Guild Wars 2

This post isn’t speculation, it is merely a discussion thread on how rangers can be changed to satisfy players.

• What if spirits now have around 70% more health in PvE?

Spirit builds will certainly become more viable since spirits will be able to withstand more AoE attacks. Will WvW maps count as PvE maps? Since it uses the same skill facts as PvE maps do. Will they be able to stay in the front line? If evaded and blocked attacks were to count toward the AoE target limit, then they will possibly stay alive much longer with the many evades that are available to us rangers, or even aegis from guardians and shield blocks from warriors.

• What if protection buff from Companion’s Defense now occurs at the end of the dodge-roll, instead of the beginning?

This is one of the things that many of us have complained about since betas, now it’ll make rangers tougher in many situations. Of course, now we need to time our dodges a little if we want our pets to get the buff also.

• What if Healing Spring last shorter, but regen pulses faster? And what if Vigorous Renewal no longer gives vigor on each pulse?

Healing Spring has always been one of the better water fields in the game, according to some people, it’s the best support skill that rangers have. If the field last shorter, then less healing combos will be able to be performed, but with faster pulses, we’ll be able to cleanse conditions much faster in nasty situations, such as PvP.

• What if GS’s Maul has even more increased damage and stacks more vulnerability and longer durations?

It’ll give more damage boost to a group in boss fights, and deals more over all damage, but, will it finally surpass sword’s auto attack damage?

Heh. I’ll play.

I would love it were spirits, and pets too, to gain more health. It will mean that occasionally those nasty AoE rings that your pet won’t get out of (even when commanded to and you’re F4 is on cooldown) may not kill your pets/spirits.

I do wonder on whether or not WvW will be considered a ‘PvE’ map as we have the same issues in zergs that we do in PvE dungeons when it comes to AoE.

lol

I actually like all the ideas. Maul buff surely would be nice, but it’s still just numbers play, and it won’t out-dps warrior GS or our sword anyway, so it’s not exactly change I’d want.
What about pets? Boosting their hp in PvE maps sounds good too, but it’s hard to say how it’d work in WvW. I think they’d still be too weak for zergs, and this boost isn’t that much needed in other parts of it. The only place it sounds good are dungs – but would 70% boost be enough for all this hard hitting aoe?
And, sadly, none of this points makes ranger any more wanted in organized WvW zergs.

ahem, sorry sorry …. yea, ill play …

What if they actually made rangers function properly ? gave us full control over pets ? and fixed the bugs ??

oh yea, not gonna happen

What IF they decided to put more damage into the ranger’s weapons while making the pet do less damage in return for taking more hits?

Recycle, you are a very, very clever person.

I would actually like if Healing Spring and Companion’s Defense would be changed like this. Faster condition removal and longer protection uptime would be great.

I would also like to see a change on Sick ’Em, swap 40% more damage to 10 seconds of quickness, the pet could keep up better, it would provide us with more stacks of might from Rampage as One, and if we run with Rending Attacks, they could even dish out more stacks of bleeding.

Don’t forget the what if about the AOE change.

what if Soften the Fall get buffed (anyone ever used this trait?)

What if Pet AI actually worked?

Then Rangers would be so OP that they would just be removed from the game. Its the same reason Warriors can’t dualwield Greatswords, don’t ya know?

and yes, if Op’s ‘what if’s’ are put in the game, then that would be awesome and I see no downsides to it!

The healing spring changes really kitten me off if they are true.. Our water field was so great not just because of cd removal but cause it lasted a whole god kitten 15 seconds. And now while I’m running support I can’t grant vigor on every pulse, which is another totally unneeded and uncalled for nerf.

Edit: If the vigor change causes me to grant vigor to myself and nearby allies for at least 15 seconds then I will be fine. And the Maul changes, while great, really don’t make up for our terrible power scaling.

kreios.7108:

what if Soften the Fall get buffed (anyone ever used this trait?)

I use it. I wonder if this would also mean muddy terrain would hit 5 targets now.

I’d love love love maul to have like 50-80 more range. It has pleanty damage, lovely low CD, it just has a long animation and give people plenty of time to run off. 50 more range would make a world of difference I feel.

Some people here don’t get the point of why Recycle made this thread lol.
Anyways, I like the maul and protection after dodge idea the best. I am still not sure about the healing spring though.

Chokolata.1870:

ahem, sorry sorry …. yea, ill play …

What if they actually made rangers function properly ? gave us full control over pets ? and fixed the bugs ??

oh yea, not gonna happen

Why have a pet if you have full control over them? Why not just merge the pet’s tool box with the ranger? Controlling the AI companion defeats the purpose of having an AI companion. At best it’s the ability to have two actions at the same time (so you can command a wolf to knockdown while a warrior is stun locking you or you can leave a pet on a downed enemy while you swap to another target) and at its worst it would essentially just be more work to achieve the same level of play as another class which doesn’t have to control two things at once to reach maximum potential.

I doubt a spirit health buff will mean much. In some encounters it will keep them alive longer, but in others they are going to die just as quickly as they currently do, spirits die so fast when they get hit, they’d need a lot more health than just 71% to make a difference (especially in WvW – guardians running full PTV and protection are often destroyed, spirits don’t stand a chance when zergs clash with each other). I don’t think it will make them durable enough to use their actives. I don’t think a burning proc is going to mean much in PvE compositions – if you want burning you generally can already get it. I assume it uses the other player’s condition damage so a lot of people will be getting weak burning from it because even necros are running crit damage these days and if they wanted burning they can trait for it themselves (so can engineers). Swiftness isn’t particularly desirable in dungeons (unless you are skipping, in which case no-one will proc it anyway) so that leaves a 7% damage buff and the situations and party compositions where that’s useful people are already bringing it. Spirits are not as universally attractive and usable as banners. Banners provide easy to understand and always useful buffs and they don’t turn your class into a paranoid baby sitter anxiously keeping track of where all the health bars they are responsible for are standing and continuously suffering the disappointment of a dead spirit or pet from a stray AoE or boss cleave. Spirit power level in sPvP is largely based around the fact that their actives are useful and the sPvP fights aren’t as long as PvE ones. The spirit design is just not as attractive in PvE as it is in sPvP.

Atherakhia.4086:

kreios.7108:

what if Soften the Fall get buffed (anyone ever used this trait?)

I use it. I wonder if this would also mean muddy terrain would hit 5 targets now.

Immobilize 5 targets every 20 seconds? That would be amazing.

Overall there are some really interesting changes coming our way. Another patch that isn’t straight up a nerf or a buff.

Also interesting to see ANET over all the profession forums squashing threads.

“What if”………….. We could choose not to have a pet thing.

It’s mainly dead, broken and twisted, hobbling along dragging a leg or two behind it, I’m sick of seeing the suffering and the misery my pet is forced to endure.

With the new content being added, tougher harder content that’s going to be ongoing, the pet is going to be dead a whole lot more.

(I’m a big softie for animals, stop the suffering Anet).

call PETA and report Anet for promoting animal cruelty

jewishjoyride.4693:

Also interesting to see ANET over all the profession forums squashing threads.

I sent a polite email to forums@arena.net as the Code of Conduct advises me to if I have questions/concerns regarding forum moderation and I got a response from the CC in question that closed the threads as to the actual reason for the threads being closed. Said reason practically confirms the unconfirmed patch notes as being accurate. Let’s just say it’s attempted damage control.

Recycle.5493:

• What if Healing Spring last shorter, but regen pulses faster?

Then we’d have 5s less for blasting/leaping/whirling/shooting in it. A combo field duration nerf by 33%. On what is probably the one single “my class does it better than yours” thing a ranger brings to a party.

If i wanted more heals faster, i’d use one of the two other healing skills. Who ever complained about HS being too slow anyway?

And what if Vigorous Renewal no longer gives vigor on each pulse?

Rangers do way too much DPS i guess, so it makes sense that they should not be allowed to evade too often.

I would also wish a warm welcome to the new ranger dev:

cafard.8953:

Recycle.5493:

• What if Healing Spring last shorter, but regen pulses faster?

Then we’d have 5s less for blasting/leaping/whirling/shooting in it. A combo field duration nerf by 33%. On what is probably the one single “my class does it better than yours” thing a ranger brings to a party.

If i wanted more heals faster, i’d use one of the two other healing skills. Who ever complained about HS being too slow anyway?

Even if it was shorter by 5 seconds, it’d still be the longest water field in the game. By about 4 seconds. We’d still do it better than anyone else. ^.^

cafard.8953:

And what if Vigorous Renewal no longer gives vigor on each pulse?

Rangers do way too much DPS i guess, so it makes sense that they should not be allowed to evade too often.

Eh. I’ve always seen that more as a way of giving vigor to my allies. I’ve never had a problem with dodging due to Natural Vigor, but with Vigorous Renewal I knew I could help my allies that don’t have much endurance regen. It would be more a group support nerf than a personal support nerf.

SynfulChaot.3169:

cafard.8953:

Recycle.5493:

• What if Healing Spring last shorter, but regen pulses faster?

Then we’d have 5s less for blasting/leaping/whirling/shooting in it. A combo field duration nerf by 33%. On what is probably the one single “my class does it better than yours” thing a ranger brings to a party.

If i wanted more heals faster, i’d use one of the two other healing skills. Who ever complained about HS being too slow anyway?

Even if it was shorter by 5 seconds, it’d still be the longest water field in the game. By about 4 seconds. We’d still do it better than anyone else. ^.^

cafard.8953:

And what if Vigorous Renewal no longer gives vigor on each pulse?

Rangers do way too much DPS i guess, so it makes sense that they should not be allowed to evade too often.

Eh. I’ve always seen that more as a way of giving vigor to my allies. I’ve never had a problem with dodging due to Natural Vigor, but with Vigorous Renewal I knew I could help my allies that don’t have much endurance regen. It would be more a group support nerf than a personal support nerf.

It may be longer, but it’s very small compared to the Ele’s water field. Most would argue theirs has always been better. Especially since it’s Ranged and not reliant on you being in the melee to use it effecitvely.

Ranger well really is quite overstated imo.

I see what you’re doing but I don’t think these are “if’s” :p cat’s out of the bag, man lol

In pvp all those are buff in pve don’t really matter, healing faster is good if u don’t need too buff the other players and dodge protection is good if u don’t need to defend pet. If all true

Atherakhia.4086:

It may be longer, but it’s very small compared to the Ele’s water field. Most would argue theirs has always been better. Especially since it’s Ranged and not reliant on you being in the melee to use it effecitvely.

Ele’s water fields on staff are 6 seconds on a 45 second cooldown and 2 seconds on a 20 second cooldown. A skilled ranger will have more uptime on water fields if they do it right than will a staff ele.

Atherakhia.4086:

Ranger well really is quite overstated imo.

I guess some people really can’t get past the fact that ranger is actually starting to be decently powered. *shrugs* Your loss, I guess.

Chopps.5047:

I see what you’re doing but I don’t think these are “if’s” :p cat’s out of the bag, man lol

I keep phrasing it that way to try to avoid getting moderated. But yes, I believe that the unconfirmed patch notes are almost definitively accurate.

Ah I see. By the way, I think he was saying “ranger well is…” And by ‘well’ he or she meant ‘healing spring’ which is a reasonable thing to say. Many people in the community feel ele water field is better than rangers. Just ask Intigo and the rest of the gvg trolls. They don’t factor in duration. They feel size and beig able to range is much, much stronger than healing spring.

Not saying I agree with them but that’s current meta. Most will see this as ranger’s best thing getting needlessly nerfed. Me? I’m smart enough to know I’ll get more out of a faster pulsing spring and I’m never in it for the full duration. Yet, this will be viewed as a major nerf and ele’s will just seem that much better.

Chopps.5047:

Ah I see. By the way, I think he was saying “ranger well is…” And by ‘well’ he or she meant ‘healing spring’ which is a reasonable thing to say. Many people in the community feel ele water field is better than rangers. Just ask Intigo and the rest of the gvg trolls.

Oh. I know. As rangers we’re relegated to hate by not only most of our fellow rangers, but also by most of the rest of the community as well. It’s a shame, honestly. But it’s something us good rangers gotta work around. And slowly prove that we’re not worthless, even though everyone always looks the other way when we prove it.