Guild Wars Guru

Primary ranger?

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Crackerjak
Ascalonian Squire
• #1
As of now, I am a ranger/elementalist that uses dot spells like hunters shot and poison arrow, and a couple nice fire spells. My bar does not include any expertise skills, therefore I do not use the attribute. I'm wondering if there is any point in being primary ranger instead of primary elementalist, where I could have much more energy. As of now, I only see runes as an advantage, where i can have maximum of 16 marksmanship over 12 with an elementalist. Bust just how big a difference in damage and critical rate is 12 compared to 16? As of now, marksmanship is the only thing holding me back from rerolling, so perhaps you could tell me another useful property of primary ranger, or prove the marksmanship to be well worth it. Thanks in advance,
Crackerjak
Deadroot
Deadroot
Frost Gate Guardian
• #2
A little something from this site's entry on the Ranger's primary attribute Expertise...

Quote:
Expertise is the Ranger's primary attribute. Every rank in Expertise reduces energy costs on any attack skills, preparations, or traps by 5%. At skill rank 12, energy costs are reduced by 60%. It is highly advisable to have a high Expertise rank as it not only increases the power of all its linked skills but also reduces energy cost on other attack skills as well, even from other professions or attributes.

A Ranger who focuses on high Expertise will not only experience a lower energy cost on all attack skills but also have access to many defensive and disruptive skills with a few attack skills placed in. To many people only glancing at the expertise line, it may seem rather weak as most skills only aid in defense or lower the enemy’s abilities. Truth be told, Expertise is one of the more important attributes in the game. The disruption skills are key to bringing down some of the tougher enemies, while the defensive skills will keep you alive more often than you may realize. Add in the reduction of energy cost, and this attribute line becomes almost irreplaceable.
Another reason is the difference in armor.
Dreamsmith
Dreamsmith
Elite Guru
• #3
The above quote is a bit dated with regards to what Expertise does. A more accurate description can be found here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ensign
Expertise reduces the costs of all Attack Skills, Preparations, Traps, Stances, Rituals, Glyphs, and Shouts by 4% per attribute level.
Thus, I'd say the main reason to go with a ranger primary over an elementalist primary is for the energy. You'll effectively have a lot more of it if you pump Expertise than you would get pumping Energy Storage. However, you'll notice "spells" are not on the list; if you do a lot of those, Energy Storage may suit your needs better. You won't be able to spam bow attacks like you could as a ranger, though; you won't have enough energy for that.