Guild Wars 2 Ranger Profession Preview
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But what of the pets? As they're arguably the defining aspect of the Ranger, Rangers can, from the very start, tame beasts. There are about a dozen different beast archetypes available for taming, from birds to lizards, bears to sharks. Each Ranger can have up to three pets in their menagerie, though typically only one pet out at a time. There are instances when that's not the case, though, as Eric Flannum explains; "There is an elite skill called Alpha Strike that brings all three pets out (at least those that are eligible to be in the Ranger's current environment) for a short period of time."
Certain pets are bound to certain land-types. A shark, for example, is unlikely to be seen wandering through the local tavern on its fins. That said, you might see the occasional aquatic bear. "We want to give the player options whenever possible instead of restricting them and sometimes this means we sacrifice reality a bit for fun," Flannum Explains. There is no benefit to having territory-specific beasts over more flexible pets like amphibious lizards; it's just a matter of taste.
A pet's level is always going to be the same as the Ranger, so high-level Rangers won't have to retrain a beast should they decide to swap their fearsome wolf for a moa a giant, flightless bird. Rangers are able to customize their pets through the use of evolution points, which are gained as the Ranger gains experience. "Evolution levels unlock static bonuses as well as skill slots that the Ranger can use to customize how their pet plays," Flannum tells us.