Hi all! I took it upon myself to try and start a video and commentary series of all of this cluttered GW2 info. This will help visitors to this forum by getting their information in one 4-8 minute video with graphics and my own narration. I use only info that has been offically released by ANET with ANET's own examples from interviews and ANET's Offical GW2 Website. I do have some input of some strong possibilities, but I do say that we don't know it offically yet. Any gray areas I leave totally out, like what are the other 7 professions going to be.
Special thanks to JR for making the video animation.
Special thanks to Malchior Devenholm for helping with the news gathering, and Izari for being on the PodCast team!
Special thanks to Avoc for the new rendered background which I hope to use more of in the future.
(Any video that gets immediately posted on here will be converted into a better quality by YouTube after the video as been fully processed)
Hello everyone, this is Sabre Wolf with yet another Guild Wars 2 Info Update, this is episode 17. Today I talk about the Ranger Profession along with their pets. And other news and notes from the previous week. So with that stack of info to deliver to you all, let’s get straight to it!
Ranger
<video – whirling and serpent>
First of course is the 3rd profession to be released which is the Ranger. The Ranger will retain its jack of all treads master of some plaing style that was seen in Guild Wars 1. Besides the long range bow combat, Arena Net has imbedded some of the Ranger/Warrior and Ranger/Assassin abilities from Guild Wars 1 into the Guild Wars 2 version, giving them the use of Melee Weapons while retaining their good defensive abilities.
Ranger - Weapons
The weapons of the ranger will include the One handed Sword and Axe. The Offhand Dagger, Warhorn and Torch. And the Two handed Longbow, Shortbow and Greatsword.
To take a step slightly away from the Ranger for a moment, in the videos that were released by Arena Net, we got to see how a torch and War Horn would work for them.
<video – torch>
In the torch video, we see that the Ranger was able to ignite the ground in front of her. She then switch to her bow and begins to shoot through the fire setting her arrows on fire to burn her victims.
<video – warhorn>
In the War Horn video we see the Ranger summon a small flock of birds to terrorize his target. Keep in mind that ANET did say that these weapons along with others will have different skill sets depending on the profession. So these two functions shown here will not be the same for other professions like the Warrior.
Ranger - Notes
The Ranger’s Skill types will remain somewhat the same in Guild Wars 2.
They will again have the ability to summon a spirit that will act as a buff for allies or a debuff for foes.
They also have the ability to lay traps again, but unlike in Guild Wars 1, they will not be able to lay down multiples of the same trap.
Last but not least, the Ranger will again have control over a Pet which at later levels will carry its own skills. We will see a lot of the same pets in Guild Wars 2 like the Moa bird and the Bear. But we will also see newer ones like a Shark for those under water adventures. The mechanics for pets will also be changing in Guild Wars, so I’ll break those down for you.
Pets
The Ranger can have up to 3 pets at one time. So no more losing a pet to get another one like in Guild Wars 1.
The Ranger can only have one of these pets out at one time, and may swap the pet with a different one using a utility skill.
There will also be an Elite Skill called Alpha Strike, which will bring all 3 pets out at once for a big attack on a target.
There are 12 different types of pets; ranging from land animals like the Wolf, to the aquatic Shark.
And in each of these types, there will be sub-types that will affect the pet’s skills. Like a Polar Bear will have Icy Roar while a Brown Bear having Fearsome Roar. So unlick Guild Wars 1, what exact kind of pet you get will matter.
Pets level has their master (you the player) levels. And they will gain health, armor and basic attacks from that.
<change>
Pets will also evolve differently in Guild Wars 2, and can impact game play greatly.
There will be a pet evolution level cap of 20.
The pet gains points to this evolution line while it is active and as the Ranger gains XP.
At each level, the pet will gain various bonuses that will depend on what animal it is. For a bear it can be damage or a health bonus.
Also at designated evolution levels, the pet will unlock up to 4 ability slots. These slots can be filled with skills again depending on what type of animal it is.
<change>
And lastly for pets, the controls for them will be broken into two sections… Modes and Commands.
Modes
Modes are Ongoing behavioral settings the ranger can toggle on and off, much like what we saw in Guild Wars 1.
These include Aggressive, to have the pet auto attack what the ranger is attacking.
Defensive, which will make the pet wait until the ranger is attacked to attack.
And Passive which will make the pet not attack at all.
Commands
Commands are a new form of direct interaction with the pet. This will give the Ranger more control over the pet then in Guild Wars 1.
First command is Attack – which will order the pet to attack a target without you having to attack the target first.
Next is Heel, which will order the pet to come to you.
And finally Stay, which will lock the pet in that spot.
Not major controls but any means, but enough to get your pet to where you want it to be.
That will do it for Ranger and Pet news, so here are some other quick notes we learned about. First about death.
~ There will be a “Last Stand” system in Guild Wars 2. Players upon being “killed”, will first go into a downed state, where that will gain a new set of weaker skills to fight for their life.
~ While in the downed state, players will get a new consciousness bar that will degenerate on its own, and the downed player can be regularly attacked to lower it faster.
~ When the consciousness bar runs out, the player enters a defeated state; which means you cannot fight anymore.
~ Players can be revived by others in either state.
~ This system will be in both PvE and PvP. In PvE, monsters will not have a downed state to go into, but some can revive each other in the defeated state.
~ When reaching either the downed or defeated state, players will have the option to go back to a waypoint on the map for a small gold fee. If your character has no gold on them to get to a way point, it will automatically be pulled from your storage account. If you have absolutely no gold period… well, it’s one the house!
~ Their will not be a death penalty system in Guild Wars 2. ANET felt that a penalty system, minus a gold sink fee, would make the game less fun. With all this, ANET did admit that you technically cannot die in Guild Wars 2… just defeated.
Beside death, Arena Net also talked about Healing.
~ First, there will not be a dedicated healer profession in Guild Wars 2.
~ That job will be separated and embedded in several different professions in the game; along with all the professions carrying that dedicated healing skill slot for personal preservation.
~ All Professions will have the ability to revive any player.
~ Players will have the option to go support heavy if they want to. There will still be dedication to damage in some of the weapon skill areas, but some of the attack skills will be multipurpose causing damage to foes while healing allies. So fear not… the will still be a support playing style in Guild Wars 2.
<on cam>
The only other news in Guild Wars 2 I have for you is that dungeons will have five man parties. This is the exact same party size as in high-end PvP, five. And because of that, you might want to listen to our GuildMag PodCast where myself, Malchior and Izari, recommend a free game you should play to prepare yourself for 5v5 combat. For that and our insight about the latest Guild Wars 2 news, head over to www.GuildMag.com and click on the PodCast link to download our latest show, Episode 3!
Before I go, I will like to mention that these video updates will be less frequent. No, I am not going away or anything. I am just pacing myself a little more. So when we get major news like the Ranger Profession, or a stack of complex info, I will post a video breaking all that down for you. So I am still here, videos will still be made. Just less frequent. The GuidlMag PodCasts however, will be more frequent and will try to stay on a weekly basis.
I hope you enjoy all the videos I make, and do not forget to download our GuildMag PodCast. I am Sabre Wolf, thank you very much and, have a good day!
This is absolutely perfect for people (like myself) who want peak others' curiosity for the game without giving them a staggering amount of reading to do. Thanks so much for this, I'll definitely be linking it to people who can't be bothered to do the reading.
Also, no evidence that a Elementalist can use a sword. All I've read implies the Ele will have a Staff or Scepter/Off-hand.
They've talked about Elementalists being able to summon elemental swords that anyone in the party can use. Whether that excludes the Elementalist themselves or not I don't know.
Where did you dig out the information about Tornado (Elemtanlist) and Devastation (Warrior) Elite Skills? Out of reading all the interviews and news, I didn't find it anywhere. ;)
I like the format and the content, It definitely makes it easier to disseminate than half a dozen news postings that repeat the same points or miss the details.
Hopefully, every news bubble can have these kind of recaps.
And when you say that you plan on making them better with guru; Would that include more Q&A?
Update #3 is online. Not much new to go over... Warrior, Armor, Profession Catagories... except a new show open! Thanks to JR! Link is below and in the OP.
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