Guild Wars 2

The Problem
Spirits have become less than desirable with the patch. The reason given was that it wasn’t the direction that they wanted spirits to go and it didn’t feel very ranger-ish. Previously, it felt awkward to lead a pack of mindless, rubber-banding spirits around the map; and it felt pretty ridiculous looking. Even if they abilities were mediocre, they were very lackluster and didn’t feel very natural.

The Brainstorming
I was thinking of an alternative that felt like something a Ranger would do. Something natural, something magical, something incredibly versatile. I wanted spirits to retain their ability to follow the ranger and grant allies buffs, but also something a little selfish that would make use of their active abilities.

The Suggestion
Imagine, if you will, wisps that encircle the ranger, in their corresponding colors, expelling magical energy to nearby allies granting buffs. But, when their master becomes wounded, wisps unselfishly absorb some of the damage, and will ultimately sacrifice themselves for their master. When they are destroyed the release all their magical energy. When you fall below the health thresholds, your spirits absorb damage in the order they were cast.

Update:

This is a very cool idea. Some modifications I’d make though: instead of static spirit health, make it so spirits have 3 charges that correspond to the 75, 50, and 25% marks of your health bar. So whenever you drop below the mark or use the active, you lose a charge.

What this encourages
This encourages players to choose between:
a. Keeping your distance and providing powerful buffs party wide.
b. Enter close combat and use wisp buffs temporarily and benefit from their damage absorption and effects upon death.

Frost Wisp (1 second cast time / 40 second cool down)
Summon a frost wisp to encircle you that has a chance to grant bonus damage to nearby allies. When you fall below 75, 50, or 25% health your wisp absorbs damage.
-Frost Wisp: 75% chance to grant 10% bonus damage on hit.
…(same)…
-Wisp Health: 1,500

Cold Snap
-Remains the same.

Sun Wisp (1 second cast time / 40 second cool down)
Summon a sun wisp to encircle you that has a chance to grant allies a change to inflict burning. When you fall below 75, 50, or 25% health your wisp absorbs damage.
-Sun Wisp: 75% chance to apply burning on hit.
…(same)…
-Wisp Health: 1,500

Solar Flare
-Remains the same.

Stone Wisp (1 second cast time / 40 second cool down)
Summon a stone wisp to encircle you that has a chance to grant allies protection. When you fall below 75, 50, or 25% health your wisp absorbs damage.
-Stone Wisp: 75% chance to apply protection on hit.
…(same)…
-Wisp Health: 2,500

Quicksand
-Remains the same.

Storm Wisp (1 second cast time / 40 second cool down)
Summon a storm wisp to encircle you that has a chance to grant allies swiftness. When you fall below 75, 50, or 25% health your wisp absorbs damage.
-Storm Wisp: 75% chance to apply swiftness on hit.
…(same)…
-Wisp Health: 1,500

Call Lightning
-Remains the same.

Water Wisp (1 second cast time / 40 second cool down)
Summon a water wisp to encircle you that grants allies a chance to heal when attacking. When you fall below 50% health your wisp absorbs damage.
-Water Wisp: 75% chance to heal yourself on hit.
…(same)…
-Wisp Health: 1,500

Aqua Surge
-Remains the same.

Ethereal Wisp
Summon a ethereal wisps that encircle you and your allies. Wisps heal and cure conditions on your allies. When your fall ally falls below 50% health their wisp absorbs damage.
…(alter heal and condition intervals)…
Heal ~ Same??
Condition Removal 1 every 3s??
20s duration??
-Wisp Health: 4,000

Aqua Surge
Insert Water Wisp active ability on Ethereal Wisp destruction.

Thoughts?

I rather not have my AI absorbing damage as a baseline effect, it would almost feel mandatory for us to take multiple wisps just so they don’t melt in seconds. I still don’t like how spirits give different boons/conditions on an ICD rather than being indefinite and more importantly, unique.

I feel like ranger isn’t the type to dish out boons for allies like a guardian or ele will, and trying to push them into that isn’t going to happen without some ridiculous buff.

In any rate, there are numerous topics on spirits lately and it would help to merge them. Plenty of good ideas circulating, especially for how hard spirits were hit with the latest balance patch.

An interesting idea. I wouldn’t mind seeing how it works. Has to be better than the current version. +1

Can these wisps work like a engineer toolkit so that you hit a ‘wisp toolkit’ (for example of course lol) and it gives you the list of wisps to cast so we’re not wasting all utilities just for the wisps and can slot wisps w/ 2 other utilities and an elite wisp if we wanted.

Nice idea, but it has nothing to do with spirits. It could be something for the druid or other elite specs in future.

I would prefer a “teleport spirit to my position”-active-skill for spirits and more support character for active and passive skills instead of “add burn” or “add 10% dmg” or “freeze people around”.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

An interesting idea. I wouldn’t mind seeing how it works. Has to be better than the current version. +1

Thanks! I think having ethereal wisps floating around your body absorbing damage and oozing mystical magic that buffs allies sounds much cooler than the current.

This is a very cool idea. Some modifications I’d make though: instead of static spirit health, make it so spirits have 3 charges that correspond to the 75, 50, and 25% marks of your health bar. So whenever you drop below the mark or use the active, you lose a charge.

ChillyChinaman.6057:

This is a very cool idea. Some modifications I’d make though: instead of static spirit health, make it so spirits have 3 charges that correspond to the 75, 50, and 25% marks of your health bar. So whenever you drop below the mark or use the active, you lose a charge.

Excellent idea. I’ll update main post.

Repost of an idea I wrote down in another thread:
This idea is ofcourse far from being balanced, but you should get the idea:

General Design:

• Spirits build up stacks, one each 5 secs, up to 25 stacks
• When channeled, the Ranger and up to 4 allies in a certain range around the pet get their weapons infused by the spirit. All the stacks the spirit has stored will be transfered onto the Ranger and his allies
• The pet acts as vessel for the spirit. Kill the pet -> stop the spirit effects.
• Spirits have no casting time, so you are able to swap the effects on the fly, even while fighting
• There can only one spirit infusion be active at a time
• The active of a spirit consumes all its stacks. The active is time based, while the passive triggers on hit. The time the active lasts is also determined by how many stacks got consumed.
• When the pet is dead, the pet can be healed by 4% of its maximum health through consuming stacks of a spirit (use up all your stacks on one spirit to resurrect your pet)
• The only thing I haven’t made up my mind about yet is how to deactivate a spirit (using the spirit once will activate its passive, clicking it again will activate the active)

Let’s talk specifics now.

Frost Spirit:

• Passive: Basically the same, just with less RNG. If activated, all attacks will consume one stack and deal 7% more (power) damage.
• Active: The attacks of all allies who had their weapons infused will apply chill. Chilled targets will suffer (0,5%*stacks consumed) more damage.

Stone Spirit:

• Passive: The Ranger and up to 4 allies in range of the pet will gain a unique buff that reduces all incoming damage by 10%. Each hit suffered consumes one stack.
• Active: The attacks of all allies who have been infused will immobilize enemies. Allies are healed by (0.5%*stack consumed) for the damage dealt against immobilized targets,

Storm Spirit:

• Passive: Each hit gives you an unique, short lasting movement boost and a bigger attack range, while consuming one stack.
• Active: The next attacks will apply quickness and daze the target for (0.2*stack consumed) seconds. Each target can only be dazed once.

Sun Spirit:

• Passive: Each stack applies short lasting burning.
• Active: Each attack while under the active effect applies blind. While under the effect of blind, enemies suffer (0.5%*stacks consumed) more condition damage.

Water Spirit:
If not good enough, or too OP, lower the effectiveness for allies by 50%. It is supposed to be a selfheal first and foremost after all.

• Passive: Each stack heals the player (and applies regeneration).
• Active: For the duration of the active, all (condition) damage will heal the player for (2%*stacks consumed) for its damage.

Elite Spirit

• Passive: Each attack, the player will be cured of one condition and one stack is consumed. Additionally, each attack will increase the stacks of all other spirits by 1.
• Active: Boosts the reviving speed of the player by (10%* stack consumed).
  The player also gains (0.5*stack consumed) resistance.

Now, this idea sounds not much more of an active playstyle than the other suggestions, but I do hope that the ability to swap instantly between spirit infusions and the decision of using the active or not will create more active play for the spirits. It definitely can’t be worse than the current situation.