Guild Wars 2 is a massive game–even for an MMO–and it can be tricky getting your bearings in its brave new world. But BradyGames is here to help, with a strategy guide that’s hundreds of pages long and spells out everything you need to know about the game. We’ve got some sample pages to check out, as well as an introduction to the Ranger profession. Check it out below, then hit up the second page for some insanely high-res images of the guide’s undoubtedly pretty pages.
Rangers are frontline fighters today, rearline firepower tomorrow, and skirmishers every day of the week. Medium armor keeps them mobile and still able to survive a few hits. A wide variety of weapons gives the ranger the ability to meet enemies on almost any turf. Fighting at range allows the ranger to hit multiple foes from safety, and using melee weapons makes them incredibly mobile and difficult to hit.
Pets are as varied and flexible as the ranger and any enemy that ignores a ranger’s pet is in for a world of hurt. Rangers also gain a wealth of group utility from traps and spirits. The spirits increase ally damage, add a new damage type, or even revive fallen allies. Traps slow, Poison, or Burn enemies.
Rangers have quite a few weapons available. Like many professions, they can have two sets of weapons equipped at any time and switch between those, even during battle. A standard grouping might be a melee mode and a ranged mode (axe/axe and longbow). This allows a ranger to rain death onto enemies until the enemy closes, and then switch to melee weapons to finish off an opponent.
Rangers are the profession for you if you enjoy forcing the enemy to fight on your terms, or if having a smart animal companion sounds really intriguing.