What soulbeast should have been.

Most of us here express that the soulbeast su cks for one reason or another, deppending one your game mode some flaws are made more relevant for you.Now here keeping in mind that soulbeast is a melee designed class which is supposed to jump in and out from beastmode to it's advantage in combat this is how i would have designed.

First PETsWhen merged with a pet we can't use the normal skills from the pet. Those skills in most of the pets are authentic rubbish.If we find the pet auto skills are underwhelming i'm bold enough to pick the coolest of the ones available from that pet family and stick it in there adjusting the CD and effect for balance. For felines i could have chosen: F1 stealth from jaguar and F2 pounce from tiger Lynx just for the gap closer+bleeds (better suited for a condi sheme family). For Canines the leap kockdown in F1 and Fear for F2. And so on trying to keep the Cc and Leaps\evade skills but making their effects relevan to feel right with a cd of 20-30 seconds..Some pets would be used as tools for condi builds allowing to apply conditions in each attack for a duration balancing the duration of each condition application so it doesn't reach crazy stacks . For example spiders with venom, bristleback with bleed or torment for the iboga in the F1.

All the archetype skills are on 40 seconds CD and their effects adjusted to the increased CD.

• Primal Cry now applies strong conditions by pulses. first pulse : confusion , poison, Second pulse: torment and vulnerability Third pulse: burning and bleeds. It doesn't deal any physical damage plus the twice as much CD in exchange .
• Unflinching fortitude effect is for 5 seconds now.
• Prelude lash apply 3 seconds of daze and the damage is greatly increased to reach at least half the damage of a worldly impact..
• Worldly impact get small increased damage. Combo finisher Blast as it is not anymore a gap closer as it was shown in one of the videos during the presentation of PoF..
• Spiritual reprieve get 4 secs of resistance instead 3.

The beastmodeIn Beastmode you can swap pets which has the normal CD to allow working traits on pet swap to keep working.Also you get the 10 seconds CD when you enter in beastmode. This is like that to allow traits like unstoppable union to work strategically and when you need them.

The daggerDagger mainhand should be designed to keep the soulbeast alive while meleeing meanwhile dagger offhand should be made for movement and keep the enemy close.

1. Dagger#1 autoattack chain. increased power multiplier closer to sword to became an hybrid weapon. If any attck of the chain crit apply an extra stack of the condition applied.
2. Dagger#2: This skills is for disrupting the enemy flow. It steals one boon and if it crits apply weakness for 4 seconds. Damage without changes. This skill would need a different animation so the enemy can recognise it
3. Dagger#3: gap closer and engage skill. Increase the leap max range to 600 so the leap may be used also as movement skill. Also apply 1 sec evade. Edit as @Sartharina.3542 correctly pointed out the soulbeast wouldn't have any evade for mitigate high burst damage. As such this skill would make sense to be an evade too to be similar to the GS's swoop.

Off hand core ranger: Changes to make the dagger\dagger ranger a reality,

4. Dagger#4: As an interrupt also apply 1 sec stun.
5. Dagger#5: It works similar to Guardian's meditation Judge Intervention. Teleports to the target and apply bleeds+cripple. If no target is selected simple teleport forward up to 1200. Gap closer\disengage

The StancesThe stances get 2 charges each to overcome high CDs with small CD of 1.5 secs to avoid missclicks. Each charge will take half the time to recharge than the full CD. If both are consumed full cd is shown. Stances effects stack only in duration.Mostly the same.

• Bear : 30 seconds, Effect like up to this moment: Heal and consume 2 conditions\sec for a heal . Duration 6 seconds. Some replacement for druidic clarity.
• Doylak: 30 seconds, break stun, stability plus immunity to movement impede conditions. Duration 6 seconds.

Changed:

• Moa: 30 seconds, increased 2 seconds all boons applied, also apply protection, swiftness and small resistance. Duration 6 seconds. Most boons ranger applies are short duration ( around 2-3 seconds ) which doesn't benefit much from a percentage. Also because is a flat bonus doesn't require to invest in concentration.
• Griffon: 40 seconds, Apply vigor for 10 secs, evade all attacks not targeted to the soulbeast. Duration 8 seconds. (ideal to fight camping aoes, similar mechanic as for the pets in pve)
• Vulture: 40 seconds, Apply 10 might fro 8 seconds on cast. apply poison with every attack, criticals also apply torment. Consume 1 condition in self \sec in exchange for regeneration . Duration 8 seconds.
• One Wolf Pack: 60 seconds. Apply the extra attack and each attack also apply 1 second stability and 2 seconds Fury and swiftness. duration 8 seconds.

TraitsTo make a coherent traitline with a clear objective we need first to define the role of rows and columns.

Top line related to interactions with the pet or pet skillsMiddle line related to related to effects trig gered by the soulbeast .Bottom line related to enhance existing skills from the soulbeast

Minors: Reinforce the role to go in and out from beastmode. Remove any no desirable or punishing effect.Elevated bond - Fresh reinforcement - invigorating bond (also copy the boons when leaving beastmode)

Adept

• Top: Unstoppabble union. When entering beastmode, break stun, unblockable and Damage increased in 10% , condition damage increased in 10% for 4 seconds.
• Middle: Predator Cunning, the soulbeast and the pet is healed when apply a damaging condition (bleed, poison, torment, confusion, burning)
• Bottom: Unflinching determination. When you break a stun you and your pet(if not in beastmode) regain unflinching fortitude and stability for 4 seconds, ICD 15 secs. This effect stack in duration with the skill.

Master:

• Top: Live fast: when cast a beast ability soulbeast or pet gain fury and quickness. Beast abilities in beastmode CD reduced in 20%.
• Middle: Twice as vicious. When the soulbeast disable a foe greatly increase damage, 20% extra damage and condition damage for 4 seconds for the soulbeast and the pet (if not in beastmode)
• Bottom: Beastly counterattack. When one of your attacks is blocked you and your pet regain unstoppable union. ICD 20 secs. This effect stack in duration with the trait.

Grand master

• Top: Eternal bond: when fatal blow instead downed the soul beast fall out, cast bear instance and your pet take 33% damage and condition damage on behalf the soulbeast for 6 seconds. Pet also gain protection. ICD 60 secs.
• Middle: Second Skin: Condition damage is reduced in 33% while you have protection. Protection duration applied in self is increased in 33%.
• Bottom: Leader of the pack, Stances are shared with up to 5 allies in 300 radius for half duration.. Stances gain an additional charge but also increased CD on +15/+20/+30 secs respectively. (more instant access, cast doylak 3 times in a row as example in exchange for a bigger CD)

So this is how i would have designed the new spec. There is no passive increase in dps, removed the small passive extra dmg when on fury in exchange for a more meaningful dmag increased in specific conditions (unstoppable union and Twice as Vicious).

It regains some counter to all the projectile hate with Unstoppable union and Beastly counterattack, meanwhile you can have enough sustain to stay in frontline with unflinching determination, second skin (power build) \predators cunning (condi builds) and eternal bond.

Leader of the pack stays at half duration (i guess it is done like this in fear of taxing the servers with a massive influx of soulbeasts??) but now you can cast it once more if needed in exchange for longer wait.

Stances are now useful. they don't change much, just some additional effects. Griffon maybe being the most alarming when you realise that that skill will be strong against cheesy buildswhich abuse AoEs spam camping without any target but the same stance would prove useless against small groups\duels because usually you target enemy when you cast an skill.

I hope you see it is necessary so the Soulbeast may survive all those AoE spamming builds are around and keep up with the frontline in medium size groups.

Edit: formating and trying to make sense of some crazy sentences.

Nice ideas, especially for beast skills and stances. But I would prefer that dagger become a full condi weapon and not another sword hybrid.

Dagger 5 is fine as is. It just needs to take advantage of the Ammo system, and have 3-5 charges.

You're trying to turn Soulbeast into Spellbreaker, which it's not.

I think Dagger 2 needs an evade, and 3 does need a range increase, though.

@Sartharina.3542 said:Dagger 5 is fine as is. It just needs to take advantage of the Ammo system, and have 3-5 charges.

You're trying to turn Soulbeast into Spellbreaker, which it's not.

I think Dagger 2 needs an evade, and 3 does need a range increase, though.

O come on, the skills in the daggers hasn't got anything to do or feel with the spellbreaker and you know it. No pulls, no stripping boons. It has more to do with the thief and their the boon steal, teleport and the interrupts than with anything else.

My reasoning behind the skills how i described them is: A Soulbeast needs a means to fight boon spam, as every other class in game has more than one skill to strip boons. Ranger is the only exception. With soulbeast being a melee focused class it needs also some skill to fight those otherwise most of our attacks may render useless against heavy boon classes. Stealing a 1 boon every 7 seconds is perfect way to push them out from their confort zone.

I think dagger#3 with extended range is already fine, but as i get why you ask for an evade that skill is better fitted for it (because it's a leap after all) and i agree with it. So i'll adjust the opening point.

Dagger#5 is not fine how it is right now and that's why player uses dagger OH because of the extra evade in Dagger#4. WoW Cripling talon is amazing said no ranger ever. Even the animation is meh. Making it as a teleport is more colorful and the core ranger needs that gap closer when using a sword or an axe MH. Also Soulbeast will benefit greatly from it.

@Aleksander Suburb.4287 said:Nice ideas, especially for beast skills and stances. But I would prefer that dagger become a full condi weapon and not another sword hybrid.

And the traits redistribution \ rework? I think that could actually make the game play feel completely different from the core ranger as it brings better skills for a melee skirmisher (as being able to sustain and apply better the combat pressure) while keeping the usefulness and incentive the soulbeast to go in and out from beastmode.

About the dagger being Hybrid weapon. the changes enhance both roles, having better power multiplier closer to sword would make Power soulbeasts to use it as sword replacement. Also because it applies an additional stack of condition in AA when it crits and weakness in dagger #2 it would be better condition weapon than it is right now but with some limitations (you have to crit). As such Grieving, marshall, rampager, rabid or seraph sets would get better use with this mechanic and those sets could be desired in some builds.