34 replies to this topic

[EinarT]

I am planning to make a Ranger and I was wondering if the class is actually fun to play or rather boring in comparison to your other classes. Or do you think the class IS fun to play BUT because it's that much worse than other classes you actually don't like to play it?(or isn't there any class imbalance at all?)

I'm mainly going to do normal PvE and Dungeons, not so much focusing on PvP yet.

[GW2Ranger]

EinarT, on 09 December 2012 - 10:56 AM, said:

I am planning to make a Ranger and I was wondering if the class is actually fun to play or rather boring in comparison to your other classes. Or do you think the class IS fun to play BUT because it's that much worse than other classes you actually don't like to play it?(or isn't there any class imbalance at all?)

I'm mainly going to do normal PvE and Dungeons, not so much focusing on PvP yet.

I am a level 80 ranger and rangers are the only profession I play in any MMOs. I love GW2 for almost everything BUT sad to say I have not logged in for more than a month mainly due to an irritating mechanic (or some of us call it silly bug) and also, un-refine pet control system.

I did my part to submit the "bug" and "suggestion" in every proper channel I could but till date, I haven't seen changes. Thus each time I thought of logging in, the thought of having to play with that "bug" in mind plaguing my character just turns me off. Eventually I never logged in any more.

You can read these 2 reports I made in the official forum, only create a ranger if you feel it won't destroy your mood each time you log in. Otherwise, just don't bother.

The "bug" mechanic: (Awesomely frustrating slow motion bug)
Link: https://forum-en.gui...irst#post846408

The "suggestion": (They should further compress and refine pet control since we are heavily dependent on it)
Link: https://forum-en.gui...irst#post846461

I think the above 2 main issues that plague my ranger and I believe many that share the same sentiments would tell you the answer to your question.

Good luck

[Darius]

I wouldn't go as far as FUN but it's a nice breath of fresh air from the Melee combats.

[Gremlin]

Got my Ranger to 80 and I do like it, Don't have any slowdown issues as I don't use the bow all the time but yes when any character goes into combat mode there is a gimping animation change.
Try Char with weapon drawn 4 legs fast 2 legs slow and you stand on 2 legs in combat mode.

There is a problem with the pet, well 2 problems really.

1 you have to have a pet even if you don't want to, this is really really stupid, at least let us put the pet away and it stays away even if we do or take damage fall or die.
2 There is a delay in the pet command system, I guess its realistic that shouting a command to a pet in combat will have some delay but this is a case where playability should trump realism.
F2 commands the pets special attack and this at least should be instant, as some attacks are interrupts and knockdowns where the player is timing the attack point, the delay messes this up.

The Ranger is versatile fairly powerful and able to solo much of PVE. so if you like ranged characters who can also get stuck into melee with swords then the Ranger might well be a good choice.

[EinarT]

GW2Ranger, on 09 December 2012 - 11:16 AM, said:

I am a level 80 ranger and rangers are the only profession I play in any MMOs. I love GW2 for almost everything BUT sad to say I have not logged in for more than a month mainly due to an irritating mechanic (or some of us call it silly bug) and also, un-refine pet control system.

I did my part to submit the "bug" and "suggestion" in every proper channel I could but till date, I haven't seen changes. Thus each time I thought of logging in, the thought of having to play with that "bug" in mind plaguing my character just turns me off. Eventually I never logged in any more.

You can read these 2 reports I made in the official forum, only create a ranger if you feel it won't destroy your mood each time you log in. Otherwise, just don't bother.

The "bug" mechanic: (Awesomely frustrating slow motion bug)
Link: https://forum-en.gui...irst#post846408

The "suggestion": (They should further compress and refine pet control since we are heavily dependent on it)
Link: https://forum-en.gui...irst#post846461

I think the above 2 main issues that plague my ranger and I believe many that share the same sentiments would tell you the answer to your question.

Good luck

Hmm, interesting.. I believe it can be annoying that you get set to slow-mo just because of your pet, but does it affect the actual gameplay that much? Ok it might slow you down when doing map completion but I can't see it being much of a problem in dungeons or when you're actually in combat.

I've never played with a pet ever and didn't hear many good things about them.. Is the pet mechanic that bad? I might just make a warrior, who's got a bow anyway. But I can't imagine a warrior with a bow being as effective as a Ranger..

[GW2Ranger]

EinarT, on 09 December 2012 - 11:35 AM, said:

Hmm, interesting.. I believe it can be annoying that you get set to slow-mo just because of your pet, but does it affect the actual gameplay that much? Ok it might slow you down when doing map completion but I can't see it being much of a problem in dungeons or when you're actually in combat.

I've never played with a pet ever and didn't hear many good things about them.. Is the pet mechanic that bad? I might just make a warrior, who's got a bow anyway. But I can't imagine a warrior with a bow being as effective as a Ranger..

Hi EinarT,

Glad you asked. In many situation, I must say its bad. let me name a few:

In a party group were we are heading from point A to B. Imagine you suddenly get slowed down so much you only see others running further and further ahead of you and you just feel helpless.

When trying to retreat as you are cornered (one of the strategy of live combat isn't it?) you will likely fall without much chances of success as any foe will outrun you at ease.

In dungeons, with the above 2 examples, I think I'll leave you to your imagination haha. Its a struggle in some sense at some point of time seeing how badly the mechanic impacts the game moments. I played other games using ranger classes, none had such a system and it was all well and enjoyable. the longest game I played was about 5 years and another 8 years. Both rangers. I was sold to GW2 because of the Dynamic Events, Quest System and really the graphics and firing arrows on the go while running, it is just that at the end of the day, the full experience is still ruined due to the bug.

thanks for asking  =) placing those details here do take out some of the frustration each time I think of it haha.

[XgreatArtist]

i disliked the pets even though they are on nonagressive mode. In orr, my pet aggros all the undead even though i set it to passive. Good thing is, the pet tanks the damage so basically you survive longer.
In dungeons, ranged pets work really well but melee pets are suicidal. So they are basically useless.
The F2 skills for most pets have a loooooooooooong delay.
i have a Longbow ranger and i find it extremely repetitive and boring, hitting 1 2 all the time while 4 is used to knockback enemies. Shortbow is slightly better but still boring. However the greatsword is extremely fun to use. Sword+horn isnt that fun but the horn 4 and 5 skills are really good.

If you are cornered, chances are you will die. Especially when a gang of risen putrifiers jump on you. However when i switch to the greatsword i can fight my way out.

[EinarT]

XgreatArtist, on 09 December 2012 - 12:03 PM, said:

i disliked the pets even though they are on nonagressive mode. In orr, my pet aggros all the undead even though i set it to passive. Good thing is, the pet tanks the damage so basically you survive longer.
In dungeons, ranged pets work really well but melee pets are suicidal. So they are basically useless.
The F2 skills for most pets have a loooooooooooong delay.
i have a Longbow ranger and i find it extremely repetitive and boring, hitting 1 2 all the time while 4 is used to knockback enemies. Shortbow is slightly better but still boring. However the greatsword is extremely fun to use. Sword+horn isnt that fun but the horn 4 and 5 skills are really good.

If you are cornered, chances are you will die. Especially when a gang of risen putrifiers jump on you. However when i switch to the greatsword i can fight my way out.

Hmm, I was thinking of creating one because I've been playing the Guardian forever with no ranged weps so I thought a character using a bow would be a nice change, but apparently it isn't.

[Dahk]

It'll change from person to person, but personally, I think it's one if not the most fun profession.

[Izardoz]

the first profession i levelled to 80 was Ranger, and it is always my go-to character
i don't have the issues some do, i find my survivability much better because of my pet
some mechanics in this game have a delay, (like the torch-throw used to) and you would plan your attacks to take that into account...or i would, anyway
there are many changes coming to Ranger in a week or so
i would highly recommend choosing Ranger as a fun profession
=)

[phineas]

I find that the F2 skill for Hawk/Eagle(/others?) needs hammering repeatedly until the pet decides to execute it. This is as annoying for me as the aggro-walking.

I am also finding it somewhat tricky to get through Orr solo with my ranger whereas the rest of the game has been a breeze. This is due to being overwhemled by multiple Risen as a result of pet-aggro.

Edited by phineas, 09 December 2012 - 08:07 PM.

[Frozyyn]

phineas, on 09 December 2012 - 08:03 PM, said:

I am also finding it somewhat tricky to get through Orr solo with my ranger whereas the rest of the game has been a breeze. This is due to being overwhemled by multiple Risen as a result of pet-aggro.

I ran a pet/trapper combo build with Axe/Dagger (or warhorn if you'd like) and Shortbow when I was clearing Orr, had no problems what so ever.

[Gremlin]

EinarT, on 09 December 2012 - 11:35 AM, said:

Hmm, interesting.. I believe it can be annoying that you get set to slow-mo just because of your pet, but does it affect the actual gameplay that much? Ok it might slow you down when doing map completion but I can't see it being much of a problem in dungeons or when you're actually in combat.

I've never played with a pet ever and didn't hear many good things about them.. Is the pet mechanic that bad? I might just make a warrior, who's got a bow anyway. But I can't imagine a warrior with a bow being as effective as a Ranger..

You can play Warrior who has rifle and Longbow.
Or thief who has shortbow and Pistols.

The ranger is an excellent class and the pets are not at all bad far better than gw1 in fact.

First you can set the pet to passive and just use it to heal yourself and others.
Or you can take one of the bears and tank the enemy while you stay out of trouble and use bow and maybe traps to finish them off faster.

If you put 30 points into beasmastery your pet is a decent damage dealer.
You can have 4 pets ready to use at any given time, "only one can be active though" 2 for land combat 2 for underwater combat.
I go with Brown and Black bear and Armour fish and Shark, though I have unlocked them all so can change if situation demands it.

Some pets have different damage types like poison fire cold lightning interrupt weaken or just summon another pet, "wolf and Hyenas can summon another animal"
Its easy to swap pets if its about to die and the good thing is it heals while its out of play, so you can keep swapping as long as the skill has cooled down for reuse.

The ranger is also pretty mean in melee with sword or 2 handed sword.
I cannot say if you will like the ranger but I do.

[Bohya]

I don't like to mention other games in relation to Guild Wars 2, namely You-Know-What, but I must say that World Of Warcraft pretty much hit the nail on the head with pet design in comparison. I don't understand why they won't just copy-paste their design and refine it into their own from there. The current pet system has too many flaws, and I think that WoW's concept is pretty much a benchmark.

Also, I just don't like the fact that ranger is stuck with the pet. In Guild Wars, a pet was completely optional. Why make it a mandatory mechanic in GW2? I know that I can just play a longbow warrior or shortbow ranger if I want to play an archer sort of class, but the ranger has other features which are completely unique. I thought one of the core concepts behind GW2 is that we can play whichever way we like? There's no reason, lore-wise or mechanically, that the ranger must play with a pet.

Edited by Bohya, 09 December 2012 - 11:39 PM.

[Shiren]

I've mained a ranger since the first BWE and I now have four level 80s (ranger is still my main). The class has a lot of problems and many of our skills and build types are outright offensive in their current state. Many of the things a ranger is supposed to do are done so much better by other classes (like moving around a map, we are incredibly slow compared to thieves and pidgeon holed into using a warhorn, although we are going to get a buff in this regard on the 14th with a 25% movement speed signet - which should help pets hit moving targets as well). Our support options are spirits and those are terrible and we can't melee remotely like a guardian or warrior, but we have some fun tools to make do with what we have.  I won't go too much into the pet (because it leaves a lot to be desired) but it has some serious issues with how it fits into certain situations and most pets aren't viable choices outside of inefficient BM builds or casual settings.

Having said all that, while levelling and general PvE the ranger is a lot of fun. It was probably my favourite profession to level with (although in harder areas like Orr I find my guardian significantly more effective). I really enjoy collection and choosing from pets, but your aesthetic and style choice will often conflict with a gameplay decision. Some pets are just better than others and you will often feel pressure to run a different pet because it suites the situation better. If you care about the companion side of things and having a certain style as a ranger, this really sucks. If you like having a variety of choices to accompany you for different situations and like lots of tools to choose from (even if they will often fall short of what they should be able to do) then it can be quite rewarding.

If you plan on running dungeons seriously, unless the coming updates are truly amasing, I suggest another class (guardians are amazing in dungeon groups). The pet is a core class mechanic and it can screw you over more than it helps a lot of the time. There are builds and play styles which minimise the pet's hindrance, but I don't believe the current pet AI, mechanics and class design supports a variety of viable choices, just a handful of niche ones (such as ranged pets) and doesn't give you the freedom to use the pet to it's fullest because they are downed all the time (or triggering traps, being targeted by AoEs that would normally only target players which means you get hit by twice as much if you fail to dodge). In WvW the ranger can contribute but not as much as other classes in many situations. When we get our 25% movement signet we can run more of a scout role than we currently have access to (and it opens up a weapon set that no-longer has to be warhorn for swiftness). I don't really know too much about them in sPvP.

Honestly, it depends on what you want out of the class (and how they are buffed on the 14th). If you are happy with a fun and casual class that handles general PvE well and has a companion around all the time (which you can collect a variety of), it's really a great choice. If you want to seriously run dungeons, you want an optimum buil people will be glad to bring along with them and a variety of viable and different build styles with rewarding skills, perhaps you are better rolling a guardian or something else. In WvW they have a role and contribute in universal ways like every other class (manning siege, running supply, general DPS) but they will also become better scouts soon (but effective scouting relies on you knowing what and when to report and having reliable commanders to recieve the reports and act on them quickly). Either way I think you will enjoy levelling a ranger.

[FoxBat]

Bohya, on 09 December 2012 - 11:35 PM, said:

Why make it a mandatory mechanic in GW2?

Every class has mandatory mechanics, although one less annoying than a pet could have been chosen. Partly because classes are lacking in unique mechanics otherwise.

But I think it comes down to their GW1 experience, where rangers were not happy about having to choose whether to fill their bar with pet skills or weapon skills, and most of the viable pet builds had to forego bows. It's also not easy to see how else you would fit a persistent pet in GW2's skill structure either, to be on par with other utilities and temp-summons they would have to be pretty darn weak, and if not weak then it's practically a skill slot tax. GW1 also had an attribute line you had to invest in to make them worth anything, wheras traits are not nearly as critical to builds in general.

Edited by FoxBat, 10 December 2012 - 07:11 PM.

[Bohya]

FoxBat, on 10 December 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

But I think it comes down to their GW1 experience, where rangers were not happy about having to choose whether to fill their bar with pet skills or weapon skills, and most of the viable pet builds had to forego bows. It's also not easy to see how else you would fit a persistent pet in GW2's skill structure either, to be on par with other utilities and temp-summons they would have to be pretty darn weak, and if not weak then it's practically a skill slot tax. GW1 also had an attribute line you had to invest in to make them worth anything, wheras traits are not nearly as critical to builds in general.

If anything the new pet system reduces variety. Instead of allowing rangers to specialise in a certain playstyle, they are forcing them to play all their mechanics at once. I don't understand why they won't just give us the option to get rid of our pets. They are a broken mechanic anyway, and unless you are utter crap at playing the game they don't even make that much of a difference. At least let us hide them for screenshots.

[Mekkakat]

If you can get past the pet issues and constantly aggro'ing what you don't want - yes! Ranger is very fun, and very rewarding

There's a great feeling when you lure your PvE mobs over your traps and bounce axes off of their heads!

[Mura]

I'm leveling a ranger now,  level 54, and I find the ranger a lot more relaxing to play than my engineer.  I'm having a lot of fun exploring the pve world on the ranger, though I haven't been to Orr or Cursed Shore yet, so maybe the mob-agro thing will bother me then.  At least for now, I'm enjoying it.

[FoxBat]

Bohya, on 12 December 2012 - 12:00 AM, said:

If anything the new pet system reduces variety.

Yes, just like every other profession mechanic. Just like eliminating the trinity, secondary professions, hexes, etc. etc. This is not a ranger thing. If a pet wasn't chained to rangers, some other mechanic would be. And you can ignore most classes' profession skills if you want to even more easily than a pet.

It does say something that pets are bad enough rangers would rather have nothing than that mechanic. That just means the mechanic is bad, not that it would be better to allow players to choose whether to opt out of a bad mechanic. You shouldn't have bad mechanics in your game in the first place.

[earthcry]

There are many little things that are in themselves don't break the class, but together make it so frustrating to play. I wish I enjoyed playing my ranger as much as my guardian.

[CepaCepa]

If you're standing there not moving and pew pewing at the boss, it's boring.

If you don't anticipate the action of your enemies or watch their animations to expect the next attack, your pet (and yourself) will die lots in dungeons, and it'll be frustrating.

If you don't use F1-F4 much, you'll think that the pet system is a joke and you'd be pissed.

If you don't weapon swap/pet swap every 7-16 seconds and you don't actively seek the back of your enemies, you'll feel that ranger damage is sub-par, and you'd be disappointed.

If you did all those, because the hints are in your traits and in your skill tooltips reminding you again and again that weapon swap/pet swap/pet management is at the core of the ranger profession, you'll find ranger to be a very fun and upbeat profession to play, and that pets are wonderful things to have, and there are so many unique tricks that you can do with them. It takes practice and experience to learn all of those skills, you don't just know when or when not to call back/swap/immune your pet from the get go, you need to learn the timing through running dungeons/events and paying attention (just like every other profession).

Actually, you can learn those things even while leveling as long as you're paying attention. One reason of why many rangers do not take the time to figure those things out compared to other professions, is because ranger can get away with standing there and auto shooting things to death and hence people start to think that this is how a ranger is supposed to be played. And they'd of course feel frustrated when they head into a dungeon and suddenly their pet start dying, they'd think "ranger sucks" rather than "I haven't learned a mechanism yet" --- And indeed, if you haven't ever tried it, you don't even know that it exists, so it's not their fault at that point to feel frustrated at the system. If you don't just play the minima that lets you level, and try to find the "best" or "most efficient" or "new" ways to play even when you can face roll the content, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the potential that ranger has (that is, compared to the general opinion). Besides, pew pew pew and afk is not fun anyways, if you're looking for fun in a game, why not try new things? Why not try figure out the best combo that gives you maximum fury uptime and highest stacks of might? Why not try to maximize quickness uptime? Those things are fun, and will make your gaming experience more smooth in general later on anyways.

Last word of advice is that, somethings may seem impossible right now (for example, you may think to yourself "how on earth can I call back a pet in a split second before the boss does aoe? I can't even react that fast" or "how on earth do I swap to sword and melee the boss without instant down? I'm only a medium armor"), which you may or may not want to express on a public forum like this. Just know that it's definitely possible, others have tried and succeeded, so you can definitely do it too. There are many rangers out there who never have their pet die more than once in a dungeon, and they got there by familiarizing with their options. When you've ran a dungeon a few times, you'd know what the mobs do and what the boss does, and you'd be anticipating for each event and lining up your skills ready to use.

Edited by CepaCepa, 12 December 2012 - 11:18 PM.

[Kratimas]

I have played most of the profs. And I love my ranger the most.

I think it is very fun to play and I have a blast every time I log on.

[Xunlai Agent]

I have leveled four professions to 80 and since then I have not played my Ranger too much. While I love the idea of an animal companion the execution is not that great. Especially in high-end PvE your pet will be down constantly and I have yet to see any Ranger overcome the damage in Fractals in relation to their pets.

[Mystika]

I love ranger and find it a lot of fun. I love the pet, also, and do not have much problem keeping the pets alive, except against some bosses or huge groups of mobs. F2 does need work. As said above, F2 should be instantaneous and not delayed, but that is really the only comlaint I have with rangers. They are fun to play and survivable while leveling. I use a longbow with sword/warhorn or a shortbow with axe/warhorn....both work very well.

[SesimieStreetFighter]

My Main is a ranger...therefore I started this game with the goal of finding tameable pets....this naturally (pun intended) led me to free roam...learning and levelling crafting... untraditionally triggering Dynamic events.....It is glorious to use pets to distract mobs while i commune at places of power....

Next step was learning WvW....to finish my World map completion......learnt that Ranger Longbows have some of the best range in game....again explored every bit of map...and able to solo NPC camps..

Finally after 100% map completion....and making several alts....to learn sPVP.....i always go back to my Ranger to AOE farm high level areas like Orr or Southsun.....

Rangers may not be the best at anything specific...they are jack - of -all trades...

Some gripes i have with rangers .....medium armors models get repetitive in the trenchcoat department. ( ireally want a "killed animal" skin type look)

Also pets pathing and F2 skill delay is noticeable....Nature spirits fall to easily and are not mobile unless traited...giving up superior traits.

Condition removal is lacking imho  and reliance on pets may be a negative for some..the profession is generally what I wanted....

Happy Rangering!!

Edited by SesimieStreetFighter, 16 December 2012 - 06:44 PM.

[Daisy Rogers]

Honestly, after finally figuring out how to play ranger properly with the mindset of dynamic "duo" I find every other class super vanilla and lame. If you play ranger you had better love to play a pet class, because that "is" the ranger in GW2. If you don't like the thought of controlling two characters then this class honestly isn't for you.

if you still want to play an archer without a pet then I suggest thief or warrior, grab some good dyes, get some transmutation stones and set yourself up with outdoorsy looking and colored gear, and RP a ranger as a thief or warrior to your hearts content.

But if you want to play this class, and play it well, you will need to play with the pets and work at keeping both you and pets alive.

[Cole Winters]

CepaCepa, on 12 December 2012 - 10:56 PM, said:

If you're standing there not moving and pew pewing at the boss, it's boring.

If you don't anticipate the action of your enemies or watch their animations to expect the next attack, your pet (and yourself) will die lots in dungeons, and it'll be frustrating.

If you don't use F1-F4 much, you'll think that the pet system is a joke and you'd be pissed.

If you don't weapon swap/pet swap every 7-16 seconds and you don't actively seek the back of your enemies, you'll feel that ranger damage is sub-par, and you'd be disappointed.

If you did all those, because the hints are in your traits and in your skill tooltips reminding you again and again that weapon swap/pet swap/pet management is at the core of the ranger profession, you'll find ranger to be a very fun and upbeat profession to play, and that pets are wonderful things to have, and there are so many unique tricks that you can do with them. It takes practice and experience to learn all of those skills, you don't just know when or when not to call back/swap/immune your pet from the get go, you need to learn the timing through running dungeons/events and paying attention (just like every other profession).

Actually, you can learn those things even while leveling as long as you're paying attention. One reason of why many rangers do not take the time to figure those things out compared to other professions, is because ranger can get away with standing there and auto shooting things to death and hence people start to think that this is how a ranger is supposed to be played. And they'd of course feel frustrated when they head into a dungeon and suddenly their pet start dying, they'd think "ranger sucks" rather than "I haven't learned a mechanism yet" --- And indeed, if you haven't ever tried it, you don't even know that it exists, so it's not their fault at that point to feel frustrated at the system. If you don't just play the minima that lets you level, and try to find the "best" or "most efficient" or "new" ways to play even when you can face roll the content, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the potential that ranger has (that is, compared to the general opinion). Besides, pew pew pew and afk is not fun anyways, if you're looking for fun in a game, why not try new things? Why not try figure out the best combo that gives you maximum fury uptime and highest stacks of might? Why not try to maximize quickness uptime? Those things are fun, and will make your gaming experience more smooth in general later on anyways.

Last word of advice is that, somethings may seem impossible right now (for example, you may think to yourself "how on earth can I call back a pet in a split second before the boss does aoe? I can't even react that fast" or "how on earth do I swap to sword and melee the boss without instant down? I'm only a medium armor"), which you may or may not want to express on a public forum like this. Just know that it's definitely possible, others have tried and succeeded, so you can definitely do it too. There are many rangers out there who never have their pet die more than once in a dungeon, and they got there by familiarizing with their options. When you've ran a dungeon a few times, you'd know what the mobs do and what the boss does, and you'd be anticipating for each event and lining up your skills ready to use.

Man what a feel good post!  Too bad it's all fluff!

People aren't complaining about the "stand-still-pew-pew" mundane repetitive playstyle of the ranger.  They are saying that the -Pet AI is flawed, the mechanic has issues that a large group of the player-base feel are poorly designed."  Why can't I choose to put my pet away when traversing a narrow hall filled with proximity mine poison flowers?  Why must I be forced to slow down while running with swiftness, because my pet is trailing behind me in range of enemy skills?  Why does the "F2" function for all pets seem to take forever to register?  I shouldn't have to hold or pound on my "F2" button for 10-15 seconds until my pet finally decides to understand I want him to Roar/Spit/Rend.  Why does "Lick Wounds" interrupt bandaging?  Why doesn't it work half the time?  Why do I have to rename my pets every damn time I select it from the kennel?  Why Can I hop down off an embankment to avoid a herd of hostile Adds but my bear/cat/wolf/BIRD[WHICH HAS F-ing Wings FFS] decide they need to go the long way and walk all the way around the embankment aggroing everything along the way.

I know I am not the only ranger player who has longed for the opportunity to forgo having a pet for a bonus to my own DPS!  I know that ANet is not going to let this happen, but seriously they could put some effort into the poorly designed system.  The fact that half the replies in this thread indicate their are issues with the Pet mechanic is evidence enough that it is a development issue.

-http://www.guildwars...petless-ranger/

-Cole

[CepaCepa]

Cole Winters, on 24 December 2012 - 09:31 PM, said:

Man what a feel good post!  Too bad it's all fluff!

People aren't complaining about the "stand-still-pew-pew" mundane repetitive playstyle of the ranger.  They are saying that the -Pet AI is flawed, the mechanic has issues that a large group of the player-base feel are poorly designed."  Why can't I choose to put my pet away when traversing a narrow hall filled with proximity mine poison flowers?  Why must I be forced to slow down while running with swiftness, because my pet is trailing behind me in range of enemy skills?  Why does the "F2" function for all pets seem to take forever to register?  I shouldn't have to hold or pound on my "F2" button for 10-15 seconds until my pet finally decides to understand I want him to Roar/Spit/Rend.  Why does "Lick Wounds" interrupt bandaging?  Why doesn't it work half the time?  Why do I have to rename my pets every damn time I select it from the kennel?  Why Can I hop down off an embankment to avoid a herd of hostile Adds but my bear/cat/wolf/BIRD[WHICH HAS F-ing Wings FFS] decide they need to go the long way and walk all the way around the embankment aggroing everything along the way.

I know I am not the only ranger player who has longed for the opportunity to forgo having a pet for a bonus to my own DPS!  I know that ANet is not going to let this happen, but seriously they could put some effort into the poorly designed system.  The fact that half the replies in this thread indicate their are issues with the Pet mechanic is evidence enough that it is a development issue.

-http://www.guildwars...petless-ranger/

-Cole

Indeed, pet AI has got some problems, and some mechanisms are frustrating at times --- for example, F2 taking a while to register can throw many people off. But this is not a ranger only problem, many professions have similar problems --- A mesmer may ask: why can't I have a choice to only shatter my clones and leave my phantasms alive? Why does a clone over write my phantasms? Why do all the shatters trigger on targets that the illusions were created from instead of the target of the shatter spell itself? An engineer may ask: why do half of my elixirs have an "random" component to it? Why can't I be in control of what I'm doing? etc etc.

I'm sure ANet is looking into all these problems and they should, however, this does not mean that the profession is "broken" and/or it is not fun. I understand completely where this "forgo the pet for a bonus to personal dps" feeling comes from, but in all honesty, without a pet what difference is there between a ranger and a warrior? Or a thief that doesn't use initiatives? I myself do not mind a little unpredictability of pets; besides, it's not like I don't know what would happen --- Sometimes I think it's annoying, but I know that when I attack my stowed pet will come out, so I'll plan accordingly. Jumping down a ledge? I'll jump down and swap pet, because I know they can't jump and they'll otherwise aggro mobs. Afterall, it's a pet, and like any pets you need to pay attention to it due to it having a "mind of its own" no matter how well trained it is. Things like renaming the pet each time is annoying indeed and I see no reason for them to not touch upon those issues, but some of the other problems are not as easy as it sounds --- If they're bugs, they're bugs, they should be fixed like all the other bugs in all the other professions. if they're mechanisms, then there's going to be side effects to changing it, and changing it might please some but upset others.

And now onto more theoretical things, I do not think at all that the complaints on the forum should be anything more than a "reminder of potential issues". I mean, warriors complain, thieves complain, mesmers complain, elementalists complain, everyone complains and everyone wants to have the game mechanism altered to their own preference. Kids complain that they have to do homework. Employees complain that they're not getting paid enough. Yeah, that's what we do as humans, we want things to happen the way we like it, but this does not mean the authority should just do what the complainers says --- Think about this, for each complains posted on here, theres 10 or 100 rangers playing happily in game and hence do not complain on the forums, but those people are not visible. Now, the point is that "half the replies in this thread indicate there are issues" is not a ticket to change things, but it is indeed an indication for the authority to at least consider these issues --- Considering these issues doesn't mean necessarily change it, if my children come to me and say "we have too much homework", I'd be taking it seriously and look into their workload --- And in the end, I may come to the conclusion that "yeah, that's too much", or maybe I'll just say "no, they don't have too much homework, this much homework is necessary to keep them learning their material".

Last but most importantly, the OP asked "is the ranger fun". What everybody is hung up on is "there are problems with pet AI". Those are two very different things. My response is: yes, there are bugs and problems, but that doesn't hinder my enjoyment of the profession. Is the ranger fun? Yes! Despite having the problems (and all the other professions have their own problems, we should kep in mind), it is fun! Despite having all these issues with pets I LOVE the pet system and would not trade it for anything on my ranger, despite the sometimes limiting nature I love the weapon-swap mechanism, it gives the profession a new depth. And ultimately I think that's what matters: somethings are going to bother some people more than others, some people would like certain aspect of a profession more than others. But ultimately, if we're playing rangers, we're finding it fun, and we should let the OP know why exactly we're finding it fun so that he can look upon this and say "oh I find those things fun too" or "no I don't think I enjoy what those people enjoy so I'll pass".

[fatrodmc]

CepaCepa, on 02 January 2013 - 08:44 AM, said:

Last but most importantly, the OP asked "is the ranger fun".

I agree with most of your points, but for me a lot of these things are what takes away from the fun of the ranger. It is a very difficult class to play well, particularly in PvP, and that is mostly due to the pet.

The amount of button pressing, clicking, and micro of the pet required, take away a lot of the fun.

That said, I think Ranger's weapon skills are some of the most fun. Ranger greatsword is so much better than warrior for example.