Guild Wars 2

This is suggestion about little improvement for ranger spirits and letting ranger use staff as weapon.

To start i have quite simple suggestion – make spirits (when with trait “spirits unbound”) run to targeted enemy/friend when their secondary skill is used. After explosion run back to ranger (but mostly they would die in process, killed by mobs, or there could be added % based possibility of spirit dying after using his ability). This would make playing spirits build more viable, but not op like it was on BWE’s.
Anyway if you don’t like this you should continue reading, second part can be totally separated from this.

Ranger can be played as support shaman if you go for spirits build (shaman spells are also – entangle, snake trap and pet shouts) but it lacks specific weapon for that role. Just like assassin ranger is equipped with traps and sword+dagger, or berserker ranger have great sword, amulets, zephyr and RaO (tell me that combination of this do not feel like berserker frenzy). Thats only couple examples of my feel towards some ranger builds.

So here go my suggestion – make rangers use staff!
Meh, staff is boring, another ranged weapon, ranger have many weapons, ranger is not mage gtfo.
This are things you might think, but my concept of ranger staff is pretty unique and different then other staffs in game.
First of all it have melee range chain attack under first skill. This would be third (axes are ranged) weapon for this class to get close and personal.
This would be first mid armored fighter with staff, and this would be only choice for close combat with conditions (well there is sword poison and torch but it’s not enough for me), even if it would not be pure condition damage weapon – creating second mesmer staff with no physical dmg would be bad.

Lest get to skills (i added base dmg by comparing with other weapons in popular skill calculator, if i added two value with “/” then i do not know which would be better, more balanced).

1. Chain melee attack (all 3 with range 150), speed simmiliar to guardian hammer auto attacks.
a) Hit opponents leg for 120 dmg and crippling him for 2/1 seconds.
b) Thrust opponent with staff for 120 dmg and weakening/poisoning him for 2/3 seconds.
c) Hit ground with staff rising flames around player which hurt surrounding enemies, 100 dmg and 1 second burn.
2. Single target entangle with much weaker bleed or flash – gap closer ability, range 600, cd 10-15s.
– Your staff glow with green light, entangle your foe – immobile until vines are destroyed and (make him bleed for 2 seconds/teleport you to target).
3. AoE protection for 3 seconds (possible regeneration effect), range 600 with channel time of 2 seconds, cd 20s
4. Summon grub worm, just like they are implemented in game (poisoning enemies). Durration 10 second cd 20 second.
5. Flame wave – swing staff to create flame wave in cone from player damaging foes (400 dmg), burning them (2 seconds) and removing one condition from up to 5 allies (range 600). Since its quite strong ability cd 35-40 seconds.

So i think it would be quite unique weapon and good choice for shaman/druid rangers with some condition damage (you still get secondary weapon, for me it would be axes and horn or short bow).

Sorry for my terrible English, hope you guys understand everything

I’d rather see the ritualist class back then that.

You suggest adding another class which would bee huge amount of work. What i suggest is to add one weapon to certain class in game, which would make it feel like there is more classes, but would feet perfectly in this profession as nature guardian (especially, that there already are spirits to summon)

Yeah, bring back the Rit instead

If we brought back Ritualists, where would all of the millions of mortar operators now found in Tyria find new jobs?

I just saw suggestion about adding summoner class. Well for me this could be it if we change staff skills 2 and 3 for another summoning. example
2. summon some kind of wood/thorn entity (sylvari hound? but that can be our pet already, same deal with spider) that immobilize targeted foe
3. summon faerie granting might/protection/regeneration to allies (theres no in game model is there?)

Ill bump this last time in hope for some discussion rather then talking about ritualist.. I really want to see this in game.

And i think about it little different now
1. melee chain hit
2-4 aoe(600) buffs – just like shouts
5. summon