I've seen a few guide topics so I thought I'd start my own, after a year of playing as a PvE ranger.
It might seem trivial but the first trick to being a PvE ranger is movement. Speed is key, so socket the best Zirconia you have. Second is build. Here is my current build: http://tinyurl.com/atlantean49 (I'll add another point in Quick Draw once the level 50 cap comes out). Be prepared to use pots quite a bit, especially if your defensive gems aren't too high. Onyx are best as a PvE ranger. Change the shortcut keys to Alt+ instead of Ctrl+ too, as the latter will slow your movement (thanks Magina). I like to put Health in 1, Stamina in 2, and Mana in 3. Also I put Pineapples in 4 to restore my Health and Mana during battles.
Something to keep in mind as a ranger is to always Haemorrhage first. Not only will this bleed the enemy but it will increase your ranged attacks by 10%. You simply cannot expect to go into combat wholeheartedly without it. If you were a PvP ranger I'd add a point in Exit Wound but as a PvE ranger I've left it out. Which brings me to critical hits and the order of my Spell Bar (attached below).
As a PvE ranger, critical is highly preferred over a PvP ranger as bleeds aren't affected by critical hits, though Magina may have another reason for that. I will attach an image of my spell bar (thanks Tactile), but always remember to Torrent before Storm or Spectral Barrage, as they are the two most powerful attacks. If I were to attack a single target, I'd start with Haemorrhage, followed by other bleeds not affected by critical hits such as Envenom (usually Blazing Arrow as well as the cooldown is quite short). Then Torrent, followed by Tornado, Monsoon, then Storm or Spectral Barrage. As the cast time of Torrent is 15 seconds however, you can afford to throw in at least three more attacks before applying Storm or Spectral Barrage. Things like Blood Fang, Blazing Arrow, Detonate and Black Fang are best, as they will increase your chances of a critical hit.
Also I like to Storm before Spectral Barrage as the cooldown is less, so if you follow the rotation you can Storm + Spectral Barrage + Storm instead of only doing two and having to wait for cooldown. Also Black Fang is of course a staple so throw that in whenever you can.
But to get back to the topic of being a PvE ranger, as I said earlier movement is key. Round up mobs while running and bleed them with Blazing Arrow if you need to. This makes it easier if you have a Slow belt, and you can then Detonate them as well.
Which brings me to Celestial Recall. This talent is extremely useful as a ranger as movement is key once again. If you need to get out of a mosh pit quickly, use Celestial Recall followed by the usual Torrent, Tornado, Monsoon rotation. This is where I like my Gale Force too because you can stun them and then Monsoon them while you run away. In fact I always Monsoon after Tornado instead of the other way around because Tornado has a slower channel time.
Also, the reason I don't have Creeping Vines is because I run dungeons as well and find this to be more of a PvP talent so I have no real experience with that as a PvE ranger and don't use it.
As for my Spell Bar, I have it up so so that my 'F' key is Redemption, 'R' is blind, and 'G' is either Conceal or Righteous Defence depending on whether I'm using my shield or not (when rounding up 50+ mobs). I move these talents around accordingly. As for the last three available slots, you can either make them Silence, Resurrect or Taunt, or anything else.
Also I'll give my typical rotation in dungeons, which is Detonate, Blazing Arrow, Torrent, Tornado, Monsoon, Detonate, Storm, followed by anything else. This is because Detonate has a fairly short cooldown time, especially with Haste buff.
