I know people have been focusing on pets recently, and for good reason, so I’m aware this may be overlooked. I just wanted to talk about some spirit ideas.
Specific Game Mode
PvX
Proposal Overview
Make spirits provide more conditional auras that a ranger can potentially build around. Thus, making them more interesting to use.
Goal of Proposal
A way of making using spirits more interesting and making their functionality more distinct whilst providing better support.
Proposal Functionality
Spirits would provide the ranger and up to five allies (prioritising pet and party members) with an aura much as they do now. Aura’s provide benefits that are more conditional, depending on the use of other abilities, rather than granting the same benefit roughly every 10 seconds.
Spirits would last indefinitely (or until killed much like Necromancer Minions) to balance the aforementioned conditional nature of their auras. This would probably mean they’d have longer cool-downs upon being killed.
Storm spirit.
Passive: Whenever you are knocked down, pushed or pulled the inflicter takes X damage (X second internal cool-down).
And, whenever you gain swiftness you gain X seconds of fury. (X second internal cool-down).
Active: Same as now, maybe grants swiftness as well but longer cool-down due to spirits not being on a timer.
Stone spirit.
Passive: Whenever you are interrupted you gain X seconds of protection (X second internal cool-down).
And, whenever you are critically hit in melee range the inflicter is crippled for X seconds. (X second internal cool-down).
Active: Same as now, but longer cool-down.
Sun Spirit.
Passive: Whenever you inflict burning you also inflict X second of blind. (X second internal cool-down.)
And, whenever you are blinded, burnt, or tormented you gain X seconds of retaliation. (X second internal cool-down)
Active: Same as now, maybe inflict burning instead or as well as blinding, longer cool-down.
Frost Spirit.
Passive: Whenever a foe blocks your attack you apply X seconds of chill. (X second internal cool-down)
And, whenever you apply chill you lose a condition. (X second internal cool-down)
Active: Same as now, but longer cool-down.
Water spirit —> Replaced with Spirit of Growth. (So we don’t have two water based spirits and healing skills, creating more of a general nature focus)
Passive: Healing you receive from all sources increased by 5%.
And, whenever you gain regeneration you gain X seconds of vigour. (X second internal cool-down)
Active. (Rename Overgrowth or Bloom) Healing you and your pet for X (more than “Healing Spring[’s]” direct heal but less than “Heal as One”) Grants X seconds of regeneration to all nearby allies and removed 2/3 conditions from all nearby allies.
Nature Spirit (still only lasts for a minute)
Passive: Provides an actual healing aura that scales with the ranger’s healing power (lower it’s base heal)
Active: Same. Give it a more distinctive affect, like a sudden surge of plant growth in the affected areas.
Change the three Nature Magic traits so something along the lines of:
Adept: Spiritual Knowledge – Spirits have 50% more health. Summon recharges 10% faster.
Master: Bring Nature’s vengeance here again. Is not strong enough as a Grandmaster if spirits don’s automatically die every 60 seconds and active effects are on a longer cool-down.
Grandmaster: Spirits Unbound – Spirits can move and follow you. They take X% less damage from all sources or each spirit aura grants an extra XX vitality or each aura increases boon duration by X%.
Associated Risks
Quite a drastic change, I realise that makes it quite unlikely.
Also, certain affects may be considered overpowered, but this could be balanced by the length of internal cool-down as well as duration of effect.