Rapier or Arming sword for ranger?

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What's the best 1 handed weapon for ranger?

[Katitoff]

Irrelevant.
If you need to use it outside of PvE, it means you're already dead

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Originally posted by Katitoff:

Irrelevant.
If you need to use it outside of PvE, it means you're already dead

I'm sure if I run into good players especially if I did no damage with the bow that's 100% true but a lot of people are not good at the game and I find it more fun than the spear.

[Electi]

sweating on bard right now, before wipe was trying every class. Ranger is easiest of all. Bow, free 40 arrows. Now you can have spear at the start. Best for PVE, just poke to win. poke and fall back, they can't reach you.
One big minus, you can't open big ass chests. Bard can just blow flute and open doors and chest. Have shield that can parry.
If bard had spear, I would not think of anything else.

[Kstyles]

Arming sword - you have faster burst damage on your first two swings comparatively, which is all the time you'll typically have after folks have closed the gap to fight you in melee.

Rapier - should you wish to channel your inner Rogue, the lower ms penalty with proper spacing would allow you to poke and move out of range whilst spamming only the first stab attack in the attack combo. Not usually recommended.

*Bonus Mention*
Arming sword / Short sword - You really want to sit in the pocket and trade to the very last in melee, this combo has THE fastest melee combo a Ranger can afford, simply left click and hold then right click and hold, you'll unleash a five hit combo in a timely fashion before you'll want to reset the attack pattern. Most folks would have finished you in melee before this combo has a time to finish but it still requires mentioning. I find this set works best on fast moving more squishy opponents like Rogues where they have to potential to dodge attacks and you yourself have less downtime in melee due to your five attack combo lasting longer, than say have to reset the Arming swords first two swings.

[Aldain]

Comes down to your personal preference, though most will advocate for the Spear.

I'm much more of an Arming Sword guy because of the combination of relatively fast speed, decent range that doesn't rely on poking precision (last hit notwithstanding) and just all around ease of use.

[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

Thank you for the tips

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Forget the one handers and go spear once you unlock it in your squire gear. Paired with backstep you can take on most other classes in melee range if you did your job with the bow on them up to that point. Spear made me feel confident in melee fights with ranger, plus you can block with it.

[Major Lee Ree]

Spear