Guild Wars 2

There are lots of improvements that really ought to be done to both traits and skills for all professions. Here are just a few suggestions for some minor improvements and qol fixes for rangers, that aren’t over the top, and should be easy to implement without making the class overpowered imho:

Marksmanship:

Predator’s Instinct:
Good synergy with Predator’s Onslaught, but needs a lower cooldown to be used more

Beastmaster’s Bond:
Increase duration of the buffs to 20 seconds.

Remorseless:
Pets should be able to regain Opening Strike also when we stealth, not only on upon death of foe. If not when we gain stealth, then at the very least allow them to regain Opening Strike when they gain stealth. Allows good, and logical, synergy with Guard.

Read the Wind:
Increase projectile velocity for pets as well.

Skirmishing:

Hunter’s Tactics:
Allow this to affect pets as well. With the change in their ai that came months ago (they try to get behind a mob), this would allow good synergy with the ai change. Damage increase for pets should be 5%.

Trapper’s Defense:
A rather weak trait, dont’ think I’ve ever seen it used. It’s semi useful when allies are dropping like flies all around you. Would’ve been better if we had a knockdown/knocback, and/or blinding trap.
Anyway, to make it a little more interesting, open up this trait to also work with Search and Rescue for our pets.

Agility Training:
In addition to the bonus in speed increase, allow this trait to grant pets a 10-15% chance to evade attacks. Possibly add the ability for pets to shadowstep behind their master when using F3.

Trapper’s Expertise and Trap Potency:
Personal preference here – I’d like to see Trapper’s Expertise “Conditions caused by traps last longer and are larger” and Trap Potency to “use ground targeting and reduce recharge on traps”.

Moment of Clarity:
Allow interrupts caused by your pet to trigger the effect.

Strider’s Defense:
Rework completely.

Wilderness Survival:

Peak Strength:
Lower threshold to 75% and/or allow this functionality for pets as well.

Healer’s Celerity:
Gain stealth for 5 seconds in addition to current effects.

Shared Anguish:
Reduce the cooldown A LOT, or classify this skill as a survival skill, for synergy with survival skill cooldown traits as well as Survival of the Fittest.

Hide in Plain Sight:
Change camouflage to stealth. Remove camouflage from the game entirely.

Bark Skin:
Consider raising health threshold for pets only to 33%.

Nature Magic:

Fortifying Bond:
Increase some durations, especially for fury and swiftness.

Nature’s Protection:
Should apply to pets as well.

Beastmastery:

Speed Training:
Recharge reduced by at least 20% to make this trait even worth considering, and/or merge with Commanding Voice.

Compassion Training:
In addition to the healing increase, clean 1-2 condition(s) upon pet swap.

Invigorating Bond:
Increase radius to 600 (same radius as the Fern Hound skill “Regenerate”)

Utility skills:

Guard:
Make it instant cast. If using this skill while pet is set to passive mode, the pet should NOT attack again unless you press F1 (and/or F2), or change mode.

Protect Me:
Allow pet to keep attacking while still absorbing damage.

Search and Rescue:
The cooldown is insane. At the very least, cut it in half. Consider granting the pet 5-10 seconds of stability.

I agree with most of these. Especially shared anguish, considering other classes get a lot more out of their similar traits for the same CD.

OGDeadHead.8326:

Fortifying Bond:
Increase some durations, especially for fury and swiftness.

Before anything else: add stability. Two years after the release of the game, and this otherwise great trait still grants our pet vigor while lacking in the stability department. Durations are fine.

Actually, I don’t really mind the lack of stability all that much. I just wanna see the thought process behind having vigor as one of the shared boons.

agree with the traps need updating , for trappers though since condi damage i heavy tied to traps , adding a Knock down to any of the traps would make the fight unbearable for the target constant Cc’s , chill/cripple and daze(if shortbow) + pet cc’s

then add knockdown on a spike trap.

i’d like this for the trait only and seperate it from spike trap.
Trappers defence:

debilitating Trap:
While Reviving a allies you plant a debilitating Trap (type trap cooldown 45secs)
Base damage 3x 20 (base stats scales with power and condi duration as normal)
Apply Weakness (4secs)
3 pulses
Knocksdown on last pulse for 1sec.

Animation maybe a chain of spikes , 1,1,1 after the other like a shock wave of spikes one for each pulse, to show its a debilitating Trap.

Weakness of this trap it only applies defensive Effects and the damage is Average.
mainly for KD and weakness for a slot of time for defence while resing : aka Trappers defence.

I give my meaningless approval in hopes that this thread will reach a Dev’s eyes. Overall good and healthy changes (if done right).

Still a long ways to go before all traits are worth looking at, let alone utility and pet skills.

I’d like to get some other people’s opinion on some things not entirely related to the OP’s suggestions, but perhaps some additional ones worth trying…

Two-Handed Training: Would this trait be overpowered if the fury was shared with your group? While the cooldown is short, the fury uptime is still about even with a Warrior spamming FGS. And that has the potential to heal and provides might. It could also remove a condition depending on gear.

Healing Well: Would changing this skill to a ground targeted AE instead of a PBAE be too much effort for players to deal with? Would it overpower the class in any fashion?

I cannot possibly understand how Striders Defense as a new (!) trait made it into the game. It is so bad and redunant on so many levels.

Replace it by something completely different Arenanet. Maybe give 2 seconds of http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blur when you are stunned or knocked back.