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Soulbeast Damage Adjustments


Cal Cohen.2358

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@"Stallic.2397" said:I don't get the complaint... Rangers now must spec into damage traitlines to deal damage? Shocking

Soulbeast and beast mastery already were "Damage Trait lines"

You're basically saying "give up condition clearing via wilderness to actually kill people" which sounds like a great idea in the current condi spam meta

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@Turkeyspit.3965 said:And maybe that is what they are looking at. As I've said repeatedly on these forums, competitive modes are work in progress. The game is not in a balanced state now, but is a work progress by degrees. They said they would make changes rapidly, and we'll see if they do. By the end, Soulbeast might have more sustained damage and less burst, but with improved self-sustain.

That's what Boonbeast was and everyone hated it

That's what Druid was and everyone hated it

That's what spirit bunker was and everyone hated it

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@"Shagie.7612" said:how soon until more people start eating a big ol tiger pounce into a bird swapan AI biting everyone's ankles is going to be infinitely less popular than soulbeast was lol

It won't be long at all.

Let me go ahead and share it right now actually:

Marks: 3 - 3 - 2Skirm: 2 - 1 - 3Beastmaster: 3 - 2 - 2

LB: Energy & SeparationGS: Energy & Intelligence or EscapeDemolisher / Resistance

6 - We Heal As One7 - Protect Me8 - Signet Of Stone9 - Signet Of Renewal0 - Strength Of The Pack

Pet 1: TigerPet 2: Bristleback "Important because it can sit to the side of fights and not take damage. The Tiger dies too quickly if kept out too long."

  1. This build has enormous toughness stack and does not require the lean on protection from wilderness, nor the condi clear. This makes it benefit more from team fight synergy from things like FB. If it really needs a prot buff, it can use protect me. It also gets a full 13 condi clear from Sig of Renewal, 2s of Resistance from Renewal, and 4s of Resistance when using Strength Of The Pack, due to Resistance Rune. This build can end a fight very quickly before ever needing to use that condi defense.
  2. Approach an opponent or it let it approach you while you are on LB side with Bristleback out. When the opponent is in melee range, swap to Greatsword and pet swap to Tiger. Hit first with Hilt Bash > Begin the Maul animation > Press the Tiger's F2 before Maul animation ends. If done correctly, when the Tiger hits he will be benefitting +50% +50% +25%. Between your Maul and the Tiger's F2 Pounce, it will 2HKO most opponents from full health. The only opponents that you should expect to survive this over-tuned Marksmanship combo are Necromancers with deep shroud bars and death line toughness stacking + protection.

~ Enjoy

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@"Trevor Boyer.6524" said:

Pet 2: Bristleback "Important because it can sit to the side of fights and not take damage. The Tiger dies too quickly if kept out too long."

I just wanted to point out that smokescale also does fine because the f1 makes it invulnerable while it is inside. Bristleback is definitely not necessary.

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@Trevor Boyer.6524 said:

@Shagie.7612 said:how soon until more people start eating a big ol tiger pounce into a bird swapan AI biting everyone's ankles is going to be infinitely less popular than soulbeast was lol

~ Enjoy

What will you do with your days once youve got every viable ranger build nerfed into the ground by our beloved balance team Trevor?Do you have a nice retirement home sorted? something with a nice view of a lake maybe?

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@Sandzibar.5134 said:

@Shagie.7612 said:how soon until more people start eating a big ol tiger pounce into a bird swapan AI biting everyone's ankles is going to be infinitely less popular than soulbeast was lol

~ Enjoy

What will you do with your days once youve got every viable ranger build nerfed into the ground by our beloved balance team Trevor?Do you have a nice retirement home sorted? something with a nice view of a lake maybe?

I can't speak for Trevor but considering he stuck out with druid to platinum when all other specs were OP, I think it's safe to say that Ranger mains like him and myself will continue to play the class regardless of how much anet nerfs it. Well, on second thought the only thing that would make me quit the class is if the pet became entirely useless which is what some people wanted on these forums: that it becomes like a mini pet with just a tiny bit of damage. That would probably be the only thing that makes me quit; not just the class but the game. Ranger is my first character and I chose it because of that permanent companion. I love animals IRL, so it was fitting to my personality in game.

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@Substance E.4852 said:

@Abyssisis.3971 said:^ what toughness are you running?

Dude's running full glass, catching all the vulnerability a LB ranger can dish out, standing in "sic em'ed" bird swipes and then cries for nerfs while calling others bad

I assumed as much from his lack of HP.

This is how much the bird actually hits for without buff and vuln stacking

v8VABcq.jpg

Seems pretty reasonable for a pet with 16k hp, no armor, hit's less than once a second, and still has a hard time hitting a moving target

Nearly 3k per kit no buff, no debuff as a pet... You think this is ok.............. omg...

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@Crozame.4098 said:

@Abyssisis.3971 said:^ what toughness are you running?

Dude's running full glass, catching all the vulnerability a LB ranger can dish out, standing in "sic em'ed" bird swipes and then cries for nerfs while calling others bad

I assumed as much from his lack of HP.

This is how much the bird actually hits for without buff and vuln stacking

v8VABcq.jpg

Seems pretty reasonable for a pet with 16k hp, no armor, hit's less than once a second, and still has a hard time hitting a moving target

Nearly 3k per kit no buff, no debuff as a pet... You think this is ok.............. omg...

Try attacking the Eagle.

Its sustain is on par with one of those tiny jagged bone minions.

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@Crozame.4098 said:

@Abyssisis.3971 said:^ what toughness are you running?

Dude's running full glass, catching all the vulnerability a LB ranger can dish out, standing in "sic em'ed" bird swipes and then cries for nerfs while calling others bad

I assumed as much from his lack of HP.

This is how much the bird actually hits for without buff and vuln stacking

v8VABcq.jpg

Seems pretty reasonable for a pet with 16k hp, no armor, hit's less than once a second, and still has a hard time hitting a moving target

Nearly 3k per kit no buff, no debuff as a pet... You think this is ok.............. omg...

Even tanky pets die in 2v2s lmao.

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So can you take a hard look at thief and mess next maybe? I know rangers were "an" issue but I honestly didn't have much problems in actually fighting them and making it out ontop. Sure they could be a pain in the butt however I can at least see them, now the root druids who just constantly cc you are an issue and I feel like soul-beast had issues but there were not profound in any way.

Messmers and Thieves are still running around exploding people, stealth is still an abused mechanic and something needs to be done on that front. I engaged a messmer the other day who would go stealth, and would be on their mount before I was even out of combat. When they finally did engage me I found it was a painful fight where they just loaded me up with condi and was still hitting me for at least 1-5k on their damage while being impossible to lock down.

Deadeyes are still running around doing deadeye things, I see a bunch of them out killing people left and right. Stomping from stealth and just otherwise being a nuisance. Im all for them being strong, but not seeing an enemy and them just unloading on you is terrible. I believe this is a exclusive issue in WvW and not something PvP really deals with so maybe do a separate patch for WvW to even them out a bit and widdle down these builds? I just feel like they are out of control right now..

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i like it when people say "it's fine because the high dmg pets also die fast so it's fine" ... this is true but the reality is

every pet dies fast, tanky pets , bursty pets in AOE in 2v2's or group fights... it doesn't matter if you run a horrible tanky pet or a decent bursty pet, they both die equally as fast ... the ai is absolute trash

pets are just terrible, please just remove them and give ranger control of the skills they would have and give coefficients back to the ranger weapon lines

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@Trevor Boyer.6524 said:

@"Shagie.7612" said:how soon until more people start eating a big ol tiger pounce into a bird swapan AI biting everyone's ankles is going to be infinitely less popular than soulbeast was lol

It won't be long at all.

Let me go ahead and share it right now actually:

Marks: 3 - 3 - 2Skirm: 2 - 1 - 3Beastmaster: 3 - 2 - 2

LB: Energy & SeparationGS: Energy & Intelligence or EscapeDemolisher / Resistance

6 - We Heal As One7 - Protect Me8 - Signet Of Stone9 - Signet Of Renewal0 - Strength Of The Pack

Pet 1: TigerPet 2: Bristleback "Important because it can sit to the side of fights and not take damage. The Tiger dies too quickly if kept out too long."
  1. This build has enormous toughness stack and does not require the lean on protection from wilderness, nor the condi clear. This makes it benefit more from team fight synergy from things like FB. If it really needs a prot buff, it can use protect me. It also gets a full 13 condi clear from Sig of Renewal, 2s of Resistance from Renewal, and 4s of Resistance when using Strength Of The Pack, due to Resistance Rune. This build can end a fight very quickly before ever needing to use that condi defense.
  2. Approach an opponent or it let it approach you while you are on LB side with Bristleback out. When the opponent is in melee range, swap to Greatsword and pet swap to Tiger. Hit first with Hilt Bash > Begin the Maul animation > Press the Tiger's F2 before Maul animation ends. If done correctly, when the Tiger hits he will be benefitting +50% +50% +25%. Between your Maul and the Tiger's F2 Pounce, it will 2HKO most opponents from full health. The only opponents that you should expect to survive this over-tuned Marksmanship combo are Necromancers with deep shroud bars and death line toughness stacking + protection.

~ Enjoy

d/f ele with earth shield destroys this combo setup though once you blow renewal since you have no condi removal outside of escape (energy and intelligence is better anyway since you want to have crits for maul) and mitigation with resistance rune... very little condi in general. you'll get destroyed by weakness, let's not forget also weakness destroys pet dmg and pet can't even clear it outside of swap.

it's fun for memes to get ranger pets nerfed more but outside of that, this like many other ranger builds will see 0 meta rep / top team rep / mAT rep esp since d/f ele is basically shaping up as a meta contender. better bruiser, better team play, better support and area denial. better off jus running soulbeast as a semi team support / bruisery role / mobile roamer.

enjoy it though before pet dmg gets nerfed again :+1:

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@"Thornwolf.9721" said:So can you take a hard look at thief and mess next maybe? I know rangers were "an" issue but I honestly didn't have much problems in actually fighting them and making it out ontop. Sure they could be a pain in the butt however I can at least see them, now the root druids who just constantly cc you are an issue and I feel like soul-beast had issues but there were not profound in any way.

Messmers and Thieves are still running around exploding people, stealth is still an abused mechanic and something needs to be done on that front. I engaged a messmer the other day who would go stealth, and would be on their mount before I was even out of combat. When they finally did engage me I found it was a painful fight where they just loaded me up with condi and was still hitting me for at least 1-5k on their damage while being impossible to lock down.

Deadeyes are still running around doing deadeye things, I see a bunch of them out killing people left and right. Stomping from stealth and just otherwise being a nuisance. Im all for them being strong, but not seeing an enemy and them just unloading on you is terrible. I believe this is a exclusive issue in WvW and not something PvP really deals with so maybe do a separate patch for WvW to even them out a bit and widdle down these builds? I just feel like they are out of control right now..

Wouldnt this imply that stealth is the issue and not the thief and mesmer professions.

Stealth in general has been in need of a major rework and thats just generally a fact even if it means that professions like thief might need a bit of compensation for making the overall mechanic of stealth weaker.... Right now the counterplay to rapid back to back uses of stealth is not present in the game. Any profession with stealth gains a bit too much of an advantage over the ones that dont because counterplay is lacking.

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@Trevor Boyer.6524 said:

@Abyssisis.3971 said:^ what toughness are you running?

Dude's running full glass, catching all the vulnerability a LB ranger can dish out, standing in "sic em'ed" bird swipes and then cries for nerfs while calling others bad

I assumed as much from his lack of HP.

This is how much the bird actually hits for without buff and vuln stacking

v8VABcq.jpg

Seems pretty reasonable for a pet with 16k hp, no armor, hit's less than once a second, and still has a hard time hitting a moving target

Nearly 3k per kit no buff, no debuff as a pet... You think this is ok.............. omg...

Try attacking the Eagle.

Its sustain is on par with one of those tiny jagged bone minions.

My question would be why then jagged bone minions dont hit for even at least half of what the eagle does.I get the whole "because one is a brainless minion and the other is a trained pet" argument but thats a bit moot at this point if you are gonna use something like that as a counter argument/comparison isnt it.

im not going to advocate Eagle nerfs though if any pet temps people to explore and move away from gazelle and smoke scale its honestly a good thing imo.I still want anet to look at making pure passve (non commanded) pet cc attacks have better tells though. There is 100% no reason not to do this.

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@"Thornwolf.9721" said:So can you take a hard look at thief and mess next maybe? I know rangers were "an" issue but I honestly didn't have much problems in actually fighting them and making it out ontop. Sure they could be a pain in the butt however I can at least see them, now the root druids who just constantly cc you are an issue and I feel like soul-beast had issues but there were not profound in any way.

Messmers and Thieves are still running around exploding people, stealth is still an abused mechanic and something needs to be done on that front. I engaged a messmer the other day who would go stealth, and would be on their mount before I was even out of combat. When they finally did engage me I found it was a painful fight where they just loaded me up with condi and was still hitting me for at least 1-5k on their damage while being impossible to lock down.

Deadeyes are still running around doing deadeye things, I see a bunch of them out killing people left and right. Stomping from stealth and just otherwise being a nuisance. Im all for them being strong, but not seeing an enemy and them just unloading on you is terrible. I believe this is a exclusive issue in WvW and not something PvP really deals with so maybe do a separate patch for WvW to even them out a bit and widdle down these builds? I just feel like they are out of control right now..

still complaining about mesmer or theif when guard,rev,necro,ranger exist.https://imgur.com/gallery/qW7yY4g

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@ZDragon.3046 said:

@Abyssisis.3971 said:^ what toughness are you running?

Dude's running full glass, catching all the vulnerability a LB ranger can dish out, standing in "sic em'ed" bird swipes and then cries for nerfs while calling others bad

I assumed as much from his lack of HP.

This is how much the bird actually hits for without buff and vuln stacking

v8VABcq.jpg

Seems pretty reasonable for a pet with 16k hp, no armor, hit's less than once a second, and still has a hard time hitting a moving target

Nearly 3k per kit no buff, no debuff as a pet... You think this is ok.............. omg...

Try attacking the Eagle.

Its sustain is on par with one of those tiny jagged bone minions.

My question would be why then jagged bone minions dont hit for even at least half of what the eagle does.I get the whole "because one is a brainless minion and the other is a trained pet" argument but thats a bit moot at this point if you are gonna use something like that as a counter argument/comparison isnt it.

im not going to advocate Eagle nerfs though if any pet temps people to explore and move away from gazelle and smoke scale its honestly a good thing imo.I still want anet to look at making pure passve (non commanded) pet cc attacks have better tells though. There is 100% no reason not to do this.

if rangers weren't forced to carry the pet around then we wouldn't have this discussion. because it would be optional.

you answered the question yourself. minions are optional based on build, pets aren't and are tied to the class regardless of what build or strategy you run, the only thing that's optional is the pet that you use or simply have it on passive mode and not hit anything, but of course, since ranger lacks weapon coefficient damage (making it reliant on %'s not actual base dmg from weapon itself hint hint) this isn't an option and you won't kill anything and it would be stupid to do this.

i think most rangers, at least good ones or somewhat decent rangers, want to have control of the pet abilities anyway or not even have a pet at all and in return get some other shit that would actually increase the skill ceiling of the ranger while also getting their weapon coefficients back because a horribly built AI isn't hitting the target automatically.

people get this confused a lot, they think that the pet carries a good/decent ranger when it actually is just trash ai that lowers the skill ceiling entirely. while this might be true for a lot of casual ranger players , the good ones who actually know class matchups and are able to multi-class would benefit further by simply not having an AI at all. this is particularly probably why they haven't decided to do it because there is only a handful of decent ranger players in PvP that are still giving the class a chance.

i mean they DID try this with soulbeast but it has been nerfed so much that you basically have 2-3 tradeoffs for running the spec so people have went back to core for the most part, although I still think soulbeast has SOME play still. shame too, it was such a great class idea and structure but they nerfed it completely wrong and in the wrong areas and could have retained a lot of the class's uniqueness.

back then, even pre-HoT, this was solved somewhat by pets having lower damage and higher utility options, but then those got nerfed/became irrelevant due to state of the game changes see: wyverns, canines, spiders . now rangers didn't have as much dmg coming from pets, but they had exceptional utility in cc in fights that actually made a difference and could potentially turn fights. even then though, some useful skills from those pets were tied to auto attacks like tail swipe damage for example.

these pets had actually somewhat useful utility when the game was simpler but then once they introduced a spam fiesta into the game and added a plethora of other shit almost all pets have become irrelevant except smokescale because of it's utility and cc. it's not that it's a rather amazing utility or pet actually, it's just 1000x better than every other pet option. now a fear from a canine for example is literally useless.

pets do nothing but hinder good ranger players, because you can't explicitly control them entirely and trying to strategize around RNG is hard to do, and with that shoddy ai that , while does dmg for you automatically, is actually a hinderance and the trade off is the ranger can't get full dmg from their weapons. the 2 things you can do almost consistently is know that after smokescale's 1st attack he does a knockdown , this is ranger players simply having to work around shoddy design , not the other way around.

this results in a linear, low skill ceiling class that gets complained about constantly. removing pets and allowing the ranger full control of skills in some form or fashion solves this.

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@ZDragon.3046 said:

@"Thornwolf.9721" said:So can you take a hard look at thief and mess next maybe? I know rangers were "an" issue but I honestly didn't have much problems in actually fighting them and making it out ontop. Sure they could be a pain in the butt however I can at least see them, now the root druids who just constantly cc you are an issue and I feel like soul-beast had issues but there were not profound in any way.

Messmers and Thieves are still running around exploding people, stealth is still an abused mechanic and something needs to be done on that front. I engaged a messmer the other day who would go stealth, and would be on their mount before I was even out of combat. When they finally did engage me I found it was a painful fight where they just loaded me up with condi and was still hitting me for at least 1-5k on their damage while being impossible to lock down.

Deadeyes are still running around doing deadeye things, I see a bunch of them out killing people left and right. Stomping from stealth and just otherwise being a nuisance. Im all for them being strong, but not seeing an enemy and them just unloading on you is terrible. I believe this is a exclusive issue in WvW and not something PvP really deals with so maybe do a separate patch for WvW to even them out a bit and widdle down these builds? I just feel like they are out of control right now..

Wouldnt this imply that stealth is the issue and not the thief and mesmer professions.

Stealth in general has been in need of a major rework and thats just generally a fact even if it means that professions like thief might need a bit of compensation for making the overall mechanic of stealth weaker.... Right now the counterplay to rapid back to back uses of stealth is not present in the game. Any profession with stealth gains a bit too much of an advantage over the ones that dont because counterplay is lacking.

@"Thornwolf.9721" said:So can you take a hard look at thief and mess next maybe? I know rangers were "an" issue but I honestly didn't have much problems in actually fighting them and making it out ontop. Sure they could be a pain in the butt however I can at least see them, now the root druids who just constantly cc you are an issue and I feel like soul-beast had issues but there were not profound in any way.

Messmers and Thieves are still running around exploding people, stealth is still an abused mechanic and something needs to be done on that front. I engaged a messmer the other day who would go stealth, and would be on their mount before I was even out of combat. When they finally did engage me I found it was a painful fight where they just loaded me up with condi and was still hitting me for at least 1-5k on their damage while being impossible to lock down.

Deadeyes are still running around doing deadeye things, I see a bunch of them out killing people left and right. Stomping from stealth and just otherwise being a nuisance. Im all for them being strong, but not seeing an enemy and them just unloading on you is terrible. I believe this is a exclusive issue in WvW and not something PvP really deals with so maybe do a separate patch for WvW to even them out a bit and widdle down these builds? I just feel like they are out of control right now..

still complaining about mesmer or theif when guard,rev,necro,ranger exist.

I mean at least I can see those classes, I can have a chance to fight those classes. I can outplay those classes and usually overcome them if I know what im up against; With stealth the opposite is true. I hate thieves and messmers who abuse stealth, I find it gimmicky and overall a poor feature that has no place in this game due to the fact that like every game that has it the mechanic is broken and just abused.

Its not the classes themselves, its stealth as stated above. Stealth should not be as it is currently and it should not give the bonuses it gives, I believe once you get in a fight you have to commit and can't just cheese into stealth to give you the advantage. Its not skilled gameplay and it sure as heck doesn't allow for fun on both sides of the fight, when I see a thief or a messmer I think "Oh boy here we go, this bs again." I don't get the joy of engagement I get from fighting other classes, which is a shame because when a thief or messmer is not within stealth they can be fun encounters.

I feel like removing stealth from the game would not harm these classes at all, make thieves overall more of a dodge/avoidance class that uses quick movements to avoid damage while delivering it. This then would offer counter play in the form of torment, due to torment doing tons of damage if the enemy moves which means if the thief gets caught they get punished.

Messmers relying solely on their clones, and not on stealth seems fair to me considering their clones still do decent damage and can be annoying. Paired with stealth this becomes astronomically obnoxious. There needs to be a trade off and both classes have these mechanics TOGETHER, and the reveal effect just is not enough to compensate for the kind of gameplay this premotes.

Its either one or the other, You either get clones/dodges or you get stealth. It should not and never should of been both, So I fully push the idea to the dev's that they need to really decide on what they want these classes to be. (There are other classes in a similar boat, im looking at you guardian... necro... and even rev.) How do you want these classes to play and what do you want them to do? What is their purpose. And what is their special thing that sets them apart outside of the color pallet/health pool.

Messmer =Duelist with clones, good counters and strong mobility. No stealth~thief = Brawler with good cc, counters and tons of mobility/dodges. no stealth~

Of course they'd need to rework a massive chunk of the classes, give them compensation such as counters or defensive procs. They'd also need to fix weapons who provide stealth but if they got the tools of say rangers/warriors/guardians or any other class with invulnerables, purges, cc-breaks, counter utilities and interrupts Im sure they'd be fine. Im down for thieves and messmers blitzing me down, as long as I see it coming and I had a chance to do something about it... Right now its not that.

Stealth===>> self buff===> Play ring around the rosey=====> Instantly kill opponent=== rinse/repeat.

For those of us on the receiving end its.

===>>Engage enemy====> Enemy vanishes ====> Tries to find enemy, who went stealth and teleported to avoid detection =====> Instant death once they engage ===> Feels bad====> QQ's On the forums, screaming for nerfs in the wrong areas ===> Pushes until class is gutted ====> Laughs when its done.

The reaction and ramifications of this playstyle is why so many scream for nerfs, the two classes feel like they are WAAAAY too loaded. Im down for them having a stealth E-spec which is the only source of stealth. (Deadeye for example) This would limit it to a specific playstyle, as dead-eyes have a portion of their kit that makes them stationary I believe stealth would not be an issue. But in exchange they loose mobility and become much slower, so its high risk with high reward if done properly.

Same with messmers, a E-spec that gives stealth.... (Assassin in upcoming Expansion cough, cough ) But removes clones and makes stealth their mechanic, and their niche in that gameplay loop is fine. But this then of course means they loose more than they gain, so if thats your type of gameplay style then sure its there for you but it shouldn't be a major part of a class that has clones for days and tons of mobility ontop of sustain and get out of jail free cards.

So now you know why everyone screams for nerfs to both classes, its not the classes themselves. Its one simple thing that is ruining them; And A-net has been nerfing everything BUT that. IF you removed stealth im pretty sure Mirage could have a second dodge, Im also pretty sure they could make chrono strong again and Im damn sure Daredevil could be made its old self again. Stealth is what is leading to the QQ it does in every game, so much so that its effected the classes associated with it negatively for years.

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@ZhouX.8742 said:

@"Shagie.7612" said:how soon until more people start eating a big ol tiger pounce into a bird swapan AI biting everyone's ankles is going to be infinitely less popular than soulbeast was lol

It won't be long at all.

Let me go ahead and share it right now actually:

Marks: 3 - 3 - 2Skirm: 2 - 1 - 3Beastmaster: 3 - 2 - 2

LB: Energy & SeparationGS: Energy & Intelligence or EscapeDemolisher / Resistance

6 - We Heal As One7 - Protect Me8 - Signet Of Stone9 - Signet Of Renewal0 - Strength Of The Pack

Pet 1: TigerPet 2: Bristleback "Important because it can sit to the side of fights and not take damage. The Tiger dies too quickly if kept out too long."
  1. This build has enormous toughness stack and does not require the lean on protection from wilderness, nor the condi clear. This makes it benefit more from team fight synergy from things like FB. If it really needs a prot buff, it can use protect me. It also gets a full 13 condi clear from Sig of Renewal, 2s of Resistance from Renewal, and 4s of Resistance when using Strength Of The Pack, due to Resistance Rune. This build can end a fight very quickly before ever needing to use that condi defense.
  2. Approach an opponent or it let it approach you while you are on LB side with Bristleback out. When the opponent is in melee range, swap to Greatsword and pet swap to Tiger. Hit first with Hilt Bash > Begin the Maul animation > Press the Tiger's F2 before Maul animation ends. If done correctly, when the Tiger hits he will be benefitting +50% +50% +25%. Between your Maul and the Tiger's F2 Pounce, it will 2HKO most opponents from full health. The only opponents that you should expect to survive this over-tuned Marksmanship combo are Necromancers with deep shroud bars and death line toughness stacking + protection.

~ Enjoy

d/f ele with earth shield destroys this combo setup though once you blow renewal since you have no condi removal outside of escape (energy and intelligence is better anyway since you want to have crits for maul) and mitigation with resistance rune... very little condi in general. you'll get destroyed by weakness, let's not forget also weakness destroys pet dmg and pet can't even clear it outside of swap.

it's fun for memes to get ranger pets nerfed more but outside of that, this like many other ranger builds will see 0 meta rep / top team rep / mAT rep esp since d/f ele is basically shaping up as a meta contender. better bruiser, better team play, better support and area denial. better off jus running soulbeast as a semi team support / bruisery role / mobile roamer.

enjoy it though before pet dmg gets nerfed again :+1:

Yeah, it would seem so, until you learn how to work the build.

  1. This build isn't meant to be your universal all purpose build. It is very specifically to be used as a counter vs power builds or in matches where there aren't heavy condis. This new meta with build templates and especially after 2v2s teaching the masses about how to better counter swap, is kind of putting an end to "one build does it all" metas. Meta setups are shifting more towards having 2 or 3 build templates or more, setup to shift your strengths & weaknesses when your being countered, or when you know you can do the countering. The build I listed here is a part of a triple build setup I've been refining that uses "Soulbeast for DPS + Decap" - "Ranger for stronger team fight presence while countering power play" - and "Druid for stronger side node/team fight while countering condi". Looking at this one build that I posted here is seriously underestimating the new swap play that will now be demanded in a good class meta guide.
  2. Energy and Intelligence is not better because the build I mentioned here has nearly a 90% crit rate.
  3. No, you don't get "destroyed by weakness" because you are using Resistance Rune, which makes your elite cast a 4s Resistance Boon, which can be thrown onto the Tiger with We Heal As One. This is in addition to the Resistance Boon that comes off of Renewal and the that condi cleanse in general. And that's not even to mention the -25% duration to condis from the Resistance Rune, which more quickly ends the short Weaknesses applications in pvp that no longer have expertise or + condi duration stats. Remember, this build is meant to be hovering near team fights where you're near support that is cycling condi cleanse. This build's job is not to 1v1 a condi build. Its job is to completely counter power builds.
  4. Soulbeast can no longer bruise. It's been reduced to a DPS + Decap after the nerfing. Sure, some of the best of us can still brawl on it in 1v1s. But truth be told, when we go against players of equal skill level on other bruiser classes, it's just not a good idea to engage anymore. It's too risky unless the Soulbeast knows for a fact they can win. Thus the purpose behind a good vs. power bruiser swap and a vs. condi bruiser swap.

From the time I've spent using this build in about the past 4 or 5 days, I've found that all Eles die the easiest out of anything to this build. This is for a few reasons:

  1. They always go at you, believing they are super tanky.
  2. They assume other players are playing tanky builds with subpar to mid-grade damage that they will be able to sustain.
  3. In the midst of a tanky meta, they forget they have the lowest health pool.
  4. All it takes it 1 Tiger Pounce. Just need to bait out the CDs & effects that would stop it.

~ Oh and also, you can use the Ibolga in place of the Bristleback for its F2 pull, which is like DH Trap play but much more effective. The Ibolga pull will bring the enemy right to you for a swap into Hilt Bash > Maul > Tiger Pounce. The CC just plainly also helps lay down a lot more pressure to bait out their stabs & stun breaks. Less consistent damage though.

@ZDragon.3046 said:

@Abyssisis.3971 said:^ what toughness are you running?

Dude's running full glass, catching all the vulnerability a LB ranger can dish out, standing in "sic em'ed" bird swipes and then cries for nerfs while calling others bad

I assumed as much from his lack of HP.

This is how much the bird actually hits for without buff and vuln stacking

v8VABcq.jpg

Seems pretty reasonable for a pet with 16k hp, no armor, hit's less than once a second, and still has a hard time hitting a moving target

Nearly 3k per kit no buff, no debuff as a pet... You think this is ok.............. omg...

Try attacking the Eagle.

Its sustain is on par with one of those tiny jagged bone minions.

My question would be why then jagged bone minions dont hit for even at least half of what the eagle does.I get the whole "because one is a brainless minion and the other is a trained pet" argument but thats a bit moot at this point if you are gonna use something like that as a counter argument/comparison isnt it.

im not going to advocate Eagle nerfs though if any pet temps people to explore and move away from gazelle and smoke scale its honestly a good thing imo.I still want anet to look at making pure passve (non commanded) pet cc attacks have better tells though. There is 100% no reason not to do this.

Dude....

Bone Minions are a utility skill.

Pets are a CLASS KIT, like a Reaper Shroud. or Warrior Bursts, or Mesmer Shatters.

@Aylpse.6280 said:Okay cool. Now make Druid playable.

I found how to make it work. I'll write a thread or something on it later. Not in the mood atm.

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@Trevor Boyer.6524 said:

@"Shagie.7612" said:how soon until more people start eating a big ol tiger pounce into a bird swapan AI biting everyone's ankles is going to be infinitely less popular than soulbeast was lol

It won't be long at all.

Let me go ahead and share it right now actually:

Marks: 3 - 3 - 2Skirm: 2 - 1 - 3Beastmaster: 3 - 2 - 2

LB: Energy & SeparationGS: Energy & Intelligence or EscapeDemolisher / Resistance

6 - We Heal As One7 - Protect Me8 - Signet Of Stone9 - Signet Of Renewal0 - Strength Of The Pack

Pet 1: TigerPet 2: Bristleback "Important because it can sit to the side of fights and not take damage. The Tiger dies too quickly if kept out too long."
  1. This build has enormous toughness stack and does not require the lean on protection from wilderness, nor the condi clear. This makes it benefit more from team fight synergy from things like FB. If it really needs a prot buff, it can use protect me. It also gets a full 13 condi clear from Sig of Renewal, 2s of Resistance from Renewal, and 4s of Resistance when using Strength Of The Pack, due to Resistance Rune. This build can end a fight very quickly before ever needing to use that condi defense.
  2. Approach an opponent or it let it approach you while you are on LB side with Bristleback out. When the opponent is in melee range, swap to Greatsword and pet swap to Tiger. Hit first with Hilt Bash > Begin the Maul animation > Press the Tiger's F2 before Maul animation ends. If done correctly, when the Tiger hits he will be benefitting +50% +50% +25%. Between your Maul and the Tiger's F2 Pounce, it will 2HKO most opponents from full health. The only opponents that you should expect to survive this over-tuned Marksmanship combo are Necromancers with deep shroud bars and death line toughness stacking + protection.

~ Enjoy

d/f ele with earth shield destroys this combo setup though once you blow renewal since you have no condi removal outside of escape (energy and intelligence is better anyway since you want to have crits for maul) and mitigation with resistance rune... very little condi in general. you'll get destroyed by weakness, let's not forget also weakness destroys pet dmg and pet can't even clear it outside of swap.

it's fun for memes to get ranger pets nerfed more but outside of that, this like many other ranger builds will see 0 meta rep / top team rep / mAT rep esp since d/f ele is basically shaping up as a meta contender. better bruiser, better team play, better support and area denial. better off jus running soulbeast as a semi team support / bruisery role / mobile roamer.

enjoy it though before pet dmg gets nerfed again :+1:

Yeah, it would seem so, until you learn how to work the build.
  1. This build isn't meant to be your universal all purpose build. It is very specifically to be used as a counter vs power builds or in matches where there aren't heavy condis. This new meta with build templates and especially after 2v2s teaching the masses about how to better counter swap, is kind of putting an end to "one build does it all" metas. Meta setups are shifting more towards having 2 or 3 build templates or more, setup to shift your strengths & weaknesses when your being countered, or when you know you can do the countering. The build I listed here is a part of a triple build setup I've been refining that uses "Soulbeast for DPS + Decap" - "Ranger for stronger team fight presence while countering power play" - and "Druid for stronger side node/team fight while countering condi". Looking at this one build that I posted here is seriously underestimating the new swap play that will now be demanded in a good class meta guide.
  2. Energy and Intelligence is not better because the build I mentioned here has nearly a 90% crit rate.
  3. No, you don't get "destroyed by weakness" because you are using Resistance Rune, which makes your elite cast a 4s Resistance Boon, which can be thrown onto the Tiger with We Heal As One. This is in addition to the Resistance Boon that comes off of Renewal and the that condi cleanse in general. And that's not even to mention the -25% duration to condis from the Resistance Rune, which more quickly ends the short Weaknesses applications in pvp that no longer have expertise or + condi duration stats. Remember, this build is meant to be hovering near team fights where you're near support that is cycling condi cleanse. This build's job is not to 1v1 a condi build. Its job is to completely counter power builds.
  4. Soulbeast can no longer bruise. It's been reduced to a DPS + Decap after the nerfing. Sure, some of the best of us can still brawl on it in 1v1s. But truth be told, when we go against players of equal skill level on other bruiser classes, it's just not a good idea to engage anymore. It's too risky unless the Soulbeast knows for a fact they can win. Thus the purpose behind a good vs. power bruiser swap and a vs. condi bruiser swap.

From the time I've spent using this build in about the past 4 or 5 days, I've found that all Eles die the easiest out of anything to this build. This is for a few reasons:
  1. They always go at you, believing they are super tanky.
  2. They assume other players are playing tanky builds with subpar to mid-grade damage that they will be able to sustain.
  3. In the midst of a tanky meta, they forget they have the lowest health pool.
  4. All it takes it 1 Tiger Pounce. Just need to bait out the CDs & effects that would stop it.

~ Oh and also, you can use the Ibolga in place of the Bristleback for its F2 pull, which is like DH Trap play but much more effective. The Ibolga pull will bring the enemy right to you for a swap into Hilt Bash > Maul > Tiger Pounce. The CC just plainly also helps lay down a lot more pressure to bait out their stabs & stun breaks. Less consistent damage though.

@Abyssisis.3971 said:^ what toughness are you running?

Dude's running full glass, catching all the vulnerability a LB ranger can dish out, standing in "sic em'ed" bird swipes and then cries for nerfs while calling others bad

I assumed as much from his lack of HP.

This is how much the bird actually hits for without buff and vuln stacking

v8VABcq.jpg

Seems pretty reasonable for a pet with 16k hp, no armor, hit's less than once a second, and still has a hard time hitting a moving target

Nearly 3k per kit no buff, no debuff as a pet... You think this is ok.............. omg...

Try attacking the Eagle.

Its sustain is on par with one of those tiny jagged bone minions.

My question would be why then jagged bone minions dont hit for even at least half of what the eagle does.I get the whole "because one is a brainless minion and the other is a trained pet" argument but thats a bit moot at this point if you are gonna use something like that as a counter argument/comparison isnt it.

im not going to advocate Eagle nerfs though if any pet temps people to explore and move away from gazelle and smoke scale its honestly a good thing imo.I still want anet to look at making pure passve (non commanded) pet cc attacks have better tells though. There is 100% no reason not to do this.

Dude....

Bone Minions are a utility skill.

Pets are a CLASS KIT, like a Reaper Shroud. or Warrior Bursts, or Mesmer Shatters.

@Aylpse.6280 said:Okay cool. Now make Druid playable.

I found how to make it work. I'll write a thread or something on it later. Not in the mood atm.

Please do, I miss playing druid competitively

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