Guild Wars 2

So do you guys think it’s more viable now?

I know in the last Ready Up video i watched when they were demoing the new trait system they said they wanted Spirit’s to be better but not mobile. I think they’ve definitely stepped in the right direction, the buffs (especially with nature tree maxed out and traited properly) really offer nice boons, especially to your pet, but still the main problem I feel with Spirits is the amount of time it takes to lay them on the battle field.

The weird thing is, in under water combat they’re instant cast… so what’s the deal, why not make them instant cast on land or at the very least make the cool down time only 10 seconds instead of 20.

I love the idea of using Spirits, and for the most part I think they work decently, but I can’t really say I’ve tested it extensively in boss situations or dungeons.

My three main suggestions to making them seriously viable would be this:

Make the spirits immune to damage
Make the spirits instacast
Make the recharge time even less what it is now

Now suggesting that all three of those be implemented would probably be ridiculous, but hey, if any one of those three were taken into consideration I’d be happy.

What’s everyone else’s thoughts?

I actually think the recharge is solid.

But I definitely think the delivery system to the battlefield could use some work.
That long summoning time, this sort of vaguely counter-clock-wise system of slots that changes depending on which slot your pet summons into, only to roll into yet another sluggish casting time on the active effect.

That’s a hilariously disproportionate amount of build-up for such a mediocre effect.

If they leave spirits as is, they need a much bigger range.

If they leave Nature’s Vengeance as it is, all is vain.

Nature’s Vengeance; “Your spirits pulse boons, have double health, take half damage, have +100% range on passive and +50% range on active abilities, they use active abilities on death and recharge 20% faster.”

Frost: Fury – 2s/3s
Water: Resistance – 1s/3s
Stone: Stability – 1.25s/3s
Sun: Retaliation – 2s/3s
Nature: Aegis – 0.75s/3s

That is what it would take to make spirits decent.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

That is what it would take to make spirits decent.

I don’t agree. Utility skills shouls never rely on traits to be viable. Traits should enhance them, not make them “usable”.

For rangers, signets, survival skills and traps are “okay”. Spirits are borderline, Shouts are atrocious. Those skills still needs to be updated, their baseline abilities need to bring something useful for the class.

Spirits are perfectly viable for PvE without NV, they just do not have desirable effects except for Frost. Also fine for defending structures in WvW without NV. They however suck entirely when you have any other players near them, ie pvp, in which case, if you want to play spirit Ranger, you should need to trait for it. If you want to play spirit Ranger and take the only trait for them, they should be measurably better than… just meh. My $0.02.

How about sun spirit pulses 5 might for 2s?

Chokolata.1870:

How about sun spirit pulses 5 might for 2s?

That would be ok.

I forgot mention the ability to summon spirits from wherever you created them. I know this ability existed in gw1. I think it also restored their health. Implementing this to perhaps an f key would work.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

If they leave spirits as is, they need a much bigger range.

If they leave Nature’s Vengeance as it is, all is vain.

Nature’s Vengeance; “Your spirits pulse boons, have double health, take half damage, have +100% range on passive and +50% range on active abilities, they use active abilities on death and recharge 20% faster.”

Frost: Fury – 2s/3s
Water: Resistance – 1s/3s
Stone: Stability – 1.25s/3s
Sun: Retaliation – 2s/3s
Nature: Aegis – 0.75s/3s

That is what it would take to make spirits decent.

I agree with this. The range is a pretty big problem as it’s very common for a PVP fight to leave the current effect range. Spirits aren’t banners so they can’t be dropped in the middle of a node to ensure everyone in the area gets the boons.

I’d also want their cast times to be less painful as the OP suggested. Even cutting it in half would be a huge help. The set up to summon them is just too long. Or, if we’re keeping the current cast time, make them ground targeted with a 600-900 range so we can still be contesting the point and placing our spirits out of harm’s way. That 4+ second period of not being able to attack or defend is harsh enough without also making it 4 seconds of not being able to stand on point.