ArenaNet:Guild Wars 2 suggestions/Bows

'''The following is a compilation of suggestions related to Bows. Add your idea here if it is different from the following:'''

Bows Firing At Melee (Discussion)
In real-life it is difficult for someone to load a bow when engaged by a Melee character. Bows should be less effective at Melee range.


 * Why this is a good idea
 * It's more realistic.


 * Why it may not work out
 * When approached in melee you'd have no choice but to also melee which the character may not be set up for.
 * Point Blank Shot is current and has a similar effect.
 * Maybe not less effective, an arrow just fired is going to have more momentum than an arrow fired a minute ago, maybe they could be less accurate due to the confusion and panic of battle
 * Does not necessary have to be realistic as long as the skills are balance. If realistic is in question, one could have a poison barbed fiery arrow.

Shoot While Running
Rangers should be able to shoot while running. This would add a much more exciting and realistic approach to archery. To keep the game balanced, shots fired while moving could be less accurate or do less damage.


 * Why this is a good idea
 * This may already be in the game if Mount are in Guild Wars 2
 * Highly possible that it already is in the game. (need to find the interview)
 * Running While Shooting Is Not Unrelistic, Hard But It Can Be Done
 * Why it may not work out
 * No profession is able to attack on the move.
 * Would make kiting way too easy since you don't even need a snare.

The Impact of Arrows
Players who get shot by a bow can also have an arrow stuck in his or her body for a short period of time. This would add realism and a creative detail that most mmorpgs don't possess. There could be an arrow in the chest if shot once in the chest, or two if shot twice, up to 4 or 5 to prevent a messy look. After the player is no longer receiving damage, he or she could break the arrows off as a bonus.


 * Why this is a good idea
 * Adds realism
 * Visually appealing


 * Why it may not work out
 * How would the arrow disappear?
 * ^Great example of why people need to READ^ (I'll give you a hint- they break them off)
 * With 'realism' comes a self-inflicted deep wound condition..... I'll pass on that. Keep it simple, please. Leave the point-blank arrow mechanics as they are. It's only a game.

Melee Feature for Bows
For defensive purposes, rangers should be able to use small blades when being attacked in melee. The blades could be curved, straight, serrated, just like any blade. An option might be to make these spike-attachments interchangeable, just like inscriptions.

I would say instead of blades just be able to use your bow to hit and block with like a staff or a bat. Have a very low melee damage attached to them when in melee range. Could have stun or knockdown effects when used for melee so you have a chance to retreat.


 * Why this is a good idea
 * Allows Bow-wielders to defend themselves in melee.
 * Could be used in a trailer to portray an awesome type of ranger, almost berserker-ish.
 * Kind of like the Lord of the Rings?


 * Why it may not work out
 * Could make rangers almost like warriors, if it isn't implemented responsibly.
 * Might require a more detailed weapon model, and spikes might need their own vendor in-game.
 * Which attribute would the melee skills and damage be derived from; If a new attribute was created this would force virtually all rangers to spread their attribute points thin.
 * Would create imbalanced game play causing all classes to have both a ranged and melee skill line (i.e. "let's give warriors a ranged attack").
 * There is a reason rangers have a variety of defensive stances and paragons have a higher armor rating.

Increase Bow Shooting Range
In GW1 Rangers feel out gunned by all the magic classes (i.e. Necromancer, Elementalist, Monk, Mesmer, Ritualist) in the fact that the Rangers don't shoot that much farther than them. In GW1 it seems that bow weapons only have a couple extra yards of attack range compared to all the staffs and wands. It makes the Ranger and its bows feels weak, especially since the magic skills of the magic classes are much more powerful than ranger skills.

Other than the Warrior, Paragon, Dervish, and the Assassin, every character can easily fulfill the role as the "Puller". Another problem is that half of the character classes in GW1 have a huge range of attack. This is especially true with players who only have Prophecies. This is considering the Elementalist, Monk, Necromancer, Mesmer, Warrior and Ranger.

In GW2, they should make the magic class weapons have less range (or possibly even make their weapons melee to further make the magic classes rely on their skills) and make the bows have more attack range in order to fully exemplify and explore the usefulness of the Ranger class.

The Main Point is to make the bow have much more range than the other classes, whether it be by decreasing magic weapons range, increasing bow shot range or both.


 * Why this is a good idea
 * Makes the Ranger more useful.
 * Balances out the respective attack range of each of the classes.
 * Gives back the "Puller" role to the respective class.
 * Longer bow range is realistic.


 * Why this is a bad idea
 * May make the Ranger overly-powerful. (i.e. Exaggeratedly so when a Ranger faces AI mobs that will just sit there and be shot without fighting back or confronting the Ranger.)
 * Taking away the range of the magic class weapons may be unfavorable. This is just a consideration. (It is much preferred that bow range is increased.)
 * With a longer attack range, ranger effectiveness could vary wildly depending on the map's terrain.
 * Because Elementalists and Mesmers already have to be much closer to use skills on enemies than rangers.
 * A ranger isn't supposed to 'out-gun' an elementalist. (But it is done anyway because some folks know how to use a ranger to maximize their damage output)

arrows as offhand
I taught it would be interesting and more realistic if the rangers could have arrows as a "offhand" it would be realy cool if there were different kind of arrows like at the beginning you could have just wooden arrows and than iron, silver... arrows. irons arrows should do more DMG then the wooden arrows, but less then the silver ones and so on.... And arrows should have diferent looks.


 * Why this is a good idea
 * more realistic


 * more "wepons"


 * more interesting


 * Could work well in melee along with the bow as stated above


 * Why it may not work out
 * there are skills like Glass Arrows and this can be a problem.
 * Ranger class would become more expensive having to purchase different types of arrows, or else all non max types will be unused due to the fact that they are weaker

Crossbows
Rangers should be as versatile as possible, without exceeding at anything. They have Debilitating Shot, which causes the target to lose energy, while energy denial is done better by a Mesmer. A Ranger can be a good addition to the team if there isn't a slot for everything that's needed in a team.

Enter the crossbow: it has a lower minimum damage and a higher maximum damage than the normal bow (like the scythe), and has a longer reload time (which makes it unfit for fast condition spread or interrupting for example). The crossbow can have it's own attack skills (making a difference between Bow Attack and Crossbow Attack). This way, a Ranger that wants to interrupt can't use the high damage attack skills (those would be Crossbow Attacks), while a damage dealing Ranger can't get the condition and interrupting skills of the normal bow Ranger (which would fall under Bow Attacks). Balancing would be easier thanks to the splitting of Ranger types (the damage dealer and the support Ranger).


 * Why this is a good idea
 * It adds to the capabilities of a Ranger without causing imbalance.
 * If the crossbow is over- or underpowered, it'd be fixable with a nerf/buff without affecting the balance of the normal bow.
 * There are already crossbow-like seige weapons, yet no actual crossbows.


 * Why it may not work out
 * Without good capabilities, it'd be looked down upon, and simply never used.