Guild Wars 2

Revenant getting pistols would be interesting to say the least.
I’d imagine that it could even work well as a MH/OH addition with Mace if they were handled properly.

Aside from that, Shortbow isn’t a bad choice, but I’d assume that would be best saved for a Pyre Fierceshot legend/ESpec.
…
On the other hand, a part of me -really- wants Greatsword.
What if it were a Greatsword that was ranged (similar to Mesmer) but condition focused instead of power?

Felahr.9830:

I just did step 3 of Bolt and it was the third platform down from the diving goggles. those vertical beams of light that act as walls? its one of those. just walk up to it and itll be interactable. stand slightly off to the side so the trampoline thing doesnt keep throwing you while you interact with it

that is, if its the same platform.

Thanks for the response.
I just checked that platform (after much struggling to reach it) and the Energy Conflux (the interactable white glow among the barrier lines) isn’t giving the item collection piece on interact or with the use of the illuminator…

Edit: Someone in-game helped me reach the spot.

Where Sunrise (may) differ is that you need to reach the spot in the center of the light field. You can make the jump from the third platform beneath the goggles

Hey all. Just wanted to ask exactly what light beam must one interact with (using the illuminator) within the Aetherblade 2nd Site JP to acquire the item collection achievement. I tried interacting with the ones heading towards the goggles on the jumping pads to no avail.
Then I tried the light energy close to the goggle platform itself but that didn’t work either.

Am I missing something? Could it have been atop the airship itself and not heading towards the goggles?

phoenixwil.6071:

Precision Strike
Solution: Strike nearby foes with precision, sending out blades which damage and taunt them.

Damage Damage: 367 (1.0)?
Taunt (1s): Involuntarily attack foes.
Number of Targets: 3
Combo Combo Finisher: Whirl
Range: 600

Functionality is same except replaced chill with taunt. Reduced duration from 1.5 to 1. Chill has nothing to do with a sword Rev. Taunt makes more sense. Taunt also synchs with other unused Rev traits like Dismantle Fortifications and Improved Aggression so those can be more viable options.

I honestly feel that Chill is better for slowing down your target to stay within Sword and its skill’s (relatively small) effective range. Its current implementation (as a ranged, projectile attack) isn’t the best, but the effect isn’t the issue. I’d personally make Taunt more available by reducing Eye for an Eye to 20~25s and leaving the rest to Jalis’ Forced Engagement.

Duelists Preparation > Shackling Wave
Solution: Slice through the air sending a wave of energy from the mists and pull your foe to you.

Damage: 275 (1.275)?
Combo Finisher: Projectile
Pull: 1200
Range: 1200

The block (Duelists Preparation) is fine but the effect after a block (Shackling Wave) is very lacking. It should be a single target long range pull after blocking, not multi target short range immobilize. That pull should be 1200 to help close a gap with ranged toons that always fight on their terms. It is still dependent on energy and blocking first so bump the damage a tad and add a combo finisher. This change now synchs with Grasping Shadow and Dismantle Fortifications.

Again, I dont think the immobilize is a bad idea (instead of chasing down a target, it helps pin them down), but its not really strong enough. OH Axe also has a Shadowstep and “Pull”, so instead of stepping on its toes too much. Sword helping pin a target down seems like a better way to make it a distinct option. Give it three or four pulses of immobilize (1s) once its used instead of its meager single 2s Immob. pulse and it’ll probably do its job better. Not sure how I feel about the combo finisher aspect, but I’d at least increase the range on the immobilize

Grasping Shadow
Solution: Stab your foe, connecting them to you. Shadowstep backward and pull your foe towards you.

Damage Damage: 468 (1.275)?
Pull: 600
Attack Range: 300
Shadowstep Range: 600

Yup, this skill is virtually impossible to execute because of the silly 130 attack range. Even if the foe is under Chill, they still move out of range, lol. Don’t forget about aftercast and precast which made executing this impossible on a moving target. Easy to execute on an npcs since they aren’t moving. Increase the attack range to 300.

This is agreeable. This could also be inverted: Instead of stabbing before shadowstep+pulling, it can be a single target ranged pull that follows up with the attack. Either still helps with singling out key targets, though I feel the latter would help when there’s AoEs walling off your approach

Enhanced Bulwark
Solution: Renamed to Sliver Armor. New functionality: When blocking attacks, siphon life from nearby foes.

Range: 300
Damage Life Siphon Damage: 243 (0.084)?
Healing Life Siphon Healing: 306 (0.1)?

I reworked this to add more survivability to a dual sword Rev but is dependent on blocking and a foe(s) being nearby. Synchs well with Duelist’s Preparation. Obviously it is for any block like aegis which is why I made it for a grandmaster trait and removed the unused bulwark effect. Enchanted Daggers is very conditional (needs to hit, time limit, 30 sec recharge) as opposed to other healing skills that simply heal upon execution with short recharge. This rework is conditional too but helps with the conditional of Enchanted Daggers. Hopefully this can make sword offhand a great option.

We already get two forms of Life Siphon on Assassin’s Annihilation (if taken) and Focused Siphoning (three if you count Enchanted Daggers, which I feel could use a 5 second cooldown reduction considering its stipulations and the ability to be blocked/reflected) It would also add quite a bit of healing to someone who manages to use Crystal Hibernation to block a Melee based burst (on top of its own).
Staff also has a very low CD block to consider as well…

Considering the Boon-heavy nature of Herald, we’d probably end up with something like:
“Grant yourself and nearby allies Protection and Regeneration (8 sec.) when you successfully block an attack” on a 15~20 second ICD if they decided to remove the extra stack of Stability while keeping it as a GM trait.

>Unrelenting Assault

I can totally agree that its inability to properly shadowstep when in range of a target and its issue with structures and multiple enemies in the immediate area makes this skill worse than it ought to be. Just like Precision Strike’s projectile issues, it can glitch and make one question why they ever bothered using the skill.

Honestly, I’d rather they just make it focus on a single target (maybe cleave anything you pass through within your target’s immediate area as you bounce around or ignore others entirely) and fix the obstructive issues the skill has. Maybe do something similar with Precision Strike’s projectiles or rework the skill entirely. I don’t understand why Sword skills bounce around so when the Devs intended for it to be used to “single out targets”

(I still wish that they restore UA’s attacks back to 5 bounces but remove the Might gain effect…)

>Class Balance

Hoo, that’s a whole new can of worms.
I would say that Revenants are just different compared to other classes. With our utilities/Elites locked to our Legends, we cant run a power build like Shiro+Glint while still having Mallyx’s ability to address getting loaded up on condis. We’re made to pick and choose what our strengths are, and that impacts what weaknesses we get with them.

It sucks, but unless we’re given the ability to use 3 Legends (thus being able to choose Ventari or Mallyx in addition with two others), we have to rely on Sigils, Invocation’s Condition cleanse on Legend Swap, Staff’s condi cleanse skill, or just flat out avoiding/blocking a condi-bomb.

I do agree that Ventari’s kinda clunky and needs some reworking and adjusting, though.

PvE wise, it should probably stack/tick away similarly to burning or poision without relying on them/other conditions or enemy movement to be effective (maybe enemy movement can make it tick+go away faster) Easiest solution to improving it, imo.

Another (more creative) alternative I once imagined is that after a certain time once applied, damage is dealt depending on the amount of Torment stacks the target has in the form of a single damage tick.

Maybe the time before the tick happens is determined by the amount of Torment stacks already, with higher stacks getting less time to be refreshed before ticking (say, 20+ having 2 seconds per refresh before ticking and 10+ having 3 seconds).

It would still make Viper gear desireable since the Expertise stat could influence how much time one has to apply as many stacks of Torment as possible before it ticks off, too…but I imagine all of that would require some careful balancing/testing.

Dariya.9380:

I know it may all come down to personal preference, play style and play skill, but if anyone has any insight that may potentially sway my mind, please share.

Thanks!

That’s basically what it is.
If you find yourself in hairy situations often where you might struggle to stay alive, the damage mitigation from Retribution is definitely a plus, but otherwise, the increased damage output from Invocation works just fine, especially in PvE where the faster your target dies, the better.

Some could probably still use it in PvP for the sake of bursting targets down as fast as possible, owing additional sustain support to their allies’ efforts

Also, Invocation gives you a Stun Break and (one) Condition cleanse on Legend Swap, which is a small plus when your current Legend’s stun break is on CD.

>Riposting Shadows

Its powerful (and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Anet touches it in tweaking Shiro again *sigh), surely., but it also has a 30% energy drain on use as well. Unless a Revenant built up energy in Shiro, its not something to be spammed. Shiro is still extremely glassy, even with that skill, too.

>Herald does too much

It brings a lot to the table as far as ESpecs go (but almost all ESpecs are overtuned as is!), but its DPS and support isn’t surpassing something like the other Especs (Tempest, Druid in particular). Revenant(+Herald) is a pretty big Jack of Trades case in that it can do a lot of things, but isn’t amazing at any one thing in particular.

I don’t think they’re OP by any stretch of the imagination, but Core Rev could use some adjustments and Heralds (along with ALL of the other Elite Specs) also need some toning down

Honestly, I don’t see a lot being that OP about Revenant. They have their strengths and weaknesses, but a lot of people just want to btch about it because of l2p issues like Glint’s heal being “OP” (even after nerfs to it and Crystal Hibernation), Herald in general providing lots of boons/boon duration to allies, and Condi Rev being decent in 1v1s.

There are also those who think that the last ESL, which had teams stacking two of them, that they overshadow other professions, too(but hey, if your group practiced with two Revs and found it effective for their composition while the rules allowed stacking, then why not?)

Ive never heard anyone say core Revenant is OP, and I doubt anyone who says that would be taken seriously. Herald is strong, sure, but the rest of Revenant really needs an overhaul and fixes. At least, it should be good enough so that taking Herald should be something to consider and not absolutely mandatory to be viable, but that’s a problem with a lot of the current Elite Specs in general.

With the nerf on the self heal, I wouldn’t mind seeing movement while using Crystal Hibernation.

^I think CR is also triggered by a few things:

-Attack negated because of invulnerability
-Attack negated because something’s using a blocking skill
-Attack negated through a Blind (Miss)

Not too sure if getting interrupted or an attack being evaded counts towards triggering it, but it probably doesn’t…

LucianDK.8615:

Yes, but -WHY- take Cruel Repercusions if nothing really triggers it in pve? Thats my whole question.

I find Cleansing Channel to be a lot more useful, given our weakness to conditions.

If its a PVE Build (which is often optimized for damage and not much else), I assume its taken for use in the few cases where it can be triggered. The other traits in that tier, while having some use, aren’t going to contribute as big of a damage boost to you as that particular one when it does come into play. Meanwhile, Malicious Reprisal has to compete with Vicious Laceration.

I prefer Laceration seeing that you can get a damage boost from simply attacking constantly with Sword. Malicious Reprisal allows you to bypass Blocks, but its only for two hits on a 30 sec ICD (while CR’s +50% damage boost is once every 15secs), vs VLs 10% (at 5 stacks) constant upkeep.

On top of that, as you mentioned, mobs and bosses don’t really block often to trigger those traits…

Honestly, if they dont fix the skill and opt to redo it, my “fix” would be to make it a short ranged shadowstep or pull to/on a target and striking them with a single powerful stab that inflicts a decent chill duration.

That seems to fall closer in line with the idea of Sword “singling out targets” than a projectile. Would also likely work well with Shiro/Axe OH jumps to help with staying on a target, too.

Honestly, I doubt they’ll restore the SB’s 1.2k range. If they do touch it though, I’d hope for:

1. Crossfire auto bleeds regardless of flanking, but only does one stack each hit. Deals 2 stacks if flanking

2. Poison volley acts like Rapid Fire (5 shots deployed against one target). Pierces.
Or alternatively, it stays as a spread shot, with each dealing a single stack of poison and leaving a small Poison Field on the first target each projectile hits

3. Quickshot grants superspeed or Swiftness+Vigor regen

4. Crippling shot Immobilizes for 3 seconds (possibly if Flanking) or the shot cripples (for 6s) and also inflicts Weakness. The pet Bleed thing stays about the same.

5. Concussion Shot stays the same, but has a lower cooldown (15 secs)

As for Longbow, just give Barrage a lower cooldown. Its not very damaging, and AoE cripple is pretty weak. Its also one of the few AoEs we have at range, too.

They’re decent point holders because of the aforementioned scenario you brought up in the OP, but at the same time, there are ways to mess with their setups. Yeah, they might be “boring” to fight against for some, but I enjoy fighting them more than I would a Scrapper.

Landshark when?

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

Pulsing Blind with every tick of damage it does sounds like a good enough change to me. Would be impossible to cleanse due to the pulsing (like standing in a Thief’s Black Powder) and would be great for ensuring melee safety.

I second this. A pulsing blind actually sounds pretty good.
(Or a pulsing Slow)

I have mixed feelings about Druid, but reading the stuff here – I guess people were expecting/hoping for a spec that would up our own damage without having to play with a bar of entry and forgo all our own damage sources (beside the pet, obv) to play buff/heal bot for others. I mean, I’ve been turned down from a couple of groups before in both fractals and raids because I didn’t want to slot Druid before, since I like playing core Ranger in both power/condi setups (though its not a big deal since I can just make my own squads or w/e – it does happen, though).

Regarding CAF, I can live with the fact that is has a cooldown and build up phase, but generating it is still not comfortable seeing that you have to staff camp to generate it quickly without churning out regen on shouts (which is made more difficult if you’re mid/back-lining) and cannot do so OoC.

Staff itself is really weak when it comes to damage, though it has okay mobility/meh utility. I just wish that it were easier to build AF without needing to slot a weapon to do so reliably. Honestly, if they wanted to up our supportive abilities, that’s fine – maybe make Frost, Storm, and Sun a bit better since they were already good unique buffs we had (hint – better control over Spirits would be nice with the more mobile encounters we’re made to deal with post HoT) – but to make an entire spec that is just strictly support party buffs/heals isn’t something I like a lot.

We’re certainly better off post HoT than before, but I just dislike having to work with the current constraints and playing that particular role in squads. I really hoped for something closer to Scrapper/DH/Tempest where the new options wouldn’t be gated behind something and didn’t involve strictly support, but allowed for some in its own way.

Oh well, it is what it is. Maybe the next ESpec will be more favorable to those who disliked Druid.

It seems alright. You probably wont get much more condi-cleanse without investing into Wilderness Survival for Empathetic Bond/Wilderness Knowledge.

(Ive heard those runes don’t work on WHaO/SotP, but if they do, that’s a plus)
Just use your glyphs carefully to handle mild condi pressure and try to save CA for a condi bomb and additional sustain when you’re getting low. If all else fails, Sword 2+about face double leaping and Staff 3 can help you disengage.

If you’re using Sword/Torch, why not use the Mercenary Amulet for extra condition damage?

It would be cool if Allies Aid allowed you to just click on a downed player within 1200 range and activate Search and Rescue with Interact, much like Function Gyro does.

He did well, certainly, but it seems that the others were trying for bursts and couldn’t quite break his defense while he simply out-sustained them.
…Can’t say that Longbow/Staff is really interesting to watch, either. I really hope the new meta isn’t quite that defensive.
(And lol @ all the salt in the comments)

I’ll be honest and say I dont like it.
However, we’re still lucky that we didn’t get castrated like Revenants did.

So was this “fixed”? Or is that still a thing?

>Druid is too powerful in PvP because of the healing

…I’m sorry?
Maybe we should wait to see how Druid plays out in this new meta without Celestial/Durability runes before they hit its healing power with nerfs.

I’ll agree with the rest, though. There’s still work to be done, but at least they’re moving in the right direction with some of the changes they’ve made thus far.

….What about Hammer?

If you’ve got a Fire/Elec Wyvern, you can use them as your second pet and hope for Wing Buffet since it hits 4x and deals knockback. Tail Lash is also additional cripple, too.

>Healing spring
Nice fix

>Nature’s Vengeance
Also good.

>Hidden Barbs/Expertise Training
Very good. Condi builds are gonna love it for sure.

>Shouts
Looking REAL good.

>Primal Reflexes
Its not a lot, but seeing that Sigil of Energy is nerfed, this Trait’s actually worthwhile and can save you a Sigil slot now.

>Strider’s Defense
Sounds reliable. I can actually imagine using this now…

>Honed Axes
…I wish we got something else over Ferocity like Axe casting speed, but okay…

>Onslaught
Would be better if they increased Cripple Duration effects, but its better than nothing.

All in all, we got off nicely. I’ll certainly try the other shouts more seeing that their cooldowns are reduced and Resounding Timbre is more powerful than ever.

Here’s hoping you all get a good number of balance changes for the better and sit in a good spot in the upcoming PVP meta.

OtterPaws.2036:

Anet said they are gonna make it so that quickness and slow doesnt effect defensive abilities like block or evade unless its something like Blurred Frenzy, No clue how this will effect GS Auto, Sword an Dagger evades.

If I were to guess, they’d likely keep their evade frames consistent throughout the auto-chain on GS and the evade on the Dagger skill, so even if your Quickness is enough to perform another action within the evade frames or your Slow was enough to keep you locked into an attack post-evade, they wont actually change how brief/long your evasion times are.

Or Quickness/Slow just don’t have any influence while using certain moves so that they’re always consistent in duration (shield stances in particular).

….That’s actually pretty cool. Its sorta like gliding.

OtterPaws.2036:

Where’s the bug part? I can do the same with FGS and Ride the Lightning

Eles can do this too? I’m surprised this wasn’t mentioned/seen earlier.
Inb4 Staff nerf

So…Ancient Seeds/Entangle, skills that aren’t used for direct Condition damage but to snare targets are going to require significant Condi-duration investments to make them worthwhile against anyone who traits for negative condi-duration (and that’s before factoring in any ease in destroying roots themselves)…?

Sounds like the Elite/GM Trait has a little too much counterplay. Yeah, you can Stunbreak/Cleanse, Shadowstep, ect, or trait against duration, but at least those cost you a cooldown or resource of some kind. The fact that you can destroy the root on top of that (or with all the AoE in group fights, have it done by some other source) does seem like a bit much.

A fun idea I once had was that this root (Entangle in particular) would act like that of the Mordrem Leeching Thrasher’s root attack, following and attacking your target(s) within a small area while dealing its bleed/pulsing immobilize(/slow?) for a short duration.

The Ancient Seed version could probably just focus on the single target attacked after the usual CC (knockdown/knockback/daze, ect) while pulsing in a small radius where it was triggered or something.

Though, with this idea, there’s still little to do against Runes/Stunbreaks unless they use it while still sitting in the root’s AoE while its still pulsing. At least if someone stun-breaks+evades, they can get out, though…

Seeing that you have HoT, you can swap the Sinister Armor for Viper’s for more Condi duration. MH Axe might not be in a “good spot”, but its still our best MH weapon for Condi builds due to projectile finishers for Fire Fields and Splitblade’s Bleed.

Power is also fine. Ultimately, its a matter of preference.
Wouldn’t really bother with Druid unless you want to run Condi+Support on heals/GotL for PvE, though.

Biklen.5490:

This build will work on every aspect of the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of9v7e_1hkY

~BalougaPod

It looks pretty solid. I’m really curious to see how Protect Me and other Shout changes are going to affect our gameplay in the future.

Edit: Would you mix in Berserker Accessories with your Crusader armor for other game modes? Also, why Rune of Resistance when Rune of Melandru also gives the same toughness/condi-duration reduction in addition to a bit of Vit and stun-duration reduction too? If you’re going with Resistance, you might as well carry Stone Signet, not only for the damage immunity, but the free Aegis on use (should still last 2 seconds after Stone ends)

(Not sure if it’ll also cast with Enlargement if you trait it in over Clarion where more Stability is desired, but that’s also something to consider if it does)

Mending is now a physical skill.
Gives regen and and removes one condition every 2 seconds for six seconds

Seems simple enough.

These are just some ramblings of what I thought could happen:

Destiny’s Edge

-In the wake of Eir’s death, they may find someone capable of filling her role. You might be elected to do this (or at the very least, aid with some new responsibilities), with your success against Zhaitan and Mordremoth.

-Logan/Zojja may be terminally ill from Mordremoth’s influence. This may prevent them from being readily available to the Elder Dragon hunt for a time.

-Logan/Zojja being afflicted by Mordremoth’s influence, in tandem with Eir’s death, may cause Destiny’s Edge to disband

-Rytlock may channel Glint in order to gain further instruction on handling her newborn hatchling. The Charr may not like the idea that one of their “Champions” uses magic, but at the same time, he helped with felling Mordremoth, so they’ll learn to deal with it.

-Rytlock may train an apprentice (Rox? Someone new?) to learn about channeling Glint while he continues his work against the Ascalonian Ghosts. His understanding of the Mists and the reforged Sword will allow him to settle the matter once and for all.

-Logan/Zojja may need to be cured during the story LS3. There’s a chance that Mordremoth’s influence has left them slightly unhinged and possibly willing do to something crazy (another Scarlet case)

Glint’s Legacy:

Glint’s Egg hatching can lead to several possible outcomes:

-The egg was affected by the burst of magic released by Mordremoth, possibly having corrupted it. This can lead to a hunt for the dragon as it escapes Tarir to purify its corruption (speaking of which, more about returning the Jungle to normalcy should be made mentioned somewhere)

-The hatchling is not corrupted and kept in Tarir for further safeguard. However, the Mordrem react violently to its presence and begin to overwhelm Tarir in an attack it is not capable of defending against. Glint’s hatchling is moved to the safekeeping of the Pact/The Durmand Priory (under Ogden’s care), or even takes residence within Glint’s lair.

-In raising the egg, we must find sources of powerful magic to keep it healthy across Tyria. This might lead to a few missions/conflicts in itself.

Threat over the Horizon

-Kralkatorrik may respond to the presence of a new Dragon Champion coming to Tyria. This can be from a sudden attack on Ebonhawke from The Crystal Desert’s “scar” where Kral’s likely to be resting.

-Queen Jenna may be visiting during this time in the midst of the human-charr treaty negotiation and be put in danger.

-The aftermath of the (potential) Ebonhawke slaughter will prompt her to allow access to heroes of Tyria into the Crystal Desert to address the threat Kralkatorrik, its Branded, and the other Elonian threats within that region.

-Canach/Anise will likely still be working together as equals instead of captive and master. He may yet again have an opportunity to prove himself in the days to come. He may even be given leave to join your LW group.

This may be a stretch, but its possible that someone will attempt to use Revenant-channeling to gain power from the spirits, only to be possessed/lose control to it or something.

Tragic Positive.9356:

Refined Toxins… As a full Berserker? Instead of Shared Anguish? In this meta of massive cleanse? That makes any use only if you are above 90% (which you aren’t if you hit 3 targets with retaliation and that you will since Lead the Wind)
Without any source of stability whatsoever?

I didn’t see Refined Toxins over Shared Anguish in his build link…(though it was in the video)
I guess he didn’t want Stability since his three utilities (link, two from vid so long as Druid’s up, anyway) are already able to stun-break (though that brings up the question of breaking stun vs preventing it).? Idk.

The build has enough Condi clear with Anguish, WK, and Clarity I guess.

I really want to run full Zerk, but I’m partial to Soldier’s additional Tough/Vit (and using Int Sigil on GS to help a little with crit bursts.) Seeing that its possible to still survive well enough while being full glass is changing my mind, though.

I’m guessing the Armor is also full berserker?
I’m also curious about why you took Leeching over Blood (which can kinda replace fire when not dealing with needing to AoE I guess) or Intelligence (If you’ve got full Zerk, I guess you’ll have enough crit) /Hydromancy?

Lazze.9870:

a ranger running NM and BM will always have high pet damage potential. And the Bristleback won’t stop hitting you if you nerf its damage.

So….using two trait lines to make our pets somewhat more threatening in exchange for our personal damage (No skirmishing/marksmanship = No MoC/OS/QD ) is imbalanced? Its just a more defensive setup that heavily relies on your pet dealing the bulk of your burst while you sustain*.

I still don’t see the problem – it just sounds like you experienced someone using the Bristleback/Smokescale burst really well and want to call it OP.

*(The meta’s definitely shifting away from this in the upcoming patch, so its better to wait and see how things work before making further calls on overall pet damage/durability since players are likely to die a lot sooner)

>Complaining about a slightly controllable, somewhat squishy AI target that you can pressure into death/being switched out

Compared to our other pets, the fact that this one is a half decent threat in tandem with its master coordinating with it well means that its actually working. More pets should be like this.

Melee: Greatsword (or Dagger)
Maybe Talon Silverwing or another famous Warrior from the old age (Turai Ossa?)

Ranged: Shortbow (this weapon really needs more love, and Dragonhunter already has LB as its focus in terms of Elite Specs)
Pyre Fierceshot/Eir

This is a pretty divided issue. I also feel a bit split on the matter…
On one hand, Sword Auto’s gotten me killed a number of times when I misused it. Be it leaping off an edge or not being able to roll in time to avoid something. Ive never really had to turn off AA, and having to carefully time my attacks because of animation lock while still trying to maximize DPS isn’t very comfortable for me.

On another, I’ve seen other rangers use the leaps in clever ways; allowing them to disengage or travel in tandem with Hornet’s Sting. Its a unique auto attack, and in the right hands, it has utility others simply cant match.

Honestly, I’d rather keep it as it is for the sake of those who are able to use its leaps in clever ways, but also allow evades to cancel attacks and prevent animation lock ups, but that’s assuming we can have our cake and eat it, too.

I honestly just want the Fire Wyvern to create a cone shaped fire field similar to the Legendary counterparts (but obviously smaller and with less duration and damage). Hell, maybe they can even do a linear flying fire trail to set up the field, but that would be kinda slow by comparison.

Aside from adding a Daze/Stun to it, I wouldn’t mind Lightning Tackle staying as it is if it created its field as it travels to the target instead of where it stops.

(Additionally, an adjustment to power/cooldown of those skills would be appreciated)

anduriell.6280:

My suggestions:

• Pets get the increased attribute + speed from BM by baseline. We already know the pets are more reliable with those and the BM trait line should be there to potentiate the use of the pet, not to make them usable. This increase will make them to reach the target location.

Agreed. Maybe allow some more stat sharing between you and your pet on some traits (“x% of your toughness is added to your pet’s base defenses” and such)

• From Smokescale we learnt that to hit reliably the pet need to shadowstep to the target, so it doesn’t need to circle around it to get to the perfect spot to hit. I don’t think Aney is in position to fix the pathing engine right now, so to fix this:
  > Melee pets get an small shadowstep to the target in basic attack so it can get in the right spot fast enough. I couldn’t say number but maybe 300 or so? Just to jump from the last stage to the correct point the pathing engine decided it’s the one.

Largely disagree. Shadowstepping is unique to the Smokescale and should be kept that way. That would also remove any counterplay from another class deciding to target/interrupt a melee pet approaching them to CC/use an ability before they can make contact.

• Reduce the cast delays/animations in all pets. Canines should hit every 1/4 second, i could take to hit every 1/2 second, but right know it’s about once a second. That’s friking slow.

Agree. Canines and many others need some love – if not for attack speed, allow them to be more focused on knockdowns, interrupts, and general disruptive attacks.

• To make pets survivability increase 4 changes:
  > The leash of all pets in passive, not attacking should be at the ranger’s feet. 130 max not 600 like now. If we move our pet follow us at the spot. So if i evade an AoE my pet is with me and doesn’t soak in random damage.

I like this. I always felt that our pets would sit a little too far from us on many occasions, even when passive.

> The damage mitigation has proven right in PVE. I suggest a damage mitigation of 50% in WvW/PvP when the pet is not targeted. This could affect also conditions 50% reduction in condition damage because most AoE is condition based.
> To balance condition damage mitigation conditions applied to the pet if not being targeted will be increased by 50%. The point of this is for you have time to cleanse the pet in case it decided to run like a crazy stag inside an area full of AoE, but if you don’t care the pet will suffer the full damage. Just longer over time.

> The exception to this rule is any Control condition. Chill, fear, launch, sink and anything will do full damage/duration even if the pet has not being actively targeted. (chill and fear can deal damage with the necro). The point is to make the pet susceptible to CC in case that is needed.

I think a straight up 25% damage/condition damage (but not duration) reduction would be fine. Enough to keep them alive and react to cleave/AoE, but not make them too durable to it. Alternatively, maybe make the F3 skill reduce the damage they take as they return to their master (possibly adding a small cooldown)

For this to work the ranger need an small change in the HUD that is:

• Show current conditions affecting the pet.
• Show total damage pet tick the pet is affected by those conditions.

We definitely should have had this.

Aside from Wonderouswall’s suggstions, I think many pets should have a combo field finisher type. On top of having the ability to slot in what F2 skill they have, being able to have on demand additional finishers for certain fields would tie in ranger-companion gameplay a lot.

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I honestly think RotGD would be massively improved if it were changed to an upkeep skill (similar to Impossible Odds) and pulsed 2 sec Resistance every 5 seconds or something similar.

You can still stack Condi/CC against someone using it, but it won’t completely destroy the tankiness the skill is supposed to provide entirely.

Adrian Guardian.9480:

Hidden barbs: 20->33% bleed damage increase
Predator’s onslaught: 10->15% dmg increase
Protect me: AoE stun break and protection, pet taunt the next enemy that attacks you
Search and rescue: 1200 range regeneration and pet drags downed ally to you and the rezzes

>Hidden Barbs boosted

Neat. I use this on my Viper setup over Spotter when not doing Fractals. Making it stronger has no downside.

>Predator Onslaught boosted
Eh. Unless it boosts Cripple duration at the same time, its still not worth it. Especially with how bad that one trait that applies it @ 50% HP is.

>Protect Me
Not bad. A Stun Break Shout means less need for going into Wilderness Knowledge for non-glyph builds, and the protection/taunt’s an added bonus. Curious about the Cooldown on it once traited, though.

>Search and Rescue
So this applies AoE regen and then drags an ally to you? Do they drag corpses or the downed or both? I’m also curious as to how it’ll affect Allies’ Aid and how it’ll work on a close and distant pair of downed players (wouldn’t want the pet to drag the one I’m already on top of over and such)

Overall, its not a bad start, but I really hope they look into Shortbow, Axes, Sword, and a few other traits before I’m sold on looking forward to all of this.

>Condi Sword
I cant agree with this. That sort of thing would be better fit to a Dagger MH (speaking of which, why cant we have that? We can already equip it as an offhand weapon….)

I still use GS/LB Power Survival with SotW on occasion for extra regen for AF during combat. I really dont like the Staff, and Sword’s kinda iffy for me, too.

Having that Mordrem Sniper’s Charge Shot would be pretty cool tbh.
Drawing lines to make areas into a no crossing zone or trying to line up some CC into keeping someone on top of a line with Ancient Seeds…hmm.

I think part of their reasoning for Druid was to make us “wanted” in parties with our buffs, “emergency heals”, and Grace of The Land. Those are nice, but not everyone wants to play as a heal/buff slave. DH, Scrapper, Tempest, Chronomancer…all added both offensive and supportive abilities to the core professions, but we only got the latter for ourselves.

I would personally have preferred something more focused on channeling the forces of Nature Spirits. Something that would allow the Spirits we have to roam and be commanded to a similar degree as a Scrapper’s Function Gyro for passive buffs, having an actively usable skill with a cooldown (maybe an attack with a pulsing field depending on what nature is invoked on use), or sacrificing it for a group-wide boon of some kind similar to Spirit of Nature. The traits could have complemented our core traits while still allowing us to customize what sort of support we bring to groups and keep for ourselves.

THAT, is what I feel would have been closer to a proper Elite Spec than our current iteration of Druid.