Dragon Dude.7832

No that's just it, they don't HAVE any specific playstyles and themes. You know what Catalyst is? Tell me. It's literally just core elementalist. What's willbender? Plays like Core Guardian with extra mobility and slightly less sustain. Specter is the ONLY ESpec I've liked from EoD so far because its like taking Necro and Thief and making a PERFECT Dual-Class Combination (not a wannabe), WITH A twist. And about every other spec is in the same situation, they AREN'T unique. The reason roles exist is to help add boundaries and logistical rules to create something MORE creative. I understand that they don't want a Class to be specific to a role, that's FINE. But they can do that by making some of their specs more focused to fewer rather than multiple roles. Thus allowing the Class itself, overall to be capable of being multiple roles. The way they're doing it is a poor handling of Class Identity and Fantasy and it just makes it all Generic. Willbender for example because of the increased mobility and damage, should not be capable of support. If you wanna play a Support Guardian, you can do that with core or firebrand. Unless of course you mean Support in a different sense (I.e Boon granting, cc breaking/cc to enemies, etc.) Elite Specs were originally designed to make the Class more devoted to a specific art OR it was some lost ancient power(like most canthan specs), of some kind, thus making the Subclass. Especs are Subclasses/Devotions meaning it should not only change the way a Class normally plays, but stick to fewer roles to make it work but without overpowering Core class(which can be a difficult thing to do) and rendering it moot. Thus the Player can easily play Core Class, which can mean just about any role(depending on the Class.) There's a reason before not every Core Class could do every role, because if it did, it would thus become generic, so that's why they had originally brought in Elite Specs during HoT, the idea was to make Classes not do what they normally could (Yes I'm repeating myself), and allow them to do unusual roles(Specters being a Thief support with the Dual Classing from Necro), that it couldn't originally do. However EoD specs basically don't do that. Catalyst feels like Core Ele, especially with the RE-introduction of Celestial stats/gear, and what they PROMISED, was a "Steadier/Tankier" feel. No, it doesn't feel like that unless you go specifically Celestials and WORK your kitten off to JUST barely get that feel, and only some of the top 1% players can actually pull it off. I'm not asking for buffs, I'm asking for reworks. I know I've only mentioned Catalyst and Willbender but that's because they are the PRIME example of how NOT to do an Espec, while Specter is a much better example, although I'm unsure if I'd call it a perfect example. There's no structure in any of these designs and without structure or foundations, things fall apart, that is life, and it applies to everything. It goes the same with the EoD story, there's little structure and foundation and it fell apart.

Yeup. That's pretty much it. You described it in one go. They don't care about the game, let's make this clear, this whole "diverse" crap, is just something they want to profit off of and get more money. There's nothing diverse about this new expansion, and oh man don't even get me on how they totally disgraced and destroyed the storyline. You know the Commander used to be wise and slow to-judge. Not as hotheaded. When I did this new storyline, it was like I was reading all the new Marvel comics where the protagonist is this same bland, hotheaded, "fight now, questions later", quick-to-judge character. They ruined it, and as a writer myself, I find it disgraceful some of the things they did in this EoD storyline that was COMPLETELY against Storytelling and Story Structure. I won't point out what, it will probably start an argument and explode, but the point is, that it was WRONG and not cool.

Guys guys guys GUYS Calm down, no need to get your testes in a twist! We're all on the same side here! Pve, Pvp, WPVP, it don't matter, you're missing the point of the post!

You just put in words what I've been trying to say this entire time. In the simplest and most articulate terms. I think another way of putting it is "GENERALIZATION!" They over generalize things.

I won't lie, I've played tons of pvp in my day for GW2, but I'm by no means a PVP player, I'm full blown PVE. But yea It kind of is a long wall of text ranting, but also sort of meant to be a discussion. That's fair, you probably could have written it, honestly I thought I wrote it so bad, I was legit afraid of hundreds of replies backlashing at me cause that's what I'm used to on this forums, but I finally stopped procrastinating and it turns out I was wrong, no backlash here. See, when I think of an Elite Spec, I expect something new, and innovative. I don't mind Willbender playing like Thief, but it needs a twist. I think it would be kind of cool to emphasis on its teleportation capabilities but to activate those it kind of requires certain combos to be activated. So it'd be a fast, heavy hitting, powerful Guardian, but with a lot less sustain, thus making it much squishier than Normal Guards, which right now it isn't really that squishy, it kinda is but meh. The way they described and originally had implied what Willbender was supposed to be, made me think of a Shaolin Monk, Fast, Quick, and Powerful. And honestly it just feels like core guardian. Well that's because Arenanet's definition of Diversity is just wrong. Let me put it to you this way. Someone creates an RPG, it has three classes, Mage, Warrior, and Rogue. Now he decides he wants to be a little less basic. Now he has 6 Classes | Warrior, Healer, Rogue, Hunter, Mage, and Warlock. Now he decides he wants to be special and go more into both class fantasy and have more classes, but rather than just adding a ton of classes, he does a system called SUBClassing. Subclassing in WoW has always been specializations, I.E A prot warrior was a Knight basically. Guild Wars 2's way of doing that was with Builds done by Regular Specializations. Then came Elite Specs, Elite Specs changed the Class's usual way of playing, and allowed it to do something new. Now in a nutshell, and to not drag this on, an example of how its poorly being handled, they're essentially letting every class play somewhat like thief and call that "diversity" A lot of what you say is pretty much true, but the point is even if the mechanics are similar, the illusion and display of it at least looking different would help the feel to it, be somewhat different. But making Elite Specs feel just like a power-up isn't fun at all, so much missed opportunity for Jade Spheres on Catalyst for example. Hell, I'd be fine with flashy visuals at this point, like some real flashy kitten. I know, as much as a PVE player I am, Honestly, the difference in what classes can and can't do, shines much more in SPVP. To be honest, at this point I'm out of words, because for one, I'd just be complaining at this point, its not like its going to change anything, and for two what could I say that would actually be persuasive enough to at least get a different result? Hell I didn't even like the direction they went for the Story, don't get me started on that, it pissed me off. Suddenly the Commander is this jerk-off who's tired of everyone's kitten and around him? What the hell is this? The Commander is meant to be Wise, and Better than that. BUT that's a subject for another thread so best not to get into that.

Warning: I'm not the best at articulation, sometimes I can be articulate but then my mind starts to track off where I'm going with this, there will be no TL:DR, not because I can't articulate one, but if you don't wanna read what I'm putting my kitten heart and mind into, or if its too much rambling for you, I'd rather you not read it. HOWEVER, If somebody else wants to TL:DR it for me, feel free. Just don't try to twist it. I will also be generally using Elementalist, Guardian, and Necromancer as examples, not because they're my mains, I love every single class, played them ALOT, maybe not so much Engineer not since Core anyways. Bonus Note: I repeat things for emphasis, EMPHASIS, I'm not yelling. Giving more diversity to Classes doesn't mean taking away "key boons" as they are called now, such as Alacrity to multiple classes, a boon that was originally created Chronomancer to create what we call CLASS FANTASY. It doesn't mean generalizing every single spec or class and making them basically play as other classes or its core-self. If you think by giving every class having some way to be capable of what others are doing is diversity in Class Fantasy, you are highly mistaken. When End of Dragons came out, a lot of the classes were basically taking the idea of High Mobility, and kinda like thief. It worked incredible with Spectre, Spectre felt like Reaper's creepy cousin. If this were Dual Classes, I'd say Specter is the perfect example of a Dual Class. It feels like Thief and Necro properly combined with a slight twist. However, for classes like Willbender, its really basic. The traits do nothing but add simple generic buffs. Willbender for example, has the most generic, un-game changing traits ever. I like the idea of having high mobility, but thats all that Willbender is good for. The traits do nothing to change vastly how you play. On top of it, you don't need to have Willbender do what Core Guardian can already do, which means either DPS, be kinda tanky and/or support or being Condi DPS. An Elite Specialization SHOULD be allowed to be entirely dps, but capable of different playstyles. Yet from what I remember hearing, they said "We don't want specs like Willbender being entirely one role, we kind of want each spec to be capable of filling multiple roles" Which is fine, but that doesn't mean they need to be capable of filling most or all roles. Elementalist has always been the generalist class at its core, but here's the thing about it, unless you were playing Celestial, you weren't doing every role at once. Back in Core, you could choose between to be Zerker DPS, Condi DPS, Hybrid, Support, Support DPS, pretty much all of the above. So when they added Elite Specializations, the original idea was to change the way the Class plays, and I think in other words you could call it a Devotion or Art. A Tempest is Elementalist at its core, but its more devote in a certain area. Elite Specializations in HoT felt just that, Elite, some were overtuned I won't lie, played a Symbolic Guardian Builds + two Auramancers never died in PVP, however I'm talking about Class Fantasy + Mechanics not so much balancing right now. It was kind of braindead, but in its essence it wasn't just oversimplified, it was simple, but not oversimplified. It made you feel "Elite", not to be confused with Elitist Pricks that either nobody likes or some people do. It changed few mechanics, and devoted that Class to a specific area, Tempest while not the best example cause most people just did support since support/healing was seriously powerful back then, still in PVE and PVP could be played as Condi DPS. Then came Path Of Fire. When I first played the Elite Specs it was during the beta of course, at the time I felt they were fun completely overlooking due to the fact the ones I played were OP in the beta, but of course that quickly changed. Weaver as a class fantasy was fun, It was mostly hybrid DPS, which was fine, it fit well into its class fantasy, and although there could've been more hopes for it to be something like Specifically Power/Zerker or Pure Condi dps, it honestly wasn't that bad. Later on, maybe mid-way through PoF's lifespan, I played Weaver a lot. People could argue that Weavers at the time were kinda op, but even though they may have been or were in top meters, I'd disagree that its op with the amount of buttons I had to constantly be pressing, plus additional buttons once in a blue moon. I think that's what kept me more interested, but maybe what it failed in was the fact unless you were pvping, in PVE you only switched between Fire & Earth, 90% of the time, where as Water & Earth were there for utility reasons. I started playing Firebrand because of its perma-quickness, and cause the Mantra activation speed was increased, and this was because in PVP and PVE it took far too long to activate them during combat to be useful. I think the reasoning behind this is whether anyone likes it, doesn't like it, or would disagree is that GW2 since the end of HoT and beginning of PoF, REALLY became Zerg Versus Zerg, more than it used to be in Core. In core, I had time to do things, but back then people were much more patient and enjoyed the slower processes, one of the new things of today is Zerging everything because the trend or fad I guess is that people would rather just get to the end of things faster, and games started to condition people to do that, and within just the last 3 years, the conditioning has gotten so strong to the point, that I could complain about ZVZ all I want but it'll never change, so rather complaining about it, I use my effort to help improve onto it. I think the point I'm trying to make here is not another "I'm extremely mad/upset/disappointed in EoD's Specializations" but rather dissapointed in Arenanet that they would fall so low that they call what they think is diversifying classes but rather uprooting and ruining what we call Class Fantasy. Not every class needs what every other class can do. I want an Elementalist that can wield a longbow, and snipe from a far, but not like Hunter or Daredevil, in a magical way that can allow it to be a little more unique, OR maybe not at all. Sometimes a simple Elemental Archer is good enough. What should this spec be capable of? Support? Tank-Support? Tank? Roaming? Group Fights? Hybrid DPS? Condi DPS? Zerker/Power DPS? Maybe all of the above. Here's the thing, they removed Celestial for a reason, because the idea of trying to generalize that much was either too powerful or too weak. On top of it, you had to be on top of your game, bring the A game, and be more than just good at it, you needed to be incredibly skilled, or maybe not skilled at all, and just have great muscle memory. The point is, there's a reason RPGS haven't done Jack of All Trade classes in years. That's why there's MULTIPLE classes to choose from, that's what creates diversity, not allowing classes to be jack of all trades, but rather making a single class, or rather in GW2's case, Spec, i.e CATALYST, just don't. Elementalist was handled as jack of all trades in Core pretty well, I'd agree that Celestial D/D or Staff, Elementalist was op, I won't lie, it had flaws, but the thing about it was because it wasn't done entirely in a single spec/build but rather in a multitude of builds, you can balance it easier without having to nerf some builds...TO AN EXTENT. I agree with removing Celestial because it was pretty much op back then, it wasn't invincible, it was beatable, but it was pretty op. However, by removing Celestials, and not allowing Elementalist to do everything at once, but rather dependant on your build, is what made it a Jack of All Trades. Depending on the build you could either be a pure condi dps, pure zerker/power dps, a support, kinda tanky, roaming, etc. So when Catalyst came out, and I heard the whole "steady fight" and all that, I was SINCERELY HOPING that we could become tankier, what I didn't expect was while they weren't by technical definition lying, it was handled in a way that I found stupid. Catalyst had so much potential, If it was just handled differently, I could sit here and talk about the ideas I had for it, so that way no one would ask "Well how were you expecting it" or other ridiculous questions like "No you're just upset/troll" or some stupid thing. I'm not going to, its a waste of my breath, of course it could be argue'd, that then wouldn't my entire post be a waste of breath? No I wanted to write it, but I'm not going to go on and say I could've done a better job, the truth in that statement is regardless, the point is, I don't want to cause then some how it'll devolve into argument of things that I don't feel like trying to argue, cause no matter how much I try, my point will never get across. However, if you do wanna see what I wrote months ago, feel free to dm me, and just because I don't entirely remember the rules around here, hopefully I'm not breaking them by letting people dm to see ideas I threw out. In conclusion, no Guild Wars 2 can't diversify for crap. What they claim to be diversity for Classes is just a disgrace of Class Fantasy, they don't know what they're talking about, and I don't think they understand what it means to have a diverse cast of Classes and their Class Fantasy. P.S I don't wanna see comments that are yelling at me for some stupid crap, or saying some other crap. This is a Guild Wars 2 discussion thread, everything I've said is about Guild Wars 2 and is a discussion. They are simply my thoughts and any rude comments will be reported, not because I'm a tattletale, rather cause I'm worn down and don't wanna hear it. I do have a high tolerance for it however, most of the time I try to get along with people even after an argument. I've been on the internet, I know what its like, I've had arguments that devolved so fast to the point of saying things that shouldn't be necessarily said but still found a way to get a long with people. I also don't appreciate people beating around the bush, cause honestly if you're gonna say something to me, do it.

Sorry my bad, I nerded out, and vented a little.

Yeah see as much as I've been wanting a Power DPS Ele ever since Core Staff Ele died out, that's not what we were promised in the preview, we were promised a Steady Presence Fighter who has this Jade Sphere to assist him and make him tougher. Didn't get that, not 100% unsatisfied, but kinda unsatisfied, at least I can zerker/dragon mix Catalyst, big deeps. The way I see it, you can go Hybrid because burning stacks fast, but generally you're gonna get more use out of Power because Catalyst has more power oriented abilities. Now see, that doesn't even make sense. Now correct me if I'm wrong but the Orbs are the Hammer 3, and the Hammer 3 is NOT the same as the Unleashed Skills at all. If anything the Orbs would work FAR better as a similar mechanic like tempest overloads, and this can make it more versatile with the class in general. Honestly, it's a missed opportunity, to have the Orbs, which apparently is supposed to be a very important in Class Design of Catalyst, to be on hammer skill 3, instead of F1,F2,F3,F4,F5. We'd still have to switch between attunements to activate, but this way the Hammer Skill 3 can go to something else, while the Mechanic Feature can go where it should go. Literally changing weapons wouldn't changing the Orbs...why would it? And if we gave Unleashed Skills for all weapons then there'd be no reason to use hammer, then that would be stupid. What's the point of getting a no weapon if they don't make encouragements to use it? That beats the whole purpose of CLASS FANTASY. It's like how they've basically given several classes Necro shroud, I.E Holosmith & Specter, While I do like Specter and how it was executed, its still stupid that they gave it to multiple classes instead of keeping some things Class Specific. This isn't being more "diverse" this is being lazy and uncreative. By using logical rules and using creativity to think outside the box, you make things more diverse without overdoing it, and actually innovative and interesting concepts. And sometimes simplicity is best too, which it usually is, if done right. I mean honestly, I'm all for giving A Class a similar mechanic to another class, but between Druid, Holosmith, and Specter, it's just not Unique anymore. Things have to be unique, this creates more playstyles, which makes it more the so called "Diverse" nonsense they keep spouting.

While I'll never be able to have an update that reflects something of the sort to what I wish Catalyst could be, this I do like. Its better than what I expected. I think however the traits themselves could use less basic versatile traits and more traits that are thought outside the box. One of the things I hated about the traits is that there were few related to the Coils, "Rocky Loop, Flame Wheel, Icy Coil, Crescent Wind", supposedly one of Catalyst's "important" abilities. I think more innovative traits would be nice, and like I said a trait that has to do with these abilities would be interesting. I really think Catalyst could benefit from the original idea "A steady presence in combat" + Wielding Hammer which implies slow plus powerful. At least on the class fantasy outlook of it. Anyways, excellent update, especially in comparison to what I usually expect from Anet. I think this is what realy bugs me about Elementalist in general, they used to have it so that Elementalist can basically do every role depending on the build, tank, support, power, condi, power-condi, roamer, etc. And the reason it worked back then was cause no Especs, it was versatile, and while all doing that, it still could do a bit of other things but most builds always had a focus. The main problem with Elementalist Especs is rather than making the Espec focused on one or fewer roles, they want it to be still the "Generalist Class", the only reason Elementalist was that in the first place was through combination of its core Specs, not because one Espec did it all. And this turns out to be ither too op or too weak, as the reason they removed the Jack of all trade stats Celestial. Willbender has a similar issue, rather than having an Espec, which is a subclass/devotion, make the Espec focused on one to two roles, capable of doing something the Class can't normally do. Specter is a better example because of its insane support, and its also a good example of Dual Classing (not Wannabe Classing), Specter feels like the Creepy Cousin of Reaper if you go zerker, or the Creepy Cousin of Scourge if you go support. What I think Catalyst should be is exactly as described in the trailer, A STEADY PRESENCE IN COMBAT, meaning a bit slower, but when using their hits, they're harder to be CC'd or something to make up for the longer activation time, at least on some hammer skills. I think a good base health upgrade would help this as well, to the 15,992 bracket or an in between bracket like 13,922. Generally I think there should be a traitline that supports this, with the Coils helping it in some way on one trait, another trait replacing Evade with a 1 sec block (uses a full endurance bar like Vindicator), blocking all incoming attacks for 1s(or maybe not a full second, its an example), plus a special effect based on Attunement, as well as either a stronger downed state or perhaps use that thing Elementalist was given called a Jade Sphere to help make him tougher while being in its radius or help ress nearby allies. Hell an elite skill based on the Jade Sphere capable of reviving or making downed allies tougher or something would be better than Elemental Celerity. Just like I think it'd be interesting to see a revise on Hammer Skills on Guardian, I don't want them to make it zergier, I want them to make it more useful and allow powerful tank-ish skills. Meaning like stability grants, harder to cc, things like that. Imagine this, you're in War, in the world of Guild Wars 2 or one like it, You're a guardian, you wield a Hammer, you're the Leader or Commander or whatever of this war you're about to fight? What does this Hammer do, you do basically what Guardian usually does but this emphasizes the whole "I'm gonna be in the front and tank it". It doesn't have to be like full blown tank, just like we don't have REAL healers in GW2, it's support. Note: Catalyst's Jade Sphere following us would be far more beneficial than ground target as well. Even if its caused by a temp ability buff.

To put it simply: It's low effort. The expansion was delayed, and all they got to show for it, is a rushed CLIMATIC ENDING TO A TRIOLOGY. This isn't just "an ending", it's an Ending to a trilogy, and all we get is approximately 2 - 3 days worth of story game time(depending on how fast you complete the story)? Like the story was very basic, and lacked any great structure. Sure I got to be super powerful and beat the crap out of stuff, but the story itself didn't even feel somewhat thought provoking, both MECHANIC-wise, AND Storytelling wise. Additionally, they decided they wanted to shove their politics down my throat with "subtle" stuff, and not let me enjoy the story because they're opinions JUST had to be out there. Don't even get me started on the super unprofessional employees that presented the Beta Spec Events. If it weren't for the fact I only paid 30$ I'd actually be really mad. Back in the day if you paid 30$ during the 90s or hell even early 2000s, you got a fully fleshed out game, with MINOR bugs, these days you don't get that. And okay so I only paid 30$, but like there was a delay. I thought the point of the delay was because they needed more time to flesh it out, and this whole time I'm thinking "wow this is gonna be a big one." No. No it wasn't. It was 16 Chapters long, but super fast and quick to whip through. The story was mostly "look its kas and jory!...Oh and Taimi is here too." For an ending of a trilogy we should've gotten too see more, it should've been a lot longer, and not necessarily challenging but again more thought-provoking. For the kind of story we got, I was hoping to do some kind of recon/incognito stuff, instead I got the lazy way out of everything, including the option at several boss fights to empower myself with Aurene. This is just the story I could go on, but probably more than 75% only read the first sentence I read. So let's move on to the Elite Specs. Elite Specs...Well...Honestly my expectations were higher, and they shouldn't have been after PoF. It's not that PoF was terrible, it's that it decided to follow the worst trend for PvP EVER, ZERG VERSUS ZERG. And I hated that, although I do find Necromancer addicting because of how overpowered it is. The main problem with Elite Specs is that they're supposed to be Subclasses, Devoter to a specific Art, rather than that, we got what the Core Class can do but in an espec. They're power-ups instead of a massive radical change. Take Catalyst for example, Catalyst does everything a Core Ele can do, but only slightly differently. Why would I pick that, when I can just do the other Especs or Core Ele? I don't understand the thought process in Catalyst. If you look at it, they're trying to fit as many roles as they can, and make it as diverse as possible. The problem with that is, this isn't some casting call for a tv show, this is a Class, and according to the rules of class fantasy, that either is too strong or too weak. Jack of All Trades DOES NOT work in RPGs. Ever. Elite Specs should be one or few roles, not all roles the core class could play. Specter is the example of an Elite Spec done right, Thieves couldn't be a support role before at all, not the same way Elementalist or Guardian could. You got roamers, support, dps, tanks, etc. All kinds of types of Roles, whether its Power-Condi DPS, Condi DPS, or Power DPS. Willbender is the prime example of why I don't care for Especs anymore, it's traits are borderline basic, and don't do anything that changes the behavior of the class or does something unique. Overall I'm dissatisfied but I like Turtles and Battle mounts so... TLDR: Gl with that I don't like shortening my thoughts, if anyone wants to do it for me, feel free to do so.

Here's the issue with all the new specs, and class changes in general within the past couple of years. Diversity. No, more diversity doesn't automatically make it better, that's the problem, every class shouldn't be capable of support, damage, and all of the other roles, that ruins the idea of Class Fantasy and creates clunkier problems. Quick Note: Most of this is from the perspective of a PVP player, I used to PVE alot but I don't much anymore because I've lost interest, so this is more towards PVP. Feel free to add-on or correct me if you beg to differ on what I say They're so focused on wanting to add "more diversity" that they've actually done the opposite and made a bigger issue in Class Fantasy. Alacrity was originally a Boon pertaining to Chronomancer, the reason for that was because it was Chronomancer's boon, specifically designed to be ITS boon, NOT anyone elses'. It's called Class Mechanics, now that Willbender and other classes are capable of it, it doesn't make Alacrity be unique or anything. Of course that is merely one example, but the one example should get the point acrossed. Whoever designed these classes doesn't know how Class Fantasy works at all, and is more focused on some diversity kitten. Take Elementalist for example, back in Core Game, it was considered the most diverse class, because it was the Generalist, but the way it was executed made it work, because they didn't try to do it all in ONE spec. Elementalist could go Zerker Ranged, Support, Tanky, even use Short-Ranged (Daggers) and be what Elementalist was the most, a Generalist. It was THE Generalist Spec. And it worked, the problem was it was TOO strong, or TOO Weak. You can't do a class that can do a little bit of everything because Jack of All Trades are always like that. That's just the way it is. Then came HoT, where Celestial was gone, and everything became kinda bunkery, but it wasn't like Zerg Versus Zerg where everything was done in 2 seconds, which is what PoF did later on. The problem was, Elite Specs came out and while I love the idea, it was horribly executed. Elite Spec, specifically for Elementalist, caused Tempest to be a power-up...that was it. But at first it was only a power-up for Support & Condi damage. The builds for Zerker, or something else, wasn't as strong then, it was a Power-Up for few to specific roles rather than "Generally" Everything which is what Tempest is now. As of right now the only difference between Tempest and Weaver is their playstyle. Weaver is more offensive while Tempest is more defensive. To make things short, essentially they keep wanting everything to be "generalist", the problem is that if the spec is capable of filling every role then what makes that spec special? Elite Specs should do things that Core could not originally do. I.E Tempest like it was originally meant to be, heavy support, or heavy condi. Weaver actually originally was pretty pure DPS, with low defensives, in PVE it still is, in PVP its kinda mixed. It's a power-condi hybrid, As far as Weaver goes, its pretty good. But for the new ESpecs, Catalyst especially, it tries to do too much at once, some people have argued that its actually powerful, but when you compare it to other specs it's overall too weak. Part of the problem is because everything ZVZ in WVW and PVP now. Even PVE has a good portion Zerg V Zerg. But also because instead of making Catalyst focus on few roles, like ZERKER, which we haven't had a pure Zerker Ele that's really good since Core, or some kind of Tank, like it was DESCRIBED IN THE TRAILERS, You know a "Steady Presence in Combat", would be great. Instead its more of a Generalist. Same goes with Willbender, it can support, power-condi dps, etc, kitten it can already do, instead of focusing on 1 - 2 roles. I.E a pure Condi or Pure Power Willbender would create a much cooler class fantasy than...doing things Guardian can already do. TLDR: I had something originally written out to make this shorter, I forgot it and it became unarticulate. I'm not good at TLDRs, so...yeah have fun...

Excuse me while I go on a BIG wall of text about this, but I hope at the very least, you'll take the time to skim what I have to say. Before I go on, I'd just like to point out, that Catalyst will never work without a higher base health pool and a STRONGER Downed state. Without further ado, this will be mostly referring to the Alacribender stuff. I don’t believe we should depend on each Class for a specific Boon, this is stupid, as if Chronomancer were truly the only class that had alacrity, then Chronomancer would depend on Alacrity upkeep, rather than its own core mechanics, meaning the only reason anyone would keep a Chronomancer in a group, whether it be raid, wvw, pvp, or squad, is due to its alacrity. If it didn’t have alacrity, then it really wouldn’t be useful. That shouldn’t be the case, because really in most raids, you’d be better off with Chronomancer, and find other ways of getting alacrity, heck even two renegades will allow for a perma alacrity without Chronomancer. Willbenders being allowed to use Alacrity is 100% acceptable, but I don’t think it should be a support type subclass at all. If we make every elite spec capable of filling as much as roles as possible, no one would play the older ones, thus pushing them out, to an extent anyhow. Willbender being focused on different playstyles of DPS works way better, especially since Guardian’s base/core support is already so powerful, it wouldn’t need too much. What I really like about Elite Specs is that they’re supposed to be a key, a door, to the new playstyle of Classes in GW2, and the one spec that does this THE BEST is Specter. Specter, the new elite spec for thief, is not a wannabe necro, but rather the combination of the two classes to create something new, my only complaint is that its shroud needs improvements. Other than that, it was executed well in comparison to most classes. Elementalist has always been a favor of long-range, and mage type abilities, for it’s elite specs to not be focused on fewer things but to be a generalist turns the Espec into a power-up rather than an entirely new feel of a class. The problem is Elementalist is a generalist, so its still gonna mostly feel like power-ups no matter what with each ESPEC. Tempest was originally a heavy support, partial condi, or heavy condi, partial support. While it still pertains somewhat to this as of today, it’s focus is no longer on those two things, but rather the “generalist” feel on elementalist. Again. It’s not an elementalist anymore. It’s a tempest now, it shouldn’t feel “generalist”, same goes with Weaver. As far as pvp content goes, Weaver is at a place where it feels “generalist” and “dps-oriented” but not “focused on dps playstyle”, meaning it can still do a little bit of everything. For PvE, not so much, it actually does pretty good in PVE, and personally, I prefer PVE Weaver. Catalyst, the new espec falls in the same issue. Catalyst is supposed to have a “steady presence in combat”, essentially, what they’re saying is they want it to be tanky, so rather than being group support, it should be more self-sustaining itself, with a higher base armor + health/vitality. It should have abilities that can synergize by keeping itself alive while beating down its opponents. I love that some of the new updates to it, allows the possibility of a zerging Catalyst, which would do the opposite of its proposed idea, which would actually fit really well. I think Catalyst should be capable of some really tanky kitten, or really zergy strike damage stuff. Elementalist isn’t as “zerker” as it used to be, the glass canon staff for example, was one of the prime examples of how Elementalist could do anything back in Core, and it was incredibly powerful, with still obvious weaknesses. However, other builds could change this where Elementalist was more condi, or support, or a hybrid of any of them, it basically had everything, but then Elite specs came in, and well...it caused clunky issues. Anyways I’ve begun to ramble on, so before I start saying kitten that’ll be confusing, I’ll end here with a bit of a TLDR Willbender should be allowed to use and grant Alacrity, but I don't think it should be focused on it, or something it can primarily do, as it's based off of a "Shaolin Monk", what I mean by this is if you notice, Willbenders tend to fall in a "powerful quick execution fighter with a bit of martial arts". Catalyst needs a higher base health pool, and Elementalist needs a rework otherwise it's only to get clunkier from here on out. ESpecs need to feel more like a subclass, than a power-up. Finally, I'd like to point out one more time, that Willbender being capable of healing is just utterly stupid, and with that I conclude my rambling rant. Thank you ~ A Major Fan of this Game Franchise.

Once again, you've got Elementalist trying to do WAY too many things and from experience, we all know this ends badly, whether it be broken op, or broken crap, weak. Here's a Document I threw out from 2 hours of analyzation, if anyone else has a better input or think they can suggest better list it here. Catalyst Improvement My personal take is that Catalyst shouldn't try to be Celestial, Zerker, Auramancy, and a Steady Presence as well. It should be more like what Vindicator is trying to do. Vindicator, you can either be a support or a dps. That's it. It doesn't trying to be 50 million things and this is where Elementalist is failing. Where some elite specs are only trying to be no more than 2 things, Ele is trying to be 500 things. Each Elite Spec should bring in something that is more focused on one attribute, rather than multiple. You want a celestial spec? Fine, then make it focused on Cele, not other things as well. Auramancy is something Tempest and Core Ele does, mainly Tempest, not something Catalyst. Rather Catalyst should focus on its own abilities or abilities such as glyphs we haven't used in awhile. You guys said "A steady presence" Then we should make Catalyst more tanking but not necessarily "support". It should be tankier, but also still capable of heavily hitting.

Willbender is very lacking, the playstyle is fun but it's trait and abilities are super basic, without not much to go around. Their mobility makes up for a lot of their sustain they're missing but even then it's not enough to make up for the fact that their damage is only moderately good. I'd suggestion a revision on their whole trait lines, traits such as Restorative Virtues are great, but Boon Pact and Conceited Curate are absolutely useless. From what I recall, this spec is to be more Damage & Mobility focused rather than support, it's not much of a support spec if you ask me. Honestly, I see it going towards a more Zerg future with Alacrity and Quickness. Abilities such as Flash Combo and Executioner's Calling are too bland and basic. I like Flash Combo, it's fun to use, but doesn't deal much damage especially for the CD given. I actually wrote down a slightly more detail suggestive review here if you'd like to read it, if not, I'll try to TLDR it here. Improve First off, let's start by fixing Executioner's Calling, there isn't much burst to Willbender or burst finishers which is a huge disadvantage, especially compared to most other specs. Increase the Cooldown to 30 seconds, but in exchange it's base damage is increased, and a burst finisher is added, meaning under a certain health threshold, in this case 40%, the damage is at least doubled. This would allow Willbenders to take their opponents down before they can heal back up. The problem is, getting them down is still a problem since you've gotta go through 90% of your skills before even dropping an opponent, even a un-tanky one down to at least 60% health. This is why we're gonna go through everything, and before we fully move on, I'd like to point out making another power-condi hybrid is gonna annoy everyone, so don't bother with Condition on this spec, it doesn't even use condition, most skills are pure physical. Without Further ado. Flash Combo Flash Combo has a high CD of 25s, due to the fact that it has a very high range shadowstep, yet it's ability itself doesn't deal too much damage. I suggest two alternatives. Increase the base damage by a great margin Replace one of the crap traits, such as Conceited Curative, with a trait that revokes the Shadowstep and allows for a huge increase in damage for Flash Combo. This not only changes things up a bit, but allows people who'd want to sacrifice a bit of mobility for a ton more damage. Which may be more suited Whirling Light Whirling Light has a burning condition, it is the only ability aside from the three virtues that cause any sort of flames, it is useless because there is not much condition in the spec. My suggestion is to remove this and buff the damage of Whirling Light. Reversal of Fortune Reversal Of Fortune is terrible, there are a ton better heals than this, I'd rather use Shelter or Signet of Resolve. It should either be buffed, or remade. Next up, I have a few trait modifications, that I've already come up with, and for the fact that the devs would probably still try to make this a power-condi hybrid, I've actually had a decent idea or two onto fix this. Trait Idea 1 Symbolic Refreshment: Symbols from any weapons now grant 0.3 seconds of Alacrity and Quickness, which continues to refresh as long as allies and the user stays within the circle. Trait Idea 2 Burning Vengeance: Main Hand and Off-Hand sword skills now apply stack of burning to your target, and your expertise is increased based on a percentage of ferocity. Trait Idea 3 Holy Reckoning Revision: All Physical Utility Slot abilities apply stacks of burning and/or vulnerability to your target based on what each skill does, as a bonus your condition damage is increased based on a percentage of power. Trait Idea 4 Combo Breaker: Revokes the Shadowstep in your Flash Combo for a huge increase of damage and modifies the cooldown from 25s to 15s. Trait Idea 5 Quick Killer: All Physical Abilities now grant 0.5 of Alacrity or Quickness depending on the ability. I.E Flash Combo, Whirling Light and Heel Kick would grant Quickness, and Reversal of Fortune, Rolling Light, and Heaven's Palm grant Alacrity. Idea 2 & 3 would be on the same trait line, that way they couldn't combine and become too overpowered. Similarly, 5 & 1 would also be on the same trait line, thus keeping everything going from being too overpowered. Tyrant's Momentum This trait line is great, but the duration is far too short for it to be of any value, the duration needs to be buffed so that we can actually have a chance of being able to keep up with it to make any use out of it Executioner's Calling I'm repeating myself thought I'd make it cleaner here, before I was explaining why, now I'm showing what needs to be done. Side Note: Most of the time this attack doesn't even land and when it does, it barely does any damage. Cooldown moved from 12s to 30s Overall Damage Increased. Base Damage: 142 (If I'm correct), now increased to 180. | Secondary Attacks: 568 x2 now increased to 721 x2. This is an near even 27% increase, this will be a good buff to help out. This however is the damage above 40% health Below 40% Health Threshold: First Hit: 294 | Secondary Attacks: 1175 x2. This is a 107% damage increase, and seeing as Willbender has no bursts, this ability would be perfect for it. I hope I didn't go overboard or looked too eager, this is my feedback for the class, and I really think it needs a rework. It has potential, it's a lot of fun, but it having support traits is absolute nonsensical, from what I've seen if it were done right, it's more of a class that quickly takes down its foes to get to its end goal, and to kill them before it dies.