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Guild Wars 2 |OT3| Two Week Updates, One Box, Zero Subscriptions

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Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
Also been meaning to ask, how come my exploration is missing 1 entry even though I 100% the map?

174/175 Kryta, 59/60 Orr, 172/175 Shiverpeaks, 162/167 Maguuma.
Most likely - jumping puzzles.
Don't mean to be contrarian, but it is most likely not jumping puzzles he'll need to reach full map exploration. By which I mean, the jumping puzzles (which are easy to go through with the achievements tab) are generally a lot simpler to check off than some of the areas needed for full map exploration. He may be missing some areas from not having done JPs, but to get the full explorer achievements for each one almost definitely means other stuff.
Yeah but surely even when you 100% the map before, the achievements should've been "claimed" right?
100% World Completion is essentially the "do every zone's Hearts/POI/Vista/Skill Point" achievement.

This is separate from exploration, and there are a number of areas you can get 100% World Completion having never seen.

It's tricky to narrow down which you are missing. Just looking up obscure areas in each region of the world is your best bet. One you may be missing in Maguuma is Aurora's Demise in Brisban Wildlands, which you access from Toxal Bog.
If you are not an Order of Whispers you probably never went to the Chantry of Secrets. There is a POI in there.
The Chantry of Secrets is necessary for World Completion; if he's still missing that then it's a good bet. If he has it though, it's not the final Krytan area he's missing.
 
What do you guys suggest for a build for a Ranger? I'm still low level, but I'd like to think about it in advance. As of right now I have 10 in the first line, and a couple not yet spent. I use LongBow and Greatsword, and three traps as utility.
 
What do you guys suggest for a build for a Ranger? I'm still low level, but I'd like to think about it in advance. As of right now I have 10 in the first line, and a couple not yet spent. I use LongBow and Greatsword, and three traps as utility.

http://intothemists.com/guides/1850-pvedungeon_damage_ranger
This is with 3 signets but uses LB and GS.

http://intothemists.com/guides/1606-general_pve_wvw_mobility
Another option if you do not like signets, this doesn't use traps either though.

Maybe you can use the traits these two builds are using to come up with an idea for your trap build.
 

Arcteryx

Member
I swear, the new faces are full of fun, especially the "does this look like the face of mercy" female asura and charr faces.

Also been meaning to ask, how come my exploration is missing 1 entry even though I 100% the map?

174/175 Kryta, 59/60 Orr, 172/175 Shiverpeaks, 162/167 Maguuma.

Use http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/User:Bluestone/Explorer to find the last ones. It's likely around the border of the map or in some underground section you missed.
 
I'm trying to follow the Retro-path of not getting involved(don't even have an active account) and maybe I am even spreading the negative seed by posting links, but I just can't help myself as I ponder on why it gets under my skin when people are being unfair towards things I like.

Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae. - Kurt Vonnegut

When you read something online, unless you've mentally separated the writer from yourself (which on GAF you may do automatically for reasons), you're hearing what you read in your head in your own voice. Then, when you read something you don't agree with, you get a kind of cognitive dissonance, and it's uncomfortable.

Likely, it's not that you're upset at them for saying something you know is untrue, you're upset at yourself for "saying" something you know is not true. That's why it lingers - because it creates an argument cycle inside your head. A friend used to say, "don't let people rent space in your head". Reading someone's pseudo-intellectual bitchfest online, which isn't doing anything other than saying "I don't like this thing and I'm going to complain until it's fixed no matter what", just makes a little copy of that sentiment in your head that sits there autonomously, arguing with the rest of you.

The Russian psychologist Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky wrote a whole bunch on the topic, long before the internets (See: Thought and Language).

Solution?

It's cliche, but forgive them for being tards and forgive yourself for caring about something. It's a running battle, but eventually it works out. The internet has become a real double edged sword, in that it lets us find kindred spirits easier than in the history of mankind, but it also exposes us to so *much* mankind, we're not really that well equipped to deal with it, from an evolutionary standpoint.
 
I did a dumb thing last night guys... I logged in, saw my gold count and proceeded to exchange all but 30g for gems to get black lion keys of all things. opened 20 chests, got 3 mini caithes, 1 black lion ticket, 3 scraps, a bunch of boosters and then realized what I did and promptly logged out...

I feel so ashamed.
 

Moondrop

Banned
What do you think of these?
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=VH;4wEFy-x2gEF-0;9k8;2JTJ;056-27A17;9;9;1Fz0-35o
I made it by myself, so it's probably a bit strange.

All three of your adept traits are questionable. Don't bother taking traits centered around reviving; this is only ever an issue in spvp.

The thing with traps is their utility depends on the game mode- fire trap is great in pve, but less so elsewhere. Poison trap is tricky, as it's best for mitigating enemy healing. Frost trap can be quite effective, and is the one trap I bring on my ranger. I recommend bringing two traps and swapping them given the situation.
 
All three of your adept traits are questionable. Don't bother taking traits centered around reviving; this is only ever an issue in spvp.

The thing with traps is their utility depends on the game mode- fire trap is great in pve, but less so elsewhere. Poison trap is tricky, as it's best for mitigating enemy healing. Frost trap can be quite effective, and is the one trap I bring on my ranger. I recommend bringing two traps and swapping them given the situation.
And what should I use as third utility slot?
Like, fire, frost/poison and a signet maybe?
I Trier the spirits, but theyre not that good if they dont follow you around.
I chose those adept trait excluding the others mostly, they didn't seem that useful. What do you suggest?
 

Retro

Member
I'm trying to follow the Retro-path of not getting involved

I don't read Official Forums for any game as a rule and I'm sad every time I think that anyone at ArenaNet has to. I also feel for anyone who has a genuinely good suggestion (they're out there) and tries to be heard over the din until they just give up, is attacked for suggesting something that might impact the vocal minority negatively, or just never bothers because they know they'll just be drowned out.

I've toyed with the idea of posting stuff several times, not just for GW2 but other games. Then I remember how defensively precise I'd have to write it to avoid people misunderstanding and going on the attack, or how simple I'd have to explain it to avoid the TLDR spam. I mean, I don't mean to sound elitist, but GAFers are pretty dedicated and experienced gamers, and I think our feedback probably has at least slightly more value than your average player. This thread is constantly discussing things, in a relatively rational manner and to a relatively useful conclusion, that would simply get shit on or sidetracked were they on the official forums.

The good thing is, we get to talk to the devs occasionally in-game (where I notice everyone is respectful and doesn't badger them, which is something I worried about) and we have the contact info for a few folks if we ever want to shoot them an e-mail. We've also been approached by the developers specifically to give feedback on things or to attend little community meetings on their Vent server (just once though, Jira and I went and it was a disaster because other people were behaving like it was the official forums). I've passed along specific posts on GAF to them, or at least fired off an e-mail and said "Hey, we're discussing this recently, thought you'd like to know." I also know that at least one developer posts in this thread and more than a few read it.

So basically, what I'm getting at here is that ArenaNet does maintain communication with the community outside the official forums and that GAF does have some degree of direct interaction with the devs. Bottom line: if something about the game is bugging you, post about it here (leaving out the usual "Lazy devs"-type commentary) and chances are good somebody will see it or the sentiment will at least get passed along.
 

Moondrop

Banned
And what should I use as third utility slot?
Like, fire, frost/poison and a signet maybe?
I Trier the spirits, but theyre not that good if they dont follow you around.
Overall I think you still have some figuring out to do as to exactly the role your ranger will fill and for which game modes. I didn't even see a second pet listed. As to a third utility slot, "Protect Me" (defense), Signet of the Hunt (movement speed), Muddy Terrain (alternative trap bomb), Lightning Reflexes (stunbreak + vigor), Quickening Zephyr (stomp), and Sharpening Stone (conditions) all have their uses.

I chose those adept trait excluding the others mostly, they didn't seem that useful. What do you suggest?
Marksmanship: Beastmaster's Bond (VI) is ok. Steady Focus (I) good if you use a lot of longbow, Keen Edge (III) ok if you have condition damage, Signet Mastery (IV) if you have a signet you activate.
Skirmishing: Pet's Prowess (I) and Agility Training (VI) both underrated if you actually use your pets; Sharpened Edges (II) or Primal Reflexes (IV) otherwise.
Wilderness Survival: Soften the Fall (I) has applications for WvW scouting, Shared Anguish (III) if you don't use your pet, Vigorous Renewal (IV) solid, Wilderness Knowledge (VI) if you take one of those utilities plus helps your elite.

And while we're here, Oakheart Salve (VIII) is only useful when you pack a lot of healing power. Hide in Plain Sight (IX) in spvp/wvw or Martial Mastery (X) would serve you better here.
 

Levyne

Banned
This is something I wrote up a while back. I'm not taking time to edit/update it, just copypasta.

This is WvW focused but the greatsword/sword talk later in the post works okay in pve as well. I had a pve write up too, I'll try to find it.

Partially a cross post from the discussion in the "Official Ranger Builds" thread so that I can elaborate more here and not clutter up the sticky thread with as much theory-crafting.

Inspiration
So, I initially was looking for something to replace my roaming-regen set to better suit myself for large group fights, and I stumble upon this thread on Guru:

Sentinel Frontliner: Next Level WvW Ranger (Guide) Specifically, this variant.

Falcanium also located this Ranger guide, using the same trait point allocation and utility slots.

Accompanying Video:

Discussion

This is what I am currently sitting with though it is still very much in flux when it comes to gear. At the moment, Applied fortitude provides me the vitality to stay alive but we'll see if that keeps up as more people are able to slot rank points into it. Pet Selection is the Krytan Drakehound and the Wolf.

The basic idea is that the Ranger can survive in the front line either with the heavies and then back off, or pop in once the heavies have already pushed. You are survivable enough to stick around, stay upright, and proc the skills you need to, and then back off into a more mid-range role. If the group is being supported well by water fields (of which the ranger has an execellent water field), and you use your weapon evades smartly, you can potentially stay up front the entire fight. The primary skills are Entangle and Muddy Terrain, with Stone and Wild Signet being for invuln and stablity/+25% damage respectively. While the stone and wild signet may seem like selfish choices, one must remember that these also affect your pet which allows then to roar off their fears and immobilize. Think of it this way, with this set up, you have access to THREE area immobilizes if you smartly use your pet. And then you can swap to a fear while in combat. Just have to remember to use your pets and not ignore them, even if you slot 0 in BM.

Muddy terrain is a very nice soft cc with a long duration and generous cool down that immobilizes anyone you cast it on and cripples any who walk over it. With Wilderness Knowledge, you have access to MT every 20 seconds and it lasts 10, which is excellent up time. I tend to not slot Wildnerness Knowledge, running Shared Anguish instead. I find that I'm not typically waiting on MT to cd anyways, though obviously you can slot the Major trait however you feel you need. Entangle is very powerful, and I try to burst forward and place that as soon as the commander pushes. It forces cleanse and induces stun breakers. If you are patient enough to seek out the back line after the initial push has been made, it can absolutely wreck casters though I like to proc it early so that I can get a second Entangle later in the fight. I touched on Stone and Wild Signet. Both are good passive or active and allow your pet to get off a roar.

The idea with the axe offhand is that it is highly damaging, pulls, and interrupts, and pierces. A clump of enemies can be interrupted and bought away from their mob. You can park in a clump at activate axe 5 (if you need to you can proc stone signet while doing this) to build up vulnerability, not be damaged by projectiles, and retaliate those that are hitting you. You also build might with the crits here but I am still trying to consider a better sigil on the sword. The sword is highly damaging and also highly maneuverable, so it's great for getting out of trouble and staying upright.

The longbow is very useful but also a bit of a dead-weight if you end up caught in a close quarters skirmish with it and unable to swap readily. . I'm thinking of dropping the Longbow for a Axe/Warhorn. Or maybe I could go Sword/AxeOr Warhorn and then GS. Longbow can be really useful in a zerg fight though, as long as you have a more maneuverable weapon on swap. It's great for crippling barrages if you are in the back and don't have MT up, or are sieging a tower, but sometimes I feel like I'd rather have some other weapon slotted. Rapid fire, traited to pierce through a zerg, is fun to fire from the back if you like to see lots of numbers, and the stealth and sort of be band-aided into an escape, though I'd only use that as a last resort. Luckily my LB and Sword are legendary so I can respec those easily. I have two ascended axes so that I can swap out once bloodlust is maximized. I feel the sentinels trinkets and applied fortitude afford me the Knights armor selection, but I may need to swap rune-sets. I just listed a Zerker backpiece since those are not as easy to replace and it's what I have access to at the moment. As long as I stay above 3000 armor I find that I am largely okay.

Here is something I've put together gear-wise in order to replace the expensive sentinel's trinkets. All of the major stats are in line with what was there before. Swapped out for Ranger runes, since that 5% 6th slot is basically perfect for Rangers (and rangers only). Greater damage output and vitality with no loss in toughness.

Here is variant that I am going to try next, dropping the longbow for a greatsword and adjusting traits accordingly. I don't think you'd need to swap any gear or trinkets around, you lose some precision and gain some toughness from the new traits which would be desirable anyway with this swap.

I agree that warhorn is a nice off hand as well, it's just that warhorn 4 is near-useless and 35 second cooldown on 5 is not exactly generous. I have run it in zergs, as it IS our only real blast finisher...it's just extremely underwhelming and it feels like a lot of time waiting for nothing or launching birds for the lols. I think it would be nice if they made something like Maul a blast finisher. Not holding my breath though. Axe mainhand I find is...okay.... It feels like a lazy weapon for zerg fights. Axe 2 isn't gonna do much of anything to anyone, and neither is a single target chill in Axe 3. It's a GREAT roaming weapon, or good for a condition-bunker-regen type. I use it in pvp when I spec significantly more strongly in conditions. I HAVE read ideas of putting a chill-on-crit on mainhand axe, but I haven't tested it myself.

What I've been doing recently is running the GS/Sword build as linked. Yes the sword is tricky to learn to keep yourself where you want to position yourself, but it is a great defensive weapon with its two evades, and the Sword 2-1 -> look behind -> 2-2 is a great distance creator. The sword also does a great job for chasing people down, which is essential in a periphery-type role. The greatsword is great for more macro-positioning. So easy to just target the tag and swoop to him for instant regroup and healing and other blasts. The evade on auto is great for wiping up downed and being patient enough to wait for the counterattack on 4 followed by 5 make it a great skirmishing weapon. I have pretty great luck/fortune/skill/what-have-you running two melee sets, as a ranger. Though the sample size is still small. I will try main hand axe again next time I want to have a melee-range pairing. I've typically used longbow for that purpose but I've been loving that less and less.

I would really like it if they dropped the warhorn 5 recharge. No way am I slotting the offhand trait to still have a longer recharge than warriors base and, lol, more frequent birds. When I did run warhorn I found I often couldn't blast anyway because it was on cooldown. Thet could easily drop the recharge by 5 if not a fulll 10 seconds (and boom duration accordingly), which is a testament to how long the recharge is currently. It would be exceedingly nice if 4 didn't require line of sight and provided a blind or something. But it does and doesn't, respectively. But until those are tweaked, I find I just can't /love/ warhorn, though still clearly a better option than, say, torch or dagger.
 

Levyne

Banned
PVE Ranger

Not as detailed but all I could find.

While this isn't the only option, Start Here (I believe he has an updated vid from October) I would personally find another weapon other than Shortbow for the swap, either axe/axe, flip out offhands, GS, hell, even longbow. You don't have to follow the guide exclusively. For instance I have more points into Marksmanship and less into nature magic. Rangers are not great support characters, because their support type utilities and traits often are Ranger-Pet type, not Ranger-party type. The spirits are their only real group support and they are fragile as fuck. And the recent grandmaster trait giving group regen on shouts was a nice little bone for anet to throw, I'm not sure I've seen it used much though, I haven't really dabbled in it However, frost spirit is surprisingly powerful if you learn/know how to keep it upright.

Pugs can be a little bit harsh on grouping with rangers because many will sit back, swapping between bows, possibly in defensive armor, sitting with a crappy bear ("because they don't die!" (hint: in most cases they suck anyway)), standing outside of boon range and offering little in the way of party support themselves. The stigmatization is perhaps a bit exaggerated but totally understandable. Yeah, 20/25/0/25/0 is probably the most typical. Run something like sword/axe or sword/warhorn and then the “off-set” can be up to you. You can go something like GS or axe/horn (so you have access to both off hand warhorn and off hand axe, even though main hand axe is average.) Spotter, and frost spirit with the trait for proc, yeah. Then sic em and quickening or something. I typically run 30/25/5/10/0 though for a more "general’ use set. Still lots of dps, and the natural vigor is a “fit all” trait that’s really nice to have. You can then run SotBM and all three signets have their use. Wild is a nice +25% and can replace sic em. Hunt you can proc out of combat and switch out. Stone is a nice panic button if you feel you are taking too many hits. The other traits are the Pet+30% crit, pet might on crit, and the +10% when endurance is full trait.
 

Proven

Member
Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae. - Kurt Vonnegut

When you read something online, unless you've mentally separated the writer from yourself (which on GAF you may do automatically for reasons), you're hearing what you read in your head in your own voice. Then, when you read something you don't agree with, you get a kind of cognitive dissonance, and it's uncomfortable.

Likely, it's not that you're upset at them for saying something you know is untrue, you're upset at yourself for "saying" something you know is not true. That's why it lingers - because it creates an argument cycle inside your head. A friend used to say, "don't let people rent space in your head". Reading someone's pseudo-intellectual bitchfest online, which isn't doing anything other than saying "I don't like this thing and I'm going to complain until it's fixed no matter what", just makes a little copy of that sentiment in your head that sits there autonomously, arguing with the rest of you.

The Russian psychologist Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky wrote a whole bunch on the topic, long before the internets (See: Thought and Language).

Solution?

It's cliche, but forgive them for being tards and forgive yourself for caring about something. It's a running battle, but eventually it works out. The internet has become a real double edged sword, in that it lets us find kindred spirits easier than in the history of mankind, but it also exposes us to so *much* mankind, we're not really that well equipped to deal with it, from an evolutionary standpoint.

I'll try to remember all of this.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
I was trying to kick you out of the party (since you went offline) but since, kick from party and kick from guild are beside each other, you got kicked from the guild.

I re-invited you though. Stop crying.
Aw I figured he did something that really offended you, like existing.
 

Retro

Member
Wintersday Items and More in the Gem Store!
New—Upgrade Extractor!
Did you accidentally apply an awesome upgrade to the wrong piece of armor? Use the Upgrade Extractor to remove any upgrade from any item, without destroying either the upgrade or the item!

Fancy Wintersday Outfits!
Stay warm, show off your fashion sense, and stroll around town in the fanciest Wintersday clothes available!

Royal Terrace Pass!
Pick up a Royal Pass to get unlimited access to the Queen’s Royal Terrace – which has asura gates, vendors, crafting stations, and more – for two full weeks!

Permanent Holiday Finishers!
The Gift and Snowman Finishers allow you to spread the Wintersday spirit even as you destroy your foes!
 

Proven

Member
Oh! They brought back the finishers from last year as permanent upgrades! I'm glad I held out on buying the snow globe finisher as I really wanted the present one back more.
 

xeris

Member
Not a problem. Did a double-take when I saw the GAFO tag floating above you. Haven't seen one of those in probably a year.

Oh and for those of you keeping score at home, Tzixxi is my new project to get to 80.
 

markot

Banned
Is there a wallpaper of the picture on the right?

Bk8tnYj.jpg
 

Retro

Member
Not that I've seen or could find on Google. Maybe they'll release it as a wallpaper at some point. Cool christmas card though.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
I'm looking to do a Gift Purchase exchange for Collection Expanders. I want to buy two, so basically if anyone is interested I'll buy them one and they can buy me one right back; then we'd both get 2 stack expansions for 1280 gems versus 1600. Anybody interested?

Also, stay tuned for details on our first weekly Saturday Night Fever lottery.
 

Complistic

Member
I'm looking to do a Gift Purchase exchange for Collection Expanders. I want to buy two, so basically if anyone is interested I'll buy them one and they can buy me one right back; then we'd both get 2 stack expansions for 1280 gems versus 1600. Anybody interested?

Also, stay tuned for details on our first weekly Saturday Night Fever lottery.

Yeah, I'll help you out if you still need help. I can do it anytime within the next few hours. Or after midnight tonight.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
Yeah, I'll help you out if you still need help. I can do it anytime within the next few hours. Or after midnight tonight.
Shweet, thanks!. Next few hours is work work, but I'll gift the expander to you tonight when I get home, just do the same for me whenever you get the chance!
Of all the things I miss about GW2, I miss your puns most of all.

Not really. But pretty close.
I'll be honest, I would have missed that one.

Edvard, www.intothemists.com's build calculator does reflect the new changes.
 
Thanks to today's PA, I now have a term for people who keep playing a thing while simultaneously constantly bitching about how it's horrible the worst game ever and nobody sane would play it: hate-players.
 

Vyrance

Member
I swear, the new faces are full of fun, especially the "does this look like the face of mercy" female asura and charr faces.

Also been meaning to ask, how come my exploration is missing 1 entry even though I 100% the map?

174/175 Kryta, 59/60 Orr, 172/175 Shiverpeaks, 162/167 Maguuma.

There are some areas that do not have any POIs, vistas, or hearts. I also had to visit different hidden areas in just about every region for the exploration achievements. Just go into a map and check it against the wiki to see what areas in a map you are missing. Was able to finish mine off pretty easily that way!
 
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