Feedback:User/16JL/Ranger Pets: Problems and Solutions

Ranger Pets: Problems and Solutions Okay, so I have watched practically every video possible of Guild Wars 2 on youtube: demos, manifesto, concept art, etc. And made this based on observation.

I couldn't help but notice how weak the Ranger pets are. They kept dieing, and needed to be healed often and continuous revival because it kept dieing and are too weak.

In a lot of the videos it only took a few hits from enemies and its dead. Pets cant even handle one enemy by itself, In other games like WoW they could tank at least one group(maybe like 3 enemies) while the hunter does dps. In this case Pets should be able to "control" at least one group.

In WoW when its a pet versus one random enemy, the pet could win easily without my help. The pet should be able to take down one enemy(as in just like a bandit, not a boss) of the same level by itself. Even necromancer minions seemed stronger than Ranger pets, which shouldn't be the case. Ranger Pets should be the most effective companion compared to all other professions.

So i think ArenaNet should make it so pets are more durable and effective, in several ways that I will soon suggest. And If Ranger pets are the main mechanic to the Ranger and are that of an importance. They should be treated as such

And if they are this weak in PvE, I could imagine how worse they will be in PvP.

Here are my suggestions to solve the problem: -Pets' Stats should be increased from a certain percentage of the Ranger's stats for example, A ranger has 700 vitality, so 10% of the Ranger's vitality will be added to the Pet's. This will make the Pet more proportionally stronger, but not too Over-powered, you could adjust the percentage to make it more balanced.

- Pet's 5th skill slot reserved for pet self-heal: In a lot of the videos the Ranger has to keep healing the pet and at the same time trying to fight and roll away from enemies. Which is an inconvenience and a burden, so I think all pets should have a 5th skill slot reserved for self-healing just like players have for themselves. Maybe Bears could have a skill called "Hibernate". Which Heals over time..

Or Pets should be just given better health regeneration in and out of combat.(Kinda like Wolverine's healing factor)

- I also think Rangers should have the choice to micro-manage the skills of the pet. Not just the behavior and commands.

-Give Pets their own Trait lines: Currently Players have one trait line for the Pet called "Beast Mastery", but I think Pets should be given several lines of Traits for the Pet, just like the Player has for himself. For example, they could be have a trait line for their types of Damage/DPS (AOE, DOT, more CONTROL,adding more skill effects,ETC), Durability (More health, quicker skill recharge, etc), maybe another trait line for support, and several more trait lines you could possibly come up with. This way Pets are much more versatile and effective in combat.

Maybe not all pets have the same set of trait lines. A bear could have a completely different set of trait lines from a Moa, or a Shark, if you want to make each Pet unique from one another.

- I also think Preparations should be able to buff the pets as well, Not just the Ranger.

- There are those people who don't like pets at all, and sometimes would like to play without them. But ArenaNet has stated pets will be the Rangers main mechanic, so options to dismiss your pet will most likely not be available. But lets say if your pet was to die, to compensate for the "lack of pet" at that moment, the Ranger should be given a temporary buff while the pet is "defeated". Buffs maybe like "increase speed" or "damage buff", etc. Until your pet is revived.

-Additional pet damage effects: Just like different pets could play different roles, bear-control, shark-damage/dps, Moa- support. They could do different damage effects, for example: Bear attacks have a 20% chance to cripple. Dog attacks have 30% chance to cause bleeding. Moa attacks have 23% chance to blind. Devourers have 66% chance to poison. And so on and so forth. So its kinda like each pet has their own "Racial Skill" or in this case "Racial/Animal Effect".

-Improve AI- Pets, unlike players, pets can't roll/dodge. So in order for pets to compensate, other than improving its durability, they should have smarter AI, to move around a bit more while in combat and to use skills more wisely. Coz most of the time they just stand there exchanging blows with enemies.

Basically what I'm trying to say is, Pets should be less of a pet(lame meat shield), and more like an equal player that you get to control.

In other words, Pets in Guild Wars 2 should just be as customizable and combat efficient as Heroes were in Guild Wars 1. (besides the armor and weapons ofcourse cause Pets can't wear/use them :P lol)But I think you get the drift...