Meso Redacted: Build v2.0

My second Ranger build had a few very specific foci:

• Emphasize spike damage
  Both greatsword and longbow are absolute killers with regards to spike damage. High precision and high critical gear/stats are a must.
• Enhance conditions
  Cripple, bleed, poison, burns. The variety of weapons available to Rangers make many condition attacks possible. Couple these with pets that attack with their own condition damage and you can see the strength of Ranger's condition attacks.
• Boost AoE heal
  Healing Spring is one of the best AoE healing skills in the game. Large area, great HP regen. Healing Spring is absolutely vital if you intend to take your Ranger into group WvW or PvE.
• Solid, versatile pets
  Most rangers woefully neglect or under-utilize their pets. I approached my ranger pet from a FFXI/BST background. I did research and used pets with useful and versatile roles.

This build had all-crafted exotic gear. It was before ascended gear could be crafted, but had the best you could get otherwise. The emphasized stats were mixed between precision, power, conditional damage, criticals and healing. I'm pretty satisfied with the gear stats I have, so if I do eventually craft ascended gear for my ranger, I'll likely just repeat the same stats.

The two pets I primarly use on this build are:

• Devourer: For poison and bleeds. Its attacks are also ranged, which means the pet hangs back with me and stays alive longer.
• Fern Hound: For cripple and healing. Remember, you have excellent utility healing. This pet's HP regen move is great for helping allies and is a boost to your already awesome healing abilities.

You'll notice there's no tanking pet here. I am a firm believer that rangers should absolutely not be in the business of tanking. Put that bear away. The Devourer/Fern-Hound combo is very versatile- the Devourer is a great condi DPS with high survivability since it stays out of the fray, and the Fern Hound is a great healing resource for groups.

My utility skills can vary from situation to situation. However, I've found the most generally versatile skillset includes some combination of the following:

• Signet of Stone: Boosts base toughness, keeping you and pet alive longer. Active ability makes you and pet invulnerable for a short time, perfect for getting away or surviving high damage, telegraphed, attacks.
• Signet of the Hunt: 25% movement speed is killer in WvW roaming groups. Couple with your greatsword leaps and nothing will be able to match your speed. Active ability makes your attacks stronger, and has a fairly short cooldown.
• Signet of the Wild: HP regen for you and your pet. Active ability boosts your attack and stability.
• Sharpening Stone: More bleeding. Decent cooldown.
• Muddy Terrain: Cripple and imobilize your foes. Great, general purpose, group WvW and PvE skill.
• "Search and Rescue!" Great support skill for PvE and WvW scenarios where people die a lot. Sends your pet out (at 150% speed) to the nearest downed player and attempts to revive them.

You'll notice I don't focus on traps. My ranger build isn't a trap ranger, so I rarely use them. That being said, I do have a great deal of respect for skilled trap rangers- I've tried it and found it to be too "micro-managy" for my tastes.

The skins I use for my ranger include cultural Asuran armor, cultural Asuran weapon skins (my greatsword), and zenith bow skins.