Many of my comments will refer to pvp, if you're looking for pve advice let me know and I'll write something else.
Regarding the previous post, if you want to do a lot of mesmer dmg, you're better off as a primary mesmer.
The only reason to play a ranger primary is for expertise, if you're not using expertise, you picked the wrong primary. It's unfortunate to be limited in this way, but it's true. (note that these comments are for high level rangers only)
Once you accept that you have to have expertise, you need to make sure to use it by using primarily ranger skills. If you don't primarily rely on ranger skills, you weaken the build. Around this ranger "core", you throw in a few, select, complimentary 2ndry skills.
That's why you see a lot of R/E's with conjure.
You see a lot of R/Mo's with a rez or judge's insight.
You see R/N's with rend enchantments.
R/Me? One word: echo.
It's too bad it isn't available 'till later, but since ranger skills with high expertise are utterly spammable, you find the real limiting factor is the recharge time. Echo cuts recharge in half. (more or less) There's quite a lot of useful things you can do with that.
There aren't really any dmg enhancing Me spells you can use to augment your bow, so I'd resign myself to the fact that as a R/Me you really shouldn't spec for bow dmg. You'd be better off as a R/E or R/Mo for that. It's not necessarily a bad thing to not be a bow dmg dealer as a ranger though. There are other options available.
Debilitating shot is, (iirc) the most efficient, continuous energy deprivation skill in the game. At a cost of 4 with 14 expertise, and a recharge of 5 seconds, you can land approx 4 of them in 20 seconds (the recharge time for something like power leak or energy drain). Pair that with echo? *shudder*
Compliment that with some nasty mesmer shutdown stuff that isn't too weakened by your not being a primary mesmer, and voila! Play to your strengths.
Ask yourself the question, 'could I build this better if I were a different class?' If the answer is yes, regardless of how painfully you want to make it work and play it, it's not a good build for your character.
Oh, and I've found that I've gotten more effective as I've stopped bringing defensive skills. As the general population tends to sneer at rangers, you'll find that more often than not, you'll be ignored. The only time you'll use those defensive skills are when the rest of your team is down and they finally target you. By that point, it's too late. Have you ever been in a group that's said 'Ok, everybody rush the ranger?'
Cheers.