So.... Been playing around with 1.2 and am liking a lot of the changes. But one thing that does stand out a little is Rangers received relatively little attention, as they are a little on the weak side unless spec'd for Overwatch (which is quite good). I was thinking about ways to give rangers minor improvements, and I had a thought.
Right now we have Walk Fire, Close and Personal, and Covering Fire for the LCPL perks. Of the three, Close and Personal seems a poor fit. Rangers aren't mobile enough to take advantage of it. It's got minor use with the Sawn-off... but even then, not much survives Both Barrels in the first place. Covering Fire has problems (feeling like a downgrade until you get enough sheer aim to offset it, and even then...), but still does it's job. Meanwhile, Walk Fire is a decent utility pick to finish off wounded enemies.
At the same time, we have Executioner showing up at Staff Sergeant, opposing Grazing Fire and Fortify. It can't really compete with either. Grazing Fire is a downright incredible perk, and especially so for Overwatch builds to make Rapid Reaction much more reliable. Fortify is a bit less impressive, but a free action +20 defense can come in handy if you desire to pick up a defensive perk on the tier. Executioner, though... it's just not competitive with Grazing Fire for increasing damage. Especially since it's conditional upon low health targets.
So.... What if we swapped out Close and Personal for Executioner, and Executioner for Steady Hands?
-First, it would finally pair Covering Fire against Executioner again (As it was in the days of yore in LW1). Nostalgia ahoy!
-Secondly, Steady Hands is a straight up upgrade at Staff Sergeant compared to Executioner, as it does the same stat boost, but with an easier requirement.
-Thirdly, it removes a lackluster perk from the start of the tree and gives a reasonable alternative to Walk Fire on shooty rangers (and those who dislike Covering Fire).
Thoughts? Not a huge change, but I feel it'd be a small incremental step towards making Rangers a little better in their non-overwatch builds.