Hello, New Guild Wars Player, A Few Questions!

As the topic title states I'm new to Guild Wars! I'm trying out the trial for GW since a few of my co-workers plan to play.

I've played some MMO's not too many and recently ended my sub to WoW (was only sub'd for a month anyways ) and am now giving GW a try.

I plan on playing as a Ranger/??? and was wondering what a good PvP build is? My co-worker is going to play as a Warrior/Necromancer and we have a few people ready to play and eventually join a guild we create.

I'm thinking of using this build for my ranger, any suggestions for a better build?

I simply want to focus on DPS for PvP and that's about it.

Well I guess that's everything, my IGN is Testrum Sentius feel free to whisper me

~Testrum

That is not a good build for PvP in general. You might have noticed the part where it says PVE BUILD at the top, that's there for a reason. You should probably pick something like this instead. More than that though it depends on which mode of PvP you will be playing.

Testrum, just remember that you can ALWAYS change your build So long as you have extra skills (you can buy/earn them in the main game, or get them as rewards for PvP) you can always swap them around when you're in an outpost. Don't think you're stuck to one build!

You can also change your secondary class, so if something isn't working or you want to try a new class, do so! You can always swap back

I strongly recommend you to play a bit of pve first to get better known with the professions and skills in gw. When you are familar with most skills etc in pve you can start working on pvp. Some skills are different and many professions certainly have different positions in pvp, but seing how complicated guild wars (build wars?) pvp can be, I think it will be easier for you guys to start out in pve.
If you however want to go right on the pvp part there are some guides etc that will make things easier for you.

I guess I could list a few things to remember in pvp:
By the way you express how you want to play your ranger I think you might be looking at the wrong profession. With only a few exeptions (ranger spike and some pressure builds in HA) rangers are mainly used for splitting (in gvg) and interrupting shit. This takes alot of practice, but a good ranger can really give the enemy casters and healers a tough day at work.

I'll list up the professions and what they usually are used for in pvp (mostly gvg and HA):

Warrior - Kill stuff!!! Leave your self heal in pve, healing is your monks job. You should be focusing on cutting stuff down.

Assassin/dervish - Not used as much as warrior in pvp, but can certainly be useful in some teams, and will work just fine in ra/ta.

Necro - Not used a lot in gvg (exept for hex heavy meta's) but are often used in different team builds for HA, TA etc. Your job as a necro is usually to spread pressure by applying hexes to the right targets.

Mesmer - This class really shines in pvp (compared to pve). Mesmers are used frequently in all pvp arenas. Your job is to place the enemy casters in a living hell, by interrupting, energy draining and hexing.

Ranger - Also used alot in pvp. You are the team's toolbox. Your job is to split and gank npc's (gvg), apply pressure by spreading poison on the enemy team, interrupting enemy casters (dshot for 20sec recharge on their important spells, savage/magebane for the rest?), snaring enemies (snare their frontliners for defence, snare their backliners for offence).

Paragon - Sort of a bitch role. Definately useful, but usually not the main part of the team in any way. You role in pvp is to sing, shout whatnot to boost your teams defence, offence etc (note that you are suppost to be doing this ingame through your skills, not on vent ;p)

Ritualist - Used a bit in HA for support, but they are mostly used as flag runners in gvg. In the current meta ele runners are used, but im sure the rits will come back next meta, or meta after that.

Monks - Quite obvious. Heal heal heal. Might seem easy at first sight, but to become a good monk you need to be able to weapon switch between casts, pre-prot, deal with energy draining, watch the battlefield instead of the red health bars and much much more.


Please note that im not the most experienced guy in pvp, so I might be wrong about some things, but I think most of what I just wrote is right.

Here are some great guides for pvp:
http://www.rebelrising.net/library/a...php?media=text

Ands some vent recordings (number 9 to 15 at least):
http://www.rebelrising.net/library/a...hp?media=audio

And my number one tip: Find a rookie guild, or at least a guild that accepts newcommers. It will make it all easier seing as getting into a random group with no pvp ranks can be quite hard and will usually force you to run lame gimmick builds instead of brave balanced ones

Good luck with pvp, don't give up even though it can be hard to get into !

Anders.

edit: oh, and don't be afraid to hit me up ingame if you have any questions : )
In game names: Athena Neiro / Ohai Im Anders

Well, rangers isn't used much for DPS, there is better professions for that, like warriors, elementalists and assassins.
What rangers usually do in PvP is interupting and spreading poision. Sometimes to run around with flags or gank npcs cause rangers have a great survivability.

But if you want DPS try Burning Arrow togheter with some cheap bowattacks, or Prepared shot combined with sundering and penetrating attack and the use of a hornbow + sundering bowstring?

The best tips I can give you is to check http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ranger and put up your own build that suits you - a decent build is worthless in the hands of one who don't know how to play it.

As mentioned before, I highly suggest you take yourself through campaign(s) before trying PvP out. PvP in WoW and PvP in Guild Wars are two very different things (and I would know, I've played both). In WoW, the focus is predominantly on PvE for most of the game, but allowing players to Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin along the way, but none of it is really stressed until level 80 with high-end raiding gear (which means there is still a good amount of focus placed on PvE).

Unlike WoW, however, Guild Wars does have a focus on PvP. The limited skill set in itself is one example of this because it renders a more strategic gameplay than you might find in WoW and other similiar MMO's. With this being said, before you jump into PvP, it is best to unlock skills and equipment through regular PvE to better recognize yourself with the profession and to find what type of play style you like. A lot of PvP'rs do not have the leniency to recognize a newbie over a noobie and you will ultimately get flamed if you are not sure of what you are doing. I mean, obviously it's not a big deal getting yelled at by a 14-year old, but it can be avoided.

If you want any further help or have any questions regarding anything in Guild Wars, whisper me in game! My main is listed at the side (Salem Elementalis) and I would be more than happy to help you on your way.

Wow, thanks for the quick responses and info!

I guess this game has a steep learning curve, especially when it comes to PvP

I might have to switch professions to a Warrior/Monk build?

Kinda like a Paladin in WoW so I can deal damage and heal myself/team mates .

I'll just play around with everything, read some guides online, watch some videos, and just enjoy my guild wars experience before I take anything to seriously.

~Testrum

Actually W/Mo arent the same as Paladins in WoW, they are more of a damage dealer, healing on a warrior would be hard, you have only 20 energy. So thats why alot of your skills are based on adrenaline. There are only a few healing warrior skills and they work pretty nice, so as a warrior you shouldnt focus on healing yourself or a team for that matter. And tho warriors are easier to start off with, it wont pay off later in the game due to the current metas. But whatever your playstyle is then go for it as long as you are having fun and you have friends that can enjoy it too play any profession you want.

Especially for rangers (and mesmers). Both professions work by throwing monkey wrench into others' works. Therefore to use them effectively you need to understand how -all- other classes are played.

Uhhh... W/Mo's (slang: wammos) are ridiculed because of this - new players coming from other games believe that they can play paladins by using this combination. I would recommend you avoid the humiliation.

Problem with the concept is that warriors don't have the energy to fuel monk spells with any sort of effectiveness, not to mention that splitting attention between enemies and your teammates is the kind of multitasking that only works with experienced players playing specific builds - none of which are for warriors.

If you wish to play a warrior, your task is to find the unprotected enemy and rip its face off with an axe, hammer or sword.

Good!

PvP guides (this is advanced stuff, but taking a look won't hurt!):

Rangers- The Team Toolbox

Pressure for Tykes - How to Play Warrior

You can also find these articles in the Rebel Rising archive linked earlier.