14 replies to this topic

[Thistlehoof]

As headstart draws closer, I'm desperately trying to decide which profession to play in PvE, this isn't another 'tell me what to play' thread though.

I love the ranger in sPvP and it also seems to play fairly well in PvE with one possible flaw, the pet.

Towards the end of yesterday's stress test I ended up facing up against the Wasp Queen I think it was called with several others and I found my pets to be next to useless, all they would do is charge in and fall over.
Obviously this was a fairly low level experience with possibly not the best pet combo for this type of play (pig and stalker), so I was hoping someone could enlighten me as to whether this kind of behaviour from pets is commonplace in the game, was I just running the wrong pets, was I not managing them correctly?

I really want to play the ranger as I'm kind of a one character guy and if I could have one profession to play across the board then that would be great, but if this is a reoccurring problem then I'll roll something else for PvE.

Thanks

Edited by Thistlehoof, 22 August 2012 - 01:18 PM.

[Lazmira]

Do you keep your pets on passive? This will save you huge head aches later on, but also requires more micromanaging.

Wasp queen is generally terrifying so I wouldn't compare them to that boss of a mob. It was 1 hitting players and pets alike! Also it has a crazy poison that will eventually kill you. I'd say keep them at bay when fighting that thing, I had a bird and it lived fairly well, only died twice I think, but I didn't have it fight the boss after the first death because it was way too strong, I kept it on the adds that would spawn. Also I think if you had your pet attack from behind it, it was safer from what I remember...

If you still feel like some pets are frusterating you, i'd say go with bears, boars or moas at the start so you can get use to them! Also so you can learn passive micro managing. Then as you feel better about it, switch to more damaging/weaker pets.

I'm always spamming the f2 and f3 skills because pets are dying or I want them to attack something else, but you'll get use to it! I swear you'll love it later on. xD

Edited by Lazmira, 22 August 2012 - 02:19 PM.

[Tohkay Ahtok]

Thistlehoof, on 22 August 2012 - 12:08 PM, said:

As headstart draws closer, I'm desperately trying to decide which profession to play in PvE, this isn't another 'tell me what to play' thread though.

I love the ranger in sPvP and it also seems to play fairly well in PvE with one possible flaw, the pet.

Towards the end of yesterday's stress test I ended up facing up against the Wasp Queen I think it was called with several others and I found my pets to be next to useless, all they would do is charge in and fall over.
Obviously this was a fairly low level experience with possibly not the best pet combo for this type of play (pig and stalker), so I was hoping someone could enlighten me as to whether this kind of behaviour from pets is commonplace in the game, was I just running the wrong pets, was I not managing them correctly?

I really want to play the ranger as I'm kind of a one character guy and if I could have one profession to play across the board then that would be great, but if this is a reoccurring problem then I'll roll something else for PvE.

Thanks

Pets feel horribly broken in the last stress test. The F2 skill was almost completely useless; even ranged pets would ignore F2, and it's very distracting and silly to be forced into rapidly clicking the button in a mad hope that the pet would use its special. Overall pet control was simply atrocious, worse even than GW1.

I don't expect or want to pet to be an automatic and brainless source of DPS. I do want the pet to be USEFUL and SURVIVABLE and FUN. Right now, it is none of those things.

Edited by Tohkay Ahtok, 22 August 2012 - 02:22 PM.

[MikeT]

As Lazmira wrote, the Wasp Queen did crazy damage. in melee range nearly unavoidable and fast. This is a very unforgiving boss for a low level area. I died with my thief quite a lot too. (was in BWE1 though).

These fights are very good to learn how to play with a not so sturdy (dumb) pet
I would keep it in passive, hit F1 and F3 and switch pets in between. Quite challenging still (for low level).

Use F2 too, but don't mash the button, as it will go in the ability queue of the pet and often not executed immediately. (I hate this)

I consider it training with some work until I got accustomed to this playstyle.
Right now it can be quite a chore, sometimes disheartening.
Don't give up!

Have an ale!

Edited by MikeT, 22 August 2012 - 02:29 PM.

[Thistlehoof]

Cheers all! I didn't realise the wasp queen is so devastating compared to others.

I think it possibly is a matter of micro-managing, I don't have my function keys bound to anything accessible at the moment as the buttons on my mouse don't seem to want to work in game. Once I have that down hopefully it will work a lot better for me.

It probably doesn't help that I've never really been one for the pet classes as I like everything to be coming from me if that makes sense, to have full control over what's going on without AI. But I just love how the rest of the ranger plays, the weapon skills and skirmishy playstyle, that I'm trying to get through it and learn how to play it better.

[MikeT]

Another thought:
a pet with range attacks like the devourers might help in this kind of fights.

[BryanXavior]

Bear pets have served me extremely well in all of the BWE's and stress tests that I have participated in. Might want to give them a try as well. I usually run Polar Bear and Brown bear for PVE soloing situations.

[brocksley]

IMO, you need a bear in PvE for one of your pets. There are just too many instances where in your personal story or out adventuring that you need a tankier pet.

[Thistlehoof]

Indeed, I had been coming to the realisation that the bear pet is a must. My big qualm with the ranger at the moment is the fact that I like dodging around and being clever with my movement in PvE and so far I've just found myself standing still and hitting buttons while stuffs kicks my pet around.

Can anyone vouch for this changing at all in the later game?

[VagabondLife]

Thistlehoof, on 22 August 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

Indeed, I had been coming to the realisation that the bear pet is a must. My big qualm with the ranger at the moment is the fact that I like dodging around and being clever with my movement in PvE and so far I've just found myself standing still and hitting buttons while stuffs kicks my pet around.

Can anyone vouch for this changing at all in the later game?

I love to have my bear tank something and then jump in with sword/dagger and play my assasin-like melee character. Maybe you should try something similar?

[Thistlehoof]

VagabondLife, on 22 August 2012 - 04:38 PM, said:

I love to have my bear tank something and then jump in with sword/dagger and play my assasin-like melee character. Maybe you should try something similar?

This is similar to how I played with a greatsword, I just missed the sense of danger I'd experienced with other professions as it never seemed like I myself was under attack.

[VagabondLife]

Thistlehoof, on 22 August 2012 - 04:40 PM, said:

This is similar to how I played with a greatsword, I just missed the sense of danger I'd experienced with other professions as it never seemed like I myself was under attack.

It will change when you get higher level as the mobs get tougher and harder for your pet to tank solo. By level 30 it's a whole nother ball game.

[Lawn Pirate]

You have to remember that the pet won't circle strafe.  Still, the bears are an immensely useful tool.  I'm going to be aiming for the 500k experience survivor achievement with my ranger just because I feel that pets offer enough of a buffer to make it possible

[MikeT]

VagabondLife, on 22 August 2012 - 04:43 PM, said:

It will change when you get higher level as the mobs get tougher and harder for your pet to tank solo. By level 30 it's a whole nother ball game.

good to hear. I like that.

During BWE1 (pets were a lot weaker back then) I played human ranger with brown bear. Never had a problem with pet dying. Later I realized that bear got some regen and even an invulnerability. LOL that explained a lot to me as by that time a lot players complained about pets dying all over. Most of them played with dps-pets like stalker and dragon.
BWE2: pets became stronger with still aweful AI.
BWE3: pets got major AI issues fixed and became even stronger with a lot more survivability.

Now: Pets are almost solid. Good damage vs. immobile targets, good defense. Still some AI problems (pathing from higher ground) and still nasty animation issues vs moving targets which renders pets borderline useless in those situations.
I don't know if that is due to bugs or an intended restriction though.
explanation: to attack the pet stop moving to start their attack animation. thus a moving target receives only minor damage. It's easy to verify: go to the moving golem in the Mists and let the pet attack it. Even with 30% speed trait the uptime on the target is very low

In regard to pets the ranger profession is almost there.

Good hunting!

Edited by MikeT, 22 August 2012 - 07:55 PM.

[VagabondLife]

MikeT, on 22 August 2012 - 07:48 PM, said:

good to hear. I like that.

During BWE1 (pets were a lot weaker back then) I played human ranger with brown bear. Never had a problem with pet dying. Later I realized that bear got some regen and even an invulnerability. LOL that explained a lot to me as by that time a lot players complained about pets dying all over. Most of them played with dps-pets like stalker and dragon.
BWE2: pets became stronger with still aweful AI.
BWE3: pets got major AI issues fixed and became even stronger with a lot more survivability.

Now: Pets are almost solid. Good damage vs. immobile targets, good defense. Still some AI problems (pathing from higher ground) and still nasty animation issues vs moving targets which renders pets borderline useless in those situations.
I don't know if that is due to bugs or an intended restriction though.

In regard to pets the rasnger profession is almost there.

Good hunting!

When you start working on your traits is where it gets fun and you can make a build to fit your play style....whether it is for heavy pet support/regen/buffs/etc. or heavier ranger traits with the pet as merely a distraction.....it's all up to you.
Edit: Yes the pet AI is getting lots better....good times are ahead!

Edited by VagabondLife, 22 August 2012 - 07:59 PM.