Prophecies barrage build, help!

[Daerien]

I just got Barrage and I'm trying to make a decent build out of it. Here's what I have so far:
[Barrage][Savage Shot][Distracting Shot][Favorable Winds][Purge Conditions][Lightning Reflexes][Troll Unguent][Rebirth]
Keep in mind all I have is Prophecies, hence the Purge Conditions (the only other options I could find are [Mend Ailment] and [Antidote Signet]). I want to use this for just general PvE, doing missions/quests with groups.

I'm not sure which bow to use (Flatbow or Hornbow or ____?) and which bowstring (Zealous or Vampiric?) Also do I just spam Barrage on every autoattack or is there a rotation I should be using? My friend gave me Chiggen's Shortbow (http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chiggen%27s_Shortbow), is that worth using?

Ty in advance

[Shayne Hawke]

Just about every Barrage build is utilized best with a damage boosting something-or-other non-Preparation. Conjures are a good choice if all you have is Prophecies.

[Murmel]

Just a tip on the bows here:

Use a flatbow. Zealous or Life stealing is what I myself prefer.
Don't use that shortbow for barraging since shortbows arc is way lower than the flatbow and longbow.
And use what mods you prefer, if vampiric doens't work out for you, grab another mod instead :)

Edit: You can use the shortbow for interupting.

[Rift]

It all depends on which area you're facing. You should always adapt your build to your environment.

Undead?

[barrage][judges insight]

Far Shiverpeaks?

[barrage][conjure flame] (+ [mark of rodgort] from a friend)

Hell's Precipice?

[barrage][conjure frost] or previous build using [conjure flame] with [winter] now that it works.

Typically you'll want a Zealous Flatbow, or Firey Flatbow if you're using a conjure build.

[matsif]

conjure is probably your best bet for prophecies only, although bringing judges insight is decent on the kryta missions (gates of kryta, d'allesio, etc.)

edit: rift beat me to it with judges =(

[Daerien]

Just a tip on the bows here:

Use a flatbow. Zealous or Life stealing is what I myself prefer.
Don't use that shortbow for barraging since shortbows arc is way lower than the flatbow and longbow.
And use what mods you prefer, if vampiric doens't work out for you, grab another mod instead :)

Edit: You can use the shortbow for interupting.
Just curious, why is a flat arc bad for barraging? Also, do you prefer Zealous or Lifestealing? I don't seem to run out of energy very quickly while spamming barrage, so I see more benefit from the extra lifestealing damage, what are your thoughts?

[Taisayacho]

I completely agree with Rift, go with Conjure unless going against undead in which case use Judge's. If you're not using a conjure build, I recommend a vampiric bow however. If you hit all 6 targets, that's 30 health to you and an extra 5 damage to each of them. I find that with a high enough expertise and barrage's low energy cost, I rarely ever run out of energy.
On a sidenote, I like recurve bows myself, but I find most prefer flatbows.

[the savage nornbear]

I'm an advocate of minor runes on a ranger, so I would suggest dropping the superior rune. Especially if you're gonna be running rebirth, which would suggest you're gonna be saving the party from a wipe. Plus the damage bonus isn't really noticable. Also vampiric bow for damage, zealous bow for when your running low on energy. I use recurve but whatever...

[Rift]

Enemy AI won't kite your arrows, so arc becomes somewhat irrelevent in PVE, as they ball up around your frontliners.

A Flatbow will grant you the fastest refire rate and the longest distance, which is what you want in a Barrage build.

If you must interrupt something, you should swap to a Recurve.

[Daerien]

Enemy AI won't kite your arrows, so arc becomes somewhat irrelevent in PVE, as they ball up around your frontliners.

A Flatbow will grant you the fastest refire rate and the longest distance, which is what you want in a Barrage build.

If you must interrupt something, you should swap to a Recurve.
Ah ok, so the reason I shouldn't use a Shortbow is the range, not the arc.

[Murmel]

Just curious, why is a high arc good for barraging? Also, do you prefer Zealous or Lifestealing? I don't seem to run out of energy very quickly while spamming barrage, so I see more benefit from the extra lifestealing damage, what are your thoughts?

It all depends on how much energy you need for your build. If your build aint that energy demanding then go for something else. But I always bring one zealous bow just in case anyway.

[Daerien]

It all depends on how much energy you need for your build. If your build aint that energy demanding then go for something else. But I always bring one zealous bow just in case anyway.
Cool, that makes sense.

Another question, which condition removal (if any) should I use: [Purge Conditions][Mend Ailment][Antidote Signet] or something else in Prophecies that I missed entirely.

Also, is [Lightning Reflexes] a good choice of stance or should I pick something else? I see [Whirling Defense] used a lot but I never really saw much in it.

I see a lot of Barrage builds using IAS like [Tiger's Fury] and whatnot, what are your opinions on that?

[the savage nornbear]

[[lightning reflexes] is better imo because you dont need to spec into beast mastery. i like it better than [[whirling defense] to because it can be maintaned longer and is an ias.

[Tyla]

Lose the heal, go 12+1+1 Marksmanship, and 12+1 Expertise.

Lose Purge Conditions for Antidote Signet for a better condition removal.

Recurve Bow should be best, because if you need to interrupt, you've got a good bow to do it straight off.

Long / Flatbow for pulling.

And only really use Recurve, if the spirit isn't up.

[Age]

I know someone who uses a short bow with barrage although I am not a big fan of it.

[Albert Algorn]

[barrage][conjure flame] and [barrage][conjure frost] are two builds that work really well for pve pretty much anywhere. I use them all the time and have all the games. The choice of bow, beyond having it fiery or icy depends on the area and enemies as always.

[Daerien]

Ok, here's attempt 2, using my current secondary (/Mo). I'll give Conjure a try once I get a decent elemental bow, which I am lacking atm.

[Barrage][Savage Shot][Distracting Shot][Favorable Winds][Antidote Signet][Lightning Reflexes][Vigorous Spirit][Rebirth]

Since I dumped Wilderness Survival/Troll Unguent for the extra points in Expertise, I figured I'd use the extra slot for a heal, Vigorous + Vampiric bow with Barrage should be plenty.

[the savage nornbear]

It seems pretty decent, I'm not sure what else to add that would benefit it. You could think about dropping expertise to 9 and raise up healing prayers. I'm not sure on the math, but i think 9 expertise will cut barrage down to 2 energy.

[bobrath]

Purge signet is great for rangers since it takes off the one condition that hurts the most - blindness. (and its energy free).

Generally in PvE, I assume that I'll always have along a monk or some other competent healer. SO, I don't bring heals. I would suggest whirling D in place of vig spirit. Its a second stance, but for the occasions you do become the target of a hard hitter, it can save your bacon!

Having rebirth, is a great idea since you're typically one of the last to die and it can turn a wipe into something much more manageable.


As far as bows go, I like vampiric strings since its adding extra damage on to each barrage fire. I used to switch off non-vampiric bows between mobs, but then I realized the healer hench/hero could toss me a minimal heal just as easily. Course with only human monks... be nice and unequip it.

[Daerien]

It seems pretty decent, I'm not sure what else to add that would benefit it. You could think about dropping expertise to 9 and raise up healing prayers. I'm not sure on the math, but i think 9 expertise will cut barrage down to 2 energy.The minimum expertise to reduce 5-energy skills to 2 energy is 13 expertise. The maxed out expertise is nice since I don't have to worry about energy at all and can use a vampiric bow freely

[Tyla]

Purge signet is great for rangers since it takes off the one condition that hurts the most - blindness. (and its energy free)
Purge Signet...?
I suppose you mean Antidote Signet?

[MasterSasori]

Purge signet is great for rangers since it takes off the one condition that hurts the most - blindness. (and its energy free).

This is Purge [purge signet]. This is Antidote [Antidote signet]

Generally in PvE, I assume that I'll always have along a monk or some other competent healer. SO, I don't bring heals. I would suggest whirling D in place of vig spirit. Its a second stance, but for the occasions you do become the target of a hard hitter, it can save your bacon!

If you are being pummeled instead of sitting, its better to move and not waste a slot for another stance. LR is enough if you use it wisely.