Helly.2597

Ranger has a number of good roaming specs. Soulbeast has Sic Em, Cele (boring but effective against bad players), or Boonbeast. Druid has condi. Core can be played as tanky power or condi (but admittedly isn't as effective as others. Untamed has the power tailswipe build (that imo is the most fun roaming build in the game). What in particular is giving you issues while roaming on ranger?

Nah

The roaming build I'm confused by the choice of crusader's. I get you want the ferocity but I'd rather just use zerk or marauders over it tbh. Any particular reason you like crusaders? I'd also consider firework runes, vigor and more might (and boon duration) are always nice to have. Sigils I'm not a fan of double cleansing but I also take the condi cleanse in untamed trait. I also kinda like severance on GS, but it's a bit of a meme (does result in more mauls over 10k).

For roaming untamed is the best option over druid, core, or soul beast. A lot of takes here saying it's not good or viable, but from my experience running it solo and in 5 mans it brings explosiveness the other specs don't. Has a better burst combo than soul beast once you know how to land it. And offers projectile reflect, aoe stealth (that's castable while you're cc'ed if you need to), and boon strip. While it certainly takes more micro and gamesense than soul beast, it more than makes up for this with the tools it brings.

Not sure how you don't view it as answered. Druid is always going to have easier to access team play with CA and easier setup with automatic roots. The problem with druid is mainly why would I take it for this role over a thief or engi. So if you're a ranger main and want to play the role of a gnat druid is great but it doesn't offer much special. The true role that ranger has in wvw roaming that is unmatched is (ranged) burst (untamed offers a combo of melee and ranged). Druid lacks ranged burst but gives more team play. You gain an oh kitten cleanse on CA and the most impactful "unique" aspect you bring is superspeed and stealth. Stealth can be achieved on each ranger spec through combos though. Roots are fine, but as soon as the enemy has a single scrapper or FB you're a noodle bot. Soul beast let's you actually generate a down with sic em burst. Also gives you better gap close and mobility with smokescale merge ability. Greater team play with aoe stab and one wolf pack in addition to aoe cleanse if you slot bear stance. Untamed as better setup with CC since you can control your pet fully and port means you have better mobility. Blast finisher on F2 means you can stealth allies or yourself easier with smokescale. You offer more than SB and druid don't such as boon rip and projectile block along with the 1shot potential of tailswipe. As for things like cleanse, every ranger spec has huge access to cleanse with the wilderness survival line. Sw/wh has minimal impact in fights and that's even seen in the video.

This has gotta be one of the worst takes I've ever seen. Most games balance around the idea if you're tanky you can tank, dps you dps, and healer you heal. Typically the healing is balanced by how squishy you are under direct pressure. It's gw2 that has it kitten backwards with allowing people to be tanky and support at the same time.

Druid is the lowest impact power build ranger has. Relies on LB knockback for roots and dmg. Uses CA kite and cleanse, but can be basically completely ignored by average players outside of when it's outnumbering then. Soul beast and untamed both bring more to the table until you're at 5+ then druid gains due to its roots and superspeed for the group. But I'd define roaming as 1-3 in most cases and in those situations I'd pretty much always take SB or untamed over it.

All my time playing guardian came in handy there used to playing around ports. Build is basically just pasted from spvp. I've done a number of iterations gear wise. Here is what I currently run. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?POgAMFlZwCZrMWmLOeXrR9Sk+IA-zVZYBRFbLITxgyOlWlA9KECWB0yIQxTTIetA-w

Figured since I've been playing untamed mainly in wvw and put out some videos I would lost them here. Most recent: Happy to answer any questions or comments people have.

If I were to go any other stat I would go celestial. The boon duration from ritualist is basically wasted outside of elite and celestial gets you basically the same duration but with more armor, precision, and healing power (but less HP and condi dmg obviously).

Rusty and all that but here's a video of roaming on the new Necro spec. Build is in the description. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la02AExezsE

You're totally right, trade offs are required. That is at the core of balance. But I struggle to find the trade offs for using dire/tb/minstrels. You don't lose dmg (or support ability for minstrels), you don't lose toughness, you don't lose hp. You're gotten away with countering builds (such as burst builds) that are supposed to combat yours without actually making a concession. I'm not against condi I'm against stat sets being no brainer decisions. There are reasons dire/tb/minstrels don't exist in spvp, and it's not because spvpers don't know how to properly counter builds.

Conditions are strong (busted) currently but youre not correct in your solution. Condi cleanse buffs have contributed to the current situation where too many specs are overloaded on cleanses and condis have been buffed to combat this. Cleansing sigil is absolutely broken in wvw and even if the meta isn't favoring condis was already required in builds prior to the patch anyways. I've basically been playing exclusively power revenant recently (resistance runes and cleansing sigil) and in most fights I am not overloaded with conditions as long as I play well. But... The problem with condi in wvw currently (and support) is the gear stats that are available to them in dire/tb (and minstrels for support). There is basically no reason to not take these stats currently and you don't need to think just face tank damage. This issue is only compounded with how weakness doesn't impact condi dmg but is a massive dmg loss on any power build. If these stat sets are removed we can actually start to evaluate balancing, but until then these overperforming sets will dominate any build design and balance decision and are imo the root of the current (garbage) meta.

I mean esc key works and I think is better than a stow key (no animation just stops cast) but if you press twice your menu comes up. It also stops thinks you can't normally stow like Holo forge 5.

This is unbelievable that people make the argument to remove aspects of the game that increase skill cap. Using an animation stow is extremely useful to bait a dodge or reaction to open up an opportunity in wvw and PvP and doesnt have a massive impact in pve. It might not be recognized by most of the player base but faking skills and baiting as important aspects for higher level play and are examples of well balanced mechanics. This isn't about risk and reward it's about having another layer to the combat mechanics. I don't think anet should be looking towards dumbing down combat mechanics.