Guild Wars, in my opinion anyway, is the best MMORPG on the market. I know many love World or Warcraft and others have dabbled with Aion, Star Trek Online or Lord of the Rings but I always find myself re-visiting Guild Wars. So I was completely made up when I heard that the sequel was coming next year.
NCSoft & ArenaNet have, via their website, released information on the Ranger class that will feature in Guild Wars 2. Offering many a fine skill the biggest change to the game dynamic will come in the suggested implementation of pets. A derisive subject for many, pets have crept in to several games lately and made a significant contribution, most notably in titles like Fable II and Torchlight.
So let’s break down our new Ranger class details below.
Skills:
Traps–Traps are utility skills that can be placed at a ranger’s current location. When an enemy enters a trap, it is triggered. For example, Spike Trap will cripple and bleed enemies that pass through it. A trap can remain active as long as the ranger chooses to remain close to it. A ranger can only have one of each trap type out at any given time.
Spirits–A spirit skill summons a nature spirit that influences the area around it. For example, Sun Spirit applies additional fire damage to allied attacks inside its influence. A spirit stays out for a short period of time and goes away if the ranger wanders too far away from it. Spirits can be attacked by enemies and removed from the battle. A ranger can only have one of each type of spirit out at any given time.
Mechanics:
Weapons
A ranger is mostly a master of ranged weapons, however, he can use sword or greatsword in melee combat. The ranger weapons are:
- Main Hand: Sword, Axe
- Off Hand: Axe, Dagger, Torch, Warhorn
- Two-Handed: Greatsword, Longbow, Shortbow
Pets
A ranger has three active pet slots. Outside of combat, or through the use of utility skills, the ranger can swap their active pet. There are 12 different types of pets, including some terrestrial (spiders), some amphibious (lizards), and some aquatic (sharks). Within each type there are subtypes that can influence pets’ abilities. For example, a polar bear might have an Icy Roar, while a brown bear might have a Fearsome Roar. A ranger’s pet gets its level from its master, which determines their basic attack, armor, and health.
Pet Evolution
Pets have customization options. The first of these has to do with a pet’s evolution level. Pets evolve up to 20 evolution levels. Each pet type receives automatic bonuses at different evolution levels. For bears, these bonuses might be increased health or increased damage. Pets gain evolution points when the player gains XP while the pet is active. At certain evolution levels, pets will unlock ability slots (up to 4 total). Ability slots can be filled from a list of active pet abilities based on pet type.
Pet Controls
In addition to managing his skills, a ranger will be able to manage his pet with limited commands and modes. This will be an interface element for the ranger class. Here are some examples:
Modes–Ongoing behavioral settings the ranger can toggle.
- Aggressive–Attack what I am attacking.
- Defensive–Attack enemies that attack me.
- Passive–Don’t attack.
Commands–Specific, direct commands that execute right away.
- Attack–Attack my target.
- Heel–Come to me.
- Stay–Do not move.
And finally, screenshots of the new Ranger class:
If you want more information or want to see the new Ranger skills in action then head to the ArenaNet website and watch the videos there.
