What exactly is the point of the Jackal?

[Leo G.4501]

> @Korval.3751 said:

> Jackals are the only mounts besides Griffons that can fall far and still survive if you teleport just before hitting the ground. I like this because it keeps the momentum active.

 

Skimmers don't receive fall damage, period. You don't even have to use their movement skill, you can just slide off a cliff and nothing will happen at the bottom.

[Korval.3751]

> @"Leo G.4501" said:

> > @Korval.3751 said:

> > Jackals are the only mounts besides Griffons that can fall far and still survive if you teleport just before hitting the ground. I like this because it keeps the momentum active.

>

> Skimmers don't receive fall damage, period. You don't even have to use their movement skill, you can just slide off a cliff and nothing will happen at the bottom.

 

News to me. I have a skimmer but I didn't know that. Guess it shows how much I use them. :)

[Hevoskuuri.3891]

I find the raptor the most useless to be honest. Jackal has the fastest base running speed, and its ability doesn't get hindered by uneven terrain, making it the fastest mount in about 90% of GW2's environments. Also, mid-air maneuvering and easier evades/changing direction make the raptor feel just... clunky.

[CharterforGw.3149]

Jackals can avoid fall damage by teleporting just before you hit the ground, so you don't get dismounted. that's one of the core things I use them for

[Lonami.2987]

They're useless, period.

 

Their teleporting skill needs to be improved so you can use it diagonally. Then it would be useful. Also, sand portals should be usable by default.

[Weindrasi.3805]

I've done the 90 degree teleport with ease. It's certainly possible.

[Ardid.7203]

I normally move by continuously seeking high points to glide. I've discovered the Griffon allows me to move around in a very similar way while mounted... I'm still testing it, but somehow I feel Jackal to ascend and Griffon to slowly descend could very well become my main traveling combo now that I have both unlocked.

[Curunen.8729]

Jump and rotate camera before teleport - you can teleport in any direction you like.

 

Jackal is awesome - I just wish it could jump higher.

[Sojourner.4621]

> @StinVec.3621 said:

> I was also quite confused when I discovered I could not use a sand portal after acquiring my jackal. I filled the heart and _purchased_ my jackal and immediately went to SW Desert Highlands to finally get the mastery point and POI in the big jugs and was confused when I couldn't jump into the portal and ended up splashing into the water. ( #1 )

>

> * ( #1 ) Of course I figured I did something wrong and just 'missed' it or something, so I fought off the drakes and then hopped onto my skimmer to get back up to try again. Attempt two mirrored the first. I tried a third time and then decided to rebind all of the jackal mount skills and began trying them to see if something changed and one of them activated the portals. I got sick of being mauled by drakes after taking my jackal for yet another swim and then went online to see if I could find any reports of the portal being bugged. Instead I found source after source saying to just jump into the portal as I thought, but then I finally saw one mention that portals require Jackal Level 3 Mastery and I immediately thought "are you freaking kidding me?!"

>

> Regardless of whether my confusion was my own fault due to overlooking some text at the Djinn that explained that portal use was locked behind a later mastery level or if it was not my fault due to that not being mentioned, the fact that, in the end, this ability is locked behind Jackal L3 disappoints me.

>

> * Raptor L3 mastery upgrade = longer jump distance

> * Springer L3 mastery upgrade = higher jump height

> * Skimmer L3 mastery upgrade = higher hover height

> * Jackal L3 mastery upgrade = core traversal mechanic that provides access to mastery points and even to map completion locations (POIs)

>

> Jackal L3 should've been comparable to the upgrades of the other mounts ( #2 ) and the portal use should've been a base functionality.

>

> * ( #2 ) more teleport notches, longer teleports, or teleport distance control where distance can be short or long based on how long you hold down the key like the raptor, skimmer and springer abilities.

>

>

 

I found that the primary use for the jackal has been:

* It can travel uphill with its mount ability at the same speed as flat terrain, unlike the raptor which hits bumps and sometimes pixels and just stops.

* At least when you first aquire it, its ability to evade incoming attacks makes it an excellent blockade runner, and it is the second fastest **normal** mount in the game behind raptor (faster on uneven terrain)

* You can survive any fall of any height on it by using its ability at the last second, since jackal is able to use its ability in mid air. True the skimmer is immune to fall damage, as is the griffon, but the skimmer at least steers like a tank where the jackal can make pinpoint turns by proper execution of its mount skill, and the griffon is likely not obtainable to you at the point you get the Jackal. The Jackal is also a LOT faster than the skimmer so you don't lose any speed by remaining on it through all types of terrain no matter what (except obviously water).

 

At t4 every mount gains evade on special action, which suddenly makes every other mount better so the Jackal loses its usefulness again. That said, the game is rarely flat enough to use the raptor everywhere and still be faster.

 

For what it's worth, if you jump to leave the edge of something (means unbinding jump from movement skill), the jackal is fully capable of making all but the furthest raptor cliff jumps

[Sojourner.4621]

> @Sojourner.4621 said:

> > @StinVec.3621 said:

> > I was also quite confused when I discovered I could not use a sand portal after acquiring my jackal. I filled the heart and _purchased_ my jackal and immediately went to SW Desert Highlands to finally get the mastery point and POI in the big jugs and was confused when I couldn't jump into the portal and ended up splashing into the water. ( #1 )

> >

> > * ( #1 ) Of course I figured I did something wrong and just 'missed' it or something, so I fought off the drakes and then hopped onto my skimmer to get back up to try again. Attempt two mirrored the first. I tried a third time and then decided to rebind all of the jackal mount skills and began trying them to see if something changed and one of them activated the portals. I got sick of being mauled by drakes after taking my jackal for yet another swim and then went online to see if I could find any reports of the portal being bugged. Instead I found source after source saying to just jump into the portal as I thought, but then I finally saw one mention that portals require Jackal Level 3 Mastery and I immediately thought "are you freaking kidding me?!"

> >

> > Regardless of whether my confusion was my own fault due to overlooking some text at the Djinn that explained that portal use was locked behind a later mastery level or if it was not my fault due to that not being mentioned, the fact that, in the end, this ability is locked behind Jackal L3 disappoints me.

> >

> > * Raptor L3 mastery upgrade = longer jump distance

> > * Springer L3 mastery upgrade = higher jump height

> > * Skimmer L3 mastery upgrade = higher hover height

> > * Jackal L3 mastery upgrade = core traversal mechanic that provides access to mastery points and even to map completion locations (POIs)

> >

> > Jackal L3 should've been comparable to the upgrades of the other mounts ( #2 ) and the portal use should've been a base functionality.

> >

> > * ( #2 ) more teleport notches, longer teleports, or teleport distance control where distance can be short or long based on how long you hold down the key like the raptor, skimmer and springer abilities.

> >

> >

>

> I found that the primary use for the jackal has been:

> * It can travel uphill with its mount ability at the same speed as flat terrain, unlike the raptor which hits bumps and sometimes pixels and just stops.

> * At least when you first aquire it, its ability to evade incoming attacks makes it an excellent blockade runner, and it is the second fastest **normal** mount in the game behind raptor (faster on uneven terrain)

> * You can survive any fall of any height on it by using its ability at the last second, since jackal is able to use its ability in mid air. True the skimmer is immune to fall damage, as is the griffon, but the skimmer at least steers like a tank where the jackal can make pinpoint turns by proper execution of its mount skill, and the griffon is likely not obtainable to you at the point you get the Jackal. The Jackal is also a LOT faster than the skimmer so you don't lose any speed by remaining on it through all types of terrain no matter what (except obviously water).

 

> At t4 every mount gains evade on special action, which suddenly makes every other mount better so the Jackal loses its usefulness again. That said, the game is rarely flat enough to use the raptor everywhere and still be faster.

 

> For what it's worth, if you jump to leave the edge of something (means unbinding jump from movement skill), the jackal is fully capable of making all but the furthest raptor cliff jumps

 

Personally I use the jackal for general running about a lot of the time, particularly in core tyria, because of the stuck on a pixel behavior of raptor's leap.

[Jumpin Lumpix.6108]

> @"Sarge shot Grif.6450" said:

> Raptor is for flat terrain

> Jackal is uneven terrain

> Springer is for essentially vertical terrain

> Skimmer is for water

> Griffon is for very specific high starting points.

 

Uneven terrain lol? I'm not sure what that even means. Raptor is always better.

[Azoqu.8917]

I honestly don't remember the last time I used the raptor. The jackal has a faster base speed and is only ever beat by the raptor on purely flat ground (was funny racing people during Halloween and beating raptor users by a mile). When a super long jump is needed, I much rather just jump on the griffon for 2 seconds (yay CD between mounts being removed a while back) than have an extra key-bind for the raptor. For engaging, the bunny does more CC and as a guardian I really don't need the pull for AoEing a pack of mobs.

[leftharted.7102]

So, me and the Wife came back to GW2 very recently (quit before HoT even) and have since acquired all of the mounts... We were both enamored with the Griffon, and had almost enough gold to finish it for each of our accounts (bought a few gems to finish it off). We actually acquired the Griffon (even unlocked t3 mastery) before we got the jackal. Basically, since we didn't have our glider ability via HoT, we both rage quit and gave up on the Jackal heart after falling off of the Djinn platform while learning the jackal ability. Once we had mastered the Griffon, it was cheese finishing the jackal heart.

 

I of course use the jackal for the portals and spider webs etc... Otherwise? pretty much Never.

 

After acquiring the Griffon and getting used to the masteries; im on the griffon 95% of the time, and the Springer the other 5% when the griffon jump isn't sufficient; as the griffon jump+flap timed correctly can get about as high as a t1 springer (prior to high jump).

 

That being said, on 100% flat ground the raptor/jackal still cover a smidge more ground than the griffon, but not my much at all. with good timing, you can get the first speed boost with a single flap and a quick second of 'dive', which traverses quite a bit of ground. Now, with ANY terrain change, or even a small plateau/building to quickly hop onto, giving even the slightest gain in elevation prior to starting; means i can get a Significant speed boost (especially if time to 'flap' mid 'dive') and usually get to where im going much faster...

 

occasionally i mess up the timing, or spend a little too long trying to get a good starting height before heading to location... but ultimately the griffon is Fun (for me, at least) and efficient 'enough' at covering ground, even on flat core maps.

 

overall IMO, and TL;DR: jackal is just okay, and only really necessary if you want PoF map completion, or prefer the aesthetics. Better to save for the griffon; which requires a bit of finesse, but is darn Fun to glide around on.

 

 

[blambidy.3216]

The jackel is my fav mount. I cruise through maps with it. It’s ability to do sand blink makes you not get attacked. It works better then most mounts to get out the way when there’s a mob. I use jackel when running. My griffin when looking for masteries high up. My Springer when to jump high. And raptor only for long jump. But running to escape is my jackel.

[lynspottery.6529]

> @Bloodstealer.5978 said:

> > @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> > Maybe the Dev video about Mounts, and the Jackal part specifically, would offer some answers. You can find them on Twitch or YouTube.

> >

> > Good luck.

>

> I think that kinda qualifies what he is saying.. information is often very lacking in GW2.... its a case of "we told you some, now you have to go scour the web for the rest of the info"

 

This is exactly the problem. The fact that I had to google the information just to understand what worked and what did not, makes it odd that Anet did not include some information at the get-go for these mounts. The wiki is fine once folks start populating the information, but I think Anet is lazy leaving it to the community to populate a wiki page which really should have accurate data on mechanics for mounts to begin with.

[Mea.5491]

Jackal is my fave mount. It outspeeds the Raptor on hills, it's the best at avoiding mobs, it ignores fall damage if you teleport right before you hit the ground and it's pretty.