It wasn’t an overwhelming patch day but it was a step in the right direction. I appreciate the effort. Hopefully the next large patch (in Jan?) will focus on more Ranger buffs rather than just “across the board” buffs.
I don’t care for WoW but it’s night and day between GW2 and WoW pets. You can do so much with your pets in WoW and they have so many cool and useful abilities. They’re awesome and honestly, it’s the only thing I miss from World of Warcraft.
My idea to improve GW2 pets
Raise the base HP and armor of all pets.
Pets take significantly reduced damage from AOE attacks.
Pets can attack while moving.
Give Rangers full access to all of their pets abilities so they can be controlled on command, rather than whenever the pet feels like it.
Make the pet’s F2 skills instant.
Give Ranger’s the option to stow their pets in combat.
As a girl, I have to agree. I play a class with Medium armor and the medium armor is the worst offender of them all! I’m not asking for Tera skimpy, I just want form-fitting clothing. A lot of the medium armor consists of Trench coats and I hate them so, so much.
My inner hardcore player says Dungeons. Open world stuff is great but it really comes down to how it’s implemented. Sometime’s it feels like such a zerg fest, I like the controlled environment of a dungeon. It tests my (and my groups) skill and my groups compatibility.
If I had to choose, I’d pick Raids above either of these. I really wish GW2 had raids. For me, it’s like a good mixture of Open World’s large scale combat in addition to a Dungeon’s controlled setting. I feel like Open World combat is “dumbed down”. It’s fun for sure but in a more casual sense.
Don’t get me wrong though – I’m not looking for a carrot, I’m looking for a challenge.
I downloaded the 10 day free trial for Mists. I couldn’t stomach the graphics or the leveling system anymore. Went back to GW2. The only thing I really miss from WoW are the guilds / friends / social aspect. It’s kind of hard to find guilds / groups in GW2.
Competition is good for sure. But I really think Blizzard should focus on releasing a new and updated MMO rather than expansions.
It actually gets worse at 80. Leveling my Ranger was a lot of fun for some reason, but after 80 I thought to myself
“I wish I could hit as hard as X class..”
“I wish my pet wouldn’t die before the pet swap timer is off CD…”
“I wish my attacks wouldn’t get obstructed / strafed out of the way”
“I wish, I wish, I wish…”
Then I leveled a Thief.
But there’s still a soft spot in my heart for Rangers because I’ve always rolled Archer type classes in MMOs. If it’s your first character, I suggest saving it for an alt. After 900 hours of played time, I’m more than bitter.
1. I didn’t work to get them. I didn’t camp 5 hours for a rare spawn, I didn’t go through any type of process to tame it. I didn’t complete a quest line. I didn’t do anything. It was handed to me, thus I do not appreciate it.
2. A lot of the pets are not attractive looking or cool looking. There are no “special” pets. Everyone has access to everything. I’m not asking for awesome new pet skills for “special looking pets.” What I’m looking for is for them to be treated the same way Armor is. It’s all about the looks. (PS: I miss it when people ran up to me and said “Woah! Cool pet. Where did you tame him?”)
3. Only a few pets are viable because the rest die so easily. Even if I’m attached to my Feline type pet, it wouldn’t matter because he will die too quickly.
4. It’s encouraged to change pets. Every 30 seconds, I’m swapping my pets. Why become emotionally attached to something when I can’t even use him on a regular basis?
5. Pets feel more like a burden than a companion. I have no way to heal him, I have no way to utilize all of his pet bar skills (who’s idea was that?), I have no way of naming him, I have no way of training him past Juvenile. He’s just there. By my side for 30 seconds. No name, no significant value, no place in my virtual Ranger’s heart.
I must be on a really good server. I’m on Stormbluff Isle and I see people all of the time. I’m leveling an alt and I always find people in zones even at awkward night hours. Always people in Lions Arch.
Phew. Usually I pick bad servers when games come out but I’m glad I lucked out this time. :’>
I have always been for a Stow Pet change like this. I would even throw in a speed boost to the benefit (15% damage increase / 10% speed increase [doesn’t stack with signet]).
If you want to use your pet, use it! But give those of us who don’t want to bother with it the option. Don’t punish the rest of us because you want a pet. It’s that simple. There’s a million ways to make this balanced. You get what you want, I get what I want.
I’m playing a Ranger because I love Archer classes. I love Bows, it’s that simple. I play one in every MMO, I even played one in GW1 too and guess what? Never used a pet. Not sure why they attached one to us in GW2, especially since they’re so bad. Some class mechanic. Hmph.
Just curious on the thought process on this. My Thief’s unload has an 8x channel time on my pistols, yet my Ranger has a 10x channel time. Is it because there’s a range difference? I would think the “Rapid Fire” skill would be more….Rapid, but it feels like an eternity to get the full channel off.
God Forbid any of these “Rapid” shots were to get Obstructed or dodged, which makes my Rapid Fire hit like a wet noodle by the end of it’s channel. I really don’t think 10x is necessary and it should be bumped down to match 8x (WITH THE SAME DAMAGE OUTPUT AS 10X). Thus buffing it, not nerfing it. Just clarifying that.
Just as the title states. It’d be nice to have server forums (get to know your server community), it’d also be a little easier to find Guilds on your server. In addition, I think an off topic section would be pretty cool too.
I wouldn’t mind GROUND mounts that went at 33% speed for cosmetic / fun purposes. Would also give player’s something to aim for that’s a little extra. Doesn’t go anymore faster than a swiftness buff, thus it has no important impact on the game. It can even go combat slow when you get knocked into combat.
Flying mounts, however, would not be cool. Vistas would be a joke. Jumping puzzles would be a joke. This game wasn’t made for flying mounts.
I think it’d be cool if Ranger’s had a camouflage skill. It’d be really hilarious to have a skill that just stealths you in place (it’d be great for ambushing). Sort of like Teemo from League of Legends + traps lol.
IE:
Survival. Camouflage 60s CD
Temporarily stealths you in place for 10s. Moving/attacking will cancel the effect. Upon leaving Camouflage use X effect (based on weapon).
So, for GS maybe a “pull in”, a Longbow maybe a burst attack, Shortbow maybe 8 stacks of bleed or something, etc.
Probably totally unrealistic, but it’s nice to think about.
Jesus, are you people serious? The world isn’t fair, life sucks, people get rewarded for things they don’t deserve, did I mention the world isn’t fair? It’s done. Quit counting everyone else’s blessings and count your own.
Agreed. Screw Orr, the worst high level one ever. I just craft my character’s from 70 to 80 to avoid that place lol. It’d be better if they decreased the amount of mobs in that zone by a lot. Maybe they should think more quality over quantity.
I understand that there are probably separate teams that work on various different things in GW2. The problem is, it was said that there are only 2 people working on all of the classes. TWO!
The content designers can keep making content, but please hire more people to be completely dedicated to bug fixes / class fixes. Two is not enough.
There are two developers working on class balance, but they are not working on the bug fixes themselves. The bug fixes are most likely done by the programmers and the software developers.
I am stunned there aren’t dedicated developers for every profession.
That’s… that’s just… dumb.
Professions are the core of the game, they have to have a dedicated focus or you’re going to be doing nothing but two people putting out fires here and there and breaking everything when trying to fix one thing. There’s no cohesiveness, no actual ‘design’ possible in that situation.
Why’s this dumb? Larger teams means less efficiency and more communication required. From what I understand, there are two developers in charge of class balancing and design. In this case, it’s important for people in this team to really have a good idea of all 8 classes, instead of just one person being in charge of one class.
Also, like mentioned before, these two are mostly in charge of design/balancing of the classes. But the actual program bug fixes fall on the shoulders of programmers/software devs.
A quote from Jon.
…..There are 500 skills in this game, 480 traits, and 2 designers working on this. Even then often we are bottle necked by other issues.
There really should be a dedicated person for each profession. They’re obviously overwhelmed. I personally want whoever is working on the profession actually play that profession, not just “have an idea”. I’m having a hard time accepting that 2 people balancing all 8 professions, 500+ skills and 480 traits is cutting it. Seems like it’s overwhelming for those 2 people in addition to slowing down the progress for all professions because those 2 people have to spread themselves so thin. Also, from what Jon said, I highly doubt that class balance is their only job if they’re getting tied up by other issues.
I understand that there are probably separate teams that work on various different things in GW2. The problem is, it was said that there are only 2 people working on all of the classes. TWO!
The content designers can keep making content, but please hire more people to be completely dedicated to bug fixes / class fixes. Two is not enough.
I really wish there was a medium armor set that looked like the attached image (red and black set). I saw an NPC with it and she was holding a bow, which made me believe medium armor since the texture looked like leather.
But yes, the only good medium armor sets are (not including racial) :
A free to play game going down hill after 3 months with 2 large upcoming patches in both December and Jan? Right after a large content/holiday patch in October and November? Yeah…..Uh.
You can figure it out. If you’re over the game, then you’re over the game. Come back in 6 or 12 months if you feel like it, see where it’s at then.
There is no holy trinity of typical tanks/healers but there ARE “Supports” and yes, they make dungeons 100% easier. The higher you get into fractals, the more you realize you should have a support.
Also, some classes fill the support role better than others, with out a doubt.
My Ranger’s longbow “Rapid Fire” get’s obstructed for no reason all of the time. It’s rare when it’s not. It’s the root of all my hate for Longbow.
But don’t fear, Thieves also have this problem with their Pistol “Unload.” Actually, any ranged Physical Projectile that channels has that problem above all other skills. It’s the most noticeable, anyways.
Yes. Then again, I was never apart of the hate train either. I thought a lot of the community uproar was filled with blind and ignorant rage. It was painful to read the forums. Even if I didn’t agree with some of the changes, some of the crying was just too much and overly dramatic for my tastes.
Guardians – Longbow Warrior – 2H Axe (but otherwise nothing else because they have so many options as is) Ranger – Rifle Engineer – 2h Hammer Thieves – Offhand Sword (I don’t get why they can’t dual wield these to begin with, yet a Mesmer can) Mesmer – Mainhand Pistol Necromancer – Greatsword Elementalist – Torch (I thought it was weird they couldn’t use one to begin with. You know…since they have fire on hand)
I don’t care for Mesmer’s in PVE. Their utilities are pretty cool and their Time Warp elite is amazing, but I’m not going to go out of my way to bring one. Their AOE DPS capabilities, buggy clones and direct damage just doesn’t out-shine other professions outside of their Time Warp. I’d rather consistent raw DPS classes.
Currently, my group is Fractal LVL 9. We are running a Support Guardian, 2 Greatsword Warriors, 1 Glass cannon Staff Elementalist, 1 Grenade Engineer. Everything dies as if they’re normals and any attackable objects die within seconds thanks to the Engineer and Ele. Large AOE fights are also a joke.
So, to answer your question, I’d probably leave out a Necro and Ranger above anything else.
/EDIT
Oh and I’d probably leave out Thieves unless I knew them. It’s really hard to find a good Thief that won’t lay on their back for most of the fight.
@Krojack
On the contrary, “stowing” it is actually helping us and fixing a lot of issues that fixing the Pet AI won’t fix. For example, it’d help against multiple AOE/PVE Boss fights in addition to it helping in WVWVW. There’s so many situations where a pet is just a nuisance regardless of it’s broken AI that having a “Stow” mechanic would fix those problems.
I agree that the Pet AI needs fixing no matter what, but again, it won’t solve our other problems.
And to answer your question, you can always use your pet. If you want to use a pet, use it. If I don’t want to use a pet, give me the option. No one’s trying to take your pet away from you. I don’t even know how you came to that conclusion. =\
The tools who follow the next-big-MMO will move on like mindless sheep but that’s no different from what they normally do. However, they’re welcomed to wonder back because unlike their past MMOs, they don’t have to pay $15 to start playing again. That’s the beauty of it.
@Krojack
So, because you don’t like something, there shouldn’t even be an option for the people who hate it? Listen, they’re not going to fix the pet AI for a very long time because
1) They only have 2 people working on class balance, God knows how many people they have working on Core issues. Pet AI is a core fix, not a simple “Ranger only” fix. All pets / minions are that silly.
2) There hasn’t even been attempts at pet AI fixes since Beta (I believe?). Do you really think you’re going to start seeing them anytime soon? Probably within the same patch that they buff Signets and Spirits. Oh wait…
3) In situations like WvWvW when you’re guarding a keep, your pet is worthless and will die to simple AOES. Having a Stow option for DPS boost (for example) will help you.
^ Honestly though, I hope Anet proves me wrong.
Also, I can’t roll an Engineer. I love bows, they don’t even use one. I did however roll a Thief, but I liked the general idea of a Ranger more (I believe they were described as “unparalleled archers” – which ironically is missing the word “bad” inbetween “unparalleled” and “archers”)
I think if Anet did anything right, they’d give us a “Lone Ranger” option and let us stow our pets for a stat boost (IE: 15% more damage, 25% Movement speed increase). Then just have it so you can’t un-stow your pet while in combat, so it’s not abused in PVP. In addition, put a 1 minute cooldown (just an example) on stowing.
The choice should be there. I think if they did this, I’d start playing my Ranger again, despite all of it’s bugs because it would make me less kittened for having a bad pet AI / mechanic. Getting a stat boost might also fix the kittened Longbow damage and compensate for the Shortbow auto attack nerf, among other lower damaged weapons.
PS: I also don’t think it’d be too difficult to code since they recently added this mechanic to Conjured Weapons for Elementalists. In addition, pet AI wasn’t great in GW1 so don’t event bet on it being any good here, let alone fixed for a very long time.
LVL80 Warrior’s can hit 20k+ easily with Hundred Blades in exotics (that are NOT built for glass cannon). They’re amazing at PVE. Bring a Warrior into a group with Hundred Blades. Then, remove them and do the instance again. It will go slower. I’ve seen it happen countless of times. Not many classes can fill the DPS gap a Greatsword warrior will leave behind in a Dungeon.
Good read. I must admit, I was raging pretty hard about the lack-of-Ranger changes. I joked around a few days earlier saying “Hah! I bet it’s mostly typo/spell check fixes and a few for spirits/signets” – It turned out worse than what I expected, honestly.
Now that I’ve calmed down, I feel nothing but pity for Anet. I’m sure they’re filled with frustration and regret. I don’t think anyone’s having a good day at the office today.
I hope they redeem themselves with the content in the new dungeon and zone.
