Guild Wars 2

My current build for my level 62 ranger is to choose pets that have the highest toughness as well as using a signet that increases that toughness even further. In doing this, I ensure that my pet takes as little damage as possible. At the same time, I use another signet that provides passive regeneration for my pet and I. The purpose of this combo is to keep my enemies’ attacks as useless as possible. By ensuring that each of their attacks to minimal damage, the passive regen from my signet will heal my pet for a significant amount of the damage initially dealt.

So far, this build has worked extremely well. The only real flaw is when enemies target me instead of my pet… I have noticed this is particularly bad with Risen enemies, who seem to be largely un-phased by my pet’s presence. When this happens, it doesn’t do much to limit the large amounts of damage I can deal, but it’s extremely risky because I’m much squishier than my pet. When I get into really dire situations, I am forced to used my elite skill, which conjures binding roots, allowing my to put some distance between me and my foe.

Any suggestions on what might solve this problem or just generally improve this build.

I only find that problem with risen too. I wish the pets had some sort of agro ability, at least the tank pets.

Are you running a condition damage build ? It seems that happends a lot with high dps/ condition damage builds. When I’m using a sword or an axe they keep attacking my pet more consistently, kinda strange…

My Ranger is only lvl 45 atm, so take this in consideration…

I’ve been told that in the mid lvl’s the Pet does a lot more of your dps then at lvl 80. You can’t set up a build for a tank pet, it’s not going to work for many lvl’s now you’re 62.

The signet that increases toughness for the Pet adds to little to be worthwhile.

If you spec into Beastmastery you also get more healing power, this affects your pet allowing you to not use only the high Toughness ones. I’ve had more success with the high Vit Pets myself. At lvl 45 I’m traited 0-0-15-10-10 and my Arctodus is super. The big meta in Harathi Hinterlands he was in the bossfight the entire time. Being used to an Engineer I still find the Ranger to be doing good dps even in this defensive build, at least at lvl 45. This will also allow you to use a pet that adds more dps or CC, keeping the critters away from you.

If you’re not taking in any Toughness in your build you will have to rely on CC to avoid getting hit. Use traps.

I’ve been hearing people having issues with pets dying or being squishy for so long I wonder what is going on, because I’ve used Cats the whole time and they always served me execellently and are plenty durable, dispte having low vit/toughness. But then again, I spec a full 30 into Beastmastery, which adds 300 to your pet’s attributes, so maybe that’s why my cats eat everything like it’s nothing.

I can even go afk for a smoke in a mob infested area, and come back with a few bodies scattered on the ground around me.

Really though, if you wanna focus on your pet being a beast, fully speccing into Beastmastery is huge. +300 (or +200 for the OP at mid level) is a LOT of stats…like…a lot.

Why are people not using carnivorous appetite. That way no matter what pet you use they gain health back on crit. My pet reg health quickly that a can believe that a feline can tank.

Acaelus Thorne.3862:

Why are people not using carnivorous appetite. That way no matter what pet you use they gain health back on crit. My pet reg health quickly that a can believe that a feline can tank.

Because people don’t seem to understand that if they want to be offensive they should help their pet out too instead of being LAWLZ I DO DAH DAMAGAE!

Not to mention a lot of people are used to other MMOs where the pets are essentially just meat shields and nothing more, personally i have 30 points in BM and also have masters bond which allows up to 500 additional stats to my pet truly making him a force to be reckoned with!

Does anyone have hard figures for how much healing Carnivorous Appitite heals? I may have to go do some in game testing when I get home, but in the past it’s always felt like a “lot”.

Here was my issue. I have tried a number of builds, pretty much focused on my ranger himself. Tried condition build, power build, crit build, even went a tank build for myself. In all of those builds my pet always kept aggro, and of course, he died fairly easy as well. I would just summon my second pet, and he would instantly take aggro.

So I figured, how about I make a full pet build. So I remade my character, and went full pet build. In the end I came out with 2 sets of natural regen for my pet, he gains hp on crit, my crits give him bonus damage, he gains stability/defense whenever he gets hit by a debuff, I have troll urgent standing by incase his hp goes down, as well as rampage as one for fighting mass mobs.

I will be real here, I never seen my pet go below 75% hp (using bears of course). I even completed a [group event] by myself, and my bear was able to completely tank the champion mob while I just hid on the side attacking away. Now the problem is, my pet is sokittentanky, neigh unkillable, but he no longer tanks.

He can not keep aggro for anything, I never had the issue before, but now one or two hits and all the mobs come flying at me, all except for that one champion monster, but any regular mobs and they are instantly all over me. Whats the point of having a super pet, if he wont tank for me. Not to mention my pet is hitting for a good 900 damage, while I am only dishing out 150. So he is the dps and the tank, I am just back up.

I swapped to using Axe/Torch with a Murellow, and it worked great on paper. He uses AoE poison cloud, I drop fire ring, throw split axes, and we dot them up with poison, fire, bleed, and ice. Not to mention my axes hit 3 targets at a time, so its even better.

But like I said.. he would not hold aggro at all, so I respeced again. Went back to a power/crit build, and hes mysteriously holding aggro.. so wtf..

@Orbys welcome to Tyria where mobs go after the squishier targets before the sturdy ones!! You can always do what i do, and make a build where you and your pet fight, you know… together? instead of one of you as the star and the other as the backup dancer, i’ve noticed that when you and your pet share the burden it just turns out BETTER, granted i have seen some builds that have proven this wrong, but they’re harder to pull off and blah blah blah

can someone post a recommended beast master build?

Durzlla.6295:

@Orbys welcome to Tyria where mobs go after the squishier targets before the sturdy ones!! You can always do what i do, and make a build where you and your pet fight, you know… together? instead of one of you as the star and the other as the backup dancer, i’ve noticed that when you and your pet share the burden it just turns out BETTER, granted i have seen some builds that have proven this wrong, but they’re harder to pull off and blah blah blah

Sounds like a fun build. Care to share?