Guild Wars 2

So, in light of all the complaints concerning pets, I figured I would share the tricks and tactics I have garnished from playing a BM ranger.

0/0/30/10/30 take my build for what its worth. yes I know it means my pet is hardier already, but the tactics still do not change. Most of the issues I see running around the world is that rangers are not using the controls and traits they’ve been given to work WITH their pets.

Things I’ve garnished on my journey to 80.
The more you pay attention to pet the better and more fun it gets.

Tricks I’ve gained:

1) Oh no pet is attacking head on when it doesn’t hold agg, call it back, flank enemy, send it back in, now its no longer in the cone of bam, simple right?

2) Oh no pet is getting eaten by AoE. There is a nifty trait 15 into Wilderness Survival, protection on dodge roll, this is meant more for your pet, it will take reduced damage from said AoE use dodge rolls for both you and pet, you are already getting stamina (whatever the bloody stat is called) faster from trait line, and you can also trait for vigor on heals (healing spring ftw).
-recalling can work, but most AoEs have insanely short cast times and the pet will not make it out. Easier still is to swap pets if you are clear of the AoE, wow now it missed completely, nice if you are unable to dodge at the time.

3) Pet dying all the time, 15 second swaps from 15 BM is more than enough to swap the pet often to not get taken out

4) pet dying all the time, Use heals for both you and the pet, use it when EITHER of you are getting low. The nice thing about ranger is that enemies have to split their focus, they can only attack one at a time. I have rarely been caught with my pants down because I used a heal for my pet. (Healing spring is quite nice because of lingering effects)

5) pet getting smacked by retaliation or confusion, call it back, once effects are clear, send it back in, again simple.

6) too annoying to manage your pets, keys to far to bother constantly pressing? I’ve actually rebound all my keys, my utilities are now f1-3 elite R and heal E and my pet controls are zxc. I can control my pets on the dime and the controls are quite responsive (barring the f2), utilities are all minute or more cooldowns so they get used much less making them more efficiant up at f1-3.

7) For love’s sake stop complaining about the intelligence of the pets AI. By in large the pets intelligence is controlled by the rangers intelligence. If the pet is dying all the time then it is because the ranger is letting it. The pet is not a fire and forget weapon, as a ranger you are controlling two characters. its no different then listening to a chump GC complaining constantly they need rezzes because they were too stupid to get out of the way.

8) pack the pets you need. I primarily run wolves because they are good, solid all rounders. there are instances when ranged pets are more beneficial like world bosses, melee chewing dungeon bosses platform instances where pet literally can’t get in melee range. Zerg fighting WvW, passive Moas for the win (zerg is more about survival and helping your zerg outlast the enemy zerg, swap to buff utilities, its not like you are going to do much damage anyways, still get rewarded kills for your tiny bow pricks).

clarifications: I will admit i have no experience with higher end fractals, small guild hard to get people to take you when they are 50 lvls higher than you are in fractals. Don’t know how agony works, I just know pets get chewed there based on forums. Anyone have any advice for that? (I am fairly certain though devs are working on fixing this).

Any other tips that pro pet rangers have for maximizing the survivability/usefulness of pets feel free to offer. I will add them in and cite you as sources

Pet micro-managing, no thanks.

Solid Gold.9310:

Pet micro-managing, no thanks.

That and purposely gimping the ranger to give a design flaw a few more seconds of survivability which will gimp you even further more when up against someone who can exploit the design flaws of the pet.

You may think your tricks are the cutting edge but they really aren’t. Micro managing your pet is one thing, purposely gimping yourself so your pet can perform marginally better is another.

Arsenic Touch.7960:

Solid Gold.9310:

Pet micro-managing, no thanks.

That and purposely gimping the ranger to give a design flaw a few more seconds of survivability which will gimp you even further more when up against someone who can exploit the design flaws of the pet.

You may think your tricks are the cutting edge but they really aren’t. Micro managing your pet is one thing, purposely gimping yourself so your pet can perform marginally better is another.

gimping? right… and as far as a few more seconds survivability, I haven’t lost both pets (ranger boned) in a single bout in last month and a half, it isn’t a few seconds survivability, it is survivability. People are complaining about ranger effectiveness, the rangers effectiveness IS tied to the pet.

My apologies for sharing some tactics I’ve picked up that maximize my effectiveness as a ranger. The funny thing is, the trait trees that I mentioned, you don’t even have to pick up traits, they are automatic from the tree itself. You aren’t losing anything from going into the tree. Wilderness survival IS one of those god mode utility trees, and BM itself also supports a more offensive ranger with quickness on pet swap and faster pet swaps.

I’ve watched my wolves hit for 6k (not raven, not jaguar, the wolf), if you want to let the dps potential die, then fine by me. continue sending your pets on suicide runs. I’ll continue watching your complaints flood the forums, heck maybe I will even come to enjoy drinking your salty tears.

/end rage rant

Thanks for the tips, I have been working on leveling my ranger and am loving Beast Master. With the 15 sec pet swap I have been able to solo a couple of champs with ease.

I have mainly been using the cats but I will have to give the wolf another try. Using the Moa in WvW sounds pretty sweet too.

Atlas.4509:

Thanks for the tips, I have been working on leveling my ranger and am loving Beast Master. With the 15 sec pet swap I have been able to solo a couple of champs with ease.

I have mainly been using the cats but I will have to give the wolf another try. Using the Moa in WvW sounds pretty sweet too.

I will clarify on the damage numbers specified. It comes from a combo chain I developed playing a BM. Works best in PvE but equally effective in PvP

BM bond on kills should be maximized.

weapon sets sword/horn and GS. Swap to sword/horn activate rampage as one. active horn #4 and wail away with sword combo chain (stacks might), by the time the birds are finished your pet will have 25 stacks of might, swap to GS use Sick’em. GS #5 (next attack does aditional 50% extra damage). I’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing my wolves attack chains and knowing when the big hitting auto attacks are coming. This combo is much more effective with a jag or raven drake etc where you control the big hit with f2.

I haven’t tried since the buff to sick’em. I’ve been running a spirit support build as of late.

Why do you people even play Ranger if you don’t want a pet to manage? If you want to join the Elite Sniper Team™ roll warrior and use camo paint colors.

Some nice tips there for sure.

I’d like to add that 15 points into nature magic, for boon sharing, is pretty nice to have for people that wants their pets to be all that they can be, works very well in synergy with some pet abilities, for example the Jungle Stalker’s Mighty Roar ability; 5 stacks of might to you and your pet, and since you got 5 stacks, you’re sharing those with the pet so it gets another 5 stacks of might for a total of 10.

Sigils and runes that works well with the Fortifying Bond trait are for example Rune of Lyssa, Sigil of Strength and Sigil of Battle.