Every day I look at this line in particular and i think to myself how entirely luckluster it is . The utility it offers is not that high , and while i can swear on some of the minor and major traits, I feel as if the majority of them are just bad . Very bad .
I will keep it fairly simple , while also trying not to add new things but just tweak and re-position things that are already there .
Instinctual Bond – Honestly, this has got to be the worst trait in the whole game, it is absolutely useless and it has no value at all . Sure , in the off chance of maybe being downed while your cat is attacking the opponent you can maybe get a double KO, but anything that requires you to get downed, and then having a very niche chance of actually doing anything is a bad trait in my book .
My suggestion would be to remove this trait and put loud whistle as a replacement, as in move it down a tier *
This would , quite honestly , be a huge boon to non BM rangers, especially in PvE where actually losing your pet is a major threat . Due to low HP and steep punishment , most pets are not even used in dungeons… well they can be but u know what I mean .
It would also reintroduce the option to place 5 into BM and get something out of it
Move Natural Healing from the GM tier into master minor tier * – Would this be OP ?? nope . Other classes do get pretty good heals or regens for doing their thing …(Eles regens and heals , warrior adrenal health.. etc)
150 health every 3 seconds is not strong for the rangers, but the boon for the pet would be pretty solid if not forced to go really deep into BM to get a boost in pet survivability .
Take away the requirement of pet families from the master tier , change stability training into 3 seconds of stability on pet swap , change rending attacks 50% proc on hit , not proc on critical
This change would be HUGE in adding versatility in pet choice . Like HUUUUUGE . Bears with bleeding attacks ? Yes please . Cat swap granting stability ?? yes please . Etc…
Move back instinctual bond back to GM tier , change it considerably – Ranger pulls 2 conditions onto the pet on weapon swap * – everyone is saying how the ranger needs more active condition removals . Most classes can do some kind of condition removal with their class skils (cleansing ire, shatter removal , virtue activation… etc )
Considering the GM is supposed to be a build defining trait , i think this would be a pretty huge build diversification as you wont be forced into 30 WS for any hope of condition survivability .
Last but not least, something i would suggest that is not within the BM line but can be a pretty good addition for the usability of pets . WS master minor trait , protection on dodge…. change it… **dodging gives 2 seconds of protection to ranger and 10 second lasting aegis for the pet . Protection of 2 seconds on pets is useless , 1 block is not, especialy in dungeons . It would be longer lasting because you wouldnt be forced to burn dodges for your pet alone, but it would benefit it in a proper manner .
I hope this topic can pick up some heat , dont focus too much on my ideas please, they are just that, ideas , be creative , dont complain or derail . Let us do some proper brainstorming to dissect this trait line
ty in advance