Hypothetical (silly) Elite Spec: Banjoneer

New weapon: Longbow

(with animations to play it like a stringed instrument ala Musical Lute)

• 1 - Strum - cone-shaped auto-attack, does more damage to nearby enemies and grants random boons (quickness excluded) to nearby allies
• 2 - Chilling Note - Notes emanate from the engineer, causing weakness and chill to enemies, granting fury to allies
• 3 - Propaganda Speaker - Poisons and bleeds enemies, grants might and swiftness to allies
• 4 - Megaphonic Yodel - PBAoE knockback, burning damage, 1/2s windup, roots, 300 range
• 5 - Power Chords - Grant might and quickness to nearby allies, slow and confuse nearby enemies, roots engineer

Elite Mechanic: Disc Joc-key

• Replaces F5 skill
• Engineer temporarily "jockeys" target enemy's mind (Champions/Legendary Excluded) for 3 seconds, turning them hostile to their former allies and friendly to former enemies. All damage dealt by jockeyed enemy injures their former allies, and all support helps their former enemies. Capture point contribution continues as normal.

New trait line: Banjoneer

• Top line focuses on supporting allies (healing/boons)
• Middle line focuses on increasing condition damage output and condition damage variety
• Bottom line focuses on enhancing elite mechanic (increasing time jockeyed, increased damage of jockeyed enemy, etc)

New skill type: Loudspeaker (basically shouts, just slightly different)

• I leave these for your mind to fill in, but I'm picturing a "battery charge" resource meter for these, similar to revenant energy. While one loudspeaker is active, its effect continues until battery runs out. Battery is recharged by toolbelt usage. In theory this could also apply to disc jockey.
• And they're shouts. Just with a different name. :tongue: *

I think you need to rework the skill names for more of a bluegrass theme, corresponding to the primary genre of a banjo!

Dude, why would an engineer suddenly become a musical instrument interpreter? I appreciate your creativity but that's like a whole new class ahhasjdhahsdhasjas

Having a true bard-class for once would be a welcome change, we already do have the Minstrel stats anyway. Mesmer and Revenant are both the proof that a melee weapon can be used as a ranged-weapon (GS and Hammer), so why should we not utilize the Longbow in a new way?

I like the idea, the reference to TF2 xD and even slightly the music you have picked to present us your idea. It does look weird at first, but considering all the entries for Elite Specilaizations we already had, it may even work out somehow. I mean, in Path of Fire we received a futuristic holographic laser class wielding a Lightsaber. It is pretty difficult to come up with something more crazy than this. Yet the Holosmith was a success.

If we get something like that, I hope for a good armor skin as well. Something that fits the banjo.