Raptor Needs A Rework, And Here's a Idea For It

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Raptor is the least likeable companion. Despite it being the main beastmastert class skilt. It doesn’t have a proper role. As well as being athematic. Having nodes that make it selfish, a cooldown that quite literally makes it stupidly charge into monsters, and a non interesting companion skill.

On top of this any build you can fit raltor into you can fit a extra wolf, and a minion buff into using the skill slots

The first step giving it a relevant ability. Which is quite easy. to think up as a new niche. Every other companion ability has a cooldown. So the main beachmaster companion skill should A. Incentivize melee. B. Be unquie and thematic while having synergy with all forms of companions.

So I present to you a old friend with a new look- Flanking Strike-You and all raptors attack with flanking strike. A 0 cost 0CD melee attack with .85% Added Damage Ratio, but 120% attack speed ratio. On you or a raptor hitting a enemy you gain one stack of rampage, which grants you and your companions 5% attack speed by default. The animation could come from the tail which is already spiked/bladed.

This provides a great feeling that you can immediately put it on your skill bar, and no matter how you were spec’d before you feel like you gain some new exclusive mechanic you couldn’t have used before. Even panther swipe can alternate the two to keep both buffs rolling. While Also keeping the skill deep and with a niche it will never lose. If you want 3/4 companions a movement skill and a buff. Raptor lets you have that while keeping a melee skill. With the unique downside. When raptor dies you lose your attack skill. A nice risk/reward for using such a clever girl

Below will be a list of skill tree mechanics that would be nice/keep the old feel with the new skill, but seperating the post.

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So This is just a small list of skills, and concepts that could promote the original raptor fantasy in the new form

Connectors connecting to differen’t sections of the tree.
More Companion Dodge Rating
More Damage With Raptor, And Flanking Strike
More Damage With Raptor
More Move Speed With Raptor and Attack Speed For Flanking Strike
More health, Health Regained on kill.

Connected To Damage, And Dodge Ratiing
This section of the tree is designed to be a viable replacement for wolfs. While unlike wolfs giving room for other companions, by using the rampage stacks instead of wolf stats. The stacks grow faster the more raptors you have, but they greatly benefit a strong companion. Since you need to invest in companion defense for rampage anyways. You wouldn’t need the more health from solo companions.

Damage per rampage stack
Damage per rampage stack but more damage taken
Attack speed per Rampage
Max rampage stack
Raptors Up To Companion Limit

Between Companion Dodge Rating, and More Damage With Raptor
This next section is simple sweet companion synergy. Potentially pushing triple companion builds with neat buffs to each. After all raptors are natural pack hunters

Second Lutenist- You may only have 1 Wolf- Wolfs howl grants an additional 10/20/30% attack speed and move speed.

Battle Cry- Use screech Which applies 1/5 bleed, and frailty stacks when you activate Venom Nova, or Roar.
Possible Fear, And Warcry Activation.

Prehistoric Pals- Chance to activate Flurry on attack with active Sabercat 5/10/15/20/25%

(After)
Clever Commander- Other Companions can use a phantom flanking strike.
Lead By Example- At 5 Rampage stacks consume all stacks and refresh companion abilities.

Lets say you don’t want a lot of complex companion interactions, and just want to play a melee build that happens to have companions
**More Move Speed With Raptor, And Attack Speeds With Flanking Strike **
Bleed Chance
Crit Chance
Tooth And Nail- Raptors use swipe instead of flanking strike, but it now interrupts attacks
Poisonous Bite-Bleed Converted To Poison Chance
Demon Dance- Flanking Strike Replaced by Serpent Strike, but default attack is now interrupted.

A homage to solo raptor
Raptor DAmage Connected To Liife/Life Gain On kill
Feast-You heal when Raptor kills as well.
Thick SkUll- Raptor Deals more damage, and has increased charge cooldown recovery rate.
BIG!!!- Raptor has massively increased size, Increased damage, and Health, but now moves 20% slower This can not be taken with raptors up to maximum companion limit
Apex Predator- Raptor Gains Permeant Damage On kill.

Conversion, Movement, Other Neat Things
Cold Blooded- Converts Flanking Strike, And Raptor to cold
Galvanic Spines- Yes Really sinking to the bottom here. Lightning COnversion
Chance to Cast Malestorm On Self When You Or Raptor USe Flanking Strike
Flanking Strike Chains
Flanking Strike Is converted to a movement skill, gets the travel tag, and gains 4 stacks of rampage instead of 1.
Move Speed Per Rampage Stack

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TL:DR Massive post but basically raptor could better deliver on its fantasy with a better core skill, and synergy with other companions. While still keeping its old themes with the new skill.

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Could we not get a node that has it spam meteors that summon wolves that fire bees from their mouths as well?

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Just also give it a node that says Raptor absorbs equipment on the ground when summoning(Like animate guardian from PoE). Then give it the keeper gloves and harbinger of stars and voila! you get your Meteors and bees!

Then give it a node “Clever girl” where it controls the main character and automatically progresses thru campaign and completes echoes/farms T4 dungeons(and also finds and equips the best gear for itself). This goes on till it reaches 1000 corruption when it stops and starts complaining on forums+reddit how 1000 corruption is unbalanced, EHG pls fix. /s

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It’s actually not a shit post surprising as that sounds. I Mostly just tried to mimic the old raptor tree as closely as possible. Screech, Resetting cooldowns, Rampage Effects, Better Buff Effect While giving it a real active skill.

Then a few fun ideas to modernize the skill. Because who doesn’t want a pet t-rex that has a blizzard surrounding it tearing up the arena. .

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I agree that the Raptor needs something, it just doesn’t feel as impactful as Wolves with Howl or Bear with Taunt (I haven’t messed around enough with the other companions to have an opinion on them). Right now, the Raptor just feels like a glorified bleed applicator, and you can just use an extra wolf for that and not use up the skill slot. I think having the Raptor combo skill be your right-click is a really sweet idea. Also, please give “you can summon Raptors up to your companion limit.”

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So you just want scaly wolves.

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I kinda agree with this post. Raptor doesn’t do anything that makes me want to take it over wolves.

The original Beastmaster fantasy of having all the different summons also doesn’t really work because there isn’t enough synergy between the summons. All the summons should be like Spriggan. The spriggan has an aura that buffs allies. All summons should have something like that but provide different buffs.

All of the beastmaster specific companions seem lacking. I will admit though, of all the companions, when choosing one large companion (Artor’s Loyalty and Natural Bond), Raptor is probably the best.

Hopefully they will do a Beastmaster and Shaman rework soon.

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So there were recent changes to bear. I’d check them out. Ursula is a good girl now who has clear, and perma taunt with swipe

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Hmm… nah I don’t think all companions should have party buffs, having some which require to be built around specifically or better as a solo focus is much better for variety. Then all builds would just focus on the buffs and not the minions themselves. Taking Spriggan itself as an example, how many builds actually use Spriggan for damage and not support ? Thorn Volley and Ensnaring roots almost never used. Companions shouldn’t just be pick for buff and then worry about keeping them alive.

It would be interesting if you could combine companions based on function (eg: Bear to tank and crows/wolf for dps) or if there were special interactions between some companions(like Bear has more armor and DR if you have wolves or Wolves have increased attack speed if you have a Sabertooth or Spriggan deals more poison/frost dmg per scorpion, etc.

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I still don’t like bear. It isn’t different enough. Right now, the only summons I will take as a Beastmaster is multiple wolves or one giant raptor.

Beastmasters don’t take spriggan. Druids take Spriggan all the time. My point was that the Beastmaster summons are lackluster and virtually nobody builds more than 1 summon spell even though that was the initial fantasy design. The summons are too similar and it is pointless to take multiple skill specialty slots on summons that are all the same.

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