Guild Wars 2

So, with the future balance patch we’ll get a massive trait rework, so after my “old Ranger Trait evaluation”: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Ranger-traits-evaluation/first#post4997689 , it’s time to see what the new ones will bring us.

Marksmanship
Minor traits

• Opening Strike 3/5
• Alpha Training 2/5
• Precise Strike 4/5
  Minors are almost unchanged, but the new traits open new possibilities to play with Opening Strikes. So I’ve decided to up the scores a bit, as they might become something noticeable.

Adept

• Enlargement 3/5 Was previously rated 1/5, but it was a master in the wrong trait line. Here, it can actually synergize well in a power build using signets and Beastmaster’s Might (Master trait).
• Predator’s Instinct 1/5 Still very underwhelming in my opinion, for one cripple with a 30s cooldown. 0/5 was maybe a bit harsh in the previous evaluation though.
• Beastmaster’s Bond 3/5 This trait got buffed significantly by halving its cooldown, adding Swiftness AND making it an active proc (pet swap instead of pet health). With Windborne Notes in Nature Magic it could even give Regen on top of this. Might be usable in a warhorn spec.

Master

• Beastmaster’s Might 4/5 By merging the already excellent Signet Mastery with the Might on Signet usage, this become a very powerful trait for signet users. If signets remain as good as they are now, I expect this trait to be used for the great utility purposes.
• Steady Focus 3/5 Unchanged for the most part, and does not really suffer from going to Master (from Adept). I expect this trait to be a PvE favorite where damage is the be-all and end-all, but also useful for glass canon fans in the other modes.
• Moment of Clarity 1/5 I’m still not a fan of this, even if this is a better place for such a trait than Grandmaster Skirmish. Its usage is still very limited imo, probably only good in Zerk GS builds where interrupt, Dazes and raw damage are a thing.

Grandmaster

• Predator’s Onslaught 2/5 Unchanged for the most part, probably better in PvE than anything else.
• Remorseless 3/5 Complete rework and a MASSIVE boost. You actually have a way to actively refresh your opening strikes now, and deal MASSIVE spikes. Still a bit obscure, but might very well lead to interesting builds, especially with the Furious Grip minor in Skirmishing.
• Lead the wind 4/5 Small change of name and decrease of overall necessity for longbow rangers as the most important factor is now made baseline (arrow velocity). But it got the piercing arrows and the bow recharge in exchange, which are both very useful traits. Still an excellent trait.

Overall
Average : 2,75/5 (+0.57).
Marksmanship got overall better even when some good traits were made baseline. The fact that Opening Strikes are a thing now might lead to interesting builds and choices.
Marksmanship is in pretty good shape now I would say, there are only 2 traits that might still be underwhelming to see much use. This is almost a mandatory trait line for power builds.

Skirmishing
Minor traits

• Tail Wind 1/5
• Furious Grip 4/5 This imo got even better when used with Remorseless from Marksmanship !
• Hunter’s Tactics 4/5
  Overall few changes.

Adept

• Sharpening Edges 4/5 This got buffed from what I can see (it triggers on pets and the numbers might get buffed), so it will be a definite Yes in rabid condi builds.
• Most Dangerous Game 4/5 If this stays Adept, I think this trait will be fantastic for power builds.
• Trapper’s Defense 0/5 Still a no-no.

Master

• Primal Reflexes 2/5 I undervalued this trait in my previous evaluation, but it’s still nothing fantastic, more like a default choice.
• Spotter 4/5 Still a great trait, and it fits this line much better I would say.
• Trapper’s Expertise 4/5 All Trapper traits combined in one is fantastic. Let’s hope traps will be a thing after the balance patch.

Grandmaster

• Quick Draw 4/5 This trait might be one of the coolest trait to play with after the patch. Very interesting mechanic, but I still reserve my judgement before giving it a 5/5.
• Light on Your Feet 5/5 A build defining trait for shortbow users, giving access to AoE condition application (with piercing arrows), damage boost, and cooldown reductions. It seems almost too good to be true to be honest.
• Strider’s Defense 2/5 This trait got massively buffed by combining multiple traits from various lines and buffing the numbers overall, but I’m still on the fence about what it really brings to rangers. Is this really build defining ? Maybe in PvE where sword is the best single target DPS weapon for rangers.

Overall
Average : 3.16/5 (+1.35)
Skirmishing is the second trait line that needed the most help and good god it has received what it needed. The two Grandmaster Quick Draw and Light on Your Feet traits are particularly impressive and will bring many utility to both power and condi builds.
But let’s not forget the adept, master and even minor traits who are great additions to many builds too. I expect Skirmish to be used very often due to its overall usefulness.

Wilderness Survival
Minor traits

• Natural Vigor 4/5
• Companion’s Defense 4/5
• Bark Skin 4/5 This trait went from a Grandmaster to a Minor and it makes it even better.

Adept

• Soften the Fall 2/5 Certainly not the best fall damage trait, but at least it’s there.
• Ambidextry 4/5 I expect this trait to find its usage in the currect double wield condi ranger (S/T + A/D), where it will be very powerful. So, even if it is not spectacular, an adept trait that fits a role deserves points.
• Expertise Training 1/5 This is a bit better with the condition duration addition (from Beastmastery). And, if there are no caps on certain conditions now, and poison stacks, you will be less afraid about your pet conditions overriding yours. So… it is better overall… but still not fantastic.

Master

• Oakheart Salve 4/5 This was good before and got buffed on top, so a really solid trait overall. Fits the theme of the line perfectly.
• Peak Strength 3/5 Considering the theme of the line (defense) it’s a bit bizarre to find here a good damage boost, but it rewards cautious play and dodge, so it kinda fits. Pretty good trait for power builds imo, certainly in PvE.
• Shared Anguish 3/5 This trait is still pretty cool, as CC is still a problem for Rangers in PvP/WvW overall. It will suffer from the competition though.

Grandmaster

• Empathic Bond 3/5 Still good, as before, but with the Wilderness Knowledge in Wilderness Survival now, there is a high chance this trait will only be taken when no Survival skills are used. This might need to be put somewhere else, and many people would appreciate a more frequent but less powerful clean (like 1 condition removed every 4 seconds or so).
• Wilderness Knowledge 5/5 This trait combines three previous traits that had scores of 2/5, 4/5 and 5/5. This trait would probably deserve a 6/5 imo, it makes survival skills VERY good with only one trait slot, fantastic..
• Poison Master 3/5 Poor Poison Master. Competing with all the condi removal traits for Rangers, it will not be used frequently. Not a bad trait though !

Overall
Average : 3.33 (+0.89)
This trait line was good before, and it got even better. This is the perfect “side” line bringing good survivability to the ranger overall. Only the Adept part is a bit meh, but the rest of the line is so powerful that you can afford to have one ‘meh’ trait.

Nature Magic
Minor traits

• Rejuvenation 2/5 Same, the cooldown is too big.
• Fortifying Bond 1/5 Same, pretty interesting in theory, not so much in practice.
• Lingering Magic 4/5 This trait provides a massive Boon Duration increase, which is a pretty interesting feat of Rangers now. We’ll have to see what Druids will bring to the table, but Rangers might actually have access to massive boon applications now, and if that is the case, this trait will become very good.

Adept

• Bountiful Hunter 4/5 Went from Minor 5 to Adept which is interesting as you might not have the usage to damage boosts if you play this line. But it fits the theme of the line and with the appropriate build, getting 5+ boons should not be that hard.
• Nature’s Wrath 1/5 Went here from Minor 5 in Beastmastery, and I still don’t think it’s great. Getting Power from Healing Power is rarely useful, especially compared to Bountiful Hunter.
• Healer’s Celerity 0/5 Still not worth traiting into at all, imo.

Master

• Vigorous Training 1/5 Got here from Beastmastery and it’s still not worth it, imo.
• Evasive Purity 3/5 Still good and even got buffed a bit (it removes cripple now), and the only non-Survival condi removal trait left for Rangers.
• Windborne Notes 3/5 This trait is okay I think and might open up some plays with the warhorn, but Ranger’s warhorn still suffer from trying to do both damage on #4 and support on #5, and by that not being good at neither. The regen is massive though.

Grandmaster

• Nature’s Vengeance 4/5 They combined the Spirit traits into this one (and baseline buffs), so it’s obviously good, but no one knows what spirits will become now.
• Protective Ward 5/5 This skill, as presented now, is really over the top I think. 6s AoE weakness and 8s protection on a 12s cooldown looks insane. I have a hard time seeing a power build taking you down when you use this trait combined with overall defensive traits and utilities. With a bit of Wilderness Survival and boon duration, this trait will easily give you perma protection + damage reduction. Will this create a new era of bunker rangers ?
• Invigorating Bond 1/5 Still bad imo, the heal is still low and the range is so small your pet might not even heal you (as its position is still very unreliable in the heat of battle).

Overall
Average : 2.41/5 (+0.11)
This line is very hard to evaluate at the moment. Protective Ward looks really OP in PvP circumstances, and Spirits will be reworked so hard it’s impossible to know if they will be used in the future again. This line might also fit the Druid specialization very well.
The loss of Survival of the Fittest still hurts this line, and it also got a collection of pretty bad traits from other lines (especially Beastmastery). But if support rangers or druids can be a thing in the future, then no doubt this trait line will be used as a massive support boost.

Beastmastery
Minor traits

• Instinctual Bond 0/5 I still have no clue what this trait is meant to do.
• Loud Whistle 1/5 I’ll give it one more point than before as pet swapping seems to be a thing that might have some uses in the future, but then why not a 50% reduction as warrior gets on their weapons ?
• Pet’s Prowess 3/5 Obviously a Beastmaster line should buff the pets, and I would say this is a pretty good way to do it. Moving faster means the pet will stick to the target better, and much better crits is a nice way to improve the overall DPS of the class. But it all depends on the pets efficiency …

Adept

• Companion’s Might 1/5 Still not that impressive as long as it only goes one way imo.
• Rending Attacks 1/5 With the attack rate of most pets, this trait is almost irrelevant.
• Resounding Timbre 4/5 That’s a very solid trait now. Let’s hope shout will be reworked to be usable in the future, and that will open up many possibilities for a Ranger bunker/beastmaster build.

Master

• Wilting Strike 1/5 A very weird new trait, and something not really sexy on the first view. I mean yes, weakness is a powerful debuff, but on most pets who have 30+ seconds of recharge on their F2 skills, it’s pretty bad to invest a trait just for this.
• Two-handed Training 3/5 The trait itself is good, but what a weird place for a power weapon trait, it makes almost no sense to me.
• Natural Healing 1/5 This now combines two traits (Compassion Training + Natural Healing), but two bad ones. Is pet healing really a thing?

Grandmaster

• Beastly Warden 4/5 This trait is pretty good and might let Rangers get rid of the Alpine Wolf that is almost always used for its powerful Howl ability. This will both help the pet to get its damage down, while protecting the ranger AND CC’ing the opponents AoE.
• Zephyr’s Speed 2/5 This got merged with Mighty Swap, but I still have my doubts about DPS builds based on pets. We’ll see.
• Honed Axes 1/5 Like Two-handed Training I find this spot to be very bizarre for a weapon spot, especially in Grand Master where all it does is a bit of cooldown reduction and a negligible stat increase. Still not worth it imo.

Overall
Average : 1.63/5 (+0.77).

Beastmastery got out of the “super trash” zone by merging or removing some atrocious traits, but I still don’t get it. You still get really weird traits in this line that in my opionion have nothing to do there (like the GS/Spear trait). The Master slot is weak, Adept also if you’re not using Shouts.
BUT like Nature Magic it’s really hard to give a good evaluation as this trait line is heavily dependent on the pets performances overall. We don’t know how much those traits will be rolled into baseline, nor do we know if pets will get an overall boost in efficiency or not.
THERE MIGHT BE a spot for bunker rangers with the new Nature magic line, and it could be combined with the Beastmastery line, using the ranger for defense and support and the pet as a DPS/pressure tool, but we’ll have to see in practice if the pets will get the love they need to become viable.

Given your signature I assume this is all from a PVP point of view, because my scores on these trait changes differ drastically from yours but I’m looking at it from a PVE point of view.