
of these are quite effective, but may be redundant with existing interrupt bow
attacks, and lack the spontaneity of Distracting Shot. You can't just "fire
off" a Choking Gas arrow to prevent a W/Mo from resurrecting the Monk if you
haven't already used the preparation. Choking Gas is another preparation that
will still do its effect when you are Blind or when your opponent is blocking
or evading.
There are also two Damage over Time preparations, Apply Poison and Melandru's
Arrows (Elite). Incindiary Arrows (Elite) also does a brief damage over time,
but most people get it more for the interrupt capability. Apply Poison is a
staple of many Rangers, simply because it is available much earlier than Poison
Arrow, and does a decent amount of damage over time. Melandru's Arrows causes
bleeding, but isn't available until much later in the game. Apply Poison has a
reasonably long duration, just like the fire line of preparations, but it can
also be used to add poison to melee attacks. Combined with the Cyclone Axe
warrior skill, you have an early-game potent combination.
Finally, you have Read the Wind, the Markmanship cousin of all of these
Wilderness Survival preparations. If you don't want to sink points into
Wilderness Survival at all, then Read the Wind is a viable alternative.
Technically, Marksman's Wager (Elite) is also a preparation, but you will
generally use Marksman's Wager only to reclaim Energy in short bursts. Thus,
you will probably not use it as your main preparation. It is more of an
"emergency Energy" skill.
If you have Factions, you may have noticed a handful of new interesting
preparations to play with. Glass Arrows (Elite) is a prep that is linked to
Expertise, of all things, and deals bleeding when it's blocked, and bonus
damage when it is not. This means that the only way you aren't going to deal
damage is if your arrows are evaded. It also lasts a long time at higher
levels of Expertise. Another Factions preparation is Seeking Arrows, a short
duration preparation that prevents your arrows from being blocked or evaded.
The odd-man-out in the Factions preparations is Trapper's Focus (Elite). This
short duration preparation removes the "easily interrupted" flaw on Traps while
it is in effect. Traps can still be interrupted by interrupt skills, but now
you can plant them without losing them to normal attacks. It has very little
to do with bows, but still is a preparation nonetheless.
If you have Nightfall, there are more interesting preprations at your disposal.
Barbed Arrows gives you the Bleeding effect, without having to sacrifice your
Elite slot to Melandru's Arrows.
Practiced Stance (Elite) is a way to get more bang for your preparation buck.
It lowers the cooldown time of preparations (meh) and lengthens the duration
(yay!). It's a stance, which means it's incompatible with the stances that are
the staple of Ranger defense, and it's Elite which means it takes up your Elite
slot.
In general, most people either choose Kindle/Ignite Arrows or Apply Poison,
until they get one of the two late-game Elites, Poison Arrow and Barrage.
Speaking of Poison Arrow...
Poison Arrow (Elite)
====================
"What? Why is this an Elite? We've had Apply Poison since Lion's Arch!"
Poison Arrow has many advantages over Apply Poison, which makes it comparable
to other Elite skills. First of all, it has a low Energy cost (5 points) and
a low "casting time" (since it is a bow attack). You can't "double poison" a
target, making multiple Poisoned arrows in a target redundant at best. Poison
arrow is not a preparation, and thus can "stack" with other Preparations. You
can gain the benefit of Kindle Arrows or Ignite Arrows while Poisoning at the
same time. Finally, because it isn't a preparation and doesn't have a 2 second
casting time, it is the best skill to use for "off the cuff" poisoning in the
middle of battle. You don't have to wait 2 seconds to poison the next badguy.
Simply point and shoot.
ARGH! Traps!
============
Traps in Guild Wars are in the exclusive realm of the Ranger. They often
inflict status conditions on opponents while dealing a set amount of damage.
You can lay down as many traps as you'd like, although Traps automatically set
themselves off in 90 seconds. They take 2 seconds to cast, and are easily
interrupted (if you get hit, the trap isn't set). Traps have an unusually
small radius (approximately 5 to 10 feet), and thus it can be quite difficult
to lure enemies to trip them. There are four damaging traps and one healing
"trap". Barbed Trap and Spike Trap (Elite) are useful in bleeding and slowing
down opponents. Flame Trap is purely for damage, and Dust Trap is one of the
few (but useful) skills that can cause an Area-effect Blind. Dust Trap has the
highest cost of the group. Healing Spring is technically a "trap", but instead
of damaging, it heals party members gradually over 10 seconds.
There are three ways of using traps that I'd like to talk about. The first is
to plant traps while luring. You run ahead of the group toward the creatures
you are trying to lure, but halfway there you plant a trap. Then you attract
the creature and run directly back to the group. It is likely that at least
one of the enemies will trigger the trap. This works better on melee monsters
than ranged/spellcaster monsters. The second way is to use a Nature Ritual
spirit as a decoy. Simply plant several traps down, and then cast a Nature
Ritual. Then aggro a group of monsters and run back toward the spirit (which
marks where your traps are). Not only will you remember where you set the trap
because of the spirit, but the monsters sometimes run up to the spirit itself
to destroy it, triggering the group of traps you have set there. The third
method is to use traps during combat. This is dangerous because a hit will
interrupt your trap, but with Ranger defensive skills, you can slide into
position, lay down your trap, and affect a whole group of monsters with a
status condition. You can also use your party's tanks as a wall to protect you
while you are doing this. If you are lucky, you can even chain a couple of
traps in this manner.
Other Wilderness Survival skills
================================
Dryder's Defenses
-----------------
One of the few "defensive avoidance" skills that is not linked to the Expertise
line, Dryder's Defenses provides the same benefit against attacks as Whirling
Defense, but it also provides Elemental Armor as well. Because secondary class
Rangers do not get Expertise, this skill becomes a viable alternative for
taking advantage of the Ranger's dodge ability, as well as allowing a Ranger to
take even more Elemental damage punishment than any other class.
Melandru's Resiliance (Elite)
-----------------------------
This interesting stance gives you Health Regeneration and Energy Regeneration
for each condition and hex that you are suffering for a short period of time
(8-18 seconds). It is one of the few ways that Rangers can deal with Hexes
(indirectly), and also one of the few ways to increase your Energy regeneration.
It is a great skill to take along when you know you are going to face Mesmer or
Necromancer enemies. It costs a small amount of Energy and unlike most Ranger
stances it has a reasonable cooldown time of 25 seconds.
However, it is a stance, so it can't be stacked with other defensive stances. It
is also an Elite, and thus it has a large opportunity cost, as there are other
Elites that you could have used in that slot. Still, if you are having trouble
surviving because of Hexes and Conditions, give this stance a try.
Troll Unguent
-------------
This skill is almost ubiquitous among Rangers. It is the main Self-heal that
Rangers have (there are other healing skills, but none as cheap or versatile as
Troll Unguent). It has a duration of 10 seconds, and an equally long cooldown
time, and it has a cheap Energy cost of 5. It is NOT an Enchantment spell, and
thus it can't be stripped or countered by most Mesmer interrupts.
The main disadvantage of Troll Unguent is the casting time. 3 seconds is a long
time in battle, and if you are being attacked, you could take several hits while
the Troll Unguent is being cast. Thus, it might be a good idea to blind your
enemies or use a defensive stance while using it. Be wary of general interrupts
as this skill is sure to be interrupted by a savvy opponent.
Still, I would recommend that this skill should always reside in your skillbar
as your main self-heal. There are few skills as cheap or as useful with so few
points in an attribute.
Factions Skills
===============
There is a nice complement of spirits and one new trap in Factions.
Brambles
--------
This interesting spirit does minimal damage, but applies Bleeding on folks who
are knocked down. There are very few options for a Ranger to knock down their
opponents (Spike Trap comes to mind), so typically you'll have to depend on your
secondary for the knockdown. Another alternative is having your pet knock down
the opponent for the bleeding damage. Brambles is still effective without many
points in Wilderness Survival. Still, it seems to be a less than ideal choice
to apply bleeding, when Barbed Trap is available.
Conflagration
-------------
This is the baby brother of Greater Conflagration (Elite). At first, it seems
to do very little, changing Arrows to fire damage. However, remember that you,
as a ranger, possess greater protection against elemental damage. Suddenly,
arrows are doing about 40% less damage against you. This also may similarly
benefit your enemies, of course, but you can turn this into an advantage if you
target creatures that are weak against fire (Ice Golems, Trees/Plants, Warriors,
etc.). It's a conditional skill, to be sure, but it's a good spirit to swap in
when you know the opposition will be Warrior-heavy or you are going to face some
plants or ice creatures. It's also a good way to do elemental damage without
using a Fiery/Elemental bowstring.
Famine (Elite)
--------------
This spirit is very similar to Mind Wrack, in that it causes damage to creatures
when they reach zero Energy. Since it is a spirit, however, this affects your
allies and your enemies at the same time... not so good if your allies are
Energy-hungry classes that bottom out quite often. Still, the main purpose of
this Elite becomes apparent when linked with Debilitating Shot in an Interrupt
Ranger build. If you can team up with a Mesmer (or bring Energy-draining Mesmer
skills yourself), you can constantly bring your enemy down to zero Energy,
forcing them to take damage every time. Quite evil.
Snare
-----
This trap is pretty simple... all it does cause Crippling. However, it performs
the central function of Traps (crowd control) for very little Energy and a
relatively quick (for a trap) cooldown. Combine it with other traps for added
effect.
Tranquility
-----------
This is a deceptively nasty spirit. While the effect seems relatively benign,
think about all of those beneficial enchantments that the enemy uses, like
Healing Breeze and Shadow Refuge. It cuts the effect of those by up to 50%.
Remember, though, this will affect you and your party as well, as with all
Nature Spirits, so it may interfere with Enchantment-heavy or your Healing
Breeze spamming Monks. It synergizes well with Nature's Renewal in terms of
keeping those spellcasters down.
The main attribute that distinguishes Ranger armors is their +30 Armor Level
against Elemental damage, which allows Rangers to tank hits from Elemental
attacks much easier. Ranger Armor also has a total plus 1 energy regen bonus
(which brings Energy regeneration to 3 points).
As one progresses through the PvE/questing portion of the game, the armor rises
in protective value. The "final" armor has a base armor level of 70, and this
is the same base armor level found on PvP end-game characters. Note that the
1.5k Armors available at Droknar's Forge are identical in stats to both the 15k
Armors available at Marhan's Grotto and Granite Citadel and the Fissure Armors
available from the Fissure of Woe. They only differ in appearance.
In Factions, you have several choices of Armor crafters, each with different
appearances and raw material requirements. Remember that you can mix and match.
If you lack the Steel to make an armor, for example, you can head to another
armor merchant that takes Leather Squares or Damask. Since each armor has a
unique appearance, you may want to experiment a bit and see which look is right
for you. Note that the first available "end-game armor" in Factions is at
Kaineng Square. In the Prophecies campaign, this is the first city you will
visit in Cantha, while in the Factions campaign, you won't reach this area until
you get to the mainland. Head north from the Marketplace after you arrive on
the mainland to get to Kaineng.
The release of Nightfall has made armor crafting even more customizable than
before, with the addition of Insignias. These provide the traditional armor
bonuses of the non-standard armors, but they can be sold or transfered to other
characters. You can use them to freely customize the type of armor you are
using for yourself or your Heroes.
A list of all the armor crafters can be found in the Appendices, under Armor
List [gwrg9b].
Leather/Ranger's
================
The standard ranger armor provides no additional bonuses or penalties. The top
version of Leather Armor can be gained from the Crystal Desert collectors, thus
making it the cheapest top level armor in the game, quite affordable for any
Ranger looking to save some gold.
Drakescale/Pyrebound
====================
This armor provides an additional 15 points of armor against the Fire element.
This is great protection against Hydras and creatures that roam around the Ring
of Fire island chain, but other than that, most people simply take this set for
the looks. Greater Conflagration (Elite) turns all physical damage to Fire
damage, increasing your armor with this suit by 45 points against physical
attacks (30 base, plus 15 from the Drakescale bonus).
Druid's
=======
This armor provides an energy bonus for each piece of armor. This armor is
ideal for Rangers who are also secondary spellcasters, and for most rangers in
general. The 15 Armor Level bonus of the other armors are negligable for the
most part, and the energy bonus of the Druid's set gives a distinct advantage
in all situations. If you can afford it or find it (Druid's Armor is not
available until after Lion's Arch), go with this set.
Fur-lined/Frostbound
====================
This armor provides an additional 15 points of armor against the Cold element.
By utilizing the Nature Ritual skill, Winter, one can turn all Elemental Damage
into Cold, which favors this particular armor.
Studded Leather/Stormbound
==========================
This armor provides an additional 15 points of armor against the Lightning
element. Very few things deal lightning damage (Shadow Phantoms come to mind),
so much of the time this armor is relegated to situational PvP only.
Factions: Explorer's
====================
This armor was recently introduced with Factions, and it provides a Health bonus
per piece. Very useful in increasing your survivability, especially if you have
a Superior rune in your skillset.
Factions: Scout's
=================
This armor provides an extra 10 armor bonus while using a preparation. Not so
great for a Barrager, but great for anyone who uses preparations early and
often in a battle.
Factions: Sentry's
==================
This armor provides an extra 10 armor bonus while using a stance. Since you
are on the defensive when using a stance anyway, this armor provides a nice
complement to reducing the damage done to you.
Headgear
========
Each Ranger headgear offers a bonus to a different Ranger skill. The Archer's
Mask, for example, adds +1 to Marksmanship. In general, it is wise to choose
a mask that gives a bonus to your highest attribute, or the attribute that is
used most frequently in your character.
List of Masks:
* Archer's Mask +1 Marksmanship
* Hunter's Mask +1 Expertise
* Simple Mask No Bonus
* Tamer's Mask +1 Beast Mastery
* Traveler's Mask +1 Wilderness Survival
Runes
=====
Ranger Runes can be socketed in Ranger Armor (and as a side note, you can ONLY
use runes of your primary class/armor). A Minor Rune increases a skill by one,
a Major Rune increases a skill by two and subtracts -35 from maximum health,
and a Superior Rune increases a skill by three and subtracts -75 from maximum
health. In general, it's NOT a good idea to stack multiple Major/Superior
runes, as it will make your character too fragile for combat. I wouldn't reduce
your maximum health by more than -75, which is either one Superior or two Major
runes, but this comes down to personal preference.
It used to be that Major Runes reduced health by -50, but this was changed in
the June 1, 2006 update to be only -35. Thus, having two Major runes gives a
net plus 4 to attributes (plus 2 to two different ones) with only a -70 health
loss, which is slightly more favorable than a Superior rune.
Runes that modify the same attribute do NOT stack. Only the highest bonus
applies. Thus, you won't gain more than a +1 bonus from having two identical
Minor runes, nor will you get a plus 3 to an attribute from having a Major and
a Minor rune for that attribute.
Runes can be used (similar to Masks) to increase your attributes above the
in-game limit of 12, and can also be used to offset points from an attribute
at the high end. Due to diminishing returns and the exorbitant cost of an
attribute above 8, the points saved by using runes can easily shore up the
points in other attributes, especially secondary class attributes.
There is no reason NOT to use Minor runes for all of the Ranger attributes that
you are using, so be sure to seek out and collect the Minor runes that you
need. I find that most Minor runes go for 100-300 gold in-game from sellers.
Also, be sure to invest in a Vigor rune of some sort (which can be used by all
classes). A Minor Rune of vigor gives 30 to maximum health, a Major Rune of
Vigor gives 41 to maximum health, and a Superior Rune of Vigor gives 50 to
maximum health. Not only can these runes offset your health loss from Major/
Superior runes, but they provide more survivability and staying power for your
Ranger.
Bow Classes
===========
There are 5 classes of bows in Guild Wars, which I will name according to the
most "common" type:
The 5 classes of bows are:
* Flatbow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Flatbows, and the Ithas Bow
* Longbow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Longbows, and Storm Bows
* Horn Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Horn Bow, Ivory Bows, and Shadow Bows
* Composite Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Composite Bows, Dead Bows,
Recurve Bow, and Eternal Bows
* Short Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Half Moon Bows, and Short Bows.
In addition, each bow class differs in the following characteristics:
* Range
* Refire Rate
* Arc Size
* Appearance
* Armor Penetration (special)
Ascalon Bows
------------
Ascalon Bows given by the collectors tend to imitate one of the above bow
classes. The appearance of the bow remains as a Flatbow/Longbow, but it can be
either a Flatbow, a Long bow, a Composite Bow, or a Short bow as far as range,
arrow speed, and rate of fire. You'll have to experiment to find out which
one it is.
UPDATE: As of the July 13 2006 update, you can now see what kind of Ascalon bow
type you have in the name of the bow. Very cool!
Damage Range
------------
Bows do various ranges of damage based on their quality. Note that a Shortbow
and a Longbow can do the exact same amount of damage. The type of bow does not
influence the damage rating of the bow. The maximum damage range that a bow
can have is 15-28. There are rumors of 16-28 bows out there, but 15-28 is the
maximum you can expect.
In order to take advantage of the damage range listed on a bow, one needs to
meet the prerequisite amount of Marksmanship required by the bow. Otherwise,
the bow will behave as a Level 5 bow of the same type, with greatly reduced
damage. The actual base damage value varies and it is hidden, but it will be
the same as if the bow was dropped by a Level 5 enemy.
Bows with lower Marksmanship requirements do NOT do more damage if you exceed
the Marksmanship requirement by a greater amount. There are no bows with a
requirement of Beast Mastery or Wilderness Survival, and the only bow with an
Expertise requirement is the Ithas Bow (which has both an Expertise and
Marksmanship requirement).
Range
-----
Most bows can be lumped into three categories of ranges:
* Short range - Just within the "Aggro circle" on the Radar. The only bow class
with this range is the Short Bow class.
* Medium range - Up to "Casting Range", which is just beyond the "Aggro circle"
on the Radar. The Horn Bow and Composite Bow classes dwell in this range, and
it is similar in range to all Wand/Staff weapons.
* Long range - Up to 1.5 times the distance of the "Aggro Circle" on the Radar.
The Longbow and Flatbow classes are in this range.
These ranges are based on flat terrain. Being on higher ground than your target
will increase the range of your bow, while being on lower ground decreases the
range of your bow.
Refire Rate
-----------
The first shot that you fire from a bow will always be 2.0 seconds in duration.
However, after that initial shot, the rate of refire differs between the bow
classes. There are 3 rates of refire:
* Fast - approximately 2.0 seconds between shots. The Short Bow and Flatbow
classes have the Fast refire rate.
* Medium - approximately 2.5 seconds between shots. The Longbow and Composite
Bow classes have the Medium refire rate.
* Slow - approximately 2.7 seconds between shots. The Horn Bow class has the
slow refire rate.
Arc Size
--------
Arc size determines both Arrow Speed (how fast an arrow takes to hit its
target) and accuracy (leeway of the target dodging shots):
* High arc - Flatbows have the highest arc out of all of the bow classes. Thus,
the Flatbow class is the least accurate against moving targets at range.
* Normal arc - Horn Bows, Longbows, and Short Bows all have a normal arc. Note
that because a Shortbow has such a small range, the Normal Arc doesn't really
have much of an appreciable effect on arrow speed.
* Low arc - The Composite Bow class has the lowest Arc, and thus has the
shortest time to target and fastest arrow speed, making Composite Bows the
most accurate bow class.
Called Shot, Favorable Winds, and Read the Wind will make the Arc size
approximately the same as the Low arc of a Composite Bow.
Armor Penetration
-----------------
Horn Bows, Ivory Bows, and Shadow Bows have 10% Armor Penetration, according to
a couple of sources. This compensates for their slightly slower attack speed.
With speed increases, these bows can potentially do the most damage, especially
on armored targets. For general purpose use, and for Bow skills, however, a
Short bow is probably better.
What's the "best bow"?
----------------------
There's no such thing as the "best bow". Each bow class has strengths and
weaknesses. Short bows are great for overall damage, but are lacking in Range.
Flatbows can also deal a similar amount of damage, but they are inaccurate at
long range. Longbows are slow, but have a long range and normal arc. Composite
bows are guaranteed to hit, but are merely average in other stats. Horn Bows do
the most damage per single shot, but have the slowest refire rate of all the
bows.
My advice? Use a long range bow for pulling/luring, a short range bow for close
combat, and a composite bow for interrupting.
Bow Upgrades
============
There are two kinds of upgrades that you can apply to bows: Bowstrings, and Bow
Grips. Each upgrade adds something to the name of the bow, and can be applied
to any quality of item, from mundane to magical blue to rare purple/gold. You
are more likely to find Purple and Gold items that are already upgraded with a
bowstring or bow grip. You can only use one Bowstring and one Bow Grip to
upgrade your bow. A new Bowstring or Bow Grip will overwrite the old mod, and
you will lose the old mod permanently.
Upgrades can often be salvaged from a bow using an Expert Salvage Kit. Expert
Salvage Kits have a random chance of extracting either the Bowstring or the Bow
Grip. With the release of Nightfall, you can now choose which upgrade to
extract when you salvage an item, and the item has a chance of remaining intact
as well.
Nightfall has created a third kind of upgrade which allows you to modify/change
the inherent mod of a bow. These are called Inscriptions.
Bowstrings
----------
Bowstrings add "prefix" upgrades to a bow and include the following:
* Barbed - Lengthens the duration of Bleeding by 33%
* Crippling - Lengthens the duration of Cripple by 33%
* Ebon - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Earth
* Fiery - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Fire
* Icy - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Cold
* Poisoner's - Lengthens the duration of Poison by 33%
* Shocking - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Lightning
* Silencing - Lengthens the duration of Dazed by 33%
* Sundering - has a random (10-20%) chance of having 20% armor penetration
* Vampiric - -1 Health Degen, Steal life on hit (1-5 points)
* Zealous - -1 Energy Regen, +1 Energy per attack
Which bowstring is right for me?
--------------------------------
The only bowstring that doesn't see much use in my bow rack is the Sundering
bowstring, due to the small percent chance of actually applying the effect.
While they have been given a boost (having 20% bonus AP up to 20% of the time),
it still doesn't drastically affect your damage compared to the other strings.
The main value is that there is no downside to using this bowstring, other than
the opportunity cost of equipping this bowstring over others. In other words,
it's better than nothing, but it's not tremendously helpful. I personally do
not use it unless I have no other options for strings.
The elemental bowstrings are popular with Ranger/Elementalists who wish to take
advantage of the Conjure lines. Elemental damage does more damage against
Warrior enemies with bonus physical armor and less damage against Rangers. It
gets around some of the anti-piercing damage protective skills, but this is a
minor advantage at best. As of the July 13 2006 Update, Warrior damage absorb
no longer protects against non-physical damage, thus increasing the utility of
elemental damage against Warriors. You can also take advantage of some PvE
enemy weaknesses with this string; for example, you can use a Fiery bowstring
against Ice Golems. I generally keep at least one Fiery and one Icy bow in my
rack.
Zealous bowstrings are popular with Barrage spammers, as each arrow reclaims
one point of energy. With a fast-firing bow and perhaps certain attack speed
stances, zealous bows provide a quick method of Energy regeneration, especially
for folks who don't use sustained enchantments. Zealous strings are recommended
for Barrage farming builds (each arrow gives back 1 Energy) and Quick Shot
builds (shoot longer with greater Energy reclamation), on either a Flatbow or
a Shortbow.
The various condition-extending strings (Barbed, Crippling, Poisoner's and
Silencing) have obvious utility when they are paired with the corresponding
condition, which are often side effects of various bow attacks and preparations
like Pin Down and Apply Poison. It is said that these strings also extend the
duration of conditions applied with Traps. I have personally tested this with
a Poisoner's Bow and Viper's Nest, and found this to be true, but I haven't
tested this with other skills. Note that these strings will NOT increase the
duration of conditions inflicted by Pet Attacks.
For sheer damage, the Vampiric bowstring is the best, as it adds a Health
stealing effect which directly increases your DPS per arrow. This is great for
Barragers, Snipers, and machine-gunners, as it allows you to kill targets
quicker, but the -1 Health Degen limits its use. I find it useful as a "bow
switch", switching to a different bow when I'm idling to prevent the -1 Health
degen from killing me. The Health gain can also be helpful in Barrage-farming
builds, which often rely on passive healing from multiple arrow attacks. After
a recent e-mail, I must emphasize that while the Vampiric Bowstring provides
the best damage bonus, that does not mean it is my favorite mod or the mod that
I would recommend for all builds due to the drawback of -1 Health Degeneration.
You need to have a build that easily incorporates the life-stealing effect
either through mass targets (multiplying the Health gain) or faster attacks
(speeding up the Health gain) or offsetting the penalty with a Regen bonus.
There is a rumor that the Shocking bowstring gives 25% armor penetration. This
is not true, but it is based on the fact that most Air Magic spells have 25%
armor penetration. Shocking bowstrings only change your damage to Lightning.
Bow Grips
---------
Bow Grips add "suffix" upgrades to a bow, and include the following:
* Of Defense - adds Armor +4-5
* Of Shelter - adds Armor +4-7 (vs. physical attacks)
* Of Warding - adds Armor +4-7 (vs. elemental attacks)
* Of Charrslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Charr)
* Of Deathbane - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Undead)
* Of Dwarfslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Dwarves)
* Of Giantslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Giants)
* Of Pruning - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Plants)
* Of Skeletonslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Skeletons)
* Of Tenguslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Tengu)
* Of Trollslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Troll)
* Of Enchanting - Enchantments last 10-20% longer
* Of Fortitude - adds Health +20-30
* Of Marksmanship - adds +1 Marksmanship (10-20% chance while using skills)
Fortitude and Defense/Shelter seem to be the most popular Bow Grips. Some
Rangers who are also secondary spellcasters tend to prefer the Bow Grip of
Enchanting.
Which is the better bowgrip, "Of Defense" or "Of Fortitude"?
------------------------------------------------------------
There's an ongoing debate on which bowgrip is better for a Ranger in the long
run. The bowgrip of popular choice seems to be a Bowgrip of Fortitude, as seen
by the enormously inflated prices for a perfect Health +30 version. However, if
you look at the numbers, Bowgrip of Defense with an Armor +5 reduces incoming
damage to 91.7% of normal, which means about a 9% benefit. Even if the Fortitude
grip is perfect at +30 HP, the benefit from the Fortitude grip amounts to about
5% to 7%, meaning that based on Armor Level alone, the Bowgrip of Defense looks
like a better choice.
However, there are several situations in which a Bowgrip of Defense does not
give any benefit. For example, Conditions and Hexes that apply Health
Degeneration ignore armor, as do most Necromancer and Mesmer damaging spells.
Also, Death Penalty applies to your base Health and Energy, while bonuses to
Health and Energy remain the same. Thus, while the Bowgrip of Defense Armor
bonus remains static, the utility of the Bowgrip of Fortitude actually increases
as your Death Penalty goes up, by virtue of the fact that it is not reduced by
Death Penalty, giving you a higher overall Health.
Still, it is FAR easier to find a cheap Armor +5 Bowgrip of Defense than it is
to find a high level or perfect Bowgrip of Fortitude. Mostly, it boils down to
personal preference. The Fortitude bonus always applies, regardless of the kind
of damage that you take, but the Defense bonus provides a better long-term
benefit.
There are also bowgrips of Shelter and Warding. Having any bowgrip is better
than having no bowgrip, but these only protect against physical damage and
elemental damage respectively. Neither protect against non-elemental damage
like Light, Chaos, or Dark damage from wands and staves (the Bowgrip of Defense
does protect against these types), and have the same caveats as stated for the
Bowgrip of Defense above.
Inherent Magical Bonuses
========================
Certain bonuses cannot be gained from a Bow Upgrade. Instead, they are
inherently part of a magical bow (typically Purple or Gold, although occasional
blue bows do have these bonuses). The bonuses stack on top of the bonuses from
upgrades. An ideal bow will have three bonuses total: a Bowstring prefix bonus,
a Bow Grip suffix bonus, and an inherent bonus.
Inherent bonuses include:
* Damage +10-15% Armor -10 (while attacking)
* Damage +10-15% Energy -5
* Damage +10-15% (while enchanted)
* Damage +10-15% (while health is above 50%)
* Damage +10-20% (while health is below 50%)
* Damage +10-20% (while hexed)
* Damage +10-15% (while in a stance)
* Damage +10-15% (vs. hexed foes)
* Energy +5
While the ranges seem rather wide, I've never seen a bonus below 10% or above
20%, other than some of the damage ranges seen on some of the special
Collectors Bows. The +20% damage bows are extremely rare... expect to get +15%
damage at the most (from a collector's bow), unless you get a lucky drop from a
level 28 enemy. Note that bonuses of +15% or higher are far more common on
bows that give a damage bonus with a penalty, like Health below 50% or while
Hexed.
Alternate Bows
==============
While the best option is to get the most damaging bow with the modifier of
choice (usually a +15% Damage mod of some kind), there are several other unique
options for those looking for variety or a niche.
Crafted Bows
------------
There used to be bows that offered bonus 10 Armor at the Henge of Denravi or
+5 Energy among the Old Ascalon collectors, but these bonuses were taken out
in the 9/7/05 update. In Factions, end-game bows can be crafted with this mod.
However, there is a new bow in the 9/7/05 update that can be crafted for 100
Wood Planks, 50 Feathers, and 5 Plat at Sarad, the weapon master at Droknar's
Forge. This is a Longbow with Damage +15% (while in a stance), max damage.
Pre-Order Weapons
-----------------
If you preordered your game from Electronics Boutique, then you have access to
a unique bow called the Ithas Bow. It does 13-25 damage and adds armor (much
like the Henge of Denravi bow), but has two prerequisites of Marksmanship and
Expertise of 10 each. Ouch. It has the range of a longbow with a faster fire
rate, similar to the Flatbow.
Temple of the Ages dungeons
---------------------------
There are several bows that only drop in the Temple of the Ages dungeons. These
are the Shadow Bow, Eternal Bow, and Storm Bow. They have very neat-looking
effects, cosmetically. The Storm Bow in particular sizzles with lightning.
Each of these bows have their own stats. It is confirmed that the Storm Bow
acts as a Long Bow, the Shadow Bow acts as a Horn Bow, and the Eternal Bow acts
as a Composite/Recurve Bow.
Sorrow's Furnace
----------------
There are several unique bows with Green text that drop at Grenth's Footprint
and Sorrow's Furnace, that have good (but not overpowering) stats, like
Thornbeard's Horned Bow. These bows automatically have a perfect prefix,
suffix, inherent mod on them, but they cannot be modified in any way with
upgrades. They typically drop from the bosses in that area bearing the same
name (i.e. Drago's Flatbow will drop from Drago Stoneherder).
All bows listed below have Maximum damage (15-28) and require 9 Marksmanship
* Boulderbeard's Short Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Shocking, Fortitude)
* Drago's Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Drago's Vampiric Flatbow (+15% in stance, Vampiric, Defense)
* Elswyth's Long Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner's, Fortitude)
* Elswyth's Recurve Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Fortitude)
* Forgerunner (Long Bow, +15% in stance, Fiery, Fortitude)
* Gargash's Recurve Bow (+15% while enchanted, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Graygore's Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Marksmanship)
* Graygore's Zealous Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Defense)
* Stinger (Horn Bow, +15% in stance, Poisoner's, Marksmanship)
* Tarnok's Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Icy, Warding)
* Tarnok's Recurve Bow (+15% while enchanted, Sundering, Enchanting)
* Thornbeard's Horned Bow (+15% while enchanted, Lightning, Shelter)
Rotscale
--------
A new green bow was added to Tyria on June 15, 2006. Rotscale is a level 30
Bone Dragon boss that resides in Majesty's Rest. He drops a unique bow called
Rotwing's Recurve Bow (it is not known if he drops other models) which looks
like a pair of leathery wings. It has max damage, the +5 Energy inherent mod,
and the Poisoner's Prefix and Fortitude Suffix.
Scorpion Bow
------------
If you are a Korean Player taking advantage of the Coke-play deal, you may have
in your possession a Scorpion Bow, a bow that's only available to Korea through
a special Coca-Cola marketing offer. It has the Poisoner's mod and Damage +15%
(while Health is above 50%) inherent mod, and is customized to the character.
Pre-Order Japanese Guild Wars
-----------------------------
The Japanese Guild Wars pre-order special items are named after the seven
deadly sins and a random animal. The bow is similar to the Scorpion Bow
offered through the Coke Play deal above. It is called the Poisoner's Scorpion
Lust Bow (rough translation) and it has the Damage +15% (while Health is above
50%) inherent mod and Poisoner's string (not removable).
Game of the Year
----------------
If you bought the Game of the Year Prophecies boxed set, you get access to a
very special bow called the Nevermore Flatbow. It's a max damage bow with 9
Marksmanship requirement and Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%), and looks
like a pair of Raven's wings strapped onto a bone frame. Very spiffy.
Pre-Order Taiwan Guild Wars
---------------------------
The Taiwan Guild Wars pre-order special items are also named after several of
the deadly sins (although there are only 6 items instead of 7), and the bow in
the pre-order set resembles the Nevermore Flatbow. It is called Poisoner's
Black Hawk/Eagle Lust Bow (rouch translation) and has similar stats to the
Game of the Year Edition bow.
Factions Bows
-------------
The release of Factions has added many new bow appearances. Particularly coveted
at this time are Celestial Bows and Zodiac Bows. It is rumored that several
new "Green" bows were also released within Factions. Celestial Bows can be
found in the Nahpui mission and explorable area. Zodiac Bows can be found in
the Elite missions that are only available to dominant Alliances. There is also
a bow called the "Platinum Bow" that is getting rave reviews in terms of
appearance.
Here is a short list of Factions Green bows. Note that the Ironwing bows are
available from turning in your Amulet of the Mists, instead of defeating a boss:
All bows listed below have Maximum damage (15-28) and require 9 Marksmanship
* Brrne's Recurve Bow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Chehbaba's Longbow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Shelter)
* Chkkr's Flatbow (+15% Armor -10, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Inallay's Hornbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Ironwing Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Ironwing Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Fortitude)
* Lorelle's Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner's, Shelter)
* Meynsang's Longbow (+15% Armor -10, Barbed, Fortitude)
* Nandet's Recurve Bow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Nundak's Recurve Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner's, Fortitude)
* Razorjaw's Hornbow (Energy +5, Sundering, Marksmanship)
* Razortongue's Recurve Bow (+15% Energy -5, Vampiric, Marksmanship)
* Royen's Hornbow (+15% in stance, Sundering, Marksmanship)
* Ryver's Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Urgoz's Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Urgoz's Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Ryver's Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Swiftscale's Shortbow (+15% in stance, Vampiric, Fortitude)
Also, there are many bows that are available among crafters throughout the
continent of Cantha. The coveted Energy +5 (Divine Path, after completing the
Factions campaign) and Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%) mods (Kaineng
Center) can be found on some of these crafters.
Here's a short list of where some of these crafters are (all are max damage
with a requirement of 9 Marksmanship):
* Kaineng Center - Manzo crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while
Health is above 50%)
* Budek Byway - Sheco crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while in
a Stance)
* Wajjun Bazaar - Nago crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while
Enchanted)
* The Undercity - Ziyi crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +20% (while
Hexed)
* House Zu Heltzer - Mathilde crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
Armor -10 (while Attacking)
* Cavalon - Theodosus crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
Armor -10 (while Attacking)
* Vasburg Armory - Gertrud crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
Energy -5
* Leviathan Pits - Telamon crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
Energy -5
* Divine Path - Shichiroji crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Energy +5
Wintersday Candy Cane Bows
--------------------------
These bows were available during the special Wintersday events of 2005. Candy
Cane bows only do 15-15 damage (making them less than desirable compared to
most max damage bows), but they have no requirements, which gives them a use in
certain specialized builds that require a bow, but do not have high
Marksmanship. They have the range of a Short Bow.
Using Multiple Bows
===================
The game provides up to 4 weapon sets that can be switched during combat at any
time. Because of this, it is fairly trivial to have multiple bows for various
tactical situations. For example, I use a Flatbow in F1 and a Half-Moon in F3.
The Flatbow allows me to pull targets at a much longer range, while I use the
increased fire rate and arrow speed of the Half-Moon bow at close range.
Another trick to use with multiple bows is to assign each bow a different
elemental bowstring. Thus, if a creature is resistant to the element of the
current bow, you can switch to a more appropriate element.
Another useful trick is having a Vampiric bow on the switch. When you need
life, you can swap to the Vampiric bow, and when you don't need life, you won't
suffer from the Health degen if you switch out.
Note: When you switch bows, your bow doesn't swap immediately. It takes the
place of the next "queued" action, which means if you are in the middle of a
bow attack or skill casting, you won't switch your bow until after the current
action. If you "buffer" a skill during the current action, the bow switch will
be cancelled!
Finding a good bow
==================
Generally, max damage bows drop when you start killing level 18 or higher
enemies. Lightning Drakes at the Gates of Kryta or Sanctum Cay, for example,
can drop Max Damage bows on occasion. However, your best bet for finding a bow
is to kill high level enemies with a Ranger class. Dune Burrowers and Enchanted
Bows in the Crystal Desert are a couple of good examples.
Also, several types of unique bows drop in the Temple of the Ages dungeons,
typically with maximum damage. Shadow Bows, Storm Bows, and Eternal Bows can be
found there.
You can also buy a good bow from people selling at Lion's Arch and Ascalon City
usually in District 1. Caveat Emptor. One person's "Godly" bow is the next
person's "junk". I wouldn't spend more than 5,000 gold acquiring a max damage
bow, as you can always add bow parts to improve an existing bow. Beware of
scams to sell Customized weapons to you, as they cannot be used by anyone but
the original user. If it says +20% Damage (Customized for "Seller's Name"),
stay away from it. A recent patch places a warning if a Customized item is being
traded to you, so you have plenty of fair warning.
There are many collectors that offer Max Damage Ascalon bows in the Crystal
Desert and the Southern Shiverpeaks. A full list can be found in the Appendix
of collectors [gwrg9c] at the end of this Ranger Guide. Here are the items that
they collect:
* Dune Burrower Jaws - Dune Burrowers. Two good places: The beginning of Elona
Reach mission, and the Scar, just outside of the Thirsty River exit. You can
actually outrange the first couple of Dune Burrowers with a Longbow, thus
giving you a "free" kill pretty easily.
* Minotaur Horns - Minotaurs. The beginning of the Elona Reach mission is full
of Minotaurs. Use Spike Mines and defensive skills to kill them quickly.
* Topaz Crests - Sand Drakes. Diviner's Ascent, just out of Elona Reach, you
can beat up Sand Drakes. Fairly easy to solo.
* Dessicated Hydra Claws - Hydras. Go to Skyward Reach...too many Hydras there.
* Massive Jawbones - Sand Giants. I usually run around in the Southern part of
the Arid Sea. Also, the entrance to Vulture Drifts from the Arid Sea has a
huge group of them. Also, there are Giants in the beginning of Thirsty River,
but those don't generally drop Jawbones often.
* Frozen Shells - Frost Wurms. Yeah. Good luck... Find them in Lornar's Pass.
* Mountain Troll Tusks - West of Droknar's Forge in Talus Chute, there's a cave
FULL of Trolls.
* Alpine Seeds - Both level 13 Juniper Barks and level 24 Pinesouls give Alpine
Seeds. Go into Lornar's Pass from Beacon's Perch and kill the Ice Imps and
Pinesouls there, or run around the Northern Shiverpeaks for Juniper Barks.
* Azure Remains - There are many Azure Shadows in Snake Dance and Witman's Folly
* Intricate Grawl Necklaces - There are hordes of Grawl in Witman's Folly, so
you should easily get these in one or two passes, even with a full party.
Rather than defining builds by certain skillsets, I will attempt to explain the
combinations of skills that are effective "Themes" when designing a ranger
build. While there will be examples of full skillset builds, these are only
used for illustration purposes and should not be considered a definitive build.
Hopefully, the sample builds and the themes will give you inspiration to create
your own effective Ranger build.
Like all class combinations in Guild Wars, using a secondary class is purely
optional. The Ranger is no exception, and there are several effective themes
that make use of only Ranger skills exclusively.
Anti-Caster
===========
Rangers are well-known for their ability to shut down casters with their arrows.
They also can lay down a Quickening Zephyr to make spellcasters leak Energy like
crazy.
Artillery Support
=================
AKA "Barrager"
Barrage is one of the few Elite skills that warrants an entire theme, as the
limitations and strengths of Barrage require careful thought and management.
A high Marksmanship is obviously required, and high Expertise is needed so the
Barrager can continually spam the Barrage skill against enemies.
The Artful Dodger
=================
This theme focuses mostly on the Ranger's excellent ability to avoid damage. It
focuses mostly on the Expertise attribute, and relies on dodging skills to
prevent damage to the Ranger. Typically, you will want at least two skills to
overlap, as the cooldown times on those skills tend to be quite long.
Other useful skills: Dodge, Dust Trap, Oath Shot (Elite)
Factions skills: Zojun's Haste
Nightfall skills: Natural Stride
The Beastmaster
===============
One of the definitive themes of the Ranger class, the Beastmaster focuses on
his or her Pet. Since Beast Mastery is a skillbar hog, most who choose this
theme tend to focus on it, dedicating at least half of their slots to Beast
Master skills. Obviously, this theme is heavy on the Beast Mastery attribute.
Sample Build:
1. Charm Animal - Needed for pet
2. Comfort Animal - For healing/resurrecting pet
3. Call of Protection - Damage reduction for pet
4. Symbiotic Bond - More protection for pet, and Health regen
5. Disrupting Lunge - For disruption
6. Ferocious Strike (Elite)
7. Troll Unguent - Healing
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
The Machine-gunner
==================
This theme utilizes Quick Shot and skills that lower cooldown times so that the
Ranger can lay down a fast stream of arrows. You'll be firing slightly faster
than the attack rate of most swords/axes.
Note that in a Quick Shot build, you won't get much benefit from Serpent's
Quickness, but you will get a benefit from Tiger's Fury and Quickening Zephyr.
Sample Build: This build needs a high Expertise (preferably 13 total from Rune
or Mask), and a high wilderness survival tends to help as well for adding damage
through the use of preparations. Use a Zealous bowstring to reclaim energy
quickly.
The Nature Ritualist
====================
AKA The "Spirit Spammer"
This theme made a splash in Summer of 2005 PvP metagame. This Ranger uses
spirits to change the "rules" of the battlefield, while using Oath Shot (Elite)
or Quickening Zephyr/Serpent's Quickness to reduce the long cooldown times.
Spirits can be used as a temporary obstacle, and the dedicated Ritualist often
plants multiple spirits to increase coverage and provide insurance against
Spirit destruction.
Sample Build: High levels of Beast Mastery and Wilderness Survival are helpful
for this PvP-specific version of the Ritualist. This particular sample build
works best in a team with few/no enchantments, and it is designed to make the
lives of the opponent's Monks and Aeromancers difficult.
1. Greater Conflagration (Elite)
2. Quickening Zephyr - Reduces cooldowns while increasing Energy costs
3. Nature's Renewal - Delays enchantments/hexes
4. Favorable Winds - Increases bow damage
5. Frozen Soil - Prevents resurrection, for locking in a win
6. Fertile Season - More armor and HP reduces the power of Aeromancer spiking
7. Troll Unguent - Self-heal
8. Free slot (Res Signet)
Other useful skills: Some folks use Oath Shot (Elite) to lower the cooldown
times of their spirits.
The Skirmisher
==============
Skirmishers are Rangers who choose to harass and harry their opponents by the
application of Conditions (especially Cripple and Poison). A Skirmisher is
often the first person to attack and lure a monster, focusing on weakening
monsters before the rest of the party uses Focus Fire on it. They also can use
bow preparations to apply area effect splash-damage, causing much grief for
groups of enemies.
The Sniper
==========
The Sniper is the quintessential archer, focusing on doing the most damage
against a single target with each arrow. Using Marksmanship skills in concert,
the Sniper picks off opponents one by one, stacking as much damage as possible.
Sample Build:
This build is particularly light on the Wilderness Survival skills. Most
Rangers choose to increase their Wilderness Survival skills and go part Sniper,
part Skirmisher.
1. Penetrating Attack - Increases damage per shot
2. Power Shot - Increases damage per shot
3. Read the Wind - Increases damage, based on Marksmanship
4. Favorable Winds - Increases damage
5. Marksman's Wager (Elite) - Energy Management
6. Lightning Reflexes - Defense
7. Troll Unguent - Healing
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
The Trapper
===========
The Trapper focuses on Traps and the Wilderness Survival attribute. Trappers
know when to use traps as passive elements to "soften" up targets as well as
using traps actively in combat to add area-effect damage while hiding behind
a tank. The conditions added by such traps are invaluable for support, and a
high Expertise prevents the Trapper from being hit while laying down traps.
One common place that a Trapper is in demand is in the Underworld, where there
are many powerful enemies who do not use Ranged attacks (Bladed Aatxes come to
mind). Dust Trap and Barbed Trap help to soften them up before the group can
focus and kill these creatures. See "All-Trapper Party in the Underworld"
below in the PvE section for a look at this.
Ranger-Elementalists combine the best of the two ranged combat worlds, Bow
Attacks and Magic. Rangers, however, lack the key attribute of Elementalists,
Energy Storage, and thus often run into energy problems when using Elementalist
skills. Also, Expertise only applies to Ranger skills and Rangers lack decent
Energy management and regen. When selecting Elementalist skills to complement
your Ranger abilities, select ones that do not cause Exhaustion, are not
duplicated by Ranger abilities, and ideally have a low Energy cost.
Conjure X
=========
Conjure Flame, Conjure Lightning, and Conjure Frost all can add damage to bow
attacks, similar to bow preparations. They cost a reasonable 10 mana and last
for a whole minute.
One skill that Conjure spells synergize well with is Barrage. Barrage removes
bow preparations, but the Conjure spells aren't preparations, so they still
take effect and cause additional damage. Another skill that multiplies the
damage done by the Conjure spells is Dual Shot (by doubling the arrows). Also,
Conjure spells stack quite well with bow preparations... with a skillset of
Conjure X plus Ignite Arrows plus Poison Arrow, you can have arrows that do
area-effect fire damage, add poison, AND Conjure elemental damage.
Some important notes: To utilize an appropriate Conjure X spell, you MUST have
a bowstring of the corresponding type. For example, Conjure Flame ONLY works
on a Fiery bow (a bow with a Fire bowstring). This limits you to that single
element, which can be a disadvantage when facing enemies resistant to that
element. Also, sometimes it's hard to track down the appropriate bowstring to
match the Conjure spell you want to duplicate.
I'm not sure if Conjure Flame works on the splash damage of Ignite Arrows. That
is something that I'll have to investigate.
Note that with the release of Factions, the Conjure Elements spells no longer
remove other Enchantments. A nice little bonus for a nice little spell.
Sample Build:
This build takes advantage of two low Energy spells, Glimmering Mark and
Conjure Lightning. It requires the use of a Lightning damage bow. It is heavy
in the attributes of Air Magic and Wilderness Survival. With the low cost of
most of the skills, you can skimp a few points out of Expertise.
1. Glimmering Mark (Elite) - Blinds when target is struck by lightning damage
2. Conjure Lightning - Added damage
3. Ignite Arrows - Added damage, splash damage
4. Dual Shot - For doubling the damage from Conjure/Bow Prep
5. Distracting Shot - For disruption and "buffering"
6. Dryder's Defenses - Defensive Skill
7. Troll Unguent - Healing
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Factions: Glass/Conjure X Machine Gunner
========================================
With Factions, there are two new skills that create a strong variant of the
standard machine-gunner build. Instead of Quick Shot (Elite), you can use
Needling Shot. Instead of Kindle Arrows, you can use Glass Arrows (Elite).
Combined with an Elemental string and Conjure, you can churn out high damaging
arrows without splitting attributes heavily. You can even use a Zealous bow,
if you tack on Conflagration.
Glyph of (Lesser) Energy and Energizing Wind
============================================
Most Elementalist skills are too prohibitively expensive for a Ranger to use.
However, there are three skills, two in the Elementalist Line, and one in the
Ranger line, that can help reduce the energy costs. Glyph of Lesser Energy
reduces the cost of the next spell you cast by 15 Energy. This puts some of
the most expensive spells in an easily castable range for a Ranger. The main
downside to the Glyph is that it has a cooldown time of 30 seconds. Most of the
heavy damage Elementalist spells have a long casting time, anyway, so the
additional second to cast the Glyph isn't too much compared to the benefit of
using it.
The Glyph of Lesser Energy also has an Elite cousin, called the Glyph of Energy.
It is Elite (and thus limits you to using only that Elite), saves up to 20
Energy, and has a cooldown time of only 15 seconds. I'm not sure that the
increased Energy savings and better cooldown is worth using your Elite slot.
You can also run both Glyphs in your skillbar, but then you'd have two Glyphs
hogging up space on your skillbar.
Rangers have access to a Nature Ritual called Energizing Wind, which reduces
Energy costs for all spells by 15 (to a minimum of 10). As with other rituals,
the casting time is prohibitive, but it provides the Ranger with a great way to
save Energy on the expensive Elementalist spells. It also reduces the cost for
Concussion Shot and Dust Trap quite nicely. The penalty is the 25% increase in
cooldown time for all skills, but this penalty is negligable if you are prone
to using lots of high Energy-cost spells. Note that as a Nature Ritual, it
affects friends and foes... it might not be the best thing to use while hunting
Hydras, for instance (who will attack with a non-stop stream of spells while
this spirit is in effect), and some of your allies may complain about the
lengthened cooldown times if you don't inform them of the spirit beforehand.
Then again, there may be some Elementalists who will appreciate having a great
reduction in their Energy costs.
Note that Glyphs no longer get the Ranger Expertise reduction in Energy, as of
October 27, 2006.
Glyph of Concentration
======================
Although the Glyph of Concentration text states that it prevents interruption
for spells, apparently it also prevents traps from being interrupted while
casting as well. This may be a bug and may be removed in a future update, but
for now, the Glyph of Concentration is a great way to lay down a trap without
fear of being interrupted.
Note that Glyphs no longer get the Ranger Expertise reduction in Energy, as of
October 27, 2006.
Ranger-Mesmers have a pretty cool deal, as the Fast Casting primary attribute
of the Mesmer class is not nearly as useful as Expertise (or other Primary
attributes, for that matter) and while a Ranger-Mesmer may run into more Energy
problems than a Primary Mesmer, by careful selection of spells a Ranger can
often retain all of his/her Ranger skills and still effectively toss out Mesmer
Hexes.
Mesmer skills in Domination augment the Ranger's already powerful lineup of
anti-caster attacks. The staple standards of the Domination line, such as
Backfire, Power Leak, and Empathy, work well to shut down casters, allowing the
Ranger more options in terms of disruption. The Inspiration line is less
useful as it typically deals with ways to manipulate other Mesmer spells, but
it provides the Ranger some more methods to reclaim energy. Illusion magic has
several interesting spells that benefit a Ranger.
For example:
Conjure Phantasm
================
The most well-known damaging spell in the Mesmer line is Conjure Phantasm, and
thus Mesmers are known for their Damage over Time capabilities. Rangers also
can apply Damage over Time through the Bleeding and Poison conditions. You can
combine both of these concepts to create an effective Damage over Time Ranger.
Sample Build:
Main Attributes are Illusion Magic and Wilderness Survival.
1. Conjure Phantasm - For -5 Health Degen
2. Kindle Arrow - For more damage
3. Poison Arrow (Elite) - For Poison
4. Hunter's Shot - For Bleeding
5. Dual Shot - For doubling the Kindle Arrow effect
6. Dryder's Defenses - Defensive Skill
7. Troll Unguent - Healing
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Echo (Elite)
============
Echo is a great Elite from the Mesmer line. It works especially well with
skills that have a long cooldown time, as it allows you to use a skill twice
in rapid succession. What's better than one Dual Shot? That's right, two Dual
Shots.
Echo costs only 5 Energy, and is not linked to any attribute, thus it does not
need any point investment. It does take up your Elite slot, however.
Several skills that work well with Echo are the long cooldown stances, traps,
and the following theme:
Energy Thief
============
This theme utilizes the Elite skill Echo to copy Debilitating Shot and a high
Expertise to reduce the cost of Debilitating Shot. With Echo, you can lay down
multiple Debilitating Shots, quickly depriving your enemy of the Energy they
need to cast spells. You can pour salt on the wound, so to speak, by adding
Mind Wrack and Spirit Shackles, a classic combination used by Mergoyles to
damage and nullify spellcasters and warriors alike. Any spells that they DO end
up casting can be interrupted by Distracting Shot.
Sample Build:
1. Echo (Elite)
2. Debilitating Shot
3. Distracting Shot
4. Mind Wrack
5. Spirit Shackles
6. Whirling Defense
7. Troll Unguent/Illusion of Weakness
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Another skill to try is the low cost Wastrel's Worry. If they can't cast
spells, then they probably won't be doing anything for the 3 second duration it
takes to damage them with this unusual skill. You can also use Signet of
Weariness for a bit of Energy-free Energy stealing.
Fragility
=========
Fragility is a Mesmer hex that applies damage to a creature if they gain or
lose a status condition, like Bleeding, Poison, Cripple, etc. Since one of the
strengths of a primary ranger is applying Status conditions, Fragility combined
with, say, Pin Down or Apply Poison can potentially cause a world of hurt for
a single targeted enemy. Ironically, you may want to actually have a low
Wilderness Survival for this build, as it shortens the durations of your
conditions and thus shortens the time between taking the initial Fragility
damage and the later Fragility damage (when the condition is removed).
Some caveats, though: Fragility costs 10 energy, and it isn't reduced by
Expertise. Thus, energy management can be a problem. Hex Removal is the bane
of this build, as it removes the Fragility Hex and the main damage-dealing part
of this build. Finally, you are most effective at taking out a single creature,
and a creature that isn't being Focused at that (as typical with playing
Mesmers), as Focus Fire tends to kill a creature far too quickly for your
Fragility combo to truly take effect.
The 9/29/05 update reduced the cooldown time of Fragility to 5 seconds, which
allows a Fragility user to effectively Hex more targets.
Illusionary Weaponry (Elite)
============================
This interesting Elite does Chaos damage instead of your regular damage on
every swing of a melee attack. It instantly turns your character into a melee
specialist, as Illusionary Weaponry always hits for a set amount of damage (34
points of damage at Illusion Magic of 12), regardless if you are blinded or
your target is evading/blocking. Every time you swing, whether or not you hit
or miss, it does 34 points damage. You'll never do a critical hit, but you'll
never have that damage reduced by armor, either. Because it is an enchantment,
and the duration is slightly less than the cooldown time, you might either want
to bring Serpent's Quickness/Quickening Zephyr to reduce the cooldown time or
have an "of Enchantment" suffixed weapon to increase the duration of the spell.
Also, you will want to use the fastest weapon you can get your hands on, which
is either a sword or an axe. Damage range doesn't matter, as Illusionary
Weaponry substitutes its damage for your weapon's damage. You can combine this
with Tiger's Fury or Lightning Reflexes to get even more damage out of your
attacks, by striking faster.
As with other Elites, this skill precludes your use of any other Elite skill in
your skillbar. However, you should keep it in mind if find yourself in melee
combat often.
Mantra of Concentration/Resolve
===============================
Mesmers have two stances that prevent interrruption, Mantra of Concentration
and Mantra of Resolve. While Rangers rarely have problems with being
interrupted, except for the occasional Troll Unguent, the Trapper Ranger gains
a huge benefit from using these stances, as they can prevent their easily
interrupted casting animations for laying down traps from being interrupted.
Both of these Mantras last a long time. Mantra of Concentration is only good
for one hit, but is quite Energy efficient. Mantra of Resolve is good for
multiple hits as long as you have Energy, with the Energy costs decreasing with
higher levels of Inspiration magic. In general, it's better to go with Mantra
of Concentration if you have few points in Inspiration Magic, and Mantra of
Resolve if you have many points in Inspiration Magic.
"You're a Tank!?"
=================
In this theme, the Ranger takes advantage of two skills to greatly reduce the
physical damage done to him. Greater Conflagration (Elite) changes all
physical damage into fire damage, which the Ranger can defend against quite
nicely with Drakescale armor. The Mesmer secondary grants the Ranger a new
stance called Mantra of Flame which can reduce the Fire damage taken by as much
as 45%. The stance lasts a long time (30-78 seconds), is reduced by Expertise
in cost, and also grants the Ranger 1 Energy every time he takes Fire damage.
With these pair of skills, the Ranger no longer worries about Energy Management
or physical damage from melee/ranged attacks. The main limitation of this
theme is that Greater Conflagration is an Elite, but it may be a small price to
pay for being able to tank damage easily as a Ranger. Another option for a
long-lasting Mesmer stance to reduce Fire damage is Elemental Resistance.
Factions:Psychic Instability (Elite)
====================================
This neat little Domination Magic gem is a Hex spell that knocks the targeted
opponent down if they are interrupted. It has a low Energy cost of 5, and a
cooldown of 20 seconds. Rangers have a few ways to make this skill even more
effective. First of all, Rangers have two bow attacks, Distracting Shot and
Savage Shot, that allow them to apply an unconditional interrupt. Thus, you can
lay down the feather and knockdown the opponent at your leisure. Second,
Rangers can use Serpent's Quickness and/or Quickening Zephyr to lower the
cooldown time so that they can keep re-applying the hex without interruption.
As a result, you can "knock-lock" your target fairly easily.
It is said that there is no such thing as a bad Monk combination in Guild Wars.
All classes benefit from the healing capabilities of the Monk class as a
secondary. The ability to Resurrect your allies more than one time in a
mission (the main limitation of the Signet) and adding supplemental healing to
the Ranger's already burgeoning arsenal of support skills is almost a
no-brainer. A less obvious benefit is the addition of Protection and Smiting
magic, along with a few good Energy management enchantments.
Balthazar's Spirit
==================
Rangers lack good Energy management, but a possible solution can be found in
the Monk Smiting line. Balthazar's Spirit provides energy every time you get
hit. This can quickly replenish your energy stores in close-combat situations.
However, the point of the Ranger defense is often NOT to get hit, with evasion
skills and such. Still, this enchantment typically makes your Energy problems
vanish, and might be worth a look. The fact that it works well without sinking
any points into Smiting Prayers is a plus.
Healing Wind vs. Troll Unguent
==============================
Healing Wind costs much more energy (10 Energy, not reduced by Expertise), has
a shorter casting time, and can help your teammates. Troll Unguent has a slow
casting time, has a much lower energy cost, and can only be cast on yourself.
To me, the decision is obvious: in solo situations or in situations with
adequate healing (2 or more Monks in a group), go with Troll Unguent for self-
healing (as this takes some of the pressure of healing off the group). In most
party situations however, Healing Wind is a far better choice, as you are
providing healing for yourself and helping your team's main healer.
Judge's Insight
===============
This enchantment spell in the Smiting line has a fairly short duration, but
provides a great benefit for your attacks by changing all of your damage to
Holy damage and giving you 20% armor penetration. The 20% armor penetration
alone allows you to hit for 10 to 20% more damage (depending on the armor of
the opponent), but this enchantment really shines against the Undead. Since
it isn't a preparation, it also stacks well with Barrage. When combining the
two, I tend to see numbers above three digits sail over large groups of undead
enemies. On a critical hit, damage can be increased to over 200 points!
Against non-undead opponents, this enchantment also performs well as a "pseudo-
preparation", although its short duration often precludes its use combining
with bow preparations. Take this along on Gates of Kryta or Sanctum Cay farm
runs.
Sample Build:
This build is an Undead hunter, and has several points in Smiting Prayers to
lengthen the duration of Judge's Insight. Symbol of Wrath costs only 5 Energy
and makes a great complement to the defensive skills when surrounded. The main
power comes from Judge's Insight + Barrage, however, with a little help from
Favorable Winds.
1. Barrage (Elite)
2. Judge's Insight
3. Symbol of Wrath
4. Favorable Winds
5. Whirling Defense
6. Lightning Reflexes
7. Healing Breeze
8. Resurrect/Signet of Capture/Mending (depends if you are soloing)
Live Vicariously/Vigorous Spirit
================================
Both of these enchantments do similar effects, but Live Vicariously is a
sustained enchantment while Vigorous Spirit lasts for 30 seconds. These spells
grant small amount of healing each time you hit something in combat. This is
another skill that stacks well with Barrage and Dual Shot, as every arrow hit
counts for the bonus healing. You can be healing a significant amount of
health each time your Barrage is let loose, often outpacing the "Healing over
Time" line of spells. Vigorous Spirit may be too much micromanagement for
some folks, while Live Vicariously hits your precious little Energy regen.
Still, both are pretty good self-healing spells.
Using both of these skills is central to many PvE farming builds. By facing
opponents that lack enchantment removal (a difficult task at times), one can be
almost invincible as long as he/she keeps attacking. This is especially
effective with Barrage (Elite), where every arrow gives you bonus health.
Combine this with Predatory Season for even more outrageous healing.
Sample Build:
This build is a solo farming build (note the lack of Resurrect or Signet of
Capture based around Barrage (Elite), Live Vicariously, and Vigorous Spirit.
You basically need to find a large group of Fighter-type monsters (Trolls,
Griffons, Minotaurs are all favorites) and Barrage away, using stances for
protection and the healing from your attacks to keep yourself alive. A Zealous
bow combined with Expertise of 13+ ensure that you will keep rolling in the
Energy.
Healing Prayers 10+
Expertise 13+
Marksmanship 12+
1. Barrage (Elite) - Your main damage
2. Throw Dirt - Defensive Skill
3. Whirling Defense - Defensive stance
4. Lightning Reflexes - Defensive stance
5. Live Vicariously - Healing
6. Vigorous Spirit - Healing
7. Favorable Winds - Damage
8. Predatory Season - Healing
Watchful Spirit
===============
This is an interesting sustained enchantment that provides much of the benefit
of Mending (with a +2 Health Regen), along with a small healing bonus when the
enchantment is removed. Even without any points in Divine Favor or Healing
Prayers, this enchantment gives the +2 Health Regen. If you don't want to sink
any points into healing, but want the benefits of the Mending spell, then give
this enchantment a try.
Zealot's Fire
=============
For a Monk with points in Smiting, Zealot's Fire adds a little bit of punch to
your skills, as every skill that targets an ally does Fire damage in an area of
effect. So you can heal your friends while doing a modest amount of damage at
the same time. Strangely enough, this also applies for Comfort Animal, so you
Beastmaster/Monks out there can heal your pet while dealing area-effect fire
damage at a touch of a button.
At first glance, the Necromancer and Ranger class may seem like an odd
combination. The Soul Reaping Primary Attribute of a necromancer would have
been useful (natch), but there are still several ways one can combine Ranger
and Necromancer skills.
"Defensive" Cursing
===================
The three curses that come to mind when thinking about the Necromancer are
Enfeeble, Faintheartedness, and Price of Failure. All three reduce the attacks
from an enemy in some way. Enfeeble induces Weakness, a useful Condition that
reduces damage from that opponent. Faintheartedness reduces attack speed (you
can substitute Shadow of Fear if you wish). Price of Failure adds a 25% miss
chance and does damage if the opponent misses. All three combined with Ranger
defensive skills make for a very defensive Ranger indeed.
Sample Build:
1. Enfeeble
2. Faintheartedness
3. Price of Failure
4. Bow attack of choice
5. Lightning Reflexes
6. Whirling Defense
7. Throw Dirt
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Cruelty to Animals
==================
This theme utilizes a pet as a "corpse factory" to generate minions or simply
to reap some damage. Just send the pet off to his doom, use the corpse, then
revive it with Comfort Animal. However, when your pet dies, you lose your
skills for 8 seconds... to make your pet useful before (and during) death, you
cast Tainted Flesh (Elite) and Death Nova.
Sample Build:
1. Animate Bone Minion
2. Animate Bone Fiend
3. Death Nova
4. Tainted Flesh (Elite)
5. Well of Suffering
6. Comfort Animal
7. Charm Animal
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune
=======================================
Snipers are always trying to find ways to increase their damage. Necromancer
Curses provide a useful avenue to increase bow damage against a specific
target. Weaken Armor lowers armor, while Mark of Pain turns your damage against
a target into area effect damage (like a preparation). Rigor Mortis prevents
those pesky warriors from blocking your shots.
Sample Build:
1. Weaken Armor
2. Mark of Pain/Rigor Mortis
3. Penetrating Attack
4. Power Shot
5. Favorable Winds
6. Read the Wind
7. Troll Unguent
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Massive Minions
===============
Fertile Season isn't normally a good Nature Ritual, because it gives the enemy
(who generally outnumber you) more of an advantage. However, what if you
outnumber the enemy? Fertile Season can increase the toughness of your small
army of minions. The Pet on top of that is just icing on the cake.
Virulence (Elite)
=================
One option to increase your Damage over Time capabilities comes with the Elite
known as Virulence. It has a low cost of 5 Energy and has a reasonably fast
cooldown of 10 seconds. It applies Poison, Weakness, and Disease on an Enemy
that already has a condition. So all you have to do is cripple or blind an
opponent, then whack it with Virulence. The only problem with this skill is
that it's an Elite. However, you don't need many points in Death Magic to make
it viable.
Factions: The Touch Ranger
==========================
Expertise reduces the Energy cost of non-spell skills, and the vast majority of
Touch attacks are skills (rather than spells). With the release of Factions,
the old Vampiric Touch skill is cloned with the Vampiric Bite skill. By
combining a very high Expertise with Blood Magic, these "vampiric" rangers can
continually spam Vampiric attacks, giving themselves back some life while
dealing armor-ignoring damage. Best of all, they have access to Awaken the
Blood, which allows them to go above the 12 Attribute limit on secondary
classes. The main disadvantage of this build is the reliance on touch-based
attacks as its main damage. The high Expertise allows you to take advantage of
long-duration defensive skills.
The Adrenaline-based skills of a Warrior mesh well with the Ranger, and give an
alternative method of dealing damage when your Energy stores run dry. Also,
Energy management is enhanced with skills like Bonetti's Defense. Primary
Warriors are usually in a continual state of Energy deficit, but the Ranger's
greater Energy stores and Energy regen alleviates this.
In an exception to the general rule of Expertise, it also applies to the Energy
costs of Warrior attack skills as well. Thus, you can hack and slash all day
using the Warrior abilities at a reduced energy cost.
With the addition of Tactics, a Shield becomes a viable option as well, giving
the Ranger more armor to defend against attacks.
The Whirling Dervish
====================
Although Rangers in this game do not dual-wield, they can still be pretty
effective with a sword when they have a Warrior secondary class. Because
Expertise lowers the cost of Energy-based attacks and Rangers also have an
overall Energy advantage over Warriors (in terms of recharge rate and total
Energy), they can more effectively make use of several sword attacks and other
key Energy-based Warrior skills.
Sample Build:
This particular build requires a Sword and Shield combination. Put just enough
Tactics to use the shield that you want. Try to get an overall Expertise of
13 (11 + 1 for mask and +1 for Minor Rune is usually sufficient). If you don't
feel comfortable without a self-heal, you can replace either Hamstring or
Deadly Riposte with Troll Unguent or Healing Signet.
1. Hundred Blades (Elite)
2. Wild Blow
3. Hamstring
4. Deadly Riposte
5. Whirling Defense - Defense
6. Bonetti's Defense - Energy Reclamation and defense
7. Lightning Reflexes - Defense, increased attack speed
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Other Useful Skills: Flourish (Elite), Pure Strike, Seeking Blade, Defensive
Stance
The Woodsman
============
Apply Poison is a preparation that affects melee weapons as well as bows. The
Axe line of attacks has a useful attack called Cyclone Axe that hits all foes
around you. Using both, a Ranger/Warrior can hit many targets simultaneously
with poison. Axes also have a variety of Condition-causing attacks, such as
Dismember and Axe Rake, as well as Disrupting Chop.
Sample Build:
This build is high on the Wilderness Survival and Axe attributes. Expertise is
not as important in this particular build, but you can add Throw Dirt and
Whirling Defense easily if you wish to retain a high Expertise.
1. Apply Poison
2. Cyclone Axe
3. Dismember
4. Axe Rake
5. Disrupting Chop
6. Troll Unguent
7. Dryder's Defenses
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
The Bunny Thumper
=================
This entry is added by popular demand. I do not know who coined this build or
refined it, but the basic theme is a Ranger who uses Hammer Mastery, Expertise,
and Beastmastery, carefully balanced to deal the maximum amount of damage. It
utilizes Tiger's Fury to speed up the slow Hammer attacks and build up
Adrenaline, Ferocious Strike (Elite) to reclaim Energy and build up more
adrenaline, and hammer attacks to knockdown and damage the opponent. This is
primarily a PvP build, and does not typically have much in terms of defense.
Sample Build:
Expertise 6 + Mask + Minor Rune
Beast Mastery 11 + Minor Rune
Hammer Mastery 12
1. Hammer Bash - Guaranteed knockdown
2. Irresistible Blow - Spam this as much as possible
3. Crushing Blow - More damage and Deep wound
4. Tiger's Fury - Speeds up your attack
5. Ferocious Strike (Elite) - Damage, Energy gain, Adrenaline gain
6. Charm Animal
7. Comfort Animal
8. Res Signet/Free Slot
Alternate versions of this build include Hammer Spike, using Backbreaker (Elite)
and Predator's Pounce instead of Ferocious Strike (Elite), and the Factions
pet spike variant with Enraged Lunge (Elite) instead of Ferocious Strike
(Elite). Ferocious Strike (Elite) is often seen as the crucial skill for this
build due to the Hammer Ranger's need for Energy and adrenaline, but these
alternate versions of the Bunny Thumper can spike much higher damage. Some
variants also sub out the Comfort Animal (under the theory that the pet never
gets targeted).
"Victory is Mine!" (Elite)
==========================
This shout is a Warrior Elite skill that gives you health and energy for every
condition that your adjacent foes are suffering. With the above Woodsman build
(which is designed to Poison a large group), you can use it as a quick Heal and
Energy management skill. Even for a general Skirmisher ranger build, this
skill is quite effective for self-healing and regenerating your Energy. For
example, imagine using it after hitting an opponent with a quick Barbed Trap or
a Throw Dirt. It costs very little Energy itself, and has a reasonably quick
recharge time. However, it does take up your Elite skill slot.
Greater Conflagration (Elite)
=============================
One of the key disadvantages of being a Ranger in melee is the lack of good
physical protection. While it is better than all the primary spellcasters, it
still leaves much to be desired. Greater Conflagration is a Nature Ritual that
turns all physical damage to fire damage. If you are wearing Drakescale armor,
your armor suddenly shoots up from 70 points against physical to 115 points!
This allows you to tank more effectively in melee. Other rangers will love the
added protection against physical damage. However, this also negates the bonus
physical armor that warriors get, which is a bad thing for the warriors in your
party. It also is an Elite skill, and being a Nature Ritual, the Spirit is
vulnerable to being attacked. If you are soloing, or you are in a group
without warriors, though, go for it. Stack on Dryder's Defenses for even more
elemental tanking ability. See also the Mesmer "You're a tank!?" theme for
another idea on how to exploit this Nature Ritual.
Assassins are the dual-wielding dagger masters and shadowy teleporters in
Factions, and are quite a melee-oriented class. Much of the synergies between
Rangers and Warriors can apply here, but the high Energy attacks of the Assassin
benefit greatly from a high Expertise. Both the Assassin and Ranger are great
at applying conditions to a target, and many of those abilities stack quite
nicely.
Melee Skirmisher
================
This theme relies on the Assassin's and the Ranger's ability to apply conditions
against enemies. By utilizing Expertise, Wilderness Survival, and Dagger
Mastery, the R/A can jump in, Strike quickly, and fade away, leaving the
opponent bleeding, poisoned, blinded, etc.
Sample Build:
Dagger Mastery should be maxed out, with a high Expertise and Wilderness
Survival to support the backup skills
1. Jagged Strike - Bleeding, fast cooldown
2. Wild Strike - Insert your favorite Off-hand here
3. Twisting Fangs - Deep Wound, more Bleeding
4. Lacerate (Elite) - Even more Bleeding...
5. Throw Dirt - Blind, defense
6. Troll Unguent - Self Heal
7. Apply Poison - Poison prep
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Shadow Striker
==============
This Ranger is your standard Sniper, but uses Shadow Arts to fade away when in
trouble or when their quarry is running away. Assassins have a variety of
methods to both evade pursuers and snare/knock down targets trying to run away.
Sample Build:
Marksmanship and Expertise, per standard Sniper. A smattering of Shadow/Deadly
Arts for support skills, as needed.
1. Punishing Shot (Elite) - Interrupt/Damage
2. Sundering Attack
3. Pin Down - Snare
4. Return - Teleport
5. Heart of Shadow - Teleport
6. Troll Unguent - Self Heal
7. Read the Wind - Preparation
8. Free Slot (Res Signet or Signet of Capture)
Other useful skills - Aura of Displacement (Elite), Scorpion Wire
Efficient Dagger Expert
=======================
Expertise does a great job at lowering the expensive Energy costs of Assassin
dagger attacks. This theme basically focuses on a high Expertise and Dagger
Mastery skill.
Sample Build:
At least a 13 in Expertise and 12 Dagger Mastery.
1. Leaping Mantis Sting - Damage, Cripple
2. Temple Strike (Elite) - Blind, Daze, and interrupt
3. Repeating Strike - It keeps going and going and going...
4. Horns of the Ox - Knockdown
5. Falling Spider - Poison
6. Whirling Defense
7. Lightning Reflexes
8. Free Slot
Assassin/Ranger: Barrage Sniper
===============================
First seen as a post on GWOnline.net forums by shamed
I don't have a section for this build (this is a guide about primary Rangers,
eh?), but this deserves a special mention in my book. Apparently, arrows are
a lot like Daggers, because the Sharpen Daggers enchantment works with bows.
Combine this with Barrage and the inherent Energy reclamation of the Assassin's
Critical Strike attribute, and you get the following build:
Critical Strikes 12 + Mask + Rune
Marksmanship 12
1. Critical Eye
2. Sharpen Daggers
3. Barrage
4. The rest up to you...
Basically, Critical Eye increases the already-high chance for criticals and
increases Energy reclamation. Sharpen Daggers is an Enchantment, so it is NOT
canceled by Barrage. Barrage will Crit about 40% of the time on each target,
and each target that is critically hit will start to Bleed. Most of the other
standard Barrager rules apply.
An alternative to the Monk, Ritualists provide a similar benefit to the Ranger
class. While the "Held Item" skills are probably mostly worthless to a Ranger,
the Spirits and Weapon Spells are great bonuses. This is combined with a great
ressurection skill (Flesh of My Flesh) and access to Restoration magic.
Brutal Barrage
==============
This theme uses a combination of Communing and Barrage (Elite) for an effective
damage combination. Not only can you combined Brutal Weapon with Barrage for
more damage, but you can take advantage of the Ritualist ability to summon
damaging spirits, for even more spamming. With a high expertise, the Spirits are
cheaper to summon, as well.
Sample Build:
At least 13 in Expertise, with high Marksmanship and Communing
1. Barrage (Elite) - Main damage here
2. Brutal Weapon - More Barrage damage
3. Pain - Damage spirit
4. Bloodsong - Damage spirit
5. Favorable Winds - More Barrage damage
6. Whirling Defense - Defense skill
7. Flesh of My Flesh - Resurrect
8. Free Slot
Spirit Spammer 2.0
==================
Another take on the Communing Ranger, this theme utilizes Oath Shot (Elite) to
reduce the long cooldown times of Binding Rituals, as well as Expertise to
reduce the cost.
Sample Build:
Minimum of 7 Expertise (recommend higher than 8 points)
High Communing skill
1. Oath Shot (Elite)
2. Dissonance
3. Pain
4. Shelter
5. Union
6. Whirling Defense
7. Flesh of My Flesh - Resurrect
8. Free Slot
----------------------------------
- Ranger as a secondary (gwrg5k) -
----------------------------------
Rangers make an excellent secondary class for folks wanting to dabble into
Beastmastery or Marksmanship. Wilderness Survival also provides a great
variety of skills covering everything from healing to damage, for a few skill
points. However, secondary Rangers lose the all-important Expertise attribute.
Some primary classes compensate for the attribute benefit by having their own
Energy management attributes like Soul Reaping for Necromancers or Energy
Storage for Elementalists. Secondary Rangers miss out on most of the benefits
of having effective Expertise-based skills like Throw Dirt or Whirling Defense.
This can be alleviated by Primary class-specific defensive skills (like Ward
against Melee, Distortion, etc.) or by using Dryder's Defenses (which is
available to anyone with a high Wilderness Survival attribute).
----------------------------
- Things to Avoid (gwrg5l) -
----------------------------
I originally started this guide with this particular section in mind, as it
seems that many new players lack a focus or direction when creating their first
Ranger character. I hesitate to call them newbies or the more derisive "n00bs",
as we all have to start somewhere. Don't take this as sage advice... simply
treat it as advice from a Ranger who has made many mistakes.
Don't try to do everything
==========================
A common temptation in Guild Wars is to try to do everything available to a
particular class. This temptation is especially inherent in the Ranger class,
as Rangers are among the most versatile and widely-spread classes. I can't
remember how many times I've seen a Ranger who tries to squeeze Bow skills,
Traps, Stances, Preparations, Spirits, and a Pet into their skill bar. While
it is fun early in the game to experiment with all sorts of skills, later in
the game such a character becomes increasingly spread thin. Learn which skills
are the most useful to you, and specialize rather than diversify. Find a niche
in your group and fill it. Remember, you can always change your build at any
time when you are in town, so prepare the most effective combination for any
given mission, instead of doing everything.
Don't overspecialize
====================
The opposite of the above mistake is the overspecialized ranger, one who
carries a full skillbar of Marksmanship skills (and no Res Signet, I might add)
while falling under an onslaught of Mountain Trolls because he/she forgot
Whirling Defense. Generally this is only a problem with Marksmanship, although
I've seen folks who take their Traps way too seriously. In general, most of
the Ranger skill lines are effective in 2-3 skill "clumps", which you alternate
between in combat... a Ranger does NOT have enough Energy to continually use
bow attack skills, and the recharge times are quick enough on their skills to
make it unnecessary to bring more than 3. Always leave room for some healing or
defense and that 8th slot for your Res Signet or Signet of Capture.
Don't drag along a Pet...
=========================
... unless you are willing to be a full-time Beast Master. Pets can be helpful
in early PvE game without many points in Beast Mastery, but as the game
progresses, you'll find the Pet to be more and more of a liability unless you
start to invest heavily in Beast Mastery. It's almost an "all or nothing"
affair. In order to have an effective pet, you have to treat it just like a
weapon, and an exclusive weapon at that. If you aren't willing to put most of
your points into Beast Mastery and devote 4 to 6 slots to your Pet, leave it
behind. You can always decide to become a Beast Master at a later date.
This is not to say that there are no effective hybrid builds involving a Pet
and other themes. But these sort of builds are difficult to tweak, and you are
too likely to be spread too thin (see "Don't overspecialize" above) until you
have the attribute points and the skills to compensate for it later. You can
ask yourself these questions:
* Do you have at least two Pet defensive skills (Call of Protection, Otyugh's
Cry, and/or Symbiotic Bond)?
* Do you have at least one Pet Attack?
* Is your Beast Mastery greater than 10?
If you said no to any of the above questions, you probably should leave the Pet.
You are not a tank
==================
While Rangers can be quite effective at preventing damage to themselves, you
are still vulnerable to many skills and attacks. If you are in a group with
Warriors, let the Warriors do their job and tank the attacks. Pound for pound,
the Warriors will take less damage (due to Damage reduction and better armor),
thus allowing healers to conserve more energy by casting healing spells less
often. This doesn't mean that you couldn't occasionally draw some fire away
from the tanks (Throw Dirt is one of the best ways to do this), but unless no
one else can do this job, avoid charging in the middle of the fray to take the
brunt of the damage. It is far more Energy-efficient for healers to aid the
slowly-falling health bars of the warriors than the soon-to-be-dead foolish
ranger. Even with your defensive skills, you are going to take hits, and those
hits are going to hurt... it's not the frequency of the hits that taxes the
average Monk healer, but the magnitude.
Don't ignore Expertise
======================
At first glance, Expertise may look like a bum deal to a new Ranger. After all,
each point only reduces a small amount of Energy costs, and even then, it only
applies to Ranger skills for the most part. Expertise is the linked attribute
to some of the most powerful Ranger skills, like Whirling Defense, Lightning
Reflexes, and Throw Dirt. With high enough Expertise, a Ranger should never
run into Energy problems. A high Expertise greatly increases the staying power
of the Ranger, and most rangers should invest some attribute points into
Expertise. My personal recommendation is a minimum Expertise of 8, when you
reach the level 20 endgame. This is the breakpoint that reduces 5 Energy skills
down to 3 Energy, making those skills very easy to manage.
Nature Rituals are both friend and foe
======================================
One concept that new players have a hard time grasping is the fact that Nature
Rituals affect both allies and enemies in combat. The trick to using Nature
Ritual spirits is to find a way to benefit the allies more than the enemies.
For example, Favorable Wind is a popular Spirit that increases arrow attack
speed and damage. This Spirit is quite beneficial to Rangers (and other
Archers) when going up against opponents who lack bows and arrows. However,
this Spirit also can mean the death of the party in areas where the enemy has
archers, such as the Skeleton Archers in Gates of Kryta or the Avicara Fierces
in the Shiverpeaks. Leave the Favorable Winds spirit at home if you are going
up against archers.
There is nothing wrong with being "just" a Ranger
=================================================
As with all classes, there is nothing wrong with sinking all of your attribute
points into your primary class. While half of the fun of making builds is
figuring out ways to combine the classes, often new players will start to sink
their points into too many areas and end up with a sub-par build. Focus on the
basics of being a Ranger first, and you'll be a lot more effective. Note that
this doesn't mean that you should ALWAYS put points into Ranger attributes.
But figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the Ranger first before you
start compounding the strengths and weaknesses of your secondary class as well.
When being hit by an AoE spell, MOVE!
=====================================
There are several AoE spells that target an area over a period of time. Most of
these are static area of effects, and can only deal sustained damage on you if
you stand still. The simple solution, of course, is to move outside of the AoE
and reduce the damage done to yourself. However, I see a lot of people who
just stand there and take it, oblivious to the damage numbers piling up.
Examples of this include Firestorm (a common Elementalist AoE), Chaos Storm (a
common Mesmer AoE), Ice Imps with Maelstrom, Mahgo Hydras with Meteor Shower,
and Sand Elementals with Eruption (which will blind you if you don't move out
of the area of effect).
===============
= PvE (gwrg6) =
===============
For a checklist guide to going through the PvE campaign, look in Appendix:
Ranger PvE Checklist [gwrg9e]. It lists the most efficient way to unlock all
of the ranger skills in the game in order.
-----------------------------------
- General Ranger Tactics (gwrg6a) -
-----------------------------------
Most of these techniques, unless otherwise specified, are also useful in PvP
as well.
Focus Fire
==========
The most efficient and effective way to deal damage to enemies is to have all
of the party members attacking a single target, typically in the order of
Healer, then Spellcasters/Archers, then Warriors. The easiest way to have
everyone attack the same target is to "Call" a target by holding down CTRL and
double-clicking on an enemy. Everyone can target the most recently called
target by pressing T, then spacebar or a hotkey to attack. Rangers are in a
good position to call targets, as they often don't have to move to attack a
target, and they generally don't have to watch health bars or the skill bar. It
is important that there is only ONE target caller... having multiple targets is
confusing and not a good idea in general.
Higher Ground
=============
Elevation plays a key role in the effectiveness of a bow. Guild Wars uses a
hit location system for armor, with the head, feet, and arms targeted less
than the legs and torso. If you are on higher ground, your bow can shoot
farther and you are more likely to hit the head of a target (usually doing
more damage against the majority of monsters). If you are on lower ground,
your bow's effective range is reduced, and you are more likely to hit the feet
and legs. In general, always seek the high ground in PvE, but don't go there
in exclusion of your own safety... stray too far from the group, and you will
be focused and surrounded very quickly.
Luring groups
=============
While this skill is almost essential for any class, Rangers are uniquely suited
to lure enemies, with their combination of defensive skills and ranged attacks.
The name of the game is divide and conquer... monsters are easier to kill when
they are in smaller, easier to handle groups. The idea of Luring is to draw
a small group of enemies to your waiting party.
Sometimes the best way to Lure a group is to not attack at all. Instead, simply
walk up to the nearest enemy until it is within the "aggro range" on your radar
and run back to the group, allowing the enemies to follow you. Other times,
walking up within that range alerts more enemies... in this case, use a
long-range bow to get the attention of a monster beyond your aggro range, and
then have it follow you into the group.
In some cases, you are going to get hit with knockdown attacks and the monsters
catch up before the party arrives. Sometimes they exclusively target you, even
though there are fresh and tasty tanks near your location. In that situation,
activate your defensive skill, Throw Dirt or Whirling Defense or whatever, and
try to escape. Sometimes you have to stand and fight, and in those situations,
rely on your teammates to back you up.
Pets are quite annoying when it comes to luring, as they attack anything that
you click on, and tend to have a mind of their own. When you are luring, leave
your pet back in the city (don't worry, it can take care of itself).
Traps are an interesting way to soften up a target while you are luring. If you
lay down a trap exactly between your party and the monsters, then when the
monsters run to your party, they will trigger the trap. This can be especially
effective in adding a pre-combat condition to the monsters like Bleeding or
Blind.
Skill Buffering
===============
Sometimes you want to chain several spells or skills in rapid succession. There
is a technique called "buffering" that allows you to use a skill almost
immediately after another skill. Basically, while your first skill is being
cast and "flashing", hit a second skill. The second skill won't cancel out the
first skill, and will fire off immediately after the first skill finishes. Note
that you need to have enough Energy in reserve to use the second skill to
buffer it, but the Energy isn't taken away until the skill is actually cast.
This normally applies to Rangers when they use several Bow attacks in rapid
succession. It works remarkably well with the various "interrupt" bow attacks,
which aren't limited by your fire rate, in laying down multiple arrows very
quickly.
Status Reports
==============
If you hold down CTRL and click on various places, you can relay important
information to your team. For example, holding down CTRL and clicking your
Energy bar will announce your current and maximum Energy to the team. While
doing this many times in a row can be annoying and detrimental to teamwork, it
is a quick and efficient way of telling your teammates that you have low Energy
or you are Crippled or you are using a Resurrect on a fallen teammate. Often,
you can agree ahead of time that when someone uses CTRL-click to show that he
or she has low Energy, the team will then take a breather and let the Energy
regenerate. It also avoids the confusion of multiple people Resurrecting a
fallen teammate.
Using Nature Rituals
====================
Occasionally, you will want to use a Nature Ritual when you are out
adventuring. Nature Rituals summon up a spirit which gives some sort of area
effect passive benefit. They give the bonus to ALL creatures in the radius,
be it friend or foe. This radius is approximately 2.5 times the distance of
the "Aggro Circle" on the radar (my testing shows that the Aggro Circle is
about 20 pixels on my radar and the nature rituals extend to about 50 pixels).
The spirits can be killed, and are often the target of melee monsters when
they charge in. This is a tactical consideration you must take into account
when summoning spirits. Sometimes you can use a Spirit as bait for traps or
simply to draw the attacks of enemies for a short period of time. Monsters now
target the weakest/lowest armored creature preferentially, and often this
creature is the Spirit.
While the cooldown times for the Nature Rituals are rather lengthy, the
durations of Nature Rituals are equally long. The effects from multiple spirits
of different types stack, but multiple spirits of the same type do NOT stack, as
in the case of a hostile and friendly spirit overlapping in area. Think of them
as enchantments tied to an area, much like the Elementalist's Wards.
Spirits are immune to Enchantments and Hexes. Also, as of the 8/25/05 Update,
Nature Rituals no longer affect Spirits (so Fertile Season doesn't buff your
other Spirits). Another thing changed in the 8/25/05 update is the fact that
when you lay down a second spirit of the same type as one already laid down by
an ally, the previous one is killed and the new one takes effect. Thus, while
you can layer DIFFERENT Nature Rituals, you can't layer Spirits of the same
type.
Because Nature Rituals can help/hurt both friend and foe, be sure to give some
thought as to how useful any particular ritual will be. Favorable Winds, for
example, is useful for your bow attacks, but if the enemy has archers, you are
going to be helping them more than you are helping yourself. Fertile Season
looks great on paper, but it also makes your opponents harder to kill.
Pre-Searing Ascalon
===================
The beginning of the PvE game starts you off in an easier version of the game
often called Pre-Searing Ascalon. Before you leave Pre-Searing and go into
Post-Searing, be sure you've gained your secondary class, done the Resurrect
Signet quest, and found all of the quests that give Ranger skills:
* Ranger Test (outside Ascalon City gates)
* The Ranger's Companion (from Master Ranger Nente in Regent Valley)
* A Test of Marksmanship (from Ivor Trueshot in Regent Valley)
* Unnatural Growths (from Aidan in Wizard's Folly)
I would also do as many quests as you can handle, but this is purely for
experience points. One of the quests in Pre-Searing Ascalon also gives a skill
point, so you should probably complete that one as well. I typically don't
leave Pre-Searing Ascalon until I've hit at least level 7, as it will make the
going easier on the initial missions.
Gaining Skills
==============
Remember that gaining skills as a quest reward does not cost skill points.
There are many skills that are offered by both a Trainer and a quest. It is
almost always better to get it as a quest reward than using up skill points
to buy them from a trainer. Be sure to look at your whole quest list before
you buy a skill and make sure that skill isn't on any of your rewards. Trainers
tend to only offer skills that are rewarded before you meet the trainer (i.e.
skills that you "missed"). When in doubt, delay buying the skill until you
reach the next big town. The Ranger PvE Checklist [gwrg9e] that I've written
in the Appendices can be helpful in this regard.
Any time you get a new skill, re-evaluate your build... is your build better
with this skill? Can you start a new build entirely? How can you best integrate
the skill into your style of play?
The Ranger Progression
======================
When you finish Pre-Searing Ascalon, you'll barely have enough skills to cover
your skillbar. As you progress through the game, you'll be gaining many skills,
and it can be difficult to figure out what to use early on and what to discard
(for now... no skill is useless in Guild Wars). Here are my suggestions for
what skills you should be using in the Early PvE game, assuming you are gaining
skills from quests and Trainers. Note that I will always leave one or two free
slots, assuming you are using your secondary class as well, and I will always
option the Resurrection Signet in the 8th slot.
When you arrive at Ascalon City, your build should probably look something like
this:
1) Power Shot
2) Dual Shot
3) Ignite Arrows/Read the Wind
4) Troll Unguent
5) Comfort Animal
6) Charm Animal
7) Free Slot
8) Free Slot/Res Signet
As you gain the first few early skills from Post-Searing Ascalon, I'd add to
the build several skills: Penetrating Attack (to replace Power Shot), Favorable
Winds, and Distracting Shot (although you won't have enough points to heavily
invest in Expertise at this point). If you complete Caravan in Trouble, you
get Lightning Reflexes as well, but until your Expertise is higher, you should
probably wait to slot that in your skillbar:
1) Penetrating Attack/Distracting Shot
2) Dual Shot
3) Ignite Arrows/Read the Wind
4) Troll Unguent
5) Favorable Winds
6) Comfort Animal
7) Charm Animal
8) Free Slot/Res Signet
As you approach the Northern Shiverpeaks, you'll have a growing number of
skills, but some old staples will still be valuable (like Dual Shot/Ignite
Arrows). You can pick up Kindle Arrows at Grendich Courthouse, for slightly
more damage. With a higher level and a Marksmanship of at least 9, you can
start investing more in Wilderness Survival and Expertise. You should also
consider ditching your pet, as they are less useful at this point in the game
without a significant investment in Beast Mastery. Your first real big break
comes when you complete the Stone Summit Beastmasters in Traveler's Vale, and
you get Whirling Defense:
1) Penetrating Attack/Distracting Shot
2) Dual Shot
3) Kindle Arrows/Favorable Winds
4) Troll Unguent
5) Whirling Defense
6) Lightning Reflexes
7) Free Slot
8) Free Slot/Res Signet
After proceeding through the Southern Shiverpeaks and arriving at Lion's Arch,
your first priority is to complete The Ascalon Settlement quest, and arrive at
the Ascalon Settlement. You will get Throw Dirt from the quest, and Captain
Greywind sells you the valuable skill, Apply Poison:
1) Penetrating Attack
2) Distracting Shot
3) Apply Poison
4) Troll Unguent
5) Favorable Winds/Throw Dirt
6) Whirling Defense/Lightning Reflexes
7) Free Slot
8) Free Slot/Res Signet
After this point in the game, your build is your own, and you should start to
experiment with your other skills. The core will always be 1-3 defensive
skills, Troll Unguent, a single preparation, and 1-3 bow attacks (preferably
including Distracting Shot). Learn to adjust your build for the situation at
hand. For example, D'Alessio Seaboard mission has a LOT of undead, so Poison
will not be a good choice. Instead, you can bring Kindle Arrows/Dual Shot. The
Monsters in Nebo Terrace are heavy on Melee attacks, and the Ettins have a
skill that breaks stances, so Throw Dirt (rather than Whirling Defense) would
be the best defensive option there.
Capturing Elites
================
Starting in the Crystal Desert (the pre-Ascension missions), Rangers can start
to capture Elite skills from the Bosses. They have a light green glowing aura
around them, and are found throughout the missions and areas after the Amnoon
Oasis. All you have to do is kill a boss, then use a Signet of Capture while
you are near its dead body. A menu will show up, and you can select a skill
from the boss's list. Elite skills are bordered in gold.
The Doppelganger battle
=======================
Rangers have it incredibly easy when it comes to battling their Doppelganger.
Because the Doppelganger believes (foolishly) that Spirits are helpful, it will
spend its time casting every Spirit available in the skillbar. If one brings
along 7 Spirits and the damaging bow attack of choice, the Doppelganger will
waste 35 seconds casting the Spirits, giving you plenty of time to wail away on
him with arrows. The only Spirit I wouldn't bring to this battle is Fertile
Season, as it will give the Doppelganger a hit point boost and make it harder
to kill. My suggested loadout for the Doppelganger:
1) Penetrating Attack <- Your only bow attack
2) Favorable Winds
3) Winter
4) Quickening Zephyr
5) Symbiosis
6) Predatory Season
7) Edge of Extinction
8) Winnowing
All of these Nature Rituals are available before fighting the Doppelganger.
However, it is my experience that you only need maybe 4 or 5 of them total, as
the Doppelganger is fairly easy to kill in 20 to 30 seconds. Alternatively,
you can slot some Traps or Preparations (both of which take 2 seconds to cast).
Another technique is to bring Troll Unguent and Distracting Shot, and to use
Distracting Shot on the Doppelganger if it tries to use Troll Unguent.
All-Trapper Party in the Underworld
===================================
One effective way to clear out the Underworld is to have a party of 8 Trapper
Rangers, all with 4 Traps per person. Often, you'll be able to lure the small
monster groups into a large pile of traps and eliminate them without even
drawing your bow. The procedure is a bit more methodical and slow than the
usual "lure, then kill" groups, but it has the advantage of being almost risk-
free, as long as you have time to lay down several layers of traps. In general,
each Ranger should lay down each trap at least twice before pulling a group to
the traps. You should keep a tight grouping, but spread out enough to cover
the chokepoints. You can use spirits as a "wall" or bait to stall the enemies
over your traps. It helps to have two or more "layers" of traps, with an outer
and inner wall, so that you have enough coverage. Anything that isn't killed by
the traps, you can focus fire and kill with bows.
Farming is a term often used to describe the repeated killing of monsters in
order to "harvest" their loot, often in a solo fashion (as soloing gives you
every loot drop for yourself).
Note that currently, it seems that repeatedly "farming" the same area 5 times
or more will drastically reduce the loot drops within a given period of time.
The same restriction seems to apply to repeatedly killing the same creature
within a span of time. I haven't fully tested this, but the implications of
this is quite big for farmers. You'll have to engage in a bit of "crop
rotation", and rotate between several farming spots, in order to keep the loot
flowing.
Here are several good farming areas for a solo ranger:
Gates of Kryta
==============
To do this, you'll have to survive against the Undead. Ranger/Monks have an
advantage here, but anyone can do this run with a Healer Henchman or a Monk
friend. After fighting your way to the outpost in the middle of the mission,
beating Skeleton Rangers, Mesmers, and the occasional Zombie Warlock, you will
exit the outpost and head straight. Just keep heading straight, and you'll end
up in the Lightning Drake Beach. Follow the sandy path from Lightning Drake to
Lightning Drake. Watch out for the Lightning Orbs, which do a significant
amount of damage again as of the June 1, 2005 update.
Sanctum Cay
===========
The easiest way to get to Lightning Drakes, and it also has Executioners (who
drop good armor). If you bring along some running skills like Dodge or Storm
Chaser, you can run past the first batch of Fire Imps, then you'll end up on
the beach of Lightning Drake heaven. Lightning Drakes are incredibly easy to
kill, as they don't do much damage at all and they drop Level 18 loot. There is
a barrel at the end of the beach that you can get (next to the restless spirit)
After that, if you feel up to it, there are a couple of Executioners in the
valley between the two cliffs, followed by a Skeleton Ranger, 2 Hellhounds, and
an Executioner. You can keep moving on this mission to kill more and more
undead, if you'd like.
The Scar
========
Just outside the Thirsty River exit to the Scar, there is a Dune Burrower that
you can outrange with a Longbow because you are on high ground. Plant your
Favorable Winds spirit and zap him with Poison, making sure to use Distracting
Shot to interrupt his Healing Spring. After he dies, you can walk up to get
his loot, but you'll face a couple of Jade Scarabs. Do NOT afflict them with
poison. Instead, activate your Whirling Defense and Troll Unguent (to offset
their Vile Touch attack) and whittle them down with your bow. You should be
able to take out two of them with ease. Next, take out the 1-2 Rock Devourer
Scarabs. These guys you CAN poison, as they can't get rid of it or reflect it
back at you. They also use Frenzy, which means double damage from your bow.
After that, hug the South Wall and you should be able to outrange the next Dune
Burrower with your longbow again by firing over the small dune. While
collecting that loot, you'll face a couple more Jade Scarabs. This is a fast
run (just a step away from an exit/entrance) that takes no more than 5 minutes.
At the very least, it'll net you a lot of Jade Mandibles and Dune Burrower Jaws
Diviner's Ascent
================
This place is full of Sand Drakes. Sand Drakes are level 21, are Elementalists
(Geomancers to be exact), and can cast both Aftershock (which does a lot of
spike damage) and Ward vs. Melee. Since you are generally using bow attacks,
you'll have no problems with the Ward vs. Melee. As long as you keep up your
defenses and use Poison to whittle down their HP, you should be able to make
short work of 1 or 2 of them. They drop reasonably good loot, and are a very
short distance from the Elona Reach entrance. You can also continue into the
Diviner's Ascent to kill more Drakes and Rockshot Devourers.
There used to be a good wreckage farming run here, but that was taken out in
the June 15th update. The last wreckage in the run is still in there, but the
other three were removed.
Elona Reach
===========
You can also enter the Elona Reach mission, and clear out some of the Minotaurs
using the Spike Mines for support. As long as you only take on a pair of them
at a time and keep your defenses up, you should be able to Poison/Bleed them
to death fairly quickly. The Minotaur horns that they drop can be exchanged
with the collector Luven Underwood just outside of Elona Reach for the coveted
11-22 Fire Wand with 20% improved skill recharge.
Abaddon's Mouth
===============
There used to be a good Wreckage run here, but that was taken out in the June 1
2005 update. The entry is left here for posterity.
Witman's Folly
==============
I'll briefly mention this area, as it is the place where folks use the famed
"Grawl Bomb" technique. Since almost all the creatures in this area are Grawl,
a powerful enough Edge of Extinction can wipe out a huge number of them in one
big chain reaction. By using skills like Mark of Pain or Barrage (Elite), one
can whittle down a group of Grawl, and then have the subsequent EoE chain
reaction take care of the rest.
Sample Build: R/N using Curses
1. Mark of Pain - Main area effect damage
2. Oath Shot (Elite) - Recharge stances
3. Whirling Defenses - Projectile damage against you triggers Mark of Pain!
4. Lightning Reflexes
5. Throw Dirt
6. Dryder's Defenses
7. Troll Unguent - Healing while tanking with stances
8. Edge of Extinction - the Bomb
Note: As of the August 17, 2006 update, this build has been nerfed with the
proviso that creatures need to be below 90% Health to be killed. It still
works (sort of) but not as well as it used to. Stay tuned for a modified
version.
Factions: Pongmei Valley
========================
This place is rapidly becoming my favorite spot to farm. There are several
groups of Undergrowths and Stone Scale Kirin that are easily defeated with a
Barrage/Live Vicariously/Vigorous Spirit build (with a liberal dose of dodge
stances). The rewards amount to 100 gold piece drops and many high-end
(including max damage) items, as well as all the Stone Horns and Dragon Roots
you can eat. Be wary of the Rot Wallow groups, and remember you can enlist
the help of the NPCs in the area by dragging the groups to them. There are a
couple of Island Guardian trees that seem to be stationary, for some reason, as
well.
===============
= PvP (gwrg7) =
===============
-----------------------------------
- General Ranger Tactics (gwrg7a) -
-----------------------------------
In general, a Ranger is best at disruption and skirmish tactics, using
interrupt bow attacks and traps/conditions to reduce the effectiveness of the
opposite team. Throw Dirt and Dust Trap are the bane of warriors, and Pin Down
allows your teammates to catch up to a running Monk.
Pin Down
========
In PvP, Mobility is key, and when you are selected for a pick-up group, they
typically will expect you as the Ranger to have some sort of Crippling skill.
Most of the time, this means Pin Down. Pin Down can prevent Monks from
running away from their focused attacks and it can prevent other people from
closing the distance to attack. You can also use Pin Down to slow down a
Warrior so you can run away.
Nature Rituals in PvP
=====================
Nature Rituals, due to their global effects and their large area of effect,
change the nature of PvP arena combat. In effect, you are rewriting the rules
of the arena using your Nature Rituals. Most of the general guidelines for
using Spirits in PvE apply in PvP. However, your opponents are obviously going
to be more intelligent than monsters, and they'll figure out that killing the
Spirit will remove the effect. This means you'll have to plan ahead to recast
these spirits once they are taken down, or plant them in areas which aren't
easily accessible.
Some Nature Ritual highlights for PvP:
Frozen Soil
-----------
Frozen Soil is a Nature Ritual that prevents resurrection. While there are
folks who argue "if you have to rez in PvP, the game's already over", there are
many situations where a short breather will allow an opponent to resurrect a
teammate and indeed, the tide of battles can turn with such efforts. Frozen
Soil prevents this from happening, allowing you to maintain your numbers
advantage on a team who has already lost members. However, it can also work to
your disadvantage as well, if you're the team that is outnumbered, and worse
yet, you can't simply attack the spirit to destroy it.
Note that Frozen Soil only stops Resurrect spells from being cast within its
radius. If a player is outside the Frozen Soil radius, that player can still
cast Resurrect or Resurrection Signet on a corpse in the radius.
Nature's Renewal
----------------
Nature's Renewal is a Nature Ritual that used to strip enchantments and hexes
from everyone within its area effect, which was the bane of any caster that
depended on such things. As of the 8/25/05 update, Nature's Renewal no longer
does this.
The main utility of Nature's Renewal is the fact that it increases the casting
times for those spells. While in PvE, this has limited use (as it often hurts
your party more often than it hurts your enemies), in PvP, it is a great way to
interrupt Enchantments and Hexes being cast. The increased Energy requirement
for Maintained Enchantments hurts Protection Monks almost exclusively. A
combination of this Ritual and Quickening Zephyr can make most spellcasters
leak Energy like cheesecloth.
Nature's Renewal has a long casting time, which limits its usefulness, similar
to other Nature Rituals.
-----------------------------------
- Dealing with opponents (gwrg7b) -
-----------------------------------
Monk
====
The monk is often the first target in PvP, and rightly so. Monks are the main
"support" characters behind the tanks, and a Monk keeps the team alive. They
also lack strong armor, and thus can fall quickly under a direct onslaught,
making them an ideal initial target. "Kill the Monk First" is a mantra that is
chanted by most PvP players before heading into battle.
Rangers are concerned about Monks because the main method of damage that the
Ranger can do is through Conditions, such as Blind and Poison. A good Monk
heals these conditions, nullifying the effectiveness of the Ranger. Most of
the time, Monks will attempt evasive maneuvers when under attack. To protect
themselves against Ranged attacks, they tend to run around walls or other
obstructions. It is important for the Ranger to use Pin Down as soon as
possible to Cripple the Monk. "Cripple the Monk" should be the Ranger's Mantra
as it is the best way he can support his team initially. If the Monk is too
evasive, it may be wise to activate a sprinting skill like Storm Chaser.
Finally, once the Monk is Crippled and weakened, lay down Distracting Shots or
other interrupts to prevent the Monk from casting healing spells.
An ideal time to interrupt a Monk is when they are resurrecting a teammate.
Many of the Resurrect skills take a LONG time to cast, which gives a long
window for a Concussion Shot and a game-winning Daze condition.
Warriors
========
You won't be dealing much damage to warriors, unfortunately, through the
traditional bow skills. They tend to possess anywhere from -2 to -8 points of
damage absorption due to equipment, and have a high Armor Level to boot. There
are several ways to deal more damage to Warriors. Armor penetration works
better on Warriors than other classes, so use Penetrating Attack, Judge's
Insight, Weaken Armor, etc. to reduce their armor rating. Elemental Bowstrings
negate the bonuses against physical damage that Warriors get on their armor,
thus allowing you to deal slightly more damage. Use skills that have a lot of
bonus damage to overcome the warrior's armor. Finally, Conditions bypass armor
quite well, so Poison and Bleeding may be your best friend against Warriors.
Warriors depend highly on their weapon to hit you to actually hurt you. You
can use your Ranger defensive skills such as Whirling Defense and Throw Dirt to
keep the Warriors busy and prevent them from smacking you down. Standoffs
between Rangers and Warriors one-on-one tend to end poorly for the Ranger, so
use the opportunity to poison and cripple the warrior before making your
escape. Use your mobility to your advantage.
Elementalists
=============
Rangers already have +30 armor against Elemental damage, giving them a slight
edge against Elementalists. A few things can help even further. For example,
the Winter/Frostbound Armor combo gives you an additional +15 armor against all
elements. Dryder's Defenses can further augment your elemental armor, at least
for a short time. Fertile Season, while normally a horrible Nature Ritual, can
give an edge in armor and hitpoints that allows you and your team to outlast an
Elementalist-heavy group. Rangers also have a large arsenal of interrupting
ranged attacks that can shut down an Elementalist before he/she starts casting.
Quickening Zephyr can increase the costs of Elementalist spells, while Nature's
Renewal can strip them of their enchantments needed to sustain their
spellcasting. The standard caveats on using Nature Rituals apply here, though.
Elementalists depend on spike damage from spells to take down opponents, and
often doing so depletes their stores of energy and leaves them with Exhaustion.
If you can outlast the Elementalist, they will be out of ammunition to spend to
hurt you, and you can more easily interrupt their spells with Concussion Shot
or Distracting Shot. Still, it is tough in the current metagame to beat a group
of Elementalists all focusing on a single character.
Mesmers
=======
Rangers often have very little trouble with Mesmers. Rangers don't cast spells,
which is the main target of the anti-caster support that a Mesmer can provide.
Mesmers have some of the weakest armor, and easily fall to any sustained
damage. However, be warned that Mesmers are also the most deceptive class in
the game. With Mantras and Distortion, Mesmers can avoid damage similar to a
Ranger, and spells like Illusion of Weakness can allow them to feign weakness.
Their spells don't care about armor, and thus your slight armor advantage is
not useful against them.
The main threat from Mesmers against Rangers is their Damage over Time spells,
like Conjure Phantasm. Empathy, Spirit Shackles, and other Hexes can also be
used against you. The easiest way to rid yourself of them is to lay down a
Nature's Renewal, but this can be interrupted by a Mesmer quite easily with the
long casting time. Troll Unguent can also counter the Damage over Time, but
again, long casting times make it vulnerable to interruption. Since Rangers
lack effective Hex removal, you'll have to rely on your Secondary class or
teammates to remove any Hexes on you.
A Mesmer can be your easiest target or worst nightmare, depending on whether or
not it is focusing on you. Do not ignore the sustained assault of a Mesmer, as
they can penetrate armor and they are good at shutting down a player (depending
on their skillset).
The best thing to do is to simply stick with a sustained attack against the
Mesmer, with the occasional interrupt to prevent them from casting.
Necromancer
===========
Necromancers often have armor on-par with yours (70 AL), and they possess a
variety of skills and spells that can do significant damage to a Ranger. Their
magic spells often penetrate armor (especially DOT spells like Life Siphon) and
they regenerate health just as well as you can with your Troll Unguent, using
Health draining spells and Blood magic. In other words, beware the Necromancer.
Still, Necromancers are spellcasters, and thus are vulnerable to interruption.
They have a long casting time with many of their spells. Be careful, though, of
Death Nova and Putrid Explosion, two spells that cause a lot of Area Effect
damage around death and corpses.
Rangers
=======
Inevitably, you are going to face other Rangers on the field. Because Rangers
are so versatile, it can be hard to predict what kind of tactics they are going
to be using, but a few pointers can be given. First of all, with all of the
conditions that Rangers typically apply, an Antidote Signet or other Condition
removal may be helpful to counter the main source of damage. Called Shot and
Crippling Shot (Elite) will penetrate all of the Ranger stances (although it
won't affect anything while you are Blinded). Barrage (Elite) can be handy to
take out masses of Spirits in a Spirit spamming build. And above all, DON'T
use an elemental bowstring, due to the Ranger's increased armor against the
elements.
Factions: Assassin
==================
This section is a work-in-progress
Factions: Ritualist
===================
Like you, the Ritualist has a large stable of spirits to summon. Ritualists
are as dangerous as Elementalists, and support a team as well as Monk. You
should think about taking out his spirits by either killing them (especially
defensive ones like Displacement or Union) or interrupting the Ritualist.
Remember that binding rituals are NOT spells, so you need to use generic
interrupts against them. With the long casting times on their spirits and
spells, they are fairly easy to interrupt, and being a squishy spellcaster,
they are pretty easy to take down with standard Ranger attacks.
-------------------------
- The Metagame (gwrg7c) -
-------------------------
The Metagame is a difficult abstract concept to explain, but it is an easy
concept to grasp, and it is of utmost importance in a competitive game with
such tactical and strategic variety and balance as Guild Wars. Basically,
while many combinations of skills can be powerful, all combinations of skills
can be countered in some way by some class combination. By following trends in
which combinations are popular in PvP, one can figure out which combinations of
"counters" to bring to a match.
For example, in late May of 2005, Aeromancer Elementalists were (and still are)
popular in PvP matches because of their ability to quickly "spike" damage. If
an Aeromancer or a group of Aeromancers all focus on one opponent (usually the
Monk), then they can quickly take that player out of the action at the
beginning of the match, forcing an early game resurrect (which makes the team
lose tempo) or even unraveling an entire game plan. Folks are starting to
either "Fight fire with fire" by bringing their own or finding ways to counter
the Aeromancer horde (a Ranger solution would be to place down a Quickening
Zephyr to strain the Energy reserves of the Aeromancers while a Monk solution
would be Mark of Protection or Protective Bond to attenuate the damage done).
I don't play enough PvP to follow the Metagame, nor is it useful to write down
the current state of the Metagame in a Ranger guide, as it relies on both
up-to-date information and discussion of techniques to counter as of now
unknown strategies. But if you play a lot of PvP, you need to be aware of the
changes in the metagame, so you can more effectively counter your opponents
even before they enter the arena.
The Spirit Spam Ranger
----------------------
One ranger-specific build that has risen in the Metagame of Guild Wars is the
so-called "Spirit Spammer", or a dedicated ritualist who constantly lays down
spirits. Usually, these spirits are tailored to defeat the Aeromancer Spike
Build using a combination of Quickening Zephyr, Nature's Renewal, and Fertile
Season. There have been teams using Spirits to block the Ghostly Hero from
taking the Altar, or simply "Spirit Roadblocking" the opposing team. With a
thick enough layer of spirits, it makes targets hard to call with so many decoy
spirits out on the field. Another variant is a team that takes advantage of
the Greater Conflagration/Winter combination, with Mesmer secondaries to take
advantage of Mantra of Frost and Elemental Resistance.
===============
= FAQ (gwrg8) =
===============
This section covers any and all questions not covered by the above guide,
including a lot of general questions not necessarily pertaining to Rangers.
General Questions
=================
Q. How can I get Fur Squares?
A. There is a collector that trades 4 Charr Hides for a Fur Square in Ascalon
City. Also, one can salvage Fur Squares from armor pieces and hides using an
Expert Salvage Kit with limited success depending on the value of the armor.
More expensive armors are more likely to give Fur Squares.
Q. What is the 15k Armor?
A. Armor that is bought at Marhan's Grotto and Granite Citadel costs 15,000
gold per piece, along with a huge amount of crafting materials. Generally,
they have the same armor level as the 1,500 gold armor bought at Draknor's
Forge, but are cosmetically different in some way. Thus, they are more of
status symbols than anything. There is also a forge in the Temple of Ages
dungeons (Underworld, Fissure of Woe) that crafts even MORE expensive armor,
but I have no idea what that armor looks like. As of the July 13th update, the
Druid's 15k armor now has an improved graphic, where previously it looked
identical to the Druid's 1.5k armor set.
With the release of Factions, there are multiple additional sets of 15k armors,
including three different non-Sided 15k armors, a 15k Luxon armor, and a 15k
Kurzick armor.
Q. I'm at Level 20. Why do I only have 170 attribute points?
A. The last 30 attribute points are gained from two different quests that give
15 attribute points each: Forgotten Wisdom (in the Crystal Desert after you
complete the Forgotten Ones), and Hero's Challenge (in the Southern Shiverpeaks
after you complete the Hero's Journey).
In the Factions campaign, the 15 point attribute quests are Lost Treasure (from
Raitahn Nem in Ran Musu Gardens) and An Unwelcome Guest (from the Zunraa in
Seitung Harbor, after you complete Zen Daijun).
Q. Why am I not getting +60 health from my two Minor Vigor Runes?
A. Runes do not stack with the same type. You can get multiple bonuses from
runes of different types, but you can't stack, say, two Minor Vigor Runes or
a Minor Vigor Rune plus a Major Vigor Rune. A Ranger typically will have one
Marksmanship Rune, one Expertise Rune, one Beast Mastery Rune, one Wilderness
Survival Rune, and one Vigor Rune. With the exception of Vigor Runes and
Absorption Runes, all Major and Superior Runes subtract health. It's generally
a bad idea to use more than one Major/Superior RUne as it brings your health
down by a significant amount.
Q. What is WPE? What is BWE?
A. They stand for World Premiere Event and Beta Weekend Event respectively.
Guild Wars was extensively tested during its Beta period by casual gamers to
balance and hone the various skills in the game. Much of the information out
there right now is based on the BWEs, and thus, may be out of date. One
example is the Kindle Arrow and Apply Poison duration listed at several sites,
as it was raised from 12 seconds to 24 seconds in the retail release.
Q. What is "infusing"? How do I infuse my armor?
A. After Ascension, you will face a brand new enemy called the Mursaat. They
and their Jade Armor and Jade Bow warriors have an attack called Spectral Agony
which does an extreme amount of damage to you very quickly. Infusing your
armor protects you against the Spectral Agony attack. To infuse your armor,
you need to find a Seer, who will take the Spectral Essence of an Eidolan and
infuse it into your armor. The first place that most people find the Seer is
the Iron Mines of Moladune mission near the end of the mission. Note that now
your armor is infused all at once instead of piecemeal as it was in May 2005.
Fully infused armor cuts the damage of Spectral Agony by about 1/10th. Whenever
you pick up new pieces of armor, those pieces need to be infused again.
Note that as of the June 29th update, your pets have the equivalent of infused
armor, thus protecting them in a similar manner against Spectral Agony.
Q. What are Faction points?
A. In the June 29th update, a brand new method of unlocking PvP options called
"Faction" was introduced. It works similar to Frequent Flyer Miles, except
that Faction points are earned through any PvP combat in which the player
participates. Full details are available at the official Guild Wars website,
but basically the more you play PvP, the more Faction that you earn, with more
points being earned for Guild vs. Guild combat and higher level arenas. You
can exchange Faction points at Priests of Balthazar scattered in all of the
"main" cities in Tyria. Faction points are best used to gain a specific
upgrade that is difficult to find randomly in-game (like Fortitude bowgrips or
Superior Vigor Runes, for example). Items/Skills/Runes unlocked through the
use of Faction are NOT given to your PvE character...instead, they are unlocked
for your PvP-only characters to choose from at the inventory/skill screens
during character creation.
Note that with the release of Factions, Faction points are divided into Faction
of Balthazar, Kurzick, and Luxon. The Balthazar Faction points facilitate the
PvP rewards, while Kurzick and Luxon Faction are used for various Factions-only
rewards.
Q. How do I change my Secondary class?
A. In the Crystal Desert, there are a series of quests in the outpost
non-mission towns, one for every class. To access these quests, you must first
complete The Hero's Journey quest from Vanyi in Droknar's Forge.
If you complete the requirements of the quest, then you can freely change to
that secondary class at any time. You do not lose any skills for changing your
class, you simply switch over to the new secondary class. Note that if you
want to change back to your original Secondary, you'll have to complete that
Secondary's quest as well. Also, you won't ever get the quest that corresponds
to your Primary class, obviously.
The quests are:
* The Elementalist's Path - Cembrien in Heroes' Audience
* The Mesmer's Path - Eulenias in Destiny's Gorge
* The Monk's Path - Nausuan in Seeker's Passage
* The Necromancer's Path - Kratha Kor in Heroes' Audience
* The Ranger's Path - Telius in Seeker's Passage
* The Warrior's Path - Agastos the Brave in Destiny's Gorge
In Cantha, you can also visit Senji's Corner, where Senji will change your class
for a one-time fee of 500 gold per class. You can freely change your class as
many times as you like, after paying the pre-requisite fee for your new class.
Senji's Corner is after the 4th mission in Factions, Nahpui Quarter.
Q. Why can't I enter the Underworld/Fissure of Woe?
A. The Underworld and Fissure of Woe are special locations that until July 13th
could be accessed by anyone who went to the Temple of the Ages while their
country has the favor of the gods. Now they can only be accessed by ascended
characters (those who have completed the Crystal Desert Ascension missions),
in a party without henchmen. If you can't enter, either your country does not
have the favor of the gods, or you aren't ascended.
Elite Skills and Bosses
=======================
Q. What is an Elite skill?
A. Guild Wars characters can only have ONE Elite skill in their skillbars,
making the selection of such skills a careful decision in most builds. In
general, Elite skills are Elite because they are either more powerful than
other similar skills or they can be combined with other Elite skills in
devastating ways (thus Elite skills are balanced, because they can't be used in
combos on any single character). You can only capture Elite skills from Boss
monsters using the Signet of Capture.
Q. Where can I find a Signet of Capture?
A. Signets of Capture are first found in Lion's Arch, as the quest reward for
the second quest given by Magi Malaquire (the first quest is called Orrian
Excavation). After you complete that quest (which is simply to capture a
skill), he gives you another one (and some XP). After that, you can purchase
Signets of Capture for one skill point and a handful of gold from him. You can
also purchase a Signet of Capture at any skill trainer AFTER Lion's Arch. You
can purchase as many Signets as you have skill points to spend, so be sure to
purchase at least 4 or 5 to capture all of the Elites that you want.
Q. Why can't I get (insert Elite skill here) from (insert Boss)?
A. There are no Elite skills before the Crystal Desert in the game. All of the
Elites that used to be on earlier creatures were removed. Most of the fansites
out there have outdated information from the last Beta and the first month of
release, back when pre-Crystal Desert bosses had Elite skills.
Q. I killed Markis, but the mission ended! How am I supposed to get Barrage?
A. The mission ends when you kill Markis AND his Jade Armor bodyguards. Thus,
you either have to lure him away from the Jade Armor towers that he is near, or
you have to get the rest of your team to kill Markis first, and distract the
Jade Armor guards while you capture the skill, being careful not to kill the
Jade Armors until you are finished.
Q. Where is Maxine Coldstone? I found Harn Coldstone, but he's an Elementalist!
A. Maxine and Harn Coldstone (siblings? marriage?) wander around Perdition Rock
in a wide circle that covers almost the entire island. However, typically you
will only meet either one or the other, but not both. If you see Harn, you'll
probably not run into Maxine on Perdition Rock.
Q. Where is (insert Boss here)? I can't find him!
A. Many of the bosses actually have random spawn locations, and thus do not
consistently spawn in the same area every time, and sometimes do not spawn at
all. However, there are a few key spots where a Boss of some kind will always
spawn, and you can often find your Boss by visiting all of these spots. It's a
bit tedious at times, but you'll find the Boss eventually. This mostly applies
to Thul Boulderrain, Whuup Buumbuul, and Ulhar Stonehound.
Ranger-specific Questions
=========================
Q. What is the best secondary for a Ranger?
A. In Guild Wars, there is no such thing as a "best" secondary profession for
any primary class, especially Rangers.
When you balance one of the spellcaster classes against the Ranger, you have to
realize that primary Rangers have less Energy regen and less total Energy than
Spellcaster combinations. With no good methods of Energy reclamation, you will
have to rely on your secondary's Energy-gaining skills. All of the spellcaster
classes are worth looking into. I've listed many of the useful spell
combinations for a Ranger/Spellcaster mix in this guide. Among all of the
possibilities, I'd say the Ranger/Mesmer has the most versatility and
combinations, but it is also the most redundant. Necromancers have plenty of
low-cost spells that work well with a Ranger, but they lack overall damage per
second. There is no such thing as a useless Monk combination, as an extra
Resurrect and more healing spells are always welcome, especially for Rangers
who don't like to use the slow-casting Troll Unguent. Ranger/Elementalists have
probably the highest capacity for straight Damage per Arrow with their Conjure
X line of spells, and if you are willing to sacrifice a lot of Energy you can
do some good initial bursts before you engage with your arrows. No build is
worth anything without experience and training within that class.
As for Ranger/Warriors, I definitely prefer them over Warrior/Rangers. Expertise
allows you to reduce the costs for your attack skills, which means that with a
High Expertise, you can repeatedly spam Cyclone Axe, Hundred Blades, Wild Blow,
etc. without running out of Energy. Frenzy allows you to have increased attack
speed at a lower cost than Tiger's Fury, and works great to increase your damage
output (more so than other skills). Finally, Apply Poison works well with Melee
Weapons.
Again, there is NO such thing as a "best" class combination in Guild Wars.
Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot. The whole point of the game is to
experiment and play around with it, finding a combination that is right for you.
Q. Do the skills Serpent's Quickness and Quickening Zephyr stack? What about
Energizing Wind?
A. I tested this with Troll Unguent, Quickening Zephyr, Energizing Wind, and
Serpent's Quickness, looking at a watch for timing the cooldowns:
* Troll Unguent alone - 10 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Quickening Zephyr - 5 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Serpent's Quickness - 7 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Energizing Wind - 12 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Serpent's Quickness and Quickening Zephyr - 3 seconds.
* Troll Unguent with Quickening Zephyr and Energizing Wind - 6 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Serpent's Quickness and Energizing Wind - 8 seconds
* Troll Unguent with all three - 4 seconds
So yes, they do stack, and it appears that the percentages are multiplied
together. I'd have to time it more precisely at a later date.
UPDATE: Mind Wallaby at GWOnline.net has done a video capture test, and the
numbers listed above are accurate.
Note that effects tend to be applied on a "First in/First out" basis. Thus, the
first effect that was applied on you, listed on the leftmost place on the
default condition monitor, gets applied before all the rest. This is important
when using Energizing Wind in concert with Quickening Zephyr, as you will want
to apply the Energizing Wind effect first (to cut down on the Energy cost)
before you apply the Quickening Zephyr.
Q. I put some points into Expertise, and yet my skill still says "5 Energy".
What's going on?
A. The game does not change the Energy displayed to the appropriate prorated
number based on Expertise. Thus, you'll see "5 Energy" in the skill description
but you'll be paying the reduced amount.
Q. Why do some Druid's Leggings have a +1 Energy bonus and some have +2 Energy?
A. Before the June 15, 2005 update, the PvP Druid's Leggings had a +2 Energy
bonus, but the Droknar's Forge Druid's Leggings only had a +1 Energy bonus. Now
all Druid's Leggings after June 15, 2005 have a +2 Energy bonus. However, old
Druid's Leggings from Droknar's Forge were not updated to the new Energy bonus.
Q. I have a Max Damage bow that has a requirement of 8 Marksmanship and another
Max Damage bow that has a requirement of 12 Marksmanship. Which one does more
damage?
A. They both do the same amount of damage at Marksmanship of 12. Requirement
only determines the minimum amount of Marksmanship needed to do the full damage
range of the bow. Damage is then determined by weapon skill vs. Armor Level of
the target, and the location hit. Requirement has no bearing on damage
calculation overall.
Q. Can the Spider pet cause Poison? Can the Warthog pet cause bleeding?
A. There is a rumor going around that spiders can poison on a critical hit, or
a warthog pet can cause bleeding on a critical hit. None of the pets can cause
conditions without the aid of skills.
In Nightfall, the Jahai Rat pet has a rare attack called "Gnaw of Sickness". It
is not known whether this attack is merely a rumor or if the attack causes any
additional status effects. Stay tuned.
Q. Do Shocking bowstrings give 25% armor penetration to a bow?
A. There is a rumor that the Shocking bowstring gives 25% armor penetration.
This is not true, but it is based on the fact that most Air Magic spells have
25% armor penetration. Shocking bowstrings only change your damage to
Lightning.
Q. What is a B/P Ranger?
A. B/P is short for Barrage (Elite)/Pet, which is a style of ranger that uses
Barrage as the main attack and a Pet for additional tanking/damage. It used to
be a Flavor of the Month build, but the popularity has waned.
Q. Do bears attack slower than other pets? Are they tougher?
A. Yes, but not by much. The reason is because they have a special attack
called Brutal Mauling. It is unknown what this attack does, but it adds a
slight delay every so often at random intervals to the Bear's attack speed. In
general, though, you are going to lose maybe 1 attack every minute, so the
reduction in speed is minimal, but present.
It is not known whether or not Bears have more armor or health than other pets.
One report showed that wild Bears take less damage than wild Wolves, but it has
not been live-tested on a captured Bear.
Q. Where is Bow Parry/Conflagration/?
A. There were many skills during the Beta Weekend Events that were subsequently
tweaked or taken out completely. Here is a partial list of skills that no longer
exist in Guild Wars:
* Blizzard - Replaced by Winter
* Bow Parry - Replaced by Whirling Defense
* Call of Aggression
* Call of Brutality
* Call of Disruption - Replaced by Disrupting Lunge
* Call of Elemental Protection
* Call of Feeding - Replaced by Feral Lunge
* Call of Ferocity - Replaced by Call of Haste
* Call of Healing
* Call of Resilience
* Call of Vitality
* Conflagration - Re-added in Factions
* High Winds
* Strider's Reflexes - Replaced by Escape
* Tongue Biter - Replaced by Concussion Shot
Technical Questions
===================
Q. How do I display the FPS on my screen?
A. You can see the Frames Per Second of your game by adding the parameter -perf
to the end of the command line shortcut. In other words, right-click your
Guild Wars shortcut icon and choose Properties. Under "Target", add -perf to
the end of the line, like so:
Target: "C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\gw.exe" -perf
Q. Is there a way to automatically enter my password into the Guild Wars client?
A. Yes, there is. The parameter -password "YourPasswordHere" at the end of the
command line shortcut will automatically enter your password when you boot up
your Guild Wars client. In other words, right-click your Guild Wars shortcut
icon and choose Properties. Under "Target", add -password "YourPasswordHere" to
the end of the line, like so:
Target: "C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\gw.exe" -password "YourPasswordHere"
Q. Is there a way to download the whole content of Guild Wars before I start
playing, instead of streaming or loading with missions/areas?
A. You can download the whole kit-n-kaboodle of Guild Wars by using the -image
command line shortcut:
Target: "C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\gw.exe" -image
Note that after the whole client downloads, the shortcut will NOT automatically
start the Guild Wars game. So either use a different shortcut icon when you
want to do a full download, or delete the -image switch from your shortcut
after you are done. Guild Wars is about 4 gigs (and counting!), so be prepared
for a long download time.
Q. I see folks with unusual symbols in their chat text, like stars and hearts.
How can I do this?
A. The characters that you see are found in the Unicode character set, which is
supported internationally by most fonts, including the font used by Guild Wars.
You can put these in your chatbar by copying and pasting them from an outside
source, like the Character Map program available under Start > Programs >
Accessories > System Tools directory on Windows computers. You can also go to
these websites for a whole list of them:
http://unicode.coeurlumiere.com/
http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/search.htm
Simply select the character that you want, CTRL+C to copy them to your clipboard
and go into your Guild Wars game, click on your chatbar, and CTRL+V to paste the
character into your chatbar.
Known Bugs
==========
* With Predatory Season, regular bow attacks appear to do two +4 Healing
instead of a single +4 (+5, modified by 80% for Predatory Season). Rangers
are effectively getting twice the benefit from it.
* When a Distracting Shot hits a target that is already easily interruptible,
from either skills like traps or the Dazed condition, the extra 20 seconds
aren't applied to the cooldown.
* Pets aren't teleported for cutscenes or total party kills.
Obsolete Questions
==================
The following questions/answers are obsolete due to the most recent patches,
and are left in this section for posterity:
Q. (OBSOLETE) Why can't I capture "insert Elite skill"? He never uses it!
A. Elite skills can only be captured starting with the Bosses in the
pre-Ascension Crystal Desert missions. Also, certain Elite skills are actually
Stances, like Escape, Melandru's Resiliance, and Practiced Stance, and thus do
not show up in the skillbar under the creature's targeted name. The key to
capturing stances is to tap on your Signet of Capture at a rate of about once
per second. Eventually, the creature will use it. Be careful not to spam the
Signet of Capture too quickly, or you will cancel your capture command. In the
June 1, 2005 update, the Signet of Capture system was changed to bring up a
menu of skills that a boss has, making it much easier to capture stances.
Q. (OBSOLETE) Where is "Crippling Shot" or "Punishing Shot"?
A. As of May of 2005, those two Elites have not been found on any boss. The
latest June 1, 2005 update, however, have re-enabled these skills on their
respective bosses. Crippling Shot (Elite) can be found from Melandru's Cursed
on Perdition Rock. Punishing Shot (Elite) can be found from Thul Boulderrain
in Snake Dance. He randomly spawns throughout the Shiverpeaks, too, whereever
Tundra Giants can be found.
Q. (OBSOLETE) Why can't I get Barrage from Markis?
A. As of June 8, 2005 update, the Signet of Capture brings up a list of skills
from killed bosses, rather than forcing you to capture a skill while the boss
is still alive. Thus, because the mission ends when Markis dies, you don't get
a chance to capture Barrage from him. The only place known that has Barrage
now is Abaddon's Mouth. In June 15, 2005, the update changed the victory
condition of the mission to defeat Markis AND his Jade Armor bodyguards, so now
you can get Barrage from him again.
-----------------------
- Skill List (gwrg9a) -
-----------------------
This list is reasonably complete, as far as Elite capturing, Trainers, and
Quest rewards. However, you can also gain some of the non-Elite skills from
bosses as well.
Call of Haste
-------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 25 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Shout
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: Charr Reinforcements (Ivor Trueshot in Piken Square)
For 30 seconds, your animal companions have 25% faster attack speed and move
33% faster than normal.
Charm Animal
------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 10 Seconds
Cooldown Time: None
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Skill
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: The Ranger's Companion, Endangered Species
Charm target animal. Once charmed, your animal companion will travel with you
whenever you have Charm Animal equipped.
Comfort Animal
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 1 Second
Cooldown Time: 1 Second
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Skill
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: The Ranger's Companion, Endangered Species
You heal your animal companion for 20-87 health. If your companion is dead, it
is resurrected with 10%-48% health.
Updated on April 29, 2006: Skills are no longer disabled
Disrupting Lunge
----------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Port Sledge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Your animal companion attempts a disrupting lunge that deals +1-10 damage. If
that attack strikes a foe using a skill that skill is interrupted and is
disabled for an additional 20 seconds.
Energizing Wind
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Port Sledge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, all skills cost 15
less energy (minimum cost 10 energy), and skills recharge 25% slower than
normal. This Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Ferocious Strike (Elite)
------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 8 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Elite Pet Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Thul the Bull (Spearhead Peak)
Your animal companion attempts a ferocious strike that deals +13-25 damage. If
that attack hits, you gain adrenaline and 3-9 energy. This is an elite skill.
Maiming Strike
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Maguuma Stade, Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Your animal companion attempts a maiming strike that deals +5-17 damage. If
that attack hits a moving foe that foe becomes crippled for 3-13 seconds.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Decreased recharge time to 5s (from 10s)
Primal Echoes
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Copperhammer Mines
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, signet rings cost 10
energy to use. This Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Scavenger Strike
----------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Maguuma Stade, Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Your animal companion attempts a scavenger strike that deals +10-25 damage. If
the attack strikes a foe who is suffering a condition, that foe takes an
additional +1-12 damage.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +10-25 (from +5-17)
Bestial Pounce
--------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Quarrel Falls, Henge of Denravi
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Narius in Henge of Denravi
Quest Reward: The Hot Springs Murders (Nebo Terrace/Bergen Hot Springs)
Your animal companion attempts a bestial pounce that deals +5-17 damage. If the
attack strikes a foe who is casting a spell, that foe is knocked down.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Decreased Cooldown to 10s (from 15s)
Brutal Strike
-------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Fisherman's Haven, Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Your animal companion attempts a brutal strike that deals +5-35 damage. If that
attack strikes a foe whose health is below 50%, that foe takes an additional
+5-35 damage.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +5-35 (from +5-17)
Call of Protection
------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 90 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Shout
Trainer Location: Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Quest Reward: Stone Summit Beastmasters (Artemis the Ranger, Traveler's Vale)
For 120 seconds, your animal companions have a 5-20 base damage reduction.
Updated on April 29, 2006: Decreased recharge time to 90s (was 115s)
Updated on October 27, 2006: Increased damage reduction to 5-20 (was 1-11).
Edge of Extinction
------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: Lost Princess (Fisherman's Haven)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. If a non-Spirit creature within its range dies, Edge
of Extinction deals 14-43 damage to all nearby creatures of the same type who
are below 90% Health. This Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Updated on April 29, 2006: No longer damages creatures outside its area
Updated on August 17, 2006: Now only affects creatures at 90% Health or below
Feral Lunge
-----------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: The Charr Patrol (Master Ranger Nente, Old Ascalon)
Your animal companion attempts a feral lunge that deals +5-35 damage. If the
attack strikes a foe who is attacking, that foe suffers from bleeding for 3-21
seconds.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +5-35 (from +5-17)
Fertile Season
--------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Fisherman's Haven, Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, every creature's
maximum health is increased by 50-290 and they gain +15 armor. This Spirit dies
after 15-39-45 seconds.
Melandru's Assault
------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Ice Tooth Cave, Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Your animal companion attempts a Melandru's Assault that deals +5-35 damage.
If that attack strikes a foe with an enchantment, that foe and all adjacent
foes take +5-17 additional damage.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +5-35 (from +5-17)
Otyugh's Cry
------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Shout
Trainer Location: Quarrel Falls, Henge of Denravi
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Narius in Henge of Denravi
Quest Reward: The Last Hog (Ascalon Settlement, north of Lion's Arch)
All animals in the area become hostile to your target and gain +20 armor for
30 seconds. Otyugh's Cry cannot turn charmed animals against their masters or
their master's allies. (50% failure chance with Beast Mastery attribute of 4 or
less.)
Predator's Pounce
-----------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Trainer Location: Grendich Courthouse, Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Your animal companion attempts a Predator's Pounce that deals +5-35 damage.
If that attack hits your animal companion gains 5-41 health.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +5-35 (from +5-17)
Predatory Season
----------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Quest Reward: Dropping Eaves (from Deep Root, Ettin's Back)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, all healing is
reduced by 20%. If any of your attacks hit, you gain 5 health. This Spirit
dies after 30-126 seconds.
Revive Animal
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 6 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Skill
Trainer Location: Ice Tooth Cave, Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Resurrect all nearby allied animal companions. They come back to life with
50-410 health
Symbiosis
---------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Marhan's Grotto
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: The Undead Hordes (Beetletun)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, for each enchantment
on a creature, that creature's maximum health is increased by 27-125. This
Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Symbiotic Bond
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 55 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Camp Rankor
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
For 120-264 seconds, your animal companion gains +1-3 health regeneration, and
half of any physical damage dealt to your animal companion is redirected to
you.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased health regen to +1-3 (was +1)
Tiger's Fury
------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: A Belated Betrothal (Tirzah in Seeker's Passage)
All your non-attack skills are disabled for 5 seconds. For 5-10 seconds, you
attack 25% faster than normal.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Decreased attack speed to 25% (from 33%)
Bestial Fury
------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Stance
All your non-attack skills are disabled for 5 seconds. For 5-9 seconds, you
attack 25% faster.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Decreased attack speed to 25% (from 33%)
Bestial Mauling
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Your animal companion attempts a Bestial Mauling that deals +5-17 damage. If
the attack strikes a knocked-down foe, that foe is interrupted and dazed for
5-17 seconds.
Enraged Lunge (Elite)
---------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Elite Pet Attack
Capture Boss: Royen Beast Keeper (Nahpui Quarter)
Your animal companion attempts an Enraged Lunge that deals +3-19 damage
(maximum bonus 80) for each recharging Beast Mastery skill. This is an elite
skill.
Heal as One (Elite)
-------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 1 Second
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Elite Skill
Capture Boss: Salke Fur Friend (Melandru's Hope, SW of Jade Quarry)
If you or your animal companion are below 75% health, you both gain 25-121
health. This is an elite skill.
Updated on October 27, 2006: Decreased cooldown to 10s (was 12s) and now
resurrects pets.
Lacerate (Elite)
----------------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Elite Nature Ritual
Capture Boss: Ryver Mossplanter (Arborstone)
Created a level 1-8 spirit. Bleeding creatures within its range suffer -2
health degeneration. When the spirit dies, all creatures within its range that
have less than 90% health begin bleeding for 5-21 seconds. This spirit dies
after 30-126 seconds. This is an elite skill.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Cooldown reduced to 45 from 60.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Decreased cooldown to 30 seconds (from 45)
Poisonous Bite
--------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 7 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Your animal companion attampts a Poisonous Bite that poisons target foe for
5-17 seconds.
Pounce
------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Your animal companion's next attack is a Pounce that deals +5-17 damage. If the
attack strikes a moving foe, that foe is knocked down.
Predatory Bond
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Shout
For 5-17 seconds, attacks by your animal companion heal you for 1-25 health.
Run as One
----------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 25 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Stance
For 5-13 seconds, you and your pet run 25% faster.
Updated on October 27, 2006: Decreased cooldown to 25s (was 30s)
Savage Pounce
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Pet Attack
Your animal companion attempts a Savage Pounce that deals +5-17 damage. If the
attack strikes a foe who is casting a spell, that foe is knocked down.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Decreased cooldown to 10 seconds (from 15)
Viper's Nest
------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Trap
Create a Viper's Nest. When it is triggered, all nearby foes are struck for
5-41 piercing damage and become poisoned for 5-17 seconds. Viper's Nest expires
after 90 seconds.
Heket's Rampage
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
For 5-17 seconds, you attack 33% faster. This stance ends if you use an attack
Skill.
Rampage As One (Elite)
----------------------
Energy Cost: 25
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Elite Skill
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
For 5-13 seconds, both you and your animal companion attack 33% faster and run
25% faster. This is an elite skill.
Strike As One (Elite)
---------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Elite Shout
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
For 30 seconds, you and your pet's next 5 attacks deals 4-9 additional damage.
This is an elite skill.
Toxicity
--------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Beast Mastery
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. Poisoned or Diseased creatures within its range
suffer -2-4 Health degeneration. This Spirit dies after 30-54 seconds.
Expertise Skills (Core)
=======================
Distracting Shot
----------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 1/2 of a Second
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: Charr Reinforcements (Ivor Trueshot in Piken Square)
If Distracting Shot hits, it interrupts target foe's action but deals only 1-13
damage. If the interrupted action was a skill, that skill is disabled for an
additional 20 seconds.
Escape (Elite)
--------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Stance
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Tyria Capture Boss: Whupp Buumbuul (Talus Chute/Snake Dance)
Cantha Capture Boss: Stsou Swiftscale (Maishang Hills)
For 5-15 seconds, you move 25% faster than normal and have a 75% chance to
evade attacks. This is an elite skill.
Lightning Reflexes
------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 45 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: Caravan in Trouble (Cynn in Eastern Frontier, near Pockmark Flats
entrance)
For 5-10 seconds, you have a 75% chance to evade melee and arrow attacks, and
you attack 33% faster.
Throw Dirt
----------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 1 Second
Cooldown Time: 45 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Skill
Trainer Location: Quarrel Falls, Henge of Denravi
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Narius in Henge of Denravi
Quest Reward: The Ascalon Settlement (Damaris, just outside Lion's Arch)
Target touched foe and foes adjacent to your target become blinded for 3-13
seconds.
Whirling Defense
----------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Quest Reward: Stone Summit Beastmasters (Artemis the Ranger, Traveler's Vale)
For 8-18 seconds, you have 75% chance to block attacks. Whenever you block an
arrow this way, adjacent foes take 5-10 piercing damage.
Dodge
-----
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: The Charr Staging Area (Master Ranger Nente, Old Ascalon)
For 5-11 seconds, you move 33% faster than normal and have a 27-65% chance to
evade incoming arrows. Dodge ends if you attack.
Marksman's Wager (Elite)
------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 24 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Preparation
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Tyria Capture Boss: Custodian Jenus (Elona Reach mission)
Custodian Phedous (Thirsty River mission)
For 18 seconds, you gain 5-9 energy whenever your arrows hit, but lose 10
energy whenever your arrows fail to strike. This is an elite skill.
Updated on October 27, 2006: Increased duration to 18s (was 12s)
Oath Shot (Elite)
-----------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 25 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Tyria Capture Boss: Hilos the Dutiful (Iron Mines of Moladune)
Perfected Cloak (Thunderhead Keep mission)
Cairn the Relentless (Abaddon's Mouth mission)
Cairn The Troubling (Ring Of Fire mission)
Jade Bow (Ice Floe)
If Oath Shot hits, all your other skills are recharged. If it misses, all your
skills are disabled for 10 seconds. This is an elite skill. (50% miss chance
with Expertise attribute of 7 or less)
Updated on July 13, 2006: Cooldown increased to 25 from 20.
Point Blank Shot
----------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 3 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: A Test of Marksmanship (Ivor Trueshot in Regent Valley)
Shoot an arrow that has half the normal range, but strikes for +10-22 damage.
Practiced Stance (Elite)
------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 15 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Stance
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Ryk Arrowwing (Mineral Springs)
For 20-32 seconds, your preparations are ready 50% faster and last 30-150%
longer. This is an elite skill.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased bonus from 30-150% (was 24-45%)
Archer's Signet (Elite)
-----------------------
Energy Cost: None
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 45 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Signet
Cantha Capture Boss: Nundak the Archer (Melandru's Hope)
All your non-attack skills are disabled for 15-9 seconds, your next 1-7 bow
attacks cost no energy. This is an elite skill.
Updated on July 13, 2006: No longer disables pet skills.
Updated on October 27, 2006: Affects 1-7 bow attacks (increased from 1-4).
Glass Arrows (Elite)
--------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Preparation
Cantha Capture Boss: Lorelle, Jade Cutter (Rhea's Crater)
Nadet, Glass Weaver (Morostov Trail)
For 10-30 seconds, your arrows strike for +5-13 damage if they hit and cause
bleeding for 10-18 seconds if they are blocked. This is an elite skill.
Trapper's Focus (Elite)
-----------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Preparation
Capture Boss: Chehbaba Roottripper (Mount Qinkai)
For 3-13 seconds, your trap skills are not easily interruptible. This is an
elite skill.
Zojun's Haste
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Stance
For 5-10 seconds, you move 33% faster and have 27-65% chance to evade incoming
arrows. Zojun's Haste ends if you attack.
Zojun's Shot
------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 3 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Shoot an arrow that has half the normal range, but strikes for +10-22 damage.
Expertise (Nightfall)
=====================
Expert's Dexterity (Elite)
--------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Preparation
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
For 12 seconds, all your attack Skills cost 75% more Energy and recharge
10-42% faster. This is an elite skill.
Sweltering Heat (Elite)
-----------------------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Elite Nature Ritual
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. Non-Spirit creatures within its range gain
adrenaline twice as fast. This Spirit dies after 30-54 seconds. This is an
elite skill.
Trapper's Speed
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Expertise
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
For 5-17 seconds, your Traps recharge 25% faster and activate 25% faster. This
stance ends if you hit with an attack.
Barrage (Elite)
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 1 Second
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Tyria Capture Boss: Snyk the Hundred Tongue (Abaddon's Mouth mission),
Markis (Iron Mines of Moladune mission)
Cantha Capture Boss: Aurora (Boreas Seabed mission), Chkkr Thousand Tail
(Drazach Thicket)
All your preparations are removed. Shoot arrows at up to 5 enemies near your
target. These arrows strike for +1-13 damage if they hit. This is an elite
skill.
Concussion Shot
---------------
Energy Cost: 25
Casting Time: 1/2 of a Second
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: The Royal Papers (Fisherman's Haven)
If Concussion Shot hits while target foe is casting a spell, the spell is
interrupted and your target is dazed for 5-17 seconds. This attack deals only
1-13 damage.
Updated on October 27, 2006: Decreased cooldown to 5 (was 10 seconds)
Debilitating Shot
-----------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Quest Reward: Helping the Dwarves (Grand Mason Stonecleaver in Yak's Bend)
If Debilitating Shot hits, your target loses 1-10 energy.
Updated on October 27, 2006: Now does -1 to -10 Energy and is linked to
Marksmanship.
Determined Shot
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Quarrel Falls, Henge of Denravi
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Narius in Henge of Denravi
Quest Reward: Graven Images (Archivist Ithimar in North Kryta Province)
If Determined Shot hits, you strike for +3-15 damage. If Determined Shot fails
to hit, all of your attack skills are recharged.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +5-20 (from +3-15)
Updated on July 13, 2006: Now recharges pet skills.
Favorable Winds
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: The Charr Patrol (Master Ranger Nente, Old Ascalon)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, arrows move twice as
fast as normal and strike for +6 damage. This Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Hunter's Shot
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: Endangered Species
If Hunter's Shot hits, you strike for +3-13 damage. If this attack hits a foe
that is moving or knocked down, that foe begins bleeding for 3-21 seconds.
Pin Down
--------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 15 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Quest Reward: A Test of Marksmanship, The Hungry Devourer
If Pin Down hits, your target is crippled for 3-13 seconds.
Power Shot
----------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: Ranger Test (Artemis the Ranger in Lakeside Valley)
If Power Shot hits, you strike for +10-25 damage.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +10-25 (from +10-18)
Precision Shot
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: The Forgotten Ones (Annelle Fips in Destiny's Gorge)
If Precision Shot hits, you strike for +10-18 damage. Precision Shot cannot be
blocked or evaded. This action is easily interrupted.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased damage to +10-25 (from +10-18)
Crippling Shot (Elite)
----------------------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 1 Second
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Melandru's Cursed (Perdition Rock)
If Crippling Shot hits, your target becomes Crippled for 1-8 seconds. This
attack cannot be blocked or evaded. This is an elite skill.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Increased Energy cost to 15 (from 10), duration now
scales according to skill (previously 8s)
Penetrating Attack
------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 3 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: Helping the People of Ascalon (Ambassador Zain, Old Ascalon)
If Penetrating Attack hits, you strike for +3-15 damage and this attack has 20%
armor penetration.
Punishing Shot (Elite)
----------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 1/2 of a second
Cooldown Time: 8 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Thul Boulderrain (Snake Dance/Southern Shiverpeaks)
If Punishing Shot hits, you strike for +10-18 damage and your target is
interrupted. This is an elite skill.
Read the Wind
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Preparation
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: A Test of Marksmanship (Ivor Trueshot in Regent Valley)
For 24 seconds, your arrows move twice as fast as normal and deal 3-9 extra
damage.
Savage Shot
-----------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 1/2 of a second
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Quest Reward: Blood and Smoke (Deep Root in Ettin's Back)
If Savage Shot hits, your target's action is interrupted. If that action was a
spell, you strike for 13-25 damage.
Updated on September 7, 2005: Now has a 0.5 second casting time.
Broad Head Arrow (Elite)
------------------------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 15 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
Capture Boss: The Afflicted Huan (Vizunah Square, Sunjiang District),
Daeman (Boreas Seabed), The Afflicted Pana (Unwaking Waters)
You shoot a broad head arrow that moves slower than normal. If it hits, target
foe is dazed for 5-17 seconds, and if target foe is casting a spell that spell
is interrupted. This is an elite skill.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Reduced cooldown to 15 from 20.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Reduced Energy cost to 15 (from 25)
Focused Shot
------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 2 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
If Focused Shot hits, you strike for +10-22 damage, but all your other attack
skills are disabled for 5-3 seconds.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Now disables pet attack skills.
Marauder's Shot
---------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
If Marauder's Shot hits, you strike for +10-30 damage, and all your non-attack
skills are disabled for 5 seconds.
Updated on July 13, 2006: No longer disables pet attack skills.
Melandru's Shot (Elite)
-----------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 7 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
Capture Boss: Razortongue Frothspit (Archipelagos)
If Melandru's Shot hits, you deal +10-30 damage. If it hits an enchanted foe,
you gain 15 energy. This is an elite skill.
Needling Shot
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 1 Second
Cooldown Time: 4 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Needling Shot strikes for only 5-17 damage and moves faster than normal. If
needling Shot strikes a foe below 50% health, Needling shot recharges instantly.
Seeking Arrows
--------------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Preparation
For 3-12 seconds, your arrows cannot be blocked or evaded. Seeking Arrows ends
if you fail to hit.
Splinter Shot
-------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
If Splinter Shot hits, you deal +3-13 damage. If Splinter Shot is blocked, all
foes adjacent to your target take 5-53 damage.
Sundering Attack
----------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 3 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
If Sundering Attack hits, you strike for +3-15 damage and this attack has 20%
armor penetration.
Marksmanship (Nightfall)
========================
Arcing Shot
-----------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
If this arrow hits, it strikes for +10-22 damage. This arrow cannot be
"blocked", but it moves 150% slower.
Burning Arrow (Elite)
---------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 8 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
If this attack hits, you strike for +10-26 damage and cause Burning for 1-4
seconds. This is an elite skill.
Crossfire
---------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
If this attack hits target foe, it deals +5-17 damage. If this foe is near any
of your allies, this attack cannot be "blocked" or "evaded."
Disrupting Accuracy
-------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Preparation
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
For 24 seconds, whenever your arrows critical, they also interrupt your target.
Forked Arrow
------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 5 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Shoot two arrows simultaneously at target foe. If you are under the effects of
an Enchantment or Hex, you shoot only one arrow.
Keen Arrow
----------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
If this attack hits, you strike for +5-13 damage. If you land a critical hit,
you deal an additional +5-17 damage.
Prepared Shot (Elite)
---------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
If this attack hits, you strike for +10-22 damage. If you are under the effects
of a Preparation, you gain 1-7 Energy. This is an elite skill.
Screaming Shot
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 8 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Marksmanship
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
If this attack hits, you deal +10-22 damage. If your target is within earshot,
that foe begins Bleeding for 10-22 seconds.
Apply Poison
------------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Preparation
Trainer Location: Ascalon Settlement north of Lion's Arch, Henge of Denravi
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Narius in Henge of Denravi
For 24 seconds, foes struck by your physical attacks become Poisoned for 3-13
seconds.
Barbed Trap
-----------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Trap
Trainer Location: Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Quest Reward: The Price of Steel (Alari Doubleblade, NW corner of Silverwood)
When Barbed Trap is triggered, all foes in the area take 20-56 piercing damage,
become crippled, and begin bleeding for 3-21 seconds. Barbed Trap ends after 90
seconds. While activating this skill, you are easily interrupted.
Choking Gas
-----------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 24 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Preparation
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: The False Gods (Brother Mizar, Temple of the Ages)
For 1-10 seconds, your arrows deal 1-7 more damage and spread Choking Gas to
all adjacent foes on impact. Choking Gas interrupts foes attempting to cast
Spells.
Flame Trap
----------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Trap
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: The Misplaced Sword (Yort the Bronze in Heroes' Audience)
When Flame Trap is triggered, every second (for 3 seconds total), all nearby
foes are struck for 15-27 fire damage and set on fire for 1-3 seconds. Flame
Trap ends after 90 seconds. While activating this skill, you are easily
interrupted.
Kindle Arrows
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Preparation
Trainer Location: Grendich Courthouse, Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
For 24 seconds, your arrows deal fire damage and hit for an additional 3-20
fire damage.
Nature's Renewal
----------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Camp Rankor
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For 30-126 seconds, enchantments and hexes take twice
as long to cast and it costs twice as much Energy to maintain Enchantments.
This Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Quickening Zephyr
-----------------
Energy Cost: 25
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: The Charr Staging Area (Master Ranger Nente, Old Ascalon)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, all skills recharge
twice as fast as normal and cost 30% more energy to cast. This Spirit dies
after 15-39-45 seconds.
Spike Trap (Elite)
------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Trap
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Tyria Capture Boss: Vulg Painbrain (Abaddon's Mouth)
Cantha Capture Boss: Meysang The Sadistic (Pongmei Valley)
When Spike Trap is triggered, all foes in the area take 10-56 piercing damage,
become crippled for 3-13 seconds and are knocked down. Spike Trap ends after 90
seconds. While activating this skill, you are easily interrupted. This is an
elite skill.
Storm Chaser
------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Quest Reward: Mysterious Message (Envoy Ero in Druid's Overlook)
For 8-18 seconds, you move 25% faster, and you gain 1-4 energy whenever you
take elemental damage.
Troll Unguent
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 3 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Skill
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: Ranger Test, The Ranger's Companion, Endangered Species
For 10 seconds, you gain health regeneration +3-9.
Winnowing
---------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: Into the Unknown (Jorn Kudabeh in Augury Rock)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, creatures take 4
additional damage whenever they take physical damage. This Spirit dies after
30-126 seconds.
Dryder's Defenses
-----------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Marhan's Grotto
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
For 5-10 seconds, you gain 75% chance to evade attacks and 34-55 armor against
elemental damage.
Dust Trap
---------
Energy Cost: 25
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Trap
Trainer Location: Droknar's Forge
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Quest Reward: Ghostly Vengeance (Marchena in Augury Rock)
When Dust Trap is triggered, every second (for 5 seconds total), all nearby foes
are Blinded for 3-8 seconds and take 10-22 earth damage. While activating this
skill, you are easily interrupted. Dust Trap ends after 90 seconds.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Decreased duration to 3-8 (was 3-9)
Frozen Soil
-----------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Marhan's Grotto
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, dead creatures
cannot be resurrected. This Spirit dies after 30-78 seconds.
Greater Conflagration (Elite)
-----------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Nature Ritual
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Valetudo Rubor (Hell's Precipice mission)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, all physical damage
is fire damage instead. This Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds. This is an
elite skill.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Cooldown reduced to 45 from 60.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Cooldown reduced to 30 seconds (from 45)
Healing Spring
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Trap
Trainer Location: Ascalon Settlement north of Lion's Arch, Henge of Denravi
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Narius in Henge of Denravi
For 10 seconds, all allies in the area are healed for 15-51 health every 2
seconds. While activating this skill, you are easily interrupted.
Ignite Arrows
-------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Preparation
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: Unnatural Growths (Aidan in Wizard's Folly)
For 24 seconds, your arrows explode on contact, dealing 3-15 fire damage.
Incendiary Arrows (Elite)
-------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 24 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Preparation
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Casses Flameweb (Ring of Fire)
For 8 seconds, targets struck by your arrows are interrupted and set on fire
for 1-3 seconds. This is an elite skill.
Melandru's Arrows (Elite)
-------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Preparation
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Ulhar Stonehound (Thunderhead Keep mission)
Resnar Mountaininsight (Frozen Forest)
Gargash Thornbeard (Grenth's Footprint)
Drago Stoneherder (Sorrow's Furnace)
Graygore Boulderbeard (Sorrow's Furnace)
Tarnok Forgerunner (Sorrow's Furnace)
For 18 seconds, whenever your arrows hit, they cause bleeding for 3-21 seconds
and do +8-24 damage if they hit a target who is under an enchantment. This is
an elite skill.
Melandru's Resilience (Elite)
-----------------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 25 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Stance
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Facet of Nature (Dragon's Lair mission)
For 8-18 seconds, you gain health regeneration of 3 and energy regeneration of
1 for each condition and hex you are suffering. This is an elite skill.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Health regen increased to +3 (was +2)
Muddy Terrain
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Copperhammer Mines
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Tyren in Droknar's Forge
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, all creatures move
10% slower than normal and speed boosts have no effect. This Spirit dies after
30-78 seconds.
Poison Arrow (Elite)
--------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: Next attack
Cooldown Time: 1 Second
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Capture Boss: Salani Pippip (Witman's Folly)
If Poison Arrow hits, your target becomes poisoned for 5-17 seconds. This is an
elite skill.
Serpent's Quickness
-------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 45 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Quest Reward: The Deserters (Master Saberlin in Beacon's Perch)
For 15-27 seconds, recharge times for your skills are reduced by 33%. Serpent's
Quickness ends if your health drops below 50%.
Winter
------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: Lion's Arch
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Jhoneil in Lion's Arch
Quest Reward: Stone Summit Beastmasters (Artemis the Ranger in Traveler's Vale)
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. For creatures within its range, all elemental damage
is cold damage instead. This Spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Brambles
--------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Create a level 1-8 spirit. Non-Spirit creatures that are knocked down in its
range takes 5 damage and begins bleeding for 5-17 seconds. This spirit dies
after 30-126 seconds.
Conflagration
-------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Created a level 1-8 Spirit. For non-Spirit creatures within range, all arrows
that hit strike for fire damage. This spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
Equinox (Elite)
---------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Nature Ritual
Capture Boss: Ranger Construct (Sunjiang District)
Create a level 1-8 spirit. Spells cast within its range that causes exhaustion
cause double the exhaustion instead. This spirit dies after 30-126 seconds.
This is an elite skill.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Cooldown reduced to 45 from 60.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Decreased cooldown to 30 seconds (from 45)
Famine (Elite)
--------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Nature Ritual
Capture Boss: Bound Zojun (Thannakai Temple)
Famished Ancient Brrne (Raisu Pavillion Mission)
Create a level 1-8 spirit. Whenever a non-Spirit creature in its range reaches
0 Energy, that creature takes 10-30 damage. This spirit dies after 30-78
seconds. This is an elite skill.
Updated on July 13, 2006: Cooldown reduced to 45 from 60.
Updated on September 14, 2006: Decreased cooldown to 30 seconds (from 45)
Snare
-----
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Trap
When Snare is triggered, all nearby foes become crippled for 3-13 seconds.
Snare ends after 90 seconds. While activating this skill, you are easily
interrupted.
Tranquility
-----------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. Enchantments cast by non-Spirit creatures within its
range expire 20-44% faster. This spirit dies after 15-51 seconds.
Barbed Arrows
-------------
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Preparation
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
For 18 seconds, your arrows cause Bleeding for 3-13 seconds. This Skill is
easily interrupted.
Natural Stride
--------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
For 1-7 seconds, you run 33% faster and have a 50% chance to block incoming
attacks. Natural Stride ends if you become Hexed or Enchanted.
Pestilence
----------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 60 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Nature Ritual
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Create a level 1-8 spirit. For any creature that dies within its range, all
Conditions on that creature are spread to all nearby creatures. This spirit
dies after 30-78 seconds.
Smoke Trap (Elite)
------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 20 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Trap
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
When Smoke Trap is triggered, nearby foes are Blinded and Dazed for 5-9
seconds. Smoke Trap ends after 90 seconds. While activating this Skill, you are
easily interrupted. This is an elite skill.
Scavenger's Focus (Elite)
-------------------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 12 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Preparation
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
For 24 seconds, your attacks deal +5-10 damage against foes suffering from a
Condition. This is an elite skill.
Tripwire
--------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Trap
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
When Tripwire is triggered, all nearby foes are struck for 5-17 piercing
damage. Any Crippled foes are knocked down. Tripwire ends after 90 seconds.
While activating this Skill, you are easily interrupted.
Weariness (Elite)
-----------------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: 5 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: Wilderness Survival
Skill Type: Elite Nature Ritual
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
Create a level 1-8 Spirit. All non-Spirit creatures within its range lose 1
Energy each time they attack or use a Skill. This Spirit dies after 30-78
seconds. This is an elite skill.
Other Non-Linked Skills
=======================
Antidote Signet
---------------
Energy Cost: None
Casting Time: 2 Seconds
Cooldown Time: 8 Seconds
Linked Attribute: None
Skill Type: Signet
Trainer Location: Amnoon Oasis
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Rocius in Amnoon Oasis
Quest Reward: Eye for Profit (Trader Versai in Druid's Overlook)
Cleanse yourself of poison, disease and blindness.
Updated on April 29, 2006: No longer removes other conditions than listed
Called Shot
-----------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 3 Seconds
Linked Attribute: None
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Yak's Bend
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Willem in Yak's Bend
Quest Reward: Supplies for the Duke (Gate Guard Hollis in Old Ascalon)
Shoot an arrow that moves 3 times faster than normal and cannot be blocked or
evaded.
Dual Shot
---------
Energy Cost: 10
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: None
Skill Type: Bow Attack
Trainer Location: Ascalon City
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Garemm in Ascalon City
Quest Reward: Unnatural Growths (Aidan in Wizard's Folly)
Shoot two arrows simultaneously at target foe. These arrows deal 25% less
damage than normal.
Updated on April 29, 2006: Increased cooldown to 7s (was 5s)
Updated on October 27, 2006: Increased cooldown to 10s (was 7s)
Quick Shot (Elite)
------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 1 Second
Cooldown Time: 1 Second
Linked Attribute: None
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: Dakk in Droknar's Forge
Tyria Capture Boss: Maxine Coldstone (Perdition Rock)
Cantha Capture Boss: Razorjaw Longspine (Silent Surf)
Shoot an arrow that moves twice as fast.
Updated on March 2, 2006: Fixed a bug that caused arrow to move normal speed
Magebane Shot (Elite)
---------------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: 1/2 of a Second
Cooldown Time: 10 Seconds
Linked Attribute: None
Skill Type: Elite Bow Attack
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
Elona Capture Boss: ?
If this attack hits, it interrupts target foe's action. If that action was
a Spell, this attack instantly recharges. This is an elite skill.
Storm's Embrace
---------------
Energy Cost: 5
Casting Time: None
Cooldown Time: 30 Seconds
Linked Attribute: None
Skill Type: Stance
Trainer Location: ?
PvP Unlock Priest Location: ?
For 10 seconds, you move 25% faster. This stance is refreshed whenever you
take Elemental damage.
-----------------------
- Armor List (gwrg9b) -
-----------------------
Note: This list is incomplete, but all of the important armor merchants are
listed here, along with prices and materials costs. I've yet to hop into the
Underworld to check out the merchants there.
(Prefix) available: Druid's, Explorer's, Frostbound, Pyrebound, Scout's,
Sentry's, Stormbound, and Ranger's (note: Ranger's does not
require Bone).
Cantha: Wajjun Bazaar
=====================
Note: Tyrian Armor looks like the armor bought from Post-Searing armor crafters
by Prophecies characters.
Voldo the Exotic (Base AL 70) 1,500 gold, except Ranger's (750 gold)
--------------------------------------------------------
Tamer's Tyrian Mask 25 Bolts of Cloth, 4 Bolts of Linen
Archer's Tyrian Mask 25 Bolts of Cloth, 4 Bolts of Linen
Hunter's Tyrian Mask 25 Bolts of Cloth, 4 Bolts of Linen
Traveler's Tyrian Mask 25 Bolts of Cloth, 4 Bolts of Linen
Ranger's Tyrian Mask 25 Bolts of Cloth
(Prefix) Tyrian Vest 75 Bolts of Cloth, 12 Bolts of Linen
(Prefix) Tyrian Gloves 25 Bolts of Cloth, 4 Bolts of Linen
(Prefix) Tyrian Leggings 50 Bolts of Cloth, 8 Bolts of Linen
(Prefix) Tyrian Boots 25 Bolts of Cloth, 4 Bolts of Linen
(Prefix) available: Druid's, Explorer's, Frostbound, Pyrebound, Scout's,
Sentry's, Stormbound, and Ranger's (note: Ranger's does not
require Bolts of Linen).
The Breach
----------
* Sally Kaugie trades 3 Scorched Seeds for Ascalon Bow 9-13 (req. 3
MarksmanshiP) +10% damage while Hexed, +10% damage while Health is below 40%
Diessa Lowlands
---------------
* Gil Morridan trades 4 Leathery Claws for Leather Vest (AL 31)
* Wayne Hughes trades 3 Charr Carvings for Ascalon Bow 11-18 (req. 3
Marksmanship)
* Martel Bastions trades 3 Scorched Lodestones for Ascalon Bow 11-18 (req. 3
Marksmanship)
Dragon's Gullet
---------------
* Ashram Fenn trades 3 Scar Behemoth Jaws for Ascalon Bow 11-18 (req. 3
Marksmanship), no additional bonuses
Old Ascalon
-----------
* Dreaz Bowem trades 3 Fetid Carapaces for Leather Gloves (AL 31)
* Penelope Hoode trades 3 Scorched Seeds for Ascalon Bow 11-18 (req. 3
Marksmanship)
* Saba Blackstone trades 3 Scorched Lodestones for Diessa Flatbow 11-18 (req. 3
Marksmanship) Damage +15% while Health is above 50%,
Armor penetration +10% (chance 10%)
* Palben Tunne trades 4 Ornate Grawl Necklaces for Leather Leggings (AL 31)
Piken Square
------------
* Louise Haup trades 3 Charr Carvings for Ascalon Bow 11-18 (req. 3
Marksmanship) Damage +15% while Health is above 50%,
+25% damage vs Charr
Regent Valley
-------------
* Valeria Benes trades 3 Singed Gargoyle Skulls for Longbow 11-18 (req. 3
Marksmanship) +10% damage while in a stance, Armor +7 vs Elemental Attacks
(just outside of Fort Ranik)
Twin Serpent Lakes
------------------
* Falhurst trades 5 Mergoyle Skulls for Leather Gloves (AL 49)
* Gruhn the Fisher trades 5 Bog Scale Fins for Leather Gloves (AL 49)
Watchtower Coast
----------------
* Ian Sturmme trades 5 Feathered Caromi Scalps for Archer's Mask (AL 49)
* Tenlach Silverhand trades 5 Abnormal Seeds for Tamer's Mask (AL 49)
Tyria: Maguuma Jungle
=====================
Druid's Overlook
----------------
* Mosreh the Exile trades 5 Ebon Spider Legs for Leather Gloves (AL 61)
Ettin's Back
------------
* Hember trades 5 Thorny Carapaces for Leather Vest (AL 61)
* Horton Longsnout trades 5 White Mantle Emblems for Leather Vest (AL 61)
* Lord Engelram trades 5 Maguuma Manes for Leather Boots (AL 61)
The Falls
---------
* Agrippa Stonehands trades 5 Behemoth Jaws for Hunter's Mask (AL 61)
* Llourdes the Arcane trades 5 Jungle Scale Fins for Leather Leggings (AL 61)
* Meghan the Bright trades 5 Jungle Troll Tusks for Leather Leggings (AL 61)
* Slayton Redblade trades 5 Tangled Seeds for Traveler's Mask (AL 61)
Mamnoon Lagoon
--------------
* Vargil the White trades 5 Ancient Eyes for Ascalon Bow 14-26 (req. 8
Marksmanship) Damage +15% while in a stance (Type?)
Reed Bog
--------
* Elene the Vigilant trades 5 Ebon Spider Legs for Leather Gloves (AL 61)
Sage Lands
----------
* Aaron Fletcher trades 5 Ancient Eyes for Tamer's Mask (AL 61)
* Elwynn Kirby trades 5 Tangled Seeds for Archer's Mask (AL 61)
Tangle Root
-----------
* Tully Blackvine trades 5 Tangled Seeds for Ascalon Bow 14-26 (req. 8
Marksmanship) +15% damage while enchanted (just outside of Maguuma Stade)
Ventari's Refuge
----------------
* Jaden Fletcher trades 5 Ancient Eyes for Leather Boots (AL 61)
Tyria: Crystal Desert
=====================
Note: New Max Damage Ascalon Bows are being offered in the Crystal Desert as of
the June 29th update. This list may be incomplete.
Lornar's Pass
-------------
* Nord Stonegrimm trades 5 Frozen Shells for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Longbow)
Mineral Springs
---------------
* Trego Stonebreaker trades 5 Mountain Troll Tusks for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req.
9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Short bow)
* Bariel Darkroot trades 5 Alpine Seeds for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Composite bow)
Snake Dance
-----------
* Hoknil the Lesser trades 5 Azure Remains for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship) +15% damage while Enchanted (Horn Bow)
Talus Chute
-----------
* Hoknil the Greater trades 7 Massive Jawbones for Leather Vest (AL 70)
Witman's Folly
--------------
* Mag Ironwall trades 5 Intricate Grawl Necklaces for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), +15% damage while enchanted (Flatbow)(just outside Port Sledge)
* Vania Sewell trades 7 Azure Remains for Leather Boots (AL 70)
Cantha: Shing Jea Island
========================
Haiju Lagoon
------------
* Junsu trades 2 Bonesnap Shell for Shing Jea Boots (AL 45)
* Gorobei trades 3 Naga Pelt for Shing Jea Gloves (AL 45)
* Guardsman Kikuchiyo trades 2 Gold Crimson Skull Coin for Shing Jea Vest
(AL 45)
* Mirko trades 3 Enchanted Vine for Shing Jea Mask (AL 45)
* Xi Gai trades 3 Elder Kappa Shell for Shing Jea Leggings (AL 45)
Jaya Bluffs
-----------
* Gruut Snowfoot trades 3 Feathered Crest for Shing Jea Gloves (AL 45)
* Morokam trades 3 Stolen Supplies for Shing Jea Vest (AL 45)
* Rei Ming trades 3 Silver Crimson Skull Coin for Shing Jea Leggings (AL 45)
Kinya Province
--------------
* Chen Po Chin trades 3 Mantid Pincers for Shing Jea Boots (AL 25)
* Craw Razorbeak trades 3 Naga Hide for Shing Jea Gloves (AL 25)
* Guardsman Keiko trades 3 Copper Crimson Skull Coin for Shing Jea Vest (AL 25)
* Shenzun trades 3 Augmented Flesh for Sing Jea Leggings (AL 25)
Panjiang Peninsula
------------------
* Guardsman Ayoki trades 3 Copper Crimson Skull Coin for Sing Jea Mask (AL 25)
* Guardsman Kenji trades 3 Silver Crimson Skull Coin for Short Bow of Fortitude
10-16 (req. 5 Marksmanship), Health +20
* Losai Hapatu trades 4 Kappa Shell for Recurve Bow of Fortitude 10-16 (req. 5
Marksmanship), Health +20
Seitung Harbor
--------------
* Chen Po Chin trades 1 Oni Claw for Shing Jea Boots (AL 45)
Sunqua Vale
-----------
* Debiro Kuri trades 5 Naga Hide for Longbow of Fortitude 7-10 (req. 1
Marksmanship), Health +15
* Seung Kim trades 5 Feathered Scalp for Short Bow of Fortitude 7-10 (req. 1
Marksmanship), Health +15
Tsumei Village
--------------
* Teizhan trades 5 Feathered Scalp for Recurve Bow of Fortitude 7-10 (req. 1
Marksmanship), Health +15
Maatu Keep
----------
* Dye Master Franjek trades 5 Pulsating Growth for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
The Marketplace
---------------
* Attendant Nashu trades 5 Putrid Cyst for Short Bow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
Pongmei Valley
--------------
* Luci trades 2 Guardian Moss for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship),
Damage +15% (vs. hexed foes)
Brauer Academy
--------------
* Kristoffir Roi trades 5 Dredge Incisor for Longbow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while Health is below 50%)
Ferndale
--------
* Chef Armand trades 5 Truffle for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship)
Damage +15% (while in a Stance)
House Zu Heltzer
----------------
* Andru Pitrak trades 3 Keen Oni Claw for Hornbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship)
Damage +15% (vs. hexed foes)
* Jaun Stumi trades 4 Vampiric Fang for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship)
Damage +20% (while Health is below 50%)
* Master Architect Wright trades 5 Stone Carving for Long Bow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
Morostav Trail
--------------
* Dmitri Scharkoff trades 5 Warden Horn for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship)
Damage +15% (while enchanted)
* Jonn Tertehl trades 5 Stone Horn for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship)
Damage +20% (while hexed)
Saint Anjeka's Shrine
---------------------
* Guard Captain Mirkoz trades 5 Dredge Incisors for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9
Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
This checklist assumes that you will reach level 20 and complete all of the
missions, thus gaining enough skill points. It also assumes that you complete
the missions in order without skipping ahead. The checklist is in approximate
chronological order through the storyline of the game.
If you complete this checklist, not only do you beat the game, but you also
will unlock ALL of the Ranger skills. The trainers listed in the checklist
obviously have more skills available than the few that are cited. However,
those skills are the only ones that you should purchase, as the rest of the
skills offered by that trainer can be gained from a quest without using up a
skill point.
Note that there are many skills that can be earned much earlier than stated in
this checklist by capturing from various bosses. These are listed as (Optional)
CAPTURE items on the checklist. The skills listed after the CAPTURE entry are
those that cannot be earned as a quest reward. I strongly advise that you only
capture them if you desperately need that skill or the skill is NOT given as a
quest reward, as it will use up a Signet of Capture and a Skill Point.
Throughout the checklist, a tally of Skill points earned and Skill points used
is kept, for your reference, in case you want to plan ahead when buying skills
from your secondary class.
EXPLORE: Find the location listed
QUEST: Complete the Quest listed
MISSION: Complete the Mission listed
(Optional): Not necessary to complete the Ranger skillset
Lakeside County
===============
___ EXPLORE:Find Ashford Abbey
___ QUEST:Ranger Test, Artemis the Ranger - Power Shot, Troll Unguent
___ QUEST:Adventure with an Ally, Lina the Healer - Resurrection Signet
___ QUEST:Tithe for Ashford Abbey, Devona - 1 Skill Point
(Level + 0 Skill points earned)
Green Hills Country
===================
___ (Optional) EXPLORE:Find The Barradin Estate
Regent Valley
=============
___ QUEST:The Ranger's Companion, Master Ranger Nente - Charm Animal, Comfort
Animal
___ QUEST:A Test of Marksmanship, Ivor Trueshot - Read the Wind, Point Blank
Shot
___ (Optional) EXPLORE:Find Fort Ranik
The Great Northern Wall
=======================
___ MISSION:Complete the Great Northern Wall mission and arrive at Fort Ranik
(Level + 1 Skill points earned)
Fort Ranik
==========
___ MISSION:Complete the Fort Ranik mission and arrive at Frontier Gate
(Level + 2 Skill points earned)
Frontier Gate/Eastern Frontier
==============================
___ EXPLORE:Find the Ruins of Surmia
___ QUEST:Caravan in Trouble, Cynn (near Pockmark Flats entrance of the Eastern
Frontier) - Lightning Reflexes
___ (Optional) EXPLORE:Find Pockmark Flats and Serenity Temple
Ruins of Surmia
===============
___ MISSION:Complete the Ruins of Surmia mission and arrive at Nolani Academy
(Level + 3 Skill points earned)
Nolani Academy
==============
___ EXPLORE:Find Grendich Courthouse
___ MISSION:Complete the Nolani Academy mission and arrive at Yak's Bend
(Level + 4 Skill points earned)
Yak's Bend
==========
___ EXPLORE:Find Borlis Pass
___ QUEST:Helping the Dwarves, Grand Mason Stonecleaver - Debilitating Shot
___ TRAINER:Captain Osric - None (All can be gained from a quest)
___ (Optional) EXPLORE:Find Iron Horse Mines
Iron Horse Mines
================
___ (Optional) CAPTURE:Garris Nightwatch - Fertile Season
Traveler's Vale
===============
___ QUEST:Stone Summit Beastmasters, Artemis the Ranger - Call of Protection,
Whirling Defense, Winter
___ (Optional) CAPTURE:Ulhar Stonehound - Fertile Season
Borlis Pass
===========
___ MISSION:Complete the Borlis Pass mission and arrive at the Frost Gate
(Level + 5 Skill points earned)
The Frost Gate
==============
___ EXPLORE:Find the Ice Tooth Cave
___ MISSION:Complete the Frost Gate mission and arrive at Beacon's Perch
(Level + 6 Skill points earned)
Beacon's Perch
==============
___ EXPLORE:Find the Gates of Kryta
___ QUEST:Hungry Devourer, Master Saberlin - Pin Down
___ QUEST:The Deserters, Master Saberlin - Serpent's Quickness
The Gates of Kryta
==================
___ MISSION:Complete the Gates of Kryta mission and arrive at Lion's Arch
(Level + 7 Skill points earned)
Lion's Arch
===========
___ EXPLORE:Find the Ascalon Settlement in North Kryta Province
___ QUEST:Orrian Excavation, Magi Malaquire
___ QUEST:Signet of Capture, Magi Malaquire - Signet of Capture
___ TRAINER:Firstwatch Sergio - None (All can be gained from a quest)
North Kryta Province
====================
___ EXPLORE:Find Nebo Terrace
___ EXPLORE:Find D'Alessio Seaboard
___ QUEST:Graven Images, Archivist Ithimar - Determined Shot
___ QUEST:The Ascalon Settlement, Damaris - Throw Dirt
___ QUEST:The Last Hog, Farmer Dirk - Otyugh's Cry
___ TRAINER:Ascalon Settlement, Captain Greywind - Apply Poison, Healing Spring
(6 Skill points used)
___ (Optional) CAPTURE:Cella the Hooded - Energizing Wind
Nebo Terrace
============
___ EXPLORE:Find Nebo Village
___ EXPLORE:Find Bergen Hot Springs
___ EXPLORE:Find Beetletun
___ QUEST:The Hot Springs Murders, Inspector Caleb - Bestial Pounce
Bergen Hot Springs
==================
___ EXPLORE:Find the Cursed Lands, then the Black Curtain, then the Temple of
the Ages
Temple of the Ages
==================
___ QUEST:The False Gods, Brother Mizar - Choking Gas
___ (Optional) EXPLORE:Find the Talmark Wilderness
Quarrel Falls
=============
___ TRAINER:Sorim - None (All can be gained from a quest)
Ettin's Back
============
___ EXPLORE:Find Aurora Glade
___ QUEST: Dropping Eaves, Deep Root - Predatory Season
___ QUEST:Blood and Smoke, Deep Root - Savage Shot
Aurora Glade
============
___ MISSION:Complete the Aurora Glade mission and arrive at Henge of Denravi
(Level + 12 Skill points earned)
Henge of Denravi
================
___ EXPLORE:Find Maguuma Stade
___ EXPLORE:Find Riverside Province
___ TRAINER:Master Scout Kiera - None (All can be gained from a quest)
Heroes' Audience
================
___ EXPLORE:Find the Vulture Drifts and the Dunes of Despair
___ QUEST:The Misplaced Sword, Yort the Bronze - Flame Trap
Dunes of Despair
================
___ MISSION:Complete the Dunes of Despair mission
(Level + 16 Skill points earned)
Thirsty River
=============
___ CAPTURE: Custodian Phedous - Marksman's Wager (Elite)
(11 Skill points used)
___ MISSION:Complete the Thirsty River mission
(Level + 17 Skill points earned)
The Dragon's Lair
=================
___ CAPTURE:Facet of Nature - Melandru's Resiliance (Elite)
(12 Skill points used)
___ MISSION:Complete the Dragon's Lair mission and arrive at Droknar's Forge
(Level + 18 Skill points earned)
Droknar's Forge
===============
___ EXPLORE:Find Witman's Folly and Port Sledge
___ EXPLORE:Find Talus Chute and Camp Rankor
___ EXPLORE:Find the Ice Caves of Sorrow
___ QUEST:Hero's Journey, Vanyi - Unlocks Hero's Challenge
___ QUEST:Hero's Challenge, Vanyi - 15 Attribute points
___ TRAINER:Bartoch - None (All can be gained from a quest)
Ice Caves of Sorrow
===================
___ MISSION:Complete the Ice Caves of Sorry and arrive at the Iron Mines of
Moladune
(Level + 19 Skill points earned)
Iron Mines of Moladune
======================
___ CAPTURE:Markis - Barrage (Elite)
(20 Skill points used)
___ EXPLORE:Find Copperhammer Mines
___ MISSION:Complete the Iron Mines of Moladune mission and arrive at
Thunderhead Keep
(Level + 20 Skill points earned)
___ BONUS:Infuse all of your armor
___ (Optional) CAPTURE:Hilos the Dutiful - Oath Shot (Elite)
Ember Light Camp
================
___ QUEST:Final Blow received from Shadow
Perdition Rock
==============
___ CAPTURE:Maxine Coldstone - Quick Shot (Elite)
(29 Skill points used)
___ CAPTURE:Melandru's Cursed - Crippling Shot (Elite)
(30 Skill points used)
___ QUEST:Complete Final Blow and arrive at the Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire
============
___ CAPTURE:Casses Flameweb - Incendiary Arrows (Elite)
(31 Skill points used)
___ CAPTURE:Vulg Painbrain - Spike Trap (Elite)
(32 Skill points used)
___ MISSION:Complete the Ring of Fire Mission and arrive at Abaddon's Mouth
(Level + 22 Skill points earned)
Abaddon's Mouth
===============
___ MISSION:Complete the Abaddon's Mouth mission and arrive at Hell's Precipice
(Level + 23 Skill points earned)
___ (Optional) CAPTURE:Snyk the Hundred Tongue - Barrage (Elite)
Hell's Precipice
================
___ CAPTURE:Valetudo Rubor - Greater Conflagration (Elite)
(33 Skill points used)
___ MISSION:Complete the mission and beat the PvE game
(Level + 24 Skill points earned)
Note: You will only have used 31 skill points total by the end, because you get
two free Signets of Capture from Magi Malaquire in Lion's Arch)
Miscellaneous
=============
This is a short checklist of things to unlock for your PvP character.
___ UNLOCK:Minor Rune of Beast Mastery
___ UNLOCK:Minor Rune of Expertise
___ UNLOCK:Minor Rune of Marksmanship
___ UNLOCK:Minor Rune of Vigor
___ UNLOCK:Minor Rune of Wilderness Survival
___ UNLOCK:Major Rune of Beast Mastery
___ UNLOCK:Major Rune of Expertise
___ UNLOCK:Major Rune of Marksmanship
___ UNLOCK:Major Rune of Vigor
___ UNLOCK:Major Rune of Wilderness Survival
___ UNLOCK:Superior Rune of Beast Mastery
___ UNLOCK:Superior Rune of Expertise
___ UNLOCK:Superior Rune of Marksmanship
___ UNLOCK:Superior Rune of Vigor
___ UNLOCK:Superior Rune of Wilderness Survival
___ UNLOCK:Ebon Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Fiery Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Icy Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Poisoner's Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Shocking Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Sundering Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Vampiric Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Zealous Bowstring
___ UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Defense
___ UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Enchanting
___ UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Fortitude
___ UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Marksmanship
___ UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Shelter
___ UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Warding
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Charrslaying
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Deathbane
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Dwarfslaying
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Giantslaying
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Pruning
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Skeletonslaying
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Tenguslaying
___ (Optional) UNLOCK:Bow Grip Of Trollslaying
======================
= End Notes (gwrg10) =
======================
-------------------
- Version History -
-------------------
0.1 First version of this Ranger guide is released.
0.11 Fixed a basic Math error in the Expertise section. Whoopsie! Also added
"Signet of Capture" in the FAQ.
0.12 Added information about Spirits
0.13 Added Collectors List
0.14 Added information from June 1, 2005 update
0.15 Minor changes on Farming runs
0.16 Some minor formatting changes
0.17 Added some skill quest rewards, Otyugh's Cry entry
0.18 Added Expertise breakpoint table, as well as changed the entry in
Expertise due to a big error. Added more Marksmanship information,
including Bow Damage. Thanks to Charlie Neo for catching my mistakes.
0.19 Some minor spelling/grammar corrections and formatting changes. Added
Energy Thief theme and "Victory is Mine" discussion.
0.20 Completed the Quest Reward skill locations, fixed some typos
0.21 Updated some information from the June 8, 2005 update
0.22 Added 1st version of the Ranger PvE checklist
Allowed several more sites to reproduce this guide, with credit
0.23 Added more FAQs, updated the Ranger PvE checklist with Optional entries
Fixed typo with Salani Pippip, corrected Quick Shot information
0.24 Added more themes to the spellcaster build section.
0.25 Clarified language on Storm/Eternal/Shadow bow section. Revised guide with
changes from latest June 15, 2005 update.
0.26 Added new quest rewards for Barbed Trap, Choking Gas, and Throw Dirt
0.27 Birthday Edition (Happy Birthday to me!) Added trapper in UW info, updated
Fertile Season entry
0.28 Added information from the June 29, 2005 update, including PvP Priest of
Balthazar locations for all the skills, and new Collector's bows.
0.29 Added more Ascalon Bow 15-28 collectors and a tidbit about PvP Necros
0.30 Added Fissure of Woe armor, revised Pet Mechanics section, fixed typos in
PvE checklist
0.31 Fixed Serpent's Quickness text. Minor updates coinciding with the July
13th update
0.32 Minor updates all around
0.33 Added bowgrip discussion
0.34 Some small corrections, FAQ updated
0.35 Pre-Searing collectors updated (thanks to zampani at GWOnline.net)
0.36 Added Skill Buffering, clarified some language in the Bow FAQ, and updated
the Lornar's Pass collectors bow as a longbow (confirmed by Xcutioner on
GWOnline.net forums).
0.37 Updated the Bow FAQ, added "The Ranger Progression" to PvE section, credit
to Mind Wallaby for confirming timing data in FAQ.
0.38 Dryder's Defenses bug is fixed, apparently. Symbiotic Bond bug updated.
0.39 Minor updates all around
0.40 Updated information from the 8/25/05 Update, which changed MANY skills,
Nature Rituals, and Pets.
0.41 Updated some information from the 9/7/05 Update
0.42 Updated information from the 9/29/05 update.
0.43 Updated information from the 3/2/05 update.
Added Sorrow's Furnace bow list
0.44 Updated information from the 4/29/06 update.
0.45 First Factions writeups.
0.46 More Factions updates.
0.47 Added Cantha collectors.
0.48 Added Kaineng City and Seitung Harbor Armor Crafters
0.49 More Factions writeups on various skills, Spirit Spammer 2.0 theme.
0.50 Enraged Lunge, Touch Ranger writeup.
0.51 Added Shing Jea Monastery Armor Crafters
0.52 Minor additional corrections and writeups.
0.53 Added Oroku, Voldo the Exotic, Kurzick 15k, Luxon 15k Armor Crafters.
Added Factions bowstrings.
0.54 Minor correction in Sundering/AP entry
0.55 Added Factions Preparations to the prep discussion, some minor word
changes, added Factions greens list
0.56 Corrected the Situational Damage entry and Major rune discussion.
0.57 More build discussion, Edge of Extinction entry, Factions Expertise skills
It's also my Birthday, June 20th.
0.58 Edited the Pet Mechanics section with additional research
Corrected Practiced Stance discussion (Thanks to Michael Bourgon)
0.59 Split Prophecies skills in appendix to Core and Prophecies categories.
0.60 Added some updates from July 13, 2006.
0.61 Updated to incorporate skill changes on August and September 2006
0.62 Updated to incorporate skill changes on October 27, 2006
0.63 First Nightfall update (skills and some discussion)
-----------
- Credits -
-----------
Most of the Skill List information was gleaned from the following fansites:
gwonline.net
guildwarsguru.com
gwvault.ign.com
Most of the Bow and Armor information was taken from discussions on the
gwonline.net forums, as well as personal investigation (and in one case, a
perilous journey through the Shiverpeak mountains).
Specifically, I'd like to thank Tilmitt for the work on bow stats.
I'd like to thank GammaRay for doing the extensive testing with the pets at the
gwonline.net forums.
The damage equations were tested and theorized by SonOfRah and found here:
http://www.gwonline.net/page.php?p=157
SonOfRah also clarified various pet mechanics, including pet evolutions
A great reference for pets has been compiled and updated by Jenosavel and
Epinephrine, which I will reference here:
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89491
I'd like to thank my guildmates in the East Bay Alliance of Yeomen [eBay].
I'd like to thank Nobleman Azure, for reciprocity. He may be a Mesmer, but we
Rangers still think you are pretty groovy.
I'd also like to thank NCSoft for finally making a 3D Diablo clone that fits my
liking and an online RPG that doesn't have a monthly fee, all in the same game.
--------------------
- Copyright Notice -
--------------------
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
The following sites have permission to use this FAQ as long as it is credited:
http://www.gamefaqs.com
http://www.gwonline.net
http://www.supercheats.com
http://www.1up.com
http://www.dlh.net
http://www.neoseeker.com
http://beacon.wiseelben.com
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
In particular, Guild Wars is a trademark of NCsoft Corporation.
Guild Wars is copyrighted by NCsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already
know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be
killed."
G.K.Chesterton
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