Classes and factions hypothesizing

[Ceryxobitus.3012]

As the holiday's quickly approach, I find myself on the build crafter wondering what surprises or "at long last" subclasses/weapons the classes will get in the new expansion. I also wonder where the use of the factions (Crystal Bloom, Seraph, Ebon Vanguard) may be going.

So, here are a few thoughts/wishes/hopes for the future expansion.

New elite specs:

Golemancer -For the love of all that is holy, please finally add this to the Engineer. Turrets are essentially human, the Scrapper is Charr, and we have nothing based on Asura magitech and golems yet?

Bunnythumper -Whatever you want to call it, a ranger with a hammer would make a lot of people happy.

Paragon -Not sure how many people loved this GW1 class, which the Sunspears centered around, but the one training in the Eye of the North in GW2 would be cruel if this is never added to Guardian.

Gunslinger/Enforcer/Pirate -Pistol/pistol on Warrior would be cool, they need a midrange! Even sword-pistol would work with the pirate motif for many people.

Mage-archer -The name needs work, but an elementalist with a shortbow or longbow, maybe geared towards a balanced split of power & condi damage on skills, would fit a missing sub-class in GW2.

Vampire -Okay, so Necromancer blood magic is one thing, you know, kinda shamanistic, midrange - but give us a sword-shield to charge into combat with minions and wreak some weakness/cripple/stun/slow on enemies!

Mindblade -I'm torn on this last one. Sword-sword, sword-shield is okay for Mesmers. And the Mirage blinks around so much that I cannot keep up with my screen and a migraine shortly follows, but what about a dagger-based mesmer- too close to thief? They already have an evade-based subclass, and thief has stealth and we don't need anymore of that...so what about one that does more with clones than just shattering them? I love the spiders and all that come out when Ibogas confuse you.

Where are the faction mechanics going?

Okay, so full disclosure - I'm primarily a PvE solo / play with those nearby if we happen to be doing the same thing kind of player. I absolutely long for the days of GW1 where I could gear up a small party of whatever class type combinations I felt like playing with that day/for particular content - hence why the paragon-general kind of theme worked for me in GW1. But, I think about it in Gw2 when it comes to content that I don't really have access to as a generally solo player - Dungeons, Fractals, Strike Missions.

How cool would it be if GW2 allowed us to party up with up to 4 other NPCs and/or real players to take on the content that isn't seeing the play time it could because people hate waiting around for live players? They could even "control" power creep by having locked builds and class types - it would be amazing to be able to use gear on NPC party members like in GW1, but I understand the difficulty that might add, so use models already in the game for the "instanced" content like dungeons, fractals, and strike missions and watch them get a lot more play time from people who might hop online quick and want to knock something out, but not wait around for live players.

Just some thoughts - I am really looking forward to the new Xpac and hope that some of these elite specs/weapon choices and the factions mechanic to improve, at least instanced play, happen. I do worry about this being the last expansion and what happens to the game as player numbers dwindle. It's bad enough as a generally solo player sometimes - more people will understand what I mean as the game population drops off like GW1 eventually.

[Tseison.4659]

Just a reminder that the elite specs would revolve around the theme of Cantha once we get there as the elite specs were based around Elona. But with that said, who knows what other classes will get and it’s really up in the air. I personally have a feeling they might migrate Underwater weapons to land use, just different skills of course. But if not those then I personally think the classes below might get:Revenant: GreatswordWarrior: Pistol/Pistol or StaffGuardian: Offhand Sword/Axe/Mace

Elementalist: Longbow or Axe main handMesmer: Warhorn, Dual Daggers used as range weapons or Pistol main hand.Necromancer: Sword or Axe main hand

Ranger: RifleThief: Dual axesEngineer: Scepter or Focus

Again, I still think with the theme of next expansion we’ll likely get to use our underwater weapons on land, just different skills and then they’ll give us new utilities etc... but who knows. There’s no right or wrong opinion. We’ll just have to wait and see.

[Kodama.6453]

@"Ceryxobitus.3012" said:

New elite specs:

Golemancer -For the love of all that is holy, please finally add this to the Engineer. Turrets are essentially human, the Scrapper is Charr, and we have nothing based on Asura magitech and golems yet?

Erm, holosmith? Even Anet themselves said that they made the spec heavily Asuran flavoured in it's visuals. And considering that holosmith has been our last elite spec, I really don't want to repeat that with a golemancer elite spec.

What I would prefer much more for an elite spec would be something that is focused on the alchemical side of engineer. Acids, poison fumes, etc. Also has great opportunities to get tied in with the lore of Cantha, unlike an Asuran elite spec (Cantha has been isolated, with all non-humans being kicked out of it).

In Cantha, there has been the infamous plague, miasma, etc. Even the organisation of the Am Fah, which tried to use the flesh forging plague to strengthen their own rows instead of seeing it as the curse it was supposed to be. Considering this stuff, I think the perfect elite spec for the engineer would be the "plague doctor", a support elite spec that focuses on buffing their allies with injections, fumes and other concoctions.

[Mediahead.3542]

Since we're sharing, here are my ideas for e-specs!

(SOME OF THESE ARE STILL WORKS-IN-PROGRESS, SO KEEP AN OPEN MIND WHEN RESPONDING)

Guardian/Avenger: dps-focused spec.Lore: Not wanting his skills to go to waste, a faction of Cantha's guardians, who came to be known as "Avengers," incorporated Shiro Tagachi's twin sword style into their fighting techniques, allowing them to strike at enemies even faster then beforeWeapon: Off-hand swordArmor: ShoulderProfession mechanic: Virtues become Furies*. a combination of Tempest's overload and warrior's adrenaline, Each fury can charge up overtime with each attack. Once charged they can release an AoE field that has different effects depending on the fury used. Furious Justice; damage/burning, Furious Resolve; healing/condi cleanse, and Furious Courage; stability/resistance. The major drawback is that they can only focus on one fury at a time so you need to keep that in mind during battleUtility skills: Rage. These skills can speed up the charging time of furies when used

Revenant/Savant: dps-focused (plus some condi) spec.Lore: Oola and Zinn were master and apprentice turned bitter rivals in the world of golemancy. Now revenants can channel both of their legends and talents as SavantsWeapon: Scepter, focus, or dagger**Armor: GlovesProfession mechanic: Channels the legends of golemancers, Oola and Zinn, doing so causes a classic golem to appear that never strays too far from your current location. Grants unique profession skills, Zinn's Enhancements to boost golem's stats and your own, and Oola's Necrosis to allow you and your golem to siphon health and convert boons into conditions. Utility skills: Legendary Savant skills. Unique only to savants, these allow the player to command your golem to use special attacks like rocket punch, missile barrage, etc. Elite skill causes golem to self-destruct, knocking back opponents and releasing poisonous gas and rendering utility skills useless until re-summoned with healing skill, similar to Ventari's tablet.

Warrior/Monk: Support-focused spec.Lore: Naming themselves after the monks of old, these warriors seek inner peace and balance, even in the heat of battleWeapon: Melee staffArmor: GlovesProfession Mechanic: Serenity. Similar to the Berserk mode of berserkers, it is a unique burst skill that alters existing burst skills to grant different boons to themselves and allies depending on which burst skill is usedUtility skills: Mantras.

Engineer/Apothecary or Aethermancer***:

4a. Apothecary: Condi-focused specLore: Apothecaries are masters of chemicals that have studied various elixirs and poisons over the years and uses this knowledge to enhance their fighting capabilitiesWeapon: main hand/dual wield axes***Armor: GlovesProfession mechanic: n/aUtility skill: Chemicals. similar to Thief's venom skills, these can add additional conditions and/or boons to your weapon skills or create aoe fields that can harm enemies and buff allies.Note: This could potentially bring back old traits such as Acidic Elixirs and Acid coating.

4b: Aethermancer: CC-focused specLore: By reverse engineering the technology from the Aetherblade pirates, Engineers are now able to channel aether magic through scientific means as AethermancersWeapon: Main-hand maceArmor: GlovesProfession mechanic: N/AUtility skills: Aether weapons. Summons weapons of pure aether energy to attack or defend, similar to guardian's spirit weapons

Elementalist/Spellslinger: Ranged/dps-focused specLore: Some elementalists are not able to wield magic like their brethren. Fortunately, the ones in Cantha found a workaround for that by focusing the elements into specially made ammunition, allowing them to cast spells through pistols at great distances by simply pulling the triggerWeapon: Dual pistolsArmor: HelmProfession mechanic: Attunements become ammunition. Spellslingers are able to attack without needing to be attuned to a specific element, and instead creates bullets that are based on one of the four elements. These bullets last for about 15 charges, but this can be increased to 20 through e-spec trait. they're able to switch to other ammo like before but if you do with while another set of ammo is active, you will lose the leftover charges and will have to wait until cooldown to use them againUtility skills: Tricks

Ranger/Warden: Dps/CC-focused specLore: Wardens were mysterious creatures that protected the Echovald Forests of Cantha. Now Rangers can learn their secrets and carry on their legacy of defending nature from those who would exploit itWeapon HammerArmor: BootsProfession mechanic: Build energy during combat to use unique skill to temporarily transform into large tree monster.Utility skills: Punishments

Thief/Gangleader: DPS/support-focused specLore: Various gangs run rampant in the criminal underworld. As a gangleader, you will command your underlings to do your bidding while aiding them in battleWeapon: Main-hand/Dual mace(s) or Greatsword***Armor: GlovesProfession mechanic: N/AUtility skills: Minions. Summon gang members with unique abilities and effects, similar to Necromancer's minions

Mesmer: (I wasn't able to come up with anything that could work for mesmers, so now I support this person's idea called "The Psychomancer." Check it out here: https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/58284/the-psychomancer-mesmer-elite-specialization-suggestion )

Necromancer/Seance: Support/ranged-focused specLore: Seances seek to bring peace to restless souls and protect them from otherworldly creatures that would harm them. They can also summon spirits to aid them in battleWeapon: Longbow/shortbow***Armor: GlovesProfession Mechanic: Replaces Death Shroud with Spirit Shroud. This grants unique skills that heals and buffs themselves and other players as well as do damage. #5 skill grants the user distortion for a few secondsUtility skills: Spirits. Similar to Ranger's spirits, seance's summon ghostly souls that cause effects depending on which ones where summoned. These skills can also be traited to grant distortion when activated

Name subject to changewould like to see a combination of two of these, even if it is unlikely that will happen.Either one could work