I’ve been thinking about ranger pets. There is certainly an issue with them but what can be done? Buff their survivability too much and while this would allow them to tank ground targeted aoe, they will be too powerful everywhere else. BM ranger with the right setup can solo almost all group content as it is.
People have asked for a key bind for pet dodging but I guess the impression is that this would raise the skill cap too much for ranger.
But after seeing it first hand the Honor of Waves dungeon, something needs to be done. I’m talking about the boss past the ice turrets that puts down multiple high damage aoe. Easy enough to avoid for the player. They take so much time to actually ramp up that a player can run out of the circle without even dodging. Pets on the other hand, the ranger has to call the pet back.
The level of micromanaging that the ranger has to do, the use of a pet dodge key bind would actually lower the skill cap, not raise it. But anyway, my suggestion is a bit different.
I have multiple suggestions actually.
1. Changes to the aggressive/passive commands and how they function. As it is, with the pet on passive, it will stay with you. Until you specifically tell it to attack or use it’s F2 skill. The change I would like to see is for the pet to use the F2 skill, then return to being passive. Some F2 skills buff allies and not do any harm to the enemy. It would be nice if you could put the pet on passive and use the pet’s F2 to buff yourself and allies. As for F2 skills that do harm to the enemy, the pet will use the F2 against the enemy but then return to passive. So in fights where the enemy puts down aoe, you can time the use of the F2 but the pet won’t stay at the enemy and end up in the enemy’s aoe.
Now currently you can use the F2, wait for the pet to use it, then F3 your pet back. It would be nice to not have to micro manage.
So you may be thinking that you like telling your pet to engage by opening up with F2. That’s a good point and I do that too. That is what aggressive is for. As it is, you can call your pet back while on aggressive and it will stay with you. As soon as you tell it to use F2, it will use it but then it will go and continue to engage the target.
2. An assist command. Currently there is aggressive and passive. You switch between the two. A third should be added called “Assist”. What is assist? Well, it is bit of a blend of the other two with one or two qualities all its own.
Aggressive: If you are hit or you engage a target, your pet will attack that enemy on its own. If you choose to switch targets after attacking one, the pet will switch too UNLESS you specifically tell your pet to attack a target (F1) or you tell your pet to use its F2 while you have a target selected. In which case, the pet will continue to attack that target until it dies, pet can’t reach, goes out of range, or you tell your pet to attack the new target via F1 or F2.
Passive: If you are hit or you engage a target, your pet will not attack that enemy on its own. You have to tell your pet to attack via F1 or F2 and your pet will continue to attack that target even if you engage a different one. It’ll continue to do so until it dies, pet can’t reach, etc. same as above.
Assist: If you are hit, your pet will not attack. If you engage a target, your pet will attack that same target. If you switch targets, your pet will switch targets too. The only way to keep it attacking the first target while you switch is if you use F1 on the first target (F2 will not work this time). If you use F2, your pet will still switch targets with you.
This is a change that would go with with the first suggestion.