This section covers any and all questions not covered by the above guide,
including a lot of general questions not necessarily pertaining to Rangers.

General Questions
=================

Q. How can I get Fur Squares?
A. There is a collector that trades 4 Charr Hides for a Fur Square in Ascalon
City. Also, one can salvage Fur Squares from armor pieces and hides using an
Expert Salvage Kit with limited success depending on the value of the armor.
More expensive armors are more likely to give Fur Squares.

Q. What is the 15k Armor?
A. Armor that is bought at Marhan’s Grotto and Granite Citadel costs 15,000
gold per piece, along with a huge amount of crafting materials. Generally,
they have the same armor level as the 1,500 gold armor bought at Draknor’s
Forge, but are cosmetically different in some way.  Thus, they are more of
status symbols than anything.  There is also a forge in the Temple of Ages
dungeons (Underworld, Fissure of Woe) that crafts even MORE expensive armor,
but I have no idea what that armor looks like.  As of the July 13th update, the
Druid’s 15k armor now has an improved graphic, where previously it looked
identical to the Druid’s 1.5k armor set.

With the release of Factions, there are multiple additional sets of 15k armors,
including three different non-Sided 15k armors, a 15k Luxon armor, and a 15k
Kurzick armor.

Q. I’m at Level 20. Why do I only have 170 attribute points?
A. The last 30 attribute points are gained from two different quests that give
15 attribute points each: Forgotten Wisdom (in the Crystal Desert after you
complete the Forgotten Ones), and Hero’s Challenge (in the Southern Shiverpeaks
after you complete the Hero’s Journey).

In the Factions campaign, the 15 point attribute quests are Lost Treasure (from
Raitahn Nem in Ran Musu Gardens) and An Unwelcome Guest (from the Zunraa in
Seitung Harbor, after you complete Zen Daijun).

Q. Why am I not getting +60 health from my two Minor Vigor Runes?
A. Runes do not stack with the same type.  You can get multiple bonuses from
runes of different types, but you can’t stack, say, two Minor Vigor Runes or
a Minor Vigor Rune plus a Major Vigor Rune.  A Ranger typically will have one
Marksmanship Rune, one Expertise Rune, one Beast Mastery Rune, one Wilderness
Survival Rune, and one Vigor Rune.  With the exception of Vigor Runes and
Absorption Runes, all Major and Superior Runes subtract health.  It’s generally
a bad idea to use more than one Major/Superior RUne as it brings your health
down by a significant amount.

Q. What is WPE? What is BWE?
A. They stand for World Premiere Event and Beta Weekend Event respectively.
Guild Wars was extensively tested during its Beta period by casual gamers to
balance and hone the various skills in the game.  Much of the information out
there right now is based on the BWEs, and thus, may be out of date.  One
example is the Kindle Arrow and Apply Poison duration listed at several sites,
as it was raised from 12 seconds to 24 seconds in the retail release.

Q. What is “infusing”? How do I infuse my armor?
A. After Ascension, you will face a brand new enemy called the Mursaat.  They
and their Jade Armor and Jade Bow warriors have an attack called Spectral Agony
which does an extreme amount of damage to you very quickly.  Infusing your
armor protects you against the Spectral Agony attack.  To infuse your armor,
you need to find a Seer, who will take the Spectral Essence of an Eidolan and
infuse it into your armor.  The first place that most people find the Seer is
the Iron Mines of Moladune mission near the end of the mission.  Note that now
your armor is infused all at once instead of piecemeal as it was in May 2005.
Fully infused armor cuts the damage of Spectral Agony by about 1/10th. Whenever
you pick up new pieces of armor, those pieces need to be infused again.

Note that as of the June 29th update, your pets have the equivalent of infused
armor, thus protecting them in a similar manner against Spectral Agony.

Q. What are Faction points?
A. In the June 29th update, a brand new method of unlocking PvP options called
“Faction” was introduced.  It works similar to Frequent Flyer Miles, except
that Faction points are earned through any PvP combat in which the player
participates.  Full details are available at the official Guild Wars website,
but basically the more you play PvP, the more Faction that you earn, with more
points being earned for Guild vs. Guild combat and higher level arenas.  You
can exchange Faction points at Priests of Balthazar scattered in all of the
“main” cities in Tyria.  Faction points are best used to gain a specific
upgrade that is difficult to find randomly in-game (like Fortitude bowgrips or
Superior Vigor Runes, for example).  Items/Skills/Runes unlocked through the
use of Faction are NOT given to your PvE character…instead, they are unlocked
for your PvP-only characters to choose from at the inventory/skill screens
during character creation.

Note that with the release of Factions, Faction points are divided into Faction
of Balthazar, Kurzick, and Luxon.  The Balthazar Faction points facilitate the
PvP rewards, while Kurzick and Luxon Faction are used for various Factions-only
rewards.

Q. How do I change my Secondary class?
A. In the Crystal Desert, there are a series of quests in the outpost
non-mission towns, one for every class.  To access these quests, you must first
complete The Hero’s Journey quest from Vanyi in Droknar’s Forge.

If you complete the requirements of the quest, then you can freely change to
that secondary class at any time.  You do not lose any skills for changing your
class, you simply switch over to the new secondary class.  Note that if you
want to change back to your original Secondary, you’ll have to complete that
Secondary’s quest as well.  Also, you won’t ever get the quest that corresponds
to your Primary class, obviously.

The quests are:
* The Elementalist’s Path - Cembrien in Heroes’ Audience
* The Mesmer’s Path - Eulenias in Destiny’s Gorge
* The Monk’s Path - Nausuan in Seeker’s Passage
* The Necromancer’s Path - Kratha Kor in Heroes’ Audience
* The Ranger’s Path - Telius in Seeker’s Passage
* The Warrior’s Path - Agastos the Brave in Destiny’s Gorge

In Cantha, you can also visit Senji’s Corner, where Senji will change your class
for a one-time fee of 500 gold per class.  You can freely change your class as
many times as you like, after paying the pre-requisite fee for your new class.
Senji’s Corner is after the 4th mission in Factions, Nahpui Quarter.

Q. Why can’t I enter the Underworld/Fissure of Woe?
A. The Underworld and Fissure of Woe are special locations that until July 13th
could be accessed by anyone who went to the Temple of the Ages while their
country has the favor of the gods.  Now they can only be accessed by ascended
characters (those who have completed the Crystal Desert Ascension missions),
in a party without henchmen.  If you can’t enter, either your country does not
have the favor of the gods, or you aren’t ascended.

Elite Skills and Bosses
=======================

Q. What is an Elite skill?
A. Guild Wars characters can only have ONE Elite skill in their skillbars,
making the selection of such skills a careful decision in most builds.  In
general, Elite skills are Elite because they are either more powerful than
other similar skills or they can be combined with other Elite skills in
devastating ways (thus Elite skills are balanced, because they can’t be used in
combos on any single character). You can only capture Elite skills from Boss
monsters using the Signet of Capture.

Q. Where can I find a Signet of Capture?
A. Signets of Capture are first found in Lion’s Arch, as the quest reward for
the second quest given by Magi Malaquire (the first quest is called Orrian
Excavation).  After you complete that quest (which is simply to capture a
skill), he gives you another one (and some XP). After that, you can purchase
Signets of Capture for one skill point and a handful of gold from him.  You can
also purchase a Signet of Capture at any skill trainer AFTER Lion’s Arch. You
can purchase as many Signets as you have skill points to spend, so be sure to
purchase at least 4 or 5 to capture all of the Elites that you want.

Q. Why can’t I get (insert Elite skill here) from (insert Boss)?
A. There are no Elite skills before the Crystal Desert in the game.  All of the
Elites that used to be on earlier creatures were removed.  Most of the fansites
out there have outdated information from the last Beta and the first month of
release, back when pre-Crystal Desert bosses had Elite skills.

Q. I killed Markis, but the mission ended! How am I supposed to get Barrage?
A. The mission ends when you kill Markis AND his Jade Armor bodyguards. Thus,
you either have to lure him away from the Jade Armor towers that he is near, or
you have to get the rest of your team to kill Markis first, and distract the
Jade Armor guards while you capture the skill, being careful not to kill the
Jade Armors until you are finished.

Q. Where is Maxine Coldstone? I found Harn Coldstone, but he’s an Elementalist!
A. Maxine and Harn Coldstone (siblings? marriage?) wander around Perdition Rock
in a wide circle that covers almost the entire island.  However, typically you
will only meet either one or the other, but not both.  If you see Harn, you’ll
probably not run into Maxine on Perdition Rock.

Q. Where is (insert Boss here)? I can’t find him!
A. Many of the bosses actually have random spawn locations, and thus do not
consistently spawn in the same area every time, and sometimes do not spawn at
all.  However, there are a few key spots where a Boss of some kind will always
spawn, and you can often find your Boss by visiting all of these spots.  It’s a
bit tedious at times, but you’ll find the Boss eventually.  This mostly applies
to Thul Boulderrain, Whuup Buumbuul, and Ulhar Stonehound.

Ranger-specific Questions
=========================
Q. What is the best secondary for a Ranger?
A. In Guild Wars, there is no such thing as a “best” secondary profession for
any primary class, especially Rangers.

When you balance one of the spellcaster classes against the Ranger, you have to
realize that primary Rangers have less Energy regen and less total Energy than
Spellcaster combinations. With no good methods of Energy reclamation, you will
have to rely on your secondary’s Energy-gaining skills. All of the spellcaster
classes are worth looking into. I’ve listed many of the useful spell
combinations for a Ranger/Spellcaster mix in this guide. Among all of the
possibilities, I’d say the Ranger/Mesmer has the most versatility and
combinations, but it is also the most redundant. Necromancers have plenty of
low-cost spells that work well with a Ranger, but they lack overall damage per
second. There is no such thing as a useless Monk combination, as an extra
Resurrect and more healing spells are always welcome, especially for Rangers
who don’t like to use the slow-casting Troll Unguent. Ranger/Elementalists have
probably the highest capacity for straight Damage per Arrow with their Conjure
X line of spells, and if you are willing to sacrifice a lot of Energy you can
do some good initial bursts before you engage with your arrows. No build is
worth anything without experience and training within that class.

As for Ranger/Warriors, I definitely prefer them over Warrior/Rangers. Expertise
allows you to reduce the costs for your attack skills, which means that with a
High Expertise, you can repeatedly spam Cyclone Axe, Hundred Blades, Wild Blow,
etc. without running out of Energy. Frenzy allows you to have increased attack
speed at a lower cost than Tiger’s Fury, and works great to increase your damage
output (more so than other skills). Finally, Apply Poison works well with Melee
Weapons.

Again, there is NO such thing as a “best” class combination in Guild Wars.
Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot. The whole point of the game is to
experiment and play around with it, finding a combination that is right for you.

Q. Do the skills Serpent’s Quickness and Quickening Zephyr stack? What about
Energizing Wind?
A. I tested this with Troll Unguent, Quickening Zephyr, Energizing Wind, and
Serpent’s Quickness, looking at a watch for timing the cooldowns:
* Troll Unguent alone - 10 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Quickening Zephyr - 5 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Serpent’s Quickness - 7 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Energizing Wind - 12 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Serpent’s Quickness and Quickening Zephyr - 3 seconds.
* Troll Unguent with Quickening Zephyr and Energizing Wind - 6 seconds
* Troll Unguent with Serpent’s Quickness and Energizing Wind - 8 seconds
* Troll Unguent with all three - 4 seconds
So yes, they do stack, and it appears that the percentages are multiplied
together. I’d have to time it more precisely at a later date.

UPDATE: Mind Wallaby at GWOnline.net has done a video capture test, and the
numbers listed above are accurate.

Note that effects tend to be applied on a “First in/First out” basis.  Thus, the
first effect that was applied on you, listed on the leftmost place on the
default condition monitor, gets applied before all the rest.  This is important
when using Energizing Wind in concert with Quickening Zephyr, as you will want
to apply the Energizing Wind effect first (to cut down on the Energy cost)
before you apply the Quickening Zephyr.

Q. I put some points into Expertise, and yet my skill still says “5 Energy”.
What’s going on?
A. The game does not change the Energy displayed to the appropriate prorated
number based on Expertise. Thus, you’ll see “5 Energy” in the skill description
but you’ll be paying the reduced amount.

Q. Why do some Druid’s Leggings have a +1 Energy bonus and some have +2 Energy?
A. Before the June 15, 2005 update, the PvP Druid’s Leggings had a +2 Energy
bonus, but the Droknar’s Forge Druid’s Leggings only had a +1 Energy bonus. Now
all Druid’s Leggings after June 15, 2005 have a +2 Energy bonus.  However, old
Druid’s Leggings from Droknar’s Forge were not updated to the new Energy bonus.

Q. I have a Max Damage bow that has a requirement of 8 Marksmanship and another
Max Damage bow that has a requirement of 12 Marksmanship.  Which one does more
damage?
A. They both do the same amount of damage at Marksmanship of 12.  Requirement
only determines the minimum amount of Marksmanship needed to do the full damage
range of the bow.  Damage is then determined by weapon skill vs. Armor Level of
the target, and the location hit.  Requirement has no bearing on damage
calculation overall.

Q. Can the Spider pet cause Poison? Can the Warthog pet cause bleeding?
A. There is a rumor going around that spiders can poison on a critical hit, or
a warthog pet can cause bleeding on a critical hit.  None of the pets can cause
conditions without the aid of skills.

In Nightfall, the Jahai Rat pet has a rare attack called “Gnaw of Sickness”. It
is not known whether this attack is merely a rumor or if the attack causes any
additional status effects. Stay tuned.

Q. Do Shocking bowstrings give 25% armor penetration to a bow?
A. There is a rumor that the Shocking bowstring gives 25% armor penetration.
This is not true, but it is based on the fact that most Air Magic spells have
25% armor penetration.  Shocking bowstrings only change your damage to
Lightning.

Q. What is a B/P Ranger?
A. B/P is short for Barrage (Elite)/Pet, which is a style of ranger that uses
Barrage as the main attack and a Pet for additional tanking/damage.  It used to
be a Flavor of the Month build, but the popularity has waned.

Q. Do bears attack slower than other pets? Are they tougher?
A. Yes, but not by much.  The reason is because they have a special attack
called Brutal Mauling.  It is unknown what this attack does, but it adds a
slight delay every so often at random intervals to the Bear’s attack speed. In
general, though, you are going to lose maybe 1 attack every minute, so the
reduction in speed is minimal, but present.

It is not known whether or not Bears have more armor or health than other pets.
One report showed that wild Bears take less damage than wild Wolves, but it has
not been live-tested on a captured Bear.

Q. Where is Bow Parry/Conflagration/?
A. There were many skills during the Beta Weekend Events that were subsequently
tweaked or taken out completely. Here is a partial list of skills that no longer
exist in Guild Wars:
* Blizzard - Replaced by Winter
* Bow Parry - Replaced by Whirling Defense
* Call of Aggression
* Call of Brutality
* Call of Disruption - Replaced by Disrupting Lunge
* Call of Elemental Protection
* Call of Feeding - Replaced by Feral Lunge
* Call of Ferocity - Replaced by Call of Haste
* Call of Healing
* Call of Resilience
* Call of Vitality
* Conflagration - Re-added in Factions
* High Winds
* Strider’s Reflexes - Replaced by Escape
* Tongue Biter - Replaced by Concussion Shot

Technical Questions
===================

Q. How do I display the FPS on my screen?
A. You can see the Frames Per Second of your game by adding the parameter -perf
to the end of the command line shortcut.  In other words, right-click your
Guild Wars shortcut icon and choose Properties. Under “Target”, add -perf to
the end of the line, like so:
Target: “C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\gw.exe” -perf

Q. Is there a way to automatically enter my password into the Guild Wars client?
A. Yes, there is.  The parameter -password “YourPasswordHere” at the end of the
command line shortcut will automatically enter your password when you boot up
your Guild Wars client.  In other words, right-click your Guild Wars shortcut
icon and choose Properties.  Under “Target”, add -password “YourPasswordHere” to
the end of the line, like so:
Target: “C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\gw.exe” -password “YourPasswordHere”

Q. Is there a way to download the whole content of Guild Wars before I start
playing, instead of streaming or loading with missions/areas?
A. You can download the whole kit-n-kaboodle of Guild Wars by using the -image
command line shortcut:
Target: “C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\gw.exe” -image
Note that after the whole client downloads, the shortcut will NOT automatically
start the Guild Wars game.  So either use a different shortcut icon when you
want to do a full download, or delete the -image switch from your shortcut
after you are done.  Guild Wars is about 4 gigs (and counting!), so be prepared
for a long download time.

Q. I see folks with unusual symbols in their chat text, like stars and hearts.
How can I do this?
A. The characters that you see are found in the Unicode character set, which is
supported internationally by most fonts, including the font used by Guild Wars.
You can put these in your chatbar by copying and pasting them from an outside
source, like the Character Map program available under Start > Programs >
Accessories > System Tools directory on Windows computers. You can also go to
these websites for a whole list of them:
http://unicode.coeurlumiere.com/
http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/search.htm

Simply select the character that you want, CTRL+C to copy them to your clipboard
and go into your Guild Wars game, click on your chatbar, and CTRL+V to paste the
character into your chatbar.

Known Bugs
==========

* With Predatory Season, regular bow attacks appear to do two +4 Healing
  instead of a single +4 (+5, modified by 80% for Predatory Season). Rangers
  are effectively getting twice the benefit from it.
* When a Distracting Shot hits a target that is already easily interruptible,
  from either skills like traps or the Dazed condition, the extra 20 seconds
  aren’t applied to the cooldown.
* Pets aren’t teleported for cutscenes or total party kills.

Obsolete Questions
==================
The following questions/answers are obsolete due to the most recent patches,
and are left in this section for posterity:

Q. (OBSOLETE) Why can’t I capture “insert Elite skill”? He never uses it!
A. Elite skills can only be captured starting with the Bosses in the
pre-Ascension Crystal Desert missions. Also, certain Elite skills are actually
Stances, like Escape, Melandru’s Resiliance, and Practiced Stance, and thus do
not show up in the skillbar under the creature’s targeted name.  The key to
capturing stances is to tap on your Signet of Capture at a rate of about once
per second.  Eventually, the creature will use it. Be careful not to spam the
Signet of Capture too quickly, or you will cancel your capture command. In the
June 1, 2005 update, the Signet of Capture system was changed to bring up a
menu of skills that a boss has, making it much easier to capture stances.

Q. (OBSOLETE) Where is “Crippling Shot” or “Punishing Shot”?
A. As of May of 2005, those two Elites have not been found on any boss. The
latest June 1, 2005 update, however, have re-enabled these skills on their
respective bosses.  Crippling Shot (Elite) can be found from Melandru’s Cursed
on Perdition Rock. Punishing Shot (Elite) can be found from Thul Boulderrain
in Snake Dance.  He randomly spawns throughout the Shiverpeaks, too, whereever
Tundra Giants can be found.

Q. (OBSOLETE) Why can’t I get Barrage from Markis?
A. As of June 8, 2005 update, the Signet of Capture brings up a list of skills
from killed bosses, rather than forcing you to capture a skill while the boss
is still alive.  Thus, because the mission ends when Markis dies, you don’t get
a chance to capture Barrage from him.  The only place known that has Barrage
now is Abaddon’s Mouth. In June 15, 2005, the update changed the victory
condition of the mission to defeat Markis AND his Jade Armor bodyguards, so now
you can get Barrage from him again.