Originally posted by Raven

Originally posted by gelraen

Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

Ranger is all I ever play in fantasy games.  Its all i've ever been interested in.

I didn't level too far in the Beta, did a series of main story quests and a lot of wandering / killing.

My major turn-offs of GW2's rangers are the Magic Bows.

Your character does not have a Quiver of Arrows on their back, and they animate firing invisible arrows out of the bow.  Thus, a Magic powered Bow? I guess? No physical arrows.

This turns me off.  It doesn't make it feel like a ranger to me, who mayhaps creates their own arrows out of scavenged items in the wilds... but rather a Wizard Archer who is just flicking magick beams at enemies.

I couldn't understand why a game that was otherwise so attentive to detail, would completely strip an Archer's visuals away like that.  Its like taking a sword and making the blade invisible.

A cosmetic complaint, I realize.  But in my opinion is a rather large cosmetic faux-paux.

Regarding the bow and quiver,I think there are visual / aesthetic issues either way.  If you have a quiver, you need to do an animation of him pulling arrows out of it (to do it properly), because it would also be lame to have a quiver back there and have him just shoot without reloading.  This limits the speed at which the toon can actually fire off arrows, as it is bound to the maximum speed at which you can have that reload animation.  Going the magic-arrow route, they have more freedom to allow the class to play out according to what works best, mechanically, not by what they can do within the limitations of the animation.

All that aside -- to the original poster, I played both thief and ranger up to about level 18, and found them both a ton of fun, each in different ways.  As some posters have said, they each have some aspects of what I would consider a ranger archetype.  Maybe it would come down to how much you personal fantasy of being a ranger includes the animal thing. In the second beta event, I went and tamed a raven in the forest outside of the Norn area, and that just felt pretty ranger-like to me.  That said, if I had to choose, the thief probably fits the lord of the rings style ranger (from the books) the most. 

I disagree the Thief cannot wield 2 handers( actually I am not 100% sure about this but I remember reading somewhere, feel free to correct me ) , also in the lord of the rings rangers tho they did not actually tame them, are said to understand beasts and birds which again is a bit closer to the actual Ranger.

That's true, good points.  I was thinking more along the lines of their ability to slip in and out of the shadows (blend in) as the thief in GW2, and the rangers in GW2 are pretty heavily integrated with the animal companions.  If you're into the lord of the rings books, I guess it just depends on which aspects of those characters you find the most interesting.   I think you could tailor either the thief or the ranger to fill out that fantasy.

Funny about the two-handers though, they don't fit well with my personal vision of the ranger.  Seems like more of a warrior thing.

Well the question is, what do you think IS Rangery?

My first and most fav. Ranger was in EQ2 my tiny cute Fae, and EQ2 Rangers had no pets at all. Which I liked. I mean, pets too can be cool, but usually it means both you and your pet are just half as good, and in PVP, players simply ignore your pet and go directly at you, which puts you quite at a disadvantage. So what IS Rangery?

EDIT: You mean THIS Dragons Dogma? http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5932-Dragons-Dogma

Well, in GW2 the Ranger feels more like Ranger than anywhere else, except for D&D-based single player games that is. So, out of all MMOs? Yes, Ranger feels like a Ranger. I never liked these "Hunters" what all MMOs have turned their Rangers into.

You're given the choises of taking any possible path with your ranger (Except for the healing etc. Though I do think there is an elite spirit which heals people... can't remember!) from spirit support to physical tricks, different pet styles/skills and last, but certainly not least - The Weapons! From Dual Swords to Throwing Axes and Torches to Two-Handed Swords.

However! I must say that considering GW2's gameplay, I was quite disappointed with Ranger's archery compared to Warrior with a longbow. That of course is just my preference, and like we all know... Archers deal more damage than Rangers. (Okay, that's not true in GW2. I was hinting towards D&D - Fighter. Come on, that note just had to be added there, for anyone who knows the d&d 3 / 3.5 rules.)

Well I suppose it is up to the individual person on how the Ranger feels.

In my opinion it is one of the best designed profession in the game along with the warrior and elementalist.

Originally posted by gelraen

Originally posted by Raven

Originally posted by gelraen

Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

Ranger is all I ever play in fantasy games.  Its all i've ever been interested in.

I didn't level too far in the Beta, did a series of main story quests and a lot of wandering / killing.

My major turn-offs of GW2's rangers are the Magic Bows.

Your character does not have a Quiver of Arrows on their back, and they animate firing invisible arrows out of the bow.  Thus, a Magic powered Bow? I guess? No physical arrows.

This turns me off.  It doesn't make it feel like a ranger to me, who mayhaps creates their own arrows out of scavenged items in the wilds... but rather a Wizard Archer who is just flicking magick beams at enemies.

I couldn't understand why a game that was otherwise so attentive to detail, would completely strip an Archer's visuals away like that.  Its like taking a sword and making the blade invisible.

A cosmetic complaint, I realize.  But in my opinion is a rather large cosmetic faux-paux.

Regarding the bow and quiver,I think there are visual / aesthetic issues either way.  If you have a quiver, you need to do an animation of him pulling arrows out of it (to do it properly), because it would also be lame to have a quiver back there and have him just shoot without reloading.  This limits the speed at which the toon can actually fire off arrows, as it is bound to the maximum speed at which you can have that reload animation.  Going the magic-arrow route, they have more freedom to allow the class to play out according to what works best, mechanically, not by what they can do within the limitations of the animation.

All that aside -- to the original poster, I played both thief and ranger up to about level 18, and found them both a ton of fun, each in different ways.  As some posters have said, they each have some aspects of what I would consider a ranger archetype.  Maybe it would come down to how much you personal fantasy of being a ranger includes the animal thing. In the second beta event, I went and tamed a raven in the forest outside of the Norn area, and that just felt pretty ranger-like to me.  That said, if I had to choose, the thief probably fits the lord of the rings style ranger (from the books) the most. 

I disagree the Thief cannot wield 2 handers( actually I am not 100% sure about this but I remember reading somewhere, feel free to correct me ) , also in the lord of the rings rangers tho they did not actually tame them, are said to understand beasts and birds which again is a bit closer to the actual Ranger.

That's true, good points.  I was thinking more along the lines of their ability to slip in and out of the shadows (blend in) as the thief in GW2, and the rangers in GW2 are pretty heavily integrated with the animal companions.  If you're into the lord of the rings books, I guess it just depends on which aspects of those characters you find the most interesting.   I think you could tailor either the thief or the ranger to fill out that fantasy.

Funny about the two-handers though, they don't fit well with my personal vision of the ranger.  Seems like more of a warrior thing.

Yeah I know what you mean it is not the classical D&D Ranger, but Tolkien's rangers can be described more along the lines of a special forces type warrior. Because at the end of the day they are capable front line soldiers, they just happen as per their long life, to live and adapt very well to living in the wilds. They usually carried a single sword besides their bow that could be wield 1 and 2 handed, which is why for me personally having the ability to use 1 handers and 2 handers is important for the class itself, so it fits into the concept.

I agree with you, you can make either the Thief or Ranger work. Personally I love the fact that you can have a bird as a pet that does feel a bit like a ranger to me. As you can imagine I am getting a raven :P

Originally posted by DJJazzy

Well I suppose it is up to the individual person on how the Ranger feels.

In my opinion it is one of the best designed profession in the game along with the warrior and elementalist.

Meaning you think its OP....

Rangers can do anything you expect a ranger to do and more.  Pets require however a lot of minimanagement.

Originally posted by sinloi
my issue with the rangerwas my pet died so fast he seemed pointless even when fighting one creature sure he held the creature...most of the time. but he almost always died. so in pvp i played my ranger like a sniper long range death. heck sortof wish i could switch out the volley for a more single target destroyer so to speak.

Dont use a DPS pet, but a tank pet and keep it under close control

Originally posted by Lord.Bachus

Originally posted by sinloi
my issue with the rangerwas my pet died so fast he seemed pointless even when fighting one creature sure he held the creature...most of the time. but he almost always died. so in pvp i played my ranger like a sniper long range death. heck sortof wish i could switch out the volley for a more single target destroyer so to speak.

Dont use a DPS pet, but a tank pet and keep it under close control

Ah the thing that pissed me off about WOW....when they changed pets from a useful entity into a DPS with travel time sigh...I missed being able to use my turtle to tank pugs in WoW whenever the paladins quit in a huff.

that attack whatever I shoot mechanic they added in ruined pets for me.....

please someone tell A net to give me a tanking turtle....it would make me the happiest gamer in the world.

and yes, I never really used a pet other then my turtle in WoW, only time I ever switched was when facing bosses, then core hound buffs....

yes I was a dedicated huntard and yes as much as people said it was impossible....I got my turtle to tank better then pretty much any main tank I ever came across(mind you I never tried it while raiding just dungeonfinder pugs.)

Originally posted by Lord.Bachus

Originally posted by sinloi
my issue with the rangerwas my pet died so fast he seemed pointless even when fighting one creature sure he held the creature...most of the time. but he almost always died. so in pvp i played my ranger like a sniper long range death. heck sortof wish i could switch out the volley for a more single target destroyer so to speak.

Dont use a DPS pet, but a tank pet and keep it under close control

Exactly. I was using cats and a shark (underwater of course) and they died very quickly. Switch to a tank pet and they were doing the job even when I was in a downed state.

For me the 'ultimate' ranger was my SR in L2. Massive bow damage and a backup dagger when things got close.

That said, I felt an affinity to my Ranger in GW2 (call it a hunter/ranger) that I haven't felt for a very long time.

Looking forward to exploring with my pets.

**On a side note, literally, I was slightly amused and disconcerted when my pets 'climbed' certain areas with me and ended up parked sideways on a surface that should have dropped them to their dooms. I was having trouble with flat rocks and they were perched on an almost vertical surface. (I think this was adjusted somewhat in BWE3. I first noticed it in BWE2.)

not to thread steal but real quick, what are teh tank pets, I know bear will be one but what are the others.

I was using a drake with my asuran

Some of the drakes and the armor fish for sure.

I was using bears.

I would note that in a group, I switched to the eagle I think it was and/or the cat for DPS.

Originally posted by sinloi

not to thread steal but real quick, what are teh tank pets, I know bear will be one but what are the others.

I was using a drake with my asuran

I found the Arcturus )sp?) and flamingo to be good tanky pets in addition to the bears and drakes..

@op:  lots a good replies here so far, I will add that the weapon choices fit the ranger well ( longbow, short bow, sword, greatsword, dagger, axe, war horn, and torch).  The pets have been getting better, and the going around to tame them is neat, IMO.  The utility powere include traps, spirits, etc...  It is one of the classes that has felt right in the game last bwe/stress test, and one of my top 3 fun classes so far.

Cheers!

Originally posted by Lord.Bachus

Originally posted by DJJazzy

Well I suppose it is up to the individual person on how the Ranger feels.

In my opinion it is one of the best designed profession in the game along with the warrior and elementalist.

Meaning you think its OP....

 

 

Rangers can do anything you expect a ranger to do and more.  Pets require however a lot of minimanagement.

Maybe. But I pet swapped a lot and that really worked well. I suppose from an RP perspective you lose some connection to your pet that way but I just view it as a mechanic of the profession. So just like weapon swapping I would pet swap all of the time, well considering the cooldown that is.

Originally posted by Mogus

So I've been playing Dragons Dogma, best Single Player RPG ever made in my opinion. With a level 78 Ranger, I LOVE how it feels to be a Ranger in that game.

I have not played in any of the Betas for GW2 but am very excited about it. I'm stuck in regards to what class I want to focus on as my main. Thief, Ranger, Engineer or Necro.

My question is, does the Ranger class feel like a Ranger? Does it feel like you are using a Bow with Arrows?

Thanks for any feedback.

 Well I am glad you like this game so much, best single player experiance however? Not by a long shot(my opinion of course). Dragons Dogma is a fun game for about an hour or two, there are so many problems with that game .... but lets not derail this post.

To respond about your Q regarding the GW2 Ranger, from the pvp videos I have seen, I have to say the GW2 representation of a ranger is probably the best I have ever seen in an MMORPG. In fact after seeing some pvp videos recently, I am excited to try all the classes which is a first.

Originally posted by Mogus

Aaaah! I think you just helped me immensely sir!

Thief with ranged, daggers and bow. Perfect!

Pet's are fine and all but I prefer to feel alone in the woods stalking prey without having to feed a beast. haha

I am really amped up for this game. I wish it were launching today!

I wonder if you gimp yourself by not having a pet.  I mean I can't imagine the option being there and the class not being balanced around it.