(edited by Vox Hollow.2736)
One of the reasons why the Ranger and pet are built the way that they are, is because if we gave the ranger all the power, then the pet would have to be useless and vestigial, or everyone would claim rangers are OP. That’s one of the core reasons we can’t just increase pet attribute numbers. Without a method for avoiding damage, it also means your pet takes 4 hits in dungeons instead of only 2 or 3, so it doesn’t really solve the problem.
We have WvW reps in the balance meeting as well, so I’ll be sure to poke and prod them about ranger pets in zerg battles to get their opinions. Personally I tend to do well keeping a pet non-hostile until the zergs actually clash – then switching him to hostile and managing his target. Otherwise when I try to shoot some arrows at somebody, Cuddles the Black Widow decides it is time to charge into battle. I really don’t feel like this is a bad solution. While most people may resist it, if you want your pet to charge the front line and lead the attack, consider grabbing up the signet that makes your pet invulnerable for a few seconds.@Swagg – that’s a lovely chart
So while we’re forced to stay at range, at half power because our pet is half of what we are, a Thief, Elementalist, Guardian, Warrior or Mesmer can dart into the Zerg, and back out of the Zerg at full power, while we get to watch until the entire force decides to move in?
I’m glad I left the Ranger right after pre-release.
One of the reasons why the Ranger and pet are built the way that they are, is because if we gave the ranger all the power, then the pet would have to be useless and vestigial, or everyone would claim rangers are OP. That’s one of the core reasons we can’t just increase pet attribute numbers. Without a method for avoiding damage, it also means your pet takes 4 hits in dungeons instead of only 2 or 3, so it doesn’t really solve the problem.
We have WvW reps in the balance meeting as well, so I’ll be sure to poke and prod them about ranger pets in zerg battles to get their opinions. Personally I tend to do well keeping a pet non-hostile until the zergs actually clash – then switching him to hostile and managing his target. Otherwise when I try to shoot some arrows at somebody, Cuddles the Black Widow decides it is time to charge into battle. I really don’t feel like this is a bad solution. While most people may resist it, if you want your pet to charge the front line and lead the attack, consider grabbing up the signet that makes your pet invulnerable for a few seconds.@Swagg – that’s a lovely chart
So while we’re forced to stay at range, at half power because our pet is half of what we are, a Thief, Elementalist, Guardian, Warrior or Mesmer can dart into the Zerg, and back out of the Zerg at full power, while we get to watch until the entire force decides to move in?
I’m glad I left the Ranger right after pre-release.
im sorry but no non defense specced chr hops in and out of a zerg, it generally requires using specific abilities, for ranger this amounts to,
go in with your 2nd most loved pet
cause some havoc, swap pet out
use signet of stone to be invulnerable for 6 seconds with trait
use signet of wild to be stable and get out.
not really that different to a mesmer specing for reflection on distortion, and equiping utilities for reflection and null field.
fact is no one goes in and out of zerg easily. and its not really realistic to ignore the fact that you can essentially have your pet do damage while you are safe, while you are doing something totally different, and swap it out at least 1 time with no penalties.
Yeah, aoe is a problem in WvW more because when you are trying to control your pet you have few actual controls, adding some sort of player controlled reactive ability is the difference between lasting long enough to swap, or not
A bit late I know, but one thing to consider when proposing potential fixes:
What are the chances that A-net is going to tear down and rewrite the Ranger class and the mechanics it uses… I would guess slim to none. They are not going to allocate the resources to essentially recreate an existing class, the animations, UI work, balancing etc.
What are the chances that A-net may tweak the mechanics here and there… I would say chances are good. It would be a lot easier to change the behavior of one button or a slight modification of an existing mechanic and the resources required do not present a barrier to getting it done.
Just my 2 cents, which up here in Canada is now rounded down to zero
M.
(edited by Arashiookami.2896)
One of the reasons why the Ranger and pet are built the way that they are, is because if we gave the ranger all the power, then the pet would have to be useless and vestigial, or everyone would claim rangers are OP. That’s one of the core reasons we can’t just increase pet attribute numbers. Without a method for avoiding damage, it also means your pet takes 4 hits in dungeons instead of only 2 or 3, so it doesn’t really solve the problem.
We have WvW reps in the balance meeting as well, so I’ll be sure to poke and prod them about ranger pets in zerg battles to get their opinions. Personally I tend to do well keeping a pet non-hostile until the zergs actually clash – then switching him to hostile and managing his target. Otherwise when I try to shoot some arrows at somebody, Cuddles the Black Widow decides it is time to charge into battle. I really don’t feel like this is a bad solution. While most people may resist it, if you want your pet to charge the front line and lead the attack, consider grabbing up the signet that makes your pet invulnerable for a few seconds.@Swagg – that’s a lovely chart
So while we’re forced to stay at range, at half power because our pet is half of what we are, a Thief, Elementalist, Guardian, Warrior or Mesmer can dart into the Zerg, and back out of the Zerg at full power, while we get to watch until the entire force decides to move in?
I’m glad I left the Ranger right after pre-release.
im sorry but no non defense specced chr hops in and out of a zerg, it generally requires using specific abilities, for ranger this amounts to,
go in with your 2nd most loved pet
cause some havoc, swap pet out
use signet of stone to be invulnerable for 6 seconds with trait
use signet of wild to be stable and get out.not really that different to a mesmer specing for reflection on distortion, and equiping utilities for reflection and null field.
fact is no one goes in and out of zerg easily. and its not really realistic to ignore the fact that you can essentially have your pet do damage while you are safe, while you are doing something totally different, and swap it out at least 1 time with no penalties.
Yeah, aoe is a problem in WvW more because when you are trying to control your pet you have few actual controls, adding some sort of player controlled reactive ability is the difference between lasting long enough to swap, or not
I actually do go into the Zerg easily, and get kills on my Thief, my Mesmer, and my Elementalist.
It’s an entirely different game for these classes.
It’s night and day difference honestly. A full day on my Ranger, I thought I was doing good getting 100 badges. A full day on my other three classes it is unusual if I don’t get a full stack (250) badges.
The thing I can’t wrap my head around is that it seems Rangers are ok with mediocre. I really don’t care because I can always play the other classes, and if they don’t fix the Ranger, Necro, or Engineer soon, I’ll just delete them so I don’t have to look at time wasted every time I log into the game, or switch toons.
(edited by LadyLad.1389)
(edited by Ision.3207)
One of the reasons why the Ranger and pet are built the way that they are, is because if we gave the ranger all the power, then the pet would have to be useless and vestigial, or everyone would claim rangers are OP. That’s one of the core reasons we can’t just increase pet attribute numbers. Without a method for avoiding damage, it also means your pet takes 4 hits in dungeons instead of only 2 or 3, so it doesn’t really solve the problem.
We have WvW reps in the balance meeting as well, so I’ll be sure to poke and prod them about ranger pets in zerg battles to get their opinions. Personally I tend to do well keeping a pet non-hostile until the zergs actually clash – then switching him to hostile and managing his target. Otherwise when I try to shoot some arrows at somebody, Cuddles the Black Widow decides it is time to charge into battle. I really don’t feel like this is a bad solution. While most people may resist it, if you want your pet to charge the front line and lead the attack, consider grabbing up the signet that makes your pet invulnerable for a few seconds.@Swagg – that’s a lovely chart
So while we’re forced to stay at range, at half power because our pet is half of what we are, a Thief, Elementalist, Guardian, Warrior or Mesmer can dart into the Zerg, and back out of the Zerg at full power, while we get to watch until the entire force decides to move in?
I’m glad I left the Ranger right after pre-release.
im sorry but no non defense specced chr hops in and out of a zerg, it generally requires using specific abilities, for ranger this amounts to,
go in with your 2nd most loved pet
cause some havoc, swap pet out
use signet of stone to be invulnerable for 6 seconds with trait
use signet of wild to be stable and get out.not really that different to a mesmer specing for reflection on distortion, and equiping utilities for reflection and null field.
fact is no one goes in and out of zerg easily. and its not really realistic to ignore the fact that you can essentially have your pet do damage while you are safe, while you are doing something totally different, and swap it out at least 1 time with no penalties.
Yeah, aoe is a problem in WvW more because when you are trying to control your pet you have few actual controls, adding some sort of player controlled reactive ability is the difference between lasting long enough to swap, or not
I actually do go into the Zerg easily, and get kills on my Thief, my Mesmer, and my Elementalist.
It’s an entirely different game for these classes.
It’s night and day difference honestly. A full day on my Ranger, I thought I was doing good getting 100 badges. A full day on my other three classes it is unusual if I don’t get a full stack (250) badges.
The thing I can’t wrap my head around is that it seems Rangers are ok with mediocre. I really don’t care because I can always play the other classes, and if they don’t fix the Ranger, Necro, or Engineer soon, I’ll just delete them so I don’t have to look at time wasted every time I log into the game, or switch toons.
im not saying that ranger pets are great in WvW, but i am saying that you speak about the ability to go into a zerg like it costs nothing, mesmers need to slot skills for reflect/stability/generate clones/ use a weapon that gives invisible or utility that gives invisible. Thieves melt in AOE really, their main defense is the fact that unseen, they become harder to focus on, and have many evades and use initiative, thief who wants to do this pays in utility slots, lets not forget that currently thieves get extra invisibility due to culling, which may soon be greatly reduced.
in all truth i have specced for it, and my ranger gained the ability to survive pretty well in zergs, even the pet, the problem is this is not sustainable, and pets have less control in dealing with zerg life, Im all for solutions,
Robert, let tell you what I think adding a pet dodge mechanic will resolve for 90% of your Ranger player base: nothing.
Like Gutbuster has stated, “Often it’s difficult enough to know exactly when you need to dodge in order to avoid some damage, with a pet dodge you’d be required to not only keep track of your own position but also your pet’s exact position which also trying to see your pet amongst all the spell graphics surrounding bosses getting nuked, seeing red circles on the floor which may be behind the boss since that’s where your pet is, camera angles etc the list goes on a bit. In addition you’d also have to hit your own dodge key as well as an additional F key or any other key bind you have.”
I agree with him whole heartedly.
Yes, without a doubt there will be a small fraction of Ranger players that will benefit from the mechanic: the “Pro” player, if you will. These people have ridiculously quick reflexes, as well a superb RIGs and a mouse with dozens of key binds they have no problem dealing with. I’m NOT talking bad about these players; hey, god bless ’em, they are the exceptions to the general rule, and they make the most of it. These tend to be your best of the best players and are often found in sPvP/tPvP.
But for the non-PRO player, adding a dodge mechanic for the pet will be an utter waste of time in dealing with the problem of Pets dying from AOE too much in dungeons —- the difference will be insignicant for the typical Ranger player who is under heavy duress from swarms of mobs, surrounded with heavy particle effects and trying to keep himself alive and contributing to the party.
Look, I’m not talking about that bottom 5 to 10% either, the folks that really have very poor reflexes and positional awareness, and who really can’t cope with the basic pace of this game. At least not in a difficult dungeon setting anyway. No, I’m referring to that big fat mass of players in the middle: also known as: the “majority” – the “average” – the “typical”.
For this group, many of the ideas being offered here will only result in the outcome stated by Shiren, “So micromanaging and resource management are the game-play being pushed by that kind of design. A lot of us play the class for the AI companion, not a micromanaged companion. Micromanaging, while increasing the skill cap (in a certain way), isn’t going to solve the problem for a lot of rangers, and for many players it takes the class in a direction they don’t want to go in.”
In essence many of the changes being proposed would transform the Ranger into a class that does not resemble the one that many people were looking for when they rolled it. Please keep this in mind as you consider the many OTHER options that exist to address pet mechanics and survivability.
Thank you.
We’re aware of that. Again part of what that list is, is a launching point for conversation and dialogue. Part of our jobs as designers is to take feedback and try to figure out the core of what is being said, and develop plans around that. I’m not saying those things are going to happen – I wish I could, but I can’t. It’s just something I can turn into a bullet point for us to address and talk about. These things take time, but I promise you I will be bringing these things up.
EDIT:
Oh, and in regards to the Jade Maw targeting pets, I made the conscious decision to allow it to target non-players. I have the ability to change that, but I prefer not to on the grounds that there is some gameplay there. My pet has made the ultimate sacrifice quite a few times while we res’d a down party members, providing groups with a much needed window to help others up and recover. I know it can be a bit frustrating if everything is going great and you’re not having any problems, but I’d much rather the pet provide a moment of relief for those struggling. I am open to debate on the subject, but that is for threads over in the dungeon forum, not here 
DOUBLE EDIT:
Jade Maw should not target downed pets. We have a bug on it already and are aware of it.
(edited by Robert Hrouda.1327)
(edited by Ision.3207)
One of the reasons why the Ranger and pet are built the way that they are, is because if we gave the ranger all the power, then the pet would have to be useless and vestigial, or everyone would claim rangers are OP. That’s one of the core reasons we can’t just increase pet attribute numbers. Without a method for avoiding damage, it also means your pet takes 4 hits in dungeons instead of only 2 or 3, so it doesn’t really solve the problem.
We have WvW reps in the balance meeting as well, so I’ll be sure to poke and prod them about ranger pets in zerg battles to get their opinions. Personally I tend to do well keeping a pet non-hostile until the zergs actually clash – then switching him to hostile and managing his target. Otherwise when I try to shoot some arrows at somebody, Cuddles the Black Widow decides it is time to charge into battle. I really don’t feel like this is a bad solution. While most people may resist it, if you want your pet to charge the front line and lead the attack, consider grabbing up the signet that makes your pet invulnerable for a few seconds.@Swagg – that’s a lovely chart
Speaking about WvW… what about siege? I love my LB there, but seeing my pet just standing near me, wasting all those precious numbers (even when not specced into BM) is painful. As perma stow is not an option, have you considered some kind of “support pets”? You know, things that, instead of making damage, would pop some buffs for party (red moa on passive for it’s F2 is what I mean, but still too big loss in dmg). I believe there are other uses for such pets, maybe even as alternative to “normal ones” for ppl who, like me, plasy ranger mostly for his weapon skills.
And btw. it’s nice to see someone speaking to us
If I were dev I’d be afraid to post on professions forums xD
One of the reasons why the Ranger and pet are built the way that they are, is because if we gave the ranger all the power, then the pet would have to be useless and vestigial, or everyone would claim rangers are OP.
…Personally I tend to do well keeping a pet non-hostile until the zergs actually clash – then switching him to hostile and managing his target. Otherwise when I try to shoot some arrows at somebody,
Firstly, thank you for all your time in this thread.
I agree with your first part,
I disagree with your second part.
I mainly wvwvw.
Hence I am going to slightly digress from the thread topic.
Your quote is basically saying if you want to wvw you have to wait until your zerg commits full scale into the other before you use your class mechanic whilst suffering a 40% dps loss. No other classs suffers in not being able to use their class mechanic during wvw like this. You are futher saying that you have to run in wvwvw with specific class traits, and utility slots. I don’t want signet of stone and the sharing trait, I want a trap trait and a 3rd trap.
Which leads me back to a slight rewrite of your opening statement:
For me the pet is a useless and vestigal, because its dead most of the time or stuck inside or outside a tower doing 70 dmg to a gate and rangers are considered UnderPowered for wvwvw.
I don’t run BM, I run as a bow/axe-horn & trap user. Yeah I’ve got an odd build, it works for me, even though the dmg output is horrible.
We are supposed to be given optional playstyles, spirits, power pet, archer, trap … but in wvwvw, we are being told now: be useless or run full bm with specific utilites. And even if you do your still useless inside or outside a tower siege.
This is where my frustration comes from. Not dungeons I don’t really do them.
I would love to use my pet more in wvw but he just dies before I can get his f2 to fire. Wolves are a great example for a front line zerg breaker… send wolf in f2 howl for fear, cause choas, get back out. Trouble is the pet just never gets the howl off so I should spec signet of stone and the trait I don’t want. I don’t.
Currently, zerg breaking for me is the following:
Run in, with dodge rolls for evade / protection procs, drop entangle (this gives me all boons due to armour), 3 traps, nme panics, leg it, hit wolf f2 and hope it fires to cover my escape.
Mostly I survive, mostly the wolf is dead before I get to the nme, mostly the nme panics, mostly my teammates use the confusion caused to kill off those players who couldn’t escape entangles roots whilst the rest of the nme backpedal. Mostly I do this because no one wants to be first cos you are likely to die, but if one person commits more will and you can easily rout the opposition. I play low tier so the zergs are 20 – 30 players mostly.
For tower sieges, I place frost & spike traps to prevent nme players getting back in the tower to reinfoce defences, I use LB 4 and axe 3 to slow them further, I use wolf to fear them from the door, I use poison trap to reduce their heals to give us maximum opportunity to stop them making them gate. The wolf rarely ever gets his fear to hit or his leap or anything really but hey at least he tries assuming wall defenders and their aoe havnt already killed him.
This shows that obviously we can play with different builds and have use but and its a big BUT: I’m doing all this with no help from the class mechanic, so I lose 40% dmg on incoming players, I lose my F2 special, and this makes wvwvw far harder than it should be compared to other professions.
The only time I find the pet useful: fighting thieves (since latest patch) because he reacts before culling renders the thief. This lets me know where the invisible person is. He never actually hits the person but hey he provides me with targetting co-ordinates. Incidentally that lets me time culling on my computer to approx 2.5 seconds. Pet takes off you see the black destealth swirl , wait 2.5 secs, thief renders, you target and try to do some dmg in the 0.5secs remaining on reveal debuff
I could go on with more and more examples of wvwvw zerg play, 1v1’s, small group fights and so on where the pet is entirely useless and my class mechanic is a hinderance rather than power up its supposed to be.
Instead I would like to reiterate what some others have already said: please make f2 fire instantly, please up the protection the pet has against aoe in some form be it dodge aegis passive dmg reduction or other solution, please let us res/rally dead pets somehow.
Sorry for the ramble: its just so awesome and unprecedented to have a real life dev in our section of the forums!
Sorry for the lack of suggested fixes, but there are already plenty of excellent ideas in this thread.
Thank you again for remaingin with us.
Robert, let tell you what I think adding a pet dodge mechanic will resolve for 90% of your Ranger player base: nothing.
Like Gutbuster has stated, “Often it’s difficult enough to know exactly when you need to dodge in order to avoid some damage, with a pet dodge you’d be required to not only keep track of your own position but also your pet’s exact position which also trying to see your pet amongst all the spell graphics surrounding bosses getting nuked, seeing red circles on the floor which may be behind the boss since that’s where your pet is, camera angles etc the list goes on a bit. In addition you’d also have to hit your own dodge key as well as an additional F key or any other key bind you have.”
I agree with him whole heartedly.
Yes, without a doubt there will be a small fraction of Ranger players that will benefit from the mechanic: the “Pro” player, if you will. These people have ridiculously quick reflexes, as well a superb RIGs and a mouse with dozens of key binds they have no problem dealing with. I’m NOT talking bad about these players; hey, god bless ’em, they are the exceptions to the general rule, and they make the most of it. These tend to be your best of the best players and are often found in sPvP/tPvP.
But for the non-PRO player, adding a dodge mechanic for the pet will be an utter waste of time in dealing with the problem of Pets dying from AOE too much in dungeons —- the difference will be insignicant for the typical Ranger player who is under heavy duress from swarms of mobs, surrounded with heavy particle effects and trying to keep himself alive and contributing to the party.
Look, I’m not talking about that bottom 5 to 10% either, the folks that really have very poor reflexes and positional awareness, and who really can’t cope with the basic pace of this game. At least not in a difficult dungeon setting anyway. No, I’m referring to that big fat mass of players in the middle: also known as: the “majority” – the “average” – the “typical”.
For this group, many of the ideas being offered here will only result in the outcome stated by Shiren, “So micromanaging and resource management are the game-play being pushed by that kind of design. A lot of us play the class for the AI companion, not a micromanaged companion. Micromanaging, while increasing the skill cap (in a certain way), isn’t going to solve the problem for a lot of rangers, and for many players it takes the class in a direction they don’t want to go in.”
In essence many of the changes being proposed would transform the Ranger into a class that does not resemble the one that many people were looking for when they rolled it. Please keep this in mind as you consider the many OTHER options that exist to address pet mechanics and survivability.
Thank you.
We’re aware of that. Again part of what that list is, is a launching point for conversation and dialogue. Part of our jobs as designers is to take feedback and try to figure out the core of what is being said, and develop plans around that. I’m not saying those things are going to happen – I wish I could, but I can’t. It’s just something I can turn into a bullet point for us to address and talk about. These things take time, but I promise you I will be bringing these things up.
EDIT:
Oh, and in regards to the Jade Maw targeting pets, I made the conscious decision to allow it to target non-players. I have the ability to change that, but I prefer not to on the grounds that there is some gameplay there. My pet has made the ultimate sacrifice quite a few times while we res’d a down party members, providing groups with a much needed window to help others up and recover. I know it can be a bit frustrating if everything is going great and you’re not having any problems, but I’d much rather the pet provide a moment of relief for those struggling. I am open to debate on the subject, but that is for threads over in the dungeon forum, not here
The issue isn`t that the thing is targetting pets, but it likes to target them while they`re downed already.
- 90% Damage reduction from AoE
- High survivability for all pets
- Dedicated heal for pets
- On demand swap to 1 of 5 pets
- Pets do only about 20% of a Hunter/Warlocks DPS unless they are specced for Pet based combat (Where it becomes 50-60% of their DPS and pets get massive boosts)
- Pets scale from owners stats.
- Pet talents allow for insta-res when it dies, increase of armour, healing etc
- Pets have their own action bar that incorporates “Attack”, “Heel”, “Go Here” “Agressive (Attack anything hostile nearby)” “Defensive (Attack only when master is attacked” “Assist (Attack when master attacks/is attacked)” and “Passive (Don’t attack)” along with activated abilities used by pets (Can also macro them to place them on normal action bar)
Even though some people might immediately try to burn you at the stake for mentioning WoW, the guys over at Blizzard did provide me with a very nice and functional Hunter for the 3 years I played their game. I still remember those fond days of Wintergrasp and sending Loque’nahak into a pack of adversaries. Her Spirit Strike DoT was especially effective against Rogues.
As such I believe ANet should look at other games that have pet-classes in order to see how they can improve the Ranger and not discuss ‘what if’ theories during their meetings without apparently taking notice of the fact that other classes already do it.
I’m referring here to this supposed test where 2 Rangers working in perfect harmony could potentially -in theory- trivialize certain boss encounters through clever use of their pets if the pets would have AoE damage reduction (when other classes can already trivialize certain boss encounters through clever use of their skills solo).
As such, here is another list of potential changes for improvement:
^_^
Some suggestions to enhance the pet-experience. To make the pet more “intelligent” and also someone that enhances your role:
1. Be able to stove the pet for 10-15 seconds. It doesnt appear back before that timer ends unless you press the “stove button again”, and ranger get swiftness
2. The pet should ALWAYS aim to get behind the target attacking his back, or at the side. But at least it attacks from the opposite direction from the ranger.
Now, this gives at least two benefits: It dodges aoe directed at players.. (because it isnt infront). And second it might attract the attention of the target (if doing enough aggro) so that the Short Bow can make them bleed.. That way the SB will be more useful also.
THAT would be a blessing.
3. Pets F2 needs to me more instant. Right now it is so dodgeable and broken it is a joke, really..
4. If the player calls for the pet to return then perhaps the pet can have protection and some regen for 3-5 sec. If not i cant be bothered to ever use that button and rather leave it to its destiny; Cannonfodder!
5. Let pets avoid critical hits and/or also let dmg more then 500 hp be ignored. That way at least its not instakilled all the time.
6. Actually, to me.. i think that the pets F2 skill should just trigger the first thing the pet does. Thus no need to press F2. And also they use it on recharge. That way i would feel so good inside when the pet feels helpful and “intelligent”.
Just saying
(edited by Avathor.1849)
One of the reasons why the Ranger and pet are built the way that they are, is because if we gave the ranger all the power, then the pet would have to be useless and vestigial, or everyone would claim rangers are OP. That’s one of the core reasons we can’t just increase pet attribute numbers. Without a method for avoiding damage, it also means your pet takes 4 hits in dungeons instead of only 2 or 3, so it doesn’t really solve the problem.
We have WvW reps in the balance meeting as well, so I’ll be sure to poke and prod them about ranger pets in zerg battles to get their opinions. Personally I tend to do well keeping a pet non-hostile until the zergs actually clash – then switching him to hostile and managing his target. Otherwise when I try to shoot some arrows at somebody, Cuddles the Black Widow decides it is time to charge into battle. I really don’t feel like this is a bad solution. While most people may resist it, if you want your pet to charge the front line and lead the attack, consider grabbing up the signet that makes your pet invulnerable for a few seconds.@Swagg – that’s a lovely chart
You say this, but this is exactly how pets turned out regardless of the damage they’ve done. You really did turn them into a fire-and-forget type aspect for the class. Take Fractals for example… Rangers just throw the pet in until its dead because Agony will 1 shot it anyway, switch pet and repeat as often as possible.
It’s the same for PvP. There isn’t any real thought process. In zergs you sit there with the pet on passive until you’re ready to need some burst and you send the pet in with your F2 ability in the hopes it gets there and fires before it’s killed off. It’s the same in roaming where you don’t care what the pets doing or what’s happening to the pet. You just have it on auto until you need F2 and once it’s fired off, you swap pets, and use its F2 right after.
Part of the reason for this is because you’ve designed the class in a way to offer absolutely no burst potential at all outside of the pets. Aside from this, all you really left the ranger to do is strafe in circles and auto-attack until you need to swap weapons and swoop away, or drop a trap to either get away or do condition damage.
The class is very one note and it isn’t even effective because so much of the class’ potential is tied up in a pet that really isn’t anything more than a homing missile to land some burst or uncontrollable CC via knockdowns and tail lashes.
You should either push the issue to the extreme and remove the pet damage (or drastically scale it back) with the idea that you want the pets to be little more than the class’ burst damage, or you need to expand the role the pet plays for the class so it’s not only more than a DOT with a name and some funky moves, but actually can be effective at being more than just a DOT or a homing missile.
Personally? I wish you’d just give the ranger back 35-40% of the pets damage and make the pet a 10% damage DOT with some burst. With the way pet swapping works, you’ve already removed any attachment players had for their pets in the first palce.
(edited by Aridia.3042)
(edited by Arpheus.6918)
If you think using f1 to toggle between attack and return is going to be difficult, then why do you want pet dodge on f3? You don’t have enough with just keeping an eye around your character and making sure there is no red ring around you but you want to keep your other eye on your pet and making sure there is no ring around him either? On top of that you think you can dodge both your toon and your pet quicker then that area effect can hit? Sorry, I for one do not want to go cross eyed, nor are my reflexes like they where 20 years ago, unfortunately, I haven’t found the fountain of youth yet
(edited by Overkillengine.6084)
Oh, and in regards to the Jade Maw targeting pets, I made the conscious decision to allow it to target non-players. I have the ability to change that, but I prefer not to on the grounds that there is some gameplay there. My pet has made the ultimate sacrifice quite a few times while we res’d a down party members, providing groups with a much needed window to help others up and recover. I know it can be a bit frustrating if everything is going great and you’re not having any problems, but I’d much rather the pet provide a moment of relief for those struggling. I am open to debate on the subject, but that is for threads over in the dungeon forum, not here
I too like it when Jade Maw targets a pet when we’re in trouble, but find it annoying when we’re not in trouble. I, again, think that this is another example where a permanent stow is required. If it doesn’t go well, leave the pet out, if it’s going smooth, stow the pet permanently.
There are so many situations where a permanent stow would be perfect. I’m not talking about giving the ranger a buff for stowing the pet.
Yes you want rangers to use the pet and they will, but sometimes they need to be put away at the player’s own discression. “Avoid Combat” should make stow permanent, while “Guard” should leave stow as it works now (but neither should react to falling damage)
edit: by the way, Jade Maw targets dead pets too
(edited by kiwituatara.6053)
