Guild Wars 2

1) Anet didn’t want Rangers to throw traps like “Grenades.”

2) 240 default and 360 with Nature’s Vengeance. Yes, the actives will function the same, granted the actives received a few buffs. No player with a brain would walk into that radius. Most likely scenario is casting something like Storm Spirit in a middle of a contested point and detonate it as soon as you pop it. Spirit-Bomb niche incoming!

3) No idea. Honed Axes during the original AMA had 20% reduced recharge for all axe skills. Last we heard, off-hand training range was made baseline. Speculation why those 2 notes were absent during the recent update is chalked up to oversight and Josh crunching over 200 power point slides solo up until the stream began.

4) Unsure due to the wording. Might be only for SB, might be for everything. Either way, it’s being discussed in other threads, including suggestions of what others would like to see.

5) Most likely for Rangers to choose a condi removal GM trait according to their build. Personally, this bothered me a bit. After taking awhile stewing about it, EB and WK together isn’t so bad. If you take Survival Utilities, than WK will be the trait of choice. If not, EB is the clear choice.

I hope Druid gets another option, too.

6) No confirmed details, though one dev let it slip that one spirit may grant Stability. I hope they use meaningful boons as well. For a GM trait and only 1s every 3s, Resistance, Aegis, Quickness, and Stability better be among the chosen boons.

7) Will most likely share the same CD as Search and Rescue with possible synergy to lower the ICD and grant boons with Resounding Timbre.

8) No idea. Ferocity isn’t even that fitting for Axe mainhand in general, so your guess is as good as any.

9) ½ second cast time to lay down HS, another ½ second for it to “arm” itself, then it opens up when triggered by you or an ally. The dev seemed confused though on whether or not it will trigger when you have full health.

A lot of Rangers wished only for HS to receive the trap category to synergize with Trapper’s Expertise (mainly for the reduced cd), but we got the full package instead. Go figure! But it opens up the possibility of procing back-to-back Healing Springs. Not practical in PvE or WvW zergs, but it’s an option elsewhere.

10) Unsure. See the second half of #3.

11) Very interesting question. I never thought about Quick Draw being wasted and procing on the AA…

Klonko.8341:

Light on your feet should somthing that makes you run faster while carrying a shortbow. Lets say perma swiftness or super speed on evade. That would help flanking.

AND IS IT ME OR RANGER SHOULD BE THE ONE ONE CLASS THAT MOVE QUICKLY? After all its in their lore. Wandering in the forest as nimble as an elf. Thats how I see it lol. And we have a clunky and slow set of weapon.

+1. I’d trade in the 5% condition duration on dodge for a flat 25% movement speed while wielding a shortbow for LoYF.

You know what would make MDG actually dangerous? Change the buff to 1 second of Fury every second when below 50% health. Chalk that synergy with Remorseless and Enlargement and you have a kill or be killed by a low hp Ranger.

I also noticed the Axe recharge rate was removed on this iteration of patch notes for Honed Axes. If so, was there a reason the 20% reduced CD would be left out when all other weapons in every profession have some sort of recharge implemented?

Again, I hope most of the details presented during the AMA Livestream that were absent in the recent update changes were oversights.

I share the sentiment if TU, RaO, and HaO weren’t going to have a category. It’s a complete 180 on their part. I’m hoping this was just an oversight as well.

Agreed with everything. I still believe Poison Master should be merged with Refined Toxins and placed at a Master tier to compete with Ambidexterity. These traits should present hard choices and competition with one another to define builds.

Going for more general condition damage among all conditions vs focusing solely on poison application and damage should be the choice in the Master tier of Wilderness Survival for condition-based builds.

It will offer more diversity in terms of weapon choice, runes/sigils, and would allow those said condition builds to choose Empathic Bond or Wilderness Knowledge depending on if Survival utilities are taken.

My 2 cents to add to this thread.

None of us can figure out why they removed OS from the Signet trait. They were SO excited about the synergy it would provide with other traits, then decided to 180 and trash the concept.

As for merging Predator’s Instinct into Onslaught, sure. Knock in another trait that states “Gain Opening Strike when activating a signet.” It’s small but at least there would be another option for synergy besides Clarion Bond for builds in the Adept slots.

I’m with you there about Natural Vigor. I missed it when it was 50% endurance regeneration, too. I agree that it should be looked at again, but I’m also weary of that since they did look at it again and nerfed it.

This is going to be a stretch on Anet’s reasoning why 2HT and Honed Axes are in BM, so bear with me a bit. Both of those weapons have a skill that affects the pet, Hilt Bash and Winter’s Bite, respectively. Not saying that’s the actual reason, it’s just a guess on why those traits are there.

As for sharing Signet of the Wild passive with allies, it’s a good start on the idea. Would probably remove the ICD and on dodge at that point and keep it a constant.

Yeah, Poison Master got nerfed, but I didn’t suggest Refined Toxin merged into Poison Master. It was the other way around so Poison Master would compete with Ambidexterity instead in the Master tier.

There’s no way Rangers would take Poison Master as a GM even if Refined Toxins was merged into it, save the minor niche it appeals to. It’s better off competing with something along the same lines rather than being sandwiched between condition removals.

Edit: Also, Refined Toxins is rather pathetic. By comparison:

• Thief’s Dagger Training: Dagger Training: Dagger attacks have a 33% chance to poison enemies for 2 seconds.
• Ranger’s Refined Toxins: While you are above 90% health your strikes inflict 6s of poison. While your pet’s health is above 90% its strikes inflict 6s of poison. This trait has a 10 second internal cooldown.

Refined Toxin should share the same applications of “chance on hit” as well instead of a health threshold and ICD. As it stands, every 10 seconds we are limited to, at most, applying Poison to 2 targets (assuming the pet hits the other) but only when above 90% health. Thieves will be able to apply it without an ICD on multiple targets without a health threshold gate.

Maybe so, but they at least lowered the ICD down to 18s from 30s. Probably made the threshold lower to “compensate.” (About Rejuvenation)

I still don’t care much for MDG, even if they buffed it from its past iteration. As a GM trait in trait line about critical hit chance, I’d opt for a straight-up bonus +50% crit chance when below 50% health.

At least then the trait would be “dangerous,” be more risk/reward when lingering under 50% hp, and would open up gear possibilities to drop a bit of precision.

1) I’m okay with where RT and PW are. Not sure how I would feel if shout recharge was in Nature Magic when it fits in Beastmastery.

2) Only thing about Honed Axes that could be made baseline would be the AOE Winter’s Bite. After seeing the updates in store, Anet seems dead set to keep it there as the defining feature to make Honed Axes a GM status trait.

3) Natural Vigor shouldn’t require a trait to make it better, period. Also, what if a Ranger slots in Signet of the Wild and dodges? Don’t think double stacking a passive health regen would be allowed (even tho it’s rather weak). I would suggest something like Super Speed, but QZ pretty much has that covered now.

4) With how they backtracked in Strider’s Defense, 2HT seems better off on its own and in BM to me. Plus, GS will most likely become a thing in PvE with Quick Draw. If it’s lumped in with Strider’s Defense, it will never see the light of day since PvE Rangers would rather slot Spotter for group support over it.

Ideas seem like they come from a good place though. They just need a bit more refinement. Cheers.

Sharpened Edges and Hidden Barbs
These two traits should be merged together. Other professions have traits that work similarly as minor traits while Rangers have them as 2 separate traits.

Poison Master and Refined Toxins
This GM trait is still in a bind, overshadowed by 2 condition removal traits that compliment different builds that decide to either take or not take Survival utilities.

Merge Poison Master down with Refined Toxins in the Master tier so Rangers can have a competitive choice between focusing heavily into Poison with Poison Master or gaining overall condition damage with shorter cooldowns for Torch and Dagger with Ambidexterity.

Thoughts?

Last I checked, the -5% damage reduction from Oakheart Salve only applies for the Ranger.

Oakheart Salve: Gain 5s of regeneration when you suffer from bleeding, poison or burning. While under the effects of regeneration you take 5% less damage. This trait has a 10 second internal cooldown.

1) Even if it does stack, why does Ranger get the short-stick on the duration compared to all other professions that received a similar buff mechanic with limited duration?

• Guardian: Invigorating Bulwark – 10s
• Mesmer: Harmonious Mantra – 8s
• Necromancer: Corrupter’s Fervor – 8s
• Warrior: Furious – 8s
• Elementalist: Elemental Surge – 15s
• Ranger: Light on Your Feet – 4s

2) Until a Dev specifies, the wording makes it look like it can work with anything.

There’s still time for some tweaks, changes, and adjustments. Though there is potential for LoYF, that duration for the bonus needs to be increased.

Yes. I’m taking it with a grain of salt, though. It’s good, but I can’t help but feel that the new Bark Skin was Anet’s solution to give that -50% AOE damage we wanted for our pets when sending them into a zerg or bosses that spam deadly AOEs.

Poison Volley aside, I feel Hidden Barbs and Sharpened Edges should be merged. Seems like a waste of a trait slots when every other class has similar traits as minors.

Yeah, the shortbow changes went from decent to garbage. Not sure who thought 5% condition duration for 4sec after dodging would be of any use when Engineers receive a trait that allows +50% condition duration for pistol skills without needing to proc for it.

I want to say this was a “best-case scenario” oversight, but when Engineer’s (apologies to drag the class into this) auto attack on pistol can synergize with multiple explosion traits, including Shrapnel – Ranger shortbow pales far in comparison, even if we did take Sharpened Edges and Hidden Barbs (which Engineers get similar traits as minors), and use something like Krait Runes.

Just now reading over the changes again. Didn’t even notice Peak Strength gone. Looks like they moved that bonus into Loud Whistle but only for the pet? Oh, kittens.

Edit: Feeling even worse looking over NM for PvE. I don’t see any redeeming traits outside of Fortifying Bond and Nature’s Bounty. I have a feeling I might take BM regardless, even if my pet does lose out on buffs.

Sadly, that’s what it seems to be. We’re at a catch 22 at the moment and forced to take Quick Draw. Micromanage Fury sources and have higher burst at the right moments or do consistent damage on everything with a bit less micromanaging, but lose out on higher bursts.

Until testing can be done, WS and BM seem to be a toss up as well. Is Peak Strength enough to offset the extra stat and damage increase from the pet, and 3 seconds of Quickness every 16 seconds?

Companion’s Might is the current trait PvE Rangers take now in Skirmishing. Since Nature Magic is a bust with the new traits, we’ll lose Fortifying Bond. If we take WS, we lose out on Companion’s Might as well.

I still believe Predator’s Onslaught would be the go-to PvE trait over Remorseless. The +25% burst on a single hit is shoddy at best vs +10% damage uptime for us and our pet.

The other half of Remorseless is rendered useless in above average groups since vulnerability will be easy to retain the cap due to class trait changes. Dragon Hunter alone is a beast with “Big Game Hunter” and even a “Bitter Chill” Reaper with the right food will be able to sustain the cap without effort.

PvE Rangers got shafted on this one.

Zorby.8236:

Pulse 1s boon per 3 s, so useful.

I’ll just copy/past what I said about that in the other thread.

I’m overly cautious about the “1s boon every 3s” description. They mentioned that a boon could be might, and that one spirit may offer Stability.

All I can say is that 1s of Might would be pathetic, even if it was a decent stack size, so I am hoping they use more meaningful and powerful boons for a GM status such as Stability, Resistance, Quickness, Fury, and Aegis.

Oh, geez. I didn’t even notice the increased Spirit cooldown. Well kitten…

I doubt it, too. SD probably will never see proper change only because they love Most Dangerous Game so much. For such a weak trait concept, they sure are patting themselves on the back for it.

Yeah, PVE Rangers will be taking Quick Draw, as it is now the only viable trait in the GM slot of Skirmishing. Even if the +10% damage bonus was added back, it’s competing with Spotter, which is the Ranger go-to unique group buff.

At that point, Strider’s Defense will be again shunned unless there are multiple Rangers in a group. Only way to make it work is add back the +10% damage bonus, then swap places with Most Dangerous Game.

anduriell.6280:

Just a funny question Does anybody EVER used this trait for the projectile block?
We had a discussion like this on this forum before and the community stablish that 50% chance of destroying projectiles with *melee weapon is mostly idiotic. Would would hit attack into the thin air when a projectile you don’t see is coming?
I foresee this trait will be left in the oblivion of useless trash the ranger knows too well.
This trait should become a passive : WHEN equiped melee weapon 25% of proyectiles are blocked.

The projectile destruction was just a bonus for taking Strider’s Defense in its redesign. The main appeal was the former attached +10% damage modifier when equipping a Sword. Now that it’s gone, there is no real use in taking it anyway, especially with only a 25% chance.

That’s just the way they have it work out. To a lv80 with everything unlocked, it’s not going to matter, but traits are tiered off the way they are for the leveling experience. Take it for what it is.

Shame that Strider’s Defense could not keep it’s original redesign, though, I understand why they had to remove the +10% damage and reduce the 50% chance to 25% as a Master trait instead of GM.

Traps appear well adjusted and Trapper’s Expertise to match. 2 seconds of cripple, knockdown on Spike Trap, and all traps will have increased pulsing damage. All nice.

Nature’s Vengeance received the buff it needed to be the “One-Stop-Shop” Spirit trait, but I’m overly cautious about the “1s boon every 3s” description. They mentioned that a boon could be might, and that one spirit may offer Stability.

All I can say is that 1s of Might would be pathetic, even if it was a decent stack size, so I am hoping they use more meaningful and powerful boons for a GM status such as Stability, Resistance, Quickness, Fury, and Aegis.

Overall, pretty happy with the revamps. Instinctual Bond could still use a “Converts 1 condition on allies into a boon” attached to it and Most Dangerous Game is still not dangerous.

Daze for Storm Spirit was also suggested on the forums, as well as Spirits pulsing boons with Nature’s Vengeance. Looks like they do read the forums!

Edit: Also, a “destroy” command for Spirit. I recall someone posting about wanting that since they can’t move to force a reset mid-combat. Pop that active and reset it!

Yeah. Even though Strider’s Defense competes with Quick Draw in the PvP scene, I believe other GM traits require more attention. At least SD has potential to shine in multiple modes, but Nature’s Vengeance and Poison Master appear to have little to no chance to see usage, save for Poison Master, which may find a small niche.

Also, just to get things back on track, yes. Hide In Plain Sight. Bring it back, Anet.

Again, Strider’s Defense is more for PvE and dealing with a +1 that’s ranging you, be it another player or a summon of some sort (Thief Ambush add that spams Unload comes to mind). Though somewhat lacking in some modes, it has its uses in others.

Bran.7425:

Also as it needs mentioning again why is the radius increase on traps still part of the trap trait it is like they didn’t know what else to do with the trait and left in a part that shoul have been baseline.

Roy did point out during the AMA that the radius increase should be baseline with traps. Would match Dragon Hunter trap radius at that point. I just thought it was interesting the Ranger specialist thought to leave the radius increase as a part of the trait while the Warrior specialist suggested it as baseline. #Roy4Ranger

A lot of the traits have a place somewhere in some game mode. Such things such as Remorseless might be taken more than Predator’s Onslaught in PvP, but will also probably rarely be taken in the PvE scene. As far as I see things, the only traits that don’t really have a place anywhere are: Trapper’s Defense, Healer’s Celerity, and Nature’s Vengeance.

Mercy Rune builds on any class were never a thing, save for those few persons that like to only res, an old Master tier Spirit trait bumped to GM that was never buffed with non-moving Spirits has less use than before, and laying a trap to res.

Only the WS GM slots are messed up since Poison Master is practically locked between 2 condition removals, and between the two, WK seems to be the better choice for the majority of people.

On the note of Strider’s Defense, it can’t have the RNG of projectile destruction taken away without an ICD added. Defensive -% damage traits tend to lie within defensive lines with other classes, Skirmishing is themed to be offensive in Anet’s eyes. It’s fine where it is. As for Predator’s Onslaught, only suggestion I’ve seen that would be a sensible buff was to make the damage % increase depending on the debuff.

With how Anet themes their traits, 10% across the soft CCs is fine, and a 20% increase towards dazed and stun targets is the only acceptable way without making the trait too powerful.

Trapper’s Defense is a rather lame trait. It serves as one of two Revival traits and is rarely, if ever, taken. Rather than see it disappear entirely, here is a poll of possible ways to rework Trapper’s Defense.

Some of these suggestions maybe underpowered or overpowered, but take a look and select one that seems the most “balanced” or “appealing” to you. If you have another idea in mind to improve/rework Trapper’s Defense outside of the poll suggestions, feel free to post it!

Rework Trapper’s Defense Poll

That’s what most people are guessing. They release the new traits and system for core specs soon, players test, give feedback, and they will tweak just before the xpac.

Also, every class has those downed/fall damage/res traits. Rangers just happen to have an extra res trait =/ At least Soften the Fall is taken by people that zerg WvW sometimes. Trapper’s Defense on the other hand… ugh.

Agreed that Hide in Plain Sight should be added into Shared Anguish. As for the duration of Stealth, it can remain the same. Tacking on Hide in Plain Sight would be icing on the cake, so (to me) there’s no need to compensate.

It’s been suggested many times by the community. I hope Anet will at the very least grant Rangers this. While we are on the topic, kiwituatara.6053 suggested this before and included a nice concept of boon & condition location on the UI.

Disclaimer: Image modified by kiwituatara.6053 / original thread

Yeah, “Guard!” needs to have the cast time removed. Or, at the very least, change the animation to that ¼ second hand gesture that Necros use to place Wells. At least then it could appear as though we are directing our pet to go to the targeted location and isn’t 1 full second.

Depends on the encounter. I don’t exactly know which encounter you speak of, but for the most part, you can res a downed ally at max res range and use them as a body block for incoming attacks for a safe res. Again, situation varies, but more times than not, using PBS to “save” a teammate in PVE is still a bad move.

Using it to strip defiance is the only time PBS should be used, but I find that if a the party has a decent thief, more times than not, it can mess things up if a thief does multiple Headshots and you PBS in the same time frame – resetting the defiance stacks.

Been in a group where there was a hammer Warrior (lol) used their CC while the thief did the exact amount of headshots to break off the remaining defiance to setup a deep freeze. Even though I was using Sword the entire fight, I still got the blame for using PBS. kitten ed if you do, kitten ed if you don’t!

Yep. Place an Embellished Brilliant Jewel in a Lv78 back item and you come out a couple of points ahead of a Lv80 exotic back item with an Exquisite Jewel in it. Plus, the Lv78 ones come with an Infusion slot and are account bound vs soul bound Lv80 exotic back items. Easier to get started adding infusions, agony resistance, or using later for a new character once you have upgraded.

Dusk from Vinewrath.

+1 for Super Adventure Box.

Aye, looking forward to the new rotations, too. GS and Sword/Axe with Quick Draw is the first thing I’m going to test out with pet swapping for quickness. That is, unless Staff on Druid and its elite spec offers something more. PVE, that is.

WvW on the other hand, ugh, there’s going to be so much to go through. I might have to hold off a bit so I can see the results of others when they test builds. I can only afford so many different armors and weapons…

Yeah, the ease of the rotation doesn’t change that fact. Even if the class can have a more interesting rotation, the way things are panning out (so far) it seems like that 5th spot on a team that a Ranger could usually fill in if a 2nd Ele wasn’t taken is moving further out of reach in PVE teams.

Yeah, my bad. That 1st comment was for PVE. It got me a bit confused so I had to ask since you mentioned about being aware of being stabbed. At that point I was thinking either Thief Backstab or Stability, haha!

But as for buffing part, it’s not really necessary but I love to do it anyways. I’m so used to buffing pre-fights with my Ele that I feel almost out of place if I don’t contribute. Not to say I expect every Ranger to do it, so it’s just on me.

Also, that’s what I’m hoping when the new trait update hits we get an interesting and fun PVE rotation with Quick Draw. I seriously hope things look up for us because as fun as sword is (no sarcasm, I do enjoy it), I would really like to swap between weapons mid fight vs currently where we tend to burst at the start and end with LB.

Hope you realize I’m talking about PVE. As I play both a zerker Ranger and Engie, those “few ability” sequences are much more difficult to keep in rotation during a fight than a Ranger’s.

Being zerk is all about awareness. If you wanna know who needs to do it more, try being a paper-thin Ele that can be one-shotted by most things. Least Rangers have a bit more armour and health pool :P

Thanks for the trick. Never payed enough attention to that to realize there are spot priorities when summoning. It still does not erase my want for ground targeting my Spirits though. xD

The convenience of placing a Spirit where you want from as far as 600-1200 range would be a nice QoL to using them.

I would really like Spirits to have a ground target so I can place them EXACTLY where I want them. As for adding a secondary function via right-clicking an icon, it would be a nice addition to utilities in general.

Would Anet do it? Most likely never, as that’s additional work for them to add more keybind options such as “Utility X Secondary.” Adding keybinds may not sound like a lot of work, but think about how it took Anet almost 3 years to add a keybind option for Ranger’s “Guard/Avoid Combat” and heading into HoT, Rangers still don’t have a keybind for “Stow/Activate” Pet.

He might have traited for Hide in Plain Sight and caught a CC between the Hunter’s Shots. Was more entertained by the fight. Good job, btw.

Edit: His pets were Black Widow Spider and a Siamoth. Can’t tell too much from his build. I didn’t see him lose conditions when he used LR, so he didn’t take SotF.

Didn’t even think Zerker Rangers need to pull off keyboard gymnastics. Barrage → Rapid Fire → auto attack on sword and using Path of Scars on cooldown that difficult?

I play Engineer myself, and the DPS rotation of a Ranger is a like a World Boss afk fight vs the triple kit fiasco Engineers have to pull off.