Guild Wars 2

I’ve no idea why a game mechanic would ever be implemented which meant you couldn’t actually stow your pet until you wished to pull it from the ether.

This is a complete joke… it’s a massive hindrance to the Ranger.

Forsaken Fortune mini dungeon and achievement – Ranger Pet? Hmm lets put my pet on Avoid Combat (passive). Yeah right lets triple the difficulty due to the pet running all over the place.
Fractals Lighting Highway – Ranger pet? Lets double the difficulty. If you do get hit your pet now counts as part of you.
Dungeons Generally, The open world, anywhere to be honest. Tell you what lets make sure the pet aggro’s half the world as you cant permanently stow it and as soon as you gain aggro out it pops were it follows its own path pulling even more mobs to its lovely little owner.

SORT IT OUT ……

If this was game design your having a laugh…

Can I suggest: “Stow Pet” ability allow the Ranger to Stow their Pet permanently…..when you first log-in the pet will be summoned.

And suddenly I had just to log in and say: “I agree.” Indeed, I hate it when I am walking around, trying to avoid combat, forgot to stow my pet, pet aggros some risen putrifiers, I get pulled back by them, run away, pet runs away too, out of combat and stow the pet away in anger because believe me, I prefer being pulled by Kirby because I can laugh about it, but risen are not really my thing to laugh about. I would love to see an option for pets to be stowed permanently.
This is kinda appropiate for a Ranger, since Warriors, Guardians and other classes have no perm. pet as far as I know without using a skill, so it is valid enough I suppose.

Well I while I agree, I also know anet wanted this to be a pet class so I doubt they will ever do the smart thing. Perma stow iwth a damage % buff around the 40% mark. Problem solved….

I’m actually really tired of seeing people saying “it’s their mechanic”. Rangers have a lot more going on with their theme and their abilities besides just pets. You shouldn’t be forced to use them 100% of the time, period.

I completely agree, and it’s horribly annoying!! I have no control over where my pet goes and what it aggros. Its idiotic pathing aggros everything in sight, pops traps, and causes me to take damage that I’ve otherwise already avoided. At times it makes me nerd-rage.

Why not just make the pet aggro-less like in every other game? Simple solution.

Taruvoyant.4318:

I completely agree, and it’s horribly annoying!! I have no control over where my pet goes and what it aggros. Its idiotic pathing aggros everything in sight, pops traps, and causes me to take damage that I’ve otherwise already avoided. At times it makes me nerd-rage.

Why not just make the pet aggro-less like in every other game? Simple solution.

I would laugh if they made the pets agrro-less… all the QQ rage from short bow rangers no longer able to get their flanking bonus bleeds. All the Glass Cannon Bow Rangers going sploot because the kitten pets they are always complaining about are no longer taking the beating for them… oh I can taste the tears already… yum yum yum yum

Yeah I don’t know if making the pet aggro less is the way to go. As Daisy said, it would gimp some of the specs and make it difficult for some to build damage and stay at range.

I have to agree though, if you stow the pet, it should be stowed irrespective. I only noticed this while doing jumping puzzles. For me, the pet gets in the way when trying to time jumps etc – he stands on ledges making it difficult to judge where to jump from at times. The problem is, as soon as you are taking damage from some mob/mechanic/extra big jump, out he comes again. Its more frustrating than anything.

It is just inconvenient to have to micro manage the pet ALL the time. I don’t how to fix it, but making the stow pet stay hidden irrespective of damage would be a good start. At least then it would mean the player would have to make a conscious decision to bring it out again.

Yes and no. I like it that my pet pops back, but not always. Especially not from taking falling damage.

I propose to make the passive/active button available while the pet is stowed, so it will pop out when it’s on active, but it will never pop out if it’s on passive.

jade maw takes 2x the time because the pet gets targeted half the time.

DaisyRogers.6837:

Taruvoyant.4318:

I completely agree, and it’s horribly annoying!! I have no control over where my pet goes and what it aggros. Its idiotic pathing aggros everything in sight, pops traps, and causes me to take damage that I’ve otherwise already avoided. At times it makes me nerd-rage.

Why not just make the pet aggro-less like in every other game? Simple solution.

I would laugh if they made the pets agrro-less… all the QQ rage from short bow rangers no longer able to get their flanking bonus bleeds. All the Glass Cannon Bow Rangers going sploot because the kitten pets they are always complaining about are no longer taking the beating for them… oh I can taste the tears already… yum yum yum yum

Half the builds i see people running on here are pretty much bunker builds….only people who like to hide in a zerg would consider running a glass cannon build other then that they are worthless on any class. So I highly doubt there will be as much QQing as you say.

P.S If you cant handle the agro run a trapper build….its powerful and allows you to solo big groups without having to rely on pet.

Einlanzer.1627:

I’m actually really tired of seeing people saying “it’s their mechanic”. Rangers have a lot more going on with their theme and their abilities besides just pets. You shouldn’t be forced to use them 100% of the time, period.

yes, i like this class but i would love it if i didnt need my pets out all the time

DaisyRogers.6837:

Taruvoyant.4318:

I completely agree, and it’s horribly annoying!! I have no control over where my pet goes and what it aggros. Its idiotic pathing aggros everything in sight, pops traps, and causes me to take damage that I’ve otherwise already avoided. At times it makes me nerd-rage.

Why not just make the pet aggro-less like in every other game? Simple solution.

I would laugh if they made the pets agrro-less… all the QQ rage from short bow rangers no longer able to get their flanking bonus bleeds. All the Glass Cannon Bow Rangers going sploot because the kitten pets they are always complaining about are no longer taking the beating for them… oh I can taste the tears already… yum yum yum yum

No, you misunderstood me. Pets can still take and hold aggro, they just don’t initially aggro idle mobs while walking through a map. They would be treated as neutral NPCs. Most games do this already. I should be aggroing mobs, not my pet.

This is how rangers work. I just realized that I never really had a problem with this because I dont tend to run through mobs. The only time I may skip mobs is in wvw. But its really not hard to bypass mobs there.

I think a ranger should know better than running through a pack of wolves and expect nothing to happen or expect to outrun them.

So what I think is the really problem is is your play style. Alot of you skip alot of content in pve for what ever reason. I dont think the Dev should support or be pressured into getting behind this idea for that reason. Choose a different class and be done with it.

Serraphin Storm.2369:

This is how rangers work. I just realized that I never really had a problem with this because I dont tend to run through mobs. The only time I may skip mobs is in wvw. But its really not hard to bypass mobs there.

I think a ranger should know better than running through a pack of wolves and expect nothing to happen or expect to outrun them.

So what I think is the really problem is is your play style. Alot of you skip alot of content in pve for what ever reason. I dont think the Dev should support or be pressured into getting behind this idea for that reason. Choose a different class and be done with it.

why would you want your pet to be a burden?

Serraphin Storm.2369:

This is how rangers work. I just realized that I never really had a problem with this because I dont tend to run through mobs. The only time I may skip mobs is in wvw. But its really not hard to bypass mobs there.

I think a ranger should know better than running through a pack of wolves and expect nothing to happen or expect to outrun them.

So what I think is the really problem is is your play style. Alot of you skip alot of content in pve for what ever reason. I dont think the Dev should support or be pressured into getting behind this idea for that reason. Choose a different class and be done with it.

It has nothing to do with the ranger’s play style. We don’t skip content or run through packs of wolves expecting not to get aggro. But for the record, we can run through anything we want and outrun it.

The point we’re making is the terrible AI pathing. You obviously haven’t played ranger in depth or else you would know what we’re talking about.

We can take one step around a small pebble and our pet will walk 1600’ around it. And while in the process of taking that ridiculous route, he will train 8 mobs with him. Or when we are avoiding traps, our pet’s AI decides it wants to walk through 10 red circles and blow up our whole party. Stowing the pet isn’t effective either because he pops back out anytime we’re deemed “in combat,” (i.e. falling off a hill, walking through water, etc.).

It’s a complete and total oversight on the dev’s part, not just “how rangers work.” It will eventually be addressed in some fashion because the game’s still in its infancy. So, go grab a beer and get ready to wash down your words.

If they could fix pets, I would be fine with having them out like they are now. What I find a problem though is how useless they are during a boss fight or like in encounters like Jade Maw.

During boss fights, especially ones with large AOEs, they just seem to die a lot more than they should (even if I dodge all of the AOEs and attacks, my pet will often just stand there and take it up the rear… and in boss fights that often means death within about 3 seconds; “My pet needs help… again!”). They should be able to dodge and avoid incoming attacks… but that’s also only part of the problem.

It would also be nice to see more synergy between the pet and player in the lower level traits; fortifying bond and the reworked Zephyr’s speed are what should be used as reference for how many of the pet traits should be.

Also, things like f2’s actually working when players press the button need to still be addressed… lick wounds still fails most of the time too.

As a Ranger I agree the pet is somewhat of a nuissance sometimes when I’d rather not have him out and about. I would much rather have Stow hide the pet until I release it from the same button.

I don’t want to be forced how to play.

If I put the pet away, I want it to stay put away. Rangers should have the choice, as per GW1, there should be something to compensate for not using the pet, It doesn’t look like ArenaNet will ever fix the pet thing.

If I put my town clothes on, I want them to stay on.

If I die, I don’t want my camera angle fiddled with.

I agree with that. If I want my pet to be stowed it should remain like that independently of what is happening, especially when I go from one point to another in wvw and I need speed and discretion.

Yes please! When I started a ranger and saw stow pet I thought it’d be fun to try killing stuff without a pet but then it popped back after entering battle…

I think stow pet should be permenant, but no dmg boost for not using it, otherwise no one will use pets because the hasstle if using them won’t counteract the dmg boost.

But I want to be a ranger like a Huntsman but without a pet, I mean it seems unrealistic to be able to charm bears and jellyfish… I don’t think jellyfish have the mental capacity for training…

It is a design choice. Therefor, permanent stow is not going to happen. I’m just telling you like it is.

• Ranger
• The ranger class combines its own innate abilities with the skills of their pets. We’ve balanced the class around the idea that you always have a pet with you to aid in any fight. The fact that the ranger can have multiple pets allows them to combine their pets in ways that most impact the current fight. We want the Ranger to have some of the evasion enjoyed by the Thief, as well as the mobility other classes employ. The class is able to deal physical or condition damage, and it can do this in melee or at range.

I don’t recognize any of the problems that you list, though. Ithink your arguments are a little thin. If my pet aggros a bunch of mobs, I consider it a good thing, because it means they aren’t attacking me. I simply just run ahead, out of aggro reach, and then switch pet, making the mobs that attacked my pet reset. I have also never had a problem running the fractals lighting way with my pet stowed. And the times I failed it, it certainly wasn’t because of my pet, but because I didn’t dodge fast enough.

It doesnt take a rocket scientist or reasonable justification to understand that not being able to permanently stow your pet is a hinderance.

Open world content:
Generally pets are no problem. Unless you want to do any explorer achievement, jumping puzzle or anything were you would prefer to not run in there shouting look at my pet.
Open world bosses:
The pet turns into a useless addition to the Ranger class most of the time.
Dungeons:
Generally pets are useless other than as terrible buff bots. They die far too much. There are situations were I would actually like to move like all other classes are able to in the game “as an individual”.

How do you address the problems above …..

Make it so that you can stow your pet permanently.

Flipping the question around why would you NOT have the ability to stow your pet permanently?

We decided to not allow rangers to stow their pets permanently for the following reasons:
- So the ranger has to manage any problems caused by a troublesome pet without a mechanism to avoid future problems
- etc, etc, etc

Kasama.8941:

It is a design choice. Therefor, permanent stow is not going to happen. I’m just telling you like it is.

• Ranger
• The ranger class combines its own innate abilities with the skills of their pets. We’ve balanced the class around the idea that you always have a pet with you to aid in any fight. The fact that the ranger can have multiple pets allows them to combine their pets in ways that most impact the current fight. We want the Ranger to have some of the evasion enjoyed by the Thief, as well as the mobility other classes employ. The class is able to deal physical or condition damage, and it can do this in melee or at range.

I don’t recognize any of the problems that you list, though. Ithink your arguments are a little thin. If my pet aggros a bunch of mobs, I consider it a good thing, because it means they aren’t attacking me. I simply just run ahead, out of aggro reach, and then switch pet, making the mobs that attacked my pet reset. I have also never had a problem running the fractals lighting way with my pet stowed. And the times I failed it, it certainly wasn’t because of my pet, but because I didn’t dodge fast enough.

The problems with the pet AI are not part of the design choice of ranger. Why do people keep trying to defend such an obvious flaw to the profession?

You just quoted the developers’ statement, “We’ve balanced the class around the idea that you always have a pet with you to aid in any fight.” I’m fine with my pet fighting in every fight, that’s what it’s supposed to do. If I don’t want it fighting, I already have the option to call it back to me or put it on passive. This statement has nothing to do with the problems we’re talking about. We’re talking about the atrocious AI pathing and aggro.

(Side note: On the topic of pets in every fight, my pet does not fight with me 100% of the time to begin with, so Anet’s design is already inherently flawed. If I walk off the edge of a ramp, my pet takes a two mile scenic route thus leaving me to kill the mob by myself. My pet also won’t attack mobs across breaks in terrain [i.e. a jumpable gap], on higher elevation, lower elevation, etc. So you’re proving our point of poor pet AI with the “the devs wanted it this way” argument.)

People are just just making excuses for design flaws. I shouldn’t have to dodge XX% more often than other professions, or take the long route around something, or avoid water, or not fall down hills just because the developers can’t implement adequate pet AI.

Again, a simple solution: Make pets aggro-less, neutral NPCs (along with improved AI pathing). The only time my pet should get aggro or enter combat is when I aggro something. If the developers choose to make the solution more convoluted than this, then so be it. All we’re asking for is a solution to the problem.

Chosen.8207:

It doesnt take a rocket scientist or reasonable justification to understand that not being able to permanently stow your pet is a hinderance.

Open world content:
Generally pets are no problem. Unless you want to do any explorer achievement, jumping puzzle or anything were you would prefer to not run in there shouting look at my pet.
Open world bosses:
The pet turns into a useless addition to the Ranger class most of the time.
Dungeons:
Generally pets are useless other than as terrible buff bots. They die far too much. There are situations were I would actually like to move like all other classes are able to in the game “as an individual”.

How do you address the problems above …..

Make it so that you can stow your pet permanently.

Flipping the question around why would you NOT have the ability to stow your pet permanently?

We decided to not allow rangers to stow their pets permanently for the following reasons:
- So the ranger has to manage any problems caused by a troublesome pet without a mechanism to avoid future problems
- etc, etc, etc

The hinderance comes from you not know how to manage your pet, or maybe just not wanting to.

• I don’t understand where the pet is a problem in exploring or puzzles. You have to give me some examples there.
• If the boss deals too high damage, you want to use a pet that either deals ranged damage (spiders and devourers), or that can buff you (like the Fern Hounds regeneration, or the Jungle Stalkers might). Basically, pets that stay close to you to avoid damage.
• In dungeons I always use bears, as they simply just survive longer then any other pet, and because they can also work as tanks. I’ve played a ton of dungeons where my bear would tank the boss on it’s own, leaving me hands free to revive other players on my team. Sure they die often, but if you switch pets before they are defeated, the recharge time on pet switching is far less, thereby allowing you to switch pets more often. But there’s also a learning curve in knowing when to switch pets, and when to let your pet die, so you can use the pet switching in a situation where you need it. And when to have your pet in “attack mode”, and when to have it in “don’t attack mode”.

You address the problems by learning how to manage them. You don’t solve a problem by creating a new one. And yes, it would create a whole series of new problems. Like; why use the pet at all, if your character can work fine without it? You might as well remove the pet from the game all together then. Or how about; how do you get the pet out in combat, if your stow option is locked as soon as you are in combat mode? And if you allow the stow option to be used in combat, then what about the advantages that comes with allowing that?

I don’t need a permanent stow option, because I need my pet whenever I am in combat mode. And the times when I don’t need my pet, I know how to manage it so it doesn’t become a hinderance to me.

Kasama.8941:

• I don’t understand where the pet is a problem in exploring or puzzles. You have to give me some examples there.

in exploring it tend to aggro mobs, which will follow you and your pet
in puzzles, it is constantly in the way, blocking your view and being annoying, it’s like your personal male max size norn accompaning you everywhere
“but you can stow it” – and it comes back immediately when you take damage by falling or whatever, forcing you to wait at least 15sec before you can stow it again

Kasama.8941:

• If the boss deals too high damage, you want to use a pet that either deals ranged damage (spiders and devourers), or that can buff you (like the Fern Hounds regeneration, or the Jungle Stalkers might). Basically, pets that stay close to you to avoid damage.

pets are terrible buffers, that option falls flat
ranged pets do less damage than their melee counterparts, also, their ~900 range isn’t enough to outrange most bosses. Add to that that pets cannot dodge and your pet is toast.

Kasama.8941:

• In dungeons I always use bears, as they simply just survive longer then any other pet, and because they can also work as tanks. I’ve played a ton of dungeons where my bear would tank the boss on it’s own, leaving me hands free to revive other players on my team. Sure they die often, but if you switch pets before they are defeated, the recharge time on pet switching is far less, thereby allowing you to switch pets more often. But there’s also a learning curve in knowing when to switch pets, and when to let your pet die, so you can use the pet switching in a situation where you need it. And when to have your pet in “attack mode”, and when to have it in “don’t attack mode”.

pets tanking bosses… yea, you might want to check where you are, these are the gw2 forums, not those of that other MMORPG

Epic Cactus.9723:

Kasama.8941:

• I don’t understand where the pet is a problem in exploring or puzzles. You have to give me some examples there.

in exploring it tend to aggro mobs, which will follow you and your pet
in puzzles, it is constantly in the way, blocking your view and being annoying, it’s like your personal male max size norn accompaning you everywhere
“but you can stow it” – and it comes back immediately when you take damage by falling or whatever, forcing you to wait at least 15sec before you can stow it again

Kasama.8941:

• If the boss deals too high damage, you want to use a pet that either deals ranged damage (spiders and devourers), or that can buff you (like the Fern Hounds regeneration, or the Jungle Stalkers might). Basically, pets that stay close to you to avoid damage.

pets are terrible buffers, that option falls flat
ranged pets do less damage than their melee counterparts, also, their ~900 range isn’t enough to outrange most bosses. Add to that that pets cannot dodge and your pet is toast.

Kasama.8941:

• In dungeons I always use bears, as they simply just survive longer then any other pet, and because they can also work as tanks. I’ve played a ton of dungeons where my bear would tank the boss on it’s own, leaving me hands free to revive other players on my team. Sure they die often, but if you switch pets before they are defeated, the recharge time on pet switching is far less, thereby allowing you to switch pets more often. But there’s also a learning curve in knowing when to switch pets, and when to let your pet die, so you can use the pet switching in a situation where you need it. And when to have your pet in “attack mode”, and when to have it in “don’t attack mode”.

pets tanking bosses… yea, you might want to check where you are, these are the gw2 forums, not those of that other MMORPG

My fernhound tanks bosses for quite a large period of time, i’d hope to god a bear could seeing as how he has a self regen, an invuln, and double the HP…. Moas also tank pretty well, especially if you have Compassion Training.

I’d say it’s a bit of a L2P issue…

PS: It’s been tested, spiders do kittenty damage (they’re built for controlling enemies, not damage), but devourers actually do REALLY good damage and are actually in the higher tiers of damage pets.

I most surely vote for the permanent stowing of the pet till i myself want it to pop back out. There are a fair few situations where the pet is more of a time consumer/deathtrap/nuisance then a help. The aggro and enemies it delivers to me due to pathing I would not otherwise had to fight. Blocking my view. Triggering traps and such I try to avoid, heck even truly avoided. Getting me not invited to an instance or even kicked from a group because the group liked to have me but didn’t want the aggro-magnet that was tacked on to me that prevented them a faster run through/shortcuts due to dumb pathing issues. The pet had to go so so did I. That does get frustrating.

While it’s not game breaking for me, and I am generally a pets-class loving player (I tend to pick pet classes in most of the MMO’s I play, and I do know about pet micromanagement), in Guild Wars the downsides of a pet do annoy me far more often then it has in any other game. The micromanagement works not that well actually and a lot of things you can’t seemingly control.

The pet side-effects have killed me a few times where I otherwise would not have died. And it has gotten me into a respawn aggro/combat-lock loops in fast respawn areas.

On the other hand I have a lot of situations where the pet did help me out too ofcourse. I definitively don’t want to play a pet-less ranger. But i like some solo walking time option even if it does hamper my dps while doing that. So BIG VOTE for permanent stowing of the pet, and I don’t even need some power compensation for when it is stowed, though it would be nice.

Epic Cactus.9723:

in exploring it tend to aggro mobs, which will follow you and your pet
in puzzles, it is constantly in the way, blocking your view and being annoying, it’s like your personal male max size norn accompaning you everywhere
“but you can stow it” – and it comes back immediately when you take damage by falling or whatever, forcing you to wait at least 15sec before you can stow it again

pets are terrible buffers, that option falls flat
ranged pets do less damage than their melee counterparts, also, their ~900 range isn’t enough to outrange most bosses. Add to that that pets cannot dodge and your pet is toast.

pets tanking bosses… yea, you might want to check where you are, these are the gw2 forums, not those of that other MMORPG

As said above; if you let your pet attack the mobs, it will prevent the mobs from attack you. Then, as soon as you are out of the mobs aggro range, you simply just switch pets, and then you have a pet next to you again, ready to aggro the next series of mobs. I do not see how this is a bad thing? The pet is preventing you from being dealt damage! In a puzzle, you simply just switch to a small pet, if it’s blocking your view, or send your pet to attack the mobs by using “Guard”. Use the pet, don’t ignore it.

Well if the only other option is to let your pet die from attacking, I’d pick the short buff or the lesser damage. If you are making your melee pet attack, even though you know it’s going to die, it sure as hell isn’t the games fault.

Say what you want, but the pet is tanking. It might not last for 10 seconds doing so, when fighting a strong boss, but it is more then enough time to give you and your team some breathing room. Which can make a huge difference when more then one of your allies are downed.

You want examples Kasama? Try Fractals. Try Jade Maw. Try your awesome bear “tank” as he gets 1 shot over and over because you don’t have a choice to stow your pet or let your pet pick up a shard to defend itself. A trick I found is to instantly swap pets when your current pet is being targeted by the Jade Maw, however, if the Jade Maw decides to target your pet again after your swap and during your 15 – 20 second cooldown, then you can just say bye bye to your pet.

Try the lightning obstacle course in the unknown fractal where your stupid pet walks all over the place and gets hit by the electricity causing an AoE of death to you and any unfortunate teammates trying to get through.

Try the grawl fractal where your pet decides to walk randomly into a moving boulder and gets insta downed.

IMHO, I don’t care for a stow pet option, but I do want Anet to quickly fix these issues, if they care at all about their ranger philosophy.

skittlebob.4850:

You want examples Kasama? Try Fractals. Try Jade Maw. Try your awesome bear “tank” as he gets 1 shot over and over because you don’t have a choice to stow your pet or let your pet pick up a shard to defend itself. A trick I found is to instantly swap pets when your current pet is being targeted by the Jade Maw, however, if the Jade Maw decides to target your pet again after your swap and during your 15 – 20 second cooldown, then you can just say bye bye to your pet.

Try the lightning obstacle course in the unknown fractal where your stupid pet walks all over the place and gets hit by the electricity causing an AoE of death to you and any unfortunate teammates trying to get through.

Try the grawl fractal where your pet decides to walk randomly into a moving boulder and gets insta downed.

IMHO, I don’t care for a stow pet options, but I do want Anet to quickly fix these issues, if they care at all about their ranger philosophy.

Unknown fractal and grawl fractal you just stow and not get hit (very easy) as for jade maw, yeah that’s just BS that it targets non players.

Stow? You mean put the pet on peace mode right? That actually works sorta alright with the grawl, praying that the pet does not wander too far from you as you move through the boulders.

But it is so terrible with the unknown fractal. You have very little wiggling room for mistakes during the obstacle course, and if your pet happens to be near you when he gets hit, you both go down. It’s very frustrating. I wish you could really “stow” and make your pet disappear for that area.

Why is anyone arguing against this? It makes no sense. If you don’t want your pet to perma-stow, then don’t kitten’ stow it. What do you gain by nobody else being able to stow their pet during a jumping puzzle or when they are just running around the world?

I know this is the internet but stop arguing just to argue and think about why/if you really care to fight against people who just want to be able to put their pet away for 5 minutes without it popping back out again.

skittlebob.4850:

You want examples Kasama? Try Fractals. Try Jade Maw. Try your awesome bear “tank” as he gets 1 shot over and over because you don’t have a choice to stow your pet or let your pet pick up a shard to defend itself. A trick I found is to instantly swap pets when your current pet is being targeted by the Jade Maw, however, if the Jade Maw decides to target your pet again after your swap and during your 15 – 20 second cooldown, then you can just say bye bye to your pet.

Try the lightning obstacle course in the unknown fractal where your stupid pet walks all over the place and gets hit by the electricity causing an AoE of death to you and any unfortunate teammates trying to get through.

Try the grawl fractal where your pet decides to walk randomly into a moving boulder and gets insta downed.

IMHO, I don’t care for a stow pet option, but I do want Anet to quickly fix these issues, if they care at all about their ranger philosophy.

I agree that the Jade Maw boss is a pain. But it’s not only our pet the boss is hitting, it will also often target Mesmer illusions and Necromancers minions. So it makes no sense to solve it by making permanent stow for the pet. The problem is with the boss.

I have an easy time getting trough the lighting obstacle with my pet stowed. Often I even get hit right at the top, but I still make it trough. Dodging helps a lot here.

Why does it matter that your pet gets defeated from the boulders in the volcanic fractal? You don’t need it there. You simply just let it be defeated, and then pet switch when you are clear of the builders.

Judas.5432:

Why is anyone arguing against this? It makes no sense. If you don’t want your pet to perma-stow, then don’t kitten’ stow it. What do you gain by nobody else being able to stow their pet during a jumping puzzle or when they are just running around the world?

I know this is the internet but stop arguing just to argue and think about why/if you really care to fight against people who just want to be able to put their pet away for 5 minutes without it popping back out again.

This isn’t about arguing against it, but realizing that it’s not going to happen, because it’s made the way it is by design. It is not a mistake. So instead of hating your pet, it makes a lot more sense if you take the time to learn how to manage it. But having your pet permanently stowed also brings a whole series of problems with it.. And personally, I’d rather have them focus on fixing the Rangers traits instead, or work on making the pet AI even better.

Judas.5432:

Why is anyone arguing against this? It makes no sense. If you don’t want your pet to perma-stow, then don’t kitten’ stow it. What do you gain by nobody else being able to stow their pet during a jumping puzzle or when they are just running around the world?

I know this is the internet but stop arguing just to argue and think about why/if you really care to fight against people who just want to be able to put their pet away for 5 minutes without it popping back out again.

They argue just to argue, I agree, this should be implimented, its not forcing people to stow but giving them the option. I really hope anet makes ranger fun and worth playing for archer lovers because I cant stand it atm. I really want to play it but Just have no real interest in the class anymore.

Kasama.8941:

So instead of hating your pet, it makes a lot more sense if you take the time to learn how to manage it.

I cannot describe how tiresome it is to hear this over and over and over again. I don’t understand how people are still not comprehending the point here.

Who cares if we get perma-stow? Who cares if we don’t? It’s at Anet’s discretion. We just want a solution.

The bottom line is, the problem isn’t the player’s ability to manage the pet, it’s the pet’s AI and aggro rules. You can be the best pet micromanager in the entire gaming universe and your pet will still screw something up because it’s inherently flawed.

Taruvoyant.4318:

Kasama.8941:

So instead of hating your pet, it makes a lot more sense if you take the time to learn how to manage it.

I cannot describe how tiresome it is to hear this over and over and over again. I don’t understand how people are still not comprehending the point here.

Who cares if we get perma-stow? Who cares if we don’t? It’s at Anet’s discretion. We just want a solution.

The bottom line is, the problem isn’t the player’s ability to manage the pet, it’s the pet’s AI and aggro rules. You can be the best pet micromanager in the entire gaming universe and your pet will still screw something up because it’s inherently flawed.

Agreed, and I manage my pet perfectly but it doesnt help the issues, pet is 40-50% of our damage, when it dies or is not hitting the target we are hitting it is a bane to us. It is gimping our damage, especially having to bring it back to keep it from dying or too switch it out which gives QZ for 2 secs but still pet has to run all the way back to target. People need the option, people who want pets can have them, and those who dont want them can have their way, problem solved.

skittlebob.4850:

Stow? You mean put the pet on peace mode right? That actually works sorta alright with the grawl, praying that the pet does not wander too far from you as you move through the boulders.

But it is so terrible with the unknown fractal. You have very little wiggling room for mistakes during the obstacle course, and if your pet happens to be near you when he gets hit, you both go down. It’s very frustrating. I wish you could really “stow” and make your pet disappear for that area.

No, I mean stow, we do have a stow button, and if you’re not awful at the puzzles you won’t get hit more than once, another option is telling your pet to “Guard” somewhere and then just swap pets (or stow+ recall) boom no issues, geez you people need to think a little more before screaming about how it’s broken and blah blah blah.

Durzlla.6295:

skittlebob.4850:

Stow? You mean put the pet on peace mode right? That actually works sorta alright with the grawl, praying that the pet does not wander too far from you as you move through the boulders.

But it is so terrible with the unknown fractal. You have very little wiggling room for mistakes during the obstacle course, and if your pet happens to be near you when he gets hit, you both go down. It’s very frustrating. I wish you could really “stow” and make your pet disappear for that area.

No, I mean stow, we do have a stow button, and if you’re not awful at the puzzles you won’t get hit more than once, another option is telling your pet to “Guard” somewhere and then just swap pets (or stow+ recall) boom no issues, geez you people need to think a little more before screaming about how it’s broken and blah blah blah.

or maybe they should just put an easy option in instead of having to jump through hoops to do anything. If your argument is it breaks the ideals anet set to have an easy stow option, which means if you do that stuff you describe, you are actually exploiting the game and should report them as glitches or else you should be banned.

Durzlla.6295:

skittlebob.4850:

Stow? You mean put the pet on peace mode right? That actually works sorta alright with the grawl, praying that the pet does not wander too far from you as you move through the boulders.

But it is so terrible with the unknown fractal. You have very little wiggling room for mistakes during the obstacle course, and if your pet happens to be near you when he gets hit, you both go down. It’s very frustrating. I wish you could really “stow” and make your pet disappear for that area.

No, I mean stow, we do have a stow button, and if you’re not awful at the puzzles you won’t get hit more than once, another option is telling your pet to “Guard” somewhere and then just swap pets (or stow+ recall) boom no issues, geez you people need to think a little more before screaming about how it’s broken and blah blah blah.

Again, it’s not the player’s ability in question here. It’s the development flaw in the pet. We shouldn’t have to waste spaces on our utility bar, waste a pet swap cooldown, or think of creative workarounds to play our profession as it was meant to be played. Does an elementalist have to break his staff in half, set one half down on the ground, walk where he wants to go, and then swap out to a new staff? God forbid the elementalist falls down 10’ and takes damage along the way. Then the other half of his staff runs back, aggros everything along the way, and pops every trap possible. That would make absolutely no sense. See what we’re talking about here? It’s an inherent development problem.

You’re making excuses for a development flaw that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Taruvoyant.4318:

Durzlla.6295:

skittlebob.4850:

Stow? You mean put the pet on peace mode right? That actually works sorta alright with the grawl, praying that the pet does not wander too far from you as you move through the boulders.

But it is so terrible with the unknown fractal. You have very little wiggling room for mistakes during the obstacle course, and if your pet happens to be near you when he gets hit, you both go down. It’s very frustrating. I wish you could really “stow” and make your pet disappear for that area.

No, I mean stow, we do have a stow button, and if you’re not awful at the puzzles you won’t get hit more than once, another option is telling your pet to “Guard” somewhere and then just swap pets (or stow+ recall) boom no issues, geez you people need to think a little more before screaming about how it’s broken and blah blah blah.

Again, it’s not the player’s ability in question here. It’s the development flaw in the pet. We shouldn’t have to waste spaces on our utility bar, waste a pet swap cooldown, or think of creative workarounds to play our profession as it was meant to be played. Does an elementalist have to break his staff in half, set one half down on the ground, walk where he wants to go, and then swap out to a new staff? God forbid the elementalist falls down 10’ and takes damage along the way. Then the other half of his staff runs back, aggros everything along the way, and pops every trap possible. That would make absolutely no sense. See what we’re talking about here? It’s an inherent development problem.

You’re making excuses for a development flaw that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Are you serious? You’re talking about the kittening boulders and lightning lines, you put your pet away/ put it somewhere for all 30s that’s needed to get up to the top then you just swap him back out, swap out the utility skill (if you don’t use guard) and keep going on! We have swapable utilities for a reason, and you think -you- can complain? Poor minion masters don’t even have a way to put their pets away, they have to sit at the bottom of the ramp and cry until 3 people can make it up to the top or have to get bonned utility skill wise and start the next fight at a disadvantage.

Durzlla.6295:

Taruvoyant.4318:

Durzlla.6295:

skittlebob.4850:

Stow? You mean put the pet on peace mode right? That actually works sorta alright with the grawl, praying that the pet does not wander too far from you as you move through the boulders.

But it is so terrible with the unknown fractal. You have very little wiggling room for mistakes during the obstacle course, and if your pet happens to be near you when he gets hit, you both go down. It’s very frustrating. I wish you could really “stow” and make your pet disappear for that area.

No, I mean stow, we do have a stow button, and if you’re not awful at the puzzles you won’t get hit more than once, another option is telling your pet to “Guard” somewhere and then just swap pets (or stow+ recall) boom no issues, geez you people need to think a little more before screaming about how it’s broken and blah blah blah.

Again, it’s not the player’s ability in question here. It’s the development flaw in the pet. We shouldn’t have to waste spaces on our utility bar, waste a pet swap cooldown, or think of creative workarounds to play our profession as it was meant to be played. Does an elementalist have to break his staff in half, set one half down on the ground, walk where he wants to go, and then swap out to a new staff? God forbid the elementalist falls down 10’ and takes damage along the way. Then the other half of his staff runs back, aggros everything along the way, and pops every trap possible. That would make absolutely no sense. See what we’re talking about here? It’s an inherent development problem.

You’re making excuses for a development flaw that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Are you serious? You’re talking about the kittening boulders and lightning lines, you put your pet away/ put it somewhere for all 30s that’s needed to get up to the top then you just swap him back out, swap out the utility skill (if you don’t use guard) and keep going on! We have swapable utilities for a reason, and you think -you- can complain? Poor minion masters don’t even have a way to put their pets away, they have to sit at the bottom of the ramp and cry until 3 people can make it up to the top or have to get bonned utility skill wise and start the next fight at a disadvantage.

We’re not pinpointing only isolated incidences here. Nor are we talking about necromancers (so no side tracking). We’re giving examples of ranger pet AI and aggro rules – and nothing else. Of course we can change utilities, of course we can put our pet away for 30 seconds, of course other professions have issues. Why is it so difficult to see the point we’re trying to make? Stop finding excuses and random defenses.

Durzlla.6295:

Taruvoyant.4318:

Durzlla.6295:

skittlebob.4850:

Stow? You mean put the pet on peace mode right? That actually works sorta alright with the grawl, praying that the pet does not wander too far from you as you move through the boulders.

But it is so terrible with the unknown fractal. You have very little wiggling room for mistakes during the obstacle course, and if your pet happens to be near you when he gets hit, you both go down. It’s very frustrating. I wish you could really “stow” and make your pet disappear for that area.

No, I mean stow, we do have a stow button, and if you’re not awful at the puzzles you won’t get hit more than once, another option is telling your pet to “Guard” somewhere and then just swap pets (or stow+ recall) boom no issues, geez you people need to think a little more before screaming about how it’s broken and blah blah blah.

Again, it’s not the player’s ability in question here. It’s the development flaw in the pet. We shouldn’t have to waste spaces on our utility bar, waste a pet swap cooldown, or think of creative workarounds to play our profession as it was meant to be played. Does an elementalist have to break his staff in half, set one half down on the ground, walk where he wants to go, and then swap out to a new staff? God forbid the elementalist falls down 10’ and takes damage along the way. Then the other half of his staff runs back, aggros everything along the way, and pops every trap possible. That would make absolutely no sense. See what we’re talking about here? It’s an inherent development problem.

You’re making excuses for a development flaw that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Are you serious? You’re talking about the kittening boulders and lightning lines, you put your pet away/ put it somewhere for all 30s that’s needed to get up to the top then you just swap him back out, swap out the utility skill (if you don’t use guard) and keep going on! We have swapable utilities for a reason, and you think -you- can complain? Poor minion masters don’t even have a way to put their pets away, they have to sit at the bottom of the ramp and cry until 3 people can make it up to the top or have to get bonned utility skill wise and start the next fight at a disadvantage.

Yea cause necros are in such a bad shape right? I mean they can bunker, they can do condis, they can go glass cannon mouth kitten and devastate multiple people, their minions hit hard as MM and while being easy to kill they are everywhere and so easy to summon. Idc about necros either, every class has their issue rangers have the worst of it. Atm I dont see the point in ranger when other ranged classes do it better, sure they can fire at about 1800 range cause arrows but thats about the only real perk. Making the stow option would be amazing, allowing us to maximize our full ranged potential in certain situations and not stress on pet damage.

Kasama.8941:

Judas.5432:

Why is anyone arguing against this? It makes no sense. If you don’t want your pet to perma-stow, then don’t kitten’ stow it. What do you gain by nobody else being able to stow their pet during a jumping puzzle or when they are just running around the world?

I know this is the internet but stop arguing just to argue and think about why/if you really care to fight against people who just want to be able to put their pet away for 5 minutes without it popping back out again.

This isn’t about arguing against it, but realizing that it’s not going to happen, because it’s made the way it is by design. It is not a mistake. So instead of hating your pet, it makes a lot more sense if you take the time to learn how to manage it. But having your pet permanently stowed also brings a whole series of problems with it.. And personally, I’d rather have them focus on fixing the Rangers traits instead, or work on making the pet AI even better.

Pray tell, what series of problems is that? You can un-stow a pet at any time. There is no cooldown for that, just one to re-stow it.

Saying that something kind of sucks but it is the way it is doesn’t fly with me. The code isn’t chiseled out of solid granite at Anet central. They can change anything they want to change in this game and they should really want to change this. If you haven’t experience the annoying side of pets, you either haven’t played ranger much or you never do any of the things I (and many others) do on a weekly basis.

Run down a hill when in combat mode, pet runs a different way and drags alternate path aggro right to you. Can we solve it? Sure, switching pets will fix the situation but we shouldn’t have to do that. Our pet should run down the hill with us.

And if we decide we want to run around without fighting, why shouldn’t we be able to tell our pet to sod off for a bit? I know we currently can’t and maybe ANet wants it that way but me and many other players are begging them to rethink that position.

All you are doing is telling us to stop asking for stuff (or stop asking for stuff that you don’t really care about one way or the other….unless you are telling me you’d shed tears on the day we could permanently stow our pets).

I agree that there are ways to work around the pet regarding traps and obstaces, and I understand that all classes which can create some sort of AI have the Jade Maw problem. I get it. My issue is with the philosophy of the ranger and pet, and how it doesn’t stack up too well in-game.

Sure, necro minions suffer the AI problem, and yes mesmers as well. (And several other classes). However, their choice of going the “way of the pets” is only one out of a few. Necromancers don’t have to rely on builds that require pets. Mesmers don’t have to rely on builds that require constant up time of their illusions/phantasms. But seeing as how Anet balances the ranger with the pet in mind, I wish there was more quality of life and ease when dealing with pets. That’s all I’m asking for. Pets are are a major mechanic of the ranger, just like death shroud and shatter for other professions. Our unique mechanic that requires an AI to be with us at all times should be more distinguished from the other AIs in this game.

That’s all I really want. For our pets to stand out more like a true intelligent companion of the ranger. I don’t even care for the stow option, that’s just one way of going about it.

Hopefully though, big changes are coming in the Jan/Feb/Mar patches. Hopefully sooner than later

Well if big changes arent coming Im probably going to give my account away so I hope anet can give me reason to stay.

Maybe if we bug anet long enough they will. I really hope so.

I can’t count the number of times my pet dragged along a couple of enemies inside dungeon boss rooms, attract mobs that wipe the entire team as well as mobs that hit my pet that automatically puts me in attack mode reducing my movement speed. It’s just really annoying, there are certainly times where I do not need the pet and I should be given the option not to.

Dante Dragonhand.2538:

Well I while I agree, I also know anet wanted this to be a pet class so I doubt they will ever do the smart thing. Perma stow iwth a damage % buff around the 40% mark. Problem solved….

How about whenever we perma-stow our pet, we get a damage buff that equates to around 50% that’s active for as long as the drooler-pets are stuffed into a closet while we hold the key? Then the whole ‘pets account for 50% of your damage’ logic can be reliable… by stowing them.

Taruvoyant.4318:

Kasama.8941:

So instead of hating your pet, it makes a lot more sense if you take the time to learn how to manage it.

I cannot describe how tiresome it is to hear this over and over and over again. I don’t understand how people are still not comprehending the point here.

Who cares if we get perma-stow? Who cares if we don’t? It’s at Anet’s discretion. We just want a solution.

The bottom line is, the problem isn’t the player’s ability to manage the pet, it’s the pet’s AI and aggro rules. You can be the best pet micromanager in the entire gaming universe and your pet will still screw something up because it’s inherently flawed.

I’m not trying to say that the pet AI is perfect the way it is now, just that permanent stow is a kittenty solution, that is only going to bring more problems with it then it solves. The best solution is to make the pet AI better, and that is going to take some time.

Knowing how to manage your pet means; knowing what to do when your pet “screws something up”. It’s not about preventing anything, but using what you got.

Kasama.8941:

Judas.5432:

This isn’t about arguing against it, but realizing that it’s not going to happen, because it’s made the way it is by design. It is not a mistake. So instead of hating your pet, it makes a lot more sense if you take the time to learn how to manage it. But having your pet permanently stowed also brings a whole series of problems with it.. And personally, I’d rather have them focus on fixing the Rangers traits instead, or work on making the pet AI even better.

Pray tell, what series of problems is that? You can un-stow a pet at any time. There is no cooldown for that, just one to re-stow it.

Saying that something kind of sucks but it is the way it is doesn’t fly with me. The code isn’t chiseled out of solid granite at Anet central. They can change anything they want to change in this game and they should really want to change this. If you haven’t experience the annoying side of pets, you either haven’t played ranger much or you never do any of the things I (and many others) do on a weekly basis.

Run down a hill when in combat mode, pet runs a different way and drags alternate path aggro right to you. Can we solve it? Sure, switching pets will fix the situation but we shouldn’t have to do that. Our pet should run down the hill with us.

And if we decide we want to run around without fighting, why shouldn’t we be able to tell our pet to sod off for a bit? I know we currently can’t and maybe ANet wants it that way but me and many other players are begging them to rethink that position.

All you are doing is telling us to stop asking for stuff (or stop asking for stuff that you don’t really care about one way or the other….unless you are telling me you’d shed tears on the day we could permanently stow our pets).

I wrote that in an earlier post: Why use the pet at all, if your character works fine without the pet? Why should I rely on pet AI, if I don’t have to? And if that’s the case, then why not just remove the pet from the game all together? Or how about; how you are going to get your pet out in combat, when your stow option becomes locked in combat mode? You won’t be able to use any of the skills or traits that affect your pet then. And if you allow the stow option to be used when in combat mode, then what about the advantages that comes from that? The recharge time on stowing was put there for a reason..

That quote is not something that was written months ago, it’s from December 14. As I wrote; I’m just telling you the way it is. This is what ArenaNet themselves wrote. This is what they want the Ranger to play like. So yes, like it or not, it is something that is written in stone. It is a design choice to “force” you to use the pet. Can they change their minds on it? Sure. Are they going to? Well, considering that quote was written less then a month ago; no, most likely not.

I have played the Ranger since the beat weekends.

The difference between you and me, is that I learn to manage the problems that arise, while you expect the problems to change for you. “We shouldn’t have to do that”. Yes, you should, because it’s the only real solution that you can use right now. Maybe the pet AI will be fixed at some point, so the pet will stay closer to you, but that’s not the way it works right now.

I’m not telling you to stop asking for stuff, I’m telling you to realize what has already been said, instead of hoping for a solution that is never going to come.

Bottom line is; permanent stow is not a good solution, because it brings a whole series of new problems with it, while solving something that should really be solved by working on the pet AI. You don’t solve a problem by creating a new one.

You’re arguing with yourself, Kasama. You realize that, don’t you? Or you’re backtracking because you’ve decided what you have said isn’t exactly true. I have neither the time nor energy to point out all your conflicted statements. Let alone your laughable take on management.

In any event, you’re making excuse, after excuse, after excuse. Ultimately though, you’re settling on our exact point – the inherently flawed pet AI and aggro rules. As I said before (and you quoted), who cares if we get perma-stow? Our point is we want a solution to the problem. You freely admit you want one too, so stop being so stubborn for the sake of stubborn. If you don’t want to support this idea, come up with your own, or go away.

In the end, if Anet does decide to chisel away at their stone and offer a version of perma-stow, their solution isn’t going to affect you in any way because you won’t want to use the option they’ve given you. And then you’ve just argued your way into a moot point.