Name: Melandru's Favored Archer
Type: Consistent Damage over Time, intended for PvP
Attributes:
14 Expertise (10+3+1)
12 Marksmanship (11+1)
11 Wilderness Survival (10+1)
Skills:
1. Melandru's Arrows {Elite} (Wilderness Survival)
2. Lightning Reflexes
3. Dual Shot
4. Distracting Shot
5. Penetrating Attack
6. Pin Down
7. Throw Dirt
8. Resurrection Signet
Recommended gear:
Druid's armor set
Zealous Shortbow of [whatever you like]
Summary:
This build excels at dealing damage to enchanted targets, as many targets in PvP tend to be. Every caster-type class has enchantments that players love to use and take advantage of, and the Melandru's Favored Archer is adept at using their enchanted nature to his or her advantage. Melandru's Arrows combines the damage-adding power of a preparation like Kindle Arrows (from the +damage vs enchanted foes) with the damage over time power of a preparation like Apply Poison (from the -3 health degeneration from the bleeding inflicted) to afford a ranger with an all-in-one preparation, justifying its elite status. The Melandru's Favored Archer picks a target at the beginning of a PvP match that is enchanted, prepares his arrows, and then starts to alternate Dual Shot and Penetrating Attack, dealing a large amount of damage. If the archer is using a Zealous Shortbow and the recommended 14 Expertise, as long as his arrows hit their mark he will almost never run out of energy, allowing his assault to continue uninterrupted.
If the Melandru's Favored Archer comes under attack from a warrior, he should Throw Dirt at the warrior, use Pin Down, and distance himself from the warrior. Pin Down can also be used offensively, keeping enchanted targets from running away. If coming under heavy fire from rangers, or the archer needs to increase his damage output for a short time, activating Lightning Reflexes will do the trick. Distracting Shot is also a tool of the archer - it should be used at opportune times to either turn the tide of battle or lock in a victory. Prime targets for a Distracting Shot are any sort of resurrection attempt or any spell that takes longer than 1 second to cast.
Notes and Concerns:
The Melandru's Favored Archer, much like most any ranger or warrior that relies on his or her weapon to deal damage, is very vulnerable to the blind condition, as being blind prevents the archer's arrows from connecting with their target. Block/evasion stance users are also poor targets for this ranger build to attack, but substituting Called Shot for Penetrating Attack would mitigate that problem, albeit decreasing the damage output. Mesmers and necromancers can spoil a ranger's day with hexes like Empathy, Spirit Shackles, Faintheartedness, and Shadow of Fear, so be wary of them.
Elementalists tend to make the juiciest targets for this build, as most any elementalist you could encounter will be running at least one enchantment (an attunement or Aura of Restoration, at least).
Credits:
Chris_nin00 deserves note for starting conversation about a similar build (http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...d.php?t=81124). I formed a version of this build after reading a thread about favorite ranger elites on the GWOnline forums. Many thanks to the teammates who accompanied me in testing this build. To all those teammates (and enemies) who scoffed when they saw me prep Melandru's Arrows:
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