Ranger/ Monk

I have ordered Guild Wars two days back and I think I should play as a
ranger/ monk. Can you tell me the advantadges/ disadvantages?

healing + ranged = good for back up
Bad for Direct Damage

I'm considering playing as a Ra/Mo as well. I was playing a Monk in the Arena and kept on getting ganked. So I realised I should probably go primary something else, and go strong on Healing. I also wanted to be able to have good armor and do damage while still keeping an eye on my team-mates for healing.

The thing is, after looking more into the Ranger, I'm really digging that class! I find myself thinking more about how to make my ranger more effective than healing.

My inclination is to play a ranger /monk because of the flexibility of the character and survivability during PvE (especially solo/or w/henchies)...Long distance attacks keep the enemy off of you, especially if you pick the right place to attack (go to higher ground).

Toward the end of the BWE I had a bow that dealt 13-23 peircing damage, 10% bonus against undead, customized for and extra 20% damage, added something like+6 attack when target was under an enchantment and was modified with a bow grip that added 40points to max health as long as it was equipped (also had armor that added +1 to marksmanship and a total of +13 to energy). At level 17 I was cruising through the wilds with henchies and doing pretty well...I died on a regular basis, but more often than not, I was the last one standing and would res the rest of the party. With marksmanship skills like ignite/kindle or apply poison to arrows with hunters/punishing or dual shot...I often inflicted up to 75-85 points of damage in a single shot...knocked a few undead casters down with bane signet early on. So...poo-poo to those who think a ranger can't lay down any damage!

While I had options to put points into the monk attributes, I focused on the ranger skills, primarily in marksmanship for dealing damage (11 marksmanship, 6 expertise, 5 wilderness survival, 4 healing prayers...something like that, give or take a point)...when the fights got rough, I'd run in and cast "healing spring" (+39 health for I think 8 seconds...and it's a Ranger skill)...res a dead player and run back to the fringe and start laying down support fire...usually targeting the enemy casters/healers...The tanks would bash away indefinatly at an enemy, making little or no headway because they weren't paying attention to the Maguuma Protector hiding in the bushes or just around the corner...enter the ranger, who from a distance can see the whole field of battle...take out their healers with a few well placed shots and soon the fighters are chopping them down in quick succession...

Ranger are highly underrated by the typical hack & slash player who thinks might over mind is the only way to play...tactics and strategy keep you alive in GW more often than sheer force.

Ultimatley, your choice in character comes down to this (said before, saying again): what do you want your role to be? Damage dealer? (ranger is not the best primary for this, but holds its own) Disrupter/anti-healer/caster?(pretty good/excellent with the right skill set)...think about how you want to play before deciding on the character build (I prefer a support role for tanks and healers)...PvP or GvG or PvE...Rangers, I've found, can work well in all situations, given the right team (all classes can as GW=balance), but for me, wandering the wilds and farming in PvE...I prefer the ranger...monk secondary for support healing when things get sticky...besides, while the tanks are fighting, who's gonna watch after the monk...someone should, it might as well be me

My chosen classes are a W/Mo and a Rang/Mes. In other games, I was drawn to the ranger/archer whathaveyou. It seemed to be a more subtle character and require more strategy and skill. And that's true with GW as well.

However, I think the Warrior in GW is less a hack&slash than in other games. You DO have to use some skill. You have to time things well in order to be effective with your slashing. It's not just about stacking the numbers and then engaging. It's about making sure you have the right skill set up, and using it effectively. When I was fresh, I could C/Space and go from mob to mob and cut them down quickly. When I was tired, I would do the same thing but it would take forever or I'd run into a hammer master who would wipe me out in a couple quick smacks. So I had to rethink how to take those hammer masters.

At any rate, the Warrior in GW must be smart and cunning as well as a quick hack&slasher. Just my 2 cents on this. I'll probably split my time equally between the ranger and warrior classes. Both are VERY fun. Good job, GW crew!

Warriors are absolutely less hack/slash characters in GW than in other games...I hope I didn't imply the character class itself was diminished in any way by its brawn. I think of the GW warrior as more of a Conan-type warrior...not the crap from the movie or comics, but from the original books...He was a warrior who was educated and very well spoken...after all, if you can't string more than three words together to form a sentence, who will follow you into battle? I was more knocking the players who choose warriors over other classes because of their or hack/slash tendencies and the belief that because it's a warrior class it is better simply by virtue of strength...as a tank, true...as for tactics in battle...no wits=dead. The player who seeks nothing more than the BFG-type weapon in GW will not do well.

As for my continued love for the ranger class...I may try warrior as a secondary...one day, after ascention, maybe go back and try as a primary, but not in the near future. I'm happiest when I plug away from a destance...I'm only saddened a wee bit by the inability to act as a sniper, or score that really sweet headshot...but then, that's my BFG tendency.

Ranger Monk with Barrage and Judge's Insight.

i like how the ranger class sounds and the skills, but from wat it seems and from what i hear ranger/mesmer is the best rounded type of ranger