[End of Dragons] Ideas for 9 new Canthan elite specializations

[Fueki.4753]

@"Tseison.4659" said:New mechanics I’d like to see implemented to replace what we have would be: Hexes and/or Conjures/kits aka Instruments to work hand in hand with the Warhorn weapon.Assuming Instrument Conjures were to replace Shatters; how would Clones (which are a fundamental part of GW2's Mesmer and therefore have to somehow work with any Shatter replacement) interact with them?Does the number of Clones being shattered affect how many skills you can use on instruments?Or are instruments limited on how long they can be "equipped" and more shattered Clones increase that time?

[Tseison.4659]

@Fueki.4753 said:

@Tseison.4659 said:New mechanics I’d like to see implemented to replace what we have would be: Hexes and/or Conjures/kits aka Instruments to work hand in hand with the Warhorn weapon.Assuming Instrument Conjures were to replace Shatters; how would Clones (which are a fundamental part of GW2's Mesmer and therefore

have

to somehow work with any Shatter replacement) interact with them?Would the Instruments just have more charges?Or would they just have longer uptimes?

Whatever Anet can think of, I couldn’t careless, as long as it has nothing to do with shatters. I guess clone generation can give “charges/pips” or summon one instrument at the given location and then using the F1-4 skills causes effects to happen in the area. shrugs

[frareanselm.1925]

What i miss the most in Gw2 is the presence of a thief with dark magic powers like warlock.

[VocalThought.9835]

@"frareanselm.1925" said:What i miss the most in Gw2 is the presence of a thief with dark magic powers like warlock.

I think the Deadeye utility skills kinda captures the "Thief Mage". I wish they'd give Deadeye two weapons, rifle and focus, instead of just the rifle.

[VocalThought.9835]

I hope that EOD allows us to have two elite weapons, instead of one, therefore most of the weapons that are not available, would be, for every profession and future expansions could use mix and match weapons and/or use them differently.They could make:

Heavy Armor- Soliders

*Warrior 

-Beserker use Torch and I'd add a main hand Shield 

-Spell Breakers use Dual Daggers and would get a Focus

-Warlord would use Staff and an Offhand Pistol.

*Guardian

-Dragon Hunters use Long Bow but would get Offhand Sword

-Firebrands use main hand Axe and would get main hand Focus

-Archon could get War Horn and an offhand Scepter.

*Revenant

-Herald uses Shield but would also use Great Sword

-Renegade uses Short Bow but would get main hand Axe

-Overlord could get Scepter and main hand -Pistol.

Medium Armor - Adventurers

*Ranger

-Druid uses Staff and would get focus.

-Soulbeast uses main hand Dagger and get Rifle

-Warden would use Hammer and Shield.

*Engineer

-Scrapper use Hammer and would get main hand Mace

-Holosmith use main hand Sword and would get Staff

-Technomancer would get Great Swords and Focus.

*Thief

-Daredevil use Staff and gets dual Maces

-Deadeye use Rifle and would get Focus

-Inquisitor gets Torch and an offhand Sword

Light Armors- Scholars

*Elementalist

-Tempest has Warhorn and gets an offhand Scepter

-Weaver had main hand Sword and would get main hand Focus

-Magnus Long Bow and Great Sword

*Mesmer

-Chronomancer has Shield and gets dual Daggers

-Mirage has main hand Axe and gets main hand Pistol

-Siren gets War Horn and Short Bow

*Necromancer

-Reaper uses Great Sword and would get Offhand Axe

-Scourge uses Torch and gets Shield

-Warlock gets Hammer and Rifle

 

I hope they make a Racial Elite Specializations trait line, adding the missing health/utility skills and making racial skills on par with profession skills.

They should revamp Revenant again. Make Revenant have an F2 Skill called "Communion" that allows the Revenant to switch to and from being possessed. They should also add the missing healing/utility skills from the profession and should be able to use them and the racial skills while not possessed.Ventari would be a healing skill, and the other three legends would be utility skills. The elite could channel a legend and boost them to 100% energy. They could make the current F2 an F3, but would only be used while they're communed to a legend.

Edited May 2, 2021 by VocalThought.9835
Appearance

[MisterDizzy.4713]

Thief = pirate. You sing shanties to give people boons. That or bard.

[Puck.3697]

My only critism would be with mesmers

It sounds like longbow would fit more as channeled abilities will need to the longer range.

Other then that some really good ideas.

[Cindaria.6379]

To be honest, I don't like the most of the ideas, especially the necromancer and the elementalist. For me, the Elementalist is still a mage/wizard who has magic as weapon. Besides this, I chose the elemtalist because I like the spirit of magic whereas I don't like the military stuff. If I want to play a military class, I can play engineer, warrior, thief or ranger. Additionally, I think the ideas leads to equalizing all classes to the same see the greatsword/long bow on the elemantalist. Since the ranger deals also with the elements and the elementalist can conjure his elements it would feel as I play a ranger. But a bad ranger because the real ranger has a permanent pet.Regarding the necro, the spec would have fit the best to PoF since the scarab plague was part of the story. Maybe Anet could add the scarab animation to the existing scourge spells (e.g. scarab in the sand shadows). Regarding the pistol the same as I said before, I don't like the military weapons on wizard classes.

[WindBlade.8749]

On 4/10/2021 at 1:11 AM, Cindaria.6379 said:

To be honest, I don't like the most of the ideas, especially the necromancer and the elementalist. For me, the Elementalist is still a mage/wizard who has magic as weapon. Besides this, I chose the elemtalist because I like the spirit of magic whereas I don't like the military stuff. If I want to play a military class, I can play engineer, warrior, thief or ranger. Additionally, I think the ideas leads to equalizing all classes to the same see the greatsword/long bow on the elemantalist. Since the ranger deals also with the elements and the elementalist can conjure his elements it would feel as I play a ranger. But a bad ranger because the real ranger has a permanent pet.Regarding the necro, the spec would have fit the best to PoF since the scarab plague was part of the story. Maybe Anet could add the scarab animation to the existing scourge spells (e.g. scarab in the sand shadows). Regarding the pistol the same as I said before, I don't like the military weapons on wizard classes.

i kinda understand you but mage has been so much derived nowdays that military mage or technomage is a common trend, you can't say mage who use elemental bullet is not a mage, it's a classic now. Same for weaver, if we speak of the classic casting mage weaver is an aberation but nowday it's totaly a thing

Edited April 30, 2021 by WindBlade.8749

[Warvader.3142]

Well, to the OP, this was very good. I didn't love all of them but enjoyed many quite a bit!

[Lazze.9870]

On 4/10/2021 at 1:11 AM, Cindaria.6379 said:

But a bad ranger because the real ranger has a permanent pet

 

Best ranger would have no pet.

 

I miss GW1 ranger.

[Mik.3401]

On 5/1/2021 at 1:47 AM, WindBlade.8749 said:

i kinda understand you but mage has been so much derived nowdays that military mage or technomage is a common trend, you can't say mage who use elemental bullet is not a mage, it's a classic now. Same for weaver, if we speak of the classic casting mage weaver is an aberation but nowday it's totaly a thing

I think even according to the lore Ele is 100% spell caster, unlike necros and mesmers who had more of duelling, close range abilities. Also the current trends in other games do not mean it is a trend for this game

[Dadnir.5038]

10 hours ago, Mik.3401 said:

I think even according to the lore Ele is 100% spell caster, unlike necros and mesmers who had more of duelling, close range abilities. Also the current trends in other games do not mean it is a trend for this game

According to the lore all 3 are 100% spellcaster. A close range spell is still a spell.

[Lonami.2987]

On 12/20/2020 at 2:34 PM, Lonami.2987 said:

Few new elite specialization ideas for the Canthan expansion, with no new weapon types involved:

---

Elementalist: Skyfire

• Gain Elemental Enchantments and Weapon Swap instead of Elemental Attunements. Every time you use an individual weapon skill, it will automatically swap itself to the next element, using the cooldown of the previous skill. Use an elemental enchantment to refresh those cooldowns and force all your weapon skills to channel the same element at once. By default, the order followed by the automatic swap sequence is fire, water, wind, earth, and then fire again. This order can be customized through traits. Glyphs and traits relying on active attunements will use the active element of the fifth weapon skill as the reference instead.
• You can wield the Longbow weapon in combat. All five longbow skills work as chain skills, giving them good synergy with the elemental enchantments mechanic.
• Gain access to Mantra slot skills. Just like weapon skills, mantras gain different effects depending on their active element, which swaps automatically with every use.

---

Mesmer: Trickster

• Gain Spectres instead of Clones. Spectres are weaker than clones, but replicate themselves on destruction, reducing their size and power. A normal spectre will spawn two medium spectres, a medium spectre will spawn two small spectres, and a small spectre won't replicate any further. Shatter skills affect all spectres no matter their size, adjusting their strength to the size of each shattered spectre.
• You can wield the Shortbow weapon in combat. All five shortbow skills work as channeled skills, employing multiple consecutive projectiles at once. Each of these projectiles is weaker individually, but their combined effect has the same strength as any common ranged weapon. When all the projectiles hit their target, the strength of the combined effects double.
• Gain access to Shout slot skills. Shout effects are divided in three phases, each triggered by one of the three spectre sizes. The first phase is triggered by the mesmer and normal spectres, the second by medium spectres, and the third by small spectres. Completing the three phases will unlock an additional fourth effect, triggered by all spectres at once. Shouts are inspired by Canthan poetry, each phase covering one out of four verses.

---

Necromancer: Apothecary

• Gain Plague Bomb, Toxic Pollen, Afflicted Miasma, Scarab Spore, and Plague Shroud instead of Death Shroud. Plague Bomb throws an explosive to the target area. Toxic Pollen, Afflicted Miasma, and Scarab Spore work as enchancements for your bombs. Activate and combine them to modify the effects of your plague bomb, leading to a total of eight possible combinations. Plague Shroud turns the necromancer into a walking combo field. All plague skills consume life force.
• You can wield the Pistol weapons in combat. Pistol skills gain additional effects depending on the active plague enhancements.
• Gain access to Elixir slot skills. Elixirs work as ammunition skills, consume their charges sparingly to gain various passive effects, or consume them all at once to induce a frontal area of effect vomit attack.

---

Engineer: Dreadnought

• Gain Dreadnought Suit instead of tool belt skill five. Activate the Dreadnought Suit to drive your own combat armor, gaining alternate tool belt skills. Any engineering kits you wield during the transformation will gain alternate weapon skills as well.
• You can wield the Mace weapons in combat. Mace skills are inspired by the core engineer Tool Kit utility skill, which has been removed and replaced by a new gadget elite skill. Additionally, maces are not exclusive for the dreadnought elite specialization, and once unlocked can be used by the core profession and any other elite specializations as well.
• Gain access to one new healing engineering kit, one new utility gadget, one new utility elixir, one new utility engineering kit, one new utility turret, and one new elite engineering kit. These new slot skills are exclusive for the dreadnought elite specialization.

---

Ranger: Bulwark

• Gain Pet Focus instead of Pet Swap. Both pets are deployed in combat simultaneously, pet focus letting you command the beast skills of one pet at a time.
• You can wield the Shield weapon in combat. The fifth weapon skill turns defensive mode on and off, reducing your movement speed in exchange of alternate weapon skills. This affects the fourth shield skill, as well as all three skills from main-hand axe, main-hand spear, and main-hand sword.
• Gain access to Venom slot skills. Venom effects are applied to the ranger, both pets, and up to four other nearby allies. Once used against a target enemy, their negative effects stack, increasing their strength the more hits the target receives.
• Find and tame Juvenile Crab, Juvenile Eel, and Juvenile Phoenix pets during your journey across Cantha.

---

Thief: Shadowblade

• Gain Shadow Blade and Shadow Strike instead of Steal. Shadow Blade summons an exact copy of the thief, with half the attributes and health. This shadow blade companion will follow the thief for ten seconds, mimicking all of his actions within a delay of two seconds. Shadow Strike commands the companion to shadowstep to the target foe and gain a stolen skill.
• You can wield the Greatsword weapon in combat. The first weapon skill has five chain steps instead of the usual three. Weapon skills two to five gain stronger effects the further the chain progresses, and will not interrupt it when used. Successful hits by the shadow blade will count as a step forward for any chains on progress, greatsword or not.
• Gain access to Stance slot skills. Stance effects are applied simultaneously to both the thief and the shadow blade.

---

Guardian: Spiritcaller

• Gain Virtue Attunement instead of Virtue Activation, Just was Xun Rao instead of Virtue of Justice, Resolute was Reiko instead of Virtue of Resolve, and Courageous was Ashu instead of Virtue of Courage. Attune to a virtue to strengthen its passive effect, disabling the effects of the other two virtues in the process.
• You can wield the Warhorn weapon in combat. The warhorn gains alternate weapon skills depending on the active attunement.
• Gain access to Spirit slot skills. Just like warhorn skills, spirits gain different effects depending on the active attunement.

---

Revenant: Windwalker

• Gain Wind Walk instead of dodge rolling. Hold the dodge key to dash instead of dodging, dash distance increasing the longer you hold down.
• You can wield the Greatsword weapon in combat. Weapon skills two to five work as charge skills, gaining stronger effects the longer you hold down. Wind Walk does not cancel charge skills, giving it good synergy with greatsword skills.
• Invoke the power of the legendary tengu windwalker, Tsuru Whitewing, and gain access to Legendary Windwalker slot skills. All five windwalker skills depict famous tengu paintings, representing different events across tengu history. Skills six to nine represent how each of the four tengu houses came to be, in turn inspired by the four winds. The elite skill, "The Great Wave off Shing Jea", represents the Great Tsunami itself, and the culmination of the tengu journey.

---

Warrior: Thunderlord

• Gain Thunder Bell instead of Burst weapon levels 2 and 3. Thunder Bell summons a mystical cannon bundle, which can alternate between ranged and melee modes through weapon swap. Carry it on your left shoulder to fire thunderbolts against your enemies, or use both hands to wield it as a blunt weapon and crush them at close combat. Thunder Bell is considered a level 2 burst skill, and once activated, both the ranged and melee versions will replace the previous weapon bursts with their own level 3 burst skills.
• You can wield the Staff weapon in combat. Weapon skills two to five work as sequence skills, unlocking additional skills on successful hits.
• Gain access to Preparation slot skills. Preparations gain stronger effects depending on individual adrenaline thresholds.

---

Some lore tidbits, for those interested:

• Elementalist - Skyfire: Ancient naga battlemages, brought back from the dead as the frozen waters of the Jade Sea brim with life once again. Horrorized at the woes of the modern world, they gather the Luxon clans and the kappa tribes for war.
• Mesmer - Trickster: Members of the Jade Sisterhood, they run the brothels, casinos, and theatres of Kaineng City. They specialize on blackmail, bribery, and deception. Their influence seeps deep into the Canthan aristocracy, making them impervious to the law.
• Necromancer - Apothecary: Cultists of the Am Fah, self-proclaimed freedom fighters for the lower classes and lesser races of the empire. They will stop at nothing to overthrow the emperor, resorting to biological terrorism if necessary. After all, they can always blame the Celestial Ministry.
• Engineer - Dreadnought: The noble men and women who drive the war machines of the empire, their combat armors admired and feared by allies and enemies alike. Rumor says their cannons are powered by the spirits of ancient deities, imprisoned by the dark sorcerers of the empire.
• Ranger - Bulwark: Elusive beastmasters of the sidhe race, renown wardens of the Echovald Forest. Driven crazy after the Jade Wind, few survived to regain their sanity. As the Kurzick rebels and their dredge allies expand carelessly across the forest, conflict will once again be inevitable.
• Thief - Shadowblade: Assassins of the Obsidian Flame, gone rogue after the guild was disbanded by the Celestial Ministry. They wage a secret war against the empire's corruption, supported from the inside by the remaining loyalist factions. Their numbers are thin, but their resolve unshakeable.
• Guardian - Spiritcaller: Forefront of the Celestial Ministry, guardians of tradition, followers of the old ways, and the last remaining ritualists of Cantha. Mouthpieces for the imperial propaganda, they channel the echoes of the fallen heroes of the empire, binding the spirits of criminals to their service.
• Revenant - Windwalker: Elite tengu bodyguards and executioners, they pay for the crimes of their Sensali ancestors with lifetime service and utmost devotion to the human imperial throne, deeming their brothers beyond the sea as nothing but despicable traitors.
• Warrior - Thunderlord: Warrior monks of the Sai Ling Order, they commune with the Great Celestials to channel their might, embarking on quests across the countryside in search of deeper enlightenment, vowing to, one day, become Closer to the Stars.

---

Bonus: New weapon types

Few new weapon type ideas, for a total of 18 ground weapons:

• Spear: Main-hand pole weapon, melee and thrown. Inspired by the Krait Nimross NPCs, Paragon NPCs and the original GW1 Spear weapon.
• Knuckles: One-handed fist weapon, melee. Inspired by the Boxing Gloves Toy, the Brawling Enchanted Armor Challenge, and the original GW1 Dwarven Brawling minigame.
• Bow: The Longbow and the Shortbow have been merged back into one single weapon type. The ranger is the only profession who can use both weapons, so his shortbow skills will be transformed into rifle skills as a compensation for the loss.
• Polearm: Two-handed pole weapon, melee. Includes greataxes, scythes, halberds, longspears, and more. Inspired by the Executioner Axe Toy, the unimplemented GW2 Polearm weapon, and the original GW1 Scythe weapon.

As part of a new player experience, each core profession would unlock some of the old and new weapon types for free, without any elite specialization requirements:

• Elementalist: Greatsword, Polearm.
• Mesmer: Pistol (main-hand), Warhorn.
• Necromancer: Axe (off-hand), Polearm.
• Engineer: Scepter, Knuckles (main-hand and off-hand), Focus.
• Ranger: Spear.
• Thief: Spear, Knuckles (main-hand and off-hand).
• Guardian: Spear.
• Revenant: Axe (main-hand), Mace (off-hand), Knuckles (main-hand and off-hand).
• Warrior: Polearm.

Further unlocks would become possible through either new elite specializations or additional updates to the core professions. Note that this section is independent from the new elite specialization ideas.

---

Had these gathering dust for quite a while now, figured I'd rewrite and post them.

Hope you liked the read!

EDIT: Same thread at reddit.

 

I want to update the whole thread at some point, but I fear I'll eventually forget, so here's the two I've finished so far:

---

Thief: Outcast

• Gain Snatch instead of Steal. Snatch forces the enemy target to unwillingly shadowstep to a new position adjacent to the thief.
• You can wield the Axe weapons in combat, including new dual wield skills. Main-hand axe skills work as melee skills, while off-hand axe skills work as ranged skills.
• Gain access to Aspect slot skills. Aspects are a new type of sequence skills, based on the Aspects of Kanaxai himself. Their behaviour is similar to that of herald facets, being divided in two parts. The first half of the skill, the aspect itself, provides a passive effect inflicting a condition on nearby enemies. While an aspect is active, the thief will gain a new demonic appearance, and a number of initiative points will be disabled. The second half of the skill consumes the aspect, releasing demonic energies against your enemies. Consuming an aspect removes its passive effect and restores the disabled initiative points. If you don't consume an active aspect, it will deactivate automatically after a short period of time, gaining a reduced cooldown cost. Multiple aspects can be active at once, as long as there's enough initiative points available.

---

Warrior: Thunderlord

• Gain Thunder Form instead of Adrenaline conservation in combat. Thunder Form transforms the warrior into a simian avatar of the Thunder God, armed with a mystical quarterstaff. During the transformation, your physical weapons will be discarded, and you will gain acess to the thunder form's own quarterstaff burst and weapon skills. Thunder form skills require a specific adrenaline threshold to be activated, but do not consume adrenaline itself. Adrenaline decay will increase the longer you stay transformed, and the transformation itself will end the moment you run out of adrenaline.
• You can wield the Staff weapon in combat. All staff skills work as chain skills, unlocking additional skills on successful hits.
• Gain access to Preparation slot skills. Preparations manifest the power of the Thunder God himself, and gain stronger effects depending on individual adrenaline thresholds.

  ---

By the gods are the new forums a pain to use. Anyway, I plan to redo mesmer, necromancer, and engineer at some point too, since I'm not 100% happy with the results. Elementalist, ranger, guardian, and revenant could get changes, but they would stay mostly the same. Feel free to provide any feedback you have! 😄

Edited July 20, 2021 by Lonami.2987

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

On 7/18/2021 at 7:31 AM, Lazze.9870 said:

 

Best ranger would have no pet.

 

I miss GW1 ranger.

Same thoughts here.

[Grand Marshal.4098]

Just throwing this here cause I'm bored and we won't be doing much speculation soon. 

 

Warrior-Demonslayer Spectral skills, Abandonment mechanic replaces adrenaline for unique F2 and F3 counting as t2 and t2l3 bursts respectively. Staff, role duelist, mobile, life steal. Green theme. 

 

Guardian-Avenger Virtues get replaced by Vices. Vices function like core virtues but have a flipover skill. Injustices as utilities. Corrupted guardians with OH sword, aggressive support role. Black theme. 

 

Revenant-Subjugator Legendary Mursaat Stance. Power focused, MH axe, power dps role. Self buff skills and boonsteal. MH axe. Deep red theme, lightings and stuff, like Bloodstone magic. 

 

Thief-Assassin power dps-bruiser role. OH sword, stance skills. Steal becomes a 1000 range 500 radius AoE which can provide support to multiple allies, inflict dmg to multiple enemies. Gray theme.

 

Engineer-Plaguedoctor crazy engi with elixirs and corruptions aiming at condi hybrid dps. Dual maces. Yellow-green theme. F5 becomes some short of mode that changes all toolbelt skills and adds some second weaponset. Can swap into that weapon while in combat without dropping off the mode. Maybe something like a better elixir gun. Others have more ideas on this. 

 

Ranger-Warden primitive CC focused Hammer ranger. Can combine 2 pets into 1

Spirit like entity resulting in diff stats based on pets combine. Maybe can fuse with the spirit for more stats but that may sound too much like Soulbeast. Dark green theme. 

 

Necromancer-Deathknight MH Sword, duelist role, shroud is replaced with darkness, a new resource with 2 stages. F1 and F2 skills consume darkness for effects. No barrier, no shroud, instead can use parry attacks with the F1 and F2 skills to block and counter with their powers. Very dark green theme. 

 

Mesmer-Bladedancer the classic dual dagger power or whatever focused mesmer with hexes or spirit weapons. Magenta theme, illusionary weapons instead of clones as a mechanic. 

 

Elementalist-Both the spellslinger gun wielding ele and the envoy longbow wielding ideas with the 2 attunement and weapons swap sound OK to me. 

 

 

[Lonami.2987]

8 hours ago, Grand Marshal.4098 said:

Engineer-Plaguedoctor crazy engi with elixirs and corruptions aiming at condi hybrid dps. Dual maces. Yellow-green theme. F5 becomes some short of mode that changes all toolbelt skills and adds some second weaponset. Can swap into that weapon while in combat without dropping off the mode. Maybe something like a better elixir gun. Others have more ideas on this.

 

I've always wanted to give necromancer the apothecary/plaguedoctor role, but engineer could get it easily too, since it's a middle ground between both. Just need to find a better idea for necromancer, and it's all for the engineer.

 

Anyway, a potential Engineer: Apothecary would be 100% using torch as the elite specialization weapon, with Corruption as the slot skills.

 

8 hours ago, Grand Marshal.4098 said:

Ranger-Warden primitive CC focused Hammer ranger. Can combine 2 pets into 1

Spirit like entity resulting in diff stats based on pets combine. Maybe can fuse with the spirit for more stats but that may sound too much like Soulbeast. Dark green theme. 

 

Warden is a pretty bad name, since it's too similar to Guardian. If you want something tied to the lore wardens, something like Ranger: Grovekeeper would feel far better. In fact, I was debating renaming my idea into that, but I forgot about it.

 

Anyway, how would that "combine pets into one" mechanic work? I assume they would physically merge into a single entity, not be "two pets out at once". Bit too crazy, but it sounds interesting.

 

8 hours ago, Grand Marshal.4098 said:

Mesmer-Bladedancer the classic dual dagger power or whatever focused mesmer with hexes or spirit weapons. Magenta theme, illusionary weapons instead of clones as a mechanic. 

 

Mesmer: Bladedancer with dual daggers is my favorite alternative to shortbow. I'd theme the daggers around fans though, and use stances based on dancing rituals for the slot skills.

 

Mesmer: Oracle using card daggers sounds pretty awesome too, following astrology themes.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Lonami.2987

[Kodama.6453]

12 hours ago, Lonami.2987 said:

Anyway, a potential Engineer: Apothecary would be 100% using torch as the elite specialization weapon, with Corruption as the slot skills.

Offhand weapons are a terrible choice for engineer elite specs in general, because of our very limited access to core weapons.

 

If other classes get an offhand weapon for an elite spec, then they get at least 2-3 new weapons combinations because of their different choices for mainhand weapons to pair it with.

 

Engineer doesn't have this freedom. We have exactly 1 mainhand weapon we could combine with a new offhand: pistol.

As long as Anet is not willing to give core engineer new mainhand weapon choices, they should avoid giving engineer elite specs offhands.

 

So I don't see us getting a torch, we can fit other weapons in the plaguedoctor theme.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Kodama.6453

[Xaylin.1860]

1 hour ago, Kodama.6453 said:

So I don't see us getting a torch, we can fit other weapons in the plaguedoctor theme.

Plus, Pistol OH would most likely compete with it due to Blowtorch.

 

Really looking forward to the upcomming stream. Knocking on wood for Bow for Mesmer.

 

There have been plenty of those threads but here we go. It is a mix of what I wish for and what seems "reasonable" considering the current state of the game. So no Landspear or Greataxe or MH shield. For most classes it is CC/debuff or support focussed. 

 

For Elementalist I'd love a 2 Attunement Archer with weaponswap. Not sure on the role/purpose. The frequent "we need Alacrity/Quickness" discussions aside, I don't see a role Elementalist couldn't fill if they got a proper baseline rework. So to me, it is more about adding a different playstyle.

 

For Engineer either Sound or Alchemy based. As Kodama said, unless there is a base Engineer rework, it'd better be a 2H weapon (e.g. Staff) or at least a MH (e.g. Scepter or Mace). Condi/debuff focused. If it's Alchemy and not necessarily Canthan.... Hylek!

 

Torn on what new role I'd like to see for Guardian, mostly because DH and FB cover so much ground. Telling. I'd prefer something darker with debuffs.

 

For Mesmer I'd love a more CC centered and less Illusion reliant spec. I do like the Bard ideas floating around but not married to it. And please... for the love of god... they better have a unique mechanic instead of (pseudo unique) Shatters or a gimmick slapped on. Mesmers got shafted so hard. Concepts for Chrono and Mirage were great. But their ingame design is a mess. Not that others don't have obvious flaws. But those certainly are down there at the bottom of the barrel.

 

For Necromancer I'm not too sure. I could see something defensive with Shield work. But I feel that something with mobility (Shade more similar to Scourge, no defensive Bonus) would be more fun to play and fill a gap. If close combat, then it probably should be Condition focussed. 

 

Rangers to me miss a defensive or CC focussed build. Never played GW1 so no feelings towards Bunny Thumper. I'd enjoy both, Hammer or Shield. Conceptually, something related to Turtle, Snake etc. could be great. Not into a pure pet-spec though. Wardens/Echowald feel a bit too close to Druid ("ascending into a new form"). But then again, I lack lore knowledge in that department.

 

For Revenant, to me it really shows that it was introduced last and ANet had a more focussed approach to cover specific roles. Probably the class I know the least what kind of addition I'd enjoy. But: no edgelord GS nor firearms (just doesn't feel right). Thanks. 

 

While DE has some boon support capabilities, Thief currently is quite weak when it comes to support. I guess there are plenty of options for that. I could see something Alchemy based. But music based (e.g. like Haer'dalis in BG2) could easily work as well. I'd also love more "revealed" bonusses to change up the playstyle. Must for me: MH weapon or even MH+OH. DW is a class mechanic and neither DrD nor DE utilized it.

 

I know that many people are asking for Staff on Warrior. But I'd rather get P(/P) or Scepter. Because Warrior lacks a ranged MH. Easy. Unless it was even more pacifist than Rev Staff, I just can't see what new Staff could bring to Warrior. Other than that, a more support focussed spec would indeed make sense.

[Dadnir.5038]

4 hours ago, Xaylin.1860 said:

Really looking forward to the upcomming stream. Knocking on wood for Bow for Mesmer.

I'm affraid, the picture ANet leaked in their official advertisment for EoD seem to suggest dagger or spear.

 

4 hours ago, Xaylin.1860 said:

For Elementalist I'd love a 2 Attunement Archer with weaponswap. Not sure on the role/purpose. The frequent "we need Alacrity/Quickness" discussions aside, I don't see a role Elementalist couldn't fill if they got a proper baseline rework. So to me, it is more about adding a different playstyle.

 

I'm all for a bow but not for a focus on it. Ultimately the weapon isn't what is important in an e-spec.

 

I'd like to see an "arcanist". It would have an access to weaponswap but no longer have access to the standard weapon skillset, each weapon having instead a single arcane skillset and attunments only add conditions befiting the attunment. The Bow would allow the fantasy of an arcane archer, thought.

 

4 hours ago, Xaylin.1860 said:

For Revenant, to me it really shows that it was introduced last and ANet had a more focussed approach to cover specific roles. Probably the class I know the least what kind of addition I'd enjoy. But: no edgelord GS nor firearms (just doesn't feel right). Thanks. 

 

Revenant can be anything, that's it's design "strength". I'm not thrilled either with the idea of GS or firearms but, thematically, nothing would prevent the possibility.

 

Afterall, the legend could be a yet unknown asura leader that would have led a settlement in Cantha and captured the "water" dragon to subject it to various experiments while he couldn't move within the Jade sea (The image of an asura engineer, using his trusted rifle). You could even have a part of the plot revolving around the exploration of an underwater asura laboratory in the middle of the Jade sea. (I'm making it ridiculous on purpose, to show that anything is possible)

 

 

[Xaylin.1860]

3 hours ago, Dadnir.5038 said:

I'm affraid, the picture ANet leaked in their official advertisment for EoD seem to suggest dagger or spear.

 

[...]

 

Revenant can be anything, that's it's design "strength". I'm not thrilled either with the idea of GS or firearms but, thematically, nothing would prevent the possibility.

 

Afterall, the legend could be a yet unknown asura leader that would have led a settlement in Cantha and captured the "water" dragon to subject it to various experiments while he couldn't move within the Jade sea (The image of an asura engineer, using his trusted rifle).  [...]

 

 

 

I thought so at first, too. It could be a huge Dagger (WoW or D3 level big). What would it's role be, though, compared to Sword or Axe? The silhouette could be a Spear, sure. But Landspear is not going to happen. As others have pointed out: The weapon extents on the other side of the hand and could easily be the top down view onto a Bow.

 

And yeah, GS or Rifle (or Pistol) could happen for Revenant. Just not my preference considering Revenants so far are mostly magical. I'm sick of all the "Gimme GS!" in general. I'd rather see less used Weapons. At least that would be the case for Rifle/Pistol.

 

Talking about Spears... I'd laugh my kitten off if the Asura you have mentioned would grant Revenants a Speargun. Underwater, of course.

[Dadnir.5038]

42 minutes ago, Xaylin.1860 said:

What would it's role be, though, compared to Sword or Axe?

 

An e-spec weapon have no other role than to enforce the image of it's e-spec. If the image is that of the popular idea of a bladedancer, what other weapon than dagger would be more appropriate to enforce it's image?

 

Do you think that torch on scourge bring anything new "role-wise"? Do you think that daggers on Spellbreaker bring a new role? do you think dagger on Soulbeast bring a new role? ... etc. They are just there for flavor, the "new" role, if there is one, is carried by the traitline and and new mechanism.

[Xaylin.1860]

I guess I disagree with that assessment. Yes, it doesn't always work out in the end. Sure, weapons quite often have a smaller impact than the class mechanic or traitlines. But they still have to fit and cater the role.

 

Warrior is a difficult example since Warriors happen to have (too) many weapons already.  However, the features on Dagger were still "new" for Warrior weapon effects (more magical, Boons, soft CC). Torch brought Scourge additonal access to Burning, didn't it? Both fit the roles the e-Specs can fill. Druid got a Healer-Staff. And while probably not powerful enough and hold back by the hybrid nature of Soulbeast, Dagger also introduced a condi MH to the class, just like Axe for Mesmer or Guardian.

 

So yeah, if you created a Bladedancer for Mesmer - and we don't know wether it is one - it probably will be Dagger. But if it is Dagger, it would better be a ranged one. Because anything Mesmers need less than another OH probably is an additional melee MH weapon. Plus, too close to Sword. At least for my taste.

 

In the end, even if it is a Bladedancer, especially for Mesmers ANet is known for breaking RPG stereotypes. We'll see.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Xaylin.1860

[Xaylin.1860]

Guess we were both kinda right? 😅

 

Dagger to please the Bladedancers, but ranged power MH to fill a gap in the Mesmers aresenal.

 

Didn't have a chance to watch the stream so not sure what else to think. Generally looks like some CC is included and it's cloneless what I love. Not 100% sure I wanted a DPS spec that requires spec exklusive skills to power up resources like Berserkers or like Mirages rely on Mirrors locked behind utilities. But now Chrono could clearly need more healing capabilities (or Inspiration a small rework).