Needed Buffs/Tweaks 2016

Needed Buffs/Tweaks 2016

in Ranger

Posted by: Wondrouswall.7169

Wondrouswall.7169

- Great Sword auto attack chain damage buffed by 20%

I suggest an alternative to this. Just like how the Reaper has slower GS attacks, since Ranger is viewed as a more agile fighter, increasing the attack speed of the auto attacks would fit more thematically.

It would increase the auto attack damage a different way, making the chain go from: ½s ½s ¾s to ¼s ¼s ½s. Naturally, the 1s evade from 1c would have to be reduced to ¾s, but the trade-off is accessing it faster due to shorter cast times in the chain.

Two-Handed Training could also use bump to the damage modifier from 5% to 10%

PET PRECISION & DPS TESTS -OUTDATED-
Will update once Path of Fire releases.

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Posted by: StickerHappy.8052

StickerHappy.8052

Let us not forget (oh how could we… xD) that we need our damage brought up to par.

With that in mind I would suggest:

- Great Sword auto attack chain damage buffed by 20% ( it is so bad its funny)

- Sword auto attack chain damage buffed by 15%, all parts of the combo now splash to 3 targets

- Serpent strike damage increased significantly (at least 100%) and poison stacks increased from 2 to 4

- Hornets sting cast time decreased to 1/4 or removed

- Axe auto attack damage buffed to be able to bounce off friendlies. The idea is that if a pet is on the target the attack will hit the foe, bounce to a pet and then back to the foe, effectively hitting him two times. The Friendly bounce would do no damage but count towards the might stacks.

- Shortbow auto attack bleed requirement removed. Confusion added to no5, immob added to number 4

These are my SB changes, check it out:

Hope you like it.

My idea was to really make SB a perfect hybrid weapon, both damage and condition damage + that amazing utility.

Also, I wanted to make SB and retain is skillful parts so I decided to keep the flanking mechanic. I do not want SB to become like Engineer Pistol with conditions galore on it just by spamming the buttons. SB rewards you with proper positioning so there’s that.

UPDATE

  • Here I’ll revisit the shortbow again. The recent buffs to it were great and all but it still does not make SB a competitive weapon. I love the utility that we have on this weapon and love the flanking mechanic as well so my changes will revolve around flanking and proper positioning.

Crossfire

  • Fire an arrow the bleeds your target. Deal 50% more damage if you hit them from behind or from the side.
  • Damage Damage: 196 (0.55)?
    Damage: 50% when flanking
    Bleeding (3s): 66 Damage
    Range: 900
    Combo Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile (20% chance)

Reasoning: There is so much cleanses in the game, putting Bleed on AA will just put it on par with Engie pistol. Since this is a hybrid weapon, dealing 50% damage on flank will still do its purpose rewarding proper positioning.

Poison Volley

  • Fire a spread of five poison arrows. Create a poison field.
  • Damage Damage (5x): 170 (0.5)?
    Pulses: 4
    Field Duration: 4s
    Radius: 240
    Combo Combo Field: Poison
    Range: 900
    Unblockable
    Poison (4s): 670 Damage, -33% Healing Effectiveness
    Targets per Arrow: 5
    Pierces
    Range: 900

    Reasoning: This is already a very good skill, since it pierces by default. just added a poison field so that we can also participate in downed cleaving (Traps are not very reliable since you need a target to actually proc them meaning you have to have someone ressing the target).

Quick Shot

  • Fire a quick shot in an evasive retreat. Gain swiftness. This can be used while retreating. Gain quickness when flanking
  • Damage Damage: 118 (0.4)?
    Swiftness (3s): 33% Movement Speed
    Quickness (2s): Skills and actions are 50% faster.
    Evade Evade: ½s
    Combo Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile
    Range: 900

Reasoning: I feel this skill should give you quickness regardless as this is a very good disengage skill, added quickness for a successful flank so you can use a heal or disengage right away.

Crippling Shot

  • Fire an arrow that cripples your target. Your pet’s next three attacks inflict bleeding. Immobilize when flanking. Your pet gains superspeed when flanking
  • Damage Damage: 118 (0.4)?
    Crippled (3s): -50% Movement Speed
    Superspeed (2s): 100% Movement Speed
    Bleeding (6s): 132 Damage
    Immobilize (2s): Unable to move.
    Combo Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile
    Range: 900

Reasoning: Granting the pet superspeed will make the most out of the cripple so you get the bleeds more reliably. Most people said torment is good on this but I heavily disagree, you are putting too much damaging conditions on a High Rate of Fire weapon. I also feel torment is counterproductive with cripple. Immobilize on the other hand, makes SB a better kiting weapon, and good for chasing down people. Immob + Superspeed on flank will get chasers for sure.

Concussion Shot

  • Daze and Confuse your foe with an arrow. Stun them and Deal additional Confusion if you hit from behind or from the side.
  • Damage Damage: 118 (0.4)?
    Confusion 3 stacks (4s): 50 Damage On Skill Use, 50 Damage
    Confusion 5 stacks (4s): 50 Damage On Skill Use, 50 Damage
    Daze: 2s
    Stun: 2s
    Combo Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile
    Range: 900

Reasoning: Confusion just fits the name perfectly, also we get that needed condition variety for rangers.

FINAL THOUGHTS: With these changes, I am pretty sure shortbow will be more appealing. It will become a true hybrid weapon. I matched the Damage and Damage Coefficient of the AA with the Thieve’s trick shot so Crossfire is getting a little buff.

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(edited by StickerHappy.8052)

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

- Great Sword auto attack chain damage buffed by 20%

I suggest an alternative to this. Just like how the Reaper has slower GS attacks, since Ranger is viewed as a more agile fighter, increasing the attack speed of the auto attacks would fit more thematically.

It would increase the auto attack damage a different way, making the chain go from: ½s ½s ¾s to ¼s ¼s ½s. Naturally, the 1s evade from 1c would have to be reduced to ¾s, but the trade-off is accessing it faster due to shorter cast times in the chain.

Two-Handed Training could also use bump to the damage modifier from 5% to 10%

Even if you reduced the casting time, you would have to buff greatsword to such a degree where the animations would be so quick, it’d look bad. Now apply perma quickness on raids, I don’t think that will work.

And reaper greatsword is not an example you want to use.

It’s an atrocious weapon, slower than the others while all of the abilities despite being significantly slower also doing significantly less DPS than thief or tempest autoattacks.

2-handed training trait is also horrendous. 3 fury on a 10 sec icd is just pathetic, there should be no ICD. Warrior greatsword trait gives them the modifier AND like 12-13 might off 100b, which is far more powerful than fury.

Rangers need more practical ways of might stacking that don’t involve wasting your heal just to copy boons.

I’d rather the trait increase GS damage by 10% and crit damage by 10% on top of its cd reduction.

Greatsword should be our big damage weapon since mainhand sword has utility in the offhands, be they pulls or reflects or extra evades or aoe might/swiftness/fury.

The final chain of greatsword autoattack should also apply a 3 second cripple, and so should swoop (or swoop could root the target for 1 second if you hit them).

Maul needs a damage increase around 40% (it would still hit for way less than a Vault from thief or ele overload).

Hilt Bash needs to not root you and always be a stun. I don’t get why they’re obsessed on psotionals with the ranger, when those should be on thief who has way better mobility.

(edited by Zenith.7301)

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Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

Even if you reduced the casting time, you would have to buff greatsword to such a degree where the animations would be so quick, it’d look bad. Now apply perma quickness on raids, I don’t think that will work.

Because we all cared about the animation when they reduced Rapid Fire’s cast time from 5 seconds to 2,5.
And we all mentioned it at least once in the forums. [/s]

No, this argument is not valid. No one cares about speed of the attack animation. If all GS skills got reduced cast time – it would be a great improvement. #5 would improve QoL by 10 million, #4 counter would be a massive QoL, #3 and #2 are kinda unimportant and #1 would be a much loved DPS increase.

I see no reason why reduced attack animations would be a problem.

“Observe, learn and counter.”

(edited by Tragic Positive.9356)

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

About traps. I want them more potent in damage. I want that more than I want secondary effects to them.

In pvp, if I step on a DH booby trapped point, I may get more or less ‘one-shotted’. Ranger traps are mostly only dangerous to zerker thieves.

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

- Hornets sting cast time decreased to 1/4 or removed

Hornet sting should evade from the moment you press the button ‘til the animation is finished. I don’t care about the damage, remove that from Hornet sting and add it to Monarch’s leap instead. Sword #2 fixed once and for all.

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Posted by: StickerHappy.8052

StickerHappy.8052

About traps. I want them more potent in damage. I want that more than I want secondary effects to them.

In pvp, if I step on a DH booby trapped point, I may get more or less ‘one-shotted’. Ranger traps are mostly only dangerous to zerker thieves.

The thing it though, DH and Ranger traps have different uses. Yes DH trap are the “one shot boom ultra mega smexy damage” but the ranger traps offer more CC with the changes, especially with the addition of non damaging conditions.

I do not know about you but I would like to keep it that way, I do not want our traps to be a clone of DH traps.

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

Even if you reduced the casting time, you would have to buff greatsword to such a degree where the animations would be so quick, it’d look bad. Now apply perma quickness on raids, I don’t think that will work.

Because we all cared about the animation when they reduced Rapid Fire’s cast time from 5 seconds to 2,5.
And we all mentioned it at least once in the forums. [/s]

No, this argument is not valid. No one cares about speed of the attack animation. If all GS skills got reduced cast time – it would be a great improvement. #5 would improve QoL by 10 million, #4 counter would be a massive QoL, #3 and #2 are kinda unimportant and #1 would be a much loved DPS increase.

I see no reason why reduced attack animations would be a problem.

Because it’s a dumb way of buffing numbers that’s all around inferior. You proc confusion more. You proc retaliation more.

All for a roundabout way of buffing a weapon that only need % damage increases.

Your animation speed increase instead of % damage increase is a numbers buff with far more downsides.

And, yes, I care about character animations. Maybe you don’t, but plenty of people do.

I don’t want to imagine 1/4-1/5 sec cast attacks with quickness up, it’s just dumb.

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

Even if you reduced the casting time, you would have to buff greatsword to such a degree where the animations would be so quick, it’d look bad. Now apply perma quickness on raids, I don’t think that will work.

Because we all cared about the animation when they reduced Rapid Fire’s cast time from 5 seconds to 2,5.
And we all mentioned it at least once in the forums. [/s]

No, this argument is not valid. No one cares about speed of the attack animation. If all GS skills got reduced cast time – it would be a great improvement. #5 would improve QoL by 10 million, #4 counter would be a massive QoL, #3 and #2 are kinda unimportant and #1 would be a much loved DPS increase.

I see no reason why reduced attack animations would be a problem.

Because it’s a dumb way of buffing numbers that’s all around inferior. You proc confusion more. You proc retaliation more.

All for a roundabout way of buffing a weapon that only need % damage increases.

Your animation speed increase instead of % damage increase is a numbers buff with far more downsides.

And, yes, I care about character animations. Maybe you don’t, but plenty of people do.

I don’t want to imagine 1/4-1/5 sec cast attacks with quickness up, it’s just dumb.

I agree with this. Increase damage, not attack speed. And from a dev pov, which one is easier?
Two handed sword needs more damage on autoattack chain pure and simple.

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

I do not know about you but I would like to keep it that way, I do not want our traps to be a clone of DH traps.

Agree, I don’t want clones of DH traps. But we were the original trap using class (together with thieves). In steps this new kid with OUR tools that perform way better than ours.

I don’t care if it’s called an elite spec, that should not matter. Ranger traps needs more damage. If not, the extras they ought to bring should really be worth it. If I set up three traps on point, and someone steps on them, they should punish that guy severely. Heck, I just blew all three of my utlities – make’em count.

Another option of course is to reduce cd, especially on Spike trap. The launch effect is not so powerful to make this trap needing a 45 seconds cd (untraited).

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Posted by: StickerHappy.8052

StickerHappy.8052

I do not know about you but I would like to keep it that way, I do not want our traps to be a clone of DH traps.

Agree, I don’t want clones of DH traps. But we were the original trap using class (together with thieves). In steps this new kid with OUR tools that perform way better than ours.

I don’t care if it’s called an elite spec, that should not matter. Ranger traps needs more damage. If not, the extras they ought to bring should really be worth it. If I set up three traps on point, and someone steps on them, they should punish that guy severely. Heck, I just blew all three of my utlities – make’em count.

Another option of course is to reduce cd, especially on Spike trap. The launch effect is not so powerful to make this trap needing a 45 seconds cd (untraited).

Doesnt pulse either. A random clone or AI can waste that 45 second CD.

I suggested that make our traps ground targeted again baseline. Only for us. So atleast we have that uniqueness.

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Posted by: Wondrouswall.7169

Wondrouswall.7169

Because it’s a dumb way of buffing numbers that’s all around inferior. You proc confusion more. You proc retaliation more.

All for a roundabout way of buffing a weapon that only need % damage increases.

Your animation speed increase instead of % damage increase is a numbers buff with far more downsides.

And, yes, I care about character animations. Maybe you don’t, but plenty of people do.

I don’t want to imagine 1/4-1/5 sec cast attacks with quickness up, it’s just dumb.

You have confusion, don’t attack. You see retaliation, don’t attack. At this late in the game, those are not issues.

It’s also a decent way of buffing numbers. Even if cast speeds aren’t reduced, after-casts and contact points reductions as found on the sword and dagger tweaks on Thief weapons (or Ranger axe) helps tremendously.

GS could use a bit of both: a reduction in those times and increase of damage. Having both would be great, but in GS case, after-cast and contact times could use some tightening up. Hilt Bash & the actual Counterattack (the kick portion) could use a faster cast time.

Another option of course is to reduce cd, especially on Spike trap. The launch effect is not so powerful to make this trap needing a 45 seconds cd (untraited).

Doesnt pulse either. A random clone or AI can waste that 45 second CD.

I think that’s one of the good things about Spike Trap not pulsing: all the effects are front-loaded on its trigger, especially due to a lack of a combo field.

It could have been worse, launching an opponent on trigger and then lingering around for 3s, only inflicting 2 stacks of bleed per pulse with no combo field like Thief Caltrops. If anything, I want the 45-second cooldown justified and not lowered.

Harder hitting direct damage, a bit longer bleeding duration, and some immobilization thrown in the mix to act as a secondary snare against foes that already have stability. Would be excellent then.

PET PRECISION & DPS TESTS -OUTDATED-
Will update once Path of Fire releases.

(edited by Wondrouswall.7169)

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

I suggested that make our traps ground targeted again baseline. Only for us. So atleast we have that uniqueness.

I dont actually like ground targeting when it comes to traps, so if anything, it should be an option (not a trait, but an option under settings).

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

Because it’s a dumb way of buffing numbers that’s all around inferior. You proc confusion more. You proc retaliation more.

All for a roundabout way of buffing a weapon that only need % damage increases.

Your animation speed increase instead of % damage increase is a numbers buff with far more downsides.

And, yes, I care about character animations. Maybe you don’t, but plenty of people do.

I don’t want to imagine 1/4-1/5 sec cast attacks with quickness up, it’s just dumb.

You have confusion, don’t attack. You see retaliation, don’t attack. At this late in the game, those are not issues.

It’s also a decent way of buffing numbers. Even if cast speeds aren’t reduced, after-casts and contact points reductions as found on the sword and dagger tweaks on Thief weapons (or Ranger axe) helps tremendously.

GS could use a bit of both: a reduction in those times and increase of damage. Having both would be great, but in GS case, after-cast and contact times could use some tightening up. Hilt Bash & the actual Counterattack (the kick portion) could use a faster cast time.

Another option of course is to reduce cd, especially on Spike trap. The launch effect is not so powerful to make this trap needing a 45 seconds cd (untraited).

Doesnt pulse either. A random clone or AI can waste that 45 second CD.

I think that’s one of the good things about Spike Trap not pulsing: all the effects are front-loaded on its trigger, especially due to a lack of a combo field.

It could have been worse, launching an opponent on trigger and then lingering around for 3s, only inflicting 2 stacks of bleed per pulse with no combo field like Thief Caltrops. If anything, I want the 45-second cooldown justified and not lowered.

Harder hitting direct damage, a bit longer bleeding duration, and some immobilization thrown in the mix to act as a secondary snare against foes that already have stability. Would be excellent then.

Yeah, it’s not like in WvW people have perma retaliation against any decent frontline composed of 7-10 guardians.

Don’t attack, guys, just let them roll over you while you do 0 DPS. Great idea.

Don’t attack during confusion. Duh? Point is, the attack speed suggestion adds a special penalty to the ranger against retaliation and confusion that other classes don’t have.

Buff the numbers, and the aftercasts are not an issue.

It’s the same problem with necromancer greatsword attacks. The aftercasts would not be an issue if when you DO connect, the reward is proportionate to the time investment. Which it isn’t.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the cast times.

In closed beta, greatsword rangers were amazing melee. Because their numbers were good. Just like necromancers.

Then, both rangers and necromancers got annihilated with numbers nerfs and haven’t recovered ever since.

It’s like a worse form of revenant. Revenants started great numbers wise, and a train of nerfs has been eroding the class into near irrelevance in PvE as a result.

(edited by Zenith.7301)

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Posted by: StickerHappy.8052

StickerHappy.8052

I suggested that make our traps ground targeted again baseline. Only for us. So atleast we have that uniqueness.

I dont actually like ground targeting when it comes to traps, so if anything, it should be an option (not a trait, but an option under settings).

What would you changes do you propose tho?

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Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

And, yes, I care about character animations. Maybe you don’t, but plenty of people do.

I don’t want to imagine 1/4-1/5 sec cast attacks with quickness up, it’s just dumb.

All of our animations… Actually all animations, not just ours – under quickness look unrealistic and dumb already. I still don’t see your point.

Let me guess…
… We never had problems with Maul being the most obvious burst-attack ranger had? And haven’t we ever had problems to hit it since it was so slow that every enemy just dodged it one-handed?

Attack Speed is one of the main issues in the game. While every single class has everything instant and bursty, we have delay on every bloody ability in this game (not to mention that our only burst ability hits for less than auto-attack of other classes), forcing us into twice the effort for still less reward.

Less reaction time is a drastic QoL improvement. I can’t blame you for having priorities in cosmetics over game-play, but I and a lot of others would rather play an entertaining game than a game that looks nice.
Having both is a luxury that I don’t remember having in this game.

P.S. I’m not saying other ideas are bad. I’m just saying reducing attack animations is a solution that solves a lot.

“Observe, learn and counter.”

(edited by Tragic Positive.9356)

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

And, yes, I care about character animations. Maybe you don’t, but plenty of people do.

I don’t want to imagine 1/4-1/5 sec cast attacks with quickness up, it’s just dumb.

All of our animations… Actually all animations, not just ours – under quickness look unrealistic and dumb already. I still don’t see your point.

Let me guess…
… We never had problems with Maul being the most obvious burst-attack ranger had? And haven’t we ever had problems to hit it since it was so slow that every enemy just dodged it one-handed?

Attack Speed is one of the main issues in the game. While every single class has everything instant and bursty, we have delay on every bloody ability in this game (not to mention that our only burst ability hits for less than auto-attack of other classes), forcing us into twice the effort for still less reward.

Less reaction time is a drastic QoL improvement. I can’t blame you for having priorities in cosmetics over game-play, but I and a lot of others would rather play an entertaining game than a game that looks nice.
Having both is a luxury that I don’t remember having in this game.

P.S. I’m not saying other ideas are bad. I’m just saying reducing attack animations is a solution that solves a lot.

The problem is not with the animations. It’s the toolkit.

Warrior skills cast slower and have even more tells than ours. So do elementalists. Look at how obvious Burning Speed and Fire grab are, or Dragon’s Tooth.

The problem is:

1- They actually have the built in CC to land their skills. Our CC has huge cd’s compared to theirs, and I don’t understand why Hilt Bash isn’t a guaranteed stun like their shield charge. Warriors have plenty of access to roots, knockdowns, and stuns.

2- When their skills land, they actually hurt. Maul hits like a wet noodle EVEN if it lands. Their greatsword whirlwind hurts a lot besides 100b. So does Arcing Slice and Rush.

Virtually all our weapon skills outside Whirling Defense and Rapid Fire hit for nothing.

3- Warriors have the tools to wait out opponents’ cd’s to land their cc and burst. They have endure pain, another endure pain proc passively at low health, shield stance which is just a better form of Counterattack, a signet that passively heals for a metric ton, and their condi removal/immunity is miles better with zerker stance and cleansing ire.

Rangers have…..Signet of Stone, on a 20 sec longer cd than Endure pain, no stability on activation, and no passive trait proc at lower health. Our condi clear sucks.

4- Our sustained pressure sucks. Because our autoattacks suck and deal small numbers of damage, we can’t burst like a warrior autoing you with greatsword or thief or revenant. If a target survives our “burst”, they heal back up to full and we have no pressure to keep them from recovering.

5- We have no aoe worth a kitten . Warrior, ele have it in spades, allowing them to deal better with the likes of mesmers and necromancers, and being far more useful in group settings.

6- Warriors and eles can self buff without gimmicks like wasting your heal with Heal as One just to gain boons. 12 might stacks is super easy at the minimum to get with a warrior or ele without building gimmick builds that are kitten in other ways.

7- Melee pets outside drakes don’t cleave, unlike all other classes whose entirety of their melee attacks cleave. This makes our already bad AoE even worse.


If the pets could actually hit targets, and we had control over dog knockdowns and F2 skills were instant or 1/4 sec casts at most and usable while moving, we’d have a lot less trouble controlling opponents to hit them with our skills (who still need numbers buffs, especially greatsword).

It’s also a matter of all our pet skills and F2 skills having humongous cooldowns relative to what other classes have.

Snow leopard has a ridiculous 30 sec cd for a leap with a miserable 2 sec chill. All cat leaps should share the same 10 sec cd tiger does, and buff leopard chill to 3 seconds and make it also weaken the target.

(edited by Zenith.7301)

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Posted by: Tragic Positive.9356

Tragic Positive.9356

@ Zenith
Yes.
To all of it. Hands down, this all combined is an illogical nightmare.

“Observe, learn and counter.”

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Posted by: StickerHappy.8052

StickerHappy.8052

And, yes, I care about character animations. Maybe you don’t, but plenty of people do.

I don’t want to imagine 1/4-1/5 sec cast attacks with quickness up, it’s just dumb.

All of our animations… Actually all animations, not just ours – under quickness look unrealistic and dumb already. I still don’t see your point.

Let me guess…
… We never had problems with Maul being the most obvious burst-attack ranger had? And haven’t we ever had problems to hit it since it was so slow that every enemy just dodged it one-handed?

Attack Speed is one of the main issues in the game. While every single class has everything instant and bursty, we have delay on every bloody ability in this game (not to mention that our only burst ability hits for less than auto-attack of other classes), forcing us into twice the effort for still less reward.

Less reaction time is a drastic QoL improvement. I can’t blame you for having priorities in cosmetics over game-play, but I and a lot of others would rather play an entertaining game than a game that looks nice.
Having both is a luxury that I don’t remember having in this game.

P.S. I’m not saying other ideas are bad. I’m just saying reducing attack animations is a solution that solves a lot.

The problem is not with the animations. It’s the toolkit.

Warrior skills cast slower and have even more tells than ours. So do elementalists. Look at how obvious Burning Speed and Fire grab are, or Dragon’s Tooth.

The problem is:

1- They actually have the built in CC to land their skills. Our CC has huge cd’s compared to theirs, and I don’t understand why Hilt Bash isn’t a guaranteed stun like their shield charge. Warriors have plenty of access to roots, knockdowns, and stuns.

2- When their skills land, they actually hurt. Maul hits like a wet noodle EVEN if it lands. Their greatsword whirlwind hurts a lot besides 100b. So does Arcing Slice and Rush.

Virtually all our weapon skills outside Whirling Defense and Rapid Fire hit for nothing.

3- Warriors have the tools to wait out opponents’ cd’s to land their cc and burst. They have endure pain, another endure pain proc passively at low health, shield stance which is just a better form of Counterattack, a signet that passively heals for a metric ton, and their condi removal/immunity is miles better with zerker stance and cleansing ire.

Rangers have…..Signet of Stone, on a 20 sec longer cd than Endure pain, no stability on activation, and no passive trait proc at lower health. Our condi clear sucks.

4- Our sustained pressure sucks. Because our autoattacks suck and deal small numbers of damage, we can’t burst like a warrior autoing you with greatsword or thief or revenant. If a target survives our “burst”, they heal back up to full and we have no pressure to keep them from recovering.

5- We have no aoe worth a kitten . Warrior, ele have it in spades, allowing them to deal better with the likes of mesmers and necromancers, and being far more useful in group settings.

6- Warriors and eles can self buff without gimmicks like wasting your heal with Heal as One just to gain boons. 12 might stacks is super easy at the minimum to get with a warrior or ele without building gimmick builds that are kitten in other ways.

7- Melee pets outside drakes don’t cleave, unlike all other classes whose entirety of their melee attacks cleave. This makes our already bad AoE even worse.


If the pets could actually hit targets, and we had control over dog knockdowns and F2 skills were instant or 1/4 sec casts at most and usable while moving, we’d have a lot less trouble controlling opponents to hit them with our skills (who still need numbers buffs, especially greatsword).

It’s also a matter of all our pet skills and F2 skills having humongous cooldowns relative to what other classes have.

Snow leopard has a ridiculous 30 sec cd for a leap with a miserable 2 sec chill. All cat leaps should share the same 10 sec cd tiger does, and buff leopard chill to 3 seconds and make it also weaken the target.

1.) Its not that they have a lot of CC (we have a lot more, Cripples, Immobs, etc), the classes you said also have superior condition removal making our CCs null. Another important one is those classes (the meta builds esp) all have -% CCs (mesmer GM minor, dogged march, Geomancer’s freedom) rendering our CCs non existent.

2.) This I agree, Maul is super telegraphed, when you see it coming you can interrupt, blind, (mesmers and thieves can do this instantly) dodge, invuln. Anddd. It doesn’t hurt a lot. Vs GS Burst skill? Lol. Burst skill happens instantly and wider AoE, and higher damage.

3.) This just a warrior issue, Ive dueled countless times and I tell you warriors are a pain now. Too much passive crap.

4.) Conditions are still good. We need buffs to weapon sets like SB and axe if you want sustained damage. I hope we get them soon. SB IMO is the worse weapon in the game at its current state right now. Warhorn and Axe a close second, all belonging to rangers.

5.) AoE, We do, But they are traps so yea…

6.) Technically we can do this too without gimmicks, Zephyr’s speed, Blast a fire field (torch, flame trap) with quickdraw, + WH 5 but again to your defense, too much investment, MDG did not vouch us out of this too.

7.) This one I agree too, we have very limited cleave access so maybe pet revamps or new pets could help with these. To be fair tho, mesmers also do not have cleave access that much yet they do fine.

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Posted by: Wondrouswall.7169

Wondrouswall.7169

7.) This one I agree too, we have very limited cleave access so maybe pet revamps or new pets could help with these.

Do we really want new pets as an option to these issues though? With the time and effort they spent nerfing both the Smokescale and Bristleback 3 times, they could have touched on core pets and at least gave them some QoL such as cleaving auto attacks and/or lower cooldowns on F2 skills.

Not downing what you stated on that point, as I do hope there are some pet revamps done in the future. It just urks me knowing we might sooner receive a new pet in the next expansion that will address maybe 1 issue rather than all pets being improved.

PET PRECISION & DPS TESTS -OUTDATED-
Will update once Path of Fire releases.

(edited by Wondrouswall.7169)

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Posted by: StickerHappy.8052

StickerHappy.8052

7.) This one I agree too, we have very limited cleave access so maybe pet revamps or new pets could help with these.

Do we really want new pets as an option to these issues though? With the time and effort they spent nerfing both the Smokescale and Bristleback 3 times, they could have touched on core pets and at least gave them some QoL such as cleaving auto attacks and/or lower cooldowns on F2 skills.

Not downing what you stated on that point, as I do hope there are some pet revamps done in the future. It just urks me knowing we might sooner receive a new pet in the next expansion that will address maybe 1 issue rather than all pets being improved.

I totally agree with what you are saying. But let’s face it, I have no idea why Anet does not want to buff core pets (might be a time schedule/ too much work issue OR what I fear the most is this is an upper division problem that prevents devs from doing anything)

If you ask me, I would change a lot of the core pets’ f2s and make them more utility than damage AS LONG as they fix the hitboxes on the pets. One can only dream though.

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Posted by: Durzlla.6295

Durzlla.6295

The number one thing i’d say is needed is a complete balance pass on all of our pets, every pet family should have a role/niche and they should be balanced around said niche. It’s obvious that’s the intent, but a lot of them are so horribly dated that they desperately need love, EX: Moas are clearly meant for support, but only have an F2 and a heal that really fill that role (sadly). And Pigs are meant to be tanky, but i mean that’s all they’ve got since their awesome stun doesn’t hit enough, and their bleed attack might as well just be their auto.

They sing dark, delicious notes about power and family.
As their mother, I have to grant them their wish. – Forever Fyonna

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

7.) This one I agree too, we have very limited cleave access so maybe pet revamps or new pets could help with these.

Do we really want new pets as an option to these issues though? With the time and effort they spent nerfing both the Smokescale and Bristleback 3 times, they could have touched on core pets and at least gave them some QoL such as cleaving auto attacks and/or lower cooldowns on F2 skills.

Not downing what you stated on that point, as I do hope there are some pet revamps done in the future. It just urks me knowing we might sooner receive a new pet in the next expansion that will address maybe 1 issue rather than all pets being improved.

I totally agree with what you are saying. But let’s face it, I have no idea why Anet does not want to buff core pets (might be a time schedule/ too much work issue OR what I fear the most is this is an upper division problem that prevents devs from doing anything)

If you ask me, I would change a lot of the core pets’ f2s and make them more utility than damage AS LONG as they fix the hitboxes on the pets. One can only dream though.

Anet doesn’t buff core pets because the guy behind core ranger was Robert Hrouda (who was also dungeon lead), and when they let him go somebody else came in (Roy, revenant dev), and then after roy they swapped us Irenio aka healbot dev.

So they basically always abandon the project of a predecessor for their own new one, and old crap remains crap.

Welcome to Anet, where you get a new dev/dev team wanting to each do their own thing and there’s no continuity in their schizophrenic design approach to class balancing.

Now they don’t even bother to send devs into these forums unless it’s an expansion about to be released and sold.

Instead we get the PvP community rep guy. Who obviously won’t do much of a good job covering PvE concerns with the class.

(edited by Zenith.7301)

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Posted by: Chokolata.1870

Chokolata.1870

The Druid is a great specialization that fulfills a certain niche the game was sorely lacking. And , for the most part, the Druid is very much viable and/or meta in most areas of the game.

Having said that, we do need a proper competitive DPS and condition build. Preferably one that is not necessarily tied to the Druid.

As far as DPS goes, and I mean POWER DPS, the core of the issue lies with our melee power weapons lacking damage, both base values and scaling, and some of our trait lines being kind of meh.
For Example, Marksman line offers a lot of damage modifiers, but the three minor traits are pretty much worthless without Remorseless.

As far as Conditions go, the Skirmishing line is something that should be necessary for a proper build, but it is also the reason why Ranger condition builds are sub par. Trappers expertise conflicts with sharpened edges. Spotter conflicts Hidden Barbs. Also, Shortbow is still kind of bad.

So, in order to push the DPS part of the ranger, I would suggest thus (some of the ideas are actually from earlier posts in the topic from other people):

Marksman:
- Opening and Alpha strike merged into adept minor
- Remorseless made into a grand master minor
- new Grand master major: something centered around defense/sustain
- Predators instinct (Adept Major) changed to cripple and 5 stacks of vulnerability for 3 seconds every 5 seconds when scoring a critical hit.

Skirmishing:
- tailwind and furious grip merged into one minor trait
- sharpened edges new minor trait
- hidden barbs merged into hunters tactics as a minor trait – 33% more bleeding damage, 10% extra critical chance vs bleeding foes
- New adept minor : Carnivorous appetite – You and your pet steal health when using basic attacks.
- New master trait – cast a spike trap when dazed/stunned/feared/etc (look at DH trait and trap changes below)

Traps:
- Trait now gives HS 1 second of vigor pulses
- Spike trap is now a stun breaker. CD reduced from 45 to 35 seconds
- Frost trap pulses slow as well as providing 3 seconds of resistance to party on activation. CD reduced from 30 to 25 seconds
- Flame trap pulses 3 seconds of blind on top of bleeding
- Vipers nest pulses 3 seconds of weakness and 3 stacks vulnerability

Shortbow:
- auto attack base damage increased
- auto attack flanking for bleeding req removed
- Poison volley stacks 2 poison per arrow up from 1
- Evasive shot clears 2 conditions
- Crippling shot inflicts 1.5s of immob if flanking
- Concussive shot inflicts 2 confusion, 4 if flanking

Wilderness survival:
- Poison master and the other poison trait merged into one
- new Master major trait: TBD

Nature magic:
- Vigorous training provides 2 stacks of might on top of vigor when pet swapping to the party
- Evasive purity ICD removed or reduced to 3-5s (its a very niche condition clear. Really do not think it needs a 10s ICD)

Warhorn:
- Hunters call damage increased considerably. 100-200% It is just so bad. Alternativelly allow it to transfer 2-3 conditions to target.

Beastmastery:
- Honed axes – If using axe in main hand condition damage is increased by 150, If using axe in off hand, ferocity is increased by 250. AoE winters bite is now baseline

Axes:
- auto attack base damage increased. Scaling coefficient increased. Damage redistributed to the first hit being the strongest and dropping off per target

Sword:
- auto attack damage and scaling increased
- Hornets sting either removed cast time or evasive frames starting right away

Great sword:
- auto attack damage increased

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Posted by: Ardenwolfe.8590

Ardenwolfe.8590

I just want staff to work underwater.

Gone to Reddit.

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

The Druid is a great specialization that fulfills a certain niche the game was sorely lacking. And , for the most part, the Druid is very much viable and/or meta in most areas of the game.

Having said that, we do need a proper competitive DPS and condition build. Preferably one that is not necessarily tied to the Druid.

As far as DPS goes, and I mean POWER DPS, the core of the issue lies with our melee power weapons lacking damage, both base values and scaling, and some of our trait lines being kind of meh.
For Example, Marksman line offers a lot of damage modifiers, but the three minor traits are pretty much worthless without Remorseless.

As far as Conditions go, the Skirmishing line is something that should be necessary for a proper build, but it is also the reason why Ranger condition builds are sub par. Trappers expertise conflicts with sharpened edges. Spotter conflicts Hidden Barbs. Also, Shortbow is still kind of bad.

So, in order to push the DPS part of the ranger, I would suggest thus (some of the ideas are actually from earlier posts in the topic from other people):

Marksman:
- Opening and Alpha strike merged into adept minor
- Remorseless made into a grand master minor
- new Grand master major: something centered around defense/sustain
- Predators instinct (Adept Major) changed to cripple and 5 stacks of vulnerability for 3 seconds every 5 seconds when scoring a critical hit.

Skirmishing:
- tailwind and furious grip merged into one minor trait
- sharpened edges new minor trait
- hidden barbs merged into hunters tactics as a minor trait – 33% more bleeding damage, 10% extra critical chance vs bleeding foes
- New adept minor : Carnivorous appetite – You and your pet steal health when using basic attacks.
- New master trait – cast a spike trap when dazed/stunned/feared/etc (look at DH trait and trap changes below)

Traps:
- Trait now gives HS 1 second of vigor pulses
- Spike trap is now a stun breaker. CD reduced from 45 to 35 seconds
- Frost trap pulses slow as well as providing 3 seconds of resistance to party on activation. CD reduced from 30 to 25 seconds
- Flame trap pulses 3 seconds of blind on top of bleeding
- Vipers nest pulses 3 seconds of weakness and 3 stacks vulnerability

Shortbow:
- auto attack base damage increased
- auto attack flanking for bleeding req removed
- Poison volley stacks 2 poison per arrow up from 1
- Evasive shot clears 2 conditions
- Crippling shot inflicts 1.5s of immob if flanking
- Concussive shot inflicts 2 confusion, 4 if flanking

Wilderness survival:
- Poison master and the other poison trait merged into one
- new Master major trait: TBD

Nature magic:
- Vigorous training provides 2 stacks of might on top of vigor when pet swapping to the party
- Evasive purity ICD removed or reduced to 3-5s (its a very niche condition clear. Really do not think it needs a 10s ICD)

Warhorn:
- Hunters call damage increased considerably. 100-200% It is just so bad. Alternativelly allow it to transfer 2-3 conditions to target.

Beastmastery:
- Honed axes – If using axe in main hand condition damage is increased by 150, If using axe in off hand, ferocity is increased by 250. AoE winters bite is now baseline

Axes:
- auto attack base damage increased. Scaling coefficient increased. Damage redistributed to the first hit being the strongest and dropping off per target

Sword:
- auto attack damage and scaling increased
- Hornets sting either removed cast time or evasive frames starting right away

Great sword:
- auto attack damage increased

I agree with almost everything here, especially trait merging, traps and axe auto attack. I don’t agree with “Concussive shot inflicts 2 confusion, 4 if flanking”, daze is way more powerful than confusion, so keep the daze.
Honed Axes GM trait too weak, especially if making Winter’s bite AOE baseline. Would definitely need something more to be worthy of GM trait status.

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Posted by: Substance E.4852

Substance E.4852

7.) This one I agree too, we have very limited cleave access so maybe pet revamps or new pets could help with these.

Do we really want new pets as an option to these issues though? With the time and effort they spent nerfing both the Smokescale and Bristleback 3 times, they could have touched on core pets and at least gave them some QoL such as cleaving auto attacks and/or lower cooldowns on F2 skills.

Not downing what you stated on that point, as I do hope there are some pet revamps done in the future. It just urks me knowing we might sooner receive a new pet in the next expansion that will address maybe 1 issue rather than all pets being improved.

I totally agree with what you are saying. But let’s face it, I have no idea why Anet does not want to buff core pets (might be a time schedule/ too much work issue OR what I fear the most is this is an upper division problem that prevents devs from doing anything)

If you ask me, I would change a lot of the core pets’ f2s and make them more utility than damage AS LONG as they fix the hitboxes on the pets. One can only dream though.

Anet isn’t going to buff core pets for the same reason they aren’t going to buff core specs.

A key selling point of HoT was power creep and it’s going to remain a key point until HoT becomes base in the free2play version, though we’ll just get power creep 2.0 at that point anyway.

The real mystery is why the wyverns are still complete trash outside of break bar burning?

They are both useless in pvp and nearly unusable in pve outside of the lighting wyverns f2 which is probably only about as good as a wolf howling and leaping but with much worse dps.

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

The real mystery is why the wyverns are still complete trash outside of break bar burning?

They are both useless in pvp and nearly unusable in pve outside of the lighting wyverns f2 which is probably only about as good as a wolf howling and leaping but with much worse dps.

Because they only “fix” (lol!) beneficial things when it comes to this class…

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Posted by: OGDeadHead.8326

OGDeadHead.8326

Anet isn’t going to buff core pets for the same reason they aren’t going to buff core specs.

A key selling point of HoT was power creep and it’s going to remain a key point until HoT becomes base in the free2play version, though we’ll just get power creep 2.0 at that point anyway.

Indeed. It was exactly the same with GW1. Not until the game was almost dead did they fix some long standing core issues, at least for pve (like you were forced to have Charm Animal equipped just to even be able to bring a pet with you).

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Posted by: Substance E.4852

Substance E.4852

Anet isn’t going to buff core pets for the same reason they aren’t going to buff core specs.

A key selling point of HoT was power creep and it’s going to remain a key point until HoT becomes base in the free2play version, though we’ll just get power creep 2.0 at that point anyway.

Indeed. It was exactly the same with GW1. Not until the game was almost dead did they fix some long standing core issues, at least for pve (like you were forced to have Charm Animal equipped just to even be able to bring a pet with you).

To be fair though, a stated pet was basically an extra hammer warrior in your party so it did make some sense.

I barely used it after the change anyway since they removed the ability to res minions from pet corpses long before the revive pet change.

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Posted by: AlanCMD.9205

AlanCMD.9205

Spirit Improvement:

Changed to: when cast, pray to the spirit and gain its power. So the player has the function of spirit, ie to provide buffs as mobile spirit itself.

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Posted by: Barry Moonfang.6897

Barry Moonfang.6897

While I mostly play casual PvE, and sometimes play sPvP I just wanted to add some of my ideas. I believe every trait line should support a specific playstyle. Right now some of the traits feel lacking in achieving said playstyle (for example Skirmishing). In this thread I’ve already read several good suggestions. So I’ll shall use some of these and elaborate on the ideas.

These are the changes I would suggest, for these changes I’ve tied trait lines to corresponding weapons. Also I’ve tried to give a short summary of the playstyle I think goes well with the trait line.

Skirmishing
Corresponding weapons: Short Bow, Sword and Dagger
Playstyle: Highly mobile playstyle with hybrid damage and Traps.


When taking Skirmishing the go-to weapons in my opinion should be Short Bow, Sword and Dagger. All three weapons are fast attacking, highly mobile weapons. These weapons all have some form of an evade, something I think should be the main feature of the Skirmishing trait line. For this I’ve reworked the minor traits and some of the major traits. The deference with the Daredevil is that this trait line focusses on evasion from weapon skills instead of using the dodge mechanic.

Minor Traits
I find the current Minor Traits weak in their current form. Minor Traits are the traits you’ll always have access to when taking Skirmishing, so they should be the most versatile. Swiftness and Fury are both boons Rangers already have plenty of access to. I do however like the idea of Hunter’s Tactics.

When playing with Short Bow (Quick Shot), Sword (Hornet Sting & Serpent’s Strike), Dagger (Stalker’s Strike), Greatsword (Power Stab & Swoop) or Staff (Ancestral Grace) these minor traits will enhance your playstyle.

  • Minor Adapt Hunter’s Tactics name changed to Hunter’s Insight
    Chance to critically strike is increased by 10% after evading (5s duration)
    I likes the way Hunter’s Tactics used flanking to increase critical strike chance, so I wanted to incorporate the ability so it would fit thematically with the evasion playstyle from Skirmishing. The change to having the 10% increased change to critically strike after evading makes the effect trigger on the evasive skill of a player instead of the ability to flank your opponents.
  • Minor Master Tailwind name changed to: Vigorous Wind
    Gain Vigor (5s) and Swiftness (5s) after evading (CD 5s)
    I’ve combined the original Tailwind and Primal Reflexes and made them into this Minor Trait. While the 5s Swiftness on a weapon swap is kind of boring when combining it with Vigor gain it could make for a much more meaningful trait. Also the activation on evasion promotes proper timing when using dodges/evades separating good Rangers from Great ones. The CD for this trait is in place to prevent massive Vigor and Swiftness stacking from dodge/evasion spamming.
  • Minor Grandmaster Furious Grip name changed to: Evasive Assault
    Damage and condition duration is increased by 10% after evading (4s duration).
    Concept taken from Light on your Feet, I’ve replaced dodging with evading. When an experienced Ranger (or a lucky one for that matter) times his evades correctly he/she is rewarded with a short damage and condition duration boost. The greater the ability to time evades the higher the damage output will be.

Major Traits
I believe that the Major Traits should achieve the following:

  • Support the corresponding weapons (Short Bow, Sword and Dagger)
  • Support the mobility of the Ranger
  • Support short lasting, stacking conditions
  • Support Traps
    By doing so the traits will add to the playstyle I think would suit this trait line.

Adapt Traits

  • Primal Reflexes Merged with Tailwind into Vigorous Wind
    (New) Cleansing Strife
    Periodically lose conditions while moving (1 condition removed every 8s, priorities Torment)
    While moving works great to avoid direct damage, it is less effective against condition damage. Especially Torment can utterly destroy anyone that continuous to move while inflicted with the condition. By making the condition cleanse tied to movement, experienced players can use proper timing to make the most out of this trait.
  • Sharpened Edges Merge with Hidden Barbs into Serrated Hunter
    Chance for you and your pet to cause bleeding (3s) on critical hits (66% change). Bleeding you cause is more dangerous (damage increase 33%)
    While as two separate traits both feel weak and unrewarding to take, combining the two makes for a much more meaningful choice. Especially Rangers that want to deal more damage through bleeding.
  • Trapper’s Expertise
    Boons and conditions caused by traps last longer (Recharge reduced 20%, Duration increase 60%). Traps recharge faster. Offensive traps cause cripple (3s) and defensive traps grant Resistance (2s).
    While I like this trait in its current form I’ve always felt that defensive trap should grant some kind of boon. Granting a short Resistance boon should help Rangers with this trait to keep moving even when under movement impairing conditions. Also this way Rangers will have access to the boon.

Master Traits

  • Hidden Barbs Merged with Sharpend Edges into Serrated Hunter
    (New) Evasive Bond
    When you evade give your pet a ¾s Blur
    A lot of people are asking for an ability that allows pets to dodge, this seemed to fit in with the theme of evading and dodging.
  • Spotter exchanged for Predator’s Onslaught
    You and your pet deal increased damage (10%) and condition damage (10%) to disabled or movement-impaired foes. Affected conditions are: Stun, Taunt, Daze, Cripple, Fear, Immobilize and Chilled.
    While Spotter itself is an very useful trait I’ve always found it a trait more befitting to the Marksmanship trait line, while Predator’s Onslaught seemed more befitting for the Skirmishing trait line. Also added increased condition damage while cutting the power by 5%.
  • Strider’s Defence name changed to [Viper’s Defence]
    [i]Sword and Dagger skills recharge faster (20% recharge reduction). Gain increased condition duration (15% increased duration) while wielding a Sword or Dagger. Inflicting poison has a change to blind (4s) your opponent (50% change to blind, CD 10s).[i]
    When going for condition damage most Ranges will use a Torch instead of the Dagger. While the Dagger is a more mobile weapon better fitting the hybrid playstyle. So I’ve moved the Dagger CDR to this trait and added an interaction with poison. A condition both the Sword and Dagger have access to.

Grandmaster Traits

  • Light on your Feet
    Short bow skills recharge faster (20% recharge reduction). Crossfire removes movement impairing conditions (CD 5s) Affected conditions are: Cripple, Immobilize and Chilled.
    I find the ability to keep moving with a Short Bow very important. However due to the high amounts of Immobilize in sPvP and WvW this can be very hard. So instead of having piercing arrows I would rather have a condition cleanse for movement impairing conditions. The bonus damage from dodges is now on Evasive Assault
  • Most Dangerous Game
    Increase condition duration (duration increase 25%) when if you hit your target from behind or from the side. When you hit a target suffering from cripple gain 1 stack of might (10s).
    The current form of Most Dangerous Game encourages being low on health. This makes it a dangerous and unrewarding trait to use. I rather have this trait promote skilful positioning and utilizing the cripple condition then almost dying. Now you really are the Most Dangerous Game!
  • Quick Draw
    When swapping weapons, the next ranger weapon skill you use will recharge faster (66% increased recharge).
    Personally I don’t use this trait, but I know there are plenty of people who (ab)use this skill, so I’ll keep it the same.

(edited by Barry Moonfang.6897)

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Posted by: Barry Moonfang.6897

Barry Moonfang.6897

Short Bow – Hypermobile hybrid weapon


I believe that the Short Bow should greatly enhance the mobility of the ranger while preventing opponents from getting close/getting away. The damage from a Short Bow should come from a combination of direct damage and short-lasting conditions.

  • Crossfire
    Fire an arrow to Bleed your target. If you hit them from behind or from the side deal 50% bonus damage.
    Damage: 134 (0.6)
    Bonus damage from flanking: 67 (0.6)
    Bleeding (3s): 66 Damage
    Range: 900
    Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile (20% change)

Like StickerHappy.8052 I believe the application of bleeding should be on its AA, the bonus damage on hitting an enemy from behind or from the side encourages proper positioning and will reward the player with higher damage. Also I would like to create some interaction with Light on your Feet but more on that later.

  • Poison Volley Cast Time ¼s, CD 9s
    Fire a spread of five arrows, poisoning and slowing enemies hit.
    Damage (5x): 170 (0.5)
    Poison (5x) (4s): 670 Damage, -33% Healing Effectiveness
    Slow (5x) (1s): Increases the activation time of skills and abilities by 50%
    Range: 900
    Pierces

I think Poison Volley is already a good skill but it could use some extra flavour. Slowing enemies hit for every arrow should accomplish just that. With the theme of the Short Bow being hitting without getting hit slowing your opponents should help you kite their abilities. Also the closer your enemies are the more effective this skill becomes (more arrows hitting your target).

  • Quick Shot Cast Time ¾s, CD 9s
    Fire a quick shot in an evasive retreat and remove immobilized. Gain Superspeed if the shot hits. This can be used while retreating.
    Damage: 118 (0.5)
    Superspeed (3s): Movement speed is greatly increased.
    Evade: ½s
    Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile
    Range: 900

Quick Shot must be my favourite skill from the Short Bow, for a long time I’ve used this skill to dodge all kind attacks. Now with the huge amounts of immobilized in sPvP and properly WvW dodging with this ability is almost impossible. With this ability you should be able to keep moving while you have a guaranteed evade.

  • Crippling Shot Cast Time ¼s, CD 12s
    Fire an arrow that cripples your target. Your pet’s next three attacks inflict immobilized.
    Damage: 118 (0.5)
    Crippled (4s): -50% Movement Speed
    Immobilized (½s): Unable to move
    Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile
    Range: 900

Crippling Shot should do exactly as the name implies, cripple your opponent. In its current form a 3s Cripple and Bleeding on your pets next 3 attacks is pretty lacking in doing so. The application of Immobilized from your pet should help triggering the bonus damage from Crossfire and help you keep a safe distance from your opponent.

  • Concussion Shot Cast Time ¼s, CD 25s
    Daze your foe with an arrow. Stun them if you hit from behind or from the side. Interrupting a foe lowers this skills cooldown by a fixed amount.
    Damage: 128 (0.5)
    Daze (2s)
    Stun (2s)
    Recharge Reduction on interrupt: 5s
    Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile
    Range: 900

To truly cause a concussion I’ve upped the damage from this ability, also the Recharge Reduction on interrupt promotes skilful use of the ability. I’ve seen some people suggest adding Confusion in addition to the Daze/Stun but I find this counterproductive since your opponent shouldn’t be unable to use skills during the Daze/Stun (Stunbreakers excluded). When traited and used correctly the cooldown of this ability would 15s.

Sword & Dagger – Stab, Evade, Repeat


I think that the combination of Sword & Dagger should enable Rangers to stay close range, while not taking a ton of damage while acting as sitting ducks. With the Sword & Dagger Rangers would have access to 3 different skills with an evade. And with the revamped Minor Traits this should enable the Ranger the dance around their opponents. With properly timed evades Sword & Dagger Ranger will deal plenty of damage.
Sword

  • Slash Cast Time ½s
    Slash your foe. Deal bonus damage if you hit your target from behind or from the side. (33% bonus damage).
    Damage: 257 (0.7)
    Bonus damage from flanking: 92 (0.7)
    Number of targets: 3
    Range: 130
  • Crippling Trust Cast Time ¼s
    Stab your foe, crippling them for a short time.
    Damage: 257 (0.7)
    Crippled (3s): -50% Movement Speed
    Number of targets: 3
    Range: 130
  • Precision Swipe Cast Time ¾s
    Deliver a blow to your foe. You and your pet gain might when hitting a movement-impaired foe.
    Damage: 257 (0.7)
    Might (5s): +30 Power, +30 Condition Damage
    Number of targets: 3
    Range: 130

The auto attack from the Sword should promote positioning and make use of the cripple condition. This could make it very difficult for your opponents to get away from you. Since a lot of people think the Sword AA should deal more damage, I’ve increased the damage output when positioning correctly.

  • Hornet Sting Cast Time ¼s, CD 8s
    Stab your foe, then evade backward.
    Damage: 293 (0.8)
    Evade: ½s
    Number of targets: 3
    Range: 130
  • Monarch’s Leap Cast Time ½s
    Leap back into the fight, crippling your foe.
    Damage: 403 (0.7)
    Crippled (3s): -50% Movement Speed
    Combo Finisher: Leap
    Range: 600

Slightly reduced the Cast Time of the ability so evasions with that ability are easier to use.

  • Serpent’s Strike Cast Time ¾s, CD 15s
    Do an evasive roll around your target, striking them and poisoning them.
    Damage: 293 (0.8)
    2x Poison (8s): 536 Damage, -33% Healing Effectiveness
    Evade: ¾s
    Number of targets: 3
    Range: 130

Slightly reduced the Cast Time of the ability and increased the poison duration.

Dagger

  • Stalker’s Strike Cast Time ½s, CD 10s
    Do an evasive roll around your target, striking them and poisoning them. Deal double damage if your target is already poisoned
    Damage: 87 (0.5)
    Bonus damage when poisoned: 87 (0.5)
    3x Poison (8s): 804 Damage, -33% Healing Effectiveness
    Evade: 1¼s
    Range: 250

Added bonus damage from foes already suffering from poison, the damage is still low, but at least it’s higher than before.

  • Crippling Talon Cast Time 1s, CD 15s
    Leap at the legs of your foe, Crippling and Bleeding them
    Damage: 252 (0.75)
    Crippled (6s): -50% Movement Speed
    3x Bleeding (8s): 528 Damage
    Combo Finisher: Leap
    Range: 600

Due to the lack of a good initiate on the Sword I’ve added the leap on the dagger. This way closing in with on your target should be faster, also launching at the legs of your foes sounded like something a dangerous animal would do.

This is what I think about the Skirmishing trait line, the Short Bow, Sword and Dagger. Maybe I’ll do another one later.

(edited by Barry Moonfang.6897)

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Posted by: Shadelang.3012

Shadelang.3012

My biggest concern with our dps options isn’t the actual damage of our weapons or our pets. We have the burst to nail someone. If it hits. My issue is that most of our damage is so EASILY negated. That what damage we have left doesn’t really matter.

Methods to make our sustained damage more reliable would make our damage builds MUCH more viable.

Our pets hitting more often, The ability to make our attacks unblockable in certain circumstances like when attacking from behind with specific weapons.

Without changes to make us more reliable as dpsers. All the survivability changes, all the damage boosts. It won’t be enough to bring our dps builds back into favor. And worse it will likely just further buff our druid builds.

Ghost Yak

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Posted by: Seyamn.8071

Seyamn.8071

I just wish Ranger could do something other than roam in WvW. The pet is worthless in any large scale fighting. Would love to see a way for the pet to disappear to buff the ranger / party.

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Posted by: Tipper.6973

Tipper.6973

I’d really like to see an Elite Trap added. Since its missing in GW2, how about the Dust Trap? I think it would be cool if it pulsed torment, blind, and maybe weakness on a fairly short cooldown.

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Posted by: Wondrouswall.7169

Wondrouswall.7169

Dust Trap was planned as a normal utility at one point, but was never implemented.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dust_Trap

Personally, if we ever received an Elite trap, I would rather have Smoke Trap from GW1 instead, since it inflicted both blind & daze. It would at least have some trait synergy with MoC and Ancient Seeds.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Smoke_Trap

PET PRECISION & DPS TESTS -OUTDATED-
Will update once Path of Fire releases.

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Posted by: anduriell.6280

anduriell.6280

Most Dangerous Game
While ranger is at under 75% hp

  • gain 1 might for 8 seconds every second.
  • 50% chance on crit to gain 10 seconds Fury. ICD 15 seconds.
    while ranger is under 50% hp
  • 66% chance on crit to gain 3 seconds of quickness. ICD 15 seconds.
  • 66% chance on crit to steal some life. ICD 1 second.
I TOLD YOU SO
Inverse to Apple: SBeast is the worst yet.. jurl jurl
I’m all in for Team Irenio!

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Posted by: niconori.7235

niconori.7235

signet of the wild – make it instant cast and break stuns, remove the extra 25% dmg over 8 secs. reduce base cooldown by 10-20 secs.

signet of the hunt – active effect extra 25% dmg over x secs instead.

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

signet of the wild – make it instant cast and break stuns, remove the extra 25% dmg over 8 secs. reduce base cooldown by 10-20 secs.

signet of the hunt – active effect extra 25% dmg over x secs instead.

That’s backwards. It’s signet of the hunt which should break stuns and grant superspeed.

Signet of the Wild needs passive switched away from that useless 70-80 hp heal into the same power stat boost thieves/necro/warrior get. Make the active a 1/4 sec cast and reduce cd to 30 seconds, increase duration to 10 seconds.

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Posted by: niconori.7235

niconori.7235

That’s backwards. It’s signet of the hunt which should break stuns and grant superspeed.

Signet of the Wild needs passive switched away from that useless 70-80 hp heal into the same power stat boost thieves/necro/warrior get. Make the active a 1/4 sec cast and reduce cd to 30 seconds, increase duration to 10 seconds.

25% extra dmg 5 stacks of stabs on 10 sec duration with a 30 sec cd base. Are you insane?

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Posted by: anduriell.6280

anduriell.6280

25% extra dmg 5 stacks of stabs on 10 sec duration with a 30 sec cd base. Are you insane?

don’t be such a drama queen dude.

in plain numbers our best weapon:Longbow, would do in pure zerker around 3.2k on crit to low toughness.

HamRev does 4k on crit always. if anet doesnt buff all weapons dps you can safetly buff the signet.

I TOLD YOU SO
Inverse to Apple: SBeast is the worst yet.. jurl jurl
I’m all in for Team Irenio!

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Posted by: Lazze.9870

Lazze.9870

25% extra dmg 5 stacks of stabs on 10 sec duration with a 30 sec cd base. Are you insane?

don’t be such a drama queen dude.

in plain numbers our best weapon:Longbow, would do in pure zerker around 3.2k on crit to low toughness.

HamRev does 4k on crit always. if anet doesnt buff all weapons dps you can safetly buff the signet.

Weapon buffs are better than some ridiculous, overbuffed utility skill. They can’t “safely” buff one utility skill because they would have to consider it every time they’re considering buffing something else. Think for a second.

People just pile on buffs on top of eachother without considering how freakishly huge that pile just got. Like reworking the entire Skirmishing line with something that essentially would result in a buff to all the minor and major traits you get from that line. That’s a huge jump.

(edited by Lazze.9870)

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Posted by: Wondrouswall.7169

Wondrouswall.7169

Wait until the 26th for the update. I feel as though this thread has out-lived its usefulness. We stated our concerns, feedback, suggestions, and had plenty of good discussions – enough to receive a red post.

I hear there’s going to be an actual split between modes, so, there’s maybe some glimmer of having things that are underwhelming in one mode can be brought up to be more effective within its own viability in the other.

Just gotta wait for the big content patch ’round the corner. Keep those expectations low like the fruit on the ground, guard up for any nerfs, and excitement to a minimum on any good stuff we might get (since those usually receiving “shaves” within a day or two of going live).

PET PRECISION & DPS TESTS -OUTDATED-
Will update once Path of Fire releases.

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Posted by: anduriell.6280

anduriell.6280

Wait until the 26th for the update. I feel as though this thread has out-lived its usefulness. We stated our concerns, feedback, suggestions, and had plenty of good discussions – enough to receive a red post.

I hear there’s going to be an actual split between modes, so, there’s maybe some glimmer of having things that are underwhelming in one mode can be brought up to be more effective within its own viability in the other.

Just gotta wait for the big content patch ’round the corner. Keep those expectations low like the fruit on the ground, guard up for any nerfs, and excitement to a minimum on any good stuff we might get (since those usually receiving “shaves” within a day or two of going live).

yeh let’s see what happens….

However dont expect a massive split between modes what the dev said was that they have now a better tool to adjust numbers in different modes. So i wouldnt expect much of a change.

I TOLD YOU SO
Inverse to Apple: SBeast is the worst yet.. jurl jurl
I’m all in for Team Irenio!

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Posted by: Wondrouswall.7169

Wondrouswall.7169

I don’t expect too many changes myself. I also expect underwhelming aspects such as Predator’s Instinct and Sharpening Stone to receive no changes. We’ll see though. As I said: keep expectations low.

PET PRECISION & DPS TESTS -OUTDATED-
Will update once Path of Fire releases.

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

That’s backwards. It’s signet of the hunt which should break stuns and grant superspeed.

Signet of the Wild needs passive switched away from that useless 70-80 hp heal into the same power stat boost thieves/necro/warrior get. Make the active a 1/4 sec cast and reduce cd to 30 seconds, increase duration to 10 seconds.

25% extra dmg 5 stacks of stabs on 10 sec duration with a 30 sec cd base. Are you insane?

10 sec/30 sec= 0.33…

0.3… x25 = 8.3 % damage boost overall.

Basically, the signet is an inferior version of the damage modifier a thief gets from a minor trait that gives them 10% increased damage when a target has conditions.

Best damage modifier a ranger has is a 25% from marksman, assuming no endurance is ever spent and cripple/chill is permanent on a target.

Thief has 10% on a target with ANY condition (far easier to maintain….), 20% against targets under 50% health, 17% increased crit damage from traits (27% against targets above 50% health), 10% additional damage from bounding dodger (given their rate of endurance regen with staff mastery bounding dodger buff has near 100% uptime), 7% increased damage at melee range, another 10% from staff mastery.

So daredevil, with way higher number coefficients and base values than ranger, has:

-47% increased damage modifier vs. the 33.% ranger would have with my suggested Signet of the Wild, which also costs us a far more valuable utility slot vs. a trait slot.

-17-27% crit damage bonus modifier.

But somehow I’m the guy who’s insane just because you’re clueless about the damage and coefficients/modifiers other classes have access to.

This is why rangers are in the garbage state of DPS we’re in, because of people like you.

(edited by Zenith.7301)

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Posted by: niconori.7235

niconori.7235

10 sec/30 sec= 0.33…

0.3… x25 = 8.3 % damage boost overall.

Basically, the signet is an inferior version of the damage modifier a thief gets from a minor trait that gives them 10% increased damage when a target has conditions.

Best damage modifier a ranger has is a 25% from marksman, assuming no endurance is ever spent and cripple/chill is permanent on a target.

Thief has 10% on a target with ANY condition (far easier to maintain….), 20% against targets under 50% health, 17% increased crit damage from traits (27% against targets above 50% health), 10% additional damage from bounding dodger (given their rate of endurance regen with staff mastery bounding dodger buff has near 100% uptime), 7% increased damage at melee range, another 10% from staff mastery.

So daredevil, with way higher number coefficients and base values than ranger, has:

-47% increased damage modifier vs. the 33.% ranger would have with my suggested Signet of the Wild, which also costs us a far more valuable utility slot vs. a trait slot.

-17-27% crit damage bonus modifier.

But somehow I’m the guy who’s insane just because you’re clueless about the damage and coefficients/modifiers other classes have access to.

This is why rangers are in the garbage state of DPS we’re in, because of people like you.

So, all the while we were talking about changes for utility skills and you decided to derail into damage modifiers in traits. Right.. Totally off topic now.

And get your facts right though I have always lament the fact that we do not have enough personal dps, but Anet gave us party buffs and so we aren’t allowed to have high personal dps, or else it would be too op. Get it?

You would be better off keeping things separate and suggest a buff to traits than to lump everything together into a single utility skill.

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Posted by: Zenith.7301

Zenith.7301

10 sec/30 sec= 0.33…

0.3… x25 = 8.3 % damage boost overall.

Basically, the signet is an inferior version of the damage modifier a thief gets from a minor trait that gives them 10% increased damage when a target has conditions.

Best damage modifier a ranger has is a 25% from marksman, assuming no endurance is ever spent and cripple/chill is permanent on a target.

Thief has 10% on a target with ANY condition (far easier to maintain….), 20% against targets under 50% health, 17% increased crit damage from traits (27% against targets above 50% health), 10% additional damage from bounding dodger (given their rate of endurance regen with staff mastery bounding dodger buff has near 100% uptime), 7% increased damage at melee range, another 10% from staff mastery.

So daredevil, with way higher number coefficients and base values than ranger, has:

-47% increased damage modifier vs. the 33.% ranger would have with my suggested Signet of the Wild, which also costs us a far more valuable utility slot vs. a trait slot.

-17-27% crit damage bonus modifier.

But somehow I’m the guy who’s insane just because you’re clueless about the damage and coefficients/modifiers other classes have access to.

This is why rangers are in the garbage state of DPS we’re in, because of people like you.

So, all the while we were talking about changes for utility skills and you decided to derail into damage modifiers in traits. Right.. Totally off topic now.

And get your facts right though I have always lament the fact that we do not have enough personal dps, but Anet gave us party buffs and so we aren’t allowed to have high personal dps, or else it would be too op. Get it?

You would be better off keeping things separate and suggest a buff to traits than to lump everything together into a single utility skill.

You complained about damage on a utility skill, I’m telling you the damage from that utility skill you are suggesting is too high amounts to 8.3% damage, lower than a minor trait let alone a 7.5% damage buff for an entire group from frost spirit (8.3% damage boost on a single target would make for a pretty bad utility if stability was not on it).

So, yeah, you’re pretty clueless.

And, no. Phalanx Strength Warriors outperform power druid by like…7k DPS and Phalanx Strength Warriors bring the greatest offensive buffs in the game with banners, Empower Allies and 25 stacks of might.

So spare me this bullcrap about not doing DPS because of group buffs, because revenants bring massive group buffing and do 30k DPS, or in essence 12k more DPS than power druid. Guardian hammer is 29k DPS, and that’s perma prot and healing.

Hell, if they nerfed Phalanx Warrior might stacking, elementalists would simply be running Heatsync on warhorn and still doing 34k+ DPS, on top of their stupid OP heal shout.

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Posted by: niconori.7235

niconori.7235

Holy kitten i just want breakstun with stab don’t fill me in with your nonsensical rants tyvm i know what other classes can do, but you don’t even think what happens when your suggestion get adopted, how many QQ thieves, mes, necs, ele would come to this forum. we’ll direct them to you when that happens.

Ignorant. I’m done with you.