Guild Wars 2

kappa.2036:

Torch offhand
Finally an AoE, but i’m really not sure about it. I mean, this is completely useless in a power build, and offers no utility aswell.

Since it’s the best AOE weapon skill we have, we’ll probably need to take a look at a condi build. I didn’t put a lot of effort into this, but :

Stance sharing condi bunker (mid to frontline), camping best mode probably :

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQRBMhd+pgHLQ1ChJhqDgTdC8J/yzcA-TVjAQBJ4IAISlQkUZQi0Mkj9HGjSHSpmCAOIAnS1iGpE8cPAg+pHwinAASB46KN-w

- Pets: Jacaranda, Iboga
- SoulBeast : Unstoppable Union, Second Skin, Leader of the Pack.png Leader of the Pack
- Heal: Bear Stance, Utility 1 : Dolyak Syance, Utility 2 : Griffon Stance

Offense :
- AOE burn (Bonfire)
- AOE damage (Call Lightning / Jacaranda)
- AOE damage + confusion (Narcotic Spores / Iboga)
- AOE immobilize, cripple / slow (Muddy terrain, Entangle, Stf + heal)
- 1200 pull (one target) (Frang Grapple / Iboga ’s F2)

Defense :
- 3300 armor + 10% damage reduction
- 2 break stun
- Stability
- Cleans (Bear stance + StF + WK, survivals skills)
- Protection with heal per sec and 33% condi damage reduction (on dodge, Protective Ward, Runes, Griffon Stane)
- Regen (Call of the Wild)
- Heal + regen + cleans (Photosintethize / Jacaranda)
- Mobility / repositioning (perma swiftness, sword)

Party :
- Boons swiftness, might, fury and regen (Call of the Wild)
- Stances effect sharing
- AOE heal + resistance (Spiritual Reprieve / Jacaranda)

Faltharen.3586:

borya.2964:

Faltharen.3586:

borya.2964:

Faltharen.3586:

From Wiktionary:
“ranger (plural rangers)
1. One who ranges; a rover.
2. A keeper, guardian, or soldier who ranges over a region (generally of wilderness) to protect the area or enforce the law.”

Could people just kittening stop arguing that Rangers should be awesome at range because of their name? Etymologically, it has nothing to do with being a ranged attacker, and that seems glaringly obvious to me. Jesus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_

Sure, but that’s still not what the word means. Still, that page doesn’t even specify that they have to be good at shooting people or staying at range. Rather, it points out a lot of the things that GW2 Rangers do: "Many are skilled in woodcraft, stealth, wilderness survival, beast-mastery, herbalism, tracking, and sometimes “nature magic”"

I know what is etymology, but thanks. I didn’t read the opening lacrymal thread, but the OP may talk about Ranger as the class archetype (and yes bows and ranged attacks are a part of it), no need to bring a dictionary here.

I brought a dictionary because I keep seeing people whine about Rangers not being the best ranged attackers in the game, using the name as an argument, and I’m getting kind of tired of it.

Yes, i got it. But people usually whine about Ranger (as a name if you want) with the Ranger class archetype in mind (let’s say about ranged attacks and bows, cuz you know, it’s a part of the archetype) and usually some other people bring a dictionary argument to say that ranger, as a usual name, doesn’t mean range (attacks), which is pointless. The OP didn’t come in the Guild Wars 2 Ranger subforum to whine about US rangers or forest rangers, you know that, right ?

Faltharen.3586:

borya.2964:

Faltharen.3586:

From Wiktionary:
“ranger (plural rangers)
1. One who ranges; a rover.
2. A keeper, guardian, or soldier who ranges over a region (generally of wilderness) to protect the area or enforce the law.”

Could people just kittening stop arguing that Rangers should be awesome at range because of their name? Etymologically, it has nothing to do with being a ranged attacker, and that seems glaringly obvious to me. Jesus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_

Sure, but that’s still not what the word means. Still, that page doesn’t even specify that they have to be good at shooting people or staying at range. Rather, it points out a lot of the things that GW2 Rangers do: "Many are skilled in woodcraft, stealth, wilderness survival, beast-mastery, herbalism, tracking, and sometimes “nature magic”"

I know what is etymology, but thanks. I didn’t read the opening lacrymal thread, but the OP may talk about Ranger as the class archetype (and yes bows and ranged attacks are a part of it), no need to bring a dictionary here.

Faltharen.3586:

From Wiktionary:
“ranger (plural rangers)
1. One who ranges; a rover.
2. A keeper, guardian, or soldier who ranges over a region (generally of wilderness) to protect the area or enforce the law.”

Could people just kittening stop arguing that Rangers should be awesome at range because of their name? Etymologically, it has nothing to do with being a ranged attacker, and that seems glaringly obvious to me. Jesus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_

So, you want two F skills instead of 3 and you want to remove some of the most interesting F skills in beastmode, the F2 (Defy Pain, Brutal Charge, Smoke Assault, Narcotic Spores, Photosynthesize, Charge etc.)

No, thanks.

LughLongArm.5460:

They may consider making entering beast mode to be considered as a pet swap […]

This is a bad idea to me. As i see things, pets are our main mechanic and pet swap our first side mechanic with core ranger. With CA as a Druid we have access to a second side mechanic that doesn’t compete with the first one, that’s why playing Ranger and Druid is pretty much the same thing.

The issue with Soulbeast is that we have access to a second side mechanic (enter/exit beastmode) that compete with the first side mechanic (pet swap). It makes people confused, most o them ask for pet swap in beastmode whereas they are talking about beastmode swap. If we could swap beastmode or if we had pet swap effects on entering besatmode the two side mechanics would compete each other even more.

We need to be able to enter/exist beastmode the way it is right now, we also need to be able to swap PET while in beastmode (exit beastmode and swap pet in the same time) and we need a reduced CD on beastmode. It’s the only way to make the two side mechanincs work together.

jcbroe.4329:

Just to address what I think of the pet swap, I just think it should be available, but when you press it, it pulls you out of Beastmode AND swaps to the other pet, if the petless Ranger thing really is such a problem right now.

Just my 2c, the removal of the cooldown needs to happen regardless. The swap being available in that format would just be icing on the cake that makes game play that much smoother for me.

This is a very good idea actually. I mean, it would be perfect.

EnderzShadow.2506:

No argument here, just curious, have you personally got 30k Rapid Fire on a Test Dummy?

I had a lot of duels in wvw with poor and bad exotic gear versus full ascended hot spec players and well, let’s say that it’s pretty effective. That being said maybe for once, rangers could achieve the same (or near) amount of damage thieves, warriors or mesmer can do with very simple rotations.

jcbroe.4329:

Soulbeast needs an improvement to it’s fluidity, I don’t care how it gets achieved lol.

I know that, i don’t focus you especially. It was like a kind of cross over, the subforum is a big mess atm.

I just pointed the fact that a lot of people focus on shortminded and simple combos that beastmode swap would allow whereas it’s not a magical solution. There are also a lots of real rotations locked into the beastmode CD independently from beastmode swap.

Beastmode swap (alone, i mean if it were the only change), won’t resolve half of the fluidity issue and would bring beastmode campers and i know you don’t agree here, but well. I can perfectly see effective condi stealth trappers builds as an example, but even outside of troll builds, veteran rangers would fine effective builds without the need of real pet for very long. Anet didn’t designed the spec for it.

If you remove the CD on beast mode you would have the possibility to make melded skills combos, you’ll still have to go out beastmode, swap pet and enter beasmode, but it’s instant, it takes 3 sec. And on the top of that it opens way mores rotations (meld out from pet 1, swap pet, use pet 2 f2, meld with pet 2 etc). And it’s also what the spec is designed for, an in&out beastmode active play style.

Let’s face it, i doubt that we’ll have everything, that’s why i think we should focus more to remove beastmode CD, it’s a very simple change really.

Azure.8670:

maybe im missing something […]

Yes, the two first pages of the forum where everyone create a new thread to share their very special feelings instead of taking a litlle look at all the existing threads.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

You’ve edited the quote incorrectly, only the last sentence is mine.

Anyway, my $0.02 laid out;

• Beastmode CD should be removed or made very low, like kits, 1s.
• Entering and exiting beastmode should count as a weapon swap.
• You should be able to swap pets while in beastmode.
• Swapping pets while in beastmode should count as a pet swap. Exiting Beastmode should count as a pet swap.

Yep, sorry my bad.

1.) That’s my point, this change will resolve more issues rather than beastmode swap change alone.
2.) There is absolutly no way that Anet allow you to proc 4 sigils effects with one set of wepons + one melded pet.
3.) Yes, but this change alone is weaker rather than no beastmode CD.
4.) Let’s say yes, but how exactly you’ll be able to know when the pet swap effects would occur if it can occur in 3 differents ways ? You want to loose the ability do perfectly decide at any time when you want to use lesser quickening zephyr etc. I guess you have mental arithmetic skills, but not me (could be done with an icon).

Cufufalating.8479:

@borya

It’s just bad design and harms gameplay to make people press 3 buttons when it should just be 1.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t have the option of doing it by dropping BM, pet swapping, and then re-entering BM. You absolutely should be able to do that so you can proc pet-swap and enter BM traits. But not every build takes those, and they shouldn’t be forced through the motions.

As I keep saying.. Dropping out of BM can still, and maybe should, be the ideal rotation, but it should be done because it’s ideal and not because the mechanics force us to do it.

Of course both changes would be awesome, don’t get me wrong here. But it still remains two diffents ways to use rotations, melded pet 1 skills to melded pet 2 skills and melded pet 1 skills to pet 2 f2 to melded pet 2 skills. For now the first solution won’t resolve the second one while the second one resolve both (even if it’s still a bit clunky to make the first kind of rotation, but at least you’re not as locked as we are for now). Besides the second solution is a real go in&out active playstyle like Anet designed it. Remove the beastmode CD is more interessting rather than beastmode swap, i mean, if we would have to choose.

Bri.8354:

Even without a cooldown you’re looking at unmerging, swapping pets, and re-merging before you can use any of the skills.

So what ? You can do it pretty fast and besides you can still have pet swap effects via traits.

Same example : i am melded with pet 1, exit beastmode, swap pet and gain lesser quickening zephyr, smokefield + blast, meld again an gain X2 the boon duration, land your melded smoke assault from stealth. Yes it’s a rotation but i don’t see the issue, what is interesting ? this kind of rotation or simply use melded pet 1 skill, swap beastmode and use melded pet 2 skill ? I don’t have the answer here, noboday have it cuz we are all locked. But Anet won’t change both (remove beastmode CD and allow beastmode swap) we’ll have to choose.

Bri.8354:

While I don’t think beast-mode should be something you stay in 100% of the time, I agree with the suggestion for usability reasons.

For example, let’s say I’m using a Feline and Smokescale in a power build. I’m doing DPS with the feline then need some quick crowd control options which the smokescale has access to.

In the current system you’re looking at over 10 seconds to get access to those beast skills. Or you’re looking at a multiple stage process to get your pet out to use one skill, where you need to break meld, swap pets, then wait for the pet to use it.

But what if we could swap pets while melded? 2 clicks and you’re instantly using that crowd control skill. Then you break meld and your pet follows up with another! This would be a massive improvement.

But if you want to blast your smokefield before to land your melded CC, beastmode swap doesn’t help at all, you’re still locked for 10 sec. I really fail to understand why everybody focus on beastmode swapping whereas the real issue is the beastmode CD.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

More importantly, what would be gained is the idea that our pet selections and uses would be more impactful and fluid. Oh, you got lit up when you went for your damage pets Soulbeast skills and are now reeling to recover? Instead of having to drop Soulbeast, pet swap, twiddle your fingers a bit, go back into Soulbeast on the other pet, and use its utility, you could just swap and use it, and then you’d be locked into this Soulbeast mode for the duration of a pet swap (at which point you could unmeld and use the pets AI skills to your advantage or etc).
Thought that needed to be reiterated.

So, once we swap beastmode we’re locked in beastmode for 20 sec ? sure it will be much more fluid. Then if we exit beastmode we ‘ll have the second pet (we swapped beastmode) and we are locked with the second pet for another 10 sec before to enter beastmode again ? and what happens if i want the first pet’s F2 whe i swapped beastmode from pet 1 to pet 2 ? If i want to enter beastmode for pet 1 abilties and then exit beastmode and swap pet 2 to use the pet ‘s F2 it’s still clunky like it’s already.

I am melded with my pet 1, my second pet is the smokescale. What happens if i want to blast the smokefield to land my melded smoke assault from stealth ? Beatsmode swap doesn’t help at all here, i am still locked in 10 sec CD, this combo (pertty simple one) is impossible and will remain impossible.

I am tired of the simple beastmode swap argument, it’s not even half the solution. The main issue is the cooldown on beastmode, remove the coodown and we’ll have fluidity.

Adenin.5973:

- allow Petswap in beast mode

This is a bad idea. I agree that right now the skills management on soulbeast is crazy : 15 hotkeys + weapon swap + go in & out soulbeast + pet swap + pet managment is way too much. But there’s no reason to please the lazy rangers player base with beastmode swap and beastmode campers. The spec need to stay challenging but with more fuidity.

Besides i can see 2 issues if we can swap beastmode, first you won’t be able to play a go in&out + pet swap active gameplay since the actual pet swap will be locked in CD if you already swap beastmode and it will obviously break a lot of combos. And again, the beastmode swap would probably share the pet swap effects via traits, and i don’t want to do the maths to know when the effects would occur.

The spec need to stay challenging but with more fuidity. You just need to remove the entire beastmode CD since it have no purpose outside a minor trait, so merge the 10 sec CD with Unstoppable Union (if you want a break stun, you’ll have a cooldown).

Fresh Reinforcement have to be baseline and proc the same effect when you leave beastmode (it gives the boon you have to your pet).

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Just too many gates, too many cooldowns, too many steps to achieve the same result as before. I understand that the dev’s want us to make decisions. But the way that soulbeast plays does feel more like avoiding decisions.

This just for a start.

The CD on enter/exit beastmode have no purpose outside of breaking any kind of fluidity. It’s a good idea, merge the 10 sec Cd with Unstoppable Union, a little price to pay if you want a breakstun. The base CD have to be removed.

I played for hours now and my first feeling is that soulbeast is hard to take in hands. I kind of like it cuz it’s challenging and I first thought that rangers veterans would be rewarded.

I try to play as fast as I can with my rotations and combos but it’s a lot of pain for a little resulst (power build with sword / axe and dagger / warhorn). I have now 15 hotkeys to use and way too much things to think all the time at the same time : weapons skills, usual pet management, pet’s F2, enter / exit beast mode, swap pet, swap weapons again and again … It’s too much management really. I mean how can you fight a thief who only needs two professions hotkeys to burst you down ?

The management is too much for the little RESULT in terms of damage, like everybody said pet skills while in beastmode are way too weak (felins are absolutely useless as an exemple) AND the management is too much for the insane LACK of FLUIDITY it provides. The CD on entering / exiting beastmode, and most of the cast time on the new skills break everything. I agree with everybody else about dagger and stances. The new pets are very nice (the sand lion is on the side and a bit weak), I like the fact that they will also work with core ranger and druid. Gazelle, jacaranda and smokescale, I feel like I don’t need any of the other pets with beastmode.

jcbroe.4329:

Considering that you already listed 2 different builds, which signifies tradeoffs, as well as having to base an entire build around powering up a single mechanic, and sacrifice the rest of the build investment, on top of most of the things listed having counterplay, not being that strong to begin with, and already available on a 15 second cooldown anyhow?

You’re talking about builds, not me. Build a full boons pet is a matter of builds, the pet swap effects you’re talking about that you want while entering beastmode come from traits and lines you choose to pickp up, it’s not first mechanical. I am talking about the same traits. Besides, the lines and the traits we are talking about are commonly used and if you choose Unstoppable Union in SB line, it’s a very little investment. The builds i listed are not entirely focused on beastmode, it’s just some of the best tier traits on those lines, you can focus on a lots of other differents things AND have a very powerful beastmode without sacrificing anything, like, at all.

Since you mentionned the pet swap CD, i can see an issue here if entering beastmode count as a pet swap : i dont want to do the maths when i am fighting. You can take a boss in raids while drinking your coffee, but the proc of pet swap effects both on beastmode and pet swap with differents CD we’ll be an issue while figting another player cuz you will barely know when the effect you want will occur, entering beastmode or swapping pet, and i don’t want to do the maths while fighting a thief.

jcbroe.4329:

There are all these traits that give and share boons to/with the pet. Then you go into Beastmode, and you WASTE these boons on your pet that you’ve built, and the pet comes back out of Beastmode boonless.

You’re shoehorned into a trait to even partially refund the boons that are otherwise wasted if you intend to use Beastmode, and realistically, those hard caps you receive are a bad tradeoff for “destroying” a fully booned pet.

Obviously when entering beastmode you lost the boons you build on your pet, cuz you loose your pet. The same thing already happens when you swap pet except that the pat swap effects actually help you to build again your boons on your new pet. And the same goes with beastmode, you will just have to swap pet and build the boons again an if you don’t want to actually swap pet when exiting beastmode, bring a warhron and use WhaO etc.

jcbroe.4329:

This isn’t even a balance discussion, it’s a design discussion. You can’t balance a design until you have a functional design. Form follows function.

You see a design discussion when i see a build issue, but i won’t create a postulate from my point of view. I like you last sentence, it’s interesting but not ontologically true, but i haven’t got the english skills to talk about that.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Well, you can already do that, so what’s the issue? Making them proc on entering beast mode is only saving 1 button press.

No you can’t already do that, unless the addition of break stun, unblockable attaks, save/secure your pet, 3 entire new skills to the effects i listed (all in 1 skill) counts for nothing.

jcbroe.4329:

You guys might not be understanding my point.

There are all these traits that give and share boons to/with the pet. Then you go into Beastmode, and you WASTE these boons on your pet that you’ve built, and the pet comes back out of Beastmode boonless.

You’re shoehorned into a trait to even partially refund the boons that are otherwise wasted if you intend to use Beastmode, and realistically, those hard caps you receive are a bad tradeoff for “destroying” a fully booned pet.

Even moreso, in raid situations where you can expext to be fully booned as well as your pet, going into Beastmode removes those boons from the pet. That is a DPS loss, period.

The elite takes synergy the class has without it and punishes you by removing that synergy and gameplay effect.

It’s not okay, it’s not a wait and see situation, it’s functionally counterintuitive gameplay.

I don’t really care about pve to be honest. From my point of view you’re asking for beastgodmode. If entering beastmode would count as pet swap it’s :

- Instant fury, swiftness, might (4sec unblockable ?), break stun, 4 sec unblockable attacks, quickness and super speed with lower CD (MS / BM / SB)

- Instant fury, quickness, superspeed, 2 cleans, break stun, 4 sec unblockable attaks (WS / BM /SB) 10 sec CD

Coupled with weapons swap traits and sigils and utilities … Instant yolo, really ?

anduriell.6280:

…

You’re playing a class with which you’ll be forever unhappy anyways.

I didn’t expect pet swap effects while entering beastmode, so i am not disappointed. The spec is designed to enter beastmode, then land your pet skills and exit beastmode etc… And if it counts as a weapon swap it means that you can benefit from 4 sigil effects with only 1 weapons set when entering beastmode ? I think it can open a lots of interresting things.

Let’s say that you have a dagger with a warhorn with air + fire sigils, (with intelligence and leeching on your second set of weapons) shouts traited and Fresh Reinforcement :

Blast your smokefield with call of the Wild + WhaO + enter beastmode = you have plenty of boons + air, fire, intelligence and leeching proc to land your Instinctive Engage, Smoke Assault tec…

Aomine.5012:

I still remember We Heal as One + Nature Magic were buffed one time to copy boons entirely, and patched it within 24 hrs because it was dimmed too OP lolz….

Cuz we could stack as many quickness as swiftness, its was completly broken.

I wish we could tame one of those thieves all around wvw maps.

jcbroe.4329:

Still need the info on the last stance though.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Moa_Stance

This one ?

Crippling Talon can easily crit to 1200, 1400 in a power build (wvw), nothing crazy but MH Dagger could (have to) work in power builds (Double Arc base damage is not that bad + Instinctive Engage will have ammo) with good beast skills damage.

Sword / Warhorn & MH Dagger / Axe : if it could shine, i would be so happy.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Essence of Speed could do with 2s of Super Speed too.

Well, i was thinking something like :

- Fresh Reinforcement is the Minor Grandmaster Trait (new room for Minor Adpet, hello Stances !)
- Merge Twice as Vicious & Essence of Speed : when you gain Quickness you gain Vicious thingy (1% direct and condi damage) up to 5 stacks 1/3 sec CD.

StickerHappy.8052:

The only two traits that are weird to me was The protection trait – You have to build around it, and as rangers we don’t have a lot of sources that are reliable, one is dependent on a trait line (2 if you count the dodge one) and one is a shout.

Yep, it’s 3 core traits lines so you won’t have all the few sources of protection when picking soulbeast in the first place. You probably want the new Bark Skin trait for a good synergy, so you’ll have to choose between NM (for only one trait ?) and BM (with Protect Me and shouts traited + reduced CD with Beast skills). WS / BM / SB is the way to go to me for now (in a wvw roaming purpose).

Essence of Speed is absolutly useless (unless you gain 2 sec every sec of quickness, and still) and it’s a Master trait. With all the concentration around how Anet could have think this is a good Master trait ?

While i can see the synergy between SoulBeast and pretty much all the core ranger traits lines (rather than the synergy between traits inside the line), i fail to see the real purpose of the spec outside of the mechanic. It seems like it’s very boon sharing focused (nice everybody loves boons) but druid and core ranger can already have plenty of boons. The GM trait is too weak to make a Stances sharing build a thing.

Also i am concerned with the total lack of new mobility skills outside of few shorts (interruptible) leaps we’ll need to chain.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

I keep looking at the Lyssa runes and just total condi build shutdown… Lyssa Runes, LR/QZ/SoR/Entangle, WK, StF, Second Skin with Bear/Dolyak Stance and Spiritual Reprieve/Unflinching Fortitude. It’s essentially immune to conditions. Looking forward to trying that out in WvW.

I liked & used Lyssa runes for a long time before HOT, but now i am stucked with Durability and Leadership in my two main wvw roaming builds. What’s your movement speed in & outside of combat with your build ? Where it comes from, Warhorn ?

And i did an another mistake : the 1, 1/2 on the tool tip is the channel activation time so it’s 3 pulsing hits during 1, 1/2 sec, so yes the first hit is almost instant i would say.

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

borya.2964:

Also the tooltip is wrong. The puslsing damaging roar deals 35 to 40 % at least less damage all the time whether the damage is increased / buffed or not. With 15 stacks of mights (warhorn + WaO), for exemple, you can’t expect more than 3 × 1450 whereas the tooltip says 3 × 2472 etc. So it can’t do critical hits for sure.

When a tooltip says 3x 2472, that’s three strikes totaling 2472, not three strikes of 2472.

Nope.

Edit : I mean yes, ineed you’re right.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Is there any delay from pressing F2 to the application of the 1st blind?

ie any point using GFtE with Sand Lion?

It’s 3 puslsing damaging roars with something like a 1/2 sec interval, each hit applies one stack of blind (it means that the mob can left the 300 range after the first hit, so it will only be 1 hit + 1 blind). The fisrt pulse begin at the end of the activation time, 1 1/2 sec.

Also the tooltip is wrong. The puslsing damaging roar deals 35 to 40 % at least less damage all the time whether the damage is increased / buffed or not. With 15 stacks of mights (warhorn + WaO), for exemple, you can’t expect more than 3 × 1450 whereas the tooltip says 3 × 2472 etc. So it can’t do critical hits for sure.

OGDeadHead.8326:

I really love traited HaO in combination with the improved Soften the Fall and Wilderness Knowledge. Can any other skill in the game bring this much?

- Heal
- Copy boons between ranger and pet
- Regeneration
- Swiftness
- Fury
- Clean two conditions
- Cripple
- Slow
- Immobilize

and if traited with Cultivated Synergy, another heal from both ranger and pet to allies.

Amazing with this combo, pure gold imho.

I agree, but i think that it should only trigger when in combat. I am already bored with this big brown muddy mark when i am only stacking swiftness out of combat.

There is an another new stats combinaison with main power & healing power and minor precision & condition damage.

zinkz.7045:

mistsim.2748:

I don’t even need to address the rest of your drivel.

Those were facts dear, the things you are woefully short on, so you don’t have an answer for, only your usual empty rhetoric, still at least you gave me a chuckle when you claimed rangers always had worse stab than engies.

Calling trash Toss Elixir B whereas it’s a very good source of Stab (considering its duration and the cooldown of the skill) that you can share or even give to an another mate in team fight is a joke when you compare it with the old SotW.

DeadTreeJig.6714:

I know there are a lot of posts, my point was if it’s happening to everyone there would be little to no post in the ranger forum that weren’t about the bug.

Cuz people who actually know how to make a good use of a forum are posting on the dedicated topics instead of compulsively spreading trash threads ?

DeadTreeJig.6714:

I would think if it were happening to everyone this forum would be filled with nothing but posts about the issue, but that’s not the case.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Possible-massive-pet-bug-Unresponsive

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Detailed-Ranger-Bugs-and-some-Odd-Design

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/no-fix-to-the-pet-in-the-latest-update

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Fix-our-pets-ASAP

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/FIX-PET-DELAY-and-Staff

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Ranger-bugs-list-post-8-8-patch/first#post6681922

HotHit.6783:

“We’re just awkward warriors now.”

Shucks, Warrior is suddenly dead (quoted from Warrior forum).

Wait for Soulbeast with MS line double SoS, with double bears / Defy Pain, ("aaabsolutely teeerrible ") Dead or Alive GM trait and stances.

cafard.8953:

Hidden Dragon.7523:

I believe the only change i like is the Signet of Renewal. Everything else seems irrelevant (that is if you like to play WvW/PvP).

Dunno. The new MT with Soften the fall and WK looks pretty nifty. That means our heal skills not only proc their own effect but also an aoe immob+cripple+slow, gain fury and clear 2 conditions. In fact, HaO and Trooper Runes would make that 3 condis. And unless there are some longer internal cooldowns hidden in there, that’s every 20s. I don’t play sPvP but for WvW it looks solid.

I agree, i never dropped both WS & BM lines from my builds for a very long time, and the increased synergy with both lines (with shouts and survivals traited) , and with the extended third NM line for core ranger, is very nice.

mistsim.2748:

i know im a bit late to the party, but i’ve been playing some druid in wvw while waiting for PoF. I think I’m pretty done with the Longbow after 3 years of using it.

anyway, i noticed you really dont need a lot of healing power to be effective in keeping your zerg up, so I’m wondering if I could distribute my stats differently from Minstrel, which just seems like overkill.

that being said, where would my damage even come from? maybe just Natural Convergence? I’d say Maul from GS, but I’d find it tough to give up the staff/s/wh. maybe it’s worthwhile have some decent power, crit and crit damage for staff #1 spam and NC?

I’m also slotting my utilities differently. with the new Muddy Terrain and Soften the Fall, I have a bunch of survival utilities. I’m not finding shouts to be necessary at all. I also have a free slot for a glyph. Anyone run Empowerment?

With a pure zerg figths purpose in mind, you need to drop any kind of damaging builds. Damage in zergs comes from AOE.

My healmobilzer build with shouts and survivals skills traited is nicely increased since the last patch, and if you already have ministrel stats you should take a look at the build. The build is focused around healing, boons sharing and AOE immobilizes and goes from midrange to frontline (you need good postionning) :

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNBmYD7kSFokFsWQwjFgqFsMJYNBgGwE4JIUr+Yw/0i6TF-TFSNABjfRAWe/BPfAA5rEUZNDar+j6K/AQHApAubmF-w

Offensive side (AOE immobilize) :
- Entangle
- Muddy Terrain (pulsing slow now)
- Vine Surge
- Natural Convergence
- Ancient Seeds
- Soften The Fall trait that now cast Muddy Terrain traited on heal
- optional pets

Defensive side (everything else) = sharing swiftness, fury and regen, heal, AOE break stun etc.

When it comes to zerg fights this is a pretty good build and a very dynamic one.

shadowpass.4236:

borya.2964:

shadowpass.4236:

A 4k heal and a small amount of protection on a 90 second cooldown is definitely NOT worth a grandmaster trait. Even a warrior’s is in the master tier.

Berserk last 15 sec, you can stay in Beast Mode the time you want.

You can use your entire health bar to fight while in Beast Mode and wait for the trait to proc to use both your heal and SoS you especially saved and go again in BM 10 sec later to use Defy Pain from your bear skill (you can have two bears) etc…

Come on, don’t ask pure cancer.

I don’t understand what the duration of our Beastmode has compared to Berserk to do with justifying a massively underwhelming trait on a long cooldown.

It’s still reeeaaalllly bad no matter how you put it.

Also, who said anything about getting Defy Pain from bears?

The duration is important, a warrior need to go strategicly in Berserk Mode 15 sec before to die for the trait to proc, timing matters. YOU can go in Beast Mode and fight all day long and simply wait for the trait to proc, cuz you know it will happen, see, easy way, no timing needed.

Defy Pain from bears means you can have double invul while in beast Mode, just saying. You can have SoS too.

If you got nothing to use after the trait proc (block, dodges, evades, stealth, heal, cleans, movement skills, break stun, invul etc) whereas YOU know the trait will proc (you may have an icon to help you), then you deserve to die.

I keep thinking that you’re asking pure cancer, passive defensive traits are terrible.

shadowpass.4236:

A 4k heal and a small amount of protection on a 90 second cooldown is definitely NOT worth a grandmaster trait. Even a warrior’s is in the master tier.

Berserk last 15 sec, you can stay in Beast Mode the time you want.

You can use your entire health bar to fight while in Beast Mode and wait for the trait to proc to use both your heal and SoS you especially saved and go again in BM 10 sec later to use Defy Pain from your bear skill (you can have two bears) etc…

Come on, don’t ask pure cancer.

Pvt Frosty.6973:

I am very curious how pet-traits may change in Beast Mode.

Many questions to be answered with the playable weekend coming up.

Does F5 count as a pet-swap? How many beast mode skills did they design? Where do they start repeating? I’m assuming the passive secondary mechanic from the pet – family will become an active beast-mode skill which would be sick (hello wyverns). What about the other tho. Also from the looks of it you will get a second autoattack on f1 or did i just see that wrong? maybe it has a small cooldown.

Overall very excited for it. I just hope anet realizes how important proper balance is this time around

F5 won’t probably count as a pet swap but we may have a trait for the F5 like with CA (but it could count as weapon swap ?). F1 is probably a passive key with a pet drawing or something.The pet’s skill you’ll access are all the both pets skills oustide auto-attack and F2 + a family skill.

Let’s be honest, 80 % of the traits related to the pets are never use anyways and we are obviously not supposed to camp the beast mode.

Lazze.9870:

I doubt the power damage scaling of the dagger will be that impressive, but you can always hope. None of the GMs being directly related to conditions is kinda weird, when the dagger is mostly all about it.

SHAME that you can’t pet swap while in beast mode. Well, from the looks of it anyway.

Obviously power builds won’t use main hand dagger, but we still have LB, GS, sword and warhorn. And i was mainly thinking about pets skills with good direct damage, the leaps and hard cc you’ll access. Just think about Takedown and Smoke Assault from Smokescale with a melee soulbeast etc.

LughLongArm.5460:

No astral force like mechanic, only 10 sec CD. You can probably stay in form as much as you want. Your incentive to transform back is to swap pets(to change kits), to use pet F2 abilities(will not be part of beast mode) and while in beast mode you may be losing some of the skills/weapon abilities, pet only effects(not use about that).

She have access to the full weapon skills while in beast mode, but indeed it looks like a challenging spec cuz you’ll need to go in and out beast mode to land pet’s skills and use the F2 and gain benefits from pet swapping traits, pet’s dps etc. I can see build diversity and a lots of nich builds here in both condi power builds.

Yes, obviously core ranger is pretty much harder to play in 1 vs X fights. But the OP wants some challenge, so. Melee core ranger have the tools for roaming purpose (cleans, stun breaks, mobility and damage) and i keep thinking that CA is really not that mandatory. And it’s precisely cuz most druids rely too much on ( a very predictable) CA that they are easy to kill.

Ashkew.6584:

I just put some fights together, i don’t play perfect nor am i claiming to, but these are the 2 builds i mentioned in action.

Most ppl i fought i have died to, but thats the nature of the first build, it can go eather way depending on performance. And yes my grahipcs are lame

https://youtu.be/2l-o351NfwY

It’s short, but i like it (you also should consider a boon stacking build).

The other day I ran into a HoT owner running a core melee ranger build. I didn’t take him seriously and facetanked all his mauls because he wasn’t a druid. Wound up losing a close fight. If I had taken him seriously he would have definitely lost. I just don’t think core ranger can stand up to druid and you’re losing out not having the utility it brings. The stealth, the condi removal, the CC, the heals…. it’s so much to lose for a bit of extra damage.

I feel like you didn’t lost mostly cuz you’re a tanky druid but i could be wrong, it doesn"t matter. Anyways, this is more a feeling rather than a statement in my opinion.

This is not true especially in 1vs1, where core ranger is very good and actually better than druid, and especially core ranger vs druid cuz most of druids never mained ranger before hot. It’s pretty easy to kill druids with core ranger to me.