Guild Wars 2

That Strider’s Defense!!!!

Ranger

Healing Spring: Fixed an issue that allowed this skill to double-activate the healing spring.
Nature’s Vengeance: The boons granted by this trait now use the ranger’s boon duration.
Hidden Barbs: This trait’s increase to bleeding damage has been increased from 20% to 33%.
“Search and Rescue”: This skill has been reworked. It now commands your pet to teleport a nearby fallen ally to your location and then begin reviving them while granting regeneration to allies.
“Guard!”: This skill has been reworked. It now commands your pet to guard nearby allies, taking a portion of the damage directed at them and granting you might.
“Protect Me!”: This skill has been reworked. It now breaks stuns on allies, grants you protection, and causes the next foe to attack you to be taunted by your pet.
Resounding Timbre: Increased the radius affected by this trait from 360 to 600.
Instinctive Reaction: Increased the attribute contribution from healing power to power from 7% to 13%.
Primal Reflexes: Increased the duration of vigor applied by this trait from 5 seconds to 8 seconds.
Expertise Training: Increased the condition duration aspect of this trait from 20% to 33%.
Vigorous Training: Increased the duration of vigor applied by this trait from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
Strider’s Defense: This trait’s chance to destroy projectiles while executing a melee attack has been increased from 25% to 50%.
Honed Axes: The ferocity bonus this trait grants has been increased from 150 to 250.
Predator’s Onslaught: Increased this trait’s damage bonus toward inhibited targets from 10% to 15%.
Fixed a bug that could cause the pet selected during character creation to be replaced by a river drake upon log-in if the original selected pet was nonamphibious and the character had not unlocked any other underwater pets.

I didn’t see any changes for Druid. All other elites got an update except for druid … hrmmmm

dasaybz.9524:

I didn’t see any changes for Druid. All other elites got an update except for druid … hrmmmm

True, but I’m glad they did address some “core ranger” issues. I need to play with the shouts in group setting like PvP and WvW and see how they work out. Excited to explore new options.

Predators onslaught though, thats a real nice buff. The shouts also seem much better – but could still use some work to make them worthy choices over other stuff with the exception of Guard which could be amazing depending on Might output. Overall an improvement for Rangers.

Truth be told – I didn’t really need any stuff to change for druid except for QoL changes.

All we have been asking for all this time was core ranger changes. And we got them. And I do like the changes to shouts. I really do.
If you brainstorm around it a bit … We now have a potential to be a team-support. I do have faith we just got a ticket into the Teamfight support train.

And I like those changes. I’m more than happy about them. Thanks to shouts I might actually consider my pets useful.
But have any of you realized? They did listen and they did implement some of the suggestions about shouts we made.

Thanks to all who helped me with suggestions and the attention that did pay off. This was the time where I’m giving my thanks to ANet who for once did listen.

Rogue Potato.4723:

Predators onslaught though, thats a real nice buff. The shouts also seem much better – but could still use some work to make them worthy choices over other stuff with the exception of Guard which could be amazing depending on Might output. Overall an improvement for Rangers.

Agree. I’m still geeking out about Strider’s Defense. I use it in PvP already with good effect but now 50%…just waiting to try it out.

That Protect me!!! 30 second base CD…. WOW!!

Chokolata.1870:

That Protect me!!! 30 second base CD…. WOW!!

Not ingame, did they change Guard CD?

Chokolata.1870:

That Protect me!!! 30 second base CD…. WOW!!

I can’t see that lasting but good to hear none the less.

Anyone know if SnR still has it’s huge cooldown?

For information:

Cooldowns for new shouts:
Protect Me: 30 sec.
Guard: 30 sec.
Search and Rescue: 45 sec.

I’m gonna miss that 15s CD.

More importantly where the hell are the shortbow changes? ANet, for real?

Allies Aid: 85 sec.

Guard is sitting at 24 sec cd for me?

Edit: Resounding timbre lol… still, if you do trait for it, 24s is not that bad.

You are traited for it?

Have they changed allies aid functionality? I mean, maybe it is still the old iteration of SnR. It would make sense too.

Adrian Guardian.9480:

Allies Aid: 85 sec.

I’d bet my 3 grey hair that this is just a cosmetic bug.
The spell ID is coppied from the spell the trait uses. Just like in Clarion Bond’s case (which is a reason why it seems ridiculous when people ask for it on every swap).

>Healing spring
Nice fix

>Nature’s Vengeance
Also good.

>Hidden Barbs/Expertise Training
Very good. Condi builds are gonna love it for sure.

>Shouts
Looking REAL good.

>Primal Reflexes
Its not a lot, but seeing that Sigil of Energy is nerfed, this Trait’s actually worthwhile and can save you a Sigil slot now.

>Strider’s Defense
Sounds reliable. I can actually imagine using this now…

>Honed Axes
…I wish we got something else over Ferocity like Axe casting speed, but okay…

>Onslaught
Would be better if they increased Cripple Duration effects, but its better than nothing.

All in all, we got off nicely. I’ll certainly try the other shouts more seeing that their cooldowns are reduced and Resounding Timbre is more powerful than ever.

I still can’t believe the Honed Axes change.
Do they even know what’s wrong with this trait?

MoC got nerfed (Stun/daze duration increase down to 50% from 100%). Yay for nerfing core ranger because of druid …

UmbraNoctis.1907:

MoC got nerfed (Stun/daze duration increase down to 50% from 100%). Yay for nerfing core ranger because of druid …

I don’t see that in patch notes. Do you see this in game?

Doughnuthole.2403:

I still can’t believe the Honed Axes change.
Do they even know what’s wrong with this trait?

They don’t even know what’s wrong with axes.

Expiatus.4210:

UmbraNoctis.1907:

MoC got nerfed (Stun/daze duration increase down to 50% from 100%). Yay for nerfing core ranger because of druid …

I don’t see that in patch notes. Do you see this in game?

Yea, it isn’t in the patch notes, but I checked it ingame.

How long does the guard effect last for?

Mouse.3608:

How long does the guard effect last for?

6 seconds.

kevvy.5081:

Mouse.3608:

How long does the guard effect last for?

6 seconds.

How much % damage is transferred to the pet, what is the radius, and does the ranger count as an ally? Is it still ground-targeted? (At work, thanks!)

Salamander.2504:

kevvy.5081:

Mouse.3608:

How long does the guard effect last for?

6 seconds.

How much % damage is transferred to the pet, what is the radius, and does the ranger count as an ally? Is it still ground-targeted? (At work, thanks!)

50% 600 radius No longer ground targeted. Seems all players atleast count as allies ( havnt tested with AI yet) The might lasts 6 seconds with nature magic equipped (5 seconds base) and the cooldown is up to 24 seconds. All in all I am bloody in love with it. Gotta be careful how you use it though. Don’t try to pop it in a meteor shower or rip pet.

Salamander.2504:

kevvy.5081:

Mouse.3608:

How long does the guard effect last for?

6 seconds.

How much % damage is transferred to the pet, what is the radius, and does the ranger count as an ally? Is it still ground-targeted? (At work, thanks!)

50% to the pet. I tried it in PvE and the 95% damage reduction when not targeted by enemies doesn’t apply. Meaning they get full 50% of the damage you get, reduced further by their toughness(I’m assuming, because they do receive less damage than what I received).

Radius is 600, any allies including main that gets damaged receives 50% of the damage. It is no longer ground targeted…

Thanks Shadelang and kevvy, much appreciated. Sounds great wowza…

UmbraNoctis.1907:

Expiatus.4210:

UmbraNoctis.1907:

MoC got nerfed (Stun/daze duration increase down to 50% from 100%). Yay for nerfing core ranger because of druid …

I don’t see that in patch notes. Do you see this in game?

Yea, it isn’t in the patch notes, but I checked it ingame.

Yeah just checked also. Glyph of Equality is now 3 seconds traited. Hitlbash 2 1/4 sec traited. Concussion shot 1 1/2 sec traited. Primal Echoes 2 sec traited.

Well, we have less time for lockdowns, but maybe that’s why they did it. I could chain up to 6 sec in PvP with swap to staff then GoE before patch, now 5 seconds. Not too horrid. Hilt Bash is where it hurts most.

I do not mind the MoC duration nerf. It used to be 50% as a GM trait. Now its a master trait in an already powerful line. We also got a new proc for taunt so thats ok.

Can someone check if they stealth nerfed pet damage or anything?

Chokolata.1870:

I do not mind the MoC duration nerf. It used to be 50% as a GM trait. Now its a master trait in an already powerful line. We also got a new proc for taunt so thats ok.

Skirm is probably the only traitline which is used less than MM in PvP.

Edit: Bristleback and Smokescale seem unchanged (Spike Barrage still hits 20x). Haven’t checked all pets, but i doubt, anet will nerf other pets.

Aww, so they made “Search and Rescue” port your ally to your location. I was hoping you’d get an animation of your pet dragging their body to you. Mechanically, this is a great change, but as much as I shouldn’t have expected a new animation to be added, I’m still sad not to see this, lol.

Mender’s amulet is all I ever wanted.

Dahkeus.8243:

Aww, so they made “Search and Rescue” port your ally to your location. I was hoping you’d get an animation of your pet dragging their body to you. Mechanically, this is a great change, but as much as I shouldn’t have expected a new animation to be added, I’m still sad not to see this, lol.

That would be hilarious! Imagine if they brought back the Bristleback Godzilla bug that was in BWE3 and then used it!

Tragic Positive.9356:

Thanks to all who helped me with suggestions and the attention that did pay off. This was the time where I’m giving my thanks to ANet who for once did listen.

You are something else…

Tragic Positive.9356:

For information:

Cooldowns for new shouts:
Protect Me: 30 sec.
Guard: 30 sec.
Search and Rescue: 45 sec.

Think I have a few new WvW builds sitting in the back of my head with these changes.

This will be fun.

Good changes all around, but something still urks me. Some lackluster traits still remained like Predator’s Instinct. Very small QoL change to Quickdraw being extended from 5s to 6s to cover Whirling Defense or having the buff activate on skill use instead of after cast completion.

I choked a bit while drinking coffee seeing “Throw Axe” from Warrior got an after-cast reduction of 0.5s while Ranger Axe still suffers greatly across all main-hand moves from after-casts. And some over-nerfed skills haven’t seen some sort of rework such as Lingering Light or Go For the Eyes.

What’s left now is Anet wanting to explore more possibilities for adding nature and pet stuff later on. Guess I’ll have to wait for the next balance update to see what changes come. Apologies for sounding like a whiner, but I kind of expected a bit more than just the shout reworks (which are great).

Edit: That Honed Axes buff. Most didn’t want the Ferocity, so they added 100 more…?

No fix to ancient seeds and spike trap?

The shout rework is nothing short of Amazing!! I mean they have added clear viability and utility, reduced cast times to combo them with shout based runes and they have made them a very nice ranger-pet interaction.

protect me is a great toolbox skill. Guard is a double edged sword but kind of nice in a 2v2 or 1v1 scenario and SnR is just…. wow. I do not know if they will be meta or not but I think some pretty insane things can be pulled off, especially in raid encounters.

Maybe I’m speaking too soon, but I feel a CD increase on “Protect Me!” coming soon. 30s/24s for an AOE stun break with Taunt? I can hear the QQ before it even starts.

>=/

Did they break Healing Spring … Again?
Can anyone second this?

I’ve had Healing Spring fail to trigger the Water Field and everything associated with it. Happened especially if I triggered it after some delay (entering the already spawned trap).

Wondrouswall.7169:

Maybe I’m speaking too soon, but I feel a CD increase on “Protect Me!” coming soon. 30s/24s for an AOE stun break with Taunt? I can hear the QQ before it even starts.

>=/

Beastly Warden on 15sec CD already, I don’t think its too problematic. If it becomes common practice to stack them though? ya.

OMG lol, use “Protect Me!” on someone attacking you from ontop of walls in wvw ;-)

Yeah, maybe when stacked with Beastly Warden. I dunno, yet. It’s just a feeling. Give it a day or two before Thieves enter this forum and complain that we have too much Taunt access.

Tragic Positive.9356:

Did they break Healing Spring … Again?
Can anyone second this?

I’ve had Healing Spring fail to trigger the Water Field and everything associated with it. Happened especially if I triggered it after some delay (entering the already spawned trap).

I can confirm that Healing Spring just GOES AWAY if you lay it down and attempt to trigger it AFTERWARDS. The only time it works is when triggering it immediately after casting it.

How the hell did they break it…

Edit: Made a topic for it in the bugs section. Here’s a video of how borked healing spring is if you decide to use it for later instead of immediately.

https://youtu.be/8GsI1B6PJrI

I used Guard before. Not liking the cooldown change, but my God is it powerful now. I’m loving it.

This must be like the tenth buff to striders defense.

2nd buff to SD. Was hoping a little something else would have been added to it like a damage modifier or maybe some unique thing like gaining a boon such as Might or Fury when we have Vigor to synergize with Primal Reflexes.

Still bummed Light On Your Feet hasn’t been changed to proc on evade and is still left tied to only dodges. That and I wish the condition duration was changed to condition damage.

Omg that Strider’s Defense dang. Nice Natures Vengeance change. Shouts look cool.

lol Strider’s Defense is still worthless.

What don’t they understand that nobody will take a trait for a defense that works 50% of the time. Defenses are supposed to be reliable, not RNG.

More importantly, cooldown reduction to mainhand sword is worthless in PvE, since for some reason Serpent Strike has a greater cooldown than Rev’s Unrelenting Assault yet does less than 1/5 of UA’s damage.

I mean, 2/3 of the skills on the mainhand sword are not DPS skills you use rotationally, and in fact they are dodges you use situationally.

Worst of all, garbage like Most Dangerous Game and Nature’s Vengeance still exists.