Ranger PvE | Dungeon Sword/Axe, Sword/Warhorn | Damage "I Can Dodge" Sword Ranger
Table of Contents
Summary
This build is for rangers who want to use sword main hand but gives the ability to use endurance to evade since there's no reliance on +10% damage with full endurance. The high def/armor and HP will also allow you to take hits, tank a bit.
Your damage will come from the stacked +10% on Scholar Runes, Frost Spirit, +10% from Flanking minor trait, and +10% from Peak Strength minor trait. Extra damage will come from your party's composition, such as Vuln/Might adding to overall damage.
P.S. This build works great in WvW also, in a Havok group. High dps, high HP to combat condition damage and toughness to survive burst along with good support with warhorn and some utility skills changes.
I. Weapons and Skills
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- Kick¼Kick your foe, crippling them for a short time.Damage: 202Crippled: 2 sRange: 400Range: 130
- Pounce¾Leap at your foe, striking them. Your pet gains might.Damage: 235Might: 5 sRange: 430
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- Monarch's Leap¾Leap back into the fight, crippling your foe.Damage: 336Crippled: 3 sCombo Finisher: LeapRange: 600
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- Cold Snap20Your frost spirit releases a freezing blast of arctic air, chilling nearby foes.Chilled: 3 s
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- 0Swiftness:
II. Traits
Marksmanship
Skirmishing
Wilderness Survival
Nature Magic
Trait Details
There is 0 points into the Marksmanship line. Most usually have at least 20 points into it, I felt it wasn't too necessary for this build. Let's highlight some of the things you do lose,
- No 10 stacks of Vuln at start of battle. This will now depend on your party members, warriors can stack 10 Vuln easily for party.
- No Steady Focus trait, you get the missing +10% from the other lines plus it allows you to use endurance now.
- No access to Spotter or Piercing Arrows. Spotter is nice to have but already sitting at 47% Crit chance + Fury plus possible Discipline banner.
Skirmishing
This is a buff to our overall damage, for the ranger AND the pet. This allows your pet, usually felines to hit hard and even harder with the might stacks you give it. There aren't many good major traits in Skirmishing since we aren't using bows/traps. We go 25 deep for Hunter's Tactics minor grandmaster trait. Flanking a boss is +10% additional damage which is big.
Wilderness Survival
Minor traits - Natural Vigor and Companion's Defense. Helps keep us and our pet alive especially in AoE heavy fights. Protection on dodge roll is huge, its the difference between your pet surviving or having to go on a 60s pet swap cooldown.
Major Traits - Wilderness Knowledge for CD reduction on QZ. It is our stunbreaker AND a good source of DPS. I use QZ 2 different ways, depending if we have Mesmer or not for their Timewarp. If they toss up Timewarp, I will use Whirling Defense in it to add 10 stacks of Vuln as quickly as possible with possible retaliation damage. After Timewarp ends, I use QZ to increase my DPS. I love Quickness, that is why I have Sigil of Rage on my offhand Axe. You can essentially have quickness on for 90% of the boss fight. (6s + 10s + 3s for a total of 19s quickness if lucky to line up right). Before the quickness nerf, along with pet swapping nerf, I had access to quickness every 20s or so.
- Martial Mastery for sword cooldowns for even more evades. Can also swap to Offhand Training if you find yourself with too much evades to have faster recharge on Call of the Wild/Hunter's Call with Warhorn or Path of Scars/Whirling Defense with Axe. Both are great either way.
Nature Magic -
- Minor Traits - Rejuvenation and Fortifying Bond keeps us alive longer. With 20 points into NM, we get a +20% boon duration increase so Might/Fury/Regen/Swiftness benefits, especially with Warhorn's Call of the Wild.
- Major Traits - Spiritual Knowledge to keep our Frost spirit up longer and have it's effect more often. Strength of Spirit converts our high HP to Power.
Trait build is 0/25/25/20/0. Our high Vitality and Toughness works well with Sharpening Stone utility nourishment, gain +6% power from toughness, and +4% power from vitality.
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 18562 (+2640)
- Vitality 1180 (+264)
- Armor 2514 (+534)
- Toughness 1450 (+534)
- Attack 3681 (+1741)
- Power 2657 (+1741)
- Critical Hit 52% (+52%)
- Precision 1868 (+952)
Secondary Stats
- Boon Duration 20% (+20%)
- Condition Damage 250 (+250)
- Critical Damage 84% (+84%)
- Damage 1024 (+0%)
- Defense 1064 (+0)
- Endurance Regeneration 25% (+25%)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
- Ferocity 1270 (+1270)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Power: 100
Ferocity: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (1hr)
- Power: 100
- Ferocity: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Gain power equal to 6% of your toughness
Gain power equal to 4% of your vitality
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Gain power equal to 6% of your toughness
- Gain power equal to 4% of your vitality
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 97
- Power: 60
- Precision: 43
- Ferocity: 43
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 97
- Power: 45
- Precision: 32
- Ferocity: 32
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 338
- Power: 134
- Precision: 96
- Ferocity: 96
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 157
- Power: 45
- Precision: 32
- Ferocity: 32
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 218
- Power: 90
- Precision: 64
- Ferocity: 64
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 157
- Power: 45
- Precision: 32
- Ferocity: 32
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 1064
- Power 594
- Ferocity 399
- Precision 299
Rune Bonuses
Superior Rune of the Scholar- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
Accessories & Jewels
Accessory Totals
- Power:620
- Precision:318
- Ferocity:466
- Toughness:220
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
- Weapon Strength: 857-1048
- Power: 90
- Toughness: 64
- Vitality: 64
Weapon Set I
Sigil of Superior Accuracy+7% crit chance.
Sigil of Rage10% chance on critical hit to apply quickness for 3 seconds. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 30s)
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
- Weapon Strength: 814-900
- Power: 90
- Toughness: 64
- Vitality: 64
Weapon Set II
Sigil of Superior Force+5% damage.
Superior Sigil of PerceptionGain +10 Precision each time you kill a foe. (Max 25 stacks; ends on down.)
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
Water Weapon I
Sigil of Superior BattleYou gain 2 stacks of might for 20s when you swap to this weapon while in combat.
Water Weapon II
Sigil of Superior Fire50% chance to cause flame blast on critical hit causing AoE damage. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 5s)
Upgrade Item Details
Armor
"Let's start with the obvious, full Berserker gear. Runes of the Scholar are the runes you're going to be using on your armor. If you can maintain over 90% health 24.5% of the time, then these are better than Ruby Orbs. However, if you're a cheap-ass and/or you think Scholar Runes are way too expensive, Ruby Orbs are a great alternative." - Copied from Dryten (Jon.3752) Meta GS/Axe guide -
Trinkets
Berserker rings and amulet since it gives the most overall stats for power/prec. Can go either Berserker or Cavalier Backpiece, both gives power/Crit damage, only difference is either more Crit chance or toughness. As for Earrings, Cavaliers for the boosted Toughness for survival without losing much power and maintaining your Crit Damage.
Sigils
Can always swap Sigil of Rage for Sigil of Force if you don't care for the Quickness. Can also swap Sigil of Perception for Sigil of Bloodlust if you want more power instead of more Precison.
V. Basic Gameplay
Basic gameplay is to place Frost spirit in a good location while using Jungle stalker's F2 ability to grant 5 stacks of Might on party then use all of warhorn's skills, any one first depending on how the battle starts. Weapon swap to sword/axe and Path of Scars while running to boss, then Whirling Defense if Timewarp goes up or when your Sigil of Rage procs then proceed to autoattack with sword. Evade any which way you want, either from endurance or sword skills, weapon swap for more warhorn skills when off cooldown. Be sure to attack from the sides/back for Hunter's Tactic trait to take affect.
Tricks to using the sword - While the leap animation for sword's auto roots you in place(if you have attack assist/auto), if you hold any directional keys down, you will slowly move towards that direction. Need to back up? Hold back and during each hit in the chain, watch your ranger creep back until he's out of melee range. Need to move to flank, do the same except hold the left/right key. Use Serpent's Strike to 90% of the time get behind the enemy. The evade time for the skill is not just the roll. It lasts as long as up to the Strike which sometimes feels like its a total of 2 seconds.
Pet - Your Jungle Stalker F2 will gain 5 Stacks of Might, your 3rd attack on your sword's auto will give Might, Warhorn's Call of the Wild will give might, your crits will give might, any boons will be shared to your cat, +30% and +40% damage increase from Pet's Prowness Trait and Sic'Em PLUS might from Rampage as One will make your cat hit like a truck.