Theoycrafting: Bringing Back Beastmastery
I've crafted a full set of exotic Nomad armor and accessories for ranger. I'm definitely tankier, but the build is far from complete. Feedback welcome.
Traits: 0-3-0-3-6 so far. 3 in Skirmishing gives pets more ferocity and fury/swiftness on my weapon swap. 3 in Nature Magic enables boon transfer to pets; might as well take regen duration there. 6 in BM is kind of a build assumption, but I could re-examine it. The only necessary traits in BM are pet swap and shout CD reduction.
Weapons: In my initial testing, enemy roamers don't care about your pet, they're coming straight at you. In PvP I can use my old standbys of sword/horn and shortbow to dodge around while my conditions tick, but that doesn't seem to work here. However tanky I've become, I can't absorb enough damage relative to a cat's DPS. The counter, I reason, is more CC, so I'm considering greatsword. But what to pair it with- shortbow, for an inside/outside game? Sword/horn for pet buffs? Sword/axe for more CC/defense? Longbow, MH axe, and OH dagger seem less promising for this build, but OH torch could be useful.
Skills: Sic 'Em and Rampage as One are non-negotiable. I'd consider Troll Unguent over Healing Spring if most roamers weren't condi bombers. Signet of the Wild is pretty sad if you're using it for its active properties without the GM trait; it's 8 sec uptime of +25% damage on 48 sec traited CD. I've always liked Frost Trap. Last night I even tried the Sylvari racial Grasping Vines. Maybe I should get Muddy Terrain in there.
Runes: Currently I'm trying Privateer- parrot meta and all. But Runes of Speed would also be nice, and have some combat value beyond the 25% movement speed.
Pets: As I alluded before regarding weapons, double cats are not the most effective combo because no one's targeting the one. I'm considering pairing jaguar with a canine for CC, birds for blinds, or even something from the pig family. I tried hyenas but the cast time/uptime considerations seem too great.
