Guild Wars 2

Specific Game Mode
Primarily written from a PvE perspective, though applicable to other modes.
Proposal Overview
Improve the versatility and feel of using ranger pets by expanding on their unique gameplay possibilities with mode-switching skills.
Goal of Proposal
Pets should feel more like an useful and dynamic part of the ranger’s kit, and less like a superfluous burden or an inept NPC. Being able to switch pets into a safe passive mode while still allowing them to be useful will prevent them from feeling like a wasted class feature in battles and environments where a pet might have difficulty fighting, while adding an attack/retreat dynamic to the ranger’s battle cadence will provide more engagement than the rather flat feel that pets currently have.
Proposal Functionality
Pets have a passive and active mode. In active mode, they can attack and be damaged, while in passive mode they can neither deal nor receive damage. Each pet gets a total of four commandable skills, two in each mode (plus autoattack). In passive mode, there is a Support skill, which provides some non-damaging effect (cleanse a condition, grant a boon, etc), and an Engage skill, which switches the pet to active mode and performs an opening attack (such as a pounce for cats). In active mode, there is an Attack skill (used on a targeted foe or area, or the enemy the pet is currently engaging), and a Retreat skill that switches the pet back to passive mode, with either a parting shot or a supportive ability (so, for example, bears could block an incoming attack with their Retreat skill). A pet dropped to 0 hp in active mode is forced into passive mode, locking the pet’s skills until it recovers.
Associated Risks
There might be more of a cognitive load with more pet skills to be aware of and more state to track (though I don’t expect it to be as complex as engineers with kits and toolbelt skills). With individual pets having a more dynamic repertoire, it might be reasonable to have rangers stick with one pet instead of two (with passive/active mode filling the role that pet-swapping has now). A pet choice would then be a build decision like weapon choice is – “I’m a longbow and jungle stalker ranger, the knockdown from Pounce helps me keep my distance.”