User:Ender-Alacran/Builds/R/N Touch Ranger

I first discovered Build:R/N Touch Ranger as an annoyance in the Random Arenas. So, to find out what annoyed it, I played it for a while. I tried to create the best build I could, starting with the featured one (Vampiric Bite, Vampiric Touch, Offering of Blood, Throw Dirt, Whirling Defense, Dodge, Plague Touch, and Resurrection Signet.) I began by analyzing the build, and the variations listed below, and after looking through the list of Blood Magic skills, thought that Signet of Agony was a good replacement for Throw Dirt, as it also incorporates another combination: a Barbed bow, Signet of Agony, and Plague Touch. (44 seconds of bleeding on the touched opponent, with a little bit of extra PBAoE.) In my opinion, Touch Ranger is - relative to other builds and arenas - most effective in Random Arena's, so that's where I tested it.

So, my tested build was Vampiric Bite, Vampiric Touch, Offering of Blood, Signet of Agony, Whirling Defense, Dodge, Plague Touch, and Resurrection Signet. From my experience, it seemed quite effective.

The cons: The pros: Misc:
 * Having a Mesmer that spammed Diversion on me was a hindrance - but didn't necessarily stop me.
 * Having multiple enemy Monks was exceedingly annoying. If my team was unable to coordinate it's offense to kill a Monk (or just simply didn't have the capability,) then we wouldn't be able to win.
 * I didn't have an interrupt. This was a severe lacking of the build I used. On second thought, that would be my next wish for the build - add an interrupt.
 * Almost anyone that tried to defeat me in melee combat quickly realized it was a losing battle - even without my having used Whirling Defense. I often forgot that I had it, since I rarely needed it.
 * It was fun to watch people think they were escaping - Assassin's especially - when they had 44 seconds of Bleeding on them. Usually I would just change targets. Often they would die a few seconds later to Bleeding. I don't care if they can run away, I'm winning the battle.
 * It's very powerful. Most defensive skills are useless. People would try to Blind me, Backfire me, Spiteful Spirit me, and use Reversal of Fortune, yet none of them stopped me.
 * Having too many enemies focusing on me without recieving support from my team usually killed me, presuming they had some way of preventing my escape (with Dodge.) I don't expect a single build to be able to always defeat a competent and coordinating team on my own, so this is negligible. This is the situation where I should rely on my teammates. More people going after me is less attacking my allies. Nonetheless, it is a very durable build - in a 2v4 (with a Monk ally,) we managed to hold out for several minutes.

After that experience, the build I would recommend would be:

With the following attributes: And the following equipment: (For PvP characters. PvE characters should use the functional equivalent.)
 * Expertise: 16 (12+1+3)
 * Blood Magic: 12
 * Marksmanship: 4 (3+1)
 * Hunter's Mask
 * Druid's Armor
 * Barbed Recurve Bow of Fortitude (A +Armor Grip would work too. It might even be superior, but I'm unsure. I just generally choose Fortitude.)
 * Truncheon (Req 9 Blood) (20% 1/2 Blood Magic recharge) (Energy +5 >50% hp)
 * Idol (Energy +12 Req 9 Blood) (20% 1/2 Blood Magic recharge) (Health +30)
 * Idol (Energy +12 Req 9 Blood) (Energy +15) (Energy Regen -1) (Health +30)

How to play:
 * Whenever possible, wield the Bow. First, it doesn't give away that you're a Touch Ranger like a Truncheon does. Second, you can interrupt with Distracting Shot at any moment. Third, it double increases the bleeding duration using Signet of Agony and Plague Touch. (See Barbed.)
 * Usual RA guidelines apply. (i.e.: Try to take down Monks first. Resurrect ASAP. Coordinate the offense. Interrupt anything dangerous - but wait until they're almost done, so that they waste more time. Kite when overwhelming melee is directed at you. Don't sacrifice health when it's all you have. Etc.)
 * If they try to run away from you (as will often happen,) weigh your options. If they have no method of curing Bleeding - effectively meaning they aren't a Monk - then I would recommend using Signet of Agony, Dodge, and Plague Touch and then letting them run away all they want. If they're a Monk, it's a tough decision. Against Monks, (and any spellcaster casting annoying spells) don't forget you have Distracting Shot.
 * If a solo melee is trying to kill you, you can usually overwhelm them. Your vampiric skills steal approximately 130 life every 3 seconds, which is both healing you and hurting them. That's where this build started - it's good at melee. Worst case scenario is a full adrenaline melee spike, but often you will survive that.
 * Beyond Monks, your biggest threat are the Mesmers (presuming Mesmer's aren't in fact a bigger threat.) Diversion spam will slowly shut you down - so use Distracting Shot on it. At least they'll need to use whatever defensive skill they brought - like Distortion - to keep themselves from being interrupted. If they didn't bring one, then you're home free.
 * If somehow you end up with a harmful condition, then just Plague Touch it to someone else. Dazed? Give it to their monk. Blind? Give it to their warrior. Crippled? Give it to anyone kiting or being kited. Deep Wound? Give it to your kill target. Bleeding? Same as always.
 * Save Dodge for when they really don't want you to use it. You can only use it ~1/3 of the time.
 * Usually you don't want to bother attacking, unless it's to lure them in to closer range.
 * If you're having a Plague Touch war with Bleeding, it's going to have a ridiculous duration. Consider passing it on to someone that can't get rid of it. Bleeding... forever!
 * Use the multiple weapon sets! The bow is for primary usage, the Truncheon and the first Idol are for when you need a boost of energy (generally for either Offering of Blood - which then has a chance to decrease it's recharge time - or a vampiric skill,) and the Truncheon with the second Idol are for when you desparately need energy immediately and don't care about the consequences. Swapping energy sets is also handy versus energy denial.