Introduction:
Hi everyone. Some of you know who I am (mostly you the people who hang around in the OT section), but most of you probably don’t. I’m just a GW player who’s a career Ranger. Since my purchase of this game (around June ’05), the first character I ever played was the Ranger. As I made my way through the game, I played many of the roles that the Ranger can play…including healer. Yes, healer. Sometimes the monk decides that he’ll be an ass and sit around.
Anyway. Eventually I noticed that your enemy’s skills could be interrupted, no matter what they do (with the exception of 2 Mesmer stances, which make interrupting impossible.). I also noticed that most players in Tombs and such wanted an Interrupt Ranger. So, I thought to myself, Is this interrupting business that hard?
Yes. It was. I slapped together an interrupt build and practiced on the Stone Summit outside of the War Camp to see how hard interrupting was.
Yeah. I didn’t do too well. Interrupting requires fast reflexes, and often your bow doesn’t help much. I can still hear Lina, Mhenlo, Devona and the others complaining how my Distracting Shot was always 2 seconds late.
Eventually I warmed up to it and started interrupting those Summit bastard’s spells and skills.
So, I decided that I’d give back to the Guild Wars community and help new and inexperienced Rangers how to interrupt their enemies.
Section 1: Basics
Now, to start off, you’ll need the proper equipment and skills, with commentary.
There are several skills that interrupt your foes in the Ranger line.
Note: I believe that there are some interrupt skills in the Beast Mastery line, but I won’t include them because I’m dealing with your bow and not your pet.
Expertise:
Distracting Shot-- Bow Attack. 5energy 10sec recharge ¼sec cast
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.
Distracting Shot is your basic interrupt skill. It deals a trivial amount of damage, but the most important thing is the additional 20 second recharge…if you manage to interrupt a skill. This skill is best used against important and frequently used skills on your enemy’s skillbar, like the Orison of Healing for a monk.
Marksmanship:
Concussion Shot-- Bow Attack 25energy, 10sec recharge, ½sec cast
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.
Concussion Shot is a deadly skill. If it hits an enemy spellcaster while he or she is casting, that caster is dead in the water for up to 17 seconds. I don’t use this skill much because of the high energy cost, but it’s good against those spells that have a long casting time. Beginners should use this with a high Expertise cost, as it helps out when practicing your interrupts.
Punishing Shot [E]-- Bow Attack 10energy, 8sec recharge, 1/2sec cast
If Punishing Shot hits, you strike for +10-18 damage and your target is interrupted.
My favorite. This skill sends out a high damage rate (up to +21 at 16 marks) and interrupts your target at the same time. Use this skill to buy yourself some time to send out a better interrupt, like Distracting Shot, while your enemy recovers and tries to cast again.
Savage Shot-- Bow Attack 10energy, 5sec recharge, ½sec cast
If Savage Shot hits, your target's action is interrupted. If that action was a spell, you strike for +13-25 damage.
Another staple interrupt skill. While it doesn’t increase the recharge time on your enemy’s skillbar, it can deal a large amount of damage if your target was casting a spell. It also doesn’t have a damage penalty like Distracting Shot does, so you can send this shot out as a last second attack if you need.
Wilderness Survival:
Choking Gas-- Preparation 15energy, 24sec recharge, 2sec cast
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.
This skill is useful for shutting down a spellcaster for a short amount of time, all the while dealing out a small amount of damage at the same time. Kind of like a Maelstrom for Rangers. This skill doesn’t really find itself on my skillbar, however, as stopping your enemy from casting spells would prevent you from dealing more damage with Savage Shot and shutting down their more important skills with Distracting Shot. To each his own.
Incendiary Arrows [E]-- Preparation 5energy, 24sec recharge, 2sec cast
For 8 seconds, your arrows interrupt and set your target 'On Fire' for 1~3 seconds.
I don’t really like this skill because of the short duration, but it can be deadly against a monk or another class that requires a lot of skill spamming.
Nature's Renewal-- Preparation 5energy, 60sec recharge, 5sec cast
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.
Nature's Renewal is a skill that i've never brought along before, mainly because my Spirit slot is usually filled with Favorable Winds, which is usually replaced with Read the Wind. the double time it takes for enchantments and hexes is a great advantage in theory since said enchantments and hexes can seriously screw over your team if your enemy finishes casting them. Example: Reversal of Fortune. while it's not game-breaking, interrupting something likes RoF is important because it can supress the amount of damage you can deal in a spike build.
Non-Interrupt Skills:
Read the Wind--Preparation 5energy, 12sec recharge, 2sec cast
For 24 seconds, your arrows move twice as fast and deal 3-9 extra damage.
This skill must be glued to your skillbar if you’re going to succeed as an interrupter. Getting your arrows onto your target on time is EXTREMELY important, as arrows tend to take their time on their way to the target.
Favorable Winds-- Nature Ritual
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.
This, on the other hand, can replace Read the Wind. I don’t generally suggest it because it can lend your opponent a helping hand, but to each his own.
The Build:
Now that you’ve got the skills, it’s time to build your skillbar. My general Interrupt build follows:
Punishing Shot [E]
Savage Shot
Distracting Shot
Read the Wind
Whirling Defense
Lightning Reflexes
Troll Unguent/Healing Spring
Rebirth/Resurrection Signet (depending on your play style, PvE or PvP)
Healing Spring is a big risk, as it can be interrupted with impunity. Always use during one of your stances, and hope to God that your 75% holds out.
Lightning Reflexes is useful if you want to send out a little more DPS quickly. With 16 in Marksmanship and a short bow/Half Moon, you’ll give your target something to worry about…if he has 60 AL, anyway.
Read the Wind is an absolute necessity before you go into battle. I’ve already explained the reason why.
Equipment:
Your equipment matters, too. Well, not in a life-or-death kind of way, but it still matters. A Composite Bow is generally the best bow to interrupt with, as it has the flattest trajectory and lowest firing arc out of all the bows. Also sharing the Composite Bow's characteristics are the Recurve bow. I also like to keep a Zealous mod on said bow, since the above build is kind of energy heavy, and I don’t want to fit in any energy management skills. I know, I know, a good ranger should ALWAYS have 13 Expertise or he’s a useless piece of ****. Not in my experience.
I've settled with a Zealous Long Bow and Zealous Short Bow, varying on my situation. (i personally use Graygore's Zealous Short Bow and Elswyth's Long Bow as my main weapons, but you can choose whatever you want.) My best suggestion is to use any green Recurve bows you can find (exempting Elswyth's), since they share the same characteristics of the Composite bow. (Gargash's Recurve Bow would be best in my opinion, since Sundering is a junk mod) or just find a perfect Recurve bow out there and you're set.
Note: I tend to avoid using a Flat Bow, because of the insane amount of time it takes for the arrow to get to the target. If it’s used in conjunction with Read the Wind or Favorable Winds, then I can understand using it. But if you need long-range capabilities, I prefer going with a Long Bow. To each his own, I guess.
As for armor, stick with Druid’s armor. The extra energy comes in handy.
Runes:
I’m crazed with being as versatile as I can, so this will explain the odd setup I have here:
Expertise: 9 (8+1)
Wilderness Survival: 10 (9+1)
Marksmanship: 16 (12+3+1)
Update: Major expertise rune removed and replaced with a Minor Expertise. Thanks Sartori!
Section 2: Know Thine Enemy
To interrupt, it’s useful to know what kind of enemy you’re up against:
Mo/X
If you look at a monk, you’ll see a lot of 1-second cast time spells that are pretty tough to interrupt, like Orison of Healing and Healing Touch. And then there are the near-impossible ones, like Reversal of Fortune and Protective Spirit, each with ¼ second cast times. It’s useful to remember this information, because then you can come prepared. Concussion Shot will pretty much shut down a monk for a good while, letting your teammates rain down attacks while said monk is struggling to cast heals for not only his teammates, but for himself. But: Beware the healer’s friend, the protection monk.
So: Concussion Shot will usually be on your skillbar, as you’ll pretty much always run into a Monk in PvP and every now and then in PvE.
E/X
When fighting Elementalists, Concussion Shot is equally deadly, but not really as required. Fire Elementalists’ skills generally have 1-5 second cast times, so you can have a party watching them struggle to get their Meteor Shower or Fireball off while you pick them out at your leisure.
So: Savage Shot is a good addition because of the high amount of damage it deals. Combined with the Elementalist’s low AL, Savage Shot is quite dangerous. Also, the quick recharge rate, in comparison to the other skills, helps out a lot.
Me/X
Mesmers, however, are a bigger challenge. They’re filled with ¼ cast time spells that are near impossible to interrupt, along with Mantra of Persistence and Resolve that do make them impossible to interrupt. But their other, more powerful skills, like Backfire and Diversion, have longer casts, and therefore are more easily interrupted. However, it’s generally more important to shut these bastards down before those quick-casting spells get off and screw your teammates.
So: Distracting Shot will shut down your enemy’s more powerful skills for a good amount of time, while Choking Gas and Concussion Shot will keep them down for a longer amount of time. However, you should only choose one or the other, because both of these skills are very energy heavy. Not saying that those two would make a deadly combo…but then again Choking Gas would kind of make Concussion Shot pointless.
N/X
When fighting Necromancers, you’ll have a rather easy time. Skills like Feast of Corruption, Life Siphon and Life Transfer have a slow cast time and therefore are totally open for interrupt. Minion Masters are just as easy to shut down. But, as there are other 1-second cast time spells that are often used, Concussion Shot is always a good addition.
So: The build that I posted above will shut down a Necromancer trying to screw your teammates over quite well.
W/X
When you run into Warriors, it’s a whole different battle. It’s not important to interrupt a Warrior, but think about the possibilities of shutting down that guy’s Eviscerate for 20 seconds, therefore killing his entire damage string. Good, huh? The only problem is the nearly instant cast. It’s always a challenge to hit a Warrior’s skills, but you can do it for fun in PvE or if you feel like taking a break off that Monk and decide to help your own team’s Monk, who’s probably got a bajillion IWAY warriors on his ass. Also, killing a Warrior’s Resurrection Signet and his Healing Signet is a good idea, too.
So: Just use the build I have above. It’s effective for pretty much all circumstances. Just remember that Warriors are always the last priority on your list.
R/X
Rangers. This is something else. When you run into another of your kind, I found that it’s not that hard to interrupt them. Bow attacks generally take a long-ish time to fire (Example: Dual Shot), so a quick Distracting Shot will shut down someone’s spike for a good extra 20 seconds. However, when dealing with another interrupter, you’ll have to do your best to out-DPS him, using any defensive stances you have and hope that he doesn’t hit your Troll Unguent or Healing Spring.
So: The build that I have above is efficient against another ranger. Make sure to maximize your Whirling Defense and Lighting Reflexes. Punishing Shot is powerful against anything except Warrior AL, so use it as often as possible. On a side note, Lightning Reflexes will help you increase your DPS slightly in a 1 on 1 battle.
Other Notes and Side Discussion:
Interrupting is a hard-earned skill. It takes a lot of just learning to get your interrupts out on time. Eventually, though, you’ll have things down well enough to get your enemies in a bad situation. A good place to practice is Grenth’s Footprint, as there are every kind of enemy out there with the kinds of skills that I’m talking about. Dolyak Masters, Gnashers, Cleavers, Rangers, Heretics, Beast Masters, Siege Ice Golems, and the like are all good practice dummies for you to train your reflexes on your free time.
Secondary Profession:
Your secondary profession shouldn’t be too important, but generally Monk helps out in PvE, since Rebirth can be a big help when things go south. But as for PvP, being a R/Me can help out a lot more because of one skill: Arcane Conundrum. This should make interrupting enemy spellcasters MUCH easier. There’s also Migraine, but I don’t think you’d want to use up your Elite slot with it.
Some things to note:
Casters tend to use skills in a chain, meaning they use several skills, one immediately after the other. So, sometimes it’s a good idea to let off your interrupts one after the other (if you’re using my build up there or have a different build).
If the enemy decides to wipe the wall with your corpse, RUN LIKE HELL. 70 AL doesn’t help as much as some think when the axes come calling. Activate Whirling Defense and get the out of there as fast as possible. You can switch out Lightning Reflexes with Storm Chaser to discourage the AI, or the 6 IWAY warriors on your ass.
Interrupts have about 2 seconds of freeze time right after you fire them. Keep that in mind when you interrupt, as you won’t be able to do anything (including movement) during this freeze time.
When in Tombs and GvG, seek out the enemy's Bonder (if they have one). Blessed Signet is their main source of energy, so think of what would happen if they were interrupted.....*insert evil grin here*
In general PvP, it's good to watch what kind of skills that your target is using. if a Mo/N Boon healer lets off a string of heals, it's probably safe to guess that he's going to use Offering of Blood sometime soon. if he's kiting, the moment he stops running to cast a spell, let an interrupt loose.
Also, in general PvP, ALWAYS INTERRUPT RESURRECTION SKILLS. resurrects make or break games. if you fail to interrupt a res signet, then chances are your team is screwed, as this will probably lead to a chain res. So, watch out if you see some green numbers float over your head, and look around for the Signet animation. and get your Distracting Shot ready....
a suggested skill combo that i thought up of would be Incendiary Arrows+Precision Shot, especially when your enemy is being covered by an Aegis or any other anti-attack spell/stance.
More notes will be added here as I remember them, or as other members post them
for more information on Guild War's types of Bows, head to www.guildwiki.org/wiki/Bow for detailed stats on each type.
That’s everything for now.
PM me In-Game on Tess Sharpeye or Tess P V P if you have questions, or just send me a PM in the forums. Good Hunting!
P.S.: feedback would be useful. Flaming wouldn’t.
Updates: Edited the Runes and Equipment section. Thanks to Jenosavel and Sartori for the info.
Added Nature's Renewal to the skills section. thanks to Dary Jassem.
Added more notes in the Other Notes and Side Discussion section.
Added more notes in the Other Notes and Side Discussion section. thanks to tymeless for the info.
), keep it up and tell more of your experience as a hunter 
