Guild Wars 2

Played the demo. As surprising as this may seem, I actually really liked the idea of Soulbeast. I really did. However… it’s completely useless! You combine with your pet and gain it’s last 3 skills. You lose their special ability however. This is literally ArenaNet just removing the pet to get around the crappy AI of the pet so we don’t have to micromanage anymore. I like that you can stay in Soulbeast form for as long as you want, I just wish it had something to offer other than just make the pet disappear and transfer it’s skills to you. The new pets are so much stronger than what we currently have though. Afterwards I tried Deadeye for Thief and was blown away by the dps! I really wish Ranger would have more firepower. I think Ranger died when they gave us Druid. So much talk against the Holy Trinity and then they turn us into Monks instead of making us condition kings.

I don’t know… what do you think?

You gain stat bonuses too, depending on the pet. 2 stats gain a huge boost comparable to runes or food (actually way stronger than food).
Also the pet thing is just the machanic change, the elite spec is mainly traits and skills.

And you’re not forced to fuse with the pet all the time, I think it’s meant to be a burst thing. Also if you do that when the pet is down, you basically get free damage.

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I have to admit I don’t really get the Soulbeast, I can’t see what it offers that I’d be interested in having (other than maybe main hand dagger) but I thought the same about Druid and now I’m thinking I’d hate to give it up (and no, I don’t run a support build, it’s mainly condi DPS).

But just because you prefer one elite spec to another doesn’t mean it’s useless and certainly doesn’t mean the entire profession ‘died’.

The posts Im seeing about the Soulbeast is making me sad as I main Ranger. I was so happy that Druid was coming and yet , I hated it immediately (no disrespect to those who love it) ….

Im also very sad over the posts that Im seeing about Warrior’s as thats my #2 …

boo …. I hope I can find some love for Soulbeast when I finally get to try it.

Right now the most efficient way I found with Soulbeast is this tactic:

Step1: Get into Beast mode

Step2: Cast all three f1, f2 and f3 skills quickly

Step3: Get out of Beast mode asap

:P …and you never lose your pet’s auto-attacks and his skill

Step4: Repeat from Step1 when Beastmode recharges.

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I have to admit I don’t really get the Soulbeast, I can’t see what it offers that I’d be interested in having (other than maybe main hand dagger) but I thought the same about Druid and now I’m thinking I’d hate to give it up (and no, I don’t run a support build, it’s mainly condi DPS).

But just because you prefer one elite spec to another doesn’t mean it’s useless and certainly doesn’t mean the entire profession ‘died’.

I was basically about to post the same thing. I haven’t played any of the elite specs yet, because they aren’t available outside of pvp, and because they all seem to be very much tuned for competitive play. Things that are balanced for pvp tend to not be quite as fun in pve.

Kidel.2057:

You gain stat bonuses too, depending on the pet. 2 stats gain a huge boost comparable to runes or food (actually way stronger than food).
Also the pet thing is just the machanic change, the elite spec is mainly traits and skills.

And you’re not forced to fuse with the pet all the time, I think it’s meant to be a burst thing. Also if you do that when the pet is down, you basically get free damage.

The stat bonuses are not that big. You get about 80 stat boost on everything and that’s it. You could wait for your pet to unload, combine and then unload their skills again for a short burst but it still wouldn’t be enough.

Oh I wouldn’t say every profession hates their elite spec, holosmiths seem really happy. Mainly because their damage is absolute bonkers right now.

Soulbeast isn’t bad conceptually, its just lacking pet swap in beast mode and has some really under tuned skills. Its also really NOT a condi spec. There are some nice dps pets and combinations in there though. (I’m looking at you stone gazelle and sic ’em).

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I have to admit I don’t really get the Soulbeast, I can’t see what it offers that I’d be interested in having (other than maybe main hand dagger) but I thought the same about Druid and now I’m thinking I’d hate to give it up (and no, I don’t run a support build, it’s mainly condi DPS).

But just because you prefer one elite spec to another doesn’t mean it’s useless and certainly doesn’t mean the entire profession ‘died’.

Well of course the profession didn’t die, they make great healers! I just don’t think Druid is a suitable spec for a Ranger. This is coming from someone who mains healer classes in other MMO’s. I love to heal but I don’t expect a Ranger to do that job. I think a more suitable spec for Ranger would be one that focuses more on traps or allows us to infuse our attacks with conditions similarly to how Sharpening Stone works. As mentioned in my original post, I do like Soulbeast as a spec, but I feel it doesn’t offer much and is underpowered compared to other classes elite specs.

When Druid was released, I didn’t change all my Rangers to Druid, and they didn’t RIP.
I imagine the same thing would happen with SoulBeast, only there would be 2 options, instead.

Dark.1823:

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I have to admit I don’t really get the Soulbeast, I can’t see what it offers that I’d be interested in having (other than maybe main hand dagger) but I thought the same about Druid and now I’m thinking I’d hate to give it up (and no, I don’t run a support build, it’s mainly condi DPS).

But just because you prefer one elite spec to another doesn’t mean it’s useless and certainly doesn’t mean the entire profession ‘died’.

Well of course the profession didn’t die, they make great healers! I just don’t think Druid is a suitable spec for a Ranger. This is coming from someone who mains healer classes in other MMO’s. I love to heal but I don’t expect a Ranger to do that job. I think a more suitable spec for Ranger would be one that focuses more on traps or allows us to infuse our attacks with conditions similarly to how Sharpening Stone works. As mentioned in my original post, I do like Soulbeast as a spec, but I feel it doesn’t offer much and is underpowered compared to other classes elite specs.

After playing core ranger from launch until HoT, (and then skipping druid) if soulbeast really doesn’t have much to offer beyond what core ranger can do, then I’ll end up skipping it.

Honestly, I feel pretty disillusioned by all of the current specs. I loved my reaper when HoT had just launced, but with all of the minor nerfs reaper has gotten since then, it has just become less fun.

Not seeing anything about Soulbeast that makes me feel the need to use it. I’ve been a Berserker Ranger since the pre start. Druid was something I shouldn’t have wasted the points to get. I have 4 other toons, but I don’t play them. I play a Ranger. That’s it. This expansion has not shown me anything that it is worth buying. Perhaps that’s my cue to step aside from the game for a while.

The worst part of Soulbeast has to be the animations on Charr. Charr have tails, horns, claws, and teeth – so why the hell are they just throwing the most pathetic kicks and punches this game has ever tried to animate?

they could at least tone down the mold effect, i look like a lighter >_<

If anet could stop breaking our kittening skills (Dolyak stance now does nothing but break stun) it might be good in a WvW zerg but that seems to be it so far.

Half the skills we get when fusing are worthless and there’s basically no reason to even slot Soulbeast if you like to play power in PvE. Dagger does worse damage than sword and fusing with any pet is less damage than just leaving a cat out 100% of the time.

Sure, you can blow people up with Rock Gazelle in pvp but that
s not going to last so it’s not really a point in its favor.

Danikat.8537:

but I thought the same about Druid and now I’m thinking I’d hate to give it up (and no, I don’t run a support build, it’s mainly condi DPS).

Condi Ranger is more efficient in a vanilla build with viper’s equipment. Druid makes more sense in a berserker build, but I hate the fact that it’s still called “Druid” then when I do not associate DPS with the term at all.

I really want a decent elite spec that makes you proud to be a Ranger because it fits the profession naturally, not some strange elite specs that pervert the profession into something else.

Edit: That said, I’d rather play a sniper bow ranger, a dual-sword wielder like in D&D, an elite trapper, a sand nomad with special skills, or anything else that traditionally fits the ranger profession than something that I associate with the Norn, namely shape-shifting.

I dunno, but to be blunt…do half of you play ranger? I love the pet, I really do, but there is no way someone can tell me with a straight face that it’s better to have it out. That AI is ALWAYS a liability. Always.

I haven’t played more than 5 minutes on it, but can already see that even if it is undertuned it is mechanically far better than other options. So much better that this isn’t an elite at all, this is how the ranger was meant to be from the get go.

Gotejjeken.1267:

I dunno, but to be blunt…do half of you play ranger? I love the pet, I really do, but there is no way someone can tell me with a straight face that it’s better to have it out. That AI is ALWAYS a liability. Always.

I haven’t played more than 5 minutes on it, but can already see that even if it is undertuned it is mechanically far better than other options. So much better that this isn’t an elite at all, this is how the ranger was meant to be from the get go.

Ill be that person then, i can. I prefer my pet as is, because i do more damage with it. Not only that, but it also allows me stack much more conditions. I wish anets minion mechanic didnt suck as much as it does, and the ranger pet does need some more work, but ill stick with my pet, its why i main a ranger in the first place.

Gotejjeken.1267:

I dunno, but to be blunt…do half of you play ranger? I love the pet, I really do, but there is no way someone can tell me with a straight face that it’s better to have it out. That AI is ALWAYS a liability. Always.

I haven’t played more than 5 minutes on it, but can already see that even if it is undertuned it is mechanically far better than other options. So much better that this isn’t an elite at all, this is how the ranger was meant to be from the get go.

If I wanted to be petless, Id main a different character type.

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I mean that’s just par for the course. People on these forums always think Anet is out to kill their class. Doesn’t matter how good the class currently is. It could be at the top of the meta and people would still complain.

According to Reddit, there’s some pretty ludicrous power burst with Soulbeast since one of your shouts just gives you 40% extra damage. There’s people mauling for 26k apparently. Yup, Soulbeast useless guys!

You aren’t meant to camp beastmode. You are meant to move in and out of it. You cast your pet’s ability and then jump into beastmode and cast your skills then jump back out, etc.

xarallei.4279:

You aren’t meant to camp beastmode. You are meant to move in and out of it. You cast your pet’s ability and then jump into beastmode and cast your skills then jump back out, etc.

I actually think this is a design mistake. This spec will appeal mostly to players who want to not have to be forced to use/interact with the pet itself. What they should do is let you swap pets while in beast mode, and also get rid of the incredibly distracting nature aura.

RedDeadFred.1256:

According to Reddit, there’s some pretty ludicrous power burst with Soulbeast since one of your shouts just gives you 40% extra damage. There’s people mauling for 26k apparently. Yup, Soulbeast useless guys!

Wow, a one trick pony, only useful in low rank spvp.
Also I am pretty sure the gazelle pet and the 40% dmg buff are not intended and will get immediately nerfed.

Granted, the soulbeast has some really nice condition and pure dmg burst but is then somewhat helpless until the cds run out.
The overall dps is okay.
Dagger MH is nothing I would choose over an axe right now. Dagger OH is as terrible as it always was for PvE and the stances are almost completely useless in PvE.

The new elite spec is playable but the dagger mh as well as managing several cooldowns of petswapping, all the F skills in and out of beast mode, the beastmode cd itself this makes everything feel so clunky and you always feel rushed to get out of or in beastmode and nothing feels really rewarding because our dmg is spread out thin over so many different skills we have to use.

Also there’s nothing new that the soulbeast brings to the table and the soulbeast feels really not that different from playing a core ranger, just more clunky.

But then, we got what we saw in the trailers. I am not really surprised by the underwhelming feeling of the spec.

Granted I’m hardly a Ranger main, I barely touch mine. But I did try out Soulbeast in the PvP lobby against golems and NPCs and I enjoyed it. (I only tested the three new pets, I admit). It seems a lot simpler to use than many other elites while still offering new flexibility. I put it towards the top of the list on my initial impressions after trying all nine new elites.

They could have done a efficient loner spec, so we didn’t have to deal with a pet at all if we were doing something that made them a liability. Screw fusing with it. Just let us do our thing without it and give us the extra damage that our pet “would” be delivering. Simple.

Ramoth.5162:

They could have done a efficient loner spec, so we didn’t have to deal with a pet at all if we were doing something that made them a liability. Screw fusing with it. Just let us do our thing without it and give us the extra damage that our pet “would” be delivering. Simple.

Exactly. I get it and I am happy for all that wanted to get “rid” of the pet. But getting rid of the pet is not an elite spec. It’s what should’ve been a fix in an interim patch years ago.

Also: soulbeast is even more underwhelming if you stay always in beastmode. You’re supposed to switch between pets now even more than before and you have to enter and leave beastmode constantly to play your class optimal.
And this is not really that easy because whenever we enter or leave beastmode the cooldowns we need to have an eye on disappear.

Adenin.5973:

RedDeadFred.1256:

According to Reddit, there’s some pretty ludicrous power burst with Soulbeast since one of your shouts just gives you 40% extra damage. There’s people mauling for 26k apparently. Yup, Soulbeast useless guys!

Wow, a one trick pony, only useful in low rank spvp.
Also I am pretty sure the gazelle pet and the 40% dmg buff are not intended and will get immediately nerfed.

Granted, the soulbeast has some really nice condition and pure dmg burst but is then somewhat helpless until the cds run out.
The overall dps is okay.
Dagger MH is nothing I would choose over an axe right now. Dagger OH is as terrible as it always was for PvE and the stances are almost completely useless in PvE.

The new elite spec is playable but the dagger mh as well as managing several cooldowns of petswapping, all the F skills in and out of beast mode, the beastmode cd itself this makes everything feel so clunky and you always feel rushed to get out of or in beastmode and nothing feels really rewarding because our dmg is spread out thin over so many different skills we have to use.

Also there’s nothing new that the soulbeast brings to the table and the soulbeast feels really not that different from playing a core ranger, just more clunky.

But then, we got what we saw in the trailers. I am not really surprised by the underwhelming feeling of the spec.

Eh, you could be right, but I don’t really take anyone’s judgments on any of the specs seriously since they’ve barely had any time with them. And again, people are just very negative in general around here, so at least for the time being, I’m taking most impressions with several grains of salt.

RedDeadFred.1256:

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I mean that’s just par for the course. People on these forums always think Anet is out to kill their class. Doesn’t matter how good the class currently is. It could be at the top of the meta and people would still complain.

According to Reddit, there’s some pretty ludicrous power burst with Soulbeast since one of your shouts just gives you 40% extra damage. There’s people mauling for 26k apparently. Yup, Soulbeast useless guys!

This is either a lie or you misread something. Maul cannot do 26k. It’s true that “Sic ’Em!” works on you (inb4 nerf) when you’re combined but even with “Sic Em!”, Maul does at most ~15k dmg or so which is not that impressive considering you only get 10sec of that sweet dmg boost. Right now it seems that a lot of pet traits and skills affect the player instead when you’re combined. Oh btw I was hitting for 30k+ on Thief Deadeye.

I really like the soulbeast main mechanic. It’s the stances I didn’t like and won’t use. Their cooldown is so huge and duration so short, and I hate using hotbar slots for stuff like that.

Dark.1823:

RedDeadFred.1256:

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I mean that’s just par for the course. People on these forums always think Anet is out to kill their class. Doesn’t matter how good the class currently is. It could be at the top of the meta and people would still complain.

According to Reddit, there’s some pretty ludicrous power burst with Soulbeast since one of your shouts just gives you 40% extra damage. There’s people mauling for 26k apparently. Yup, Soulbeast useless guys!

This is either a lie or you misread something. Maul cannot do 26k. It’s true that “Sic ’Em!” works on you (inb4 nerf) when you’re combined but even with “Sic Em!”, Maul does at most ~15k dmg or so which is not that impressive considering you only get 10sec of that sweet dmg boost. Right now it seems that a lot of pet traits and skills affect the player instead when you’re combined. Oh btw I was hitting for 30k+ on Thief Deadeye.

15k burst useable two times in quick succession is not impressive? You can use it three times during ‘Sic Em’.

Miellyn.6847:

Dark.1823:

RedDeadFred.1256:

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I mean that’s just par for the course. People on these forums always think Anet is out to kill their class. Doesn’t matter how good the class currently is. It could be at the top of the meta and people would still complain.

According to Reddit, there’s some pretty ludicrous power burst with Soulbeast since one of your shouts just gives you 40% extra damage. There’s people mauling for 26k apparently. Yup, Soulbeast useless guys!

This is either a lie or you misread something. Maul cannot do 26k. It’s true that “Sic ’Em!” works on you (inb4 nerf) when you’re combined but even with “Sic Em!”, Maul does at most ~15k dmg or so which is not that impressive considering you only get 10sec of that sweet dmg boost. Right now it seems that a lot of pet traits and skills affect the player instead when you’re combined. Oh btw I was hitting for 30k+ on Thief Deadeye.

15k burst useable two times in quick succession is not impressive? You can use it three times during ‘Sic Em’.

What do you mean by “two times in quick succession”? You can use it 3x within that 10sec span but that’s it.

Dark.1823:

Miellyn.6847:

Dark.1823:

RedDeadFred.1256:

Danikat.8537:

According to the profession forums every single new elite is terrible and proof that Anet hates that profession. Yes, including the Deadeye.

I mean that’s just par for the course. People on these forums always think Anet is out to kill their class. Doesn’t matter how good the class currently is. It could be at the top of the meta and people would still complain.

According to Reddit, there’s some pretty ludicrous power burst with Soulbeast since one of your shouts just gives you 40% extra damage. There’s people mauling for 26k apparently. Yup, Soulbeast useless guys!

This is either a lie or you misread something. Maul cannot do 26k. It’s true that “Sic ’Em!” works on you (inb4 nerf) when you’re combined but even with “Sic Em!”, Maul does at most ~15k dmg or so which is not that impressive considering you only get 10sec of that sweet dmg boost. Right now it seems that a lot of pet traits and skills affect the player instead when you’re combined. Oh btw I was hitting for 30k+ on Thief Deadeye.

15k burst useable two times in quick succession is not impressive? You can use it three times during ‘Sic Em’.

What do you mean by “two times in quick succession”? You can use it 3x within that 10sec span but that’s it.

He’s presupposing the magical scenario where you actually pull off the fabled “maul – hilt bash – maul” combo successfully.

Even with the fix to hilt bash, it’s still hard to land unless the target’s already cc’d.

“26k damage Maul on a 4-skill rotation” is supposed to be impressive?

If rangers think that’s overpowered, they’re in DESPERATE need of power buffs. That’s less than 12 DPS in a burst – and pitiful in an extended fight.

May be useful in PvE won’t know for sure until we get a chance to try it but the wife was very underwhelmed. It looks great and that’s pretty much where it ends.

Gotejjeken.1267:

I dunno, but to be blunt…do half of you play ranger? I love the pet, I really do, but there is no way someone can tell me with a straight face that it’s better to have it out. That AI is ALWAYS a liability. Always.

Soulbeast would have been a good idea if it compensated for the built-in nerf to ranger weapon damage that is here because devs assume that 20-30% of your damage comes from your pets.
UUnfortunately, it doesn’t do that. It doesn’t even compensate for the loss of damage that pets actually do (which due to abovementioned AI problems is smaller than original ranger design assumed).

That doesn’t automatically mean that soulbeast is useless – with a few balances to the dagger skills and traitlines it may possibly end up replacing base ranger as a condi option. Maybe. Still, it does mean that its iconic class mechanic is… dissapointingly underwhelming to say at least.

Main problem I have with Soulbeast is the majority of the skills granted in Beastmode are very bland and boring without any cool looking visuals or varied animations. I wanted something that made me feel like I was in a Beast Mode or channeling the spirit of my pet or something.

All in all, the new pets are kind of ridiculous (in a good way) and the overall strength isn’t bad, but then I’m a core Ranger that hasn’t touched Druid yet and enjoy having my pet around.

Only had a chance to try Soulbeast and Deadeye and I enjoyed Deadeye a lot. Deadeye felt really different from Thief or Daredevil. Soulbeast felt…similar, to Ranger.

soulbeast gets 3 invulns, massive condi management and endurance regen, and great condi spam.

yeah theyre useless.

Stand The Wall.6987:

soulbeast gets 3 invulns, massive condi management and endurance regen, and great condi spam.

yeah theyre useless.

Most of the things soulbeast gets are only useful in pvp situations (endurance, invulnerability etc)
And the Condi Spam soulbeast gets is a burst of condis with a huge gap in between.

And when you want to quickly access your beast skill stun breakers, invulns etc. you have to leave beastmode and wait 10s where you can’t do too much and then you can access them. And if you want to start doing damage again you have to wait for beastmode again.

Right now it’s clunky, has an okay overall dps, good burst dmg (condi or power), some good new utilities for pvp but really nothing you would want for your normal pve content and overall the soulbeast still feels like a core ranger, just clunkier.

Stand The Wall.6987:

soulbeast gets 3 invulns, massive condi management and endurance regen, and great condi spam.

yeah theyre useless.

You’re right, not useless… it’s going to be a glorified dueling build.

Rangers also need those defenses because damage output is mediocre. And any team that needs a condi user will certainly not be looking for a condi soulbeast to take the spot.

Redfeather.6401:

I really like the soulbeast main mechanic. It’s the stances I didn’t like and won’t use. Their cooldown is so huge and duration so short, and I hate using hotbar slots for stuff like that.

I don’t see why stances don’t work in this game like they do in most, you remain in them until you switch to a different stance, or something knocks you out of it.

But I actually disagree, even with their cooldowns, stances are unique utility people will find a use for. The real disappointment is the dagger, which deals literally a third of the condition damage of our bow, at less range, while less safe. There is not a single advantage to using the dagger.

Mr Pin.6728:

Oh I wouldn’t say every profession hates their elite spec, holosmiths seem really happy. Mainly because their damage is absolute bonkers right now.

Soulbeast isn’t bad conceptually, its just lacking pet swap in beast mode and has some really under tuned skills. Its also really NOT a condi spec. There are some nice dps pets and combinations in there though. (I’m looking at you stone gazelle and sic ’em).

Ya Holosmith is getting plenty of love for its Pure DPS theme.

The UNLIMITED POWER is great for the short time players are in Photon Forge Mode.

It is a Elite Spec that truely offers power….. UNLIMITED POWER!!!

I was so blown away by the magnificent display the new elite specializations showed, along with the damage they are putting out. Ranger is my main. With all the fantastic effects and colors I was seeing, I couldn’t believe the ranger would be left out again! I really don’t understand. Then I thought, let the demo come, maybe I’m wrong and SoulBeast has some wonderful things we didn’t see on the Guild Chat.

I played today. I’m sadly disappointed. We get the one green swirl, and transparent animal images on utility stances that look like the ranger sword attack with a different animal in green. The lack of damage and mobility with the dagger is pitiful. How are we supposed to chase down a player in PVP to attack with dagger with all the large aoe defenses the other new professions have? No dagger leaps really or a way to quickly get close enough or bring them to you. No stealth abilities or ports.

The new pets are an improvement on some things, but lose half their skills when joined with the player. I liked the concept, but no power and very few new skills. A comment was made on guildchat that all the abilities could not be given or we would be to …..um powerful? Where’s the balance guys? I just watched the thief take out an opponent with a couple of blast from long range. The ranger hits and stabs and he’s only getting 6 to 800 damage each time. Took forever to get the target down to half health. Where’s our aoe damage? All the dagger moves seem the same no matter the pet you choose.
Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s how it seems. I kept looking for more and what I was missing. I’m willing to give it more time, as I realize there’s a lot to figure out in all of them. I was glad to see the engi get some love, it’s fantastic what was done there.

We all over the dazzling effects, that we are seeing, except in the ranger. Not that the swirl isn’t nice. If you guys have hidden them somewhere please clue us in. Some of us really love our rangers!!! It’s so discouraging to be out shined time and time again with the preferred professions.

I never get on here and say much of anything. I just had to this time.

I really liked the elite class soul beast, I managed to adapt the builds in a way that I had a lot of fun, people who are complaining about soul beast is because they did not learn the mechanics, but the damages for example of f1 and f2 of the wyverns when absolved is very weak, What has discouraged me, I liked the new pets but I prefer the hots, also need to improve the attributes when absolving the pets, also the trait of the second column left me with no option of choice because I do not use protection, I do not use quickness or poison .. ..

In the most irenio is to be congratulated, I liked it very much and I intend to use soul beast, so I bought the POF expansion

Adenin.5973:

snipples

if we’re talkin about pve dps then yeah there is much to be desired but that’s a far cry from the entire class being useless.

Horrendous Elite Spec. Imo, the idea of getting rid of pets (aka merge) isn’t a great idea to begin with. It’s their cheap attempt to get around fixing AI issues and lack of pets control in this game. Everything is underwhelming from slow dagger, buggy, traits to stances.
What is the point of rolling a ranger if you didn’t want pets? Anet buckled to QQers in getting rid of pets.

When i told ppl on /map (few weeks back) deadeye’s kneeling mechanic looks clunky and rifle is going to be underwhelming, ppl was dismissive. It turns out to be true.

Majority of the professions’ subforum seem displeased. This is far worse than HoT elite spec, it seems.

Not letting us try this elite specs @ normal pve setting is a pure mistake imo.
Mind you, this is supposedly “Demo” preview, not “Beta” where normally game devs still actually looking for inputs. So they probably consider this pretty much done and only need minor adjustment. Not to mention release date is very close.

Not Impressive …

you can get a lot damage and survive out of it. It’s hard to use but it’s not bad

I also tried to see if the Elite Skill did anything special but it’s kind of just…“the enemy receives extra damage if you hit them”. I was thinking, “Oh, if I use a skill, it will apply the skill again?” but no, it just does some extra damage. Not very interesting…

Hooglese.4860:

you can get a lot damage and survive out of it. It’s hard to use but it’s not bad

Ya, that “lot of damage” isn’t going to last. Anet isn’t going to leave in the 10k gazelle charges just like they didn’t leave Smokescale and Bristleback alone.

Redfeather.6401:

I really like the soulbeast main mechanic. It’s the stances I didn’t like and won’t use. Their cooldown is so huge and duration so short, and I hate using hotbar slots for stuff like that.

what do you mean ? stances are amazing, the heals is probably the best heal in the game it’s just about using those stances in the exact moment

Tried it again today, was a bit better, but I get a lot more damage from my condi ranger with axe and torch and traps. They walk away dying. Short bow stuns traps hits them with damage and cripple.

Loved the holosmith! If they don’t nerf it. That’s what happened last time. Engi was really holding its own in pvp with the elite stun….then then nerfed it and made it useless. Let’s see what happens. Just wish things would really be balanced. No way a soul beast can do the damage the engi, mes, necro did that I tried out in the last two days. Just saddens me.