Guild Wars 2

If we’re counting bugs:

1. Bristleback HP nerfed.
2. Go for the Eyes nerfed.
3. Ancestral Grace bugged.
4. Sublime Conversion bugged.

That’s four out of seven ‘fixes’ jacked or nerfed. Not good odds. Even for the ranger/druid NERF IT patch updates, it’s a bit extreme.

I have to admit, this one surprised me. While I understand people being unhappy with crashes due to the intense graphics, those people have the option of tuning down their own graphics.

Instead, ANet tuned down everyone else’s?

Really? Wow. Just … wow.

Yeah, time to shelve the bristleback.

worminator.5174:

As you can see the petchoice depends on the situation.

Agreed. Pewienpan, keep in mind, a stationary target like a target dummy will produce damage results that are . . . skewed. In most cases, the mob is moving. One of the bigger complaints on this forum in the past is how, if the target is moving, the pet isn’t damaging the target.

A reason players advocate smokescale is the smoke assault teleport. For a PvE mob, it’s pretty much unavoidable damage. I’ll give an example from experience: Back in the day, I used lynx for the bleed damage. But I cannot remember the number of times it missed its F2 ability because the target moved or the lynx was too busy chasing the target and missed because of the AI’s delay.

With smokescale, that disappeared. Considering that most think smokescale is the better pet in PvP, for that very reason, it also stands to reason the same can apply to PvE.

As always, this is based on my experiences and my build. And yes, that’s opinion . . . which was asked for.

But, honestly, the best pet is the one that works for you and the playstyle you go for. It’s really no one’s place to tell anyone here they are “wrong” based on that alone.

Again, the ‘best’ pet is the one that fits what you need and how you tackle the game.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Sure would be nice if you actually answered the OP’s question as opposed to critiquing mine with your snark and backhanded insults. You know, the answer people agree with and repeated as well? In fact, it would be awesome since you haven’t at all.

Here, I’ll help: The OP wants to know what you think is the best overall pet in PvE with his spec. He doesn’t want to know why you think I’m wrong.

Thanks.

Yes, I’m tempted to get into a debate as to why your reasoning is tragically flawed especially since you now want to argue semantics. But I can also see that would be a moot point. And very much what you want as well. So let me spell it out for you: it’s not happening.

Please focus on the question the thread proposes and not on me. He asked for the best overall pet in PvE, damage-wise, with his build . . . not three different pets in a case-by-case scenario.

Thank you.

I get the feeling there isn’t QA testing to be honest.

Are you serious? 16K now? God….

Sure would be nice if you actually answered the OP’s question as opposed to critiquing mine with your snark and backhanded insults. You know, the answer people agree with and repeated as well? In fact, it would be awesome since you haven’t at all.

Here, I’ll help: The OP wants to know what you think is the best overall pet in PvE with his spec. He doesn’t want to know why you think I’m wrong.

Thanks.

Hopefully, a hotfix is coming since a developer mentioned it too.

oshilator.4681:

I’m not even surprised anymore.

Instead of explaining in detail again why smokescale is the better pet in PvE, and seeing that I utterly wasted my time, I’ll just say that I’d rather play right now. So I’m off to solo things with my smokescale that most players wouldn’t dream of doing.

I’ll leave it at that.

Justine.6351:

They finally did something about that?

Yep, added a use all/consume all option.

Honestly? None. Crafting is a huge time and gold-sink. I say save your money. Most gear you can find, earn, or buy cheaper and it’s just as good. Ascended and legendaries only offer a slight increase in benefits, but it does add up.

That said, I’ve found or earned all my ascended gear via PvE.

My wife is a hardcore crafter and is trying for Nevermore now. And never have I heard more kittening. Sadly, it’s become a drain on me too because I’m sending almost all my tier four and five materials to her. That’s a lot of gold I’ve lost over the last month or so. Easily 200-500 gold lost in materials sold for that stupid staff.

But it’s cheaper than a divorce, let me tell you.

Given the huge amount of bugs still on the ranger and druid list, I’m not holding my breath for any fast fixes. Now, if people demanded we needed a nerf, a fast ‘fix’ would definitely be on the way.

Yep, it’s a huge reason you’re not seeing a lot of spirit rangers out there. But definitely not the only reason.

As always, the other classes may do more amazing damage, but they ain’t doing any amazing damage when they’re dead.

Ranger tends toward ranged damage . . . it’s kind of in the name. And the smarter ones also tend toward letting the pet tank, bear or otherwise, since the pet often takes a beating better than the class itself.

I never understood why this is a point to be mocked, but I’m okay with that. And so are the people I rez who wanted to marvel me with their superior skills.

Sadly, that tends to turn ugly in PvP when I use my less than superior skills on them. That scenario also gives a hint as to why those players scream nerf against rangers and druids … and ANet listens.

But that’s another topic.

Tragic Positive.9356:

As wrong as I could think of.

Options =/= damage.
SmokeScale is the best utility or combat pet, if you will. But not damage pet and most certainly not a PvE pet.
The single burst on considerable cooldown has nothing in common with DPS.

For moving targets – Bristleback (ability to attack without repositioning).
For stationary targets – Lynx
For unorganized PvE content where you are not might capped – Jungle Stalker

Situational Options for your build:
Fern Hound – pet with mechanic to heavily improve druid AF generation.
Marsh/River Drake – pet with AoE attacks.

Well . . . let’s break that down:

1. Never said options equal damage. Don’t know why you made that conclusion, but having the ability to not only nullify but avoid damage with smokescreen is a big win.

2. A huge burst on a sixteen second cooldown, for beastmasters, or twenty seconds otherwise, is also huge win. Also, for PvE farming purposes, it makes life quite easier because it hits all the targets you round up to kill.

3. The fact you mention bristleback of all creatures to hit a moving target says something. Not only does it miss most of the time, because of axis planes, but even I can avoid all bristleback damage by simply side strafing. None of it hits me. None. And yes, I’m moving.

4. Stationary targets? If your target is just standing there, I would hazard a guess that any pet will do. But, in reality, most PvE targets won’t stand still. So this observation is more than moot and rather silly to mention in my opinion. Unless you’re talking about a building or structure, and then bristleback wins this. No question.

5. “For unorganized PvE content where you are not might capped” – I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean in concert with the OP’s question. So I’ll skip it, but keep in mind smokescale still does in fact give might when it uses assault.

6. I can think of more than five ways to generate AP better than a fern hound, much less sacrificing aggro and DPS for it. But the OP is asking about DPS . . . not AP.

7. This is just wrong. The best AoE pet is definitely smokescale. It has a 360 radius to hit. Since their nerf, drakes only hit toward the front.

Please keep in mind, again the OP asked for which was the best pet in an overall PvE damage scenario . . . not a case-by-case one.

Hands down, even after the nerf, it’s smokescale. It brings a lot more to the table than any other pet in PvE.

Finally, keep in mind a dead pet doesn’t give any DPS . . . and this is where cats and our squishier pets tend to fail.

Now, all that said, the OP has stated he only liked smokescale when smoke assault was on F2. I disagree with that, but I respect his opinion because he asked the question and was respectful in return.

I suggest you do the same next time.

Nike.2631:

If you’re a broad and regular reader of these forums you’ll notice posting has also plummeted. The year of hype has become the 4 maps of reality and some really questionable balancing decisions.

Winner. So true it’s painful. But, those that said something was off all those months ago, were told otherwise.

It seems that reality has now come to roost.

I’ve soloed everything so far except certain hero points and metas . . . of course. I could definitely solo all the hero points if it weren’t for those timers, but your mileage may vary.

But don’t worry. Nerfs to the overall landscape and events are definitely coming. Bet money on it.

I wouldn’t say it’s ‘hardcore’, but it sure as hell ain’t casual friendly like the core game was. That’s for sure.

I must admit, the silence from Irenio is worrying.

Smokescale. It gives you most options, has the most combined skills of all the pets, and teleports to the target with near-inescapable damage.

All big wins in my book.

Pets increase survivability a great deal. If the mob is beating on the pet, it ain’t beating on you. And yes, I hear a lot of noise about how such-and-such class is better at something else. But, at the end of the day, my ranger/druid tends to be the last man standing.

So what is ranger best at? Surviving . . . if you know what you’re doing.

I was surprised we couldn’t tame bats since I saw the ogres doing it.

Got mine in Queensdale after one kill. When I helped my wife, it took about twenty. Yeah, quite random.

If you love pet classes, yes ranger is still the correct choice to make. As long as you’re having fun, how you decide to play is up to you.

Honestly? I was hoping they’d add more ‘hearts’ to the new zones like in the core game. These dynamic events again remind me of the public quest system in Warhammer Online.

And, after the initial rush, they were pretty much abandoned within a few weeks too.

Simple fact about MMOs: Happy players are too busy enjoying the game to complain. Unhappy players post on the forums.

Edit: Please note the exceptions are white knights and trolls. They have their own agenda.

Back in the day, we had something like that . . . but it backfired on the developers when players started to quote them and their promises when things took a turn.

It’s my understanding, after the SAB debacle, that all comments on these boards, by any staff, must go through some sort of committee’s approval before it can be posted.

No, seriously.

Vayne.8563:

They didn’t reinvent the wheel and call it content. They said, that this expansion would be lighter on content while they set up the game for future expansion so they could move the game forward.

That’s what was said. That’s what they did.

In other words, they asked us to pay for the gateway to more Living Story and called it a light expansion. And people got happy because they heard the word ‘expansion’, so it silenced the expansion crowds’ demands for it.

But in truth, all we did was pay for delayed Living World content which would’ve been free otherwise.

Good to know.

ProtoGunner.4953:

I never had a DS fail, just go when the global reset is. Some ppl just seem to be too stupid to understand such mechanics.

Our apologies. Within the limited amount of time between work, taking care of family, and getting to bed before having to return to work the next morning, we can’t seem to fit in enough time to wait for the global reset.

Guess those of us with jobs, families, and lives are too ‘stupid’ to wait every two hours for that clock to tick down.

Again, our apologies.

I never really thought about it before, but yes: there’s a huge amount of ‘jumping puzzle’ and gliding to get to point-of-interest, vistas, hero points, mastery points, etc.

Interesting.

Halan.7931:

I came to this game for exploration and solo open world content, not for timed events or raids – sorry, (snip)

I have no idea why ANet moved from this simple concept and into the one we have now. But I’m not liking it. At all. And, after I gave up looking through LFG for a DS map, I realized I wasn’t having fun either.

With two masteries to go before I get ley-line gliding, and those jumping puzzles and MPs I can’t get without it, I’m starting to wonder: one month later and the zones look deserted after prime time?

Never a good sign.

I’ve gotten one plate. No idea from where, but it’s sitting in my backpack to turn in … one day.

Well said. Long, but still said well.

Sandpit.3467:

I am struggling to see how gliding helps jumping puzzles much, give me an example.

Using gliding in Troll’s Revenge comes to mind. I’ll be honest: I haven’t done that puzzle, and I’ll definitely use gliding to get it done if I’m able.

Edit: I can also see it being used in that nightmare jumping puzzle underneath Silverwastes too.

This achievement is all but impossible without a zerg or large group. The towers are super fragile, and the mobs’ DoT effects cannot be stopped. Even leading the mobs from the tower is moot because certain mobs will port back to the tower and damage it in their attempts to attack NPCs.

At least, can we get some way to repair the tower?

Thank you.

Even so, I expect to happen eventually. Truth be told, most of us with gliders would’ve already completed the jumping puzzles in the example above. But, again, ANet has made some strange decisions lately.

Time will tell.

From experience, the silence means some huge announcement or overhaul is in the works. Don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing though. . . .

There’s no doubt in my mind they’re reading the forums here and on Reddit though. The complaining has reached near-epic levels.

And rightly so.

Never seen the meta completed in Tangled Depths and, unless ANet adjusts it, I doubt I ever will.

Ah, thank you. Completely missed seeing it. I’ll ask to remove this thread.

These are the last things I’ll attempt as far as achievements. Did, or attempted, two or three and disliked them with a passion.

Are Thorn Hollow and Deserted Coast not in the game yet? Are the comments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/3r6z9p/need_help_with_some_dragons_stand_achievement/ accurate?

If so, seems strange to add an achievement that’s impossible at the time being.

zombyturtle.5980:

Really? Then please send me a development post that says GW2 is intended for solo players. Because EVERYTHING from the very first launch advertisments has said GW2’s aim is for players to work together to complete content. In fact a Q and A even once answered that it would only be possible to level to 80 and do the personal story solo.

I can show you experience instead: Every heart in every zone can be soloed. You can map the entire known world solo. You can level every step of the way solo.

Those parts you could not got nerfed . . . like the WvW map. But, even then, you could solo it if you desired. There’s a reason why dungeon content and much of the fractal content is dead.

Sorry you missed the memo.

Depends on what new MMOs are coming out and how ANet responses to the nonstop nerfs to druids and time-gating content. If Black Desert is any good? Not likely. If it’s a dud, and nothing new’s on the horizon? Probably.

This whole situation reminds me of DAoC. It ruled the MMO roost even with their nonstop screw-ups.

And then WoW came along. . . .

Rewards from tracks in PvP. Oh and laurel merchant for the rings, amulet, and necklace. The backpack I got after the one-day Karka event . . . I think.

zombyturtle.5980:

Firstly, your argument about grouping and MMO’s would stand for the MMO genre as a whole. However GW2 has ALWAYS been advertised as a game where grouping with people is necessary to complete and achieve content. If you dont like grouping you can still play plenty of MMO’s but maybe not GW2.

I stopped reading after this because it’s so untrue for Guild Wars 2 it’s almost humorous in its irony.

Edit:

Therefore, if you hate grouping so much you outright refuse to try it, you should either leave GW2 as the game was never designed, nor advertised for people like you or accept there will be content that you cannot do, and focus on enjoying the things you can.

Excuse me. But can you please tell us what game you’ve been playing because it’s most certainly not Guild Wars 2.

Land of Cheese.2584:

CIndeR.3479:

Hell I only recently completed the Main Story line because of the Arah grouping wall.

I totally get enjoying playing alone (which is what I do a vast majority of time), but you’re saying that in 2 years of play, you hate grouping so much that you refused to group up for a mere half hour to finish a story mode dungeon?

I’m floored.

Count me as one of those people. If you’ve had the grouping experiences I’ve had, you’d wait two years or more too. Long story short, I ended up soloing anyway because my groups ended up dead and waiting for me to carry them through.

So . . . yeah. I also hate grouping that much. Even for half an hour. Again, your experience may vary . . . but mine certainly didn’t.

It’s become deadly obvious that these gating attempts are to hide the lack of content. Realistically, without them, most of the players would’ve mapped all the new areas within a week or two, earned all the HPs, MP, Vistas, and Points-of-Interest, and probably earned a lion’s share of the achievements.

Instead of complaints about gating, the forums would be filled with complaints about lack of content.

For God’s sakes, people finished the storyline in less than a day.

I hate it with a passion . . . especially in Dragon Stand. I love exploring and completing maps, but having a zerg requirement to do this because certain parts of the map are otherwise cut off?

Worst decision ever.