I regularly hold discussions with friends about the value of Longbow Rangers. I know many loathe the profession and Rapid Fire is, quite possibly, the most disliked skill in the entire game. As a Ranger, I feel this profession loathing is in many ways justified but I also think there’s a great deal of ignorance surrounding a Longbow Ranger’s potential. I think it’s fair to say there are, anecdotally, large swathes of terrible Rangers and they certainly give those of us who have spent many thousands of hours with the profession, a bad name. Good one’s don’t simply use Rapid Fire and good ones aren’t easy to kill.

I think part of the problem behind a Ranger’s reputation for being poor in a team, certainly in a structured PvP environment, is the continued use of the word “utility”. I see this word bandied about so much I honestly think many players have forgotten what utility actually is. As far as I’m concerned, it comes in all forms. Whether it’s the ability to immobilize or strip a boon or to stealth those around you, utility is a key part of  all team compositions. Factoring in what some professions can and can’t do is paramount to a teams success and yet I can’t help but think that the Ranger is often overlooked due to its reputation, rather than what it’s actually capable of being.

Unlike some Ranger’s, I perhaps don’t use the typical Meta Build and instead use a variant designed to still deal lots of damage but to also provide long periods of Fury and condition cleansing. It’s an incredibly powerful build because the damage output is still eye watering but the survivability is immeasurable compared to a typical Power Ranger. Its condition cleanse is so strong I’ve never once worried about facing a Rabid Engineer or Terrormancer, while it’s still capable of bursting most professions down in only two rotations of Rapid Fire. Combined with its use of multiple cripples and immobilizes, as well as Signet of Stone, Counterattack and Hunter’s Shot, there’s a great deal of survivability.

On the topic of utility, I’ve regularly been told I bring none. That’s frustrating because it’s categorically untrue. What I assume those people mean is the utility a Ranger brings is of less value than other professions. While I’d agree that Ranger’s lack some key utility that other professions have, they have different utility that’s often overlooked. A Ranger is always going to fight for space on a team alongside a Mesmer or Thief and I think despite these two professions being damage powerhouses, I don’t rate either significantly above the Ranger. I know many will balk at that idea, but there’s a variety of reasons why I’ve come to this conclusion.

Where the Mesmer is concerned, I would never suggest the profession isn’t very strong but it has limitations: lengthy cooldowns on spikes, incredibly vulnerable without its stealth, portal cooldown is lengthy, Moa easily dodged and their mitigation outside of Distortion or dodging almost none existent. Worse, their condition cleansing is horrendous and if there’s a particularly skilled Thief on the opposing team, they’ll spend the entire match looking over their shoulder in an attempt to not be killed in one hit. Where the Thief is concerned, its unquestionable that their mobility is exceptional and their burst potential enormous. However, they can be burst down as quickly as a Mesmer and outside of the use of stealth or evasion, their only real utility comes from poisoning downed players or interrupting those already mid cast. Fundamentally there role is to roam, kill those who are weak and leave. Remaining in fights for long periods is an impossibility.

As for the Thief, its burst potential is only rivalled by the Mesmer and its evasion is incredible. It's mobility is also unrivalled thanks to the travel distance of Infiltrator's Arrow. Does the profession have drawbacks? Yes but certainly fewer than Mesmer. A well played Thief using Dagger/Pistol is incredibly hard to pin down. Fortunately if you do manage to predict their skill set, they die in seconds. Although I’ve pointed out some of the obvious downsides to the Thief and Mesmer, I don’t want anyone reading this to think that either of these professions aren’t part of the current Meta. I’d argue that the Mesmer is worse off than the Thief - a condition heavy meta, combined with its glassyness place the Mesmer in a difficult spot right now - and is probably on the fringes of group acceptance.

At the moment I’ve encountered many players unwilling to accept Mesmers in a team simply because they see the profession as a liability. It has a high skill ceiling and as I previously stated, Mesmers can often spend entire matches fleeing, rather than fighting. As a result, many teams choose to take “easy” professions that have a lower skill ceiling: ones that can survive for lengthy periods in all types of encounters. Not only that, but because these professions are easier to play and be effective with, it requires less team synergy and practice - positive results are quicker and easier to attain.

If you’ll allow me to digress a moment, the wider issue surrounding all of this is that many simply aren’t willing to experiment with team compositions and tried and tested Meta professions, when faced with the prospect of a loss. I distinctly remember many players I’ve chatted to laughing at the prospect of a Shout based Warrior and a DPS Guardian. Fast forward several  months after a light was shone on them in ESL and these professions are now considered the “must haves” for any successful team.

What’s interesting about the above, certainly where the DPS Guardian is concerned, is the fact that the profession has horrendous mobility, its damage is no better than that of a Ranger and its only form of utility is in a predictable Hammer weapon set, some safe stomping from Indomitable Courage and some minor condition cleansing when utilising Virtue Of Resolve. The build certainly has survivability thanks to Monk’s Focus and its Focus block is powerful. However, there’s still huge drawbacks in taking a Meditation Guardian just as there are taking a Mesmer or Ranger.

The Power Ranger, I believe, fits somewhere comfortably in between the Meditation Guardian and Mesmer. If you’re using the build I’ve linked, over the terrible Meta version, the benefits to your team are as good, if not better than a Mediation Guardian (yes, I know this is entirely subjective).

• Over 60% crit chance
• AOE Cripple (Barrage/Muddy Terrain)
• Near total condition immunity (thanks to Survival Skills)
• Fear (Wolf)
• Knockdown (Wolf)
• Long range Knockback (Point Blank Shot)
• x3 Immobilize, two of which are AOE (Entangle/Muddy Terrain/Spider)
• Stealth from Longbow and exceptional for escaping: Hunters Shot > Greatsword > Swoop)
• Immunity for 6 seconds (Signet of Stone)
• Immunity for 3 seconds (Counter attack)
• Long duration daze (Hilt Bash)
• Long duration cripple (Counter attack throw)
• 1500 attacking range
• Auto attacks that consistently hit for over 1500 from 1500 range
• Enormous spike damage from Rapid Fire, on a cooldown of only 10 seconds
• High mobility when using Swoop + Rune of the Pack
• An Elite on a 48 second cooldown (Entangle)

If there’s one drawback to the Ranger it’s the fact that its ability to deal cleave damage to opponents is notably worse than that of a Mesmer but no worse than a Guardian. Phantasmal Berserker and the Greatsword auto-attack are exceptional at this while the likes of Teleport and Phase Retreat provide exceptional mobility. Do those four things automatically make the Mesmer better than the Ranger when stacked up against the above list? I don’t think so and as the above list demonstrates, the Ranger offers plenty of utility and survivability in the right hands.

The biggest problem I see is that there are simply too few people willing to give the Fury Longbow Ranger a chance and there are too few highly skilled Ranger’s. The “meta” is plagued by ignorance and an unwillingness to break from the norm. It’s only when a team finds success with X or Y build that the majority of people actually sit up and take notice. I’ve seen it time and time again and I suspect in the coming months, especially now that I've played Stronghold, that not only will the Fury Longbow Ranger make a place on teams, but Staff Elementalist and Power Necromancer will play a key part. That’s a good thing and I hope more teams are willing to give Ranger’s a try - they might just be surprised at how well they can work.

What are your thoughts on Guild Wars 2's current Meta? Do you think Longbow Ranger has a place? Do you think Mesmer's are out?