CardiacArrest

Rangers dont need to be a monk. I learned this the hard way. How do i change my secondary profession? I forgot how and its bugging me.

Another burning question is:
How the hell do i rename my pets? I played GW a long long time ago, and i had a sweet snow wolf named Bad Santa. Anyways, there was a way of naming the pet, but how?

And thirdly, whats better? R/P, R/N, or Ranger with a secondary for no neccesary use? (like a R/Mo that uses no healing or smiting spells)

R/P is good if i want to be a Paragon Beastmaster because of the shouts, but it seems like a waste becuase i will always be using my bow from long range, trust me if i wanted to be close range i would be a W/R Swordsman beastmaster.

R/N is cool because you will be the one with the higher numbers, having a sweet beast along with 6 other minions. I have tried this but didnt do so well, i fell short when it came to Energy.

I am currently R/Mo and use nearly none of my skills, i leave all the healing to the henchies. The only spell i use is Healing Breeze that heals either my pet or a close to dead henchie quite a bit, i think its at +4 or 5 Regeneration. Besides that i only keep it for a quick Rez when in a tight fix.


Cheers mates.

__________________

beldeti

Changing your secondary profession

GW characters can change secondary characters through a number of ways:

Prophecies-made characters need to Ascend first then do the Crystal Desert quests that give you the means to change your secondary upon completion.

Factions characters need to complete Nahpui Quarter mission and become Weh No Su, the equivalent of "ascended". You can talk to some guy at Senji's Corner outpost (Senji himself?) and pay 500g per profession change.

Nightfall characters need to complete the Sunspear Sanctuary / Base quests, then there is a profession changer over at the Command Post. Same as Senji, he charges 500g per profession change.

You can also go to the Great Temple of Balthazar over at the Battle (PVP) Isles, there's also a profession changer guy. I just don't know though if he'll require you to be ascended before you can avail of his service.

Renaming pets

You can do /petname {name} or /namepet {name}, the same way you do emotes.

Secondary for Ranger

With R/P, you can go a Spear-and-shield beastmaster. You can also go bow-wielding beastmaster too, but to make the most out of the Paragon's shouts (esp. "Go for the eyes!" and "There's Nothing to Fear!") you can go recurve or short bow to ensure that you're always within earshot and benefit the most number of allies. Barrage + GFTE! can be a great combo.

Minion Mastery is always attractive, but like you said yourself you'll run into energy problems. Expertise does not affect spells. Also, pets do not leave an exploitable corpse anymore. My advice would be to leave MM'ing to either your necro or ritualist hero, the AI handles itself pretty well, and you'll have 9 or 10 additional bodies at your side with 15 or 16 Death Magic. Or you can try going into Curses instead -- a well-placed hex or can turn the tide of battle.

Choose a secondary that complements the ranger well, and the enemies you'll be facing. Typical bars are usually 2-3 attack skills, 1 preparation, 1 block/run stance, 1 heal, 1 rez and Distracting Shot, which almost never leaves my skillbar

Used properly, Troll Unguent and a reasonable investment in Wilderness Survival for me is better than Healing Breeze, also because more WS points make your preparations (Apply Poison, Kindle Arrows) and stances (Storm Chaser, Natural Stride) last longer, all of which you can use more often due to "discounts" given by your investment in Expertise. Putting points into Healing Prayers only benefits your Healing Breeze, and you can run into energy problems too because the cost is not affected by Expertise. The plus side to Healing Breeze, though, is that you can cast it on other party members too. Have you ever tried Watchful Spirit?

However, since we still have favor, i find it enough to get that +1 health regen from Dwayna's shrine to counteract a vampiric bowstring. Blessings in Prophecies and Factions even give you constant +3 regen

And I find that offense is the best defense -- kill enemies fast enough so that they can't damage you and you won't need to heal

That the ranger sometimes does not need skills from secondary profession is testament to its versatility. However, for some stuff: rangers lack hex and condition removal, so you can go Paragon to use Hexbreaker Aria or Remedy Signet, or go Mesmer for its hex removal skills, Monk for Purge Conditions, etc.