Guild Wars 2

We often get mired into the DPS/Range of attack etc debate on the utility of pet damage. As the pet combat system is linked to AI and therefore impacts every facet of the game including PvE balancing difficulty any significant changes to the damage profile of pets seems unlikely.

So the question comes as pets and their damage potential in an ideal modeled scenario are functionally incorporated to limit our total damage envelope, what benefits other than pure damage could be derived from pets that may free up a bit more damage potential for the ranger while maintaining defensive capacity. Preferably something that would also provide benefits to groups. My list of potential fix areas would be.

1) Enhance benefit of the pet to the ranger (Increasing inherent defense for example free’s me up to make offensive utility allocations)
2) Make the ranger pet relationship “symbiotic” not a parasitic warlock necromancer style link. We can be locked from our pet via death for 60 seconds is penalty enough.

In regards to #1

I think the simple not so simple to implement answer might be to marry the nature spirit mechanic in a limited way with pets in the form of pet aura’s that provide limited benefits. That is we have the elemental spirits land earth air water but we also with a wolf pet have a connection to the spirit of the wolf which say procs the chance to remove immob/blind on attack. When we switch from the wolf to our lynx we then become connected to the spirit of the cat (Proc remove bleeding chance) etc….

Currently to manage conditions it’s hard to find builds that aren’t 30 point invested. What if every pet had an aura that helped remove (not transfer) one condition type.

Say cats get an aura (Shared only with the ranger) that causes a 30% chance to remove bleeding on attack with a 10 second refresh.

Perhaps drakes get burning.

Spiders Poison -

Dog’s – Perhaps immobilize or blindness

Now the support pets – perhaps their aura is a bit more supportive. Not only does it remove a condition but converts it to a boon.

Making pets symbiotic through the ranger.
OK for 15 points in NM we can link the pet to any boon the ranger receives…… I’ld suggest there should be a base linkage by default of one helpful boon(swiftness) and one defensive boon(Regen/retal) that automatically share with your pet when the ranger receives it. ideally I’ld divide it by pet type. When connected with the spirit of the cat with a cat pet out say the ranger shares might/regen by default. Connected with an ursine pet share prot/retaliation by default etc….. Probably way to much work.

Vigor and pets – OK we rangers can create alot of vigor but pets while they share the boon if traited get no benefit. Vigor as it applies to pets and any other AI creature should double the CD recharge rate of the pets attacks. Not a factor in PvE for mobs nice improvement for rangers and pets in cycling support or offensive abilities.

Finally modify the sacrifice pet for your self interest utilities. My pet shouldn’t be taking conditions. Removing them, converting them heck even one that transfers a limited type of condition would be nice, ok extra nice. Conversely if you are going to give our pets a sacrifice mechanic as our default condition defense then from a balance perspective there must also be an option to transfer the conditions off our pet preferably to our opponent just as the necromancer self sacrifice was balanced. granted our sacrifice risk is lesser just the pet not our own life so a more limited complete removal of conditions with limited transfer option would seem more appropriate but at least removal of conditions on the pet should be worked in somewhere as an availability. Personally I’ld say work it in a couple places for spec variety. In natural healing – additional ability on the talent of – conditions taken by the pet as a result of <Insert skill>, <Insert Skill> etc will be removed from pet over time.

Part of our inherent problem is we are balanced as a single entity but then to incorporate as a functional entity we get no real inherent symbiosis between ranger and pet.