Guild Wars 2

We have traps, spirits, signets and shouts. And while they are not all viable and could use work they all have their identity. You know the basic mechanic of every skill within each skill group.
Survival skills lack that, and they seem like a bunch of random skill.

I would like them to have a real survival identity. That could be done through movement and speed.

Retain Quickening Zephyr and Lightning Reflexes, but remove Muddy Terrain and Sharpening Stone.
Instead of them add something like:
Vine swing – You swing on an imaginary vine to your target. Knocks down fleeing foes.
Camouflage – Gain stealth.

This way, we would have (1) increase skill speed, (2) retreat, (3) charge and (4) short undetected movement.
Besides the better skills we would give an identity to Survival skills.

And lastly, move Entangle to traps. It would retain its function but it would be triggered by enemies. It would also benefit from trap traits like longer condition duration and being potentially ground targeted.

Thoughts?

The survival skills do have an identity, apart from Sharpening Stone. Although even there, you could argue fighting with a dull blade won’t exactly increase your chances of survival. As far as moving Entangle from Survival over to Traps… Entangle just isn’t a trap-skill. There is no special trigger for the enemy, they just get entangled right away. It would only make Traps lose their identity.

HTech.8016:

The survival skills do have an identity, apart from Sharpening Stone. Although even there, you could argue fighting with a dull blade won’t exactly increase your chances of survival. As far as moving Entangle from Survival over to Traps… Entangle just isn’t a trap-skill. There is no special trigger for the enemy, they just get entangled right away. It would only make Traps lose their identity.

I guess we just have a different view on Survival skills.

As Entangle goes, I disagree. It roots all foes around the ranger. It would change nothing if it would be moved to traps. It’s still laid at your feet. And it would get better traits for improvement.
Traps would’t loose identity because entangle is just a type of natural trap. Instead of jumping at the ground to cast it, it would be set.

Survival skills are all about using nature (and some magic) to gain the advantage… Quickening Zephyr, you use some magic/wind to attack faster, or to speed up your rezzing of an ally increasing your chances of survival (Never Rampage alone!!) lightning reflexes you use some more air magic to enhance your natural reflexes to fling yourself out of harms way. Muddy terrain you conjure a field of mud you can get enemies stuck in to either help you escape, prevent their escape, or just make them look like an iiot as they try to trek through the mud to fight you as you and your pet pick them off before they can leave it. And then there’s sharpening stones where you make sure your blades are razor sharp so you can cut through any vines or what not, or enemies skulls, to ensure your survival. Then Entangle, you summon vines to entangle enemies making it quite easy for you to either escape, or you know, make them a pin cushion as they sit there trying to desperately break free of their binds that are crushing them.

And how in the fluffy kitteny world is Entangle a trap in your mind? You cause vines to erupt from the ground, you don’t set it somewhere, it’s not triggered, you cast it! I mean seriously, how?

And as much as I’d like to see camouflage added I don’t think we should kick one of the current survival skills out for it because they all fit… However if they add any new skills I want camouflage!! And I -know- it’ll be survival.

I know all current survival skills have a nice little survival story behind them. It’s not about that, so I’ll just quote myself:

…You know the basic mechanic of every skill within each skill group.
Survival skills lack that…

As for Entangle, how can you not imagine it like a trap?
The Ranger empowers the soil beneath him with magic, magic seeds or whatever:
“If foes step on this ground entangle them with powerful vines.”

I know that right now you cast it. The only change, mechanically, would be that once you cast it would wait for opponents to come before doing it’s effect.
But, as I said before, it’s not about changing the mechanics. It was, in the case where survival skills get the theme of speed and movement, to put it in the next best skills group.

Norngolian.8216:

I know all current survival skills have a nice little survival story behind them. It’s not about that, so I’ll just quote myself:

…You know the basic mechanic of every skill within each skill group.
Survival skills lack that…

As for Entangle, how can you not imagine it like a trap?
The Ranger empowers the soil beneath him with magic, magic seeds or whatever:
“If foes step on this ground entangle them with powerful vines.”

I know that right now you cast it. The only change, mechanically, would be that once you cast it would wait for opponents to come before doing it’s effect.
But, as I said before, it’s not about changing the mechanics. It was, in the case where survival skills get the theme of speed and movement, to put it in the next best skills group.

Ooooooooooooh, I thought you were saying in the current state entangle is more of a trap, personally I like it as is, however I think it’d be cool if there were a trait that turned it into a trap, THAT would be cool.