Guild Wars 2

Well u will get Pet AR. better then nothing but still crap

Prysin.8542:

may i remind you, that we have yet to see if Robert has “failed” us or not…

I whole heartedly support this. We should “wait and see”. But, personally, I’m not going to place any wagers in Vegas on Rangers getting the fixes we need.

Geshque.1326:

Well u will get Pet AR. better then nothing but still crap

sir, hoping for a massive nerf to thiefs and mesmers, in addition to 50% increased ranger damage, permanent pet storage, full DPS to the ranger, fixed utilities and traits, in addition to rebalancing weapons and dungeon stats is almost like being religious.

You may pray all you want, but neither god nor devs tend to give you all at once. They only give you what they deem fit for the moment.

If anything, take it as a sign, if something is set in motion, improvements are bound to happen in the foreseeable future

Prysin.8542:

Geshque.1326:

Well u will get Pet AR. better then nothing but still crap

sir, hoping for a massive nerf to thiefs and mesmers, in addition to 50% increased ranger damage, permanent pet storage, full DPS to the ranger, fixed utilities and traits, in addition to rebalancing weapons and dungeon stats is almost like being religious.

You may pray all you want, but neither god nor devs tend to give you all at once. They only give you what they deem fit for the moment.

If anything, take it as a sign, if something is set in motion, improvements are bound to happen in the foreseeable future

Sir, its not like I want everything at once. It has been quite a while now and I still dont see any signs for positive changes.

I believe Robert means well and he seems one of the most amiable devs at ArenaNet. But what I’d really like is for Colin Johanson to post in this thread as he seems to be the one in charge when it comes to design decisions.

Robert Hrouda.1327:

As I’ve said before – I am not on the balance team… at best I can present things and harp on issues and constantly bring them up to keep them in focus, and to remind the people on the team and who make the decisions in the end that it is an issue that needs to get resolved. I’m a dungeon content designer who plays ranger at a high level, and that is why I am in the meetings, to be a representative for that sect (for lack of a better word).

This thread and my presence really isn’t damage control, otherwise I would have failed pretty hard at it in business terms. Making a visible list of issues to bring up with devs and allowing non-devs to see it isn’t exactly good damage control since it can set up high expectations, and the only reason this thread has reached the size it has (I feel) Is because I am posting in it; drawing even more attention that the topic would have garnered otherwise. So if anything my coming here has served only to shine a brighter light on the improvements needed to the ranger/pet/player dynamic (trademark).

Understand you’re not the first Developer to come to these forums, Peters came before, told us some things, and nothing came of it.

So don’t take it personally…Rangers in general are just annoyed.

Robert Hrouda.1327:

As I’ve said before – I am not on the balance team… at best I can present things and harp on issues and constantly bring them up to keep them in focus, and to remind the people on the team and who make the decisions in the end that it is an issue that needs to get resolved.

Rob, that’s really all we ask… from you at least. The balance team on the other hand, has some ’splainin to do and owes us some kitten posts.

Robert Hrouda.1327:

As I’ve said before – I am not on the balance team… at best I can present things and harp on issues and constantly bring them up to keep them in focus, and to remind the people on the team and who make the decisions in the end that it is an issue that needs to get resolved. I’m a dungeon content designer who plays ranger at a high level, and that is why I am in the meetings, to be a representative for that sect (for lack of a better word).

This thread and my presence really isn’t damage control, otherwise I would have failed pretty hard at it in business terms. Making a visible list of issues to bring up with devs and allowing non-devs to see it isn’t exactly good damage control since it can set up high expectations, and the only reason this thread has reached the size it has (I feel) Is because I am posting in it; drawing even more attention that the topic would have garnered otherwise. So if anything my coming here has served only to shine a brighter light on the improvements needed to the ranger/pet/player dynamic (trademark).

I appreciate what you’re trying to do for the Ranger community and I am glad to hear that you’re sincere about adding your voice to these balance meetings in order to remind the ones responsible of the issues Rangers have had since launch.

As to this thread getting as big because of your participation, it is only natural. I mean, the Ranger community has been met with empty promises and subsequent silence for a long time, and still they are forced to operate at the bottom of the pile while apparently getting shunned/kicked from dungeon/fractal participation. So your presence has given some hope that after all these months there might finally be a chance at some actual improvements for Rangers on the horizon.

Yet we’ll still need a few more posts more in order to top the 25-page long thread that started 4 months ago.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Ranger-update/first

Yeah, being a ranger there are issues in the class that can be really annoying and need attention.

That being said, should it really be the community’s responsibility to bring up and continue to post about the issues of this class? Or, is it the custodian’s responsibility of this game to give the class the attention it requires in short order?

Really, the latter should be true. Fixes to classes, esp. the Ranger, need to be placed higher the your queue of priorities. Classes are one of the first things the players interact with in this game and are KEY to the gaming experience.

If people are a bit impatient and losing some understanding why things are taking so long to be addressed, I can certainly sympathize with them.

Robert Hrouda.1327:

As I’ve said before – I am not on the balance team… at best I can present things and harp on issues and constantly bring them up to keep them in focus, and to remind the people on the team and who make the decisions in the end that it is an issue that needs to get resolved. I’m a dungeon content designer who plays ranger at a high level, and that is why I am in the meetings, to be a representative for that sect (for lack of a better word).

This thread and my presence really isn’t damage control, otherwise I would have failed pretty hard at it in business terms. Making a visible list of issues to bring up with devs and allowing non-devs to see it isn’t exactly good damage control since it can set up high expectations, and the only reason this thread has reached the size it has (I feel) Is because I am posting in it; drawing even more attention that the topic would have garnered otherwise. So if anything my coming here has served only to shine a brighter light on the improvements needed to the ranger/pet/player dynamic (trademark).

How does the customer reach the dev team or are they just totally out of touch with the customer?

Edit:
Fixed a freudian slip

Sebrent.3625:

90/10 split would only mask the problem and remove other options from Rangers.

As oppose to being fully exposed to the problem and eliminate all viable builds aside from trap rangers and hybrid/BMasters?

I’ll take the red pill that has more than 2 viable builds thanks.

With regards to the 90/10 switch…
Maybe not that severe, but I’d welcome a change in that direction.
When I picked this profession I knew fully well I’d have a pet, but still I choose Ranger and not Beastmaster, I expected pet to be more of a utility.
(obviously speccable to beastmaster for those who wish)

Ision.3207:

Shiren said:

“Honestly, I don’t think the devs can (or are prepared to) do what needs to be done to make the pet mechanic viable while maintaining health diversity (read: cats and birds are also viable in dungeons) without turning the class into a ridiculously complex mess of micromanagement and inefficient outcomes. Consider how difficult many players find dodging attacks when they only have to worry about themselves, do you really think a dodge skill for the pet is going to be a working fix for this issue for most rangers? They then have to pay attention to the boss/mobs, their character’s position and their pet’s position – and then they have to command both themselves and their pet to dodge (often at the same time) not to mention the likelihood of having to manage two dodge bars (a ranger one and a pet one, they likely wouldn’t give you unlimited dodges for the pet). So micromanaging and resource management are the gameplay 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.

I am genuinely interested in why he thinks two rangers, through smart use of pet swap, two-manning bosses (many bosses can be soloed by multiple classes already, it just takes longer – in some cases not by much) is a bad thing, given the current meta we already have. I don’t want brain dead easy face tanks pets to trivialise boss fights, but I don’t see micromanagement as an appropriate solution and I do think there is a problem."

I cannot agree more – BRAVO !!!

Yeah, I think everyone agrees with the sentiment, right? I tend to agree with what you’re saying, but realize that having 2 damage produce characters (one partially AI driven), creates some challenging design problems. I don’t think it’s a zero sum game (the whole is greater than the sum of parts for the ranger); also, realize that in every decision—in life, engineering, business, gaming, and so on—is a trade off. Every choice has an associated penalty.

Robert is just bouncing ideas around. He let you into his world, ya know? How often do you get that? You get to see the devs speak—with all the passion in the world along with their own vast gaming experiences and even, occasionally, their weaknesses.

He just brought up the two ranger boss example as one test case…don’t freak out over that example. Clearly, the development team is working this issue and is intimately familiar with what people have done with the professions—what bosses they’ve solo’d and how. There isn’t some conspiracy to kitten ranger. Robert was just giving an example of something they talked about in a meeting. I don’t know if you’ve ever worked in an office like that but tons of ideas get tossed around in meetings.

Robert Hrouda.1327:

As I’ve said before – I am not on the balance team… at best I can present things and harp on issues and constantly bring them up to keep them in focus, and to remind the people on the team and who make the decisions in the end that it is an issue that needs to get resolved. I’m a dungeon content designer who plays ranger at a high level, and that is why I am in the meetings, to be a representative for that sect (for lack of a better word).

This thread and my presence really isn’t damage control, otherwise I would have failed pretty hard at it in business terms. Making a visible list of issues to bring up with devs and allowing non-devs to see it isn’t exactly good damage control since it can set up high expectations, and the only reason this thread has reached the size it has (I feel) Is because I am posting in it; drawing even more attention that the topic would have garnered otherwise. So if anything my coming here has served only to shine a brighter light on the improvements needed to the ranger/pet/player dynamic (trademark).

Thanks for sticking your neck out, my man. Rock on!

Edit: Well, since everyone here is spitballing, I thought I would too. I like the idea that pet’s dodge on your dodge roll…of course, the people who don’t like burning heals on pets (I happen to do this quite frequently) won’t like it.

But, for the sake of discussion, say there’s strong reasons why that won’t work. Given all the other ideas and such, I don’t think I’ve read anything like this (I didn’t read every single comment, I apologize if this isn’t original):

What if, upon a successful dodge while the pet is under AoE, gives some sort of boon? I was thinking something like a stamina gain (might be OP), or maybe a stack of might. Anything that would offset the damage the pet takes and make it worth it for a ranger to burn a dodge for the sake of the pet?

I’m not sure how clear that is or whether it helps. Thank you for taking the time to read through this thread, Robert. I’m a huge fan of what you guys do. And you all do it well.

Chopps.5047

He just brought up the two ranger boss example as one test case…don’t freak out over that example. Clearly, the development team is working this issue and is intimately familiar with what people have done with the professions—what bosses they’ve solo’d and how. There isn’t some conspiracy to kitten ranger. Robert was just giving an example of something they talked about in a meeting. I don’t know if you’ve ever worked in an office like that but tons of ideas get tossed around in meetings.

Well, Mr. Chopps, unless you work at ArenaNet your opinion is no more likely or insightful than mine.

So with that said, my opinion is that the “development team” does a bunch of mathmatically intensive similations, sees that Rangers perform great “in the lab” and resist further change or fixes.

Please cite though, if you will, where it’s clear that the development team is working this issue. A link will do nicely.

If the recent interview is anything to go by, they have Metrics and Analytics. If they really wanted to know how something is panning out – they can just check.

My point about the 90/10 “solution” was just that it’s just a band-aid to a problem that’s existed since launch that doesn’t solve the core issue, namely, the broken pet mechanic that’s the supposed hallmark of the ranger class. I think it’s pretty sad that rangers are so eager to accept band-aids for gaping flesh wounds. Even if they implemented 90/10, pets would still die too easily, which means the ranger would still essentially “function” without a proper and useful class mechanic (not to mention the sorry state of ranger utilities). In other words, the 90/10 proposal would render our class mechanic even less useful than it is now.

I’d like to feel like a finished class, which entails more than simply upping our personal damage. I think it entails reworking utilities, a few trait lines, and a significant rework of our class mechanic. I don’t want a temporary solution – I want a coherent, finished class.

We dont need to split the dmg really. The pets are cool, just as long as they fix the slow F2 (rather put it so the pet do it by themself initially and on recharge, and no 3 sec animation before skill hits^^) and also give the pets more focus on your target and the speed to keep it up.
Right now the pet runs around like it has some sort of delirium.

We dont need the pets to dogdge, and it is actually no good for them to dodge when we do. If i avoid an attack doesnt mean i want my pet to also roll in the mud.. i want it to keep deal dmg or doing their skills!!!! So no dodge already!
To avoid instant death, or dying too fast just make sure the pets dont loose more then some 300-500 hp per blow. And also make it more rigid to conditions and immune towards agony. (The ranger already suffers from the agony, no point in giving double grief!!)

To make the pet work and seem smart then just make the pets try hit from behind or from the sides. That way the shortbow can get in some bleeds hopefully. And the pets wouldnt stand constantly in the aoe from targets. Yes, this would be nice. And let the pets target your target fast and effective, unless you tell it otherwise.

If the pet dies then give us some Rampage as One boost to compensate for the lost dmg and cc! And also to make other players think twice about if they want to kill our pets or not. Right now everybody that knows the ranger kills their pets first. 3 hits and the ranger is left throwing toothpicks at them. I can almost hear them laughing..
So let us have Rampage as One if the pet is dead! Let us have 5 stacks of might, fury, stability swiftness and 5 sec of retaliation without even making it a trait! It should be mechanic.

This is all that is needed, really, as far as pets goes! I dont mind doing even more to this, but this would be very good.
I play ranger as my only main character. I am level 80 ages ago and lvl 32 in pvp now and almost completed map in pve. But now i am rolling a mesmer, thief and engineer. Cause i am tired of meeting classes with superior mechanic in pvp. So to fix the pet would be a good start. But to give the ranger better core options and playability is really also needed.
This should really be the focus of the devs for next update in april already. Really.

Avathor.1849:

We dont need to split the dmg really. The pets are cool, just as long as they fix the slow F2 (rather put it so the pet do it by themself initially and on recharge, and no 3 sec animation before skill hits^^) and also give the pets more focus on your target and the speed to keep it up.
Right now the pet runs around like it has some sort of delirium.

We dont need the pets to dogdge, and it is actually no good for them to dodge when we do. If i avoid an attack doesnt mean i want my pet to also roll in the mud.. i want it to keep deal dmg or doing their skills!!!! So no dodge already!
To avoid instant death, or dying too fast just make sure the pets dont loose more then some 300-500 hp per blow. And also make it more rigid to conditions and immune towards agony. (The ranger already suffers from the agony, no point in giving double grief!!)

To make the pet work and seem smart then just make the pets try hit from behind or from the sides. That way the shortbow can get in some bleeds hopefully. And the pets wouldnt stand constantly in the aoe from targets. Yes, this would be nice. And let the pets target your target fast and effective, unless you tell it otherwise.

If the pet dies then give us some Rampage as One boost to compensate for the lost dmg and cc! And also to make other players think twice about if they want to kill our pets or not. Right now everybody that knows the ranger kills their pets first. 3 hits and the ranger is left throwing toothpicks at them. I can almost hear them laughing..
So let us have Rampage as One if the pet is dead! Let us have 5 stacks of might, fury, stability swiftness and 5 sec of retaliation without even making it a trait! It should be mechanic.

This is all that is needed, really, as far as pets goes! I dont mind doing even more to this, but this would be very good.
I play ranger as my only main character. I am level 80 ages ago and lvl 32 in pvp now and almost completed map in pve. But now i am rolling a mesmer, thief and engineer. Cause i am tired of meeting classes with superior mechanic in pvp. So to fix the pet would be a good start. But to give the ranger better core options and playability is really also needed.
This should really be the focus of the devs for next update in april already. Really.

I believe you should read the whole topic before posting. Almost everything you said has been discussed here and I’m sure you’ll be able to find the reasons why your suggestions are “broken.” The topic has shifted to pets having a unique dodge mechanic unrelated to the player long ago.

As for pet dodge and micromanaging your pet, this is the main reason I play rangers in every game. Jack of all trades with a high skill cap. While I agree this will not bring the ranger up to par given that other classes have much more reliable class features I think it’ll help when combined with pet AR and some AI improvements. Tanky pets are just broken and unfun to have in any game I’ve played.

Robert Hrouda is a true Power Ranger(PR).

This thread is hardly any real damage control, whoever made that up has a very vague idea about the principles of dc at best.

I wouldn’t mind if you guys add more control over pets (more buttons), like “dodge”, “stay in place”, “go there” etc.

Ranger is pretty easy to play, it wouldn’t be such a big deal.

I’ve thought of an alternative to reducing the 60s cooldown on dead pets:
Let pets automatically revive over time while in-combat.

Currently this only happens outside of combat. The only way to revive a pet in-combat is by swapping him with another pet.

Robert Hrouda.1327:

As I’ve said before – I am not on the balance team… at best I can present things and harp on issues and constantly bring them up to keep them in focus, and to remind the people on the team and who make the decisions in the end that it is an issue that needs to get resolved. I’m a dungeon content designer who plays ranger at a high level, and that is why I am in the meetings, to be a representative for that sect (for lack of a better word).

This thread and my presence really isn’t damage control, otherwise I would have failed pretty hard at it in business terms. Making a visible list of issues to bring up with devs and allowing non-devs to see it isn’t exactly good damage control since it can set up high expectations, and the only reason this thread has reached the size it has (I feel) Is because I am posting in it; drawing even more attention that the topic would have garnered otherwise. So if anything my coming here has served only to shine a brighter light on the improvements needed to the ranger/pet/player dynamic (trademark).

I could not agree more, I don’t think anyone here believes you are at fault. The problem lays with the balance team, rangers seem to be on the back burner. I am sure at some point they will look at rangers. The question becomes how many people will be playing one at that point. As I said in this thread this has happened in another game and it took a real life protest and people quiting to force a change. I hope that does not happen here.

does anyone in the “balance team” use a ranger at all?

Verdelet Arconia.6987:

does anyone in the “balance team” use a ranger at all?

All wars…. lol

I dont actually know but when you read patch notes every balance patch it feels like that.

The 90-10 split limits what you can do.

Making someone who wants to go back to the current split invest in beastmastery assumes that those who currently use their pet successfully (when it isn’t being “short bus special”) put several points in beastmastery … which is not true. I currently have 5 points in beastmastery in my build and make great use of my pet. He actually lives longer in dungeons than most of the noobs I run into.

A band-aid or stop-gap fix is insufficient.

Robert Hrouda.1327:

I’m a dungeon content designer who plays ranger at a high level, and that is why I am in the meetings, to be a representative for that sect (for lack of a better word).

Yes, from others reactions to rangers, it is like being in a religious cult.

My charr says, “Ignore false gods”.

Aveneo.2068:

I believe Robert means well and he seems one of the most amiable devs at ArenaNet. But what I’d really like is for Colin Johanson to post in this thread as he seems to be the one in charge when it comes to design decisions.

I doubt it. Colin has a limited repertoire:

-That’s a great idea, and we will look into it (nothing will happen)

-That’s a great idea, and we are working on it (it might happen months/years from now)

-Avoids question entirely and waxes poetic about a new jumping puzzle or other new ‘content’ coming up

-No

-Yes

To reiterate what others have said, Hrouda, It’s nothing personal. We’re just jaded.

You do make a good point about damage control, though. I appreciate your presence here, and as I said, I feel like you mean well. Whether or not well shall be done is anyone’s guess.

shimmerless.4560:

I’ll wear my newbieness on my sleeve, I’m not much of a Ranger by any means and I only really play mine if I’m in a nature-y kind of mood, but I’ve never noticed most of the problems people seem to have with pets.

I mean, you look at your first skill tray while you’re levelling, and you suss, “Huh, obviously a lot of my damage must be balanced out in my pet”. So I just tried to figure out how best to manage it, and as it turns out you can make liberal use of the call/return commands to keep them out of harm’s way, as well as using your heal if only for them and less for yourself. I don’t really know if Rangers see it as a good skill or not but I found Sick ’Em was quite powerful at opportune moments. Lick Wounds is one of the strongest (if not the strongest) downed skills I know of.

AI is always going to be problematic in games and especially those where commands have to be relatively simple to keep bandwidth costs under control, but I still don’t think it’s even nearly as dire as some seem to believe.

Call/Return works fine when your killing trash mobs one on one, but get into your typical dungeon situation with lots of mobs and other players present, and the return command shows significant lag, and it is often impossible to even see you pet to know when to tell it to dodge.
On top of that when your ranged pet runs into a group of foes so it can use its ranged attack at melee range, it is impossible to watch every single mob there for their attack ‘tells’, so you really have no information to base issuing dodge commands on.

First, I want to say thank you to Robert. He keeps on coming in here knowing that he might either make a mess of things or cause an uproar, but he still comes up here and chats with us and has already helped us catch two problems with pet health which will probably be fixed on next patch. Thank you Sir.

My question to Robert would be, is there a ‘dev per class’ (one Dev responsible per class)? If not, shouldn’t there be a Dev tied to a class that should be here on the forums, asking questions and looking for feedback on their class and trying to fix the class? Or is it just a group of dev’s that work on whichever class they want that month? I’m sure the Dev’s can get more information, idea’s, and feedback on idea’s here on the forums from the people that play their game day in and day out. As a business owner I listen to what my employee’s suggest and even to what my customer’s suggests, because I’ll be the first to admit that I do not know everything. I especially like to listen to what my customer’s say because that is my lifeline, and every now and then I hear some great idea’s which I try to implement in my company. I honestly believe that ANet should give it a try. A lot like you have been doing here with us these last two weeks.

xev.9476:

My point about the 90/10 “solution” was just that it’s just a band-aid to a problem that’s existed since launch that doesn’t solve the core issue, namely, the broken pet mechanic that’s the supposed hallmark of the ranger class. I think it’s pretty sad that rangers are so eager to accept band-aids for gaping flesh wounds. Even if they implemented 90/10, pets would still die too easily, which means the ranger would still essentially “function” without a proper and useful class mechanic (not to mention the sorry state of ranger utilities). In other words, the 90/10 proposal would render our class mechanic even less useful than it is now.

I’d like to feel like a finished class, which entails more than simply upping our personal damage. I think it entails reworking utilities, a few trait lines, and a significant rework of our class mechanic. I don’t want a temporary solution – I want a coherent, finished class.

I understand what you mean about the band aid, But there are some serious problems with pets, and unfortunately, it will not be fixed any time soon. You have to understand that pet’s use the same AI as all the mobs in the game. To change Pet AI is to change the AI in the game overall. If your going to make the pets smarter, your going to make the mobs smarter. Also, I’m not a programer, but I am pretty sure that rewriting the AI for the game is not a simple task, it took them years to make the original AI, do you want to have a broken class for another year or two? or would you prefer the band aid until they fix the AI in a year or two? Personally, I’ll take the band aid.

Jalad Lantana.3027:

but get into your typical dungeon situation with lots of mobs and other players present, and the return command shows significant lag, and it is often impossible to even see you pet to know when to tell it to dodge.

Do we need a Paw Icon over our own pets to help see them in giant dynamic events, crazy dungeon fights, and zerg warfare? It seems to work with Commanders.

There could be a toggle button on the pet management window if you wanted to turn it off.

misterdevious.6482:

Jalad Lantana.3027:

but get into your typical dungeon situation with lots of mobs and other players present, and the return command shows significant lag, and it is often impossible to even see you pet to know when to tell it to dodge.

Do we need a Paw Icon over our own pets to help see them in giant dynamic events, crazy dungeon fights, and zerg warfare? It seems to work with Commanders.

There could be a toggle button on the pet management window if you wanted to turn it off.

I wouldn’t say no to that. It would make it easier to keep track of them.

misterdevious.6482:

Do we need a Paw Icon over our own pets to help see them in giant dynamic events, crazy dungeon fights, and zerg warfare? It seems to work with Commanders.

There could be a toggle button on the pet management window if you wanted to turn it off.

What could be interesting is if there was a Paw icon above pets that changed colour if they were in range for various attacks sort of a Green = Safe, Yellow = In range of Auto-Attacks and Red = In range of a big wind up 1-hit-kill type attack.

This would allow a platform for Pet dodging (Also easier use of Companion’s Defence) to be viable even in more chaotic scenarios as it would be clear to see when pets are in danger.

Interesting factoid … 10% of males suffer from colorblindness of one sort or another.

Those of us who are colorblind (I’m the classic Red-Green), do not like Green/Yellow/Red icon systems. This is why Blizzard eventually put in a colorblind mode and several Rogue mods were created for combo point representation.

Wayfinder.8452:

This thread is hardly any real damage control, whoever made that up has a very vague idea about the principles of dc at best.

I believe if you reread the applicable posts, you’ll find that happens to be Mr. Hrouda. He first made use of the term “damage control”.

I said his main purpose here was to serve as a relief valve and an outlet for player frustration (and in that sense it clearly worked). Those are not synonymous with “damage control”, however.

Pedra.4381:

Prysin.8542:

may i remind you, that we have yet to see if Robert has “failed” us or not…

I whole heartedly support this. We should “wait and see”. But, personally, I’m not going to place any wagers in Vegas on Rangers getting the fixes we need.

We “waited to see” before, and what did we get, a smack in the face.

Sebrent.3625:

Interesting factoid … 10% of males suffer from colorblindness of one sort or another.

Those of us who are colorblind (I’m the classic Red-Green), do not like Green/Yellow/Red icon systems. This is why Blizzard eventually put in a colorblind mode and several Rogue mods were created for combo point representation.

Green paw for out of combat, green paw with yellow cross swords in combat, big red cross swords only for when a big hit is coming, and skull with dead. Also adding audio Qs like they do when your pet dies.

Solid Gold.9310:

We “waited to see” before, and what did we get, a smack in the face.

I am acutely aware of this but I also believe that it costs us nothing to give ArenaNet a final chance before throwing in the towel. If, after the next update, there are still no fixes for Rangers (the class deemed most in need of improvement by Mr. Peters) and there is still not even a hint of where they are going with the Ranger, then it’s “game on”, and at that point, I think they’ll have not a shred of integrity remaining. So, if people start to walk after that, it’s wholly ArenaNet’s fault.

BobbyT.7192:

Sebrent.3625:

Interesting factoid … 10% of males suffer from colorblindness of one sort or another.

Those of us who are colorblind (I’m the classic Red-Green), do not like Green/Yellow/Red icon systems. This is why Blizzard eventually put in a colorblind mode and several Rogue mods were created for combo point representation.

Green paw for out of combat, green paw with yellow cross swords in combat, big red cross swords only for when a big hit is coming, and skull with dead. Also adding audio Qs like they do when your pet dies.

There you go :-) I can get behind different symbols.
I’m not quite sure on the yellow swords vs red swords though. I’m confident I could tell the difference in at least 1/2 the cases, but I know others who could not.

Pedra.4381:

Solid Gold.9310:

We “waited to see” before, and what did we get, a smack in the face.

I am acutely aware of this but I also believe that it costs us nothing to give ArenaNet a final chance before throwing in the towel. If, after the next update, there are still no fixes for Rangers (the class deemed most in need of improvement by Mr. Peters) and there is still not even a hint of where they are going with the Ranger, then it’s “game on”, and at that point, I think they’ll have not a shred of integrity remaining. So, if people start to walk after that, it’s wholly ArenaNet’s fault.

At this point everyone is at their mercy, we really have no choice but to wait. I for one don’t mind waiting the problem is that it has been 6 months and still going for anyone who started from the beginning. The only thing you can do is come here and let them know your displeasure, wait for them to do something or simply walk away and quit playing. The funny part is in this game because of the business model they use, walking away does not have much of an impact since there is no monthly fee. Not everyone buys gems, I happen to but many or most don’t.

Hillaan.6904:

At this point everyone is at their mercy, we really have no choice but to wait. I for one don’t mind waiting the problem is that it has been 6 months and still going for anyone who started from the beginning. The only thing you can do is come here and let them know your displeasure, wait for them to do something or simply walk away and quit playing. The funny part is in this game because of the business model they use, walking away does not have much of an impact since there is no monthly fee. Not everyone buys gems, I happen to but many or most don’t.

I could be dead wrong, but I don’t think GW2 is sustainable on income from initial purchase only. There has to be sustainment income (i.e., gem purchases in the store). I’ve bought gems and I suspect the number of people who do is far larger than either of us think. I say I’ve bought gems, I’ve no intent to ever buy another until ArenaNet addresses my concerns in regards to the Ranger.

Pedra.4381:

Wayfinder.8452:

This thread is hardly any real damage control, whoever made that up has a very vague idea about the principles of dc at best.

I believe if you reread the applicable posts, you’ll find that happens to be Mr. Hrouda. He first made use of the term “damage control”.

I said his main purpose here was to serve as a relief valve and an outlet for player frustration (and in that sense it clearly worked). Those are not synonymous with “damage control”, however.

My debilitated attempt at sarcasm has failed. I tried to hint it with the PR sentence. It was a joke even if a very poor one.

Sorry

Don’t get me wrong here this was not intended as an insult, I’m just happy that a dev even if not from the balance team is addressing this issue in a serious discussion.

Sebrent.3625:

There you go :-) I can get behind different symbols.
I’m not quite sure on the yellow swords vs red swords though. I’m confident I could tell the difference in at least 1/2 the cases, but I know others who could not.

Green Paw = Safe
Yellow Paw with a single sword in the middle = Combat
Red Paw with crossed swords = Danger

Possibly with the red paw also being 50% larger than other symbols.

Guys better concentrate on something realy important rather than discussing paw colors. I think that is not the main thing devs must do in order to revive our abandoned class.

Geshque.1326:

Guys better concentrate on something realy important rather than discussing paw colors. I think that is not the main thing devs must do in order to revive our abandoned class.

On the contrary, this may not seem like a big change, but it would be a small improvement functionality of the pets. Any improvment to the pet would improve the class.

Geshque.1326:

Guys better concentrate on something realy important rather than discussing paw colors. I think that is not the main thing devs must do in order to revive our abandoned class.

Color coordination is srs bsns.

What self-respecting Ranger would want to go out with his/her pet clashing with their Quaggan or Charr backpack? This is win-win for ArenaNet. We get our pets “fixed” and they get to take credit for a color buff to Rangers.

Pedra.4381:

Geshque.1326:

Guys better concentrate on something realy important rather than discussing paw colors. I think that is not the main thing devs must do in order to revive our abandoned class.

Color coordination is srs bsns.

What self-respecting Ranger would want to go out with his/her pet clashing with their Quaggan or Charr backpack? This is win-win for ArenaNet. We get our pets “fixed” and they get to take credit for a color buff to Rangers.

I got that mocking intonation and want to say that it is very possible option. Something similar to the hawk icon fix ))

Robert Hrouda.1327:

I’m a dungeon content designer who plays ranger at a high level, and that is why I am in the meetings, to be a representative for that sect (for lack of a better word).

This is something I always thought that WoW sort of did right. They had devs that played particular classes and would discuss specific issues regarding those classes. It doesn’t mean that expectations have to get raised unreasonably high, it just lets players know that their issues aren’t ignored. Right now, a lot of players feel left out in the cold, not sure if anyone even knows their problems exist.

Just saying… encouraging devs who play other classes to drop into their class forums from time to time can only be a good thing, and the goodwill earned, I think, would be well worth the cost of time investment to the company.