Guild Wars 2

Hey,
so I have no idea how the pet determines this or if its just bugged but it would be great that if a pet is on passive and hasnt been ordered to attack that when you activate the F2 ability, it literally stops where it it and activates its F2 ability.

This is directed at AoE F2 activation skills (Canines in my case). Sometimes the pet will just stop and activate its F2 and other times I have to play the F3 F2 game where I try to get my pet to remove target and then CC.

e.g. I swap out to my Wolf (2nd pet) when downed, have 2+ people around and try to AoE fear, pet runs away from the guy stomping me to the other guy ranging me to fear when I want it to fear the guy stomping me.
That is how it randomly works for me.

I could rant on about it, but that is basically it.
Oh and this is mainly for WvW (and PvP I guess).

Never had an issue with this.
…
If you targeted a player 800 units away from you – pet will try to use the ability on that particular target. If you targeted the player trying to stomp you – you would have zero issues.

The problem you are talking about is nothing but a human factor. Your problem has already been solved. This is how it works:

• If no target is selected – Your pet will use the ability at it’s current location (regardless of whether it wit hit or not)
• If your target is selected – your pet will try to use the ability on that particular target

This allows you to use the pet whichever way you like. You can use him to activate abilities on spot, on any enemy you wish and so forth.

Not to mention that like every single skilled Ranger holds his pet on passive waiting for opportunity to send him to attack, mostly starting with F2 ability
Your idea would make your life comfortable (because you are bad at pet management) and would ruin it for the rest of us.

That’s what my opinion is.

Draeyon.4392:

Sometimes the pet will just stop and activate its F2 and other times I have to play the F3 F2 game where I try to get my pet to remove target and then CC.

It’s not a simple matter of AoE, it depends if the F2 is also an attack (it make damage). The Wolf fear, for exemple, is an AoE and an attack so if you use it when your pet is on passive, he will reach the target an then will activate the ability, it’s an attack order, basically.

If the F2 is a non attack ability, the pet will activate it at his current location before to reach the target, like the Fern Hound.

There is at least one exception with the Brown Bear who will reach the target even if his F2 is not an attack.

Tragic Positive.9356:

Not to mention that like every single skilled Ranger holds his pet on passive waiting for opportunity to send him to attack, mostly starting with F2 ability
Your idea would make your life comfortable (because you are bad at pet management) and would ruin it for the rest of us.

No need to be that rude, his proposal already exists but it only depends if the F2 is an attack order or not.

borya.2964:

Tragic Positive.9356:

Not to mention that like every single skilled Ranger holds his pet on passive waiting for opportunity to send him to attack, mostly starting with F2 ability
Your idea would make your life comfortable (because you are bad at pet management) and would ruin it for the rest of us.

No need to be that rude, his proposal already exists but it only depends if the F2 is an attack order or not.

I believe I was not rude, yet. I was straight and strict. I do not like beating around the bush. I am aware that truth is painful, but I am not that kind of guy who’ll sugarcoat what seems rather obvious.

If I was wrong than I apologize. But my point is that the sooner he realizes that there is a way to get better – the sooner he can work hard to improve if he chooses so.

I have to agree with Tragic that its a pet management issue and its good to point this out to TS. Lets not confuse honesty and straightforwardness with rudeness.

I see a lot of rangers in pvp running around with dead pets, or with pets on wrong targets. Its good to remind ourselfs and fellow rangers to use our pets well.

lol, made an assumption without seeing me play.
I do use my pets wisely actually.
Doesn’t help that my pet runs beside me as im trying to set up a fear/immob then runs to my target and misses due to activation time but well, I guess having too much forethought and the ability to strategically place me pets is a bit too much to ask for.

Can someone explain me why the brown bear that skill is cleanse conditions runs against it target before use the skill and the cabbage wolf that has healing do in on the spot ans then go attack?

Just asking because still i don’t see any sense in the bear cleaning conditions on the target instead you.

Look, the “don’t target anything” is a very bad excuse for something that is broken. If i have the pet on passive that means that i want to tell him exactly when i want the pet to attack.
If the pet cast F2 and then go attack the target even in a passive state that’s a bug / bad programming. If it’s in passive it is in passive IMO. Otherwise i would have it in aggressive and call it back when needed.

This kind of erratic behaviour in the pet defines this class, most skills/traits are random and not reliable.

Draeyon.4392:

lol, made an assumption without seeing me play.
I do use my pets wisely actually.
Doesn’t help that my pet runs beside me as im trying to set up a fear/immob then runs to my target and misses due to activation time but well, I guess having too much forethought and the ability to strategically place me pets is a bit too much to ask for.

If you don’t want the pet to run beside you, send it in and pull it back continually so that it stays away from you and closer to whatever you are setting up the fear/immob for. If you want to strategically place your pet, there is a skill designed just for that, it even stealths the pet and is on a short CD….

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Draeyon.4392:

lol, made an assumption without seeing me play.
I do use my pets wisely actually.
Doesn’t help that my pet runs beside me as im trying to set up a fear/immob then runs to my target and misses due to activation time but well, I guess having too much forethought and the ability to strategically place me pets is a bit too much to ask for.

If you don’t want the pet to run beside you, send it in and pull it back continually so that it stays away from you and closer to whatever you are setting up the fear/immob for. If you want to strategically place your pet, there is a skill designed just for that, it even stealths the pet and is on a short CD….

I think in english that is called coping mechanism trying to fix something broken with another mechanics. It shouldn’t be that difficult to make the pet do what you need

anduriell.6280:

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Draeyon.4392:

lol, made an assumption without seeing me play.
I do use my pets wisely actually.
Doesn’t help that my pet runs beside me as im trying to set up a fear/immob then runs to my target and misses due to activation time but well, I guess having too much forethought and the ability to strategically place me pets is a bit too much to ask for.

If you don’t want the pet to run beside you, send it in and pull it back continually so that it stays away from you and closer to whatever you are setting up the fear/immob for. If you want to strategically place your pet, there is a skill designed just for that, it even stealths the pet and is on a short CD….

I think in english that is called coping mechanism trying to fix something broken with another mechanics. It shouldn’t be that difficult to make the pet do what you need

What is it you expect? A screen full of buttons for pet management? One for “stay over there” one for “come here” one for “stay close to the target, but not too close” one for “attack immediately if the target starts to channel something” one for “stay in this area and attack anyone who come close” one for…. You can already do all of that easily.
It is not difficult at all to make the pet do exactly what I need, you just have to understand how to do it.

No man,
what I was asking is that if my pet is on passive and I have not given it the command to attack someone that when I activate the F2 ability, the pet just stops and activates it. That is it. It does this sometimes, probably a majority of the time actually but not always.

I agree; Anet should trust us to activate the skills exactly when and where we want them. The pet trying to be helpful usually makes it worse. Just do it NOW.

I am also saddened to learn I am not a skilled ranger because I always keep my pets on guard. :O

Fluffball.8307:

I agree; Anet should trust us to activate the skills exactly when and where we want them. The pet trying to be helpful usually makes it worse. Just do it NOW.

I am also saddened to learn I am not a skilled ranger because I always keep my pets on guard. :O

Yeah, if you didn’t want the pet to use the skill right then and there, you wouldn’t have activated the skill. If you wanted it to get into range of something in particular, we would just send it there 1st.

I am also saddened to hear of your lack of skill Fluffy….

anduriell.6280:

Can someone explain me why the brown bear that skill is cleanse conditions runs against it target before use the skill and the cabbage wolf that has healing do in on the spot ans then go attack?

Just asking because still i don’t see any sense in the bear cleaning conditions on the target instead you.

Look, the “don’t target anything” is a very bad excuse for something that is broken. If i have the pet on passive that means that i want to tell him exactly when i want the pet to attack.
If the pet cast F2 and then go attack the target even in a passive state that’s a bug / bad programming. If it’s in passive it is in passive IMO. Otherwise i would have it in aggressive and call it back when needed.

This kind of erratic behaviour in the pet defines this class, most skills/traits are random and not reliable.

And what does this have in common with the OP?
The OP states that the pet uses abilities in a magical state that is always wrong due to casting abilities on wrong targets and at wrong places.

And we already explained that the pet always casts the abilities at targets you told him to or at the place he currently stands at.
Easy, simple and complex as that.

What you are saying now is an issue that is completely different, because the topic of it is “Helpful Casts” such as Bear’s Shake it off! or probably Sylvan Hound’s Regenerate, and Jungle Stalker’s Mighty Roar.
That is completely irrelevant from the issue and is a subject of completely different topic. If you want to talk about that – you should consider creating a different thread.

As it is now – every single problem of the OP has never been wrong and it’s clear the problems are an issue of the player. The ways to achieve the proposed is already there.

You don’t ask the state to create a straight road to your home just because you are too lazy to walk the roads that are already there, do you?

Furthermore: Your proposed change would make pets on passive useless. Because only the ones with helpful abilities would make an effect. You might not be aware, but a pet that needs a target for his ability will blow the cooldown without effect if he casts it on the spot (just like now without a target). So your idea will turn pets into helpful utility sticks that cannot attack because we turned them “passive”.

A lot of times when I tried to finish off a downed state ranger with stealth (Shadow Refuge) , i often get fear off by this kitten wolf. This wolf have sort of becoming the “Must Have” pet for WvW in T1.

Beside that, they don’t seem to have problems with executing pet skill .I think the main problem is selecting or deselecting target so the pet will know whether to use the skill on the target or on the spot. (Still depends on the pet skill type.)

Hope that helps:)

Wolf becoming the must-have? That puppy has been popular for quite a long time.

Fluffball.8307:

I agree; Anet should trust us to activate the skills exactly when and where we want them. The pet trying to be helpful usually makes it worse. Just do it NOW.

I am also saddened to learn I am not a skilled ranger because I always keep my pets on guard. :O

I do to, I actually prefer to manually recall and resend him while in combat when I need to rather than always, I feel you lose out on pet damage many times if you keep him on passive maybe it’s just my kittenty lag…

One note on controlling pets, get a mouse with buttons for pet keybinds because with all the commands (F1, F2, F3, F4) on your mouse, it is super easy to control the pet once you have that muscle memory built up.

Tragic Positive.9356:

And we already explained that the pet always casts the abilities at targets you told him to or at the place he currently stands at.
Easy, simple and complex as that.

To be fair, it’s not that easy and simple.

borya.2964:

It’s not a simple matter of AoE, it depends if the F2 is also an attack (it make damage). The Wolf fear, for exemple, is an AoE and an attack so if you use it when your pet is on passive, he will reach the target an then will activate the ability, it’s an attack order, basically.

If the F2 is a non attack ability, the pet will activate it at his current location before to reach the target, like the Fern Hound.

This is the general rule when you have a target.

When you don’t have a target, non attack order F2 act the same. Problem is, when most of the time an attack order F2 wil be activated at the current pet location, sometimes the pet will still run a target before to activate it. This is quit boring when it come in a 1 vs 2, when the pet run to the second traget instead of fear the one who is attacking you in closed range.

anduriell.6280:

This kind of erratic behaviour in the pet defines this class, most skills/traits are random and not reliable.

My pets are always on passive, except in 1 vs 1 with non condi build, and i am also a Guard user. I only use the Wolf and the Siamoth. Both will open with the knockdown skill with F1 and Guard (100 % sure). If i use first the F2, the next skill is not necessarily the knockdown one. It’s all i need to know. It’s not that hard to take some time in a PVE area to see how your pets work.

That being said, the mechanic could be better for sure and it’s probably the time to make some proposals : https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/F2-button-for-Stolen-Item-skill-usage