Guild Wars 2

You do realize that those spirits have health, right? And since they have health, they can die, right? And when they die, you are now fighting a Ranger with 0 skills in his utility slots.

Anet Team: "Let’s troll the Ranger community.

JohnPeters: “Why?”

Anet Team: "Well, we are rolling out some uber buffs to the Rangers in a few days so we should kick them while they are down.

JohnPeters: “Good idea.”

TrollingTimeJohnPeters: Logs on the forums ~ “Rainbow Jellyfish…”

I like the changes btw.

Tragic Positive.9356:

Reduce the cooldown by 4 seconds and reduce it’s damage by 30% and cast time by another 30%.

Yes, now I know what you are all thinking, but this would stay a buff.
1st of all, for PvE there’s going to be more Vulnerability uptime.
And for the PvP, here comes why:

Half of the damage dealt are sigils. Not the rapid fire itself.
By reducing the cooldown – more reliable pressure options will open (Ranger could focus on evasive combat while pressuring the targets with reliable sigil procs and applying Vulnerability stacks).

Please, keep in mind that the numbers could be changed. Also, this is just an brainstorming idea that passed through my mind that I’d actually feel like sharing.

Opinions?

Interesting. So instead of my RF hitting for 10K every 10 seconds, it would hit for 7K every 6 seconds.

I think I’d be okay with that.

Allie Murdock.8152:

To those asking how far we would redesign – I can’t really comment on this specifically, but I can say that you should share your ideas because sometimes they inspire things to happen. Does that make sense?

ItIsFinished.9462:

ItIsFinished.9462:

Elementalist: Ability to change Attunements.
Engineer: Wide array of kits and additional abilities dependent on equipped slots skills.
Necromancer: Death Shroud and Spectral Walk
Guardian: Virtues.
Thief: Steal/Initiative and most access to stealth.
Warrior: Adrenaline/Burst
Mesmer: Clones and Shatter abilities.
Ranger: Pets…

This is what makes the classes Unique.

But the funny thing is, every class can have a pet…..via racial skills but at the same time, they won’t suffer a damage loss for having a companion..go figure. They are on par with the rangers pets, especially if the rangers pet dies and is on a 1 min cooldown which is close to most racial elites….

I’m quoting myself because I brought this up a long time ago and it is still relevant. Us Rangers have a broken mechanic.

We need to have the ability to use ALL the pets skills on demand. Also, since we are a jack of all trades, we need to make the pets ability’s on par with the other classes.

What I mean is take thief for example, their class mechanic is stealth and mobility. Why not make a series of pets that offer/have access to stealth and mobility skills…just on a smaller scale. Or Mesmer, their mechanic is clones, can we have some pets that offer clone type abilities? Take Engineer, their class mechanic is kits. Lets make the Ursine pets dig up Ascalonian Rifles or Charr mines, allowing us to use a new weapon for a short period of time during combat. These suggestions are simply allowing the ranger to have a “unique” class mechanic.

After all, we are a “jack of all trades” kind of class, right?

I really hope you read this. I think it’s important to note that ALL CLASSES have access to pets. Whether it be racial elites, armor rune sets(ogre), or other various ways. BUT without the penalty of damage reduction like Rangers.

Our pets need more skills, more control, better AI and my suggestion above.

Kal Spiro.9745:

It seems to me the most obvious design change would be to make it a targeted AoE like Search and Rescue and Guard. Though I don’t know that it would really make as much sense for how Sic em is supposed to function. Of course just giving off a pulse at max range of the power that auto reveals all stealth would be good too, I guess, but that still begs the question, what are you targeting to make that happen?

Haha, if the pet had a AoE style reveal, constantly on, thieves would have to be careful on there backstabs. they would have to be wary of the enemy’s pets position at all times.

Although I think it should be a Trait, rather than taking up a utility slot.

Hey guys! I wanted to share my WvW setup that I plan on using in a week or so. I need a couple more pieces to complete my setup. I was tired of having many different sets of gear for different situations so I sought out a solution using the Ascended Celestial Items. I believe with this setup I have solved my dilemma.

You will be using one gear set for two sets of builds. Without further ado…

~ Arrow’s Celestial Build for WvW ~

Two Builds ~ One Gear Set
WvW Zerg Warfare Build
WvW Roaming and Dueling Build

I chose this particular setup for a few reason’s, but the main reason was switching roles on the fly. I think this setup does that well. Now, I understand that you can buy a different set of gear as an alternative but I wanted to avoid that if possible.

WvW Zerg Warfare Build
For this setup I wanted lot’s of Bleeds, Vigor, and Crits proc’ing. Also Piercing Arrows is a must in my opinion. Having Constant Vigor up time helps to have a full Endurance bar which in return makes ‘Steady Focus’ relevant.

WvW Roaming and Dueling Build
The trait setup is identical to my sPvP build. Except there is Food buffs and the Crit rate and Crit damage is a lot higher in WvW. Also, for the Sword and Dagger you are using the Apothecary stats.

When I complete my set I will add some videos of it in action.

(Edit) Here is a Reddit discussion regarding Celestial trinkets.

Specific Game Mode
PvP

Proposal Overview
Hunters Shot turns into a second skill when it’s been landed.

Goal of Proposal
Make it more viable in PvP/WvW

Proposal Functionality
When Hunter’s Shot has successfully landed and the Ranger is Stealthed, the skill becomes ’Hunter’s Prey’ which allows you to transfer your stealth boon to your pet for a surprise attack. Stealth would then be removed from the Ranger.

Associated Risks
None that I can think of.

My other propositions – All under 200 words:
Master’s Bond Fix
Main Hand Axe 1-3 Triple Threat Idea

This thread is not intended to show any kind of complaint but rather a way to consolidate a few peoples concerns about Condi removal. EB and SotF are Grandmaster traits in the same line. It’s a nerf to our condi removal and makes Poison Master an obsolete trait.

I’m hoping we can get some kind of confirmation on whether this is being looked at or not.

• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/PvP-WvW-Forced-into-Wilderness-Survival/5103419

• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/HOT-FEEDBACK-Condi-removal-traits/5073087

• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/EB-is-not-worthy-of-a-GM-trait/5070194

• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/condi-removal-butchered/5067076

• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Proposed-Wilderness-Survival-Grandmasters/5008355

• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Ranger-condition-removal-1/5171386

• http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/39zt4h/discussion_next_weeks_ranger_changes/cs86noe

Now that Druid has been revealed and Astral form introduced, wisps have also been introduced with a few skills. Why not change Spirits to Wisps. Make them immune to all damage like Warriors Banners. Also, revert them back to movable of course. A Ranger in Astral form, could make use of Sun Spirit for example. Burn enemy’s while you heal.

You can even go as far as treating Spirits like Glyphs. When in Astral form, your Spirit is swapped to a Wisp with new abilities etc.

• Shouts
  • “Play Dead” – replaces – Search and Rescue
    • Revives allies from a downed state in XXX radius by sacrificing 25% of its health. The pet receives a 2 second Daze and 4 second Cripple.
  • “Heel” – replaces – Guard
    • Your pet returns to your side with a fiery vengance, causing ‘Fear’(Blast Finisher) at the initial location, then granting an AOE burning to enemy’s as it returns to your side. Breaks Stun

I’m working on the remaining two Shouts.

First off I would like to to mention that this does not and in no way replace the current home or far point Turret Engie cheese that we often see. It does however offer an alternative way to bunk a point. It can also offer additional team support along with massive healing for your team in my second example of the “Turret Engie – Ranger Style”. Below are two builds. The first build can be used for home point bunking, home and mid point roaming and dueling. The second build is only for home and far point bunking. See below for explanations.

Definitions

Trolling
- Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander, because it’s the internet and, hey, you can.

Cheese
- Cheese is often regarded as “cheap” or “dirty” play, as the player cheesing does not try to counter their opponent or adjust their strategy. Having a lack of player skill can be made up by playing a “cheese” build.

Turret Engie - Cheese Edition
- A well known build that is considered trolling by most and cheese by all. One simply places Turrets on a node and camps while waiting for an unsuspecting enemy to come along. Then the Engie proceeds to run in circles, allowing the turrets and AI to do all the work. Unleashing knockbacks, knockdowns, immobilizes and more knockbacks. Simply put, a cheese build that carries the Engie.

Can a Ranger become like the Turret Engie?

Turret Engie – Ranger Style Home and mid point defender – Mobile Version
- This particular build is the mobile version and offers numerous knockdowns, knockbacks, immobilizes, cripples, blinds, bleeds, projectile blocking, evades spams, stealth and lots of damage.
Build

• 2 Knockdowns
• 1 Knockback every 12 seconds
• Immobilize
• 6 ways to Cripple your opponent – 40 seconds total of Cripple application.
• Sun Spirit
  • Passive Burning is applied to you and your add 5 adds for constant Burning application of your opponent
  • Active Blinds for stomps
• Stone Spirit
  • Passive Protection for you and your adds/team
  • Active Quicksand which Immobilizes and Cripples up to 3 enemies
• Constant Bleeds from every Critical hit you do
• 5 adds to mimic an Engie’s Turrets
  • Hyena
  • Hyena Ally
  • Parrot
  • Sun Spirit
  • Stone Spirit

Turret Engie – Ranger Style Home and Far point defender only
- This build is designed to act just like a turret Engie. Your Spirits do not move. They are stationary like an Engie’s Turrets. Place them strategically on a point so that you use them to block projectiles. Draw your enemy’s into them before activating them.
Variation One – Build - More Condi removal, weaker Hyena’s
Variation Two – Build - Less Condi removal, stronger Hyena’s

• Offers same CC and damage as the mobile version
• Spirits can be used to block projectiles
• Stationary Spirits like Engie’s turrets allow for Evasive Purity to be taken
• Healing Spring for massive healing for your adds and/or group

That’s it. I hope you guys try this build out for trolling and funsies. I’m almost certain you’ll here other players call you “cheese” every now and then.

If anyone can think of a better way to imitate a Turret Engie, please make suggestions.

I can guarantee you that the first moderator to spot this will copy the link and email it around their office with a "LOL" or "Check this out" in the subject line. Once they get a good laugh they will close this thread.

Skeletor.9360:

Darkness.9732:

I know you. You re the warrior who kept saying that eviscerate is fair. Enjoy getting stomped by a ranger man. Next time use your OP eviscerate

Well obviously you don’t know me as I have nevered stated anything about eviscerate…but lets compare eviscerate to this. Does it track through stealth? Nope. Can you hit people from max range? Nope. Does rapid fire require you to engage a target for an extended battle to build up energy to use it? Nope. How many dodges stop an eviscerate? 1 How many stop a rapid fire 3. If I get out of range of a warriar can they use it? Nope Can I get out of range of a ranger…. Nope

So really thanks for showing common ignorance and allowing be to rofl stomp you in this post to demonstrate the lack of counter arguement you made.

Does Rapid Fire allow you to clear up to 3 conditions when executed? Nope. Does it allow you crit 100% of the time when traited? Nope. Does it allow you to gain endurance when hit? Nope. Does it allow you to gain Quickness if you strike a foe below 50% health when traited? Nope. Does it remove Immobilize from you when used while traited? Nope.

Skeletor.9360:

I am really feeling good about this post! Thanks!

I’m feeling good about my post too.

You’re up.

“…and then, let’s make it a Grand Master Trait!”

Lol, well said.

Holland.9351:

They should change Spirits into colored Wisps that orbit the Ranger.

Best idea ever!

Ranger here, just an FYI, only one trait line offers condi removal. Both are Grandmaster traits(so we can only choose one) and one is RNG -if- the pet is alive and within 600 range.

If they stay in the one line, why would I ever take Poison Master?

Not trying to complain, just hoping you guys consider it.

As for HS, It’s a buff on the Condi removal side, but a nerf on the finisher side. I can think back of the countless situations where I could use just a few more seconds of HS to get that last finisher off for a little heal, but bam, it disappears and the tides of fate turn for the worst Now its going to be 5 seconds shorter….we are all doomed!

I think the best approach is to look at this from a logical stand point. We have to realize that our pet is 20-60% of our DPS, so it needs to be effective in its DPS distribution. So, logically, the pet needs to stay alive. Every situation will warrant a different method to managing your pet. So I propose a simple 4 choice config for our pets:

F2 click once ~ Attack/Single target mode
F2 click twice ~ Attack/Multiple target mode(aoe condition or boon)
F2 click thrice ~ Guard/Single target mode
F2 click fourth ~ Guard/Multiple target mode(aoe boon or condition)

F2 click fifth ~ Do not attack (currently implemented)

Basically, you can set your pet to be in 1 of 4 modes. Each pet would warrant specific skills depending on the pet and mode. So for example my Raven could have a whirlwind type aoe on Attack/Multiple target mode(aoe) that drops conditions and a Bear could have a boon type of aoe for the Attack/Multiple target mode(aoe) that way every pet could be used for every situation. I understand that would warrant quite a bit of work, but it would synergize the Ranger and their companions perfectly.

With that being said you wouldn’t have to change any UI elements. Just add a 5 mode toggle to F2. The 5th being a do not attack.

Edit:
I forgot to mention that when a pet is in a guard type stance there defense is raised so they can take more damage but at the same time they do less damage. And all pets have 4 types of attacks anyways, this would just allow the Ranger to proc those specific skills on demand instead of randomly.

I want to pickup my Sun Spirit and gain a new weapon! Fire Long Bow! Kinda like Ele conjured weapons…

Justine.6351:

Jim Hunter.6821:

That would be awesome but I’d settle for the skill not screwing up when running on uneven terrain. Nothing worse than trying to run from a zerg and stopping for a full second before doing the second part of the leap.

l2p issue.

It’s not a l2p issue. It’s a bug that happens randomly. Been around for a while now.

Here are the changes I would make.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNAT8YjEq0xaLLOsQ1ag9gaZAUANHiC29WUEtdBraA-T1SBABFpkYH1foVJYSKTAa/h3UKlimAW0Jgg5PNeCAAcRAIFQEDtA-w

Otherwise, you have a solid build.

Darnis.4056:

Courtyard is always going to be 0 500
I’ve never had a close courtyard game.
Why? Because it’s an elimination match that keeps going and the other team can never catch up.

I just had a match in Courtyard 400-25.

Told the team to stick together. We ended up winning 450-500.

Allie Murdock.8152:

Angela Ranna.5638:

RoyHarmon.5398:

I think what he meant was that if you gave the ranger an appropriate stat boost only while the pet was stowed, then there would be no need to rebalance in the first place.

No, I think she got it. What she was saying was a straight stat boost would be hard to balance between pet vs non-pet vs other classes. On the other hand unique effects for stowing the pets (ie aspects) is more lateral power and thus easier to make competitive, each having its own niche.

And yeah, this ^

So I started thinking, why not keep everything the same with pets, except improve the AI of course(which is on the list anyways), keep attack mode, but change passive mode to guard mode. Add a few more skills to pets, skills for attack mode and skills for guard mode, when the pet is in guard mode it stays by your side, the F2 ability changes to a guard mode type utility, AND the pet absorbs 30% of the damage you take. that seems fair since it is 30% of your damage.

SamTheGuardian.2938:

I know some believe it’s the honorable thing to always see the match though, but when you see strong indication of where the outcome is going and see very clear mistakes by members of your team I disagree with those who think there is any dishonor in leaving (you can disagree all you want to, you will never convince me otherwise).

I won’t try to convince, but I will say this: The statement above is why you always be at the bottom.

Until you change your attitude, you’ll never get better.

Heres what happened. Glass Ranger meets Glass Warrior on the battlefield. Glass Ranger opens with RF. Glass Warrior tries to block the Rangers burst, but blocks too soon, allowing the Ranger to land a couple of RF shots on him. Since the Warrior is pure Glass, he didn’t bring any Stability Utilities. So now the Ranger follows with a PB shot. You then try to run away because you were unable to initiate your busrt correctly. Since I see the ‘Skill recharging’ in your combat log, one can only assume that you were trying to use the Greatsword to flee/escape. Which allowed the Ranger to simply pew pew you down while you ran away.

Suggestion, get in the Rangers face and be the Warrior you have always dreamt to be. Fight to the death and quit running away like every other Warrior I come across….

Specific Game Mode
All Aspects of the game

Proposal Overview
Rework of the Pet system(Impossible to explain in under 200 words btw)

Goal of Proposal
Make it more viable in PvP/WvW/PvE

Proposal Functionality
Take out Passive and Attack modes. Add a “Guard mode” and a “Attack mode”.

• Guard Mode
• When the Ranger puts his pet in “Guard Mode”, the pet will stay by the rangers side, granting various ‘Guard and protect your master’ type of boons or traps that aid in protecting the Ranger(dependent on pet class-Ursine, cats etc). Example, lets say I have a Bird slotted and is in Guard Mode, I want him to grant me swiftness or maybe fury when an enemy comes within “Guard Mode” range. Or let’s say I have my Reptile slotted and in Guard Mode, if an enemy comes withing guard mode range I want him to cast Confusion or even do his tail swipe. All the guard mode abilities are dependent on the pet class. Also in Guard mode, the Ranger will do 15% more damage, but the pet will do 15% less damage as well.

• Attack Mode
• When the Ranger puts the pet in “Attack Mode” it simply uses there normal attacks and skills but with improved precision and accuracy. Improved AI etc.

Associated Risks
The Ranger will now have more control over the pet and which skills are activated through the pet.

My other propositions – All under 200 words:
Master’s Bond Fix
Main Hand Axe 1-3 Triple Threat Idea
Hunter’s Shot/Hunter’s Prey Change
Poison Volley Changed to Poison Slash

Hey Josh, how about some NPC’s of all races sitting around a campfire telling this epic story somewhere in the Mists starting point. Maybe by the practice golems. I’d visit it a few times a day everyday for sure.

So I wanted to start a topic regarding strategy’s used against every class from a Ranger’s POV but at the same time I don’t want to limit strategy’s per build type. So everyone’s feedback regardless of build type is greatly appreciated. As some of you know I have been trying to find a build that suits my play style along with having the appropriate tools/utility setup to combat every class in a 1vs1 situation. As of right now the build linked in my signature is my most current build. I am pleased with my build as I only have trouble against bunker Guardian’s and some 2H hammer Warriors. If I have Signet of the Wild or Rampage as One up I don’t have as much of a problem against 2H hammer Warriors.

Here are my strategy’s against other classes:

Memsers - Keep your distance while flanking and keeping an eye on the real Memser all while unloading your Shortbow with piercing arrows which destroys clones while bringing down the Mesmer. Obviously watch for Confusion.
D/D S/D Thieves - Thieves can be tricky but knowing how each build and how they fight can help you out a lot. Backstab burst Thieves go down quick with Sword #1 and QZ. Pop Signet of Stone if your health is getting low during the Thieves initial burst. If hes not dead then use Entangle at the right time. I use it when he comes out of hide. Keep your distance and dodge roll and SB #3 during the fight.
P/D Thieves- I actualy have no trouble with P/D Thieves. With auto targeting turned on and my SB #3 or dodge roll on standby I either win or they run away with just using my Shortbow. If they switch to melee mode then see above strategy.
Elementalists - I tend to dodge on their initial lightning burst and use my Shortbow for the whole fight. Stay out of their AOE circles. I usually win or they runaway as long as my Signet of Stone isn’t on cooldown.
Necromancers - These guys are the easiest. Keep your distance with Shortbow. Use your cripple and daze skills whenever they are off cooldown and its an easy fight. Just keep your distance at all times.
Engineers - I have mixed feelings about Engineers as every fight is different. I haven’t run into very many ‘experienced’ Engineers to know of an exact strategy for them. But I will say to watch for bombs and mines. They tend to drop lots of little red circles. If they want you to chase them then think twice about following them. Pick them off with your Shortbow or Weapon Swap > QZ > Sword #1 > Signet of Stone > Sword #2 ONCE to evade back then switch to Shortbow and finish him. I have come across only one Engineer who was extremely hard to take down due to high toughness or high Vitality, not sure and it turned out to be a stale mate. His Zerg took me out while downed.
Rifle Warrior - Time your dodge rolls for Volley and Kill shot. The rest is cake. Use your Shortbow.
2H hammer Warrior - I have trouble with these guys. If they get the first hit in and I don’t have stability up…I’m usually toast. Any thoughts or ideas vs these guys?
Bunker Guardians Hammer or Staff - Not sure of a proper strategy for these guys except to stay far away and try to pick them off. Once they get close I’m toast. Need some strategy ideas.
Ranger - No strategy here cause I like to duel other Rangers.

If I missed a common class or class/combo let me know. I’m hoping to see other Ranger’s strategy’s and or a critique of my own. So if anyone wants to list there strategy’s from a Rangers POV that would be awesome. Thanks.

borya.2964:

ItIsFinished.9462:

I thought about it but wasn’t too concerned about which did more damage. I am getting Fury from Entangle and LR, so 24% is good enough for me. 5 Guard stacks pushes it to 26-27% I think. But maybe Knights does in fact do more damage. Thanks for the feedback.

It ’s still bad considered. And all the surplus of toughness is quiet useless since the effectiveness is not exponential. A good ranger can already kite 2 or 3 lower players without such a tank build wich have finally the same limit (last fight). That being said, thanks for sharing.

Without to betray the spirit of the build you could take a look for something like this :

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNAR8YnMqQLL2vC+CCVLGwSoa3ABQB8aHcXCRwFXwkD-TVDHABFcQAI4IAAwDAQOdDDpUoIlF9pSQUKBPUNFjUih9+DBqKRAXAgAAHAzPfyX+glXe5lXe5We5lXe5lLFQXDtA-w

Some more precision, better access to fury (more logical i would say), perma switness (you really need this) and perma regen, possibly even more than your actual HP/sec (well, need to test) and both benefit to your pets, more cleans (you can clean a second condi burst outside the heal) and wayyy enough toughness to fight any 1 vs 2, the stab will go while swapping elite or the signet if you want, depending of the type of build you’ll face.

I appreciate your suggestions. I don’t disagree regarding having more precision. It makes sense since I have so much Ferocity.

With that being said, I went ahead and tested the same build on the training Golems in sPvP using Knight’s ammy and Cavalier ammy. The Golems died at the same rate. Actually, with the Knights ammy, it was hit and miss on whether my Maul was going to crit. When it did crit, it was only 2k damage(Knights ammy) rather than a guaranteed 3.5k damage(Cavalier ammy) using Intel Sigil.

One thing regarding the build you linked is the change to RNG Condi removal. It’s imperative for my build to have Evasive Purity slotted. It’s crazy to rely on Empathic Bond’s RNG to remove the Poison condition before your burst heals. Remember you are capable of getting 13.5k in total burst healing. If you have Poison on you, that 13.5k burst heal turns into 6.75k burst heals, which is a lot of lost healing potential. Also the Swiftness from Guard is nice, but the Regen from it is redundant since I get Regen from my Runes and Healing Spring. My birds give me Swiftness and Sword Leap, Swoop and Lightning Reflexes allow me to get away from almost every situation.

borya.2964:

*Guard stacks doesn’t affect precision.

Yeah, I said Guard stacks but I meant Borderland Bloodlust buff which gives up to 60 Precision.

Thanks for your suggestions.

You should have told them the only thing you exploited was their weakness and skill less play.

Allie Murdock.8152:

Aidenwolf.5964:

Allie Murdock.8152:

Also, you guys can’t see this due to the limitations of formatting on our forums, but a lot of these points were made by many of you guys. As such, they are much more emphasized in the email threads and discussions we have internally.

First, thank you for your summary. What I think got missed in the pile was the idea that pet damage should be rebalanced so that they no longer draw 30% of our damage from us in the first place. All other classes core mechanics add to base damage where as rangers loose almost a third of our player damage in order to have an AI run around with us. If our pets hit every time and are never dead, we just get to 100% base damage of every other class capping us at 100% a warrior hits 115% with his/her core mechanic.

This does not take into account the loss of gear stats on the pet which is significant.

I’m not saying this isn’t possible, but I want you to understand exactly what that suggestion means. It would mean completely rebalancing the Ranger.

The Ranger is designed to have a pet. If the pet was taken away or didn’t do damage, then it wouldn’t be a Ranger anymore. Does that make sense?

The only reason Rangers lose damage is because the AI is not currently what it ought to be. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we should completely redesign the Ranger and get rid of the pet.

Think of it this way: You’re building a house and a 2×4 breaks while you’re trying to screw it in to something. Do you scrap the house and completely rebuild it because that one piece broke, or do you grab a new 2×4 and use that instead? Which do you think would be more efficient?

What I’ve been seeing a lot of is that you guys don’t necessarily dislike pets. What you dislike is how they act and how they are controlled. It seems to me that these are feelings that have been built up over time, and have culminated into “pets have to go” because you guys haven’t seen the improvements that should be made to pets to make them desirable. I certainly don’t blame you for getting to this point, but I do want to know the core of the problem before we start talking about rebalancing an entire class.

Thanks for the replies Allie. I’m not sure why the same people who keep harping on you about giving the ranger back their 100% damage arguments won’t concur. Keep in mind a few of them have admitted not stepping foot in PVP aspects of the game. Over on the Ranger forum, I can’t guarantee 90%+ of them want the pet to stay along with there mechanics, just on an improved AI level, which is what you stated a few pages back. The discussions should be about ideas on making this happen, rather than bringing up this stow pet 100% damage idea.

ItIsFinished.9462:

I think the best approach is to look at this from a logical stand point. We have to realize that our pet is 20-60% of our DPS, so it needs to be effective in its DPS distribution. So, logically, the pet needs to stay alive. Every situation will warrant a different method to managing your pet. So I propose a simple 4 choice config for our pets:

F2 click once ~ Attack/Single target mode
F2 click twice ~ Attack/Multiple target mode(aoe condition or boon)
F2 click thrice ~ Guard/Single target mode
F2 click fourth ~ Guard/Multiple target mode(aoe boon or condition)

F2 click fifth ~ Do not attack (currently implemented)

Basically, you can set your pet to be in 1 of 4 modes. Each pet would warrant specific skills depending on the pet and mode. So for example my Raven could have a whirlwind type aoe on Attack/Multiple target mode(aoe) that drops conditions and a Bear could have a boon type of aoe for the Attack/Multiple target mode(aoe) that way every pet could be used for every situation. I understand that would warrant quite a bit of work, but it would synergize the Ranger and their companions perfectly.

With that being said you wouldn’t have to change any UI elements. Just add a 5 mode toggle to F2. The 5th being a do not attack.

Edit:
I forgot to mention that when a pet is in a guard type stance there defense is raised so they can take more damage but at the same time they do less damage. And all pets have 4 types of attacks anyways, this would just allow the Ranger to proc those specific skills on demand instead of randomly.

Fantastic idea ^^

:D

ampy.1387:

Nnekk.5806:

Another really annoying and, “gets me killed at times”, is the use of “Rapid Fire”; You cannot, for whatever reason you may have, stop the animation or change targets and use another skill UNTIL it is completed.

This one is annoying and leaves me embarrassed. At times when fighting a foe i’ll use Rapid Fire to down the enemy but the enemy is already dead yet i’m still firing 4-5 more arrows at nothing.

The only solution(s) i’ve found that work is to press “esc” or switch weapons (if cooldown is reset). The only thing with “esc” is that it opens the Options menu which sometimes kills me haha. Is there such a button that will “STOP” a skill from continuing?

Or dodge roll.

I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere so I figured I’d throw it out there. If you don’t have stability up, you can swap to Electric Wyvern and use F2/Lightning Assault – interrupting their downed skills for a guaranteed stomp.

It acts like Engi’s Overcharged Shot and Ele’s Updraft skills but instead of knocking the enemy away from you it knocks them up in the air.

urdriel.8496:

Prysin.8542:

Akisame.9508:

Allie Murdock.8152:

I’m not saying this isn’t possible, but I want you to understand exactly what that suggestion means. It would mean completely rebalancing the Ranger.

The Ranger is designed to have a pet. If the pet was taken away or didn’t do damage, then it wouldn’t be a Ranger anymore. Does that make sense?

The only reason Rangers lose damage is because the AI is not currently what it ought to be. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we should completely redesign the Ranger and get rid of the pet.

Hi Allie, and thank you for your replies.

—i wrote a very long post—

You are misunderstanding the conscept of other professions; If they do not use their mechanics, they will not be able to achieve 100% potential. Saying a warrior can do 115% is absurd, because the rapid bursts is what produces those “15%”. Without bursts, a warrior’s damage is quite mediocre unless you built it to gain damage from some other mechanic, such as banner-buffs.
If you look at a warriors weapons, and the burst options, you see that certain weapons have lower base damage then you may expect, related directly to the damage that the burst can do. Axe mainhand is a good example of this. Its AA has lower damage then weapons of equal damage stats but since eviscerate does so much damage it makes up for the loss.

OMG, are you saying than Warrior Axe AA have less damage than other skills??
Warrior Axe AA autoattack is probably the best dps in this game for an AA, and eviscerate is a “if your opponent have 50% hp or less press f1 to win”.

You are either being ignorant on pourpose or simply misreading what he is saying. I’ll put it in lazy man terms:

If each of these classes lost the ability to use their Class mechanic, here are the estimated results:

• Class mechanic/F1-F4 not used in all aspects of the game per class(% decreased)
  • Engineer 30%
  • Gaurdian 20%
  • Warrior 35%
  • Elementalist 65%
  • Mesmer 25%
  • Thief 40%
  • Necro 20%
  • Ranger 30%

Ranger isn’t in such a bad position if their pet dies compared to some of the other classes.

Ranger #1 says, “Ouch, I’ve just been inflicted with Immobilize, Chill, Weakness, Fear, 15 Stacks of Bleeding, 5 stacks of Torment and 4 stacks of Confusion. My Empathic Bond will save me!”

Ranger #2 sits and watches as only 3 conditions are removed after 9 seconds pass.

Ranger #1 says, “Help me Ranger #2!”

Ranger #2 Pop’s SoR, removes the remaining four conditions off of Ranger #1 + the 3 additional conditions that were added during that long 9 second RNG Empathic Bond to kick in.

Later after that match, Ranger #1 secretly tries out a different spec, dropping EB and picking SoR -he never looks back.

The End.

Specific Game Mode
All Modes
Proposal Overview
Master’s Bond needs to stack like weapon Sigils and stay on when you swap pets or go into water. The only time it should be removed is if the Ranger is downed, or the pet is downed.

Goal of Proposal
Makes it a useful skill.

Proposal Functionality
Right now it disappears when you swap your pet which goes against 95% of the Rangers traits like Zephyr’s Speed, Mighty Swap, Loud Whistle and Vigorous Renewal.

Associated Risks
A stronger pet.

My Ranger build brings all the boys to the yard
And they’re like, it’s better than yours
kitten right, it’s better than yours
I could teach you but I have to charge

Sorry, I had to.

ArmageddonAsh.6430:

ItIsFinished.9462:

Why not reduce the Passive amount by ‘X’ amount. Then increase the Active amount to ‘X’ amount dependent on either A: the warriors Adrenaline level or B: the amount of conditions on the warrior at the time of Active trigger.?

Reduce the Passive by 50%, Increase the Active by 100%
Passive: 196
Active: 6,550

Of course that is with zero gear, zero traits and such. It says SO much about this heal that people don’t even want to use the active part that is HOW broken the passive is.

Having played Warrior and using all of the current meta builds, I would suggest a Passive heal amount of 317 – Base amount with 0 in healing power. Then I would change the Active to 3400 base, 4000 w/ one bar of adrenaline, 4900 w/ two bars of adrenaline and 6100 w/ three bars of adrenaline. Increase the Cooldown by 10 seconds.

-or-

Change Passive heal amount to 330 – Base 0 in healing power. Then change the Active to a 2100 flat heal and 1 condition cleansed per bar of adrenaline. Increase the Cooldown by 15 seconds.

I wish wish wish that the Ranger and their pet naturally worked as One. In other words, any AoE boon distribution is distributed by the Ranger and pet. Also, when the pet receives boons it is transferred to the Ranger. That way in dungeons Rangers can stand back and pew pew and everything is as if they were within melee range, sharing and receiving buffs.

Edit: They should change Strider Defense to Strider’s Companionship.

Don’t forget that they changed the way matchmaking works three times during S1. So that means theirs still hope! Keep the complaints coming!

Carry on.

I think the whole argument about “pets dying to AOE damage” is moot. If the Rangers pet dies to an AOE, it’s because its supposed too.

What I mean is, whenever I’m in a dungeon fighting a boss, and lets say I’m standing back using a LB/SB and my pets is up in it’s face, the boss lets out an AOE, now, my pet is at 20% life…..well so are the other 4 characters in my group…they also have 20% life, the difference is that most rangers don’t pet swap or call back there pet so it can heal, which is what the other 4 party members would do if they got hit hard during a boss fight. So it really comes down to micro/pet management. I hardly have problems with my pets, and I often run birds as well which have low armor and semi low health. Now, I wouldn’t disagree with adding more HP and armor to them in PvE and WvW.

Now, lets say that an enemy zerg is coming your way and your pet gets run over, of course your pet is going to die, as any other class would too.

Why are people saying their is only two viable builds?

I keep hearing people say their is only two viable builds for the Ranger. That is simply not true. Everyone hops on the forums, reads about the latest builds which has been BM or Trap Ranger builds, and assume those are the only ones. There are tons of Ranger builds to try out and discover. Trap builds have been around since beta……but someone decided to share there ‘trap build’ and now its one of two VIABLE builds.

I personally have 3 variations of my current build that dominates 1 vs 1 and some 1 vs 2 situations, and its not a BM or Trap build. I am always seeing new Rangers hop on these forums and assume(because of misinformation) that there is only two builds that make a Ranger viable. I can guarantee that there are a few Rangers that frequent the forums who have tested countless builds who have NOT shared them because it works for them and they consider there build to be OP and it works for them.

My suggestion is go to the Mists, experiment with the limitless possibilities and tweak them a bit to your liking and play style.

Originally this topic was going to have an ‘Equalizer’ theme to it with some songs synced to my pip bar. But with the addition of win streaks(+2 pips) and getting through the Divisions a lot quicker than I anticipated, I set up the 186 screenshots to some epic build up music.

A couple things to take note:

• My third match I took a screenshot but didn’t realize I was on the wrong pane so you can’t see my pip bar so I left that one out.
• Somewhere around Ruby and twice in Diamond I forgot to take a screenshot at the end of the match. Fortunately, those 3 missed screenshots were losses. So you can still see that every advancement was done solo.

So in all, I played 190 games and lot’s of salt was thrown around as you can see in the chat box throughout my journey.

Legendary Division / 186 Screenshots / SoloQ

Funny thing is, the guy in the video is running Runes of Water……

I mean Runes of water is so OP.

Hey Fluffball, do you use an Nvidia card? If you do, try out Shadow Play. It’s constantly recording so you never have to worry about hitting any buttons. It also has a very minimal FPS loss while its running (1-3 FPS loss).

Also, Double Melee + Defender Runes + Healing Spring > all.

Re-logging didn’t fix it.

It’s just a Ranger and his bear…move along people.

Henrik.7560:

Fluffball.8307:

Elitist.8701:

Obviously ranger is slightly harder to play and is more vulnerable, but I still hate it nonetheless.

SLIGHTLY harder to play than turret engi? A berserker build with little or no condi removal is SLIGHTLY harder to play than turret engi?

You sit at 2000-2500 sniping 4k auto attack. Aids engis dont have that.

We seem to get an increase to our range daily. At this rate we will be maxing out at 3000 range by Friday.

Oh, and D/F cele ele’s

Ancestral Grace is 1200 units, but the channel drops you out at 1000 units.