Hi, about two years ago I posted a thread on this topic (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/archive/suggestions/Improving-Ranger-Pet-Mechanics/first#post2461834), and I’d just like to reiterate/refine some of my ideas.
First of all, I’m not trying to say anything is “wrong” with Rangers or pets at the moment, this is merely my own opinion and ideas on another way pets COULD work in the game, in a way I’d personally find a lot more fun and engaging. I know there are a lot of people who enjoy rangers just the way they are, at any skill level. But ever since the game came out, I’ve struggled to really say I LOVE playing ranger because I haven’t felt a strong connection with my pet, which is what makes rangers so unique and exciting.
Here’s a short list of what confuses/irks me:
-I have very little control/input over my pet, primarily passive AI
-Each pet has 4 skills, yet we only control 1
-Pets are the core mechanic, but we’re limited to simple commands
-Rangers have no single skills/attacks performed in unison with their pets
-Ranger efficacy is linked/balanced with pets, yet pet efficacy/attributes feel very sub-par without at least one if not two trait lines devoted (Beast Mastery + Nature Magic)
By the way, I still like Rangers and they are definitely effective either solo or in groups, but I’ve noticed that a lot of the skills/traits/reasons why they work well in teams or solo are mostly based on party offense or heals, passive effects, and weapon or utility skill buffs, not the Pets it seems (PvP is an exception).
So here are some of the ideas and suggestions on how I might address these:
My Favorite Idea
Instead of making a sweeping change for all Ranger players, we could make something like a Pet Master an Elite Specialization, thus being optional and only taking effect when the trait line is active. Personally, I think that the current Pet commands (F1-4) could easily be diverted to other keybindings similar to Ctrl+ or Shift+ targeting commands we have now, while still keeping those visual buttons somewhere near the skill bar for those who want to click them instead. This could free up F1-3 for pet-oriented skills, possibly giving manual control over 2 more of the pet’s skills instead of just the one, and F4 remains pet swap. Now F5 could the new Elite Spec mechanic, much like druid. Either purely cooldown based or requiring some built-up resource, we could occasionally enter some kind of Beast Tamer mode. In this mode, our weapon skills would be replaced with Pet skills, and what’s more is that BOTH pets could be active during this time. Skills 1-5 could all be actions where the player and both pets all do something together as a team to really dominate enemies or provide utility for themselves and allies. It might be crazy to assign unique skills for combinations of pets, but even if it’s just 5 universal moves that would be very cool. 1 of the 5 skills being a combo skill based on your equipped pets (like thief slot 3 skills for dual-wielding) sounds enticing. Your pet team going on a rampage every now and then would get me sooo excited to play Ranger more.
OR
Another option would be to make “Pet” a utility slot skill similar to Engineer kits. Normally, the pet would move and attack just as it already does. But once the player toggles the Pet kit on, their weapon skill bar is replaced with Pet skills temporarily. These skills could either be the 4 skills already assigned to each pet in the game, or my preference would be to come up with “Dual” skills. These would all be skills where both the pet and the player do some attack/action simultaneously or one after another. These might be partially based on the pet race and the current weapon equipped, or something else. I really like the idea of feeling one with my pet, moving and attacking in unison, so this would definitely make me feel more connected. An example might be if I were wielding longbow, I could flip the Pet kit on and use a skill that knocks back my target, then the pet knocks them down immediately afterwards. And then use a skill where the pet taunts nearby enemies right as I throw a barrage at their spot while they keep them inside. Then I can toggle off the kit while I go back to my longbow or some other weapon, and sit back while my pet keeps going about their business as usual.
Taking the exact same “dual skill” concept, but instead of taking up a utility slot we could replace the current Pet active ability (F2) with the Pet skill kit toggle
Now I’ll just address my last point about Pet attributes and effects. Beastmastery and Nature Magic each offer several great pet boosts. However, we have to choose between using one or both of those instead of the other great buffs from Marksmanship and Skirmishing that many people go for which focus on our weapon skills and party boosts. Personally, I feel very strong when I use the latter two and I can see the effect on my group, but my Pet feels much less significant. Contrastingly, with Beastmastery and Nature Magic chosen along with the great passive or active pet buffs, I notice a considerable difference in damage for my pet, but my own character feels lacking compared to before. Perhaps that’s the crux of why I can’t seem to feel truly connected to my pet, interactive or not, since it feels like we can’t both reach our potential, only one or the other. Trait effects unlocked slowly as you level are great for progression, but end game It doesn’t feel good to me to have to choose between my pet or myself; why not both? There are some trait effects that I feel should be permanently applied to pets even without those trait lines, such as Fortifying Bond (sharing boons with our pets), Pack Alpha (boosts all attributes), Companion’s might (pets gain might when we crit), and Natural Healing (extra pet regen/heals). This might seem excessive, but again, the pet’s feel very lacking without any of these effects, to me anyway. Additionally, I think the remaining pet traits in Nature Magic could be worked into Beastmastery for a single trait line in order to make our pets truly shine.
I welcome any constructive feedback/suggestions/opinions, and again, these are only ideas that would make ME have a lot more fun playing Ranger and I’m curious if anyone else likes the sound of it. Thanks for reading!
It’s annoying at jumping puzzles for example where if you take the slightest fall damage your pet pops out and trait buffs activate.