Eddy.7051

Earth field doesn't make sense. The earth you walk on is already an earth field. Fields add intractable magic on top of the earth. What would an earth field look like? A pile of sand or an area with floating rocks? A dusty/sandy spot would practically be a smoke field. What would happen if someone spun around or shot an arrow through said earth field? It seems like the floating rocks would block your arrows or knock you in the head during a leap rather than become part of your attack. There is also no reasonable way to combo into an earth field to generate a magnetic aura. Would I stomp so hard in on stone shards that it would generate a gravitational force?

I like your ideas. "Disease" can be the reverse Resistance condition. I don't think the condition extender should be a condition, rather it should be an instantaneous effect that adds 2 seconds to all conditions on the target. There are several mechanics in the game already that add a few seconds to all boons, so the condition version should mirror this.

Mesmers have Chaos magic, which is different from Arcane magic, but I agree that they both just feel like raw magic. Chaos magic has a clear theme of manipulation, randomness, and bending reality. But, Arcane magic has always been ambiguous in GW1 and GW2. Having an elite spec that dives deeper into Arcane magic is a good opportunity for Anet to flesh out the lore and flavor of Arcane magic.

Glyphs are all about adapting to changing attunements. Weaver is all about adapting to changing attunments. Tempests do not expand any further than the core Elementalist with the theme of changing attunements, and Tempests actually stay in attunement to use their Overload abilities. Various Weaver stances adapt to attunements, Weaver Dual Attacks are the penultimate attunement adaptation, and Weaver traits involve attunement swapping and changing stats based on the attunement. Do you still think Weaver shares no themes in common with Glyphs?

Improving tutorialization is not "forcing" anyone to play differently. Tutorial instances are optional content to participate in, and in my design the incentive comes with a tangible reward (besides the more meaningful reward of improving one's skill and knowledge with the game). If someone feels this game should give them the freedom to auto attack from start to finish with absolutely no challenge, they are free to play run around open world leveling zones for as long as they desire. But, when those same players complain that HoT is too hard, their opinions should not be heard or supported. If someone avoids all instanced, collaborative content (dungeons, fractals, strike missions, raids, etc.), they still cannot avoid moments of teamwork in the open world. This is an MMO and not a single-player RPG. There will be moments during a dynamic/meta event where the JoeCasual player will be present in the event, scale up the difficulty of the event by being present, and then contribute less to the fight than the impact of their scaling. So players who refuse to not "do the least" are burdening other players around them who are actually trying to succeed at events. My personal opinion and unrelated to my tutorialzation design, this game should not encourage the JoeCasuals who refuse to WP when they are dead, and the game should not encourage the JoeCasuals who refuse to CC on a break bar. That toxic casualness is more than dead weight to the group effort. That toxic casualness is a liability due to scaling.

This is a gross exaggeration of what my design aims to do. My design doesn't show any advanced techniques or rotations. All tutorial instances aim to do is demonstrate the fundamental mechanics (dodging, reviving, combo-ing, breaking a break bar, and noticing effect icons) rather than sharing a one-time note of these mechanics in a pop-up window. People are more likely to retain/grasp information if it is guided in practice rather than if it is only noted on a fact sheet. I agree with you that slowing down the pace of being exposed to these abilities will not make anyone more or less likely to use abilities other than skills 1-3. But, for many new players it will give them a more gradual learning curve that is easier for them to digest because they can build on top of a more solid foundation of knowledge about the combat mechanics. With that solid foundation established in earlier tiers, there can be more openness to learning additional mechanics in higher tiers. Several people are commenting saying the game is easy enough to learn for an MMORPG. The problem is most MMORPG players have already made up their minds about GW2. They usually either dropped the game because they were not hooked during the leveling experience, they weren't interested in it because it doesn't have much popularity on streaming sites or YouTube, or they already play it. A lot of the players I see starting GW2 now are console gamers or people who primarily played RPGs. For many incoming players now, this is their first MMORPG, and for a lot of those players this game is ambiguous to them in direction/purpose/guidance.They end up gravitating towards a more clear/digestible/streamline leveling experience like in ESO.

Unfortunately, I know in my guilds, and I've seen too frequently in end game open world content, Elementalists who never attunement swap, players who only use their weapon skills and they spam them on cool down (like a longbow Ranger who uses knock back without purpose), players who use abilities (and not just auto attack) on invulnerable foes, players who do not use skills while moving or do not dodge out of red circles, players who never weapon swap in combat, players who do not WP when dead because they do not realize reviving the dead in combat takes too long compared to reviving the downed, and players who do not realize rallying is often more efficient than reviving. I've often encounter a few of these mistakes in T4 daily fractals as well. Somehow people obtain full ascended gear without understanding their fundamental combat mechanics. I see some people thinking my suggestions would make the game more boring or easy, but no. Limitations would literally make the game marginally more challenging, but the game is already brain dead easy enough for auto attackers to get to expansion content and obtain max stat gear. Currently the game introduces all combat mechanics to players around level 30, and these concepts are only briefly introduce, never reintroduced/reinforced, and never guided with practice. The Central Tyrian experience is intended to be one big tutorial to prepare you for Orr, dungeons/FotM, and competitive modes as they try to provide tutorial tips in bouncy chests every time a character levels up. The problem is these players either gloss over the tutorial tips and never retain the information (because it's information without guided practice), or they just select their loot and never look at the tutorial tips.

After skill/abilities are unlocked, they would only be limited by tier and not by tier and level. Downscaling would not limit skill availability in parts of a map. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "profession specific skills". If you are referring to F1-5 abilities, my design clearly shows all of those abilities are unlocked between levels 35 to 45.

As for no down-leveled experience, getting Map Bonus Rewards is the only reason many veteran players revisit old maps unless they're doing world bosses. If you asked the average player, would you rather get 1 spirit shard or 1 rare material that sells decently on the Trading Post, what would the average player want?

There is speculation in our community that we may get to play as Tengu, a new playable race, in the upcoming third expansion. With this in mind, I propose a revamp to the Central Tyrian leveling design. If/when news spreads around the gaming community that GW2 will release a third expansion with a new playable race, it will appeal to many gamers who have never tried GW2 because they felt it was too late for them to get into an MMORPG where they may never catch up to veteran players. Those new players, and veteran players leveling Tengu alts without tomes, should have a leveling experience that is at the quality of GW2's expansion/living world content, and the tutorialization during the leveling experience should better prepare new players for raids/fractals/strike missions and competitive modes. My intent in this designed is to stretch out the pacing of introduced combat mechanics and to make the leveling design more structured and consistent. Revamping the pacing should (A) improve the sense of progression from levels 1 to 80 rather than front-loading new abilities in the early levels, (B) give new players more time to learn, practice, and be challenged with specific combat mechanics before being introduced to new combat mechanics in an effort to prevent new players from being overwhelmed with the in-depth action combat system, and © give veteran players a refreshing/new combat experience in leveling zones by adding build limitations and not just stat caps. These limitations can also create new opportunities for build craft by having meta builds (which are unnecessary in open world PvE, but they are fun to craft) that differ between each of the leveling zone tiers. Tier 1 (Levels 1-20) Zones: Metrica Province (Maguuma), Caledon Forest (Maguuma), Potential New Zone for Tengu (Kryta), Queensdale (Kryta), Wayfarer Foothills (Shiverpeaks), and Plains of Ashford (Ascalon) Unlocked Abilities: Weapon Skills and Healing SkillLevel 1: Weapon Skill 1 and Healing SkillLevel 2: Weapon Skill 2Level 5: Weapon Skill 3Level 10: Weapon Skill 4Level 15: Weapon Skill 5UI Tips upon entering Tier 1 Zone: Map/Compass, Scouts, Waypoints, Map Completion, and Dynamic Event AlertsLevel 15 Tutorial: Food/Utility Items, Crafting, Gathering, and SalvagingTier 2 (Levels 20-35) Zones: Brisban Wildlands (Maguuma), Kessex Hills (Kryta), Snowden Drifts (Shiverpeaks), and Diessa Plateau (Ascalon) Unlocked Abilities: Downed Skills, Utility Skill, Minor Traits, and Tier 1 AbilitiesLevel 20: Downed Skill 1, Downed Skill 4, and Minor Traits 1 within Specialization Line 1Level 25: Downed Skill 2, Utility Skill 1, and Minor Traits 2 within Specialization Line 1Level 30: Downed Skill 3 and Minor Traits 3 within Specialization Line 1UI Tips upon entering Tier 2 Zone by at least level 20: Inventory, Junk, Wallet, and Bank/Materials StorageLevel 30 Tutorial: Downed, Defeated, Rally, and ReviveTier 3 (Levels 35-50) Zones: Bloodtide Coast (Maguuma - Chantry of Secrets), Gendarran Fields (Kryta - Vigil Keep), Lornar's Pass (Shiverpeaks - Durmand Priory Monastery), and Fields of Ruin (Ascalon) Unlocked Abilities: Profession Skills, Utility Skills, Minor Traits, and Tier 1-2 AbilitiesLevel 35: Stage 1 Profession Skills and Minor Traits 1 within Specialization Line 2Level 40: Stage 2 Profession Skills, Utility Skill 2, and Minor Traits 2 within Specialization Line 2Level 45: Stage 3 Profession Skills and Minor Traits 3 within Specialization Line 2UI Tips upon entering Tier 3 Zone by at least level 35: Gem Store, Trading Post, and MailLevel 45 Tutorial: Boons, Conditions, and Reading Effect Icons above your Skill BarTier 4 (Levels 50-65) Zones: Sparkfly Fen (Maguuma), Harathi Hinterlands (Kryta), Dredgehaunt Cliffs (Shiverpeaks), Timberline Falls (Shiverpeaks), Blazeridge Steppes (Ascalon), and Iron Marches (Ascalon) Unlocked Abilities: Dodge, Utility Skills, Major Traits, and Tier 1-3 AbilitiesLevel 50: Dodge, Endurance Bar 1, and Major Traits 1 within Specialization Line 1Level 55: Endurance Bar 2, Utility Skill 3, and Major Traits 2 within Specialization Line 1Level 60: Major Traits 3 within Specialization Line 1UI Tips upon entering Tier 4 Zone by at least level 50: Wardrobe, Dyes, and MiniaturesLevel 60 Tutorial: Telegraphs/Dodging, Combo Fields/Finishers, and Reading Skill DescriptionsTier 5 (Levels 65-80) Zones: Mount Maelstrom (Maguuma), Southsun Cove (Kryta), Frostgorge Sound (Shiverpeaks), and Fireheart Rise (Ascalon) Unlocked Abilities: Weapon Swap, Elite Skill, Major Traits, and Tier 1-4 AbilitiesLevel 65: Weapon Swap and Major Traits 1 within Specialization Line 2Level 70: Elite Skill and Major Traits 2 within Specialization Line 2Level 75: Major Traits 3 within Specialization Line 2UI Tips upon entering Tier 5 Zone by at least level 65: Friends List, LFG, and Guild PanelLevel 75 Tutorial: Enemy Rank, Defiance Bar, Control Effects, and Reading Descriptions/Effect Icons under Enemy/Ally Health BarTier 6 (Level 80) Zones: 3 Central Tyrian Orrian Zones, Living World Zones, and Expansion Zones Unlocked Abilities: Specialization Line and Tier 1-5 AbilitiesLevel 80: Specialization Line 3UI Tips upon entering Tier 6 Zone by at least level 80: PvP, WvW, and Fractals of the MistsLevel 80 Tutorial: Build Templates, Equipment Templates, and Equipment QualityAdditional Details and Logistics The three stages of unlocking Profession Skills will vary for each profession. Some professions are more hindered without their profession skills, like Elementalists and Necromancers, in Tier 1-2 Zones compared to other professions. This imbalance should be fine as long as balance is achieved in Tier 6 Zones.Guardian and Engineer: F1 (Stage 1), F2 (Stage 2), and F3 (Stage 3)Elementalist and Mesmer: F1 and F2 (Stage 1), F3 (Stage 2), and F4 (Stage 3)Ranger: F1 and F3 (Stage 1), F2 (Stage 2), and F4 (Stage 3)Revenant: F1 (Stage 1), F2 (Stage 2), and N/A (Stage 3)Warrior: F1 and 1 Adrenaline Bar (Stage 1), 2 Adrenaline Bars (Stage 2), and 3 Adrenaline Bars (Stage 3)Thief: F1, F2 , and 1/3 of Stolen Skills (Stage 1), 2/3 of Stolen Skills (Stage 2), and 3/3 of Stolen Skills (Stage 3)Necromancer: F1 and Shroud Skill 1 (Stage 1), Shroud Skills 2 and 3 (Stage 2), and Shroud Skills 4 and 5 (Stage 3)Characters will not be limited by their downscaled level, but they will be limited by the tier of the zone. For example, a level 80 character will be not be able to use Elite Skills in Tier 1-4 Zones. But, the level 80 character will be able to use Elite Skills in any part of a Tier 5 Zone, even if in some parts of that Tier 5 zone they are downscaled below level 70. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you enjoy adapting your build to various circumstances), level 80 characters will not have access to all of their abilities in Tier 1-5 Zones. More importantly, level 80 characters will not be able to play elite specializations in Tier 1-5 Zones because the third specialization line would only be available in Tier 6 Zones.Characters who unlock Weapon Swap will only be able to Weapon Swap in Tier 1-4 Zones while out of combat. Characters who have not unlocked Weapon Swap will not be able to Weapon Swap in combat or out of combat.To control the pace of leveling and unlocking abilities, characters will no longer receive leveling experience from Tier 1-5 Zones when they reach or pass the max level of the zone's tier. Instead of receiving experience, those characters will receive additional progression towards the map's Bonus Reward Track. Hypothetically if a player leveled their character from levels 1 to 35 in a Tier 1 Zone, then they would be bombarded with tutorials and unlocked abilities when they enter a Tier 2 Zone. Capping leveling experience prevents this bombardment, and it encourages players to move on to the next tier if they wish to continue progressing their character without punishing them too hard because they will still be rewarded with sellable materials rather than unlocking new abilities. This will also limit Central Tyrian Mastery experience to the 3 Orrian zones.Abilities that unlock at the minimum level of a tiered zone will only unlock upon entering the respective tiered zone. For example, characters who reach level 20 within a Tier 1 Zone will not unlock the ability to enter the Downed State until they enter a Tier 2 Zone at level 20. If a character unlocks the Downed State after entering a Tier 2 Zone, they will not be able to enter the Downed State when they revisit a Tier 1 Zone. Additionally, if a character enters a Tier 2 Zone before level 20, they will not be able to enter the Downed State within the Tier 2 Zone until they reach level 20. Every 5 levels when a character unlocks a new ability in the appropriately tiered zone, they will receive a bouncy icon at the bottom-right of their window that notifies them of all the new abilities they unlocked at the respective level.Tutorials can be emphasized similarly to how the Personal Story is emphasized. Tutorials can be instanced, with similar interface notifications as the Personal Story (colored starburst on the map along with a guide/description in the top-right alerts column), and completion of the tutorials should grant tempting rewards (like a unique set of armor skins with one skin rewarded per tier in all six tiers). Tutorial alerts/starburst will remain active until the first character on an account completes all six tutorials. Then, subsequent characters will be able to complete tutorials for rewards and reminders, but it will not be as emphasized for subsequent characters. Characters who already completed tutorials should also be able to replay tutorials without receiving rewards.Currently, leveling players receive a bouncy notification every level. These notifications are too frequent, and many players do not pay close attention to these notifications. Less frequent and less wordy notifications should capture more attention from new/learning players. Instanced tutorials should also ensure players pay attention to the teaching materials, rather than giving players pop-up notifications with wordy descriptions for the various tools/systems in the game in the middle of hostile zones. To make the level-ups between the 5 level intervals feel significant, players may receive a small notification of a minor stat upgrade for the levels in between, or players may receive a bouncy chest with decent leveling loot for every level in between.These proposed changes to accessibility of traits should come with changes to the specialization interface. For example, while minor traits are accessible and major traits are inaccessible, major traits should be darkened or removed from the specialization interface to make it visibly clear that only minor traits are active in the respective zone. The order of how core profession traits are unlocked should also be reorganized so that all minor traits within a specialization are unlocked before any major traits are unlocked. The specialization interface may also prevent characters from using Hero Points to unlock a major trait until the character reaches level 50.Some traits that affect dodging, profession skills, or weapon swapping will be accessible before those combat mechanics are accessible. It is part of the learning curve for players to figure out which traits are applicable and most effective for them at the various states of their build.Racial skills, which are already unavailable to Revenants, should be removed from all professions' healing, utility, and elite skills. Racial skills should be converted into Special Action Abilities that are available at key locations throughout the leveling zones. For example, Norn characters should be able to use the Special Action Key near one of Wolf's shrines scattered throughout Shiverpeaks Tier 1-5 Zones to temporarily shape-shift into Wolf Form. For additional flavor, Wolf Form could also be exclusive to Norn characters who chose Wolf Spirit in their Biography during the character creation process. Converting Racial Skills into Special Action Abilities gives the opportunity to teach players how to use the Special Action Key.New dynamic events should be added to certain leveling zones to speed up the leveling process between renown hearts.The Tier 1 crafting tutorial should emphasize crafting in conjunction with leveling to speed up the leveling process.Renown hearts should be added to Southsun Cove, and Southsun Cove should be doubled in size to be comparable to other Tier 5 maps.Bloodtide Coast is classified as a Maguuma Zone rather than a Kryta Zone so the Maguuma region can have a Tier 3 Zone. Bloodtide Coast could use a bit more Sylvari and Asuran influence to give it that Maguuma feel like the other Maguuma Zones.The Shiverpeaks and Ascalon regions have extra Tier 4 Zones because the Maguuma and Kryta regions (will potentially have) extra Tier 1 Zones.Tier 1-5 Zones without a world boss or dungeon could use a world boss.This design for tutorialization does not address several tools/systems that are either not applicable to the core game (strike missions, raids, mounts, and gliders) or are better to be discovered rather than highlighted (world bosses, achievements/collections, and explorable mode dungeon paths). Story mode dungeon paths should continue to be encouraged and highlighted through the Mail system by the character's mentor and member of Destiny's Edge, while all explorable mode dungeon paths should be limited to level 80 characters. Story mode dungeon paths should also utilize tiered ability limitations and be balanced around the new minimum level requirements below. Additionally, it should be more encouraged for players to complete story mode dungeon paths before they reach The Ruined City of Arah story mode path during their Personal Story.Ascalonian Catacombs: Tier 3, Level 35 RequirementCaudecus’s Manor: Tier 3, Level 40 RequirementTwilight Arbor: Tier 3, Level 45 RequirementSorrow’s Embrace: Tier 4, Level 55 RequirementCitadel of Flame: Tier 5, Level 65 RequirementHonor of the Waves: Tier 5, Level 70 RequirementCrucible of Eternity: Tier 5, Level 75 RequirementThe Ruined City of Arah: Tier 6, Level 80 Requirement during the Personal StoryEdit: As anticipated, no existing players want added limitations to their current experience in Central Tyrian leveling zones. I encourage these veteran players to have an open mind and consider how these changes could benefit a new player's ability to learn and practice the combat mechanics in this game. Additionally, these changes do not rely on a new playable race. Revamping tutorialization and the leveling experience should happen regardless of whether or not a new playable race is added to the game. Tutorial achievements are too hidden and not obvious enough to new players.

Holosmith feels like enough asuran tech for me. I like that scrapper is charr tech, holomancer is asura tech, and something chemical-based could be sylvari or human tech.I also think Thief should avoid bulkier martial weapons. I enjoy that their current flavor is to use lighter martial weapons.

I am not analyzing speculation. I am only analyzing core necromancer themes that already exist. Spirit summoning already exists with renegade, ranger, and guardian so I wouldn’t consider it to be a missing theme. If necro can only get 1 more elite spec, then it should probably be something fleshier rather than spiritual. It is a missing theme. The Spirits are an aspect of necromancer lore and their ritualistic behaviors among all races is something that is very much necromancer. What you're talking about is "Existing themes" not missing in this regard. Necromancer can already summon minion and steal life, all be it not that great.Before GW2 launched, devs stated that Ritualist themes were being divided up between several professions (and not passed over directly to the necromancer). Hence ranger spirits, guardian spirit weapons, and necromancer life force and spectral abilities.

I just did a big picture analysis focusing on general specilizations and utility skill families. Hopefully the smaller detailed themes are captured within that glossed over perspective, like necro condition transfer themes being captured in corruptions or various specs. Luckily condition management fits perfectly into their missing theme of fleshiness. Elementalist is unusual in that their spec themes are the 4 elements, and the 4 elements have equal presence in all elite specs. This type of analysis doesn’t do much for the Elementalist, and they would require significantly more speculation. Maybe their 3rd elite spec gains an F5 for arcane mode (even though that would seem ambiguous in role/purpose and overwhelming overall). I would rather have an elite spec that sacrifices an attunement rather than gains one. Warrior elite spec will likely focus on their core theme of being a master of arms and weapon diversity. I’m not sure how that would manifest, but since they conjure banners and are missing a support/tactics feel, it seemed like a neat idea to conjure weapons we can’t use normally (polearms/throwing spears, greataxe, fist/claw weapons, etc.). Thief and Guardian were ambiguous in this type of analysis. Similarly to how all Elementalist elite specs use all 4 core spec themes of the 4 elements, Guardian core specializations are distinct in mechanics and not themes. All core Guardian themes are basically Light/Fire, Morality, and Blocking/Aegis, which are present in all Guardian elite specs. Thief is a little clearer and more distinct (Being agile, stealthy, and having dirty tricks up their sleeve). But, thief, ranger, and engineer all have thematic overlap so it is difficult to identify what thief and ranger are missing that no other professions already cover.

I am not analyzing speculation. I am only analyzing core necromancer themes that already exist. Spirit summoning already exists with renegade, ranger, and guardian so I wouldn’t consider it to be a missing theme. If necro can only get 1 more elite spec, then it should probably be something fleshier rather than spiritual.

The missing core theme of Inspiration magic, which is tied to influencing emotions, definitely supports your speculation/desires for an Empath or Sadist (with a thematic splash of Domination magic) elite specialization.

Yes. I don’t want to provide too much speculation because that isn’t useful information to anybody. Speculation would just be my biases, preferences, and imagination. I want to provide information by highlighting missing themes from core specializations. Please feel free to use that information as the foundation for your speculations.

The list below is mostly an analysis, rather than speculation or proposition, identifying the remaining core profession themes that are not used by the current elite specializations. Elite specs primarily expand upon core profession themes, and they may additionally have secondary themes that do not exist within their core professions. These primary and secondary themes allude to the secondary profession mechanic in GW1. For example, the Druid's primary theme is the Ranger's nature/plant theme, while the Druid's secondary theme is the unique astral/celestial theme. These core profession themes are identified within core specializations, core utility skill types, and core profession skills (aka F1-5 skills). Primary themes in new elite specs should be core profession themes that are unused by our current elite specs, while secondary themes in new elite specs are not limited to this list. This analysis does not identify missing play styles (ranged, brawler, skirmisher, etc.), roles (damage, support, utility, etc.), or weapons for each profession and their respective elite specs. This analysis focuses purely on fantasy themes and flavor. Elementalist Unused Theme: Non-Elemental Magic or Essence of Magic (Arcane spec/skills) Tempest Themes: AoE Storms (Fire Attunement/spec), Sharing Auras/Elements (Water Attunement/spec and Conjure skills)Weaver Themes: Mixing Attunements (Glyph skills), Defense (Earth Attunement/spec and Cantrip skills), Mobility (Air Attunement/spec)Potential Third Elite Spec Themes: Discovered Ancient/Mists Magic or Experimental Synergistics/Metaphysical MagicEngineer Unused Themes: Chemistry (Alchemy spec and Elixir skills), Gear Tech (Gadget skills) Scrapper: Gyros and Barrier (Inventions spec and Turret skills), Superspeed and Electricity (Tools spec)Holosmith: Photon Forge (Firearms spec and Kit skills), Overheat (Explosives spec), HologramsPotential Third Elite Spec Themes: Chemical Warfare, Transforming Matter, Medicine, or Synthetic Coating like Thief VenomsMesmer Unused Themes: Lyssa's Magic of Beauty (Glamour skills), Emotional Influence (Inspiration spec), Randomness (Chaos spec) Chronomancer Themes: Interruption and Slow (Domination spec and Diversion), Quickness and Alacrity (Mantra skills)Mirage Themes: Mirage Cloak (Illusion spec/skills, Dueling spec, Manipulation skills, and Distortion), Confusion (Cry of Frustration)Potential Third Elite Spec Themes: Performing Arts, like Dance and Music, or Visual ArtsNecromancer Unused Themes: Corporeal (Death Magic spec and Minion skills), Sacrifice (Corruption skills), Fear Reaper Themes: Martial Shroud (Soul Reaping spec and Spectral skills), Leeching Shouts (Blood Magic spec), Chill and Grenth's magicScourge Themes: Boon Corruption and Attrition (Spite spec), Condition Management and Diversity (Curses spec), BarrierPotential Third Elite Spec Themes: Disease, Flesh, or MutationRanger Unused Themes: Distance and Accuracy (Marksmanship spec), Flanking and Ambushing (Skirmishing spec and Trap skills) Druid: Plants (Wilderness Survival spec/skills and Nature Magic spec), Celestial/Astral (Spirit skills)Soulbeast: Beastmode and Animal Stances (Beastmastery spec, Command skills, and Pet skills)Potential Third Elite Spec Themes: Hunting/Stalking, Heightened Senses, or Makeshift Weapon ResourcefulnessRevenant Unused Themes: N/A Revenants are the profession of all professions, and they can have any theme from any other profession. Revenant elite specializations add new themes to the Revenant, rather than expand upon existing themes from the Revenant, so there are no used Revenant themes in the Revenant elite specs. This type of analysis does not apply to the Revenant.There is speculation that the third elite spec for the Revenant may be related to a playable race. Humans have Shiro, Sylvari have Ventari, and Charr have Kalla. The third elite spec may be related to the Asura, Norn, or new playable race. The legendary character invoked by the third elite spec may also be a villain because the current elite specs do not invoke villains.Thief Unused Themes: Fighting Dirty (Trickery spec/skills and Steal), Poison (Deadly Arts spec and Venom skills) Daredevil: Dodging and Martial Arts (Acrobatics spec), WeaknessDeadeye: Mark and Malice (Critical Strikes spec), Malice Stealth Attacks (Shadow Arts spec and Deception skills), Ambush Tech (Preparation skills)Potential Third Elite Spec Themes: Outlawed/Unethical Substances, Craftiness and Unfair Advantages, or Criminal/Gang ActivityWarrior Unused Themes: Weapon Versatility (Discipline spec), Military Formations (Tactics spec and Shout skills), and War Supplies (Banner skills) Berserker: Rage and Berserk mode (Strength spec, Arms spec, Physical skills, and Burst skills), Burning and Balthazar's magicSpellbreaker: Full Counter (Defense spec and Stance skills), Anti MagicPotential Third Elite Spec Themes: Adapting Combat Styles or Sharing Arsenal (2H battleaxe, spear, etc.) like Elementalist ConjuresGuardian Unused Themes: Tanking and Retaliation (Valor spec), Dwayna's Domains of Healing and Air (Honor spec), and Spirits Dragonhunter: Physical Virtues (Meditation skills and Spirit Weapon skills), Traps (Zeal spec and Consecration skills), Long RangeFirebrand: Quickness and Boon Support (Virtues spec and Shout skills), Burn (Radiance spec), Non-combat WeaponsPotential Third Elite Spec Themes: Leading Spirit Troops or Reflecting WindEdit: Condensed the introduction and tweaked profession listingsThere is also another analysis focused on elite spec roles, rather than themes, linked below.https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/101554/likely-roles-for-third-wave-of-elite-specs/p1?new=1

This is a big-picture analysis, not speculation or desired propositions, of missing themes with our current sets of elite specializations. These missing themes may be included in the third expansion if this expansion introduces a third set of elite specializations. It seems like the themes of current elite specializations focus and expand upon existing themes within their respective core professions, and then the elite specialization themes add a unique twist on top of the focused themes. These twist occasionally create the secondary profession flavor from GW1. In this analysis I will not imagine new themes that do not already exist within core professions, but thematic twists in elite specializations occasionally create new themes. For example, the Druid focuses on the nature magic from the Ranger, and the Druid also adds a twist with astral-flavored abilities. Astral abilities do not significantly exist in the core professions. I will not be stretching my imagination to predict added-twist themes like the astral theme, but please consider, with twists, that elite specialization themes are not limited to the narrow thematic gaps I will identify below. Additionally, I will not analyze missing play styles (ranged, brawler, skirmisher, etc.), roles (damage, support, utility, etc.), or weapons with each profession and their respective elite specializations. This analysis is focused purely on themes and flavor. Mesmer Chronomancer: Chaos, Manipulation, Domination, Slow, AlacrityMirage: Illusions, Dueling, Confusion, DistortionMissing Themes: Inspiration, Glamour, Mantra, Lyssa's domain over BeautyPotential theme may focus on Performing (Dance and Music) and/or Visual ArtsNecromancer Reaper: Spectral/Soul Reaping, Spite/Darkness, Chill, GrenthScourge: Curses, Corruption, Torment, Burning, Barrier, Boon RemovalMissing Themes: Minions/Death Magic, Blood MagicPotential theme may focus on Flesh, Disease, and/or the CorporealElementalist Tempest: Auras, Conjuring StormsWeaver: Glyphs/Attunement AugmentationsMissing Theme: ArcanePotential theme may focus on Arcane MagicEngineer Scrapper: Inventions, Turrets, Lightning, SuperspeedHolosmith: Kits, Tools, Gadgets, Explosives, HologramsMissing Themes: Alchemy, Elixirs, FirearmsPotential theme may focus on Chemical Warfare, Transforming Matter, and/or MedicineRanger Druid: Plants/Nature Magic, Astral Power, MelandruSoulbeast: Beastmastery/Pets, Wilderness Survival, SpiritsMissing Themes: Skirmishing, Marksmanship, TrapsPotential theme may focus on Weapon/Tool ResourcefulnessThief Daredevil: Acrobatics, Martial Arts, DodgingDeadeye: Shadow Arts, Deception, Critical StrikesMissing Themes: Trickery/Steal, Deadly Arts/Venom/PreparationsPotential theme may focus on Fighting Dirty and/or Hidden TricksWarrior Berserker: Strength, Physical, Adrenaline, Burning, BalthazarSpellbreaker: Defense, Interruption, Boon RemovalMissing Themes: Arms, Tactics/Banners/ShoutsPotential theme may focus on Supplying Conjure Weapons and/or Weapon VersatilityGuardian Dragonhunter: Zeal/Spirit Weapons, DistanceFirebrand: Radiance/Burning, Honor/Shouts, Consecrations, QuicknessMissing Themes: Valor, DwaynaPotential theme may focus on Retaliation, Taunt, and/or TankingRevenant: This profession is the profession of all professions. Elite specializations do not expand upon existing Revenant themes. Elite specializations add on to existing Revenant themes. Because of this, I cannot identify missing themes for this wild card profession.

Vet players aren't the target audience for ANY of the tutorial achievements. Regardless, many veteran players will do an achievement if it has AP attached to the rewards. So either remove the AP from the achievements that require a new character slot or make it possible for high level characters to complete this achievement.

How do I get the dodge-roll and reach-level-10 achievements when all my character slots are filled with level 80 characters? Anet, was this a ploy to get veteran players to buy a character slot? It seems a little unfair to punish veterans this way.

Excerpt below from the most recent patch:"Fixed an issue in which grenade kit skills caused the grenade bundle to vanish during the casting time." I know this is a tool belt skill rather than a grenade kit skill, but Grenade Barrage causes the bundle to vanish during casting time. My other tool belt skills and utility skills do not cause the bundle to vanish. So, I'm assuming this is unintended.

Unbound Gathering Tool will gather all plants from a single note at one time without any glyphs. You've just been using worse unlimited tools this whole time. It's not your fault, though. Anet shouldn't sell all unlimited tools for 1k and then make some inherently better thann others.

The glacial harvesting gathering tool only gathers one plant at a time per node, rather than gathering all plants within a single node simultaneously. Other newer tools, like the unlimited magic harvesting tool, can gather all plants within a single node simultaneously. Please make all gathering tools (with particular focus on sickles and picks) equally efficient without the effects of glyphs.

Mounting doesn't kill my utility skill minions, but mounting does kill my death nova minions (regardless of their 30 second life span). This is unfortunate since open world PvE is where minion mastery shines. I no longer get the ramping potency of stacking multiple jagged minions in open world when I mount between every fight.