Guild Wars 2

I have been playing this game a few months now and spent a lot of time in WvW with my ranger. Ranger has never felt like a tank in WvW and my build is all about crit damage/ evading to survive i manage with under 18k HP mostly.

Till now my pet has been a very important aspect of how i was fighting or controlling enemy crowds movements, but with recent updates almost completely nerfing the distance it can travel from you and respawn times changes i’m now at a disadvantage using it.

Here’s an example of what i mean, I use to be able to be a considerable distance(safe) from a target to send my wolf in just to Howl(causes fear) to push back enemy’s grouping in a spot(this can be extremely useful). Now i must get close enough that i could easily get ganged up on and killed making the option pointless.

Another example i use to be able to send in my Wolf till it was near death then switch to my backup pet then almost instantly back to wolf at full HP. Now if your pet has slight damage and you try to switch a 20Sec wait time will come up. I kinda understand why this should be done, but this has dramatically changed how i use the pet in WvW or elsewhere now.

Also the pet was a good distraction if you wanted to get away quick while others fought it, but now since it cant be far from you also pointless.

So my point is these things were not really game breaking in anyways since the pet is a minor inconvenience at best not really a way to kill others.
And is the ranger really so powerful that it needs nerfing of any kind?
It needs to be boosted a lot more IMO

The leash distance is 2k, that means its 500 further than your traited longbow, In other words its been buffed, you can actually send your pet FURTHER than before by using F1, on the downside your pet will no longer chase your target to the ends of the earth.

And the pets always had their full swap out time if you were in combat when you swapped, so nothing changed there…

As a matter of fact the ranger -is- really powerful, especially now that Companions Might has been buffed, using that your pet can deal more damage than it could before.

I have been using F1 the whole time and i’m pretty sure the distance is now lower at least seemed like it. Not sure what “the downside your pet will no longer chase your target to the ends of the earth.” is referring to, but that is basically my issue it wont go to them far enough anymore.

As for the pet swapping it use to work like this for me at least. If your pet died 60 sec wait for it, if you swapped it before death then you could swap it back at full HP few secs later not 20. Now there is 3 possible swap times i see the 60 sec for death, 20 Sec for injured, and 1 sec for full HP.

1sec is put of combat ( doesn’t matter how injured), 20s in combat, 60s dead.

And the distance we can send our pet out used to be just over 1500 now it’s 2k, however pre patch our pet had no cap on how far he could run away from us once we sent him after the target IE, if they ran into range and we hit F1, the pet would follow them until it died, they died, we died, or we swapped it/called it back, now once the pet hits 2k range (the furthest we can send him out) it’ll wait there briefly and if the enemy is running away from us it’ll comeback

I think now that the pet won’t follow anyone far its really time to make the pet quite a bit faster so that at least in the 2000 range it can catch up to other people also if they use a charge to get away.

yeah Durzlla the 1sec outta combat makes sense. So what i imagine that changed is before i was technically out of combat, only sending in my pet to fight so the 1Sec change applied. Now when it goes in it considers you in combat also i’m guessing.

Dukenikum.3982:

yeah Durzlla the 1sec outta combat makes sense. So what i imagine that changed is before i was technically out of combat, only sending in my pet to fight so the 1Sec change applied. Now when it goes in it considers you in combat also i’m guessing.

Yeah once your pet got to a certain distance pre patch you would go outta combat, so that’s probably what you’re noticing

There was a “leash” so to speak put on the pet and the distance you can send it after someone either via F1 or F2 has shrunk drastically. Much like the OP does with the wolf, I did the same. Now it really isn’t possible anymore due to have to get to close.

I don’t know the exact former distance they could be sent but to put it into perspective on what I used to be able to do (which I did quite frequently when our server had Valley Keep..

That bridge outside Langor Gulch, if I stood on the end of that bridge facing Danelon passage, I could send my wolf in to howl at enemies that grouped at the choke point of that passage. Now I can’t.. I literally have to be about half way between before it works.

Whatever distance they allowed us to F1 our pets into was roughly cut in half after the patch.

Dukenikum.3982:

since the pet is a minor inconvenience at best not really a way to kill others.

then again you can do this…

Yeah some are better then others but i really liked the Wolf’s F2 Howl move and its knock down ability. My backup pet is a Jungle Spider because it binds when it hits, its ranged, it borrows away when attacked. But that was my 2nd choice for it XD

Durzlla.6295:

1sec is put of combat ( doesn’t matter how injured), 20s in combat, 60s dead.

And the distance we can send our pet out used to be just over 1500 now it’s 2k, however pre patch our pet had no cap on how far he could run away from us once we sent him after the target IE, if they ran into range and we hit F1, the pet would follow them until it died, they died, we died, or we swapped it/called it back, now once the pet hits 2k range (the furthest we can send him out) it’ll wait there briefly and if the enemy is running away from us it’ll comeback

not entirely true. i tested this once, and the pet only followed till it was outside rendering distance/end of minimap, which at that time, was about 12000 range.

Prysin.8542:

Durzlla.6295:

1sec is put of combat ( doesn’t matter how injured), 20s in combat, 60s dead.

And the distance we can send our pet out used to be just over 1500 now it’s 2k, however pre patch our pet had no cap on how far he could run away from us once we sent him after the target IE, if they ran into range and we hit F1, the pet would follow them until it died, they died, we died, or we swapped it/called it back, now once the pet hits 2k range (the furthest we can send him out) it’ll wait there briefly and if the enemy is running away from us it’ll comeback

not entirely true. i tested this once, and the pet only followed till it was outside rendering distance/end of minimap, which at that time, was about 12000 range.

Still though, that’s kittening far.

Another example of why this is broken comes to mind. Lets say your outside of Greenvale Refuge and there is an enemy on top of the entrance. Really he is just a stones throw away from you… In the past my wolf would run up there and start attacking them but now since that requires it to leave my range limit temporarily that’s not possible.

Really i understand the need to limit the distance somehow but a timer that starts when it goes out of your range would have been a much smarter move.

Durzlla.6295:

The leash distance is 2k, that means its 500 further than your traited longbow, In other words its been buffed, you can actually send your pet FURTHER than before by using F1, on the downside your pet will no longer chase your target to the ends of the earth.

Err…no.

The leash has been shortened by at least 50%. This was changed because people in spvp were QQing that a ranger could leave their pet on mid and can still run to cap another point. So all of the other ranger players can now be nerfed for a mode they don’t even play.

Aridia.3042:

Durzlla.6295:

The leash distance is 2k, that means its 500 further than your traited longbow, In other words its been buffed, you can actually send your pet FURTHER than before by using F1, on the downside your pet will no longer chase your target to the ends of the earth.

Err…no.

The leash has been shortened by at least 50%. This was changed because people in spvp were QQing that a ranger could leave their pet on mid and can still run to cap another point. So all of the other ranger players can now be nerfed for a mode they don’t even play.

I never thought I’d say this, but I agree with Aridia. The leash range was actually nerfed and the patch notes was supposed to say “reduced” instead of “increased” when it mentioned leash range.

I can still distinctly remember sending my Jaguar to attack eagle raptors while standing on the roof of the supply camp south of the Bay Keep. (I even wrote it in the Busting the Myth of Useless Pets article way back in December) I can’t do that anymore This also completely negates the Catssassin Build because you can’t sic your pet on a dolyak while hiding behind a rock anymore.

This should be a sPvP only change.

Same, i have a hard time believing there was an increase. I keep getting the “your pet is too far from its target” message. That’s for the F1. That said, this one is just a feeling. I feel that all these targets used to be in range.

The other aspect of the leash is obvious, with the pet dropping its target immediately when there’s a bit of distance.

Shortbow and pet damage, meh, don’t like it (obviously) but can survive. That leash really depresses me though, particularly with the feeling that all it has to do is *$"£& sPvP once again and they can’t be bothered to split skills.

Yup, it was nerf.

But on the other hand, Wolf F2 casting time reducted from 3s to 1,5s or massive survi boost to all pets was buff, and ppl keep forgetting about it.

Durzlla.6295:

The leash distance is 2k, that means its 500 further than your traited longbow, In other words its been buffed, you can actually send your pet FURTHER than before by using F1, on the downside your pet will no longer chase your target to the ends of the earth.

It can be my impression, but I also agree with OP here: When I normally could have my dog chase a dolly while I would be capping the camp in the meantime, it now comes back to me way quicker, without chasing the dolly..

Durzlla.6295:

The leash distance is 2k, that means its 500 further than your traited longbow, In other words its been buffed, you can actually send your pet FURTHER than before by using F1, on the downside your pet will no longer chase your target to the ends of the earth.

The leash distance was 5000 before.
We could send our pets MUCH FURTHER by using F1 and it would chase targets when they quickly run away using teleports, shadowsteps, and those kind of things.

Also, the previous leash distance was ver useful to attack siege weapons in the ground.

… waiting until the “Ranger is uber and after the patch much more betters then ever learn to play” crowd will flock in …

But on the more serious note: I played WvW only with my Ranger (and of course everything I used in my build was “nerfed” last patch.

WvW now feels completely off with my Ranger…
Pets always get the “too far away” signal now.
Dont wanna talk about Shortbow …

So guys.
Everything is very good. Soon (™ in about a year I guess) Longbow will get some “love” from the devs (how I fear that day ^^)

I tried several new builds…
But I dont want to play with sword/dagger – axe/torch… I wanted to play Ranger because we are “Unparalleld Archers” and stuff…

/rantoff

so +1 to the OP (my tip: go and make a Necro for WvW – they really are fun now )

The F1 range of the Pet is a bad joke now.
In most cases I want to send my pet early so its in attack range when I arrive.
If you are not in range, your pet doesnt even start running.

I do wonder why the pet leash change wasn’t split between PvE-WvW and sPvP. Then again I ask myself that very same question about a lot of the changes in the latest patch.

By the way, Aeri; I lolled at your sig. So true!

Mardermann.7468:

I tried several new builds…
But I dont want to play with sword/dagger – axe/torch… I wanted to play Ranger because we are “Unparalleld Archers” and stuff…

/rantoff

I’m still running my ranger in WvW, with SB/LB, thus “unparallelled archer” like..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFszeYiXWg

Too many have a myopic view of their class and don’t see the big picture. If Anet released patch notes that said they are increasing Ranger damage by 10% everyone would be happy and call it a buff. If you went further down the notes and realized they buffed every other class damage 20%, then you would realize overall Rangers got a nerf rather than a buff.

I still think Rangers are pretty good in solo/small man roaming in WvW, but they aren’t as good as they were before the patch. Two classes we could kill pretty easily before patch were Warrior and Necro. Obviously that isn’t the case anymore. Combine that with the pets nerf and yes, I do believe Rangers took a hit.

The range in which you can send in your pets was most certainly reduced. at the same distances i used to send my pet onto an NPC in wvw i am now getting the pet out of range warning. it seems that people now have to be fairly close to send them in.

I hope they removed the Guard Skill ranger had for pet it also seems useless now not that i used much before, but i always hoped it would become a standard pet move rather then a skill.

Guard is actually really nice for skirmishes. Everyone says “Oh, geez, it’s so easy to dodge pet attacks” of course, that’s predicated upon being able to see the pet. >:)

Did anyone read my post? The leash range IE how far your pet can go away from you, was nerfed, how far we can send our pet via targeting them and hitting F1 has been INCREASED overall it’s a nerf, but now we can send our pet further by hitting F1 instead of them just sitting at our side going “Lawlz no”.

Keep in mind if you’re using GUARD (I’m looking at you WvW players) you can’t send your pet as far because pre patch it used to be you could send your pet X distance, now it’s you can send your pet X distance FROM YOU. IE: pre patch you could use guard to send your pet out further than you could if it were standing at your side, now you can not.

Durzlla.6295:

Did anyone read my post? The leash range IE how far your pet can go away from you, was nerfed, how far we can send our pet via targeting them and hitting F1 has been INCREASED overall it’s a nerf, but now we can send our pet further by hitting F1 instead of them just sitting at our side going “Lawlz no”.

Keep in mind if you’re using GUARD (I’m looking at you WvW players) you can’t send your pet as far because pre patch it used to be you could send your pet X distance, now it’s you can send your pet X distance FROM YOU. IE: pre patch you could use guard to send your pet out further than you could if it were standing at your side, now you can not.

Again, no. Please stop spreading misinformation.

What you’ve said makes no sense because at no point prior to this patch did the pet ever ignore your F1 command unless it was sent out to attack something out of a leash’s range, so whatever attack range limitation you had before was not really there in practice. I would routinely send out a drake to engage open field AC/Cata before this patch which is not doable anymore.

Point is your pet’s attack leash got shaved by half and there are no benefit at all to the ranger with this “buff” which is more likely a typo.

I don’t really think Durzlla is exactly spreading misinformation Aridia, but i do find it somewhat confusing here is a better way to think of it.

Before the patch imagine your dog had an actual leash on it with a chain at the old distance, what happened was you got in range to release it from that chain and attack without any type of leash on it after the fact.

Now it’s more like using a retractable leash giving it a greater start attack range(still not sure about that), but more shockingly it does not release pet from it after starting the attack and seems to run out of chain length fast pulling it back to you.

i think the problem is not the leakitten was a necessary nerf

Dukenikum.3982:

I don’t really think Durzlla is exactly spreading misinformation Aridia, but i do find it somewhat confusing here is a better way to think of it.

Before the patch imagine your dog had an actual leash on it with a chain at the old distance, what happened was you got in range to release it from that chain and attack without any type of leash on it after the fact.

Now it’s more like using a retractable leash giving it a greater start attack range(still not sure about that), but more shockingly it does not release pet from it after starting the attack and seems to run out of chain length fast pulling it back to you.

You do NOT have a greater start attack range now and you never had to get in range to release a pet. If your range is greater now, it’s done artificially and it’s completely intellectually dishonest to call it that.

I know this because prior to this patch the pet has never refused to attack an open field siege for me, when I was at least 4k+ away in WvW.

What’s more likely is, assuming the patch notes were not a typo, is that the start attack range was never taken into account so it never mattered, but now it is, and it’s a bigger number which like stuffing a piece of kitten into your sandwich and calling it a burger, just like the QZ animation fix.

I never said my range is great lol when i said (still not sure about that) basically implying sarcasm to the previous sentence.

Uh yes there was a limit to how far you could send your pet out, running up to mansion/windmill I was never able to send my pet at the guy on point prior to getting up the ramp, now I can, same with forest.

Durzlla.6295:

Uh yes there was a limit to how far you could send your pet out, running up to mansion/windmill I was never able to send my pet at the guy on point prior to getting up the ramp, now I can, same with forest.

So you’re telling me “leash range” and “F1 attack range” are two different things? I’d have to test this out. Not sure how well I can test this though, as I don’t have pre-patch data to compare with >_<

Durz is right :P

jubskie.3152:

So you’re telling me “leash range” and “F1 attack range” are two different things? I’d have to test this out. Not sure how well I can test this though, as I don’t have pre-patch data to compare with >_<

Unless you’re talking about spvp, which I can’t comment because I don’t play that mode, that’s bullocks. Prior to this patch, I’ve never had a pet tell me it’s out of range unless the target is out of the leash range to begin with. It is definitely not the case in WvW or I wouldn’t have been able to attack ground siege with it if the attack range was that short.

Pet Attack and Leash ranges have definitely been decreased. Prior to the patch I could pretty much select any target on my screen and hit F1 to attack it. If it isn’t within 2000 range now I will get the “too far away” message. It really sucks because I can’t use my pet to harass or distract anymore (or sneakily destroy siege, which I loved doing).

I understand the change for sPvP because you could pretty much cover the whole map, but it really really hurts Rangers in WvW where it’s massive open field combat.

Aridia.3042:

jubskie.3152:

So you’re telling me “leash range” and “F1 attack range” are two different things? I’d have to test this out. Not sure how well I can test this though, as I don’t have pre-patch data to compare with >_<

Unless you’re talking about spvp, which I can’t comment because I don’t play that mode, that’s bullocks. Prior to this patch, I’ve never had a pet tell me it’s out of range unless the target is out of the leash range to begin with. It is definitely not the case in WvW or I wouldn’t have been able to attack ground siege with it if the attack range was that short.

Chill axe, bro. We don’t know yet. I have the same issue as you, I press F1 before I start pewpewing out of habit because I keep my pet in passive most of the time.

I’m planning on testing by:
1. going near enough to my target to make it auto attack without the message (gonna test with 1500 range longbow and see how far/near i have to be.)
2. I’ll then back away farther and farther. If I can leave my pet to attack farther than 2k range, we can assume that they are different things.

There was no increase in range, it was an outright nerf by 50%. If you read closer to the start of the thread I provided an example. That bridge out from of Langor Gulch.. if I stood on end of that bridge, I could send my wolf to howl at enemies grouped at the choke point of Danleon passage. I can no longer “F1” or send my wolf into attack, I have to be about half way in between.

Whether or not they allow for your pet to chase your target further than before is irrelevant. If you have to get close enough that your own bacon is on the line, it no longer is worth it.

The pet had utility before with it’s range, now it doesn’t. I could stand back however far before and not look very threatening to the enemy, now I have to run right at them to get in range. What do people think a group might do if a ranger charged them? If Anet is calling this a buff.. it’s just sugar coating a load of kitten.

They nerfed and didn’t mention it (or broke it). They also nerfed Barrage damage by 50% nor did I read anything on that either.

jubskie.3152:

Chill axe, bro. We don’t know yet. I have the same issue as you, I press F1 before I start pewpewing out of habit because I keep my pet in passive most of the time.

I’m planning on testing by:
1. going near enough to my target to make it auto attack without the message (gonna test with 1500 range longbow and see how far/near i have to be.)
2. I’ll then back away farther and farther. If I can leave my pet to attack farther than 2k range, we can assume that they are different things.

Attack range is over 2k right now. But all that means is your start range as well as your leash was cut in half. Which sound about right if the original leash was at 5k.

You can easily test this at LA with the dummies and use the NPCs and out of bounds skill red line as markers along with LB1 and GS5 as additional measurements.

If you ever WvW and know what the usual cata setup spots are for attacking Woodhaven, Longview and Sunnyhill, you used to be able to send your pet out from the tower to those siege spots, which is well over 2.5k.

It’s LOL people are debating this. People should really play the game sometime…

Hey, but on the plus side, Anet broke guard again and we can send pets outside and inside tower walls once more. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Substance E.4852:

Hey, but on the plus side, Anet broke guard again and we can send pets outside and inside tower walls once more. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Guard is not broken, pets are going through walls normally with just plain F1 as long as you have someone targeted on the other side or on top of the wall.

Not sure if this is working as intended though.

Aridia.3042:

Substance E.4852:

Hey, but on the plus side, Anet broke guard again and we can send pets outside and inside tower walls once more. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Guard is not broken, pets are going through walls normally with just plain F1 as long as you have someone targeted on the other side or on top of the wall.

Not sure if this is working as intended though.

Well, I wouldn’t say going through walls is “normal”.
I’ll try it tonight (if I remember it), but I’d say this is a bug. And I bet this one will be fixed ASAP, not like all the nearly-one-year-old-bugs that plage our class.

Durzlla.6295:

Did anyone read my post? The leash range IE how far your pet can go away from you, was nerfed, how far we can send our pet via targeting them and hitting F1 has been INCREASED overall it’s a nerf, but now we can send our pet further by hitting F1 instead of them just sitting at our side going “Lawlz no”.

I read your post indeed, and it puzzles me because i have the opposite experience. I used to F1 my pet to distant siege all the time. Now i’m getting the pet too far, yadda yadda yadda message all the time. Again, this is F1, not the pet despawn at range which also gets me depressed.

cafard.8953:

Durzlla.6295:

Did anyone read my post? The leash range IE how far your pet can go away from you, was nerfed, how far we can send our pet via targeting them and hitting F1 has been INCREASED overall it’s a nerf, but now we can send our pet further by hitting F1 instead of them just sitting at our side going “Lawlz no”.

I read your post indeed, and it puzzles me because i have the opposite experience. I used to F1 my pet to distant siege all the time. Now i’m getting the pet too far, yadda yadda yadda message all the time. Again, this is F1, not the pet despawn at range which also gets me depressed.

Right, it’s happening the same to me.

Ok, tested this just now. This is how I tested:

1. Equipped Eagle eye to gauge 1500 range. Shooting an arrow hits, pets can be commanded to attack.
2. Dodge roll backwards to get 1800 range. Shooting an arrow hits, pets can be commanded to attack
3. Dodge roll backwards to get 2100 range. Arrows don’t hit anymore, pets don’t respond to F1 commands anymore. The “Your pet is too far away from target” prompt starts to appear.

shh.. don’t say that LB is hitting 300 more than it should even if the indicator say that you’re out of range! They would fix it!

Soronthar.7236:

shh.. don’t say that LB is hitting 300 more than it should even if the indicator say that you’re out of range! They would fix it!

You have been able to do this with the bow, and I suspect any projectile weapon, since launch if you are on higher ground than the target. It’s also harder to gauge how far the arrow goes since we get the red bar past 1200 even with eagle eye on level targets sometimes.

Aridia.3042:

Substance E.4852:

Hey, but on the plus side, Anet broke guard again and we can send pets outside and inside tower walls once more. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Guard is not broken, pets are going through walls normally with just plain F1 as long as you have someone targeted on the other side or on top of the wall.

Not sure if this is working as intended though.

I would say no unless they have done a 180 since they fixed guard the first time. And the way they walk right through the walls definitively makes it seem like a bug. as much as I like to be able to use pets in wvw again, I really hope they get on this asap before the zoomhack people start to abuse the hell out of it. It’s already bad enough to get hit with dragon’s teeth inside tower walls.