Do we need more elite specialisations?

Just wanted too see what peoples opinion i myself love elite specialsations

I like them, they bring a diversity to your class. However i will like to have possibility to save my build together with weapon and armor, and use the button to change them when i want, especially if they want to bring more elite specializations

Yes, i think that between PoF and the next expansion they should release a second set of Elites.Otherwise a two year cadence will be too slow to give enough Elites to allow a proper state of balance through choices and counter-play.

What I would like to see instead is a revamp of existing ones, e.g. the Engi still has a Med Kit that no one uses. First completely redo existing specs and BALANCE THEM, then (re)think about adding more bling bling.

Like... I do want more. But, the system is at odds with adding new classes, and I really liked the way GW1 did it.

I see NPCs representing classes we had and I see no way to add them in with this system ( dervish and paragon).

The elite spec system gives plenty of depth to existing classes, but doesn't leave much room to add new ones as they just add to the workload.

So, if elite specs weren't a given on every class, there could be room to add in these classic classes.

Tbh some of these don't even make sense, like the chronomancer being a mesmer.

Elites are fun and splashy and has so far been good at switching things up. What I am concerned with is that the more elites we get in the game, the harder it is to balance certain gamemodes. It was the same issue in Gw1 where they added a large amount of skills with each release that could be combined in all manner of configurations. Balancing was a nightmare. Build diversity is great, I just don't want things to spiral out of control.

Then of course there will always be the drama that "the new one sucks compared to the old" and vice versa.

By including elites in each expansion so far they might have locked in expectations that we get more with each future expansion.

Just thinking aloud.

@Dashiva.6149 said:Elites are fun and splashy and has so far been good at switching things up. What I am concerned with is that the more elites we get in the game, the harder it is to balance certain gamemodes. It was the same issue in Gw1 where they added a large amount of skills with each release that could be combined in all manner of configurations. Balancing was a nightmare. Build diversity is great, I just don't want things to spiral out of control.

Then of course there will always be the drama that "the new one sucks compared to the old" and vice versa.

By including elites in each expansion so far they might have locked in expectations that we get more with each future expansion.

Just thinking aloud.

Well, that's the whole reason why we need more.It's kind of like in LoL, you can have really OP champions, as long as you have other champions that counter that one.This is the problem with the current PvP, theres OP Elites, but the only choice to counter those, is the exact same OP elites for the most part. So you land in a stagnant game mode.The new elites aren't really too strong compared to their predecessors (for the most part), but just fall into new niches. It's up to Arena Net to make those choices balanced, even if individually they aren't.This can also be solved with better character select, in the warm up period, and them not freaking obscuring your team's or the enemy's Elite specs.PvP is bad, not only because of imbalance in classes, but because the whole game mode is outdated, and didn't follow through with the times.For example, the equipment slot should allow for 2 choices of "amulet" instead of one (Defensive and offensive slots), so that players can do more balanced builds to account power creep.Like as it is now, we could definitely use more vitality because conditions are so prevalent, that there's no way most health pools can cope with that (nor can you ever slot enough condi cleanse, and there's really no "passive" choices, like a anti-condi stat. And yet you're very limited in terms of amulets that allow a proper balance of vitality and agressive stats.Another problem is what i've already mentioned, Arena Net doesn't give you proper information to counter-builds. So there's no real meta-game. You go in blind with blind choices. Sure you can guestimate what the other players will do. Like you see 2 necros on the enemy team, and pop in a better condi cleanse, but they can both be playing power reapers, and you just wasted a utility or two.

There's no reason not to, they are mechanically sound and provide fun play options. There is nothing wrong with elite specs that is necessary for their design or their inclusion in the game.

The only issue with elite specs is that they are overwhelmingly more powerful than the base specs, which they shouldn't have been by the developers own words, or perhaps better said, their lies, since the power difference between the two is astronomically outside the realm of error and was clearly purposeful in spite of everything the developers ever said on the issue.

And worst of all is that there was no bloody reason for it, seriously, the level cap hasn't moved, there was absolutely zero justification for powercreep in GW2, raids and higher tier fractals and the expansion content would work exactly the same scaled to the same numbers as the base game and there would be more build content to play through them with, which is 99% of casual players issues with raids. The only reason for powercreep to exist in GW2 is the devs forcing it into the content so that players have to purchase the expansions to stay competitive or even qualify to play in newer content, which is exactly what they said they were avoiding when they promised no powercreep.

The elite specs are a great way of adding to the build system and a great replacement for the "new class" addition that most MMOs go with in each expansion; the powercreep that comes with them on the other hand, is not just unnecessary and adds nothing to the game but is damaging to the gameplay, and the integrity of its development team and controlling company.

EIther buff the base specs up or nerf the elite specs down, in either case PvE is going to have to be scaled to match since the base specs are not powerful enough for raids and higher fractals, but the elite specs are so powerful they trivialize everything but the aforementioned content.

Well, they've already given up on pvp so I don't really see an issue with balance. More elite specs is the only way to keep the game fresh.

@"Laila Lightness.8742" said:Do we need more elite specialisations?

No, I'd rather see new professions (or rather "old" ones) from GW1: Monk, Ritualist, ...

@Ashantara.8731 said:

@"Laila Lightness.8742" said:Do we need more elite specialisations?

Adding new professions is less viable than new Elites, and offers little improvement in gameplay compared to new Elites. Just look at Revenant to see the impact of a new Profession, which is also a lot more work, especially since to keep the balanced choice between light, medium and heavy, they'd likely need to add 3 new professions, rather than two.

Also regarding the old GW1 professions, that's actually improbable, not to say impossible. What would a Monk add to the game, that another Elite similar to Druid wouldn't do (Especially if added on something already support-intensive like guardian or Ele), and as far as Ritualist, Arena Net is moving away from AI-controlled minions (see recent changes to guardian's spirit weapons), a Ritualist would be a major step back from that direction. Also a Ritualist wouldn't add much in terms of play-styles, i mean Warrior Banners, Ranger Spirits and Engineer Turrets are the new Spirits, Engineer Kits, Ele Summoned weapons, Warrior Banners (again) are improved versions of Item Spells.And finally because Arena Net doesn't want player-targeted skills you can't really properly import weapon spells into GW2.

So yeah, importing old GW1 professions, for the most part, adds little to the game, except feeding on Nostalgia. But adding their concepts, and style to the game as Elite Specs, on the other hand, would appease the Nostalgia, and would definetly be an actuable way of working it.

A Ritualist spec could fit perfectly into Rangers, Eles, Guardians, Revenants, necromancers, mesmers or even, yes Engineers.You could have weapon skills that summon spirits (kind of like mesmer clones and phantoms) and the Utilities would be Item Kits that replace weapon skills, and add more spirit choices and interactions.

Monk could be a interesting Elite spec for Warrior, Thief or Guardian. Focusing on heals, and protection.

Yes, we do, but that's not because they are "fun and add new ways to play your profession". Quite the opposite. Since elite specs are a kind of power creep, and seem to be designed to be stronger than core builds, we need elite specs that will let us play the old, core class archetypes on the new powerlevel. With old weapons and classic gameplay, without reinventing the wheel and asking us to do play in a "new way".

Nope, as long as they current ones aren´t balanced out, we don´t need more.

I feel like the class build system will eventually need a revamp. Not any time soon, but later. Some People have said they don't enjoy the new specs leaving them with nothing new to try on their current classes. What if that trend continues? They could play another class, but it's still a potential problem later down the line.

@Nemmar.8491 said:Like... I do want more. But, the system is at odds with adding new classes, and I really liked the way GW1 did it.

I see NPCs representing classes we had and I see no way to add them in with this system ( dervish and paragon).

The elite spec system gives plenty of depth to existing classes, but doesn't leave much room to add new ones as they just add to the workload.

So, if elite specs weren't a given on every class, there could be room to add in these classic classes.

Tbh some of these don't even make sense, like the chronomancer being a mesmer.

I agree, I dislike how GW2 uses the Elite spec system rather than GW1 did by adding 2 new professions per expansion/campaign which was way cooler and better imo.I liked the way classes were in GW1 because you were able to use any wep in any profession and they were more "class" filter. Such as;Only casters were using rod/scepter/staff and focus while the melee-classes uses spear/shield/hammer/axe/sword/scythe etc.

But mmmmhh... I also dislike the way some of the professions splitted up.But I still hope we'll get Dervish, Paragon, Ritualist and even Assassin playable one day in GW2 too.

Paragon and Dervish better become available along with those scythes and spears. Just sayin'.

So to those who voted yes, you agree to be treated as profits instead of being valued?

I see new elite specs as a scaling issue of complexity for the devs and the players. I see this becoming more and more problematic, unless they render vanilla and (prior to current state elites) irrelevant in most game modes. To some extent we see this already happening in at least one game mode.

God yes. This game gets dull as dirt. MORE OPTIONS EVERYWHERE.

People coming in talking about new classes apparently don't care to realize that elite specs are just new classes with less flavour. Dervish/Paragon/Ritualist could easily fit into Guardian/Warrior/Revenant archetypes and do just fine.

Elite specs expand the number of roles a profession can take, and they often tweak mechanics in an interesting way.

No. Instead, would prefer a new profession. :)

YES!

3 at the very least would at least allow 3 distinct playstyles per class.

Sure 4 and 5 aren't so necessary but certainly need 3 at the minimum.

I like having more diversity in a single class. I hate how Anet struggles to balance the ones we currently have.

I would rather have good balance than new elite specs.

obviously the answer is yes, but wait until the next expansion. ANET has their hands full, and implementing a new elite spec with no foundation is far too much to ask while they are busy with other things. It'll come when it's ready

The poll is missing the obvious:

• "Yes, when the next expansion is released."