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New weapons not locked behind E-Specs


DonArkanio.6419

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I was wondering. We currently have 2 Elite Specializations per class in the game. Each E-Spec gives one extra weapon to use. For me, it's the weapons that give the class a fresh feeling, but it's mostly the Traits that are most effective in the E-Spec.

Would you want to be able to wield E-Spec weapons by design? Once you unlock the E-Spec your class clearly gains new weapon proficiency and expierience.This would feel a lot closer to GW1 where we can equip basically any weapon on any class - which is great imo.

I know about E-Spec mechanics being tied to weapons, the design of classes and that E-Specs are made with weapons in mind. I'm just curious - would you like to be able to wield these weapons just like that?

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Well, more like yes and no... I would rather them add more variety by allowing more weapons to be equipped in either the main hand or the off hand. Here might be some interesting additions (even though they might clash with the class's identity):

Mesmer: main hand pistol

Guardian: off hand axe, off hand mace

Revenant: main hand axe, off hand mace

Thief / Ranger: Off hand sword

Necro: Off hand axe

Also, I'd kill for a Guardian that could dual-wield shields...

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It's an interesting idea but I would say something like weapon proficiencies that can be unlocked with masteries would be nice.Like druid can use its staff in melee with more defensive skills when it equips a different proficiency or guardian can use its hammer as a ranged condi weapon etc.

That would be actually great.

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@LucianTheAngelic.7054 said:It’s not just the traits that are useful on elite specs, but generally the combination of traits/new mechanics/new utilities/weapons.

And no I wouldn’t want espec weapons available class wide as it would cause a huge balance mess. Imagine something like Mirage with access to Chrono’s shield

While I think some elite weapons could be available to the class as a whole. Others would be a total balance mess, like chrono shield.

I think though this can be done proactively. There could be new weapons that work with core and elites.

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If there was some EPIC quest where you could go out and learn the ways of to earn the skills to use this weapon, oh yeah, I would be all over it. Of course, you would have to repeat for each character and the skills would vary by profession ... by yeah I like these kinds of ideas. It's a little surprising to see the NO votes ... and here we always see complaints about no new content, yet people jsut want new weapons and skills handed to them for nothing.

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@"Obtena.7952" said:It's a little surprising to see the NO votes ... and here we always see complaints about no new content, yet people jsut want new weapons and skills handed to them for nothing.

That's because it wasn't the answer to the question you're suggesting here. Now you're playing surprised that people "don't want some new epic quest for weapon mastery", while that wasn't really what OP asked for in this thread.Also complaints about no new content? Really? <.<

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@Sobx.1758 said:

@"Obtena.7952" said:It's a little surprising to see the NO votes ... and here we always see complaints about no new content, yet people jsut want new weapons and skills handed to them for nothing.

That's because it wasn't the answer to the question you're suggesting here. Now you're playing surprised that people "don't want some new epic quest for weapon mastery", while that wasn't really what OP asked for in this thread.Also complaints about no new content? Really? <.<What they have done for PvP players in this 7 years? Added skyhammer and capricorn in 7 years?!About new weapons - ofc no, thats would be "stupidclaw pvp version"

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Nope!

Personally, I like the clear division between classes. I love options -- three traitlines and two of them are open + your chosen elite. Naturally, I appreciate any off-meta build that breaks away from the "canon" approach to an elite spec but despite all of that, I still enjoy having clear distinctions between elite specs. The unlocked weapons and utilities are that extra flavor that I'd rather not see get spread around needlessly. Just having the choice not to use all of it and rely on the core skills/weapons is a good amount of variety for me.

To me, each of these elite classes feel almost like new professions. I remember back in the good days of Ragnarok Online, I had several classes to choose from and over the years, they continued to add more and more-- it was great! After that, however, I've seen plenty of western MMOs that neglect to add any more after the initial batch of classes. This approach feels like an easy way for the devs to create new classes without dealing with the hassle of truly making a new class (or the stress when the playerbase ignores your class because they are already invested in the core group coughs in revenant ) -- just a few different skills and a new mechanic/approach and they are done. (Shortbow Mesmer/Sword Necro, when?)

Besides all of that, I do hope that they get creative with future elites. Duel Swords for Necromancer, Main hand Pistol for Mesmer or Warrior, maybe a class with a Mainhand focus or shield?? I think doing that + making sure older elites and core classes still are relevant is the key to keeping this game on track. :)

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@"Ultramex.1506" said:Jeez.....stop asking for everything without limitation, what keep new Elite spec interesting beside new mechanic was also able to use unusable weapon, also like some have said "More balancing issues"

You'd still have to unlock the E-Spec to use the weapon. I'm not asking for it to be free :)

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@DonArkanio.6419 said:

@"Ultramex.1506" said:Jeez.....stop asking for everything without limitation, what keep new Elite spec interesting beside new mechanic was also able to use unusable weapon, also like some have said "More balancing issues"

You'd still have to unlock the E-Spec to use the weapon. I'm not asking for it to be free :)

If you have to unlock E-spec first then you still have to pick that E-spec to use that weapon, consider it as a trade off

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This is something i've talked about before and am in favour of.

In the Personal Story and Living world Season 2 we saw 2 Necromancers (Traherne & Marjory) equip Greatswords and use them long before the concept of an Elite Specialization was presented to us and even when doing so neither Traherne or Marjory became Reapers.. they remained core Necromancers but with unique abilities.

From a lore perspective.. this means that any class can in theory use any weapon.. another example of this in Path of Fire after Rytlock gives us Sohothin.. he starts using a Greatsword of all things.. a Revenant.. with a Greatsword XDGranted that could be a hint at a future Revenant elite spec weapon but it's still pretty funny he's been lugging a greatsword around for gods knows how long (but we suspect as far back as his warrior days since it's a charr cultural weapon skin) despite being a class that doesn't use one.There's also that infamous NPC in Ascalon Catacombs duel wielding giant sceptors that look like kitten staffs lmao

Mechanically I don't really see that much point in locking an elite spec weapon to the Elite spec itself, you'll still need to use the traitline if you want to make the most out of said weapon.. much like you need to take specific core traitlines if you want to get CD reduction and often damage increases with core weapons.Necro Sceptor in curses for example.. or Ranger Longbow in Marksman..But you can still use those weapons without those traitlines often to that weapons diminised power or capabilities (Ranger LB for example suffers colossal aoe damage loss without piercing arrows) and there are currently no elite specs out there that utalize the same weapon with a different skill set, so I really don't see it being that big of a deal adding some new masteries in or something that allow for elite spec weapons to be usable without their specific traitline.It would add a little more freedom to build options, a Condi Druid running mainhand SB Dagger could be an interesting thing to see, likewise a Firebrand with a longbow might be fun as well.. as would a Deadeye that can swap into Staff.

I think it's worth doing, you'll still be limited to 1 elite spec only, you'll still need to pick between which traits you want and which you'll sacrifice.. all you're doing as adding a couple more weapons (albiet diminished in some way) to the pool and spicing up the build and playstyle potential a little bit for each class.I don't think it would break the game as much as some might think it would.

I see people worried about the concept of a Mirage with Chrono shield but that could easily be balanced by how much the shield skills are enhanced exclusively in the Chronomancer traitline.Considering each elite spec has sacrificed a minor trait to specifically be a weapon unlock, these traits could be reworked to balance out any nerfs required when making all the weapons available to the core class.

One example in Chronomancers case could be by removing Deja Vu from Chronomancer shield and making that skill only available if you have the Chronomancer traitline equipped.Ergo the minor Shield Mastery trait becomes the Deja Vu unlock.Anet has already proved that it's willing to go down this road with certain weapons, I'm not sure on all of them but I do know that Necromancer Sceptor has a trait which converts it's skill 3 into an entirely new skill and Guardian has a similar trait that changes one of the hammer skills into a new one.

So yes while I agree that some spec weapons may need to be nerfed a little in order to be more balanced for wide scale access, each elite spec will be gaining access to a new minor trait which can be used to balance that out and power up the weapon to it's current state if you take the required elite spec.Aside from the traits each elite spec will still retain it's unique mechanic and it's unique utility skills so for the most part allowing the weapon access across the whole class isn't going to diminish any elite spec in any significant way.

So that's why i'm all for this :)

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@Teratus.2859 said:This is something i've talked about before and am in favour of.

In the Personal Story and Living world Season 2 we saw 2 Necromancers (Traherne & Marjory) equip Greatswords and use them long before the concept of an Elite Specialization was presented to us and even when doing so neither Traherne or Marjory became Reapers.. they remained core Necromancers but with unique abilities.

From a lore perspective.. this means that any class can in theory use any weapon.. another example of this in Path of Fire after Rytlock gives us Sohothin.. he starts using a Greatsword of all things.. a Revenant.. with a Greatsword XDGranted that could be a hint at a future Revenant elite spec weapon but it's still pretty funny he's been lugging a greatsword around for gods knows how long (but we suspect as far back as his warrior days since it's a charr cultural weapon skin) despite being a class that doesn't use one.There's also that infamous NPC in Ascalon Catacombs duel wielding giant sceptors that look like kitten staffs lmao

Mechanically I don't really see that much point in locking an elite spec weapon to the Elite spec itself, you'll still need to use the traitline if you want to make the most out of said weapon.. much like you need to take specific core traitlines if you want to get CD reduction and often damage increases with core weapons.Necro Sceptor in curses for example.. or Ranger Longbow in Marksman..But you can still use those weapons without those traitlines often to that weapons diminised power or capabilities (Ranger LB for example suffers colossal aoe damage loss without piercing arrows) and there are currently no elite specs out there that utalize the same weapon with a different skill set, so I really don't see it being that big of a deal adding some new masteries in or something that allow for elite spec weapons to be usable without their specific traitline.It would add a little more freedom to build options, a Condi Druid running mainhand SB Dagger could be an interesting thing to see, likewise a Firebrand with a longbow might be fun as well.. as would a Deadeye that can swap into Staff.

I think it's worth doing, you'll still be limited to 1 elite spec only, you'll still need to pick between which traits you want and which you'll sacrifice.. all you're doing as adding a couple more weapons (albiet diminished in some way) to the pool and spicing up the build and playstyle potential a little bit for each class.I don't think it would break the game as much as some might think it would.

I see people worried about the concept of a Mirage with Chrono shield but that could easily be balanced by how much the shield skills are enhanced exclusively in the Chronomancer traitline.Considering each elite spec has sacrificed a minor trait to specifically be a weapon unlock, these traits could be reworked to balance out any nerfs required when making all the weapons available to the core class.

One example in Chronomancers case could be by removing Deja Vu from Chronomancer shield and making that skill only available if you have the Chronomancer traitline equipped.Ergo the minor Shield Mastery trait becomes the Deja Vu unlock.Anet has already proved that it's willing to go down this road with certain weapons, I'm not sure on all of them but I do know that Necromancer Sceptor has a trait which converts it's skill 3 into an entirely new skill and Guardian has a similar trait that changes one of the hammer skills into a new one.

So yes while I agree that some spec weapons may need to be nerfed a little in order to be more balanced for wide scale access, each elite spec will be gaining access to a new minor trait which can be used to balance that out and power up the weapon to it's current state if you take the required elite spec.Aside from the traits each elite spec will still retain it's unique mechanic and it's unique utility skills so for the most part allowing the weapon access across the whole class isn't going to diminish any elite spec in any significant way.

So that's why i'm all for this :)

Do you think they have time for rebalancing literally everything to account for this suggestion? We haven’t even had a balance patch in like 2 months and the ones we do get are not nearly as extensive as they would need to be to account for all the new combinations, new traits, and adjustments needed. Not to mention it’s anet I’m fairly certain there will be some outlier they neglect to deal with that causes a balance nightmare for literal ages (looking at you old mirage)

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@LucianTheAngelic.7054 said:

@Teratus.2859 said:This is something i've talked about before and am in favour of.

In the Personal Story and Living world Season 2 we saw 2 Necromancers (Traherne & Marjory) equip Greatswords and use them long before the concept of an Elite Specialization was presented to us and even when doing so neither Traherne or Marjory became Reapers.. they remained core Necromancers but with unique abilities.

From a lore perspective.. this means that any class can in theory use any weapon.. another example of this in Path of Fire after Rytlock gives us Sohothin.. he starts using a Greatsword of all things.. a Revenant.. with a Greatsword XDGranted that could be a hint at a future Revenant elite spec weapon but it's still pretty funny he's been lugging a greatsword around for gods knows how long (but we suspect as far back as his warrior days since it's a charr cultural weapon skin) despite being a class that doesn't use one.There's also that infamous NPC in Ascalon Catacombs duel wielding giant sceptors that look like kitten staffs lmao

Mechanically I don't really see that much point in locking an elite spec weapon to the Elite spec itself, you'll still need to use the traitline if you want to make the most out of said weapon.. much like you need to take specific core traitlines if you want to get CD reduction and often damage increases with core weapons.Necro Sceptor in curses for example.. or Ranger Longbow in Marksman..But you can still use those weapons without those traitlines often to that weapons diminised power or capabilities (Ranger LB for example suffers colossal aoe damage loss without piercing arrows) and there are currently no elite specs out there that utalize the same weapon with a different skill set, so I really don't see it being that big of a deal adding some new masteries in or something that allow for elite spec weapons to be usable without their specific traitline.It would add a little more freedom to build options, a Condi Druid running mainhand SB Dagger could be an interesting thing to see, likewise a Firebrand with a longbow might be fun as well.. as would a Deadeye that can swap into Staff.

I think it's worth doing, you'll still be limited to 1 elite spec only, you'll still need to pick between which traits you want and which you'll sacrifice.. all you're doing as adding a couple more weapons (albiet diminished in some way) to the pool and spicing up the build and playstyle potential a little bit for each class.I don't think it would break the game as much as some might think it would.

I see people worried about the concept of a Mirage with Chrono shield but that could easily be balanced by how much the shield skills are enhanced exclusively in the Chronomancer traitline.Considering each elite spec has sacrificed a minor trait to specifically be a weapon unlock, these traits could be reworked to balance out any nerfs required when making all the weapons available to the core class.

One example in Chronomancers case could be by removing Deja Vu from Chronomancer shield and making that skill only available if you have the Chronomancer traitline equipped.Ergo the minor Shield Mastery trait becomes the Deja Vu unlock.Anet has already proved that it's willing to go down this road with certain weapons, I'm not sure on all of them but I do know that Necromancer Sceptor has a trait which converts it's skill 3 into an entirely new skill and Guardian has a similar trait that changes one of the hammer skills into a new one.

So yes while I agree that some spec weapons may need to be nerfed a little in order to be more balanced for wide scale access, each elite spec will be gaining access to a new minor trait which can be used to balance that out and power up the weapon to it's current state if you take the required elite spec.Aside from the traits each elite spec will still retain it's unique mechanic and it's unique utility skills so for the most part allowing the weapon access across the whole class isn't going to diminish any elite spec in any significant way.

So that's why i'm all for this :)

Do you think they have time for rebalancing literally everything to account for this suggestion? We haven’t even had a balance patch in like 2 months and the ones we do get are not nearly as extensive as they would need to be to account for all the new combinations, new traits, and adjustments needed. Not to mention it’s anet I’m fairly certain there will be some outlier they neglect to deal with that causes a balance nightmare for literal ages (looking at you old mirage)

Balance is always a factor in pretty much every game, it's probably not something I'd do in a general balance patch but rather a feature I'd hold back for a expansion or something.That would give ample time to refine things and test things, see what works and what doesn't etcI highly doubt it would be as much of a issue as creating 9 whole new elite specs.

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@"Obtena.7952" said:It's a little surprising to see the NO votes ... and here we always see complaints about no new content, yet people jsut want new weapons and skills handed to them for nothing.

For me personally the "NO" is because having ESpec weapons available on Core would probably decrease the probability of them adding totally new weapons.So no I don't want this. I want Halberds, Whips, Crossbows and Javelins among others.Even if the chance for that is practically zero, I still won't accept a half-kitteneded solution like this to replace it.

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While i would like new weapons for SOME classes, i wouldn't support allowing elite spec weapons to be used without the elite spec. That's balance hell.

Accounting for elite specs, 8 out of 9 professions can weild a sword. And yet, there are 3 or 4 weapons that 3-4 professions can weild at most, and some professions (actually one of my biggest issues with theif, ele is forgiven due to elements) have such a small pool of potential weapons it's hard to find any variety in gameplay and feeling with them. I'd also put necromancer there in the group that needs more core weapons; while necro gets quite a few, it's still lacking some specific purposes that weapons provide.

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I believe more would agree on adding new weapons to core than making e-spec weapons on core. I kind of misread the thread a bit - though it was adding core weapons.

Let's say adding a greatsword to ele and thief without an e-spec; greatsword with which the class can use regardless the specs they pick - just new core weapons.

However, the problem would be into balancing like a shield on mirage. Let's say that e-spec weapons will remain e-spec specials, and new core weapons will be introduced; there is no tell whether such introduction would create beasts when core weapons mix with e-spec's mechanic.

On the other hand, as much as balancing might be a problem, we will never move a step forward with new weapons/specs until the step is taken with as much caution as possible. In the end, the extreme negative possibility always has an extreme positive opposite; it's just that good requires nothing else, yet bad requires fixes, which... well... might have less trust with the current balancing rhythm.

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