I played a ranger to 54 and in general I didn't have too much trouble getting groups. It helps a lot if you make an effort to make friends and make an impression on people as a good player and a fun group member. That kind of thing is a far bigger factor than your class when it comes to how enthusiastic people will be about grouping with you. That said, strangers in general aren't going to actively look for you. You can't duo effectively with very many classes.
I would say you really need to enjoy just playing a ranger to make it work. Although I enjoyed the class, I became pretty frustrated with monks just being better than me at pretty much everything (my most common complaint anytime I try to play any melee, really).
There are a lot of people out there who are very concerned with their xp moving fast. They stack rogues, and in general they won't take a ranger unless there are no rogues around. I can be kind of a min/maxxer myself, and I was frustrated at times by being invited to groups with like 2 hybrid tanks, two bards, and a druid healer... on one hand it's nice to get invited to the group, on the other... holy shit man my xp isn't moving.
My advice: if you're going to go through with being a ranger, try your best. Too many rangers just act like rogues-- they don't help with roots/CC, they don't throw in downtime heals, they make poor gear decisions, and they don't show off their AMAZING outdoor pulling abilities. Check track for named mobs and pluck them for your group.
Most importantly, make friends so that later on when you're LFG in Seb, and it's either you or the rogue next to you, they pick you because they like you.
*P.S.* When Velious hits, several things happen:
1. You can fear-kite animals and become an excellent soloist.
2. No more -40% exp penalty.
3. I think your offensive skillcaps get increased to be on par with pure melees.
4. You get some neat-o weapon proc spells.
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