Druid pet nerf is NOT ok! Here's why and what to do instead

[Musha.4025]

@"Deadvillager.1956" said:I dont really understand why you would take the druid spec for damage. If you are too "lazy" to swap your specs all the time depending on whatever content you are currently playing, I can totally understand. Why you would pick druid with the intend to ignore its core mechanic and do damage with a wet noodle weapon instead is beyond me though. Not saying that the 20% stat squish on pets was needed but thematically speaking, Anet could also have reduced your offensive stats or total damage output instead. You got away pretty good with the pet nerf.

My guess is that you're a meta player. A min/maxer. And you represent only 1 demographic in a melting pot of different play styles. There is a very large portion of the playerbase, myself included, that plays for fun, theme, or style; not how do I get the MOST damage so I can out dps the next guy. If you go back and read the thread, not a single person has said that druid was the highest dps spec and they loved playing it for its raw power. It is my estimation that a majority of the people posting here who are firmly against the druid pet nerf NEVER played druid to min/max their dps like you, but because the TRAITS offered a fun play style that complimented their build. Just because somebody is playing a druid in no way means they're using a staff or CA, but it DOES mean they are likely making great use of the traits. It WAS very possible to make a dps build with the druid spec. Of course, other classes and specs could clearly out-dps the druid, but that is missing the point entirely. Now all those druid-included dps builds are even more out-classed. So before you and your like-minded peers continue to tell us to just play something else, please take your min/max meta build-colored glasses off so you can open your perspective and empathize with the players who prefer creativity and diversity to all-out dps.And I don't know why so many people misunderstand so much how a ranger works! The pet IS PART OF the ranger class! Nerfing the pet stats by 20% DOES reduce the ranger's offense, damage output, and survivability by 20%. The ranger and the pet are a package deal. The pet is not a bonus for the ranger. I bet you'd be here griping, too, if they nerfed all warrior burst skills by 20%, or all thief stealing, stealth, and initiative skills by 20%, or all mesmer clones by 20%, or all necro shroud skills by 20%. Do I need to keep going?

[Sobx.1758]

@Lazze.9870 said:

@Sobx.1758 said:

@Lazze.9870 said:

@derd.6413 said:

@Musha.4025 said:

@"Obtena.7952" said:This doesn't really make sense ... choosing Druid as a support role IS diversity in builds and opening build options because Soulbeast and Core Ranger are poor support. If you want to play DPS druid, you can ... it just won't be optimal. The meta think is infectious ... be aware that the game does not cater to that kind of thinking.Choosing Druid as DPS is build diversity. Choosing Druid as support is going with the flow. Regardless, no class or elite spec should lock a player into ANY role. That was the core concept upon which GW2 was developed.

no, the classes shouldn't lock you in a role but elite specs aren't classes, they're traitlines

Picking Honor as a Guardian doesn't force you into a healer role nor does it restrict your offensive stats. Picking Water Magic as an Elementalist doesn't force you into a healer role nor does it restrict your offensive stats. You need to understand where people are coming from. Druid used to be perfectly viable as a complement to a more offensive ranger build. Anet keeps shoehorning it into being nothing except a healer with buffs.

Like I said in a few comments above, I would be fine with that if they didn't implement it in such a lazy way. Simply taking away pet stats is a lazy trade off. Their changes are making the Druid dull and second tier at best in anything that isn't raids.

Elite spec isn't the same thing as core specs, if it was, it wouldn't get a differentiating name.

You're pointing out semantics and skipping the problem entirely.

Read the thread.

No, I'm not. You're literally comparing especs to core specs which is wrong and that's what I'm pointing out. You based your post on that -that's not "pointing out semantics", that's just showing your logic was flawed when you typed what you did.

[Lazze.9870]

@Warscythes.9307 said:

@Lazze.9870 said:

@Warscythes.9307 said:Now I think about, isn't locking you into a role by picking an elite line the intended purpose? You specialize in one thing and give up others? Most elite specs only do one thing and one thing only.

There are 18 elites especs. Of which Renegade, FB, Herald, Scourge, Chrono, tempest, Scrapper is what I would consider to fulfill multi-roles at a somewhat reasonable level. This isn't really a new thing no?

It is a new thing that they keep shoehorning the druid into doing a single role in ONE FRACTION OF ONE GAMEMODE.

Druid isn't a particularly good support spec for pvp or wvw in comparison to others, and it has even fallen out of the fractal meta. Instead of shuffling things around and do some rework to make it on par as a support, while implementing a proper trade off as a part of it, they gut the pets in the laziest way possible.

Most specs really aren't that great in more than one game mode though. No I don't really count open world PvE as a metric as balance because you can run literally anything. Fractals sure but is meh at worst, I don't think anybody will say no to druids unless you are speedclearing which I wager most aren't.

Functionality most elite specs are really good in 1 game mode and kind of meh in others. It was the stated intention for elite specs that is suppose to specialize, that's why is called specialization no? If is currently weak in its supposed role then buff it and maybe bring some off spec up to speed. But I don't think it was ever their intention for elite spec to be really good multiple roles other than some outliers such as Chrono.

You don't get it, I'm not wasting more of my time.

[Lazze.9870]

@Sobx.1758 said:

@Lazze.9870 said:

@Sobx.1758 said:

@Lazze.9870 said:

@derd.6413 said:

@Musha.4025 said:

@"Obtena.7952" said:This doesn't really make sense ... choosing Druid as a support role IS diversity in builds and opening build options because Soulbeast and Core Ranger are poor support. If you want to play DPS druid, you can ... it just won't be optimal. The meta think is infectious ... be aware that the game does not cater to that kind of thinking.Choosing Druid as DPS is build diversity. Choosing Druid as support is going with the flow. Regardless, no class or elite spec should lock a player into ANY role. That was the core concept upon which GW2 was developed.

no, the classes shouldn't lock you in a role but elite specs aren't classes, they're traitlines

Picking Honor as a Guardian doesn't force you into a healer role nor does it restrict your offensive stats. Picking Water Magic as an Elementalist doesn't force you into a healer role nor does it restrict your offensive stats. You need to understand where people are coming from. Druid used to be perfectly viable as a complement to a more offensive ranger build. Anet keeps shoehorning it into being nothing except a healer with buffs.

Like I said in a few comments above, I would be fine with that if they didn't implement it in such a lazy way. Simply taking away pet stats is a lazy trade off. Their changes are making the Druid dull and second tier at best in anything that isn't raids.

Elite spec isn't the same thing as core specs, if it was, it wouldn't get a differentiating name.

You're pointing out semantics and skipping the problem entirely.

Read the thread.

No, I'm not. You're literally comparing especs to core specs which is wrong and that's what I'm pointing out. You based your post on that -that's not "pointing out semantics", that's just showing your logic was flawed when you typed what you did.

Yes, you are. I was simply pointing out how picking a healer traitline won't automaically lower your attributes or FORCE you into a role on any other class. That's the direction Anet is taking the druid. Elite spec or not.If you read the thread instead of wasting time pointing out meaningless things, you'd know I already argued that a trade off for druid is fine, but the way they did it and how they keep balancing it is not. If you wanna have a conversation, talk about that. Not the definition of an elite spec. It's irrelevant. What matters are function and balance.

[Wondrouswall.7169]

@"InsaneQR.7412" said:Woohoo woundrousswall is back!Yeah F5 or core pet buff would be a great.

Yeah, back for a little bit as things are slowing down in the desert. Thought I'd check on things after a long break since both games update on a Tuesday. Burning out in one desert and reluctant to tread back into this one. Haha!

On topic: Anet could revisit the scrapped idea of Alpha Strike for inspiration on a core F5. Was always keen on the idea, but the execution probably dangles the fruit too high.

[Shiyo.3578]

@enkeny.6937 said:I tried to write down the trade off for classes. I will ask around in my guild too, but maybe you can help me too:what is the trade-off for Chronomancer and scrapper?

what i found as a weak trade-off: tempest, reaper, soulbeast, dead-eye, holosmith, dragon-huntermaybe weak: mirage, daredevil, renegade

(by weak I mean it is not a relevant loss. )

Chrono is literally just mesmer +1