How do Rangers get groups in PvE?

Rangers can fill pretty much any spot on a team. They can heal (Infuse Health/Barrage/Vigorous Spirit/Live Vicariously), Interrupt (Savage, Distracting, Punishing, Incendiary Arrows), Spike (Dual + Punishing Shot, etc), Minion Master (if needed, it's possible), Buff (BiPer, Judge's Insight, etc) and do pretty much anything else you want them too. Sure it may take two skills instead of one and so on and so forth...but it's possible.

Other classes are just a little more closeminded than we are. 5/6 of those things could apply to ANY profession.

Yeah being a ranger and trying to get into any random PUG is hard, because everyone is stuck on the Tank/Healer/MM/Nuker setup for most things best thing is eaither gain some friends, join a guild, or hench it. or just cap barrage, the most wanted skill in PUGs

or just cap barrage, the most wanted skill in PUGs What?? Go into THK and try to get in a pug being a Barrage/Interrupt...

B/P groups are the only groups which want rangers, and 95% of BP groups are farming tombs day and night...

You really just gotta hench the missions as a ranger unless you got guildies/friends willing to help you out, they're not that hard if you got a flat/longbow and can work with the dumb AI...

Rebirthing is a need for me because I can't get Devona/Thom to pull back until we're a good half a radar away...

What?? Go into THK and try to get in a pug being a Barrage/Interrupt...

B/P groups are the only groups which want rangers, and 95% of BP groups are farming tombs day and night...

You really just gotta hench the missions as a ranger unless you got guildies/friends willing to help you out, they're not that hard if you got a flat/longbow and can work with the dumb AI...

Rebirthing is a need for me because I can't get Devona/Thom to pull back until we're a good half a radar away... in THK..... trappers are the WANTED kind. all u need is 3 traps+manta of resolve or trapers focus. i did that thing with a few PUGs as a trapper, and when i go there i always see spams "GLF Trapper".

u just need to understand that Rangers, unlike many other classes, can adapt themseelves to the "environment" much more then al other classes, thats why the dramatic build changes evry mission.

and by the way, barrage groups are EVERYWHERE now...

5/6 of those things could apply to ANY profession. And more to the point, the other professions do them miles better. Ranger vs Mesmer interrupts is debatable. Personally i'd take the mesmer henchman for it anyday.

The thing is with Assassins there armour sucks, but the difference between them and a ranger is entirely in the positioning. Assassins are more suicidal or just plain useless from what i've heard. Specially in PvE where enemies hit for a hell of a lot and come in a variety of groups.

Personally i dislike Barrage for anything other than a B/P team. Your there for support, don't forget that. The warriors take the hits, the necros/eles deal the big damage (to the many targets that is). If your team is relying on you to kill things, your leader must have a screw loose. Barrage is for damage dealing only, interrupts are much more useful, and while your spamming barrage, you can't interrupt. Of course if your sensible enough you'll know that when theres a Shadow Beast around (for example) to wait for its SS, not just spam Barrage merrily then realise you need to actually think.

And more to the point, the other professions do them miles better. Ranger vs Mesmer interrupts is debatable. Personally i'd take the mesmer henchman for it anyday.

The thing is with Assassins there armour sucks, but the difference between them and a ranger is entirely in the positioning. Assassins are more suicidal or just plain useless from what i've heard. Specially in PvE where enemies hit for a hell of a lot and come in a variety of groups.

Personally i dislike Barrage for anything other than a B/P team. Your there for support, don't forget that. The warriors take the hits, the necros/eles deal the big damage (to the many targets that is). If your team is relying on you to kill things, your leader must have a screw loose. Barrage is for damage dealing only, interrupts are much more useful, and while your spamming barrage, you can't interrupt. Of course if your sensible enough you'll know that when theres a Shadow Beast around (for example) to wait for its SS, not just spam Barrage merrily then realise you need to actually think. yet 99% of PUGs i join asks me to take barrage....

but as a support figure, the best is trapping, and you easily fing a PUG while being a trapper. as support figure, throw dirt is a "staple on" skill, if some anoing mob runs in and attaks the monk or the ele

yet 99% of PUGs i join asks me to take barrage....

but as a support figure, the best is trapping, and you easily fing a PUG while being a trapper. as support figure, throw dirt is a "staple on" skill, if some anoing mob runs in and attaks the monk or the ele No-one cares how useful the skill is, they just assume that because you can clear out FoW as Barrage/Pet quicker than anyone else, that the skill is godly. That skill requires as much brains to use as a Fire ele. The number of times i've missed spells in B/P trips because im already using Barrage isn't much help. If you join as an interrupter, Barrage has no place, ever. Your either there for damage, or there to interrupt, you can't do both effectively. Even if the interrupts you throw out can dish out a decent amount of damage. The only time i might consider bringing along Barrage in a normal group is FoW for Judges Insight massacring of Skeletons (or low level missions).

Not many people i've seen want traps outside of UW and THK. The amount of time you spend waiting for trappers is a bit dull, you can just as easily bring Pin Down and not slow everyone down.

Edit: Azmodan. Smiters can out damage eles quite easily, in the later missions anyway. The ridiculously high armour Jade/Mursaat bosses (180 base AL i think) get completely annihilated by smiters. Its not often you drop Cairn the Destroyer using henchman while Willia the Unpleasant is still alive.

So, I recently made my Canthan born Ranger lv. 20. I have found for her a very nice bow.

However...Rangers, like Mesmers and Assassians, lack a nieche. Hence, it's difficult to get groups.

What's the best way to get groups as a Ranger. Just simply Barrage? Rangers serve many roles:

Interrupter: Using Savage Shot or a pet with Disrupting Lunge, you can do a nice job of taking enemy spell casters out of the fight.

Trapper: If your focus is on Wilderness Survival, you have a wide selection of traps -- assuming, of course, that your group has the brains and patience to set-up a killing zone. I use Viper's Nest, since it's a trap based on my Beast Mastery.

Elemental Damage: In areas where creatures are vulverable to cold damage, a Ranger can cast Winter to turn all of the party's elemental damage to cold damage. Very effective.

In my experience, the ranger is the most versatile class. Your mileage may vary.