Specific Game Mode
This is principally targeted at WvW though it applies to any team based play in PvE as well. It is also a strategic concept discussion rather that addressing just changes to weapon and trait mechanics.
Proposal Overview
There have been many times that I have finished a session in WvW as a ranger and thought that was fun, I collected lots of chests, points and bags but did I actually contribute to the team.
Even if you only contribute a little to a successful engagement you still should feel that by completing your role that you made a difference.
No profession should be in a position where teams post “not wanted” because they do— or are perceived to—contribute less. For a number of the adventurer and scholar classes this is a problem.
Goal of Proposal
To give the ranger a sense of importance in team and WvW play–both in offensive and defensive engagements.
Proposal Functionality
Core issue: To facilitate roles there needs to be trade-offs between the classes in terms of strengths and weakness. The biggest issue here relates to weight (armour) vs mobility. You cannot have the heaviest armour classes possessing equal or the best land speed. It severely limits the role of light and medium armour classes. Mobility needs to be an asset. Scholars should have the greatest base speed with soldiers the slowest.
Core issue: Pets need an attribute that makes them valuable in team play.
Rangers should not be viewed as a Pet based profession. Professions need to be orientated towards a purpose. Rangers are the ideal guerrilla class. Pets are a tool that we use.
For example;
- Increase the damage of the longbow especially in flanking and rear attacks or from higher ground.
- New wilderness trait: camouflage – player and pet are not detectable until within xxx range unless a weapon is used.
- Signet of the wild: new active requiring camouflage trait—provides camouflage and first strike bonus to nearby (up to x number of) allies until within xxx range unless a weapon is used.
Note this is not the same as stealth – it allows movement close to or around opponents without detection, for executing an unexpected first strike, or for hiding a proportion of a force from an enemy before engagement.
Traps are a classic weapon for guerrillas so make them dangerous with power scaling
- minimum trap size as is
- medium scaling – additional time spent in preparation –increases the radius and damage
- with supply (WvW)–which is consumed in the trap. Has the highest level of radius and damage. Keep in mind the supply requirement limits a single ranger to setting one powerful suppy based trap
The ranger is however vulnerable to attack when setting these traps – any interruption whilst setting the trap destroys the trap.
Why give rangers these capabilities in WvW? Essentially to break up the zerg, by providing a threat to its dominance by potentially smaller coordinated groups. Hopefully this will facilitate complex strategies and provide enriched roles for other adventurer and scholar classes in acting as flank guards or sweepers engaging potential threats until the main body arrive. No different from the traditional role of light infantry/cavalry in real warfare.
In developing offensive capabilities like this for one class you automatically create potential counter roles for other classes.
An example of a team based attribute for pets is to provide a pet trait which exposes enemies using stealth within a given range of the pet to the team.