So this is my idea of how to improve the pets (not just plain buff them).
Pets DPS
Players don’t like to be killed solely by the pet. It is unfair that the ranger can go super tank and let the pet do all the work while the ranger just stay far and dodging. Let your pet do all the kill does not require skill or intelligent play.
Changes suggested:
- Pets do hit moving targets with their autos. Increase the cleave, reduce the cast, increase projectile speed.. Any change but if the pet is allowed to get up to the player it should be entitled to hit, like any other player skill.
- Profession function F1 (attack my target) change to a switch. It will display the order Attack my target when the pet is attacking and the function Return to Me when is attacking.
- Profession function F2(pet special ability) and F3 (return to me) change to a 2 different pet skills, so the player decide when to cast them.
- One of them will became the pet’s utility skill.
- The other the pet’s burst skill.
- Pets gain 2 user manageable skill :
- The utility skill (Terrifying Howl from wolf, Harmonic Cry from moas, Quickening Screech from eagle, Defy Pain from black bear..) This skills usually won’t any damage and their cast should be instant. Cd is adjusted for the effect provided.
- The burst skill. This skill will provide damage and it’s objetive is to help the ranger’s DPS.Could be pure damage or damage+effect (Brutal Charge from canines comes in mind). This could be the case of Smoke Assault from the Smokescale, Brutal Charge from canines, Maul from cats… This skill is balanced between the CD, Pet tankiness and damage+effect done. There could be a tanky pet that could deal an strong burst but the cooldown of this skill would be very high. This skills keeps the channelling time and animations always balanced with the effect provided,
- DPS from Pets AI driven attacks are nerfed. The damage from their autos should be nerfed but should be constant. Something like the Druid’s staff Solar Beam works. It shouldn’t feel like the player is being beaten by an NPC. There should be still some difference between tanky and glassy pets still.
- At this stage pets are left with 2 AI driven attacks that are mostly DPS so should be easier to work with the actual AI.
- Pets condition damage and healing are normalised with the stats they have, so buffs in their stats apply the right increased damage.
Ranger DPS
- Because the average pets DPS is nerfed the ranger weapons and utilities should be buffed damage wise so going for a particular set of stats impacts directly it’s gameplay.
Those changes are made to accomplish four things
- Pets are easier to balance, because they can be handled like another skill in game.
- Stats from the ranger affects directly the outcome. Because we rely less in the pet as constant damage source if a ranger go full tank is going to reflect directly in their DPS.
- Most AFK farmers will have to stop using rangers for the task, as pets wont do enough damage just with autos to be profitable.
- Yet pets stay relevant because of the F2/F3 skills and the traits (i’ll explain below)
Pets Usability
- Pets should behave the same about the command Attack My Target in any state (aggressive/passive). Now they behave differently, the pet should behave exactly the same as it is in passive in any situation. If the pet is in aggressive and i call the F1 to attack the selected target (now would be double tap), after i should be able to swap targets but the pet stay at the previously selected target.
Now it does attack whatever your are attacking which actually makes redundant the command when the pet is in aggressive. - Pets attack the target using the shorter distance. Some pets decide to go passing the target to attack it for behind which i don’t really understand why.
- Pets when not attacking should stay really close to the ranger. Right now the lease allow the get to get random damage even when is in passive and the ranger is out of AoEs
- Pets get evade frames when the ranger evades. The case of i’m being targeted and i can run away but my pet gets stuck and killed because it doesn’t have evades shouldn’t happen.
- Speed for pet is increased baseline. Pet should have a baseline speed of player+25%, so when is increased by swiftness (+33%) can reach other players even when under the effects of swiftness or superspeed. _Maths: Player with superspeed moves at +150% of normal speed. Pet with swiftness moves at 166% of player base speed. With superspeed will move at 187% of player base speed. Because DPS on autos is nerfed shouldn’t be a problem is the pet can keep up with the player.
Pet UI
- Ranger needs to know the actual boons and conditions in the pet. If showing the conditions in the UI at the side of the pet portrait is too complicated, personally i could do with showing the pet as a party member. We get an extra small place for that at the side of the screen.
Pet Special Mechanics
Pets are the Ranger’s special mechanic. But until this point they are being handled as a simple weapon solely increasing the ranger DPS. As we can see rangers ask for other things: better utility.
- Pets should bring within their utility skills, special utilities other classes uses. For example: A pet that cast Guardian’s Shield of Absorption, Thief’s Basilisks Venom , Pets that can bring the utility from casting Warrior’s Battle Standard or make the next X seconds the attacks from the ranger and itself unblockable…
Thus the ranger should have at its disposal up to 2 other skills otherwise the proffesion wouldn’t have.
- Pets should get it’s traitline by families of pets to allow to customise their impact in the game up to the ranger’s play style. It doesn’t need to be complicated either too revolutionary: Traits already other classes uses could be applied to increase the pet gameplay.
- Place: In the same window were we see the stats from that pet could be positioned the trait line.
- Format: Same as the player trait line, 3 columns with 3 option each, let’s call them Adept, master, and grand master.
- Adept could be the same for every family: An option to personalise the pet’s stats
1. one choice increase tankiness, reduce DPS: +20% vitality,toughness and healing / -20% power,precision, condition damage.
2. second choice doesn’t change anything
3.- third choice increase DPS: +20% power, precision, condition damage, -20% vitality, toughness and condition damage.
- Master traits should bring a defensive buff to the pet: applying weakness and protection to the pet when struck like the trait Protective Ward but for the pet, being able to keep attacking stealthed targets (if it was attacking before the stealth), or Engineer’s trait HGH when it’s health goes under X% applied to the pet or even the Elementalist’s Diamond Skin for glassy pet families. This traits can be strong but balanced with the ICD and the pet stats, the same as any player trait.
- GrandMaster traits will be aggressive buff focused to increase the effectiveness of the pet in combat : Beastly Warden for example should be moved here from BM trait line, as the melee pets can benefit greatly from that but ranged no. So if you play with a bristle and a wolf you don’t loose the use of the trait with one of the pets. Traits like Revenant’s Malicious Reprisal could go here or Warrior’s Dual Wielding to increase pet’s attack speed could go here.
- Some of the Master and Grandmaster traits should change between families. There is no reason for a ranged pet to have the trait Beastly Warden. Same as a fast birds shouldn’t have access Dual Wielding to increase their already very fast attacks.
Sorry for the test wall. I hope not to forget anything, and for you to enjoy it. Sorry for my grammar.
(edited by anduriell.6280)
