Guild Wars 2

So I suggest the following to help balance WvW:

Adjust the number of open maps based on tier. For example, T1 gets 3 BLs and EB. T2 gets 2 BLs (of the lowest ranked servers) and EB. T3 gets 1 BL and EB, and below T3 just gets EB open.

This will help fill up the maps for more even balance. In lower tiers with less WvW pop, you won’t have to spread as thin to defend and the top server won’t run away with points as easily b/c they’re sitting on an uncontested BL. By giving the underdog(s) the BL advantage, maybe that helps competition.

Thoughts? This is just a framework, so suggestions are welcome..

Yoh.8469:

Allie Murdock.8152:

Also, I don’t want this thread to be entirely about pets. We’ve seen a ton of great feedback about them, and I would like to hear more about utilities that need help (and aren’t viable unless spec’d into) as I haven’t seen as much on that front!

Thanks all

That’s fair enough, and I’ve already said my piece on them for the most part.
There is one last this I’d like to add, is that whatever approach is taken to correct them, I’d like to see pet’s become more distinctly different both as pets but also in usage.

The Mesmer for example, while you have a bunch of different Illusions that come in every shape and size, there are a number of different ways you can use them and they are all valid. You can shatter, or use them to deceive, you can sustain damage with clones via condition damage, or direct damage with phantasms, or even heavily support your allies.

Pet’s on the other hand I find so generic, that the only real difference you would get one is because of their F2 skill, which is usually pretty generic.
You either invest in using your pet, or not. But the differences in kind just are not there.

If for example they had an Aspect of “pet” which gave a passive effect regardless of whether they are alive or not. Such as Aspect of Birds, gives you +25% projectile speed, or Aspect of Moas gives you +25% movement speed.
Something class defining that you’d want to build you build around, that you’d want that specific pet because of what it does, rather then the unnecessary tac-on’s they feel like now.

I love the idea of using pets to promote build diversity and offering rangers (and hopefully their parties) a variety of effects. Currently I can slot a bird or a pig and aside from slight DPS or tankyness differences, they don’t feel very different. They aren’t interesting for build choices. I would love to see pet families get some kind of aspect/aura that made them feel more interesting from a build variety perspective. If it only effected the ranger and its pet by default and could be traited via BM to buff the whole party it would also give PvE rangers a reason to invest in the BM line and help their parties (most BM traits are very selfish).

It would help to add depth to pet choices, it makes the pets feel like valuable allies rather than DPS leaches and it opens up options for ranges to support their party (a current weakness of rangers in PvE imo).

One of the strengths of the pet from a design perspective (imo as a non developer) is that they can be made powerful without worrying about too many being out at once. Unlike a phantasm mesmer, rangers can only have one pet at a time and access to a maximum of two pets during a fight. Sometimes I think some mesmer phantasms are more beneficial to my party than the pet is. The pet is DPS (but any class does DPS) but it struggles to do much beyond that.

Specific Game Mode
PvX
Proposal Overview
Improve Pet-Ranger synergy so that it feels like the pet is fighting alongside you and not just a buggy party member, by making the pet deliberately utilize the Ranger’s CC’s and combo fields.

I am not a programmer and I don’t understand the difficulty in implementing this, but I think it’s really worth considering.
Goal of Proposal

-Improving the pet AI
-Making the pet work alongside the ranger instead of two independent fighters
-Make people feel that having pets is better than permastow

Proposal Functionality
Earlier today I was fighting against a horde of risen and while I do fine dps-wise, they were doing a ton of damage. So I put down Healing Spring and my drake immediately does its blast finisher and heals me up. It felt like my pet and I were working together and I think achieving more situations like this would make the class shine.

Again, I’m not a programmer. However, I think based on the combat situation, the pet could prioritize certain skills in its queue.

If both my pet and I are fighting the same opponent and I put down a field, it could use its blast/leap/projectile through it asap.

If I use an evade skill like sword #2 or shortbow #3, my pet (if it has it in its repertoire) could use its immobilize on my foe.

If I’ve immobilized my foe, then my pet could prioritize a high-damage, long-cast-time skill like the Lynx’s Rending Pounce.

Associated Risks
A considerable amount of development hours could be necessary. It may not be computationally feasible. It might make other classes feel disadvantaged.

I would be very pleased if only to receive feedback on this idea from others. My goal is to make people want to have a pet and to make the class feel more like what I think ANet’s goal seems to be. Perhaps there are better combos others could come up with.

I feel that these idea’s haven’t got much focus but are undoubtedly great idea’s that don’t involve much work but would greatly help rangers.

Allow the current functionality of “Signet of the Beastmaster” and “Fortifying Bond” to be inherit abilities of the Ranger Class.

If we and the pet are described as working as one(Sharing damage in this case), then it makes no sense that we have to trait just to be able to share in boons and the use of signets. With the traits now free, we can create functionality that will benefit us in groups, an area we are weak in.

Allow the ranger the ability to make the pet dodge/blur(F3:Return to Me) for 3 seconds with a cooldown of 6 seconds(cooldown begins at start of blur for downtime of 3 seconds).

By using blur, we give the pet a way to evade that is in the players hands that can help the pet when both fighting and retreating. (For example, need a quick way to make the pet evade and keep attacking? Simple use F3->F1 in quick succession)

Bonus points if Anet can find a way to incorporate a pet endurance bar into the mix instead of straight cooldowns.

Consider reworking some skills to make them more active and interesting.

Lets take “Search and Rescue” for instance. It’s a fairly boring skill that can be occasionally useful but risks the downed player and the pet due to the speed of the revive. Now, here is a functionality I quickly brainstormed.

Search and Assist: Runs to the nearest downed player and revives them at a slow speed.
Rescue: (Search and Assist flips to this when the pet begins healing a downed player) Upon activation of this skill, the pet and downed player are shadowstepped to the rangers current location.

As above, we have just created a niche for a Ranger that allows him to move a downed player out of a potentially bad situation. Much more creative then the current skill.

Another skill that is lackluster, is “Protect Me”. While it is useful, it shares base traited functionality with “Signet of Stone” with the added bonus of potentially killing your pet. Why not expand the functionality from a selfish use to a party based use?

Protect: Instead of attacking, your pet will protect the current lowest health party member by absorbing all damage they would take. (Defaults to the Ranger if everyone in the party is at 100% health or the ranger is not in a party)

Now the above skill is much more interesting since if someone is struggling to maintain health, the ranger could use this skill to their party members benefit.

These skills were just simple examples of skills where changes could make them much more fun and interesting for rangers and party members alike.

I framed these ideas from the feeling that Anet shouldn’t only look at number tweaks for the ranger but go further and examine base functionality where pet problems occur and figure methods that can be used to help the pet survive and contribute all while promoting skillful and tactical play from the ranger player himself.

xXxOrcaxXx.9328:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

I went back to ranger because even though warrior may be regarded as king of the game? It doesn’t work for me. And it’s why I really don’t want the ranger to turn into “warrior in medium gear”.

The ranger should atleast be able to compete damagewise.
But yeah, I already have 2 warriors; I don’t need a 3rd one.

No argument there.

Well, maybe a minor one. I’m not sure we should compete for damage – we’ll lose. What we should compete for is being useful.

Hey ANET, thank you so much for the great replies so far! <3

My own question: A lot of players are worried that Ranger is held back because they tend to range foes, whereas everyone else stacks and melee. This results in the Ranger not giving or receiving buffs with the team.

If Rangers are intended to be the masters of Ranged damage, then this issue must be addressed. Is this currently a concern?

(My own personal idea is to synchronize buffs with the Ranger and his pet, so that the ranger could buff his party from a distance, as well as being buffed from a distance… E.G. If the pet receives might, so does the Ranger. The Ranger ranges, while the pet melees and gives him all the buff benefits of going melee.)

xXxOrcaxXx.9328:

Allie Murdock.8152:

Oh, and I want to add to my last post:

Everybody can simply roll over their buttons and play a class well enough, but when you start to get to the higher tiers that doesn’t fly as much. You need to time your stuns/condis/stability/heals/etc. if you want to “play with the big boys.”

I know that there are some specs right now that are particularly spammy, though. We’re hoping that some of the changes we make in the feature build will help with a lot of that. One step at a time!

That’s exactly the point!
Our pet behaves like rolling over buttons all the time and no matter how much you will tweak the AI, it will never become as skillfull as the player and that’s the reason why the pet oughtn’t be burdened with dealing our damage.

If the dev’s dont figure out that this class needs less pet crap and more actual ranger synergy, than you can kiss this class goodbye.

If they seriously honest to god believe that pets will EVER be worth 30% of my DPS, I will just cry. I’m convinced no one on anet has put more than 20-30 hours on a ranger.

I would be MUCH happier if they did no damage what so ever, only used as pure support (just give them all different buffs when they are out like eagle gives you and your whole party fury for xx seconds than switches over to a prec based buff to whole party after the fury time is done… or something like river drake cleanses + heal when swapped into battle and than gives all nearby allies condi cleansing every 10 secs + some hp regen like ele attuned to water.

I don’t care what you have to do to pet as long as my ranger is the main focus (give me 100% DPS back or at least something better than what it currently is because its laughably awful)

To everyone who has posted here: thank you! I didn’t expect this post to get much attention at all, but all your kind words today and yesterday have really meant a lot to me.

Stay classy, GW2 <3

Op deserves a mini taimi imo
Would that be the most awesome mini in game yet? Taimi on her golem.

Wanze.8410:

Well, what holds you back to gather some people and farm for an hour? There are many nice dynamic event chains in the mid level maps which arent run by big groups continously like the champ trains. In my opinion, most people are just lazy to do some research online or in the field to find better spots and prefer to do what everybody else is doing.

Take Southsun for example: Nobody is farming it, even though Veteran Karkas have a guaranteed drop of Karka Shells, which go for 8s atm, with a chance of t5 and 6 blood, both also in demand. There are lots of champs to kill and dynamic events that spawn lots of mobs, Ori, ancient wood and passion flowers to gather.

If you want more Linen, start a champ train in a lvl 40-60 map that has a higher chance of dropping masterwork champ loot bags that drops linen.

Also, in a champ train, it hardly matters what level you are, as all you need is to spam 1, so what hold you back to roll an alt to get lvl appropriate loot that has the potential of being higher in value than doing the same with your lvl 80?

In a former guild of mine, we had a map completion run going on every 2nd night and with a group of 20-30, it didnt take much more than 1-2 hours per map, while we got alot of mats along the way.

The possibilities are all there, most people are just too lazy to take advantage of them.

After reading that, I should create my own guild and call it Trash Pickers [TP]. Get a group of players that enjoy resource gathering and go out into the open world, hit dynamic events, enjoy these dynamic events and collect materials to either use or trade on the… wait for it… TP.

In all honesty, I think it’s a great idea. I might have to work on that this weekend.

Okay, so it’s not something significant but I feel that the three EotM colours do not match their current names. When I first took a look at it, I could immediately see a more suitable match for all three of them.

Frostreach covered by ice should be blue.
Overgrowth covered by jungles should be green.
Badlands covered by deserts should be red.

Well, it doesn’t really matter either way, but I just thought it fit the flavour better. Thoughts?

Dos.7052:

mercury ranique.2170:

Dos.7052:

mercury ranique.2170:

Support works 24/7, but in my personal experience more at certain times then at others. That is the reason they tasked themself with a 72 hour respond time. If it takes longer, please let your friend post the ticketnumber in the designated sticky (tickets for review)

well, thanks for the hint. but my friend is very kittened and protesting he will give up playing, and 2 days waiting made him more mad, 3 days to review the ticket would be too long.

that is up to him. pls keep in mind that the 3 days is an ultimate target. often its sooner. mayn times when it isn’t reached it is cause the mail got hidden in a spamfolder. But it is the amount of time needed to make sure there is an issue.

^^! he’s mad cos he was accused and blocked “botting” which he never did in his entire life, yet he is innocent he have to wait 2 day by now, which I just did in 2 hours. don’t mention most guildies are on the new patch and his is left behind…
and sorry to bring that up, when we was playing wow, the ticket response always very fast, usually within 2 hours, even in mid-night, and you can even call customer service for some direct support. With comparison like that, I can understand his feeling.

WoW ask you to pay monthly fees. They depend on getting you hooked (addicted) to the game. So yes, WoW risks loosing the monthly income when they dont help you in time. They are eager to help you stay addicted.

Gaming addiction is a very bad issue. I know I have to watch out for it a lot myself. It is why I stick to GW2. I don’t pay monthly fees and I can quit whenever I want. The support model that blizzard uses is payed by the monthly fee and is based on keeping you addicted. GW2 knows many people are addicted, but they don’t benefit (leech) from it. They are just happy you enjoy the game.

aussieheals.6843:

felivear.1536:

Josh Davis.6015:

felivear.1536:

what does this line mean: “[Grouch] just won’t be as active on the forums or behind the scenes.”

Hmm, that did sound a bit ominous! Don’t worry – I’m still here, I’m just switching to a different team. It’s true that I won’t be as active on these forums, but I should still be active “behind the scenes” unless someone forgot to deliver the terrible news to me. -.-

Guild Wars 2 PvP is the main reason why I came to ArenaNet. I’ll always have my finger on the pulse, whether that’s from reading the forums in my spare time, or logging in to play after work.

Something something, touching moment, something something, this is not goodbye.

Your new title says, “Anet Alpha Team”. What exactly does an Alpha Team member do? Your new title is intriguing. I’m thinking you’re now the member of an elite squad with black suits, sunglasses and earpieces. Maybe your work is classified.

Wait…don’t tell me..because then you’ll have to kill me.

Obviously, The A Team

Was so temped to create a meme with Grouchs face on Mr T, would of been epic

Your wish is my command.

Danicia, please tell the Devs that the weapons need moar hearts. My manly, bulky, mustached norn isn’t complete unless he’s surrounded by hearts. Princess Wand was a start. Heart weapons are a nice addition. Heart ARMOR is next!!!

This is my reasoning.

“We need to get some more gem store sales because [reasons]. What do we do?”

“Well, what’s sold a lot of gems?”

“Unlimited gathering tools, maybe. But players basically only need to buy them once since we made them account bound.”

“Is there more potential here?”

“There could have been if they were still soulbound. We could always make them more attractive, but we’ve already done new skins.”

“If new skins aren’t enough, how can we sell more?”

“What about giving them a new use? Add an effect like swiftness, aegis, might. Or we could take one of those crafting materials we just introduced and incorporate them somehow.”

“Add sprockets. We haven’t used those in awhile.”

“Makes sense. Those could definitely sell some additional tools. But what about the unfair advantage to people without gems?”

“We could give the tool a small chance of actually harvesting the sprockets. Player’s get so little advantage they can’t possibly complain. Plus most people have their new node anyway.”

“Okay. Sounds good. Now, which tool should we use?”

“I think the pick makes the most sense…”

…

Yeah. I’m sure ArenaNet did this with the best of intentions, but I can’t imagine that they gave the playerbase’s reaction much thought. Maybe they were betting the 20% would limit the new tool enough? I don’t know. Seems a little weak to me.

Unless…unless their reason was further hampered because of some plans us players are still unaware of. Maybe they were working on incorporating a more universal method of gathering sprockets at the time? Perhaps that’s why they threw things together seemingly haphazardly. ArenaNet didn’t think it was an advantage in the first place because they plan on making new ways to get sprockets.

I’m not sure if giving players more opportunities to get sprockets (without spending gems or finishing achievements) would help the core issue of this matter, but it might temper some frustrations.

Honestly, my faith has been slightly jostled after this. For the meantime, I’ve replaced those bits of lost faith with hope, but developer clarification would not go unappreciated. I’d like to know their reasoning.

Edit:

“I’m not sure” = I can’t tell the future

“core issue” = advantage the tool gives

“temper frustrations” = compromise that doesn’t make everyone happy but sympathizes with ArenaNet’s reasons.

Just to avoid confusion.

Make a bunch of statless exotic weapons with names like “Dawm,” “The Legand” or "Zaq"drop from the first mob a player kills that day.

It would be funny if they gave everyone mounts for 1 day only that decrease running speed to the same speed as if u were walking. Then announce since so many players hated the mounts they would be no longer be in the game ever.

Silvercyclone.1462:

It would be funny if they gave everyone mounts for 1 day only that decrease running speed to the same speed as if u were walking. Then announce since so many players hated the mounts they would be no longer be in the game ever.

That…..actually sounds like something they might do.

How many Logan running away jokes are there?

One…. The rest are all true stories.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

TriggerSad.2597:

For the sake of diversity, however, I will say that I wouldn’t mind seeing another heterosexual relationship take stage, or maybe (and this is a bit of wishful thinking) a relationship between two men.

Calling it now, Braham/Rox. Fanfic writers, on your mark . . .

Wait you do know Rox is a girl right? So it would actually be an interracial straight relationship. Which I’d actually find rather interesting.

Actually why don’t we have interracial relationships? You like tall women? Well go get yourself a Norn. You like the furry? Charr! Dendrophiliac? I don’t know… Asura or something?!

The world server I play on, Crystal Desert is up to 9 kills of Marionette and still going! We’re having a blast and the general consensus is that this fight is a lot of fun and a great challenge. Mad props to ArenaNet.

Here is a link to one of those kills recorded by “justin yam” or on twitch as “zirohvii” to watch us fight!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFdm0KvJX8Y

Enjoy and see you in the next battle against Scarlet!

Taimi, Marjory, Kasmeer, Braham, Rox….all dead. Scarlet’s weapon test has left Tyria without heroes.

Oh well, time for Density’s Edge 3.0. We need a Skritt, Centaur, Ettin and Cave Troll with a Quaggan to lead them.

I had actually mentioned something sort of along these lines in the CDI thread, since they were talking about fabrics. Let me go grab it, then I’ll paste it here as food for thought.

Edit:
There is a discrepency in the game in the options of acquisition between wood, ore, cloth, and leather. For all 4 we can get them from bags and from salvaging; however, ore and wood can also be gathered directly. Honestly, to be consistent, cloth and leather should also have these options.

For cloth:

Jute – Is made from a vegetable fiber. Add some plant nodes to the world, which can be harvested with the existing scythes, which give us jute scraps when harvested.

Wool – Comes from various animals. Technically ‘wool’ is from sheep, but goats and rabbits would suffice too. This might require an additional harvesting tool (sheers), although the scythe might work, but sheep and rabbits exist in the game already. Maybe make some of them into harvest-able ‘nodes’ and let us sheer some wool scraps from them.

Cotton – Also a plant. Would work similarly to jute.

Linen – Again, also a plant. Comes from the flax plant, so again could work like jute.

Silk – Comes from insect cocoons, typically the best known comes from a moth, but fro game purposes there are any number of furflies, and such which could potentially offer ‘cocoons’ for collecting.

Gossamer – The definition of this is ‘a spider’s web’ or ‘a very light, delicate material,’ so let us harvest it from certain spider’s webs.

I’m not sure which gathering tool would work best for silk and gossamer, but other than that and wool, everything else would work with existing game tools. This would help increase the quantities of cloth in the game, and give us a guaranteed means of acquisition.

It has been mentioned that the sickle would work for silk and gossamer, though perhaps with a slight change to gathering animation.

panzer.6034:

People should be judged on the content of their posts, not an arbitrary kitten score that only facilitates elitism and baseless judgements.

+1’d

panzer.6034:

People should be judged on the content of their posts, not an arbitrary kitten score that only facilitates elitism and baseless judgements.

^this. If someone was making a post about end game being terrible and what not without an argument as to why they think so, I wouldn’t take them too seriously anyways.

EDIT: What would be nice is an avatar of one of your characters however. Not for backing your posts, but just to add some flavor.