Speculation on Missing E-Spec Roles

With E-Soecs Anet interpreted professions a new and gave them new roles. Some are easy to identify like druid support or scrapper control spec others are a bit nuinced like scourge with area control and dmg mitigation.

I opened up this thread to discuss what e-spec roles are still missing /desired and how you would design them.I look at the old specs and what role they fill and theories what new role could be implemented. I only thworize about what role not weapon or skills, but feel free to do that if you want.

Warrior:Berserker: Clear DPS + new condition gameplaySpellbreaker: Control spec and boon removal

New Spec: Probably support. Probably not that big of a might bot (because warrior has already some cappabbilities in that, that could be buffed).Maybe focussed on dmg mitigation, barrier or lifesteal.

Guardian:DH: Controlish DPSFB: DPSish Support

New Spec: Maybe Supportish Control? Like tanky with sharable dmg mitigation and good CC capabbilities.Guardian is a bit tricky to be honest so i tried to hit the missing spot.

Revenant:Herald: Support with some tankynessRenegade: DPS with dmg support

New Spec: Control with more AoE dmg. Probably power based. Probably rather selfish and selfsufficient.

Ranger:Druid: Clear support with some CC for UtilitySbeast: Clear DPS in both dmg types

New Spec :Control spec, more AoE dmg and CC. Probably more stab and active defenses too.

Engineer:Scrapper: Control spec with group utilityHolo: DPS and control Hybrid

New Spec: Support focussed and probably ranged (last two were melee specs) maybe similar to firebrand with high boon output to complement the healkit

Thief:DD: Control with high mobilityDE: Stealth focussed DPS

New spec: Support with maybe a higher focus on condi dmg and group utility/mobility.

Necro:Reaper: AoE heavy DPSScourge: Area Denial DPSish support/ rezz bot/Boon Control (its a bit all over the place honestly^^')

New spec: More altruistic approach to the necro with lifesteal heals and group utility functions. Maybe a bit more boon focussed than the others.

Mesmer:Chrono: Tanky Boonsupport with good CCMirage: Mobile Condi DPS

New spec: More ranged focussed support/control spec. Dmg Support probably similar ro renegades cappabbilities of some sort.

Ele:Tempest: PbAoE BoonsupportWeaver: Melee DPS/Brawler

New Spec: Mid to close range Control, maybe range dependend on Element.

So feel free to speculate. My opinion is not the be all and end all and ppl that main a profession may have bettwr insight than i do (which only mains rsnger and plays everything else casually).

No coment yet? Well have mine

Also my theories would be as follows

I believe Anet is no longer going to add new weapons for classes since after some time we would basically be able to fight with everything. Imo they are gonna make elite with a weapon set we already have. Thus my conclusions would be

Warior = rifle power based dps. Rifle is really not used in many classes and they are gonna need to implement it more in a game. I think they are not gonna elaborate on the support anymore banners are already doing their job so maybe as far as utilities go he might be self suportive in terms of boons etc

Guardian = greatsword power support. I think he could cast boons on allies with it as with a sort of a beam or something. Guardians always had condi dps so i think power espec would be in place.

Revenant = condi dual sword elite focused on AoE tornment and confusion. I know it sounds weird but after i saw last lws i believe it could be possible veil between real world and mists is thin they could simply cut through using swords and their new elite and cast hell on whoever they fight. confusion cuz chaos from mists tornment cuz blasting flames of hell. (It just sounds neat with Rev)

Ranger = I think they are gonna get condi support role this time with shortbow. We already have an armor set supporting both condi dmg and concentration which could suit pretty well. So id say something like this. To make it fair they would have to give up their pet. I say maybe some sort of Lone wolf espec. you know like Rambo. Poison bleeding cripple imob etc. + granting fury, vigor, protection and regeneration

Thief = I believe and hope and pray to all gods that thief gets double dagger condi dps espec. With AoE traps. That is what i pray for cuz thieves already got two power based especs and basically nobody uses traps to deal dmg with them. And yet it is awesome gameplay just waiting to be grabbed i can tell i main condi trapper. It is just so much pleasure to see someone just wander in ur Needle trap and see them die there as they were about leash out on you. So i would just hope it ends up like this. I dont really see thief as support for main reason. It is thief. He steals he doesnt give.

Engineer = I'd say Engineers will get acces to mace and a whole new line of tourets. And i will tell you why i would liek it this way. Engineer is an Engineer. Which means he builds. As far as i saw no engineer built anything in last 4 years. They need to build or a word engineer is completely misused and they can be called i dunno Mister N. It would be support class with power dps dealt by sentries and tourets. Also they could grant some protective fields. Lets say the mace would actually serve as wrench and they would cast bariers with it or they would cast bombs and mines with it. Lets say mid range. They could grant protection, might, swiftness, quickness, and many more if they were actually using technology to suport team.

Necromancer = Well i really dont know much about necros but I'd say their daggers might get improved. And i say this cuz Blood Magic. It sounds intriguing yet higly disturbing and quite necromantic so i would say they could become power based butchers. Lets say that with melee attack they would steal life. You would want to stay the hell out of any necro if you would see he wields a dagger.

Mesmer = ... I really dont know how much salt will i get for this but i will say it anyway... Mesmers should become full based support. elite focused only on their sword and shield support skills. They should deal as little dmg as possible and cast long lasting strong boons of all kind. Let them have a lot of clones but i say CLONES not WALKING ATOM BOMBS. I know mesmers are able to cast boons on themselves when they blow their clone so let them have more of them but the explosion would not deal dmg only give them boon they can then share with signet of inspiration.

Elementalist = I think more love for staff would be nice. Let them become real masters of nature. Condi based single target dps I say. Let them cast lightning right on you and flame you down with flame balls. Sort of like in most MMO RPG games like Skyrim etc. I think they could simply become real mages that will dmg you directly with their magic wand. A lot of condi dps you would have to block out or dodge. No AoEs. Single target dmg

These are my ideas. So i share them. Dont get salty :)

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

Mesmer = ... I really dont know how much salt will i get for this but i will say it anyway... Mesmers should become full based support. elite focused only on their sword and shield support skills. They should deal as little dmg as possible and cast long lasting strong boons of all kind. Let them have a lot of clones but i say CLONES not WALKING ATOM BOMBS. I know mesmers are able to cast boons on themselves when they blow their clone so let them have more of them but the explosion would not deal dmg only give them boon they can then share with signet of inspiration.

So, an unnerfed chrono?

Mesmer - either long range power damage or controlEle - long range damageThief - supportRanger - control

@""Jack Redline.5379"

Well overall changing the weaponskills will probably not be the next step but i thought about the same thing. Like making melee to range or condi to power or vice versa.

Thief should get a more magic themed support spec with scepter IMO.

@Eekasqueak.7850 said:Thief should get a more magic themed support spec with scepter IMO.

i am going to be very short with my answer to this. (i wish i could have an icon to give thumbs down it would make my life so much easier)No.

@Lincolnbeard.1735 said:

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

Mesmer = ... I really dont know how much salt will i get for this but i will say it anyway... Mesmers should become full based support. elite focused only on their sword and shield support skills. They should deal as little dmg as possible and cast long lasting strong boons of all kind. Let them have a lot of clones but i say CLONES not WALKING ATOM BOMBS. I know mesmers are able to cast boons on themselves when they blow their clone so let them have more of them but the explosion would not deal dmg only give them boon they can then share with signet of inspiration.

Basically yea but with more supporting power.And btw thief cant be support it would require a traitline that would overcome all his other traitlines. All of them are about dmg dealing except for SA cuz that is for stealth. But other than that thief has nothing strong enough to make him good suport so the new traitline would have to substitute for that.There is Bountiful Theft yea (not very effective nor used trait) and Rending shade which gives regen to allies you stealth (completely unused and effectively useless) and that is it since i cant acount elite spec traits since you would equip completely new espec traitline.I dont count stolen skills in Raids okay because that is connected only to special bosses on special raids. which majority of ppl either doesnt do or cant do since elitists

@Eekasqueak.7850 said:Thief should get a more magic themed support spec with scepter IMO.

I could see the magic theme working, kind of like deadly arts assassin in GW1, which was pretty fun to play.

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

@Lincolnbeard.1735 said:

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

Mesmer = ... I really dont know how much salt will i get for this but i will say it anyway... Mesmers should become full based support. elite focused only on their sword and shield support skills. They should deal as little dmg as possible and cast long lasting strong boons of all kind. Let them have a lot of clones but i say CLONES not WALKING ATOM BOMBS. I know mesmers are able to cast boons on themselves when they blow their clone so let them have more of them but the explosion would not deal dmg only give them boon they can then share with signet of inspiration.

You're right on that, the other traitlines are not very supporty.ANet would figure something out I guess.

@Lincolnbeard.1735 said:You're right on that, the other traitlines are not very supporty.ANet would figure something out I guess.

Yea they always do they are calling it The Balance Patch. We know how those work lol

For some classes IT Will be hard to create something unique. For example Guard.

@InsaneQR.7412 said:Guardian:DH: Controlish DPSFB: DPSish Support

New Spec: Maybe Supportish Control? Like tanky with sharable dmg mitigation and good CC capabbilities.Guardian is a bit tricky to be honest so i tried to hit the missing spot.

Guard Is supportive And tanky by itself.

Same goes for Mesmer because Chrono Is So Universal it covery every role. Its behind ONLY in condi.

But i woukd like to seerev power selfish dmg

Support thief-this Will be tricky cuz Thief Is really Simple class IT have ONLY dodge

Longrange party friendly engineer

New elements for ele! Replace old or add F5

Necro And Mesmer i dont really care cuz necro gets nerfed And Mesmer Will Came with some cheese mechanic pain to play against ?

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

@Eekasqueak.7850 said:Thief should get a more magic themed support spec with scepter IMO.

We haven't had a spec with scepters yet, and you could even give them some boon denial in the form of boon stealing. Something along the lines of spellthief would be cool. You can disapprove all you want but I think it's a good idea.

I dont really get why y'all wamt a dps class like Thief to become support. I mean why? Boymth thematically and game-wise it sounds weird at the very least. Where have you ever seen a rouge like class being a support?

Warrior healer, something like a Battlefield Medic.Thief support/healer? Something like a support ninja in Naruto's team squads.Elementalist Long range aoe dps. Something it should have been from the start but has been forever nerfed even though it was far from doing massive damage in a single strike as originaly advertised. At least let it be master of something for once.

What I'd like to see:

-Warrior: "Warchanter" wielding staff, using inspirations for their skill type. Group support and utility focused. What you'd imagine a WvW commander being.

-Guardian: "Dawncaller" wielding warhorn and also using inspirations for their skill type. A proper healing and support spec to give Firebrand space to be narrowed more into a proper DPS spec.

Ranger: "Stormwarden" wielding mainhand scepter and using meditations for their skill type. Mid-range AoE damage and control focused. Primal destructive nature magic. Forsakes pets for wisps which have various effects to complement the offensive nature of the spec.

Thief: "Shadowmender" wielding mainhand scepter and also using meditations for their skill type. Manipulating shadows into a source of healing and protection to allies. This is my dream spec. And no I don't want it to be for mesmer.

The other classes I don't really have any cool names but I think I'd be cool if the weapons for each class were:-Mesmer: shortbow-Elementalist: longbow-Revenant: scepter-Engineer: staff-Necromancer: shield

@Jack Redline.5379 said:I dont really get why y'all wamt a dps class like Thief to become support. I mean why? Boymth thematically and game-wise it sounds weird at the very least. Where have you ever seen a rouge like class being a support?

Because the tanky iteration that mitigates dmg in a rougish way was already done with DD and the sibgle target one shot with DE.More AoE would be nice and group utility.A bandit is probably sometjing if a thief that looks after his ppl on the cost if their enemies so... That could be a thing.Torch OH and you will get 5 new skills and more condi play.

I cant help but keep seeing ppl wishing for a certain class to become mesmer. I mean guys.Warior using inspiration = mesmerGuardian using inspiration = mesmerRanger using meditations = mesmerThief using meditations = mesmeralso from other forumsThief becoming suport with clones = mesmerWarior healer with staff = Mesmer (to a certain amount of context)

Guys why do you want all classes to become mesmers? Just play mesmer.

@InsaneQR.7412 said:

Because the tanky iteration that mitigates dmg in a rougish way was already done with DD and the sibgle target one shot with DE.More AoE would be nice and group utility.A bandit is probably sometjing if a thief that looks after his ppl on the cost if their enemies so... That could be a thing.Torch OH and you will get 5 new skills and more condi play.

If a thief gonna get Torch that 100% wont be support class. I mean that is pure condi dmg. Torch has never been used as suport weapon. I mean how could it? Okay lets say Thief is gonna go more AoE. But what weapon would he use? They are not going to give us main hand scepter that is 10/10 sure. It simply doesnt fit anything Thief has ever done. I could imagine off hand horn. But if they are gonna do that i straight out quit the game. And i know at least thirty people who will quit with me. I dont raelly get why ppl want thief to become suport. I guess it is just a local trend but seriously the reasons you guys are giving are bad if not complete nonsense.Okay i give it to you a bandit LEADER would look over his bandits. But that is just so poor reason why to make thief a suport class.... i mean....I know whateve i say i wont change your mind about you hoping thief to become suport class. I just know it wont happen. I wont even say hope. I know it.Also how would you imagine traits in that line? As i said above thief has only two traits whtat suport alies.If they would make a completely new trait line with all the suport thief could possibly squeeze out of a single off or main hand weapon it would chop off so huge amount of dps off us (which btw is getting lower every update) that noone with reason would ever use it. That is just waste of time.

@Jack Redline.5379 said:I cant help but keep seeing ppl wishing for a certain class to become mesmer. I mean guys.Warior using inspiration = mesmerGuardian using inspiration = mesmerRanger using meditations = mesmerThief using meditations = mesmeralso from other forumsThief becoming suport with clones = mesmerWarior healer with staff = Mesmer (to a certain amount of context)

Guys why do you want all classes to become mesmers? Just play mesmer.

Rangers with meditations equals mesmer?Guardians with inspirations are mesmers?

What the hell are you talking about?Nobody said they should summon illusions or should capitalize on enemies confusion.Just because you heard a skill name doesnt mean it copies mesmers wether in theme nor in function.

Thief with clones and support is mesmer though thats pretty much it but everything else you said is just plain out not true.

Thief could use meditations that shadowsteps a group to a location or huge darkfield that blind enemies and buff allies/remove condis.

Rangwr could be a ravaging force of bature that lays down huge CC fields based on earth and plant magic.

And guards and warriors using inspirations would just make them similar to one self and not to mesmer.

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

@InsaneQR.7412 said:

Because the tanky iteration that mitigates dmg in a rougish way was already done with DD and the sibgle target one shot with DE.More AoE would be nice and group utility.A bandit is probably sometjing if a thief that looks after his ppl on the cost if their enemies so... That could be a thing.Torch OH and you will get 5 new skills and more condi play.

Support is flexible. Its not just heals.Boons, buffs and group utility are support. A e-spec focussed arround that could work.Like the torch could remove condis and give allies fiery weapons to smolder and plunder.Or boon removal and redistribution on allies.Its not just pure PvE support i talk about. WvW and PvP too. Thief is niched into guerilla tactics and roaming, with a new spec focussing arround biggwr groups might even bring them into the zerg.

@InsaneQR.7412 said:

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

I will elaborate then.Rangers with meditations could not cause CC. First. Meditations are type of skills that self buffs and I compared it to Mesmer because Mesmers are class that highly depends on boons they have on themselves not to mention ranger is wieved as suport class so everyone would expect them to share those boons = mesmers job. The name itself indicates as much. Only meditation that deals dmg is Guardians Judge's Intervention and only one that heals others is Merciful intervention. No meditation does CC and never did. Not even mantras do.I said Guardians with inspirations are like mesmer because that is literally mesmers traitline. They are enhancing clones which Guardinas doesnt have. And if it would work as a buff to his boons or boonshare again it is mesmers job to share those.Also what you described with ''huge darkfield'' that is basically portal. again mesmer already has that and necro as well. I can give you that thematically it MAYBE might work like group shadowstep but it wouldnt remove condis or buff allies because shadowstep is not a buffing skill it is only there to make game faster or help thief to escape.

@InsaneQR.7412 said:

Support is flexible. Its not just heals.Boons, buffs and group utility are support. A e-spec focussed arround that could work.Like the torch could remove condis and give allies fiery weapons to smolder and plunder.Or boon removal and redistribution on allies.Its not just pure PvE support i talk about. WvW and PvP too. Thief is niched into guerilla tactics and roaming, with a new spec focussing arround biggwr groups might even bring them into the zerg.

Lets say i understand giving allies fiery weapons as = thier attacks cause burning okay? Since i dont believe a thief would pull out a fire sword outta his pocket in mid of a fight. Fine. I present to you the Sun Spirit. tiny tree like thingy summoned by ranger taken to ever raid. and i also saw it in zergs. number of targets 10 radius 1000 which means 2 rangers can buff all zerg in one cast. I believe thief is not going to beat that with a torch.I cant really imagine torch ripping boons. That is too much magic. I mean i could go with it burning them down. Okay Fire burnt down my might. Or changed it to condition FINE i am able to go with that. But magic fire that stole boons from enemies and gave them to my allies is too much of a lolipop land.ňEdit.Also how would you imagine that? I mean if it is gonna be AoE skill it would rip and grant boons only in AoE so everyone would ahve to stay near you AND your target would have to stand in the AoE as well. Gl against scourges as far as WvW goes. Gl in PVP as far as any Pof mobility buffed class goes. (I am glaring at De's since you wouldnt even get close to those. Ever.) Also a whole group wont run around you just so they can get boons that you might rip off your enemy. If he has any. there are builds that deal huge amount of dmg and have no boons gl surviving that with 20k best health as a thief. so... that is as much as my point goes with this.

@"Jack Redline.5379"

First: Why cant a meditation have CC? Only thing that makes it really unique is instant cast, everything else is flexible. I mean spellbreaker has a meditation with taunt on it and thats hard CC as far as i remember.

Second: Inspirations was ment by perydactyl as a bew skill type that just plain out buffs allies. He didnt elaborate how that worked nor what is unique about it. Again a strawman if yours laying your words in our mouths.

Third: Giving boonshare to other profession is not copying mesmer. Its a mechanic that exists in limited amounts in other forms on other professions already and it would give more flexibility in comps. The chrono monopole exist solely because they can do that on 10 ppl with little to no effort. But its not the professions identity, its a gamemechanic like dodge or condi cleanse.

Fourth: What i described as a huge darkfield and what i described as a group shadowstep are two sepperate skills. And it was exactly the intent to give it a similar function to portal. Scourge got ut so why not a new thief e-spec? Group utility is something thiefs lack, thats why many ppl want a group oriented thief to play with.

Fifth: Sun spirit is a passive that procs on chance. I think rather on an instant x stacks of burning for the x next attacks. Lile venoms work now just tied to a weapon to extent the thiefs cappabilities to dmg support.AoE can be ground targeted and thiefs have high mobility so a PbAoE or a normal AoE rip and distribute isnt that far of a stretch. And the "oh no its to magical" approach is kinda childish and invalid. You can literally teleport and make yourself invisible, i dont kniw what that is to you but thats freaking magic to me.

Last but not Least: This is a speculations so stop attacking ppl by making suggestions. This is mainly to fill the missing role gaps professions are missing and thief has no support so ppl suggest support, deal with it and make your own suggestion. It makes a discussion more fruitfull if someone just calls out his imagination in juxtaposition against the others and not just bashes it because he wants sonething else.

So make a suggestion.

@InsaneQR.7412 said:

This is a speculations so stop attacking ppl by making suggestions. This is mainly to fill the missing role gaps professions are missing and thief has no support so ppl suggest support, deal with it and make your own suggestion. It makes a discussion more fruitfull if someone just calls out his imagination in juxtaposition against the others and not just bashes it because he wants sonething else.

> So make a suggestion.

You did me bamboozle right there. Also i am not attacking ppl i am discussing. You show me your view i show you mine. It is normal. I know we can disagree that is why we show proves of our reasoning and we can compare them. You said yours i said mine. You wont get anywhere if you wont discuss a topic. Just suggesting wont do any good since you will get 1000k opinions but you will never know which are bad or good cuz you wont discuss them. I tried to disscus it a bit further i am sorry if you didnt like it.

@InsaneQR.7412 said:

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

@InsaneQR.7412 said:Support is flexible. Its not just heals.Boons, buffs and group utility are support. A e-spec focussed arround that could work.Like the torch could remove condis and give allies fiery weapons to smolder and plunder.

This is actually pretty good idea! If you could give your power DPS'rs "your condi dmg thru burning" uuh nice :) I just hope (if support theef will come) its not going to be Perma invis zergs :D

@Jack Redline.5379 said:

@InsaneQR.7412 said:

> So make a suggestion.

Still waiting for a role suggestion missing on thief. I assume from your opinion and icon you main thief. So i want to know what a main thief thinks what thief misses fitting to be filled from an e-spec.