Game Mode – PvX, Mostly PvE
Proposal Overview
The one feature about the Ranger as a whole that seems to always pop up and cause the most amount of problems for both balancing and freedom of play is the pet. My proposal is simple, remove the pet as the F-key feature for the profession.
Goal of Proposal
The over all goal of this proposal is to remove the negative aspects of the pet as it is now from the ranger and move it to a more manageable home under the utility skills such as how necromancer minions work. In place of the pet under the F-keys a new system that is both indicative of the old ranger from gw1 as well as allowing the ranger to be different from every generic pet archer class from any other mmo.
Proposal functionality
The way this proposal functions is simple take the pet system as is which is a unique and hard balancing project that right now only affects the rangers and move it to sync with a system that is already being balanced and is balanced over several other professions, A.K.A. the minion/summon system. Take all pets, dumb them down to be of minion status, rework all shouts. One of the new shouts will, like necromancer minion skills, summon the pet, once the pet is summoned it uses it’s basic attack, as they are now or reworked and that is it. When the skill is activated again while the pet is summoned it uses a special attack or ability, just like necromancer minions do, this replaces either the original F2 key skill for the pet, or the pet’s own secondary attack skill it auto used. To better expand upon the ability to be a beast master for those who still wish to or had an interest in it, Rampage as One would be reworked to summon a pet similar in strength to the necromancer’s flesh golem elite.
The left over 3 shouts would have new dual functions. With no pet summoned they do an animation that, for a single attack, summons some critter to come and execute an ability then said critter disappears, similar to the norn call owl racial skill. This allows them to be used with out a pet summoned and lend to the beast master mentality. With a pet summoned how ever, the skills would change to activate a secondary, tertiary or other attack of the selected pet. This allows specialization in the pets as well as keeping the pet menu and pet types completely intact. The separation between a normal utility skill and an elite skill allows the menu to keep it’s Dual pet functionality, but instead of selecting a pet to swap to you are selecting a normal pet and an elite pet.
As for the F-keys, I propose they be changed to a core functionality of how the ranger should be based on the guild wars universe, preparations. The premise is this, F1-3 would be used because I feel 4 would be too many. The core design is similar in function to a hybrid of the elementalist attunement system and the guardian’s virtue of justice. You can only have 1 preparation attuned at a time, when under that preparation, every so many attacks/hits you take/what ever other mechanic you wish to try, triggers an effect, a boon a condition. Nothing over powered but something that does stand out. Second function is this when activating a preparation it goes on a sizable cool down, probably atleast 30-45 seconds if not 60. For that duration so many attacks, hits you take, or what ever, automatically trigger said effect, giving the ranger control over a situation in a tight fix and for a short amount of time. Activating a preparation triggers a universal short cool down of about 5-10 seconds on the other preparations so that a Ranger cannot just blow preparations one after another or jump around to them willy nilly with no consequences.
The last part of this proposal has you combine the now much uneeded beast mastery tree with the nature tree or hybrid it into a new Expertise tree in it’s place that changes the boost to pet attributes to either a cool down reduction to preparations or an increase in duration/uses. Which ever works or balances better.
Associated Risks This is a huge over haul to the ranger and a complete change of how it works now, currently the ranger is entirely too much about the pet and this would liberate it from that, it also adds in a different set of mechanics to tune and balance which may or may not be easy. The biggest risk is that this frees the ranger from the damage reduction it gets due to having a permanent pet, which may disrupt where other professions find themselves with dps in comparison to the ranger.
As a final note, I’m terribly sorry if this ran a bit to long or was too convoluted, thank you to every one who took the time to read it.