Beastmaster Shouts need to be Fixed

Beastmasters have shouts that affect only their own pets. Call of Protection, Call of Haste and Otyugh's Cry are the three that should be fixed so they affect all pets in your party.

The reason is to bring these shouts in line with the shouts from other professions that affect all members or foes. The bonding shouts the Beastmaster uses need only affect your own pet, since it is a bond your are shouting.

Call of Protection and Call of Haste even have in their descriptions "your animal companions". This means more than one. So either the descriptiopn should be changed, or the skill should affect all animal companions to your party that are within earshot.

Otyugh's Cry used to affect all animals within earshot, but was changed April 5, 2007 to just affect your own pet.

Since most characters that do take a pet into battle, they sacrifice at least one skill slot and more often two, Charm and Comfort, the additional Shout Skills should affect all Allied Animal Companions.

most likely, you'll find ANet changes the descriptions to say 'your pet'. Think of the shouts like commmands, fred's pet isn't going to be following your commands, he's going to be following fred's, so why should your shout affect him?

If the only reason they classified those skills as Shouts was for the instantaneous activation, they should change them to Skill classification.

The mechanic of a Shout is to cause an effect on more than one creature. Take Charge or Go For The Eyes for example. These affect pets as well.

The change to the Ranger's Calls and Cry would fit nicely into the mechanic of affecting all allied pets.

That is not true. Many shouts affect only one player/creature. eg. Aggressive Refrain, Brace Yourself!, For Great Justice! etc.

Shouts don't always affect everyone who hears them.

If I scream, "I'm gonna kill you!" to a guy right next to me, while I am facing him, and you are across the room, you wouldn't be as afraid of me as he was.

If I scream, "You're dumb!" to the ceiling, it usually means I'm directing it at everyone dispite the "You're".

It just depends who you are directing it at.

So, I don't think there is really much to fix.

Otyugh's Cry use to effect all animals within earshot as far as we could tell. Once it was updated it was changed, it also only affected your own pet (as shown through testing to make sure it wasn't a visual bug). It was always intended to only affect your pet, its description was just wrong.

The only thing that needs to be fixed is the descriptions. As much as i'd like pet shouts to affect all pets on the team it would be extremely overpowered. It would only need 1 Ranger w/ CoP/CoH and 2 w/ Otyughs Cry to ensure a 100% up-time on all 3 skills. It may seem completely useless in PvP, but Anet are probably thinking more about Thumpers than anything...

Evilsod, I agree with what you're saying. But it's still something I'd personally like to see in the game.

Just because I enjoy playing a Beastmaster, I've had my pet Stalker since pre sear almost 2 years ago, and I like to play with all my heros having pets. I just feel the mechanic of a shout, especially the Beastmaster shouts, should affect all Allied pets.

Apart from balance issues with that (now, each Ranger only has to bring one of the list of skills, leaving more skill slots open), there is also the 'lore' that only you have the affinity with your pet. Regardless of what is happening, the pet will only listen to you and not someone else.

So the only thing that needs fixing is the description.

/unsigned

I agree with dargon here. why would somone elses pet listen to you. Why would your pet listen to someone else?

~the rat~

And his first sentance sums it up nicely. Doing this would allow ranger teams to coordinate what shouts they bring (like they do with the spirits a b/p team brings) and free up more skill slots. Granted, beastmaster is far from overpowered and it could use a buff like the one you are suggesting, but it would still have to be examined closely in order to be balanced.

Does it really matter anyway. They all have a very nice synergy with Enraged Lunge Which is pretty much the only reason to actually use a Beastmaster anyway.

I will avenge you, and you, and you, and you, oh, you over there to, oh and the guy in the back.....

Ya lets make all shouts be adjusted so they affect all things and take into account all situation....

And alot of the skills say things like...
your animal companion

But for all the pets in party they say...
your animal companions

See the difference, the little "s" at the end


could u imagine, 8 ppl all with pets, all running "full party pet skills" like...
Otyugh's Cry (+24 armor cannot be blocked), Call of haste (attack 25% faster) Predatory Bond (all attacks heal you)

IWAY (old build in HOH) would now be PETWAY
8 warriors running all with the bond, 2 of them with call of haste and cry, and they are all dmg.... cause think, 8 pets each not blockable, attacking 25% faster and healing for 25 hp / attack.... why bring a monk, just mow over the other team....