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I imagined a GW2 without elite specs


Swagg.9236

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and then applied that thought to Elementalist. It resulted in a huge gutting of skill bloat throughout the utility, healing and elite skill list and outright removed the idea of an elite slot entirely, replacing it with just a fourth utility slot. It also effectively eradicated all presence of Weaver and Tempest from the game; mainly because those "new, unique ways of playing Elementalist" are nothing more than boring DPS boosts. You slapped a few extra keys onto the piano. Good for you. It doesn't fundamentally make playing the thing any different. However, by culling and compressing all of the skill bloat in the Ele skill pool located to the right of the health bar, it ended up being a selection of really powerful abilities with varied utility. It also compressed the bevy of "skill types" (which ultimately serve no purpose outside of allotting arbitrary passive bonuses) into just two lines. I feel that if this were the case for all class utilities (i.e. each class had only two skill types and skill types often overlapped across class options), we could see more interaction between classes based on skill types (i.e. Mesmer "cantrips" focusing on punishing cantrip or support-type use in other classes or Thief "physicals" doing the same to other physical or healing skill activations).

tl;dr Elite specs are just trashy DPS increases (particularly Weaver and Tempest); fight me. Elite skills in GW2 are dumb and the game would be better off without them; instead converting worthwhile ones into fairer utility skills and just expanding the utility bar to 4 slots. Healing skills in general are mostly useless and each class basically uses just one anyway; might as well compress those into 2-3 worthwhile options rather than just letting everything sit around as dead data. Traits could easily be culled and re-worked around this compressed assembly of non-weapon skills. A huge, worthwhile skill culling, compression and re-design in GW2 will never happen because anet is primarily staffed by a carousel of one-year interns who don't even know what half of this game's spaghetti code does anymore.

GLYPH

![Glyph of Elemental Power]!Recharge: 5s!Glyph. Damage adjacent foes with pulsing energy that inflicts conditions based on your current attunement.! Number of foes: 5! Damage (0.525)! |Fire| Burning |2| (3s): [damage]! |Water| Vulnerability |6| (3s): 6% Incoming Damage, 6% Incoming Condition Damage! |Air| Weakness (1¼s): -50% Endurance Regeneration, 50% Fumble (Unrestricted)! |Earth| Cripple (1½s): -50% Movement Speed! Duration: 5s! Interval: 1s! Maximum Count: 2! Count Recharge: 20s!* Radius: 180

![Glyph of Renewal]!Recharge: 50s!Glyph. Instantly recharge your attunements. Temporarily reduce attunement recharge time while gaining increased damage for attuning to new elements. Successfully attuning to all elements ends Glyph of Renewal's recharge effect and grants Glyphic Might.! Arcane Power (20s): Reduced attunement recharges. Each time you attune to a different element, gain a stack of Arcane Might.! Attunement Recharge Time: 2s! |Fire| Arcane Flame: +75 Power! |Water| Arcane Water: +75 Vitality! |Air| Arcane Wind: +75 Ferocity! |Earth| Arcane Earth: +75 Toughness! Glyphic Might (20s): +120 Power, +120 Vitality, +120 Ferocity, +120 Toughness to yourself and nearby allies.! Number of allies: 5!* Radius: 360

!This skill chains into [Glyphic Grasp].

!>[Glyphic Grasp] (1b)!>Activation: ¾s!>End Glyph of Renewal's recharge effect and forcibly lift nearby enemies into the air.!> Number of foes: 5!> Damage (0.3)!> Float: 1½s!> Radius: 240!>* Unblockable

![Glyph of Storms]!Activation: 4s / Recharge: 20s!Channel a storm based on your current attunement.

!This skill's recharge is global across all attunements like the current [Glyph of Storms] recharge function.

!>[Firestorm] (Fire)!>Activation: 4s / Recharge: 20s!>Spin and burn adjacent foes. If you complete the full cast, you leave behind a flame tornado which deals the same effects as the initial cast.!> Number of foes: 5!> Pulse damage: (1.0)!> Pulse burning (4s): [damage]!> Interval: 1s!> Field Duration: 5s!> Combo Field: Fire!> Combo Finisher: Whirl!> Radius: 180

!>[Tsunami] (Water)!>Activation: 4s / Recharge: 20s!>Initially stagger nearby foes with a tide of water and continuously heal and cleanse nearby allies. If you complete the full cast, you leave behind a healing geyser.!> Number of foes: 10!> Initial Pull: 50!> Radius: 240!> Number of allies: 10!> Healing: 440 (0.2)!> Conditions Removed Per Pulse: 1!> Interval: 1s!> Geyser Healing per Pulse: 552 (0.4)!> Geyser Interval: 1s!> Geyser Duration: 4s!> Geyser Combo Field: Water!> Radius: 240

!>The Geyser described in the tooltip is functionally identical to the one created by Elementalist Staff Water 3.

!>[Lightning Storm] (Air)!>Activation: 4s / Recharge: 20s!>Grant superspeed to yourself and nearby allies while striking nearby foes with lightning. If you complete the full cast, you grant Lightning Charge to nearby allies and leave behind a storm which deals the same effects as the initial cast.!> Number of foes: 5!> Damage: (0.7)!> Attack Interval: ½s!> Field Duration: 4s!> Combo Field: Lightning!> Number of allies: 5!> Initial Superspeed (4s): Movement speed is greatly increased.!> Lightning Charge (10s): +7% Damage!>* Radius: 240

!>[sandstorm] (Earth)!>Activation: 4s / Recharge: 20s!>Continuously bleed and blind adjacent foes while granting barrier to allies. If you complete the full cast, you immobilize foes and leave behind a sandstorm which deals the same effects as the initial cast.!> Number of allies: 5!> Barrier per Pulse: 325 (0.25)!> Number of foes: 5!> Damage: (0.5)!> Bleeding (8s): [damage]!> Blindness (2s): Next outgoing attack misses.!> Immobilize (2s): Unable to move.!> Field Duration: 4s!>* Radius: 180

![Glyph of Lesser Elementals]NAME CHANGED TO[Glyph of Conjuration]!Activation: ¼s / Recharge: 10s!Glyph. Manifest an elemental weapon in your hand based on your current attunement.! Weapon Duration: 10s! Maximum Count: 2!* Count Recharge: 30s

!Weapons generated by this skill no longer grant passive attribute bonuses while active.!The Fire Attunement Elemental Weapon of Fire Axe is replaced by Fiery Greatsword.!All instances of Earth Shield's Tectonic Shift now only grant 650 (0.15) barrier per pulse.

!>[Frost Fan]

!> Recharge reduced from 15s to 6s.!> Activation increased from ¼s to ¾s.!> Damage modifier per arrow increased from (0.25) to (0.4).!> Chilled duration per arrow reduced from 1s to ½s.

!>[Frost Storm]

!> Maximum damage modifier increased from (0.7) to (0.75).!> Minimum damage modifier increased from (0.14) to (0.4).

!>[Deep Freeze]

!> Damage modifier reduced from (0.8) to (0.5).!> Recharge reduced from 30s to 25s.!>* Stun duration reduced from 3s to 2s.

!>[stone Sheath]

!> Recharge reduced from 8s to 6s.!> Damage radius reduced from 240 to 180.

!>[Magnetic Surge]

!> Recharge reduced from 15s to 8s.!> Damage modifier reduced from (1.0) to (0.7).!> Magnetic Aura duration reduced from 4s to 2s.!> Daze duration reduced from 2s to ¼s.

!>[Magnetic Shield]

!> Recharge reduced from 25s to 15.!> No longer grants Protection.

!>[Fortify]!>Activation: ½s / Recharge: 30s!>You and nearby allies gain barrier, aegis and stability.!> Number of allies: 5!> Barrier: 2123 (0.25)!> Aegis (5s): Block the next incoming attack.!> Stability (3s): Cannot be knocked down, pushed back, pulled, launched, stunned, dazed, floated, sunk, feared or taunted.!>* Radius: 300

!>[Flame Wave]NAME CHANGED TO[Flame Bolt]!>Activation: 1s!>Swing your blade and shoot an explosive fireball at your foe.!> Number of foes: 3!> Damage: (1.0)!> Radius: 180!> Range: 1200

!>Effectively just a [Fireball] reskin.

!>[Fiery Whirl]

!> Damage modifier reduced from (0.688) to (0.5).!> Cripple duration reduced from 3s to 1½s.!>* Evasion duration reduced from 1¼s to ½s.

![Glyph of Essence] (new glyph skill)!Activation: ¾s / Recharge: 20s!Based on your current attunement, aid allies and affect the area around you.

!>[inferno] (Fire)!>Recharge: 20s!>Burn foes in the area while granting might and fire aura to allies.!> Number of allies: 10!> Fire Aura (5s): Enveloped in a fiery shield that burns foes, grants might each time you are struck (1-second cooldown per attacker).!> Might |3| (10s): 90 Power, 90 Condition Damage!> Aura Radius: 600!> Number of foes: 5!> Burning (4s): [damage]!>* Attack Radius: 300

!>[Flash Freeze] (Water)!>Activation: ¾s / Recharge: 20s!>Immobilize and chill foes in the area while granting frost aura to allies.!> Number of allies: 10!> Frost Aura (3s): -10% Incoming Damage!> Aura radius: 600!> Number of foes: 5!> Immobilize (1s): Unable to move.!> Chilled (3s): -66% Skill Recharge Rate, -66% Movement Speed!>* Attack Radius: 300

!>[Eye of the Storm] (Air)!>Recharge: 20s!>Allies in the area cleanse movement-slowing conditions, gain superspeed and break stun.!> Number of allies: 10!> Superspeed (5s): Movement speed is greatly increased.!> Conditions Removed: [Cripple], [Chilled], [immobilize]!> Radius: 600!>* Breaks stun

!>[Aftershock] (Earth)!>Activation: ¾s / Recharge: 20s!>Grant magnetic aura to allies in the area. After a delay, the earth erupts at the initial area and knocks down foes.!> Number of allies: 10!> Magnetic Aura (4s): Reflect projectiles with magnetic energy.!> Aura radius: 600!> Number of foes: 5!> Aftershock Delay: 1s!> Knockdown: ¾s!> Attack Radius: 240!> Combo Finisher: Blast

CANTRIP

![Tornado]

! This skill is no longer split between game modes.! Recharge reduced from 90s to 50s.! Duration reduced from 10s to 4s.! Stability changed from pulsing to a single instance granted upon cast (2 stacks; 3s duration).!* [Elemental Requiem] and [Dust Charge] will use their current, respective PvP recharge times in the un-split version of [Tornado].

![Lightning Flash]

! Recharge reduced from 40s to 3s.! Now has an ammo count of 2. Count recharge set to 40s.! Damage inflicted at the target location now occurs after a 1s delay.! Now also grants Superspeed (2s).

![Armor of Earth]!Recharge: 5s!Cantrip. Gain initial stability. You and nearby allies gain barrier over time.! Initial Stability (3s): Cannot be knocked down, pushed back, pulled, launched, stunned, dazed, floated, sunk, feared or taunted.! Armor of Earth (4s): You and nearby allies gain barrier over time.! Number of allies: 5! Barrier per pulse: 1069 (0.15)! Pulses: 4! Interval: 1s! Radius: 240! Maximum Count: 2! Count Recharge: 50s! Breaks Stun

![Mist Form]!Recharge: 30s!Cantrip. Gain endurance and superspeed, and transform into an evasive mist. While in this form, your jump functions as a long leap and consumes endurance. When this form ends, if you are below the endurance threshold, gain additional endurance. If you use this skill outside of combat, it recharges faster.! Initial Superspeed (3s): Movement speed is greatly increased.! Initial Endurance Gain: 50! Mist Form (2½s): You evade attacks and your dodge functions as a long leap.! End Form Endurance Threshold: 50! End Form Endurance Gain: 50! Recharge reduced: 66%! Prevents Capture Point Contribution! Breaks Stun

!The “long leap” described in the tool tip should be relatively similar to that of the upgraded Raptor mount leap both in functionality (mid-air activation, air-turning and distance traveled) as well as in how it consumes endurance in order to propel the leap.

![Arcane Shield]!Recharge: 35s!Cantrip. Break stun and block attacks with an energy shield. If it blocks three attacks, it explodes for critical damage.! Number of foes: 5! Damage: (1.5)! Arcane Shield|3| (5s): Blocks attacks. Explodes after blocking three attacks.! Radius: 240!* Breaks stun

![Arcane Wave]!Recharge: 2s!Cantrip. After a delay, an energy wave blasts foes at the target area for critical damage.! Number of foes: 5! Delay: 1s! Damage: (1.4)! Maximum Count: 2! Count Recharge: 25s! Radius: 240! Combo Finisher: Blast! Range: 900

HEALING

![Glyph of Elemental Harmony]!Activation: 1s / Recharge: 10s!Glyph. Heal yourself and cleanse conditions. You and nearby allies gain a boon based on your current attunement.! Healing: 6494 (1.0)! Conditions Removed: 3! Number of allies: 5! [Fire] Quickness (3s): Skills and actions are faster.! [Water] Regeneration (10s): [healing]! [Air] Alacrity (8s): Skills recharge faster.! [Earth] Aegis (5s): Block the next incoming attack.! Radius: 300! Maximum Count: 2! Count Recharge: 35s

![Ether Renewal!Activation: 2¾s / Recharge: 5s!Cantrip. Heal yourself and cure a condition with every pulse.! Healing per Pulse: 663 (0.15)! Conditions Removed per Pulse: 1! Pulses: 8! Maximum Count: 2!* Count Recharge: 25s

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Pve isnt the only game mode and dps isnt the only role ele can play.

Without tempest, pve scepter and dagger mainhand would be a joke, healing would be a waste of time.

Without weaver, ele would still be unviable in pvp or it would only have dagger as an option, scepter would be a joke in pvp/wvw.

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@steki.1478 said:Pve isnt the only game mode and dps isnt the only role ele can play.Every class in GW2 is DPS; that is the only universal role in this game. If your class didn't receive an arbitrary healer hand-out from the hand of Anet (and Elementalist did not, no matter how much anyone wants to compare aura-share to Firebrand or Druid), then your class cannot really heal.

Without tempest, pve scepter and dagger mainhand would be a joke, healing would be a waste of time.Healing is already a waste of time if you aren't a ranger or guardian. PvE scepter and dagger are already jokes in all modes. Moreover, they would stand to only gain if someone were to suddenly compress all Elementalist elite spec and utility options into a suite which allows any Elementalist to simultaneously slot the respectively most powerful aspects of Tempest and Weaver. That said, even that sort of an effort wouldn't save them from being bad. Those weapons are only saved from their fate by outright deletion or huge re-works in order to boost their potential as a sustained threat.

Without weaver, ele would still be unviable in pvp or it would only have dagger as an option, scepter would be a joke in pvp/wvw.If the elite spec distinction were to evaporate into nothing, it wouldn't mean that the weapons would have to go along with it. On top of that, the most important Weaver skills for the basic meme PvP set-up are all slot 2. Nobody really uses the slot 3 on sword Weaver. In fact, most of the slot 3 options for Weaver are all garbage regardless of which weapon you take; they are all uncreative filler trash that are mostly reskins or mash-ups of other skills that already exist. It's not to say that some of them aren't generally good, they're just trapped on bad options and smushed in between the Weaver attunement mechanic. It would make a lot more sense to just remove the bad skills from sword, dagger, and scepter and just throw on the better ones scattered among the Weaver slot 3 skills. Again, however, even with Weaver, scepter is still mostly a joke in PvP/WvW because it's basically just Mirage except without the evasion memes. You need to re-work that entire weapon set so that users don't die the moment that they blow their entire skill bar on a single target if you ever want it to be a worthwhile weapon option; re-working the Elementalist elite specs into utility options wouldn't really affect those weapons' respective, fundamental flaws at all.

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