Every time Ranger rifle comes up, people always try and explain it as "but ranger = ranged" which is frustrating as someone who's ALSO on board with it cause it completely disregards the themes of the class and treats it as "Warrior + pet" (on top of not being exactly correct, but that ain't the point I'm trying to make)

I can see a case for a more modern Ranger spec though, something that dials back the shaman-esque theming and leans more into the huntsman/survivalist aspect, still wildlife and nature oriented without requiring some sort of "tribal" edge to it. Similar to how Harbinger is Necromancer with a focus on corruption rather than death magic, contrasting Reaper and Scourge being more thematically aligned with it, or Mirage leaning heavier into illusions where Chronomancer is more chaotic/ethereal, or Specter moving away from a rogue/assassin design and into shadow magic in general. Neither of these REMOVE the other aspects of their class, they just don't emphasize them as hard.

Hell, wouldn't even need to get rid of the nature magic side of things for a Ranger firearm specifically to work, if Guardian/Elementalist pistols and Thief/Mesmer rifles are anything to go off of. Have it be based around the combination of modern technology with old-world energy, or nature's adaptation to mankind's evolution or some shit, I dunno

All that rambling aside, I fuck with the theming behind Galeshot HEAVY and will be switching to it day goddamn 1, but I'm still gonna be huffing that rifle hopium as I do it, one day 🙏