Ranger Skill Fix : Merge Comfort and Charm Animal Skills

I know this has been debated before but why doesn't more people debate it?

Using pets can be fun but the lose of using a single skill slot JUST to have your pet is more of a deficiency to the Ranger than a balance.

A ranger with a pet has to have Charm Animal skill just to have the pet active. Using 1 in 8 slots just for this is completely a waste for a Ranger.

A simple fix would be to merge the Comfort and Charm Animal skills into a single skill. Thus the functionality would stay the same completely.

I have tried numerous Beast Master builds and the single loss of the 1 skill just defiles the build completely.... it is a waste and inefficient.

Seriously... IF the 2 skills were merged, the Ranger with a Beast build... is it really going to off balance PvE or PvP ??!?

If so... show me proof.... else... let's get this implementation back on the table to get addressed from Anet...

1 Skill slot for free passive DPS is bad.
Think this through.

1 Skill slot for free passive DPS is bad.
Think this through.

/signed

I'd say that pet damage is not really significant. They serve better in the tank role. Not that this is anything but a joke, but my Melandru's Stalker has the descriptive name "Meatshield" when they are in use.

Rangers could use some love, and this would encourage pet use.

Thanks!
TabascoSauce

Hmm....1 skill slot for an elder pet, according to wiki.

480 health, 80 AL, damage of 17-29

Thats a free warrior right there.

/Signed. Atleast make us want to consider a beastmaster <_<

Quote: Originally Posted by lyra_song

/Signed. My Ranger still doesn't have a pet even after getting Legendary Survivor. It's just not worth considering when there are so many better options.

/signed fo sho
I never bring my pet with me because i have to use 2 skills, and thats a real shame, this would of course also make it easier for all the /R out there who want their pet to come as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by Onarik Amrak

Quote: Originally Posted by October Jade

so which casting time would change? 10 seconds for comfort animal, or a 1 second charm? i hope it is a 1 second charm. insta lvl 20 pet anyone? "Hi I'm a lvl 2 ranger. Don't mess with me or my lvl 20 Dire Wolf will eat your head."

then just add a simple clause that says you can't charm any pet that is a higher level then the character trying to charm.




Horible

/signed

/notsigned

using an old school thumper:
tigers fury, irresistible blow,hammer bash, crushing blow, enraged lunge, bestial mauling, comfort animal, charm animal

and now, with the charm/comfort fusion:
tigers fury, irresistible blow,hammer bash, crushing blow, ferocious strike, poisonous bite,bestial mauling, charm animal

the thumper is supposed to add pressure in a team, with a simple free slot it would add pressure AND conditions (dazed, deep wound and poison) and tell me if it wouldn't be imba

I think people look at beast mastery as...lets control the pet. Period.

Its there to help the ranger...I really think the pet only needs 1 pet attack+bow attacks. Be creative people don't stick 3 pet attacks on your bar so your animal can do all the work, get a freaken bow out and shoot things with it. Add apply poison and hunters shot while you use tigers fury to eranged lunge your foe to the ground. I find rangers holding staffs while these magic circles appear around them quite funny. Bow+animal, IMO is a better choice.4 attack skills/buff is really all i need.

IMO the new pve BM skill should replace charm in pve.

Quote: Originally Posted by EinherjarMx

17-29 damage every 2 seconds is like 10-15 DPS.. a Warrior can put out around 70 DPS constantly with Dragon Slash, a Dervish can put out around 150-180 DPS with 3 targets properly grouped. That 10-15 DPS does not replace anything. And it requires 11 points, with a rune, invested.
It's not 1 skill either, you need Charm AND Comfort Animal, otherwise your pet is useless. So lugging 2 skills around just for a pet? And then you need to protect your pet with Call of Protection or other stuff as most Monks/Rits aren't happy to be healing your little furry thing constantly.

/signed

Quote: Originally Posted by Marverick

Charm Animal is a really good skill. It has two problems.

One, that in order to keep it from being a dead slot on your bar you need some sort of pet res. All of the pet res skills in the game are bad. Charm Animal is good, but it isn't worth two slots unless you have a ton of space on your bar.

Second, the attributes are terrible. In order for a beastmaster to be worth anything you need a ton of Beastmastery and a ton of some weapon attribute to be decent. Bows require a ton of Marksmanship and a ton of Expertise, as the entire skillset has been balanced around high Expertise. Bowman beastmasters who want to be worth anything need high Expertise, high Marksmanship, and high Beastmastery, which you simply don't have the points for. Hence all of the common pet builds use other weapons, which don't pay an Expertise tax and thus have the luxury of running with just weapon + pet, not weapon, pet, and Expertise.

Of course, pets being mostly a DPS addition doesn't mesh well with the Ranger primary, which is otherwise a rather weak DPS option.