Let me start by saying that I know this isn’t an original idea, I know pets are our designated class gimmick, I know that Thief is an Adventurer class without a pet, and all the other one liners people wanna spout cause they can’t think of a valid reason this doesn’t exist.
The argument is very simple; if we can choose to Trait into pets, why can’t we Trait out of them?
I love Rangers. The archery, the leather armour, the acrobatics, the solo PvE expertise. These are aspects common to most Rangers in most games. Some of these Rangers have pets. Some of these pets are a permanent fixture of the class. Most are not. Guild Wars 2 was marketed as a game that breaks the mold, and offers flexibility and a world without MMO stereotypes. The forced and in many aspects, poorly implemented pet design in GW2 is in stark contrast to that philosophy, and something I feel hamstrings an otherwise amazing Ranger experience.
This is about the stage people tell me to re-roll. Why should I have to? I like everything about the class [Bar a few minor gripes that i’m sure everyone has with their chosen class] except this flaccid, wet paper bag, permanently tethered to me on a horrid invisible yoyo string that I can never sever. It’s not just impractical without Trating it [Though now less so, since the revive change] and after a while, quite annoying to see bobbing around on the edges of my gameplay, but doesn’t appeal to me aesthetically or as a play style. The fact that Anet asumes I want to babysit a pet with frankly terrible AI, animations, cast times and reaction times, just because I want to play a Ranger is a little confronting. Dealing with that mess isn’t what a Ranger is meant to be about, historically, and even if the pets were fun and effective to use, and even if I liked them – if I want a change of pace, I can respec, but I still have to have a pet?
Thieves can choose to Steal or not, they can spec into it or not. Same goes for Virtues, Kits, Attunements, etc, etc. They’re still there, but if you don’t want to use them they’re basically invisible. They’re unintrusive and don’t affect your gameplay at all. Why isn’t Ranger afforded the same courtesy?
I’m not asking for a class rework. I’m not even asking for a Trait rework, or anything like that. Simply allow us to enter combat alone. [As a side note, my pet leaping out to defend me from a particularly high step on the stairs is a little annoying as well…] Some people have demanded Traits that buff you if the pet is stowed, or a boon that triggers from stowing particular pets, etc. I understand that pets account for a large portion of your DPS, particularly at high levels, and if I must put up with the pet during an instance run, I can. But when i’m doing map completion in a level 10 area, i’d like to go it solo.
If I could please ask that haters and flamers just move along, unless you have any real, valid and useful suggestions that might in some way help me enjoy the game more. Anyone who agrees with this idea, feel free to share your point of view. Thanks.