Guild Wars 2

Game Mode
Pv[all]

Proposal overview

Wilderness experts should be masters of poisons. Therefore, Rangers should have the most potent poisons available.

Goal of Proposal

Currently Rangers have 15 different skills that apply poison. Necros are in second with 12 and thieves are third with 9. With all that access to poison, you’d think Rangers would have some traits that make it more potent, but they don’t. In fact, there are no traits at all for Rangers that improve poison performance or help Rangers do more damage to poisoned foes. This proposal seeks to reconcile the disparity that currently exists in the Ranger playstyle.

Proposal Functionality

Rangers should be given some trait options to improve poison in various ways. Between extended duration, improved healing suppression, higher damage values, and bonuses against poisoned foes, a healthy balance should be found that rewards rangers for applying and maintaining poison.

Associated Risk

I don’t see any real risks associated with the proposal, primarily because I’ve left it general enough to allow room for various functional applications of the idea that would not unbalance the game or disproportionately reward specific playstyles over others.

Proposal Overview

Redesign most weapon skills.

Goal of Proposal

Ranger weapon sets are currently lacking in focus and need to be redesigned so that your weapon selection synergizes with specific playstyles, as with all other classes. This proposal contains a list of suggestions for each weapon in general, as well as some specific weapon skills suggestions.

Proposal Functionality
(note that the numbers below refer to the skill bar number)

Longbow – Reward Max Range and synergize with pet.
1 Damage should not scale with range, but should apply vulnerability at 1000+ range
2 Cripple target and swiftness for pet
3 Immobilize target and Might for pet
5 Knockdown at 1000+, 1 second stun at 600-999, 2 second stun at 0-599. Regen for pet

Shortbow – Condition Damage
3 should apply Burning
4 should apply Torment
5 should become the leapback from old #3 and apply confusion

Sword – Power
1 Dodge should always override animation.
2 Jumps should be reversed so that the first leaps into combat and the second leaps out of combat
3 Cast time should be reduced so that the evade is easier to time

Warhorn – Group/Pet buffs
4 Protection, Regen, and Vigor to nearby allies.

Torch – Condition application
4 Thrown torch aspect remains, but sets location of target on fire for a small aoe
5 Point blank eye stab, causes Burning and Blindness

Axe – Multiple target power weapon
Base damage needs to be increased slightly
3 Needs to cause Chill AoE at target location
5 Should not cancel on movement, but movement speed should be reduced

Associated Risks

A redesign is labor intensive as it requires a rebalancing of damage, CDs, effects, and traits.

Proposal Overview

Pets need help

Goal of Proposal

Currently, pets are useful for tanking open world PvE mobs but not much else. These ideas should improve the effectiveness of pets so that the ranger feels like he and his pet are one, not that his pet is a ball and chain that is holding him back.

Proposal Functionality

Pet stats should scale based on the ranger’s stats and the pet’s family, with a weight on specific stats based on the individual pets (some benefit more from power, others from condition damage, others from vitality, etc.).

Pet Melee range needs to be increased to 600, or the AI needs to be significantly improved to combat the current “Run>Stop>Begin Attack>Cancel Attack>Run>Stop” cycle that prevents the pet from DPSing moving targets.

Pets need to take 30% damage from AoEs, be immune to one shot mechanics, and take 25% damage from cleaves, when not the selected target for the cleave attack.

When Stowed, the ranger should gain the “Aspect of the [pet name]” effect, which provides unique buffs based on the pet family and specific pet.
Speccing into Beastmastery should improve the pet stat scaling
Signets should always affect the Ranger and require a Beastmastery trait to also affect the pet (the opposite of the way it is now).

Associated Risks

Having a pet is a risk right now…

GameMode
Overall, its the core mechanic of the class

Proposal Overview
Ranger Pets (stats scale with ranger, range increase and survivability)

Goal of the Proposal
Pets have problems in every gamemode:

• WvW (roaming): Pets cant hit moving targets
• PvP: They are overpowered in condition builds, because cats for example give condition builds high direct damage burst, while diret damage builds dont get stronger with different pets.
• PvE (dungeons): They die because they cant dodge those telegraphed skills
• WvW(zerg): They die in AOE

Proposal Functionality

• increase melee Pets range to 250 (when they get moa morphed they hit more relyable)
• let pets scale with rangers stats, with different base stats and scaling.
  Cats: major stats(power, precision), minor (thoughness, vitality) and dont scale (healing, condi)
  bears: major (vitality, power), minor (thoughness, healing), dont scale (condi, precision)
  spiders: major (condi, vita), minor (precision, thoughness), dont scale (power, healing)
• because automated dodging of the pet would be to much work (I guess), lower the damage pets get from AoE and cleave attacks by 75%, that hit multiple foes.

Associated Risks
The pets could get unkillable and the damage output of the ranger+pet could get to high/low and needs to get readjusted.

GameMode: PvX. Although you suggest only one game mode, I believe the following should apply to all game modes. Edit: But if necessary, PvP.

This proposal focuses on improvements to Master and Grandmaster Beast Mastery traits to improve pet performance.

General Pet Improvements

Change: Increase pet movement speed by 10%-15%. Replace Agility Training (Skirmishing-AdeptTier: Increased pet speed) with Vigorous Training, which was previously located in BeastMastery-MasterTier.
Reasoning: Pets have a hard time sticking to their target since they can’t attack and move at the same time. They can also have a hard time getting to the ranger’s side due to routing issues. Slightly increasing the speed of pets would help increase their damage (sticking to target), reliability (it is where you expect it to be), and survivability (it will get out of AoE faster when using F3). Agility Training is now mostly redundant, so it is being replaced with a viable alternative from Beast Mastery, which makes room for a MasterTier Beast Mastery trait. However, feel free to add the remaining 15%-20% speed increase from Agility Training to a different trait such as Natural Healing, a grandmaster Beast Mastery trait.

Beast Mastery Traits

The focus of these changes to provide some utility and/or survivability to pets via trait options instead of raw attribute changes. Pet AI is faulty, however there are instances where it works and it works extremely well (25 stacks of might from Rampage as One + Feline Pet). Pure stat increases would make pets overpowered in these instances. Instead, allow rangers the option to make their pet more sturdy, but require trait investment for balance.

Combined Traits: Combine Rending Attacks, Stability Training, and Intimidation Training (Beast Mastery master tier traits) into a single trait. Introduce 2D family symbols for each pet type (ursine, feline, etc) to aid players in figuring out which bonus a specific pet would get. Give Moas an effect (they are currently excluded). Have the tooltip function like the Elementalist’s Evasive Arcana trait where you right-click to view all the effects.
Reasoning: Having these traits separated makes it unattractive to mix different types of pets, hurting build diversity. Combining them will allow for new build options and make space for new traits.

New Trait: Beastmastery-MasterTier: Evasive Bond: Whenever you dodge, your pet gains Evasive Bond, allowing it to evade all attacks. Evasive bond is a buff that doesn’t interfere with the pet, similar in implementation to Master’s Bond.
Counterplay: Using weakness on the ranger to reduce its number of dodges, thus reducing the number of times this trait triggers. Or immobilizing the ranger, thus preventing dodging completely.

New Trait: BeastMastery-MasterTier: Cleansing Swap: When you swap pets, you lose 2 conditions. Internal cooldown of 10 seconds.
Reasoning: Gives rangers a good option for mobile condition removal outside of Empathic Bond.
Counterplay: When the ranger swaps their pet, that pet loses any boons it has.

Moved Trait: Zephyr’s Speed: Moved the Grand Master trait Zephyr’s Speed to MasterTier. Reduced quickness to 2 seconds to compensate.
Reasoning: Quickness is a strong effect, but is usually not worth investing 30 points in order to get it. Moving this trait to Master tier would make it more attractive and allow room for a new grandmaster trait.

New Trait: BeastMastersy-GrandMasterTier: Camaraderie: When you swap pets, the inactive pet gains the same boons as the active pet (boon values are capped). For example, if the active pet has 25 stacks of might for 30 seconds, the inactive pet would get 3 stacks of might for 10 seconds (cap value). If the pet has 50 seconds of regen, the pet gets 5 seconds (cap value).
Reasoning: Increases the amount of punishment pets can take via boon sharing, while reducing the penalty for pet swapping.
Counterplay: If you swap when your pet is dead, there are no boons to copy.

These traits would give rangers the ability to have sturdier pets. Important to note is that since these six traits compete for the same two slots, some decision making will be necessary when creating a build.

[PvX] Changes on the class mechanic should not be for one specific mode

Proposal Overview
Pet changes (stat scaling, auto-attacks, survivability)

Goal of Proposal
making pets more viable through all game modes

Proposal Functionality

• Pets strength will now change depending on the players build
  The pets of the ranger should scale with their masters stats, making balancing different ranger builds possible, because pets won’t push in a different direction.
  Therefore every pet gets defined major and minor stats, that scale differently with the owners stats. Let’s say 70% and 30%.

Some examples:
cats: major (Power, precision) minor (vitality, toughness)
bears: major (tougness, power) minor (vitality, precsion)
spiders: major (condition damage, duration), minor (precision, vitality)

• Melee pets range increased or attack while moving
  Increasing their range to 250 or let them attack while moving would make them more helpful in combat.

• Pets get reduced damage from AoE or dodge attacks
  Allowing the pet to automatically dodge every few seconds and/or reduce the damage taken from AoE would increase their survivability a lot.

Associated Risks

• Some Pets won’t be viable in certain builds, because they benefit from other stats (I think that’s ok)
• Pets could be to strong, if they hit reliable
• AoE damage reduction could be OP in 1vs1 fights
• Base-stats of the pets needs to be readjusted

whyme.3281:

• because automated dodging of the pet would be to much work (I guess), lower the damage pets get from AoE and cleave attacks by 75%, that hit multiple foes.

I don’t think the pets have to dodge per say, but instead just given evade / invulnerable frames. Base the length of the frames and frequency of the frames on the type of pet (birds would get more of both then say cats which would get more than bears etc.)

Brief but comprehensive suggestions for Ranger traits.

Game Mode: PVE

Goal

To provide consistent game play and increase in pet survivability to maximize potential damage. To provide team play and a definite role of how certain traits should work.
Most of these trait suggestions or skills are inspired by other classes (Elementalists, Warrior, Necro)

Associated Risk

In the long run when more skills are available, some of my proposals might be too powerful.

Marksmanship

Adept, Major, & Grandmaster minors should be rework. Love the idea of vulnerability as the trademark condition for Ranger, implication should be smoother though to provide continuous game play.

Rework:
III. Keen Edge – Critical hits do +1% damage.
IV. Signet Mastery ( Ranger) vs Signet Mastery ( Necro).
VII. Spotter – Should be move to Skirmishing as Grandmaster minor. Very powerful trait IMO. Rework to +5% Crit chance & +3% crit damage.
VII. Hunter’s Tactics – +3% Increase damage on disabled enemies.(stun, daze, knockdown, fear, immobalize)
IX. Beastmaster’s Might – pet does +1% Damage for every boon on enemy. (Warrior)
X. Eagle Eye – include shortbow. Provides 200 range and +5% damage on longbow, and harpoon gun. (no bonus range for short bow)
XII. Remoreless – Next attack causes 3 vulnerability for 6s cooldown 16 seconds

Skirmishing

Should focus on weapon switching, stuns, dazes, and mobility in combat. Should really consider removing traps from this line. Please.

Tail Wind – Provides +20% movement speed while in combat.

Nature Magic

VIII. Evasive Purity – Dodging Removes 1 condition from you and your pet. (10s cooldown)

Beastmastery

Should focus on pet survivability and provide bonus pet-presence when activated in combat, like Elementalist switching attunements. Should produce smooth game play.

Rework:
New Grandmaster minor Companionship – Pet gains +7% stats bonus from player.
II. Master’s Bond – should really consider reworking. Most underused trait in Beastmastery.
IV. Compassion Training – Heals for 30 (0.1) at 300 range when you activate your pet.
VIII. Stability Training – Urcine, Porcine, Devourer, Armor fish provides 3s stability 300 range when activated in combat.(Elemental switching)

[WvW / PvP] Proposal: Ranger Spirits, Mandatory Traits, and removing screen clutter

Proposal Overview
By now everyone is familiar with the word ‘Zoo’ and how it relates to the Ranger class. While the screen clutter is still there, the strategic value of all the minions has lessened because of the changes to tab targeting. Body blocking is still a large issue though and I am proposing we remove the spirits from the game.

Goal of Proposal
The main advantage to removing the spirits using my idea is it will make the utility skills useful without any trait investment so the class can consider using them regardless of the spec they choose while still allowing players the ability to specialize in spirits if they want. It will also remove the screen clutter and body blocking problems spirits currently have.

Proposal Functionality
My suggestion is to remove spirits and instead simply give an ‘aura’ to our pet that does the same thing spirits currently do. Think of it as the spirits ‘possessing’ the animal in some fashion. Spirits will no longer have a duration and will be active 100% of the time until the pet they ‘possess’ dies or is swapped out. Once they ‘die’ they are put on a cooldown for XX seconds before they can be recast. A pet could have one or all of the spirits active at one time on it.

When the user activates a spirit’s ability after it has been summoned, a mini spirit will spawn at your pets current location and .5 seconds later it will detonate causing whatever effect the spirits currently do.

If you have the trait to activate spirit abilities on death, this will now activate when the pet dies or is swapped. Like above, a mini spirit will spawn for each active spirit on the pet at the time of its death/swap, and .5 seconds later they will detonate using whatever ability the spirit has. This had the added advantage of the Ranger getting some controllable burst (Storm spirit activated to spawn a mini spirit to explode for AE damage and then you swap pet to summon a second storm spirit at the cost of the XX second cooldown.

The current trait that is no longer needed because spirits will now always move can be changed to reduce the cooldown on death or simply replaced with some other trait.

Associated Risks

The risks of the current spirits remain because you’re sacrificing a utility slot for the spirit. Some of the advantages of the current spirits like their ability to soak AE or body block projectiles is also removed which increases the risk to the Ranger as well. It also puts enormous responsibility on the Ranger to manage their pet properly or risk it dying or needing to be swapped, which would remove all the spirits from play.

[WvW/PvP] Proposal: Ranger Traps and the tree they belong in.

Proposal Overview
Many of the traits for the Ranger class don’t make sense where they belong, but the trap traits probably are the greatest example of this class wide. Why do most of the traps deal no upfront damage, all of them are condition oriented, and yet they’re in a trait line that provides neither condition damage or condition duration?

I propose 2 solutions… one is to simply move them to Wilderness Survival so they make sense in a tree, but this is unrealistic because that tree is already bloated with mandatory traits. Alternatively, why not make some/all the traps do a sizable amount of upfront damage in addition to what they currently do?

Goal of Proposal
Right now the Ranger class has almost no burst or AE potential class wide. It also has traps, which are largely condition oriented, in the crit tree. We could kill 2 birds with one stone by making each trap deal sizable AE damage in addition to their current effects. We already have this functionality with Flame Trap dealing 50 damage on top of its burn.

Proposal Functionality
I propose making each trap deal roughly the same damage of about 50-75% of the damage Arcane Wave does for an Elementalist while also providing their current effect. The lower damage is justified because of the added utility the traps have and the shorter cooldown. While some could argue the damage is too high in comparison, one must also keep in mind that the Ranger class as a whole has no other AE outside of Barrage whereas nearly every single attack for the Elementalist is AE.

Associated Risks
The risks are much the same as the current traps provide. By taking traps you’re forced to invest heavily into a tree to make them ranged and large enough to hit enough people. You also give up a great deal of utility by using traps over things like Quickening Zephyr, Lightning Reflexes, Signets, or Spirits.

[WvW / PVP] Proposal: Burst & AE Suggestion for the Ranger Class

Proposal Overview
One of the larger problems facing Rangers right now is they don’t do enough damage offensively. But that’s not necessarily true as they do have one of the strongest sustained damage abilities at Range. The issue is the only kind of damage that wins fights is burst and AE, and it is in these 2 areas that Ranger has almost no options whatsoever.

My proposal is to give the class a skill similar to Kill Shot and to move Barrage to a utility skill so its damage and utility can be greatly improved without drastically increasing its cooldown.

Goal of Proposal
The only type of damage that matters in WvW is burst and AE. Since the Ranger currently has no burst potential at range and no meaningful AE at all, my goal is to provide this to the Ranger in a way that fits the theme of the Ranger and comes with inherent risks and choices.

Another advantage to my changes is it will make a utility skill that is attractive to a large number of builds because it will provide strong utility, strong power damage, and good condition damage.

Proposal Functionality
I suggest removing Barrage from the Longbow and replacing it with a skill similar in form and function to a Warrior’s Kill Shot. If we can add a utility slot to the Ranger, then there’s no need to replace a skill. If not, I propose replacing Spike Trap with Barrage. Barrage would then be improved to deal additional damage, the first wave of damage immobilizes all targets hit for 2 seconds, each wave of damage also applies a bleed.

This gives the class a burst skill to compliment the Longbow’s playstyle and other abilities. It removes spike trap, which is absolutely useless without traits, in favor of a new skill that is significantly more powerful than a fully traited spike trap because it does more power based damage, does waves of bleeds and cripples instead of just a single hit, has the same immobilize as a traited spike trap, and has a longer range than a traited spike trap.

Associated Risks
Right now there is simply no reward for the risks associated to using Barrage. These changes keep the inherent risks of using the Longbow #5 skill (because it will still have a channel) and barrage (again, it would still retain the channel) for a class that has very poor solutions to cripples, chills, and immobilizes. Any skill/utility that forces the Ranger to stand still is inherently a high risk move, only now there’s a real reward for doing it.

Specific Game Mode
WvW – but could apply to all

Proposal Overview
Beast Aspect – set of passive traits determined by active pet

Goal of the Proposal
Questionable usefulness of pets in WvW is one of rangers key weaknesses. This is a hybrid solution to the pet/no pet debate. It provides for both current pet gameplay (and any updates to it) but also allows a toggle into “Beast Aspect” for a no pet mode.

Proposal Functionality

• In Beast Aspect mode, pet becomes non-damaging, non-targetable. The pet could still be visible, possibly mirroring the ranger’s action. (also see last point)
• A small set of passive traits on par with typical major and minor traits boosts the ranger’s abilities. Some of these may be generic to all pets, others more pet specific (see next).
• Trait sets dependent on pet family. Eg, bear traits may be more defense oriented, wolf more offensive, bird mobility, etc. Ideally a unique set of traits per pet species instead of family, but would require much more dev time. Attribute boosts could be based on the pets natural relative attribute distribution.
• Traits could be rigidly set by pet/family, or possibly add a trait line that has some effect on the Beast Aspect passives. Possibly piggy backed on existing traits.
• In Beast Aspect, swapping “active” pet switches the ranger between the Beast Aspect trait sets of each respective pet. Usual pet swap cooldowns apply.
• Similar to how Maul or Swoop has a spirit animal animal effect, Beast Aspect could be graphically represented by a spirit animal effect around the ranger during weapon skill use.

Associated Risks

• Balancing the trait sets per pet family/species will likely require several iterations on live server environment
• Possibly longer term commitment to adding graphical eye candy for different pet families – may need to be phased in over time to spread out art workload.

Suggested Proposal Format

Specific Game Mode
General, I’m sorry but I won’t spam this thread with 3 identical posts!
This goes for all three but mostly PvE and WvW!

Proposal Overview
Zerphyr’s Speed and better support from ranger.

Goal of Proposal
The goal is to make Master traits in BM more worth taking and to allow the ranger to support party members more through the pet! A new space for GM allows for adding something that the ranger is weak in or lacks completely.

Proposal Functionality
I haven’t seen any ranger use this trait since it got moved to grandmaster level.
The problem is that this trait would be OP if one of the other professions had it, but it isn’t on ranger and here is why:

When swapping pets, depending on melee or ranged, problems arise for both types.
For melee pets, the ranged loses damage output because the pet has to run to the target. If the ranger is melee, the pet has to run a shorter distance, but the ranger is already taking a risk by being melee based.

Ranged pets suffer the less, but have a completely different problem. They can be used as shield that block enemy projectiles and let’s the ranged freely attack the enemy from range. When swapped, the pet is repositioned which means the ranger has to take damage while (s)he repositions. For melee rangers, the problem is that the pet is in melee range when swapped, which causes cleaves and AoE skills to hit the pet too. This also required the ranger to reposition himself to ease the pet.

Being able to choose two pets can be a difficult decision. Any good ranger knows why these decisions are difficult to make.
Should one pair an offensive pet with a defensive one? Should one take one ranged pet as defensive and a feline as offensive? What will happen with survivability when the ranged pet is swapped for the feline? Maybe a canine is a good idea, but is the ranger able to guarantee (through control) the knockdown leap will hit?

We not only benefit from Zephyr’s Speed but lose on it too. When swapping, we risk putting the swap timer on 60 seconds because the offensive pet dies. Then take two defensive pets? you might say… That is no solution, because taking two defensive pets means less damage done and those two are most likely chosen because the ranger’s survivability on it’s own is low because of build choice.

My suggestion is to move the trait to master level. To make room, Mighty Swap and Vigorous Training can be merged (these two merged into one trait would give good party support ability, if made to affect allies, to ranger and also increase the ranger’s survivability through the pet, but that is another topic.)
Intimidation, Stability Training and Rending Attacks can then be buffed slightly to make them compete with the new traits.

A new grandmaster trait will need to be created after the changes. This trait should be something that makes it really worth taking.
Gives place for one of:
-Active condition cleanse (on swap)
-Big stat bonus to pets (extra 150 in every stat?)
-Pets steal life for ranger (so much life that it would be worth to use movement impending skills to the pets benefit)
-Increase attack range for pets (100 to melee, 300 to ranged pets?)
-and many more that I can’t come up with by me’self

Associated Risks
Because I don’t know the game completely, I can’t be 100% sure about balance. 30 points for ZS is too big of an investment because the trait doesn’t only come with benefits!

Thanks for reading this!

Game Mode: All aspects..
Overview: Skill selctions, especially arrows…Go back and look at some of the old ranger skills from GW1… I miss the awesome selection of arrow choices. Apply poison, incendiary arrows, savage shot, needling shot, ignite arrows…the list goes on and on. Making any of those an elite choice would be much more preferable over the broken and annoying Entangle. Sure we have spirits, but unless we spec them to follow, we are forced to stay stationary, something as a ranger I hate doing. On a side note explain to me why a warrior has all those fire skills for his bow, but we don’t have one (except a spirit).
A few utility skills wouldn’t hurt either, an actual camouflage skill that doesn’t rely on a weapon selection( but I do love you for giving us that longbow skill, its a lifesaver, plz don’t ever change it!!), or a blind like the old throw dirt skill, give us a little protection from melee classes that own us in pvp.
Risks : by giving us new skills, you run the risk of other classes crying we are OP, because we now stand a decent chance of defending ourselves in pvp and cant be owned in 10secs by cheesy hambow warriors or sneaky thieves…

Game Mode: PvE

Proposal Overviw

The F-keys for Ranger’s pets need rework;

How?

F1. “Attack” + “Return”; The pet attacksthe target u attack. the same way it works today. When pressed again it comes back to u and stays passive untill u order it to do something different. It wont attack anything that attacks u when in this mode.

F2. “Special skill”; Working as today but The timing of the fiering and the hit-ability needs to be looked over as the pet tends to miss a lot as it works today.

F3. “Defend” + “Guard"; Defend = the pet attacks whatever comes too Close to u within a radius of 600. “Guard” = The pet defends a targeted Ally (in the same way as Defend") that stays within pet range from u. If the ally wanders out of pet range the pet goes into “defend” mode instead. The mode stays Active until any other order is given.

F4. “Hide” + “Summon”; “Hide” = stowing, Works like todays stowing with the difference that the pet only comes out if u are attacked (by a creature) going into “attack” mode. Not if u take falling damage. “Summon” = calling u’r pet. When this is done it automaticly ends up in passive/return mode and wait for further orders from u.

Goal of proposal

Make pets easier to hanle nad give a few more useful functions.

Associated risks

No function is removed that is already there today, so the risks should be few I think.

In addition to my suggestions above to give this class much needed burst/AE, to redesign spirits to be more functional and straight forward, and to make traps fill a massive void in this class, I would also like to propose a couple discussion topics that perhaps ANet and other Rangers can respond to.

Discussion topic #1: Trait Investment and Utility Skills
More than any other class in the game, the Ranger requires a significant investment in traits before a large number of their utility skills are even worth slotting. Utility skills should be worth using on their own. Traits could then further specialize them or perhaps design the class in a way where certain utility skills are more valuable than others, sure.

But why should a Ranger need to invest 30 points in Marksmanship before their Signets actually work on the player and not just the pet?

Why should a Ranger need to invest 30 points in Skirmishing before their traps are worth using (Spike Trap is a great example of this) and, worse still, invest in the Crit/Crit Dmg line to play a condition spec?

Why should a Ranger need to invest 20 points (at a minimum, most would still consider 30) in Nature’s Magic?

Discussion Topic #2: Passive Play
Like my weapon suggestion above, and tying into mtpelion.4562 suggestion about redesigning Ranger weapons, one of the larger problems people voice about the Ranger class is it’s passive play. While some limit this opinion to the class’ reliance on pets and spirits, most of the weapon sets reinforce passive play because they don’t provide engaging or worthwhile gameplay. Nearly every attack for every weapon for the Ranger class does less damage than the auto attack of that same weapon. In some cases this is because those attacks also provide utility, but so do the attacks of other classes and yet their damage is still increased.

Without weapon combos to string together or weapon skills that do more than provide a weak condition the class just doesn’t feel very engaging. We just use a weapon skill because it’s off cooldown as the condition duration will last longer than the weapon cooldown anyway or just provide a cripple which is the least useful condition in the game by far.

Something needs to be done to make the class more engaging as right now most weapons feel like we just turn on auto attack and strafe around the enemy in circles until either the Ranger or his opponent eventually falls over and dies of boredom and not as a result of any real skill or effort.

Hello Allie!

I think we can understand that limiting a proposal to a certain game mode makes it a lot easier for you to collect and process the content. However, most proposals are likely to affect several game modes. At least I’m having trouble limiting my ideas to on specific mode.

[WvW/PvP/PvE] Improving the class mechanic without reworking pet AI

Proposal Goal
Pet AI cripples the Ranger class mechanic. Since it won’t be reworked mechanics should be implemented which aid important but underperforming aspects of the class mechanic. Pets also generally suffer in scenarios with massive area damage making them a liability in PvE and WvW which should be changed.

Proposal Functionality

Ranger specific changes

• Increase melee range of pets to make it more reliable damage-wise
• Make F2 cast by Rangers to avoid server/priority delays. Adjust skills accordingly. (Probably solved)
• Make pets evade when the Ranger evades (e.g. Blurr)

General changes for all pet entities

• Limit max. amount of damage pets receive by area effects
• Limit equals x% of the max. health of the pet which prevents one or two hit kills
• Limit could be determined separately per pet type (e.g. Turrets, Illusions…)
• Limit only applies to area effects, not to single target effects or cleaves
• Limit does not apply to effects which directly target the pet even when area effects
• Limit could be disabled in PvP

Associated Risks

• Reducing area damage to pets promotes petting zoos in WvW
• If not disabled in PvP Spirit Rangers would become even more prominent
• Some PvE content might be exploited if damage against pets becomes too low
• Damage limit probably only works for direct damage which would favor condition damage

Game Mode: PvE

Proposal overview

Improoving the pet as a whole for the rangers.

Goal of Proposal

Making the the Ranger’s pets easier to handle. Giving them more useful functions without making it OP and fix some old annoying things that havn’t been dealt with since launch and also making the taming more interesting.

How?

• It should be possible to SEE what SKILLS the pet u have chosen, have when u hover the cursor over its portrait in the F-button-menu. Similar to the way its shown in the (K) panel, but without all the stat numbers.

• It should be possible to SEE what BOONS/CONDITIONS u’r pet suffer from. Either make it a somewhat smaller party member icon or Place the information over the pets F-keys. Parhaps the conditions/boons could show when u hover over the F-skills. (so that u dont have to search for the pet all over the screen in a mob in order to find and target it)

• Make it optional to HIDE/SHOW u’r pets NAME + GUILD-TAG. I still have the blue “edges” that shows that it’s u’rs for u… It loosk betetr IMO, reduces clutter info and is helpful in dungeons/instances etc.

• Make the PORTRAITS show the CORRECT PET and sort them by PET TYPE in the (K) – panel, Makes searching for a pet easier.

• Plz make PETS REMEMBER their NAMES!!!

• THE F2 FIRE TIMING… Either they fire instantly, causing miss (pet is not at target), not at all, or on contach with enemy. I Think the “On contact fire” one is the best in many cases. Its not uncommon though that it fires in the wrong direction. Pet AoE skills, such as howls could be fired instantly. Same for ranged attacks. Moas have both buffing and offensive skills (different target Groups). They should have AoE instead of cone attack and fire instantly like howls as they keep missing now.

• UNDERWATER F2 FIRE TIMING, the drake attacks often miss when they fire instantly instead of “on target”.

• I still get the “Charm” option if i get Close to somebody elses pet that I have not yet tamed. Plz get this fixed so that it goes away.

• U can hit all YELLOW TARGETS. Plz make the pet able to hit all yellow target that u can hit. Today it cannot.

• Pets that create Poison, chill , fire etc… could have RESISTANCE to the same ELEMENTS that they use for dmg. For example; a polar bear, could be resistant to chill. This coule be a way of protecting u’r pet in AoE instead of a pet dodge.

• Make the TAMING PROCESS more interesting. It could be a un-armed fight with the pet u’re about to tame down to 10% health Before it agrees to come with u. When u engage the “tame” option u get un-armed skills for the taming process. Bypassers cannot interact in any other way than cast healing skills upon u.
  If the pet is in a high lvl area and u are low lvl compared to the area – prepare for one tough fight.

• The PIGS F-2 skills are useless… who rushes for a bundle? Make them become muddy terrain, stunbreaker for u and allies etc instead.

• BEASTMASTER TRAITS; The traits that affect special pet Groups need to affect ALL pets. And the Bond that stacks – dont make it reset when u enter water. Sometimes u keep going in and out of water, and u get punished for that????

Associated risks

Some ppl may not like some of the new functions/changes.

Specific Game Mode
WvW

Proposal Overview
Throw the current Ranger in the garbage and start fresh. WvW is a game mode that typically is dependant on other players, classes synergize with one another and group utility is more important than personal utility. The Ranger class needs a large overhault to make it appealing to WvW and helpful to other classes.
Goal of Proposal
To make the Ranger class not only useful be sought after.
Proposal Functionality
Make pets optional, there is to much emphasis on the pets for the class, considering the pets have never functioned properly this is a very large negative to the class. Group utility, they need some, let me rephrase that … they need A LOT. Currently Rangers are not bad for solo and even Small group play but in large fights they bring nothing to the team. Spirits die within seconds of the inicial push and imo spirits are the only true utilities that affect your team. When designing a Class for this type of game play the first question should always be “what can they do for the team” if the answer is not a kitten thing, start over. They need stability, condition cleanses, weapon ability’s reworked, and if you insist on making pets mandatory they must function correctly, not die on inc, and stop taking boons from the party that real players need.
Associated Risks
There really is no risks at this point, the class is so broken for this type of game play that anything you do won’t make it worse. Maybe you will have some die hard Robin Hood fans upset with you.

Before I go posting tons of suggestions I’d like to take a minute and have an open “discussion” on what you (developers) are/would actually consider doing for this profession.

General Questions:

1.) Are you willing to remove skills or traits and replace them with newer, more efficient or reasonable skills? (Ex: Removing one line of Utility skills to replace with another line fitting the Ranger)

2.)
A. Do you acknowledge that the pets (even as an idea) are a liability in certain game situations and despite any possible updates will always detract from the player in said game situations?

B. If so, are you willing to provide an alternative or adapted mechanic for players to use in these situations? (Ex: Pets that provide one or more passive benefits to the Ranger and/or Allies in return for dealing no damage and being invulnerable)

(Specific questions to come)

Game mode: PvP (all modes actually)

Proposal Overview
Passive defence buff for pets and spirits.

Goal of Proposal
Increase the survival of pets leaving the ranger management of it more open to create combos, assits in figths ect. whithout be drawing back due to the the excess of managements (pet management for survival besides the own one + pet skirmishing management besides own one too).

This also increase the survavility of pets and spirits in the active combat content that is imposible to avoid in gw2.

Proposal Functionality
Passive buff 1:
Evasion: pet (minion in case of spirits) have a 50% chance of gain 2 seconds of avasion when is critical hit damaged (recharge of 8 seg.)

passive buff 2:
Endurance: if the pet losse 25% or more of their maximum HP with 1 hit, it will instantly recover 80% of the hp loss and gain 1 second of evasion (recharge of 5 seg.) help to prevent insta kill hits from bosses

Associated Risks
can be to excessive for pvp modes but can be blocked if so or just tuninn down.

Game Mode: PvX.

This short proposal has two Quality of Life Improvements for the axe weapon.

Winter’s Bite (Mainhand Axe #3). Make it a projectile finisher.
Reasoning: This would add a little bit more power/versatility to this weaponset which it needs. It is also a natural choice as a projectile finisher, as similar single-projectile skills such as the warrior’s Throw Axe are also projectile finishers.

Path of Scars (Offhand Axe #4). Add a 1/2 second cripple to the outgoing portion of the skill.
Reasoning: Currently, the pull effect from this skill (which occurs on the incoming portion) often misses since the target can easily move out of the way before the axe begins its return to the ranger. Giving a 1/2 second cripple to hit foes would allow the skill to pull more reliably, while still allowing alert foes to dodge/evade/get-out-of-the-way.

Edit: Also, in the text description for Path of Scars, add “Pulls foes when it returns”.

Specific Game Mode
PvP

Proposal Overview
Pets need more utility and variety in F2 skills

Goal of Proposal
Most pets do the same thing. The worst offenders are the chill pets. This will increase the number of tools a ranger can use and every pet will be useful.

Proposal Functionality
Owl- Remove 2 boons
Alpine Wolf- Swiftness to ranger and pet.
Ice Drake- Keep it as chill.
Polar bear- Grants Stability and Retaliation
Snow Leopard- Grants quickness to the ranger
White Moa- Grants Vigor
Arctodus- Grants Aegis
Eagle- Put a reveal on targeted enemy
Hawk- Cripples targeted enemies.
Spider pets- Venom share to rangers.
Lynx- Torment.
Lashtail Devourer- Pull
Whiptail Devourer- Ranged Launch

Associated Risks
Rangers being strong might be a risk.

Specific Game Mode
WvW

Proposal Overview
Add a visual element that makes the ranger’s own pet easier to locate on screen and on the minimap.

Goal of Proposal
Make it easier to manage and control the pet in large cluttered zerg fights where the pet is nearly impossible to see. Hopefully this would lead to better survivability, effectiveness, and teamwork.

Proposal Functionality
The visual element could be a distinct color for the displayed name and minimap dot. Or the visual element could be a paw icon, akin to the commander tag. Such an icon could be turned on or off in the options menu or the pet management window.

Associated Risks
Visual clutter. Possibility of visual element obscuring enemy. Other professions wanting special visual elements for their own summoned pets.

[WvW/PvP] Increase build diversity by adding sources of active condition removal.

Proposal Goal
Rangers lack active condition removal and also got few options when it comes to condition removal in general. This results in low build diversity because many Rangers perceive Empathic Bond as mandatory. Alternative trait/utility/skill options could open up new builds and emphasize active gameplay.

Proposal Functionality

• Add condition removal in form of traits. For example:
  Moment of Purity (New)
  Grandmaster Trait in Skirmishing
  Remove 2 conditions on critical hits. 10s internal cooldown.

• Add active condition removal on existing utilities. For example:
  Lightning Reflexes
  Survival Skill
  Now also removes Chill/Cripple/Immobilize.

• Add active condition removal in form of new utilities. For example:
  Cleansing Cyclone (New)
  Survival Skill
  Remove 2 conditions and whirl through the air.
  Damage/Blind nearby enemies with stirred up sand.

• Add active condition removal on existing weapon skills. For example:
  Bonfire
  Torch #5
  Cleanse 2 conditions on skill activation.

Associated Risks

• Too strong condition removal utilities/traits/skills could become mandatory and limit build diversity
• Too easy access to excessive condition removal could make bunker builds on Rangers too strong

Game Mode: PvE

Proposal Overview
Player skill based mechanic for defending your pet from harm.

Proposed Functionality:
On/off toggle command under F3, no cooldowns, instant cast.

When activated all attacks that pet would receive are delegated to ranger instead and pitted against his own defences, such as toughness, % damage reductions, evades, blocks, reflects, invulnerability or his own face if he fails to act on time.

Wheather damage is considered ranged or melee depends on distance between pet’s attacker and ranger himself.

Used right it can negate incoming attacks for both you and pet at same time. Used wrong in worst case scenario will have you eat up damage for both yourself and pet.

Possible Risks
Killing yourself hard.

Advantages of Pet Ward:

• player skill based. It’s powerful but not easy.
• BowBear not necessary – pet ward works with any ranger/pet setup
• improves damage – pet stays alive and doesn’t need to run for it every second
• more ranger builds – pet builds become an option, trait based tank builds don’t go away, because pet ward is risky option for the skilled.
• saviour of pets when swap is still on cooldown
• On/off skill. You decide if and when to use it.
• Lets you deal directly with “effects” of any pet AI stupidity.
• Doesn’t force pets to be changed from ground up to use it.

Game Mode: PvP (work for all modes anyway)

Proposal Overview
Waiting tag for pets to attack only when player attack

Goal of Proposal
Quality of live increased in pet managment in no combat and rapid response combat situations.

Proposal Functionality
Besides Agressive mode and Passive mode it could be something in the middle which make the pet attack intantly when master attack or commanded to do so (F1) but never when the master get attacked and she/he deside to ignore the aggresor.

Associated Risks
No risk at all, is just a mode betwing the one ranger and pets already have.

Specific game mode: all

Goal of this change
Making return command better at protecting ranger & pet.

Proposed Functionality
When using “return command” have pet stand right at ranger’s side, not few meters away from him.

It’ll position it to be inside whirling defense bubble when needed. No more mobs getting pulled because certain pet stands few meters too close unlike the ranger. Less headaches with huge aoe zones of death because pet and ranger get targetted but are quite apart.

Specific Game Mode

PvE, but the problem is at the core.

Proposal Overview

The draw of ranger class to many is a master of both nature and the use of bows. I feel by lessening the heavy trait investment currently required to make bows competitive, we can obtain a balance between survival and original design.

Goal of Proposal

Making bows a more favorable primary weapon, instead of secondary reactive set.

Proposal Functionality

Currently, we have a meta that evolves mostly around melee mechanics in fights, and while those mechanics are part of a greater problem regarding range disparity, I feel one of the best ways to make bows more rewarding is the consolidation of bow traits, particularly in the Marksman line.

High-level Suggestions:
- Look at the consolidation of current MM line bow traits with others, or by making piercing arrows a core mechanic of the functionality of bows on the Ranger.

- Bows need a more defined Condition/Power split. Adjusting the shortbow’s autoattack to more reliably apply bleeding by removing the positional and upping damage and poison duration of the #2 ability. Adjusting longbow by finally and for all removing autoattack minimum range requirement, while adjusting damage, would go a long way to being active in a fight. Knockback changed to damage + root or torment.

Associated Risks

I believe the risks are few, but would take all suggestions on how to have the Ranger continue of identity of master of bows while still being able to competently deal with the prevalence of melee centered fight setups.

Specific game mode: all

Zef’s Pet secondary attribute change

Goal of this change
Better customization and meaningful values for pet’s secondary attributes.

Proposed Functionality
Pet receives 1/2 of master’s secondary attributes (critical damage, condition damage & duration, boon durations, healing) and 100% AR & magic find.
The percentage traits for pet’s critical damage, condition and boon duration stay as they are, and stack with ranger inherited values.

Traits that give flat number increase to pet healing and condition damage get buffed up to 800 at lvl 80. Current values do nothing for the pet and its value in combat.

With those two changes in place pet gets both a decent start with master inherited values, as well as it’s own, meaningful secondary stat customization via traits.

Specific Game Mode
All- Every gamemode, no matter what, will benefit this.

Proposal Overview
Porcine Forage skill should replace the F2 skill only, like steal.

Goal of Proposal
My goal is to make Porcine F2 skill be more viable.

Proposal Functionality
Make it replace the F2 skill instead of it dropping on the ground.

Associated Risks
None, unless you think that porcine being viable is a bad thing.

Specific Game Mode – WvW

Goal of Proposal
A good game should cater for rewarding synchronised team play. At the end of the day nothing is more rewarding to me in game then heading out from warcamp with a group of approximately 20 and taking on enemy groups of double or size or more; and coming out on top. In fact it gets really fun when facing an equally skilled and synchronised opponent with even numbers and duking it out. Its really about being a team player and providing support to others, which is what makes a game a good game.

There are a few classes which excel in this synchronised play, yet most of the medium armor classes do not fall into this category and there is good reason for this: they have no clear defined role which they can fulfill.

When I look at the ranger, there are hints of a role that is was meant to fulfill, but thats all. To me, it seems that the ranger was supposed to be in charge of crowd control by providing snares, freezes and immobs with areas of effect. Now this is a good idea, because its a role which has not yet been fully developed in wvw. However, the skills that provide these area of effects, either pigeon hole the ranger into having no escape skills (trapper) or provide escape skills with only a single aoe immobilise (survival/signet).

What I would like to see happen to the ranger is that it is given a proper toolkit to provide crowd control, in support of the team such that they can either evade an oncoming push or they can keep a number of enemy in a kill zone. Basically, its providing them with a rewarding supporting role, with only minor tweaks involved.

Proposal Overview
In order to enable the above, these are some of my own suggestions. But really, its the goal I described above that needs to be addressed rather than the proposal listed below.

• Make muddy terrain a trap and remove the ground targeting.
• Predator’s instinct has its cooldown removed. The cripple it provides is now 5s.
• Change whirling defense such that it pulls an enemy once a pulse, increase the aoe range to 300, eliminate damage component and block projectiles.
• Might buff on call of the wild is now 3 stacks instead of 1.
• Make rampage as one, a shout.
• Channeled abilities can now be cast on the run and are no longer interrupted when casting (this includes: barrage, horn skills, traps, whirling defense etc).

Proposal Functionality
The functionality is creating a viable role for the ranger in wvw, one which isn’t already being taken up by another class: by being delegated to crowd control. A lot of the ground work is already done for the class, and by adding nuances it can gain a good footing in this department. By buffing these aspects of the class, provisions are made for a rewarding role in team play, since ranger will have to choose between doing damage or providing crowd control. Additionally, it can do so by staying out of the melee ball or moving within.

By embracing a role of crowd support, you are enabling smaller organised groups to more effectively take on larger numbers, thus also somewhat tackling the issue of the trump card of bringing more numbers to a fight in order to win.

Associated Risks
There are a lot of counters to the above crowd control, most of which involve team play. So I do not see many risks associated with the proposed changes. Skirmishing shouldn’t be affected too much due to the fact that ranger already has excellent single target immobilise abilities through spiders.

Specific Game Mode: PvE
Proposal Overview: Improve Ranger utilities and traits.
Goal of Proposal: To improve the Quality of Life of the Ranger.
Associated Risks: Proposed changes might be too low-hanging of fruit to have a significant impact on the class.

Proposal Functionality:

• Hornet Sting (Sword): Quicken the animation so the evade can be accessed faster
• Kick (Sword): Allow it to hit up to 3 targets and reduce the Cripple duration to 1 second to compensate
• Evasive Strike (Spear): Allow movement while casting this skill
• Signet of the Hunt: Active also applies Stealth for 3 seconds for you and your pet
• Guard: Remove the cast time to match other Shouts
• Search and Rescue: Add 400 Toughness to the pet while this skill is active
• Lightning Reflexes: Removes chilled, crippled, immobilize
• Eagle Eye: Have it apply to both Longbow and Shortbow
• Fortifying Bond: Replace Vigor with Stability
• Vigorous Spirits: Add an increased effect radius by 20% (1200 range when traited)
• Move Instinctual Bond to be a minor Master Trait and Loud Whistle to be a minor Adept Trait
• Master’s Bond changed to reset only when the player is downed or defeated
• Speed Training increased cooldown reduction to 20% (up from 10%)
• Rending Attacks applies to all pets
• Stability Training applies to all pets
• Intimidation Training applies to all pets
• Aqua Surge (Water Spirit): Also removes 2 conditions
• Spirit default chance to apply effect increased to 40% (up from 35%)
• “Attack My Target” merge functionality with “Guard” (toolbar command)
• “Return To Me” merge functionality with “Avoid Combat” (toolbar command)
• Increase Opening Strike’s Vulnerability duration to 10 seconds (up from 5 seconds)
• Remorseless makes Opening Strike unblockable for you and your pet

Game mode: PvE

Goal of this proposal
Making each healing skill unique and competitive with the rest.

Proposed Functionality

Heal as One - If pet is alive, then its healing x 2 is added into healing value formula. If it’s defeated, then only ranger’s healing is used, but pet is revived and healed for that value.
cooldown increased to 30s.
Base healing value lowered.

Note: check my pet’s secondary attributes rewamp idea.

Troll unguent - instant cast. Removes 1 condition with each pulse. number of pulses reduced to 7. Healing coefficient increased to 0.25. Cooldown reduced to 20s.

Reason for change - “keep yourself alive” is the song of troll ungent. Adding condition clensing to regeneration is doing just that, and giving healing spring some competition. Instant cast is a must because danger of death is not going away the moment you sucessfully cast it. You still have to keep yourself relatively unscathed for next few seconds to be out of danger.

Healing Spring no changes needed. It’s great as it is.

Water spirit - passive effect refreshing each 4 seconds , lasting 20 seconds. Unused passive charges can stack up to 5 times. healing value adjusted to give same average healing per second given shorter refresh rate.

check out spirit rewamp suggestion affecting spirits.

Allie Murdock.8152:

Hey everyone,

If possible, please try to keep your post specific to one game mode. Also, please be sure to include the game mode at the top of your post.

Thanks!

Hey Allie i think ist very difficult to be more specific regarding to Play genre when we discuss about a Profession. The most here will talk about balancing and weapon/trait ideas.
And These ideas are for all regions of the game. So it is not useful to select if a longbow Change is in PvE or WvW.

[WvW/PvP/PvE] Giving Traps a unique identity and improving their performance.

Proposal Goal

Traps currently suffer from different issues. First, their baseline effects are underwhelming for utilities. Second, they require a very high trait investment which limits build diversity and partly is caused by questionable trait placement. Third, they lack distinctiveness when compared with, for example, Bombs or Grenades. Improving the utilities and reallocating the traits can overcome the first two issues. Changing the traits can create a distinctive playstyle. Encourage setting up Traps in advance and let Rangers lure their foes into their Trap. Let them be empowered to bring down their trapped prey instead of spamming Traps in combat. Let the prey be hit hard when triggering the Trap. In this context, reallocating utilities could reduce skill redundancy (Spike Trap – Muddy Terrain – Entangle) and introduce a bursty CC/hybrid Trapper in contrast to existing tanky condition Trappers.

Proposal Functionality

Trait and utility re-allocation

• Move Martial Arts to the Skirmishing Master tier
• Introduce new Grandmaster Major trait to Skirmishing (e.g. condition removal)
• Combine two pet traits on the Master tier
• Move Shared Anguish to the Skirmishing Adept tier
• Move Trap traits to Wilderness Survival (Adept and Master)
• Replace Spike Trap with Muddy Terrain (redundancy). Adjust accordingly to Traps.
• New Survival Skill replaces Muddy Terrain (e.g. condition removal, Blast Finisher, Stability)

Utility re-work

• Adjust base duration and make them ground targeted at 600 range by default
• Consider increased new traitline stat bonus when adjusting base duration
• Frontload physical pulse damage into the initial hit. Strong first hit, keep weak pulse hits for triggering crits. Conditions remain the same.

Trait rework

Trap Potency (New)
Wilderness Survival Adept Major

• Instantly recharge a placed Trap when not triggered within 10s
• Increase field duration/ticks by 1s

Trappers Expertise (New)
Wilderness Survival Master Major

• Increase effect radius
• Gain 3 stacks of Might and Swiftness when Traps are triggered

Associated Risks

• Setting up Traps in advance might be inefficient in some game modes
• 40-50 spare trait points might make Trappers too flexible and strong
• Trappers might become too tanky because of the stats provided by WS
• Reduced range on Muddy Terrain might negatively influence ranged Rangers especially in WvW

Game mode: PvE

Zef’s Spirit rewamp

Goal of this change
Making spirits far more flexible and sustainable in PvE.

Proposed Functionality
Changes in general spirit mechanic:

- summoning a spirit is a ground targeted skill with 1200 range.
- spirits are treated like structures (immune to crits and conditions)
- spirits go on cooldown after they’re casted and not after they die.
- normally spirits get 75% uptime - 60s duration vs 80 sec cooldown.
- spirit actives can ignore their cooldown, but each “rule breaking cast” costs spirit it’s duration equal to active’s remaning cooldown. Cannot be used if spirit doesn’t have enough duration left.
Example: you just summoned the water spirit and used its aqua surge, putting it on 25 sec cooldown. Pinned to the wall 10 seconds later you can use it again, but it’ll cut spirit’s remaining time by 15 seconds, because that was the cd left on aqua surge.

Specific spirit changes

• Water spirit – check healing skills post

• Sun spirit - Passive gives chance to blind for 2s. Active burns enemies in 360 radius for 10s.

• Stone spirit - Active changed to aoe stun (2s) with 60 sec cd on it. Stun duration affected by traits and runes.

• Frost spirit - Damage increase passive effect buffed to 15%.

• Spirit of Nature - duration 120 seconds. cooldown 160 seconds. Nature’s renewal cd increased to 75 seconds. Passive healing per sec: 200 + 0.25 * ranger’s healing. Passive heal radius: 360.

Traits

• Vigorous spirits - hp enhance effect replaced with 25% spirit cooldown redution.
• Sprits unbound - asides from spirits following you, spirit actives have 20% decreased cooldowns.
• Unstoppable nature - spirits becomr untouchable (like warrior banners).

sry Allie Chris aksed me to repost it

- The thoughts behind the Design of the ranger
– Which builds do devs Play in PvP with Ranger (and yes you Need to say that a lot of devs Play ranger, most People cant believe it)
– The minds of the Balance Team on the current Ranger. I think Chapman already did it after Eagle Eye Bug few months ago.
– Do not allow that Player compare with other classes. I know you already stated it…but some People dont want to understand that every class has its own playstyle.
– Be serious against utopic Balance suggestions. This Community is difficult because they strongly believe…the ranger is the weakest of them all.
– Its absolute needed to Show in CDI the Balance notes for ranger. When the notes are good (probably even with a super duper wombo Combo mega giga buff a lot of ranger will say…“no. too weak”) we will less see People flaming around.
– You will probably know the most suggestions in ranger Forum, something like that “Druid ranger/Staff Ranger”, “Remove pet/Stow Pet for dmg buff” and state ur thoughts…and pls dont use anets favourite sentence “Nothing is off the table”. Please please not!
– The thoughts behind the ranger weapons. I think the most ranger hate themselfes…errrr the weapons of their class… Longbow and Axe main Hand for example

Specific Game Mode
PvE experience; larger implications

Proposal Overview
The Pet itself has little Meaning, and what Meaning is there is Problematic

Goal of Proposal
Pet are only worthwhile for their Skills, the Pets themselves are contentious.

The ‘Bear-Dog choice’ is a good example of how little value the pet itself has. It’s a ‘longevity of pet’ vs ‘usefulness of pet’ choice, and without buffs and debuffs from it’s skills a bare bones pet is apparently not doing anything meaningful enough to justify trying to keep it alive for it’s own sake. (Or; If Bears are worthless, it stands to reason pets in general are.)

So the game attempts to create meaning.

• things like Empathic Bond and Signet of Renewal that require a living pet feel like Afterthoughts, so people view them as arbitrary limits imposed for balance instead of reasons to value a living pet.
• things like putting a portion of your character’s power into the pet with the Damage Division has issues. So people end up blaming the pet for breaking power-building/promoting passive play/pushing bunker and still see no value in the pet itself.
• F2s and Family skills carrying all the burden of making a pet feel useful can make pets feel like troublesome ornamental fluff, because using a pet as a delivery system has no real benefits over a simple ground-targeted AOE or Projectiles and yet suffers from a host of exceptions and downsides like dying and being outrun.

Proposal Functionality
Make a bare bones pet a worthwhile foundation to build the rest of the class on.

Pets in other games are useful because they act in tandem with you and occupy a physical location in space apart from you. This game has a good grasp of tandem play, (even if the effect isn’t always impactful enough to feel worth your time). But the Pet hardly engages Space at all.

Explore the spacial characteristics of pets more thoroughly as opposed to creating meaning. The current areas where this is under-performing are:

• The limits of where I can affect, is the limits of where my pet can affect.
• Where it’s too dangerous for me to go, it’s too dangerous for my pet to go.
• A pet doesn’t engage 3D space meaningfully because it can only act near myself or the mob or the space between us.
• Skills don’t take opportunities to use our separate locations (Search and Rescue PBAOE on player, when it could be PBAOE on pet).
• Pets don’t have a clear relationship with Master or the game at large, much less one where a positional advantage is consistently relevant. (ex: Turrets in FPS games)

Associated Risks

• Leans closer to the meaning of pets in Action-game formats, than to the meaning of pets in RPGs. It might present a risk factor to people who don’t like the positional gameplay of action-game pets.
• Depending on how you approach the concept, it costs varying amounts of development time.

Specific Game Mode
All
Proposal Overview
Permanent stow of pets when we want, no falling damage or combat gets it out.
Remove the combat movement speed when you pet is attacked.
Goal of Proposal
Since pets are all useless making it perma stowed untill they are not anymore could be of use. Also it makes no sense to have aggro on a pet when it is taling behind and gives enemies 2 targets instead of one to draw into combat speed.
Also might give the ranger the oppertunity to do some dungeons and not getting people angry about the ranger.

Associated Risks
Rangers seeing that running without a pet is an improvement over running with it.

Game mode: PvP (and by extensiont, all modes)

Proposal Overview
Fast swaping weapons betwing range and melee ones

Goal of Proposal
Increase the flexibility in skirmishing of the ranger wen, at same time, make the range weapons more appealing for the builds.

Also make the ranger more close to her/his lore in rpg games.

Proposal Functionality
Through an adept trait (possibly in Marksmanship) rangers can have a 50% reduction in weapons swap only if is done betwing range and melee wepons (or viceversa).

Associated Risks
No risk until tested i guess.

Game Mode: PvE

Zef’s Opening strike improvement:

Goal of this change
Giving a ranger a unique crit debuff for monsters, and new ways to apply it.

Proposed Functionality
Opening strike – attacked opponent receives 5 stacks of vulnerability and 7% extra chance to receive critical hits for 10 seconds. (Now it adds extra crit chance for everyone vs affected monster). Can stack in intensity up to 2 times.

Weapons granting opening strike
Longbow (ranged), dagger(melee)

Utility skills affecting opening strike
Signet of hunt passive – 10% chance for your critical strikes to become an opening strike

Traits affecting Opening Strike
Opening Strike – no change.
Alpha training – no change.
Precise Strike – opening strike adds extra 7% critical damage vs affected monster.
Remorseless – regain opening strike when you crit at 20% chance. Opening strike can now stack in intensity up to 3 times.

Specific Game Mode
All- Every gamemode, no matter what, will benefit this.

Proposal Overview
Instant F2 skills

Goal of Proposal
My goal is to remove the cast time in many pet skills.

Proposal Functionality
Many pets need a instant F2 skill. To compensate, put the cast time to the after cast time.

• Black Bear- Enfeebling Roat
• Brown Bear- Shake It Off
• Raven- Blinding Slash
• Fern Hound- Regenerate
• Black/Pink Moa- Dazing Screech
• Blue Moa- Protecting Screech
• Red Moa- Furious screech

What is not listed:

• Wolf and Krytan Drakehound- they are pretty strong with it.
• Anything I wrote here

Associated Risks
Strong pets and active play might be a risk?

WvW

triggering traps

Able to get Access to the Combo field

Okay its very typical for a trap to Trigger when a foe steps into it. But i think it would be really helpful for the ranger when we can activate them by ourselfes. My idea: we placing the trap and like after activating the Spirits we see a new Icon. When we press the trap again they activate, even without a foe Walking into it.
This would be very helpful in WvW for stacking Might or frost Aura and various Combos outside the wvw

idk, maybe the Balance Team thinks it is too strong, but i think its okay.

[WvW/PvP/PvE] Reworking Shouts and (re)establishing Signets as pet focused skills

Proposal Goal

Shouts and Signets currently both emphasize utilizing your pet and therefore lack distinctiveness and purpose. Both are negatively affected by the pet AI. However, Signets compensate quite well because of their passive effect which always benefits Rangers. Shouts on the other hand are way too susceptible to the downfalls of the pet AI. Signets should be established as the pet utilities and therefore indeed focus on enhancing the pet and not primarily the Ranger while Shouts become group utilities. This would create a distinguishable purpose for those two utility groups. Shouts will be more appealing in PvE and WvW. Signets will remain attractive for pet heavy builds and solo builds in all game modes.

Proposal Functionality

Examples for new group focused Shouts:

• Hide!
  Stealth nearby allies for 3s and grant them Swiftness for 10s.
  50s cooldown.

• Seek!
  Reveal nearby foes and grant allies Fury for 10s.
  50s cooldown.

• Protect Me!
  Gain Aegis for 15s and Protection for 5s. Grant allies 3 stacks of Might for 15s.
  35s cooldown.

• Search and Rescue!
  Cure control impairing effects on nearby allies and double their revive speed.
  40s cooldown.

Possible trait re-allocations:

• Switch Shout Master (Beastmastery) with Concentration Training (Nature Magic).

Example for improved Signets:

• Signet of the Hunt
  Active
  Your pets’ next attack is an Attack of Opportunity and causes Reveal.
  (Hello, Sic ‘Em! Let’s hunt!)

Example for consistent Signet design with pet focus without animal cruelty:

• Signet of Renewal
  Active
  Cleanse conditions on your pet (untraited, can be traited).
  Revive your pet if dead instead of cleansing conditions (can’t be traited).

Associated Risks

• Shouts could become too generic and too similar to existing shouts
• Area reveals could have a strong negative impact on Thieves and Mesmers in group skirmishes

Game mode: PvE

Zef’s weapon revamp suggestions – the torch

Goal of this change
Increasing torch utility as damage and crowd combat weapon.

Proposed functionality
Explosive torch - throw torch with gunpowder sack attached that explodes on impact dealing aoe damage and burning.

Damage: 900 (2.0 coefficient).
Explosion radius: 180.
Burning duration 4s.
Blast finisher.
Cooldown: 15 seconds.

Bonfire - base radius increased to 180. Pulses blind(1s) & burning (1s) each second. With offhand training, radius increases to 240. Physical damage per pulse increased to 2x current value.

The torch is about damage and that’s what’s happening right here. Rather luckluster Throw torch now becomes an aoe with serious damage and blast finisher, retaining it’s cooldown.
Bonfire receives more utility for crowd melee situations, by adding blinds and larger radius.

Allie Murdock.8152:

barabajaga.7652:

I know that im out of topic here and not using the format proposal and i apologize for it ,but before posting any ideas about the ranger and having into consideration that this will be read by some dev ,i will like to ask something :

Would you ever (or have you) considered the removal of the pet ,knowing how borked the ai is ,and as anet says ,it can not be reworked because its tied to mob ai?

Or would you consider split the class in to two, ranger/beastmaster ,and rework the pet ai from the ground.

Again sorry for the offtopic and thx for any possible answer.

Removing the pet was something that was discussed in initial design of the class, but it is such an integral part of the Ranger’s design and philosophy.

There might be some ways that we can redesign the pet and it’s AI, but those are big projects. For the time being, we are happy to take any suggestions regarding the pet.

I can see your concern here but, the option to have the pet as such an integral part of the class is one of the largest faults of the class. Could it not be optional to have the pet as an option, basically if you spec wilderness survival your pet becomes a larger part of the class, if you choose to spec in something different to be more valuable to your group then either you don’t have the pet or it has minimal impact on the class.