Help me fix ranger as a class!
We tried to help Anet with the class through their own CDI. Very little has seem to come of it. Only thing that came out of if was that we learned they can’t fix our pets AI or F2 without a complete overhaul of every creature in the game… Yeah. Forever band-aided is the status-quo for our pets thus Rangers are forever handicapped. I had high hopes after that admission that Anet would finally relent and give us an option to have pets or not… I still hold out hope, but after playing on my other toons so much more its easier just to use a class where the class mechanics work and learn to love it like my Ranger than to keep hope alive that Anet will fix the pets. Speaking of which, I don’t understand how a certain developer could say we shouldn’t have more control over our pets because it will scare away new players (someone can link the State of the Game video if they want where it was said by a “sharp” developer) but the Elementalist weapons w/attunements… Jesus. Every weapon set has 20 attack options! I don’t see how having more control of the pets would overwhelm new players but attunements does not.
I don’t enjoying kittening in the wind with my mouth open because if Anet’s own initative to get the “community brainstorming” was ignored I have no hope for this to help. Either way, good luck to you.
We tried to help Anet with the class through their own CDI. Very little has seem to come of it. Only thing that came out of if was that we learned they can’t fix our pets AI or F2 without a complete overhaul of every creature in the game… Yeah. Forever band-aided is the status-quo for our pets thus Rangers are forever handicapped. I had high hopes after that admission that Anet would finally relent and give us an option to have pets or not… I still hold out hope, but after playing on my other toons so much more its easier just to use a class where the class mechanics work and learn to love it like my Ranger than to keep hope alive that Anet will fix the pets. Speaking of which, I don’t understand how a certain developer could say we shouldn’t have more control over our pets because it will scare away new players (someone can link the State of the Game video if they want where it was said by a “sharp” developer) but the Elementalist weapons w/attunements… Jesus. Every weapon set has 20 attack options! I don’t see how having more control of the pets would overwhelm new players but attunements does not.
I don’t enjoying kittening in the wind with my mouth open because if Anet’s own initative to get the “community brainstorming” was ignored I have no hope for this to help. Either way, good luck to you.
I’ve been telling them since launch that although the concept for the Ranger to be bound to the pet is a great idea is does not nor ever has translated well into decent game mechanics. The idea of the pet is completely counter-intuitive to the rest of the game’s design that it just plain and simple doesn’t work when incorporated into the situations players find themselves in. I’ve suggested over and over on leaving the pet as is (I love pets) but designing a way for us to “opt-out” of that particular mechanic in favor of one that would be more favorable (not a liability) for the particular content or playstyle said player chooses to do (as the game is all about change and adaptability).
Do they even want to or ever have listened? No. Not even for a second.
Rangers need to do more ranged damage since a vanilla ranger is supposed to be a non mage ranged dps class.
PVE wise, thieves, wars and rangers should be able to do about the same amount of damage, where thieves have stealth, wars armor, and rangers range.
Simple as that.
IDK about thieves but I play war alt and where wars do a sh*tload of damage with their greatswords and axe/mace, rangers are left far behind with bows. Therefore they are not viable RANGED dps class. And I’m not talking about fact, that many dungeon / fractal strategies demand stacking and therefore favor melee.
As long as a nobrainer vanilla bow ranger has not enough damage to compare to nobrainer greatsword wars, it is obsolete. Yeah you can somehow tweak it to make it a melee dps about as good as war is (not counting the armor) but I don’t think this is how it should work.
(edited by Fext.3614)
This could be called a “community brainstorm” if you will.
Then start with a definition, what a ranger shall be. PvE, WvW, PvP.
Rangers need to do more ranged damage since a vanilla ranger is supposed to be a non mage ranged dps class.
PVE wise, thieves, wars and rangers should be able to do about the same amount of damage, where thieves have stealth, wars armor, and rangers range.
Simple as that.IDK about thieves but I play war alt and where wars do a sh*tload of damage with their greatswords and axe/mace, rangers are left far behind with bows. Therefore they are not viable RANGED dps class. And I’m not talking about fact, that many dungeon / fractal strategies demand stacking and therefore favor melee.
As long as a nobrainer vanilla bow ranger has not enough damage to compare to nobrainer greatsword wars, it is obsolete. Yeah you can somehow tweak it to make it a melee dps about as good as war is (not counting the armor) but I don’t think this is how it should work.
Ranger does not mean archer. One clue would be that rangers don’t even start with a bow. Ranger range damage is fine. In GW2 in general melee damage is superior to range. You can not compare range damage and melee damage.
What the Ranger needs is more group utility and reliable aoe condition damage that we don’t have to spec into.
Some suggested stealth which I think it terrible as ranger skill already are mostly focused on ranger or pet. Smoke and stealth is a thief thing and even with what they offer dps wise and stealth wise they are not that big in demand. So why venture down that road. We need something else.
everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth.
As a total Ranger loyalist I’m forced to say that Ranger doesn’t need any FIX….
Only thing that needs a FIX is you….
Period.
Sorry for my ’’constructive’’ criticism
I’m tired of how people can’t enjoy Rangers…
-El Jimbo-
The only changes that would bring me back to my ranger would be (in order of importance)
- optional pet. F1 toggles attack/return, F2 is the “never-activates” special skill F3 would toggle passive/aggressive, F4 would stow pet and add a 30% damage boost to all weapon and trap skills.
- change 1H sword so that the AA chain no longer has the bloody leaps, so that dodging works. (Leave everything about the chain the same, just remove leaps. Change Monarch Leap/Hornet Sting to work inversely to current – leap in, then disengage. Leave skill 3 as is)
- Change SoR to be “Passive: Lose a condition every 10 seconds. Active: Cure all conditions. 45 second recharge.”
- Replace “Alpha Training” with “Eagle Eye” (alpha training should be part of “Opening Strike”) move Quick Draw to Marksmanship. Replace it in Skirmishing with Martial Mastery.
- Fix the trap traits so that traps are useful to more build types. There should be an adept trait that gives 20% recharge and greater area. Master trait should be 100% increased condition duration and damage. Grandmaster should be ground targeted traps. Base damage (not condition, but damage) needs to be higher on traps in general.
That would be my dream patch.
Rangers need to do more ranged damage since a vanilla ranger is supposed to be a non mage ranged dps class.
PVE wise, thieves, wars and rangers should be able to do about the same amount of damage, where thieves have stealth, wars armor, and rangers range.
Simple as that.IDK about thieves but I play war alt and where wars do a sh*tload of damage with their greatswords and axe/mace, rangers are left far behind with bows. Therefore they are not viable RANGED dps class. And I’m not talking about fact, that many dungeon / fractal strategies demand stacking and therefore favor melee.
As long as a nobrainer vanilla bow ranger has not enough damage to compare to nobrainer greatsword wars, it is obsolete. Yeah you can somehow tweak it to make it a melee dps about as good as war is (not counting the armor) but I don’t think this is how it should work.
Ranger does not mean archer. One clue would be that rangers don’t even start with a bow. Ranger range damage is fine. In GW2 in general melee damage is superior to range. You can not compare range damage and melee damage.
What the Ranger needs is more group utility and reliable aoe condition damage that we don’t have to spec into.
Some suggested stealth which I think it terrible as ranger skill already are mostly focused on ranger or pet. Smoke and stealth is a thief thing and even with what they offer dps wise and stealth wise they are not that big in demand. So why venture down that road. We need something else.
It may not start with a bow, but it still starts with a ranged weapon.
And while smoke and tricks are a Thief thing, camouflage and stealth most certainly are a ranger thing.
This class is a mess from the ground up. The core mechanic doesn’t work. Most of the trait lines don’t make sense. It has no burst or AE potential. Utility doesn’t work in large group settings. Almost every utility skill this class has isn’t worth slotting until you invest 20-30 points into traits.
That’s a lot of work to be done and until every single one of them is addressed this class is will be second rate.
Rangers need some change to their area effects so that a ranger, pet, and group can all share buffs across the battlefield. Rangers have success defending points as trappers and have success in melee in dungeons when everything is at close range. The ranger is designed with many skills to control combat distance and fight at distance but these skills are all devalued if a ranger always needs to be in a group melee for buff sharing.
The only changes that would bring me back to my ranger would be (in order of importance)
- optional pet. F1 toggles attack/return, F2 is the “never-activates” special skill F3 would toggle passive/aggressive, F4 would stow pet and add a 30% damage boost to all weapon and trap skills.
- change 1H sword so that the AA chain no longer has the bloody leaps, so that dodging works. (Leave everything about the chain the same, just remove leaps. Change Monarch Leap/Hornet Sting to work inversely to current – leap in, then disengage. Leave skill 3 as is)
- Change SoR to be “Passive: Lose a condition every 10 seconds. Active: Cure all conditions. 45 second recharge.”
- Replace “Alpha Training” with “Eagle Eye” (alpha training should be part of “Opening Strike”) move Quick Draw to Marksmanship. Replace it in Skirmishing with Martial Mastery.
- Fix the trap traits so that traps are useful to more build types. There should be an adept trait that gives 20% recharge and greater area. Master trait should be 100% increased condition duration and damage. Grandmaster should be ground targeted traps. Base damage (not condition, but damage) needs to be higher on traps in general.
That would be my dream patch.
Looks like we share a dream then!
Right now the only thing I use my Ranger for is world boss farming.