Untie weapons from their e-specs

At the dawn of GW2 you could always use any weapon available to your class regardless of whether you invested in the associated trait line. With the introduction of e-specs you could only use the new weapons if you invested in the e-spec trait line. Why are they tied together?

There are examples in every profession, but just yo provide an example, if a guardian wants to use a bow but doesn't want to play dragon hunter, what's wrong with that?

Balance. Its easier to balance this way.And we dont need to see somekind of killing machine monster builds PvP like Mirage with chrono shield.

Balance is certainly a part of it. Another part is it gives people an incentive to buy expansions if they want to play with whatever weapon the elite specs unlock.

@sokeenoppa.5384 said:Balance. Its easier to balance this way.And we dont need to see somekind of killing machine monster builds PvP like Mirage with chrono shield.

That's just because mesmer is stupid right now. if it's that difficult to balance, then it should apply to all weapons, old and new. Using the guardian as an example again, if I don't spec valor I shouldn't have access to focus or shield. Make one rule and then balance accordingly.

@Perses.9683 said:Balance is certainly a part of it. Another part is it gives people an incentive to buy expansions if they want to play with whatever weapon the elite specs unlock.

Yea it does. But I think anyone who was going to buy the expansion wouldn't suddenly not buy it just because they can get the new weapon for free. Plus, maybe giving core players access to the new weapons would give them a little taste of the e-spec and intice them to buy the expansions.

@"Frostmane.9734" said:At the dawn of GW2 you could always use any weapon available to your class regardless of whether you invested in the associated trait line. With the introduction of e-specs you could only use the new weapons if you invested in the e-spec trait line. Why are they tied together?

As you said which is correct -"could always use any weapon available to your class". Elite Specialization allow players to go beyond that. The weapon is open/given to the specialization, not given to the class.

This system also allows new specs to use same weapons differently with different skills. Example: they could give other greatsword for new necro spec that works like mesmer gs

Holo with hammer... O_O I would pay that :)

@FyzE.3472 said:Holo with hammer... O_O I would pay that :)

Tempest with sword, finally a real condi melee ele ^^

In the short term it would be hell to balance but far healthier in the long run because classes with strong base weapons will always have more options which will mean more viable and often overpowered specs. Compare something like Mesmer which will almost always have a viable 1v1 spec because sword/x staff is strong in pvp. Then look at engineer where if the new weapon sucks, the core mechanics of the new e spec better be good because rifle isn't going to carry your build.

@"Frostmane.9734" said:

Yea it does. But I think anyone who was going to buy the expansion wouldn't suddenly not buy it just because they can get the new weapon for free. Plus, maybe giving core players access to the new weapons would give them a little taste of the e-spec and intice them to buy the expansions.

I can't speak for everyone, but as an almost exclusively WvW player and Engineer main I most definitely DID buy HoT just so I could wield Hammers and have Gyros (I grew up on Batteries Not Included). I even held out a few months after HoT release because I had no interest at the time of playing through the HoT story or maps. The same thing happened when PoF came out. I had no intention of playing through the PvE content, but I wanted another weapon to pair with Shield so bad (Engineer' Shield is one of my favorite wepons in the game) that I just said screw it take my money. I hate the name "Holosmith" and the fact that Exceed abilities don't make use of ECSU, but I went for it.

Like I said I can't speak for everyone, but I'm sure I'm not alone.

@sokeenoppa.5384 said:Balance. Its easier to balance this way.And we dont need to see somekind of killing machine monster builds PvP like Mirage with chrono shield.

Gosh, it reminds me nightmare of mirage/ chrono in wvw being ridiculously op ...Now imagine if those 2 combine (shrug)

@Frostmane.9734 said:if a guardian wants to use a bow but doesn't want to play dragon hunter, what's wrong with that?

Nothing wrong with 'wanting' it, but guardians don't have a bow option; only Dragon Hunters do, just as mesmers don't have warhorn option and warriors do.

It's a design decision for a lot of reasons, including the ones listed above:

• Easier to balance if special weapons are tied to elites
• Easier to sell expansions if special options are tied to elites
• It's a more interesting game when you have to choose between this combination of pros & cons, versus that combination.