Expanded Weapon Proficiencies: Dual-Wielding Mace Ranger

[Rubi Bayer.8493]

Expanded weapon proficiencies are coming with the second major update to Secrets of the Obscure. 

Read on to learn about the ranger's new weapon set: dual maces!

 

 

[Beddo.1907]

Didn't expect ranger to start off the weapon previews.
Looks like a lot of AoE damage and buffs and one of the skills reminds me of old sword.
Barrier and Stab is probably the biggest +, since ranger struggled with those.

[Elricht Kaltwind.8796]

Me watching ranger get the weirdest and most un-ranger weapons imaginable while waiting 11 years for the most obvious choice of weapon for a ranger: ☠️

Edited November 8, 2023 by Elricht Kaltwind.8796

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

5 minutes ago, Elricht Kaltwind.8796 said:

Me watching ranger get the weirdest and most un-ranger weapons imaginable while waiting 11 years for the most obvious choice of weapon for a ranger: ☠️

But ranger already has sword, torch, axe, shortbow, warhorn, and longbow?

[Mattsta.8694]

Small editing error:

Quote

If you hit an enemy with the initial strike, you’ll gain Nature’s Strength, which I’ll describe below.

Seems the write-up was edited at some point to talk about Nature's Strength first, but the Mace 2 breakdown mentions that it will be talked about later.

I'm curious (slightly worried?) about Nature's Strength only coming from Mace but in both main and off-hand will mean mixing mace with other weapons will be less of a thing over always dual-wielding maces.

[DanAlcedo.3281]

A support main hand for my Alac heal Druid? 

Nice! 

[NazzyDragon.9127]

 

1 hour ago, Elricht Kaltwind.8796 said:

Me watching ranger get the weirdest and most un-ranger weapons imaginable while waiting 11 years for the most obvious choice of weapon for a ranger: ☠️

inb4 you insist pistol or rifle, to which I point you back to the forums during BETA... *checks notes* almost 12 goddamned years ago.

n o.

P.S. THANK YOU, devs, for a support mainhand weapon to go on druid. Axe and sword had 0 application to a healer and just felt off.

Edited November 8, 2023 by NazzyDragon.9127

[Flapjackson.1596]

Another unique stacking buff. 
 

Adding a mechanic to a weapon is interesting, and I hope that doesn’t backfire, but I can’t support adding more bloat to an already messy boon bar.

Can we get proper UI customization some point this lifetime before we pile more on? GW2’s resistance to adjustable UI with its myriad of boons, dozens of non-combat buffs, and dancing buff positioning is frankly absurd.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Flapjackson.1596

[aymnad.9023]

The reset is really intriguing because this is the kind of mechanic you expect from a trait but has been seen on some weapons like engineer sword. I wonder how it will affect the gameplay especially in PvP where the reset can do a lot (it can be tricky to make it work and not be too strong).

The 2 sounds like a mixt of engie mace and guard mace. It will be really strong in PvE as ranger lacked mainhand support option. 

From the look of the trailer it looks like there is a channeled attack that has multiple dazes (probably the 5).

Ranger giving barrier makes so much sense. I have suggested making Glyph of unity (non celestial) thorn armor (give barrier + a unique effect to allies that bleeds enemies) back in PoF. I am super happy see this theme on 4 but expected it for allies.

I really like how both mainhand and offhand complement the existing kit of ranger and am excited for it. (also waiting to see what the untamed version will be)

Edited November 8, 2023 by aymnad.9023

[psizone.8437]

2 hours ago, Beddo.1907 said:

one of the skills reminds me of old sword.

I had the same thought when watching it. It's like what OG sword could have been if it was updated instead of reworked.

I'm honestly pleasantly surprised, if the numbers are right then it could be really fun to use. Off hand being defensive is also great.

[Terrorhuz.4695]

Please for the love of God you need to hire a 3d animator

[Oahkahmewolf.6210]

 

2 hours ago, Elricht Kaltwind.8796 said:

Me watching ranger get the weirdest and most un-ranger weapons imaginable while waiting 11 years for the most obvious choice of weapon for a ranger: ☠️

depending on how you view ranger, generally speaking the way ANET design ranger was to be attuned with nature and that can be seen in anyway. Archetype wise and thematic wise, a ranger generally live and make use of the wild, fashion tools with wood or some other material in the environment. There's a reason why Dagger, Axes and even swords make sense for a ranger to have in the wild. Its a handy tool that helps cut, shave and carve material into things you need. A mace is a club, like a hammer that can smack and wack things in the ground, break thing apart easily.

Being a ranger doesn't mean you exclusively use range weapons, you have the option but you don't live up to the literal definition of the name of the class.

So its a pretty Ranger thing to have and  that is not an opinion.

[SleepyBat.9034]

Powercreep hype, less goo!

[kiwituatara.6053]

Sword mace + mace warhorn with QuickDraw for quick stacks of that new buff? Might be fun

[MuscleBobBuffPants.1406]

The one exciting thing about this is the fact they are actually beta testing things. It would be nice if they did this kind of beta testing for patches on PTR servers. This is a good direction and the fact they have another team member for balancing. Maybe he can focus on PTR feedback and servers.

[Za Shaloc.3908]

Sounds pretty exciting! When maces were announced I was really hoping ANet would take them into this sort of thematic direction, so I am very pleased to see it be true. I am happy that at least mainhand has supportive capabilities and look forward to see what the ambush skill will be like for Untamed. Running dual staff on any setup is a bit boring and having a somewhat meaningless mainhand has always been a slight bummer when playing support Druid. I was totally indifferent to new Ranger weapons and now I can't wait to test them out.

[Fueki.4753]

The twenty seconds preview looks fun. And the roll backwards (it may just be a regular a dodge though) is reminiscent of Hornet's Sting, which they removed from sword with its dework.

Can we have information on whether these are going to be core additions, or are going to require SotO as well?

Edited November 8, 2023 by Fueki.4753

[DarkFlopy.8197]

Looks like #3 has what seems to be an evade and then a leap with what seems to be a short stun.

#5 looks like a small daze or a stun after every hit and last hit seems to be stronger with no CC, hope the damage is somewhat close to Whirling Defense (not the same but at least some damage).

The idea of Nature’s Strength and Force of Nature seem nice at least from how its described.

I have high hopes for this weapon especially when I play full melee Power Untamed, I will pick this up and try it, very curious about the Ambush Skill of the mace.

Edited November 8, 2023 by DarkFlopy.8197

[Elricht Kaltwind.8796]

2 hours ago, NazzyDragon.9127 said:

 

inb4 you insist pistol or rifle, to which I point you back to the forums during BETA... *checks notes* almost 12 goddamned years ago.

n o.

P.S. THANK YOU, devs, for a support mainhand weapon to go on druid. Axe and sword had 0 application to a healer and just felt off.

Ok, point me to the forums then. I'm not sure what that will accomplish. Point me to where anyone said that a game that currently had no mounts, no revenant, no elite specs, etc said that the game would never have a ranger wielding rifle, then explain why that's significant.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Elricht Kaltwind.8796

[Elricht Kaltwind.8796]

1 hour ago, Oahkahmewolf.6210 said:

 

depending on how you view ranger, generally speaking the way ANET design ranger was to be attuned with nature and that can be seen in anyway. Archetype wise and thematic wise, a ranger generally live and make use of the wild, fashion tools with wood or some other material in the environment. There's a reason why Dagger, Axes and even swords make sense for a ranger to have in the wild. Its a handy tool that helps cut, shave and carve material into things you need. A mace is a club, like a hammer that can smack and wack things in the ground, break thing apart easily.

Being a ranger doesn't mean you exclusively use range weapons, you have the option but you don't live up to the literal definition of the name of the class.

So its a pretty Ranger thing to have and  that is not an opinion.

The (core) ranger thematically is a hunter. That's the theme. A firearm is as in-tune with nature as a greatsword or a mace is, particularly a rifle, which is the implement used more than any other by hunters — people who by definition spend a lot of time in nature — not to mention actual, IRL rangers. I can't imagine any possible explanation for why rangers still can't use the primary weapon of a hunter archetype other than they said 12 years ago that they chose not to give us rifle because of basically aesthetic reasons and now they have to stand by that for some unexplainable reason. 

My ranger's aesthetic is a 17th-century noble hunter. I use a bloodhound and traps to hunt my enemies. This fits both the class and the world to a tee, and I'm puzzled by why anyone feels otherwise. To make things even more ironic, not a single one of the classes that does have access to rifle is thematically suited to a hunter theme. The game has hunters and rifles yet it's impossible to be a hunter with a rifle.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Elricht Kaltwind.8796

[NazzyDragon.9127]

15 minutes ago, Elricht Kaltwind.8796 said:

Ok, point me to the forums then. I'm not sure what that will accomplish. Point me to where anyone said that a game that currently had no mounts, no revenant, no elite specs, etc said that the game would never have a ranger wielding rifle, then explain why that's significant.

devs explained it. guns aren't ranger.
a ranger isn't a WoW hunter

 

there's your tl;dr

p.s. ranger main since 2012
p.s.s. WoW hunter main since 2005

my bias should say I want guns too, but no. kind of respect the distinction ngl

Edited November 8, 2023 by NazzyDragon.9127

[Elricht Kaltwind.8796]

5 minutes ago, NazzyDragon.9127 said:

devs explained it. guns aren't ranger.
a ranger isn't a WoW hunter

 

there's your tl;dr

p.s. ranger main since 2012
p.s.s. WoW hunter main since 2005

my bias should say I want guns too, but no. kind of respect the distinction ngl

Nice well I've never played WoW and that means nothing to me

I can also point you to where they said there were no plans for mounts, but here we are

[NazzyDragon.9127]

3 minutes ago, Elricht Kaltwind.8796 said:

Nice well I've never played WoW and that means nothing to me

I can also point you to where they said there were no plans for mounts, but here we are

Considering the iterations of mounts at the time were nothing more than a thinly-veiled speed boost, I'm not surprised. Nothing like GW2's mounts existed in MMOs. It was likely that very boring, uninspired version of mounts that anet didn't want.

[ChronoPinoyX.7923]

56 minutes ago, Elricht Kaltwind.8796 said:

The (core) ranger thematically is a hunter.

Since when?

Quote

Rangers rely on a keen eye, a steady hand, and the power of nature itself. Unparalleled survivalists with traps, nature spirits, and a stable of loyal pets at their command, rangers can adapt to any situation,

Literally from GW2's website what part does it say "Hunter"?

[draxynnic.3719]

1 hour ago, Elricht Kaltwind.8796 said:

The (core) ranger thematically is a hunter. That's the theme. A firearm is as in-tune with nature as a greatsword or a mace is, particularly a rifle, which is the implement used more than any other by hunters — people who by definition spend a lot of time in nature — not to mention actual, IRL rangers. I can't imagine any possible explanation for why rangers still can't use the primary weapon of a hunter archetype other than they said 12 years ago that they chose not to give us rifle because of basically aesthetic reasons and now they have to stand by that for some unexplainable reason. 

My ranger's aesthetic is a 17th-century noble hunter. I use a bloodhound and traps to hunt my enemies. This fits both the class and the world to a tee, and I'm puzzled by why anyone feels otherwise. To make things even more ironic, not a single one of the classes that does have access to rifle is thematically suited to a hunter theme. The game has hunters and rifles yet it's impossible to be a hunter with a rifle.

Arenanet has defined ranger more by being close to nature, and in fantasy settings where 'nature' has a magical presence (such as, say, there being some variety of nature spirit that close-to-nature characters can invoke), there's often a tension between maintaining a good relationship with that spirit or those spirits, and using weapons that are overly technological in nature. There's also a bit of a tension between using weapons where replacement ammunition can be reasonably easily fashioned in the wild, and those that can't.

Now, I'm not saying 'no rifle ever', but they have established a reason why, in their setting, it's not an obvious choice. There's also not a clear function for it - outside of filling modern hunter fantasy - for it. It would likely behave very similar to what longbow already does. In the real world, everyone switched to guns because after technology had developed beyond a certain point they were just better... but in Tyria, magically augmented bows are able to keep up, at least so far.