[New Professions or Elite specializations.]

16 hours ago, Treetoptrickster.4205 said:

Elite Specs were and are a huge draw of the first three expansions. Losing that will always feel bad. I kind of wish we'd still get new toys so I can make new toons for them and everything too. That was a really fun part of the game. I can sympathize with Anet about putting an end to that though. First and foremost, the more you add to the class, balancing gets exponentially more complicated. Also, there are only so many niches that you can invent an Espec for. I don't think they've exhausted all of them yet, but in a hypothetical future where every few years the classes strictly grow instead of develop, a healer necro would have to be weighed against scourge, an internal class minmax issue. Rifle Guardian would bleed into Dragonhunter territory, a thematic redundancy that leaves both options feeling less unique. Medic engineer would start butting heads with druid for who pumps out the most heals, a niche redundancy that becomes a minmax issue where whichever one is just better at the job is the one people will take.

There are people who don't give a crap about that stuff though. They're in it for the fantasy. I'm in that group too. I'd have both a druid and a medic and happily play both. I think for the health and sustainability of the game though it's worth pursuing other options for what an expansion can bring to the table.  Even the current plan of adding new weapons or allowing mixing and matching between existing class content can't last forever before it starts creating the same issues. Still some room to spread into. I think an expansion that focuses on utility skills could be cool. Being able to use Mirage's deceptions on a virtuoso and the like with all classes could be fun. Getting a new set of utilities for every profession that are usable across all especs would rock too. I'd love some other source of stealth on ranger to synergize with spear. They can't indefinitely bloat the classes without running into a lot of issues that would make a large portion of the player base angry though, so I think it was smart move. 

Hence, my earlier suggestion, I think there is truely room for one more elite specialization along with another weapon for each profession. I think adding my specializations ideas would give the opportunity for players to create all the classical tropes we've seen in fantasy fiction.  I hope they do this in the 6th expansion. 

As far as later expansions go, they could definitely add to other systems in the game, aside from creating new weapon or utility skills. I believe if they add a new elite specializations along with a new weapon they should be done with that. They can add new mount skills and new races. I would love to see them reintroduce the personality system for futur expansions. They can also add new PvP and WvW maps and gameplay, like King of the Hill or a Battle Royale. They could add more rpg elements where Guild's can create their own missions or adventures, setting the difficulty.

There is so much that they could do with this game moving forward. This game can surely last for another 10 years.

[New Professions or Elite specializations.]

On 6/12/2024 at 12:10 AM, Anthony.8056 said:

I feel like they missed the opportunity to add a Bard spec to Mesmer. Considering it is a unique class just like Mesmer and rare in other games. It would have fit the support and inspiration theme well in this game with the boons. I just like the musical aspect of the bard and would have a been great to see musical notes shatter.

I think "Bard" is already captured in Mesmer.  I don't know what's missing. You can already add instrumental skins the weapons. Mantras, in my opinion is just like songs.  They even added Virtuoso to the game... all you need if a way to turn Daggers into musical notes.

[A defense for main hand shields]

On 5/31/2024 at 6:19 AM, BeardedBacon.9328 said:

A very common statement I see in the community is how underwhelming shields feel for the 5 classes that have them. It's clear underwater weapons are going to be the next big weapon update for this expac but I'd love to hear what you guys would want to see in terms of power fantasy for more shields. 

Currently 5 of the classes have them, and as much as I would love to run with a shield on my elementalist I think there is space for a very underutilized real world technique: punch shields. It isn't very popular in historical combat but as someone in the buhurt/hema community I can promise you a shield will hurt just as much as a sword if delivered well. It would of course come with a very short range at the cost of the added defense but I think most players would be willing to accept that with how many other tools we can play with.

I think guardian is probably the easiest candidate to design this around but I'd love to hear thoughts from y'all. Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far 🛡️

The best candidate for this is Warrior. Having a shield in their main hand would compliment their offhand Shield nicely. 

[Secrets of the Obscure: Looking Back and Forward]

On 5/31/2024 at 1:44 PM, BrightWingedBat.6829 said:

This actually did happen in SotO. You need to be taught Weapon Mastery by an NPC before you're allowed to equip the gear, certainly not just by purchasing it. Same with the new weapons, which required you to collect lore across a new map to discover the techniques that allow you to use the weapons.

That should have been an adventure, when it was just a conversation. 

[Secrets of the Obscure: Looking Back and Forward]

Additional lessons to be learned...

1) Stop adding cheesy corny story telling. Most fans of the genre appreciate mature serious content with a sprinkle of humor throughout. Not the other way around.

2) Focused Story telling. Having a small cast of main characters where their journeys are fully flushed out interesting, and unpredictable is a lot better than the opposite.

3) Everything new should be an adventure. I don't understand how they just give us elite specializations, weapon mastery, or new weapons without there being a story or an adventure tied to it. Make it so I do talking to someone who can explain this new addition and sends me on a quest or trail. That would add more depth to the game, than just having these things just automatically be unlocked with my game purchases. It doesn't have to be very difficult, but make me do something more than just clicking one button. Give me a cutscene or something.

4) Expand the combat. What's the point of spending so much time on balancing and adding new weapons if people are complaining about PvP and WvW, and repetitive and monotonous fighting boring creatures in PvE. Make the combat more challenging and complex, make skills more effective and true option for player instead of there being just one or two metas per profession. 

5) Add mechanics to increase immersion into the role-playing aspect. This could be new systems to choose from for adding to the character's personal story, the use of the personality mechanics, even an alliance system would be great, that can give different players perks based on who they team with.

[Guild Wars 2 Expansion Reveal: June 4]

1 minute ago, ElforTheLandStander.7052 said:

I have mixed feelings. I was one of the loudest voices begging for spears on land, but they kind of met us halfway with an increasing number of classes that use staves in a cool melee fashion, and staff skins that are increasingly polearm-like. My two mains are a Daredevil and a staff Spellbreaker. There are already PLENTY of cool "spears" useable on land, with weapon skills that I'm fond of and well-practiced in and wouldn't want to give up.

There are a few actual spear skins I'd really like to be able to use as staves, so I hope there's some kind of skin-crossover deal in the works. It wouldn't be entirely unprecedented, they've recycled skins between weapon classes before. The Modniir staff and trident are the exact same skin, for instance.

I think they should have allowed off hand weapons to be used in the main hand and scepter to be used in the offhand before making underwater weapons usable on land. Hopefully, that's the case. I really can't see harpoon gun being used on land, but maybe they'll have a cool surprise.

[Guild Wars 2 Expansion Reveal: June 4]

2 hours ago, Worrbinpike.2957 said:

New expansion announce and most people are going crazy because of Landspears ? I didnt get it. Give me a good story, a huge map with a lot to do in it, good Metas and Events.

I couldnt care less of spears on land, lol.

I agree. Plus, I was never a fan of having underwater weapons being a thing, but I guess Anet rather please an audience then genuinely create a great story. I feel like their story tellers have a little too much cheese and corn in what they're making. 

[Guild Wars 2 Expansion Reveal: June 4]

7 hours ago, Malus.2184 said:

The blog post mentions something else the players have been asking for for five years besides the land spear.

Five years ago must have been around the end of LW s4. What were players asking for back then that they only begun asking for in that period?

A new God of War maybe? 

[New Professions or Elite specializations.]

On 5/14/2024 at 11:55 AM, VocalThought.9835 said:

Warrior: Weapon Master- These Warriors have 3 weapons sets instead of 2. Your normal weapon swap (~) will goto the next weapon where your F3 will toggle back to the previous weapon.  The adrenalin would be one bar and the F1 will still be the burst attack. An F2 ability will mark a combat area called "Battle Grounds" which will buff the Warrior when in it or attacking a foe that' in the marked area. The new weapon will be either Dual Focuses (Foci) or Main hand Shield. Their skills will be similar to Elementalist Augmentation, which will add buffs to the Warrior and additional buffs when their in or attack a foe that's in the Battle Grounds.

Guardian: Summoner- Guardians now have mystical mythical spirit animal companions that morphs based on the virtues the summoner attunes to. F1 will be Chimera, F2 will be a  Caladrius, and F3 will be a Spirit Fox. The Summoner will always attune to one virture when the animal spirit is active and only has the passive of the unattune and off cool down virtures.  The F1 - F3 will Summon the corresponding spirit animal and mark their destination. The spirit animal will attack in their area while also pulsing out their corresponding virtues. F4 will dismiss or re-summon the animal spirit if it dies and when it's not on cool down.  Their weapon will be the War Horn. Their skills would be similar to Necro's Punishment Skills.

Revenant: Remnant- These Revs use the F2 to  transform to an Avatar of the Mist. Like a necro shroud, it changes all their weapon skills and reducing the energy cost for using their right skill bar while loosing the ability to weapons swap while in this state. They're new legend could be the first master of the mist or a legend from the Future, since the mist knows not time. Their new weapon would be Focus. Their skills would be similar to Theif's Preparation Skills.

Rangers: Shapeshifter- Simply put, these Rangers can finally merge into their pet, opposite of the Soulbeast. The F5 will transform the Ranger into their pet and change the weapon skills to their pet skills, where while their in animal form, skill 1 will be the pets first attack,  2 will be the second, 3 will be the third, 4 will be the known beast ability, and 5 could be the soulbeast's archetype skill or a new skill altogether. Their new weapon would be the Shield. Their new skills will be Meditation Skills where they can call animals or plants to damage enemies or buff them and their allies. 

Engineer: Mastermind- These Engineers are master planners that professional mechanics change from "Tools" to "Tactics" against their enemies. Like the Thief's Steal ability, Engineers' F1 Surveys an enemy granting an engineer an F2 and F3 tactical skill based on the enemy surveyed. These Tactical ability can be an attack that damages/conditions (F2) foes or a buff for allies (F3) Their new weapon is the Focus. Their new skills would Traps.

Thief: Raider- These thieves have a new mechanic called Intuition, when 5 intuition points are maxed, generating a point/sec, they get Aegis, blocking the next incoming attack.  Their new weapon would be Torch. Their new skills will be Improvisations, similar to Engineer Exceed Skills, which would have a different intensity based on how much Initiative there is when cast.

Elementalist: Archemage- These Elementalist F5 skill is a Arcane, the 5th element, that relies on a energy bar that builds with Arcane magic as the Elementalist switch between the Core Attunements , and allows them to use the 5th element, "Arcane" to go into the Arcane Shroud. While in this Shroud they can't use any other skill, but when they attune to any other element, it goes on cool down. Their new weapon is the offhand Scepter. Their new skills are Mantras.

Mesmer: Doppelganger- These Mesmer have only one clone instead of three, that has a health bar and regenerates health every time a skill is used that summons an illusion, instead of summoning a new clone. The F1 causes damage around the clone and command the clone to attack a marked area, F2 causes confusion around the Mesmer and the clone and they swap places. F3 Dazes those around the Mesmer and clone. F4 causes Distortion around you and summons the clone back to your location. The clone will always use the same weapon as the Mesmer and will swap weapons either at the same time or after it lands it's last attack. If a Phantasm is summon, the clone will be replaced by the phantasm and will convert back to the clone after the last phantasm attack. If the clone dies, than the next clone skill will summon the next clone but at a low health. Their new weapon will be a main hand focus. Their new skills will be a new type of Illusion call Poltergeist or Phantom. Like minions, these are horrid illusions cause a range of conditions when they attack, while also, like the phantasm, replacing the clone when summoned.

Necromancer: Warlock- F1 is a Shroud that allows their life force to be used as a second health bar, but provides no new Shroud skills, but F2 is now a Burst ability where when the life force bar builds up they use energy to cause a major attack based on their offhand weapon or Two-Handed weapon. Their new weapon will be the Shield. Their new Skills will be Glyphs that change when their in Shroud.

I had to change these after a second thought. I think these changes would be more impactful to the concept and better cover what I think is missing from the Professions.

[New Professions or Elite specializations.]

2 hours ago, Verdict is Vengence.6912 said:

What was meant for warrior all along:

This was actually supposed to be Engineer, but the messed up... lol.

[New Professions or Elite specializations.]

14 hours ago, draxynnic.3719 said:

Lord Odran continues to get no respect, I see.

Guardian proposal feels like it's basically catalyst, but guardian. Punishment-style skills would probably be better than augments, though. I'd probably go with things that are established in the setting rather than creating two never-seen-before entities, though.

A thief mechanic that relies on not spending initiative doesn't seem like it'd be fun to play.

The doppelganger seems like an interesting concept, but I'd probably avoid having the doppelganger change into phantasms. Instead, have the doppelganger copy the mesmer's skills at reduced effectiveness, and gain health when a phantasm or poltergeist expires.

Thanks for the feedback.  Guardian summons are intended to be more like minions or pets, not like jade spheres. So I need to add that language.

Theif's mechanics could have traits that supports increasing the use of intuition. Also, I meant to say Intuition gives Aegis, not evades.

I like your idea for Mesmer. It's definitely less complicated, but it takes away from the Mesmer only having one illusion active at a time.

 

[New Professions or Elite specializations.]

Warrior: Weapon Master- These Warriors have 3 weapons sets instead of 2. Your normal weapon swap (~) will goto the next weapon where your F3 will toggle back to the previous weapon.  The adrenalin would be one bar and the F1 will still be the burst attack. An F2 ability will mark a combat area called "Battle Grounds" which will buff the Warrior when in it or attacking a foe that' in the marked area. The new weapon will be either Dual Focuses (Foci) or Main hand Shield. Their skills will be similar to Elementalist Augmentation, which will add buffs to the Warrior and additional buffs when their in or attack a foe that's in the Battle Grounds.

Guardian: Summoner- Guardians now have mystical mythical spirit animal companions that morphs based on the virtues the summoner attunes to. F1 will be Chimera, F2 will be a  Caladrius, and F3 will be a Spirit Fox. The Summoner will always attune to one virture when the animal spirit is active and only has the passive of the unattune and off cool down virtures.  The F1 - F3 will Summon the corresponding spirit animal and mark their destination. The spirit animal will attack in their area while also pulsing out their corresponding virtues. F4 will dismiss or re-summon the animal spirit if it dies and when it's not on cool down.  Their weapon will be the War Horn. Their skills would be similar to Necro's Punishment Skills.

Revenant: Remnant- These Revs use the F2 to  transform to an Avatar of the Mist. Like a necro shroud, it changes all their weapon skills and reducing the energy cost for using their right skill bar while loosing the ability to weapons swap while in this state. They're new legend could be the first master of the mist or a legend from the Future, since the mist knows not time. Their new weapon would be Focus. Their skills would be similar to Theif's Preparation Skills.

Rangers: Shapeshifter- Simply put, these Rangers can finally merge into their pet, opposite of the Soulbeast. The F5 will transform the Ranger into their pet and change the weapon skills to their pet skills, where while their in animal form, skill 1 will be the pets first attack,  2 will be the second, 3 will be the third, 4 will be the known beast ability, and 5 could be the soulbeast's archetype skill or a new skill altogether. Their new weapon would be the Shield. Their new skills will be Meditation Skills where they can call animals or plants to damage enemies or buff them and their allies. 

Engineer: Mastermind- These Engineers are master planners that professional mechanics change from "Tools" to "Tactics" against their enemies. Like the Thief's Steal ability, Engineers' F1 Surveys an enemy granting an engineer an F2 and F3 tactical skill based on the enemy surveyed. These Tactical ability can be an attack that damages/conditions foes (F2) or a buff for allies (F3) Their new weapon is the Focus. Their new skills would Traps.

Thief: Raider- These thieves have a new mechanic called Intuition, when 5 intuition points are maxed, generating a point/sec, they get Aegis, blocking the next incoming attack.  Their new weapon would be Torch. Their new skills will be Improvisations, similar to Engineer Exceed Skills, which would have a different intensity based on how much Initiative there is when cast.

Elementalist: Archemage- These Elementalist F5 skill is a Arcane, the 5th element, that relies on a energy bar that builds with Arcane magic as the Elementalist switch between the Core Attunements , and allows them to use the 5th element, "Arcane" to go into the Arcane Shroud. While in this Shroud they can't use any other skill, but when they attune to any other element, it goes on cool down. Their new weapon is the offhand Scepter. Their new skills are Mantras.

Mesmer: Doppelganger- These Mesmer have only one clone instead of three, that has a health bar and regenerates health every time a skill is used that summons an illusion, instead of summoning a new clone. The F1 causes damage around the clone and command the clone to attack a marked area, F2 causes confusion around the Mesmer and the clone and they swap places. F3 Dazes those around the Mesmer and clone. F4 causes Distortion around you and summons the clone back to your location. The clone will always use the same weapon as the Mesmer and will swap weapons either at the same time or after it lands it's last attack. If a Phantasm is summon, the clone will be replaced by the phantasm and will convert back to the clone after the last phantasm attack. If the clone dies, than the next clone skill will summon the next clone but at a low health. Their new weapon will be a main hand focus. Their new skills will be a new type of Illusion call Poltergeist or Phantom. Like minions, these are horrid illusions cause a range of conditions when they attack, while also, like the phantasm, replacing the clone when summoned.

Necromancer: Warlock- F1 is a Shroud that allows their life force to be used as a second health bar, but provides no new Shroud skills, but F2 is now a Burst ability where when the life force bar builds up they use energy to cause a major attack based on their offhand weapon or Two-Handed weapon. Their new weapon will be the Shield. Their new Skills will be Glyphs that change when their in Shroud.

[new elite spec idea]

On 5/12/2024 at 2:55 PM, Mascarun.7910 said:

Obligatory ele should have never been designed the way it is; these suggestions of having an elite spec with a one role, one element focus only highlight how limited elementalist is by its unintuitive design... Can people not seriously envision or imagine a one-element spec that isn't just hyperfocused on the same "dedicated role" BS that it already does? Not that I want a master-of-one elementalist spec, but we could easily have water as power dps (tidal waves, floods etc.) and condi dps (blizzards, frostbite, trait that applies torment whenever chilled is applied like how reaper can apply bleed on chill).  Fire can also be used as healing (warmth, phoenix fire, burning to cauterise a wound and stop bleeding etc.). Class fantasy aside, a one element spec wouldn't even work for a healer build because might generation is usually locked to fire, protection to earth and fury to air, to name a few examples. Ok then, let's say water can give all those boons by itself; as a healer, would you ever want to go back to playing other ele specs then? 

Overall, I would like to see a spec that pushes away from the general: power = fire + air, condi = fire + earth, support = water + everything. I want to see some flexibility in attunement choice and forgiveness for not swapping to another element as soon as you hit your one or two skills in a given element. One thing I do agree with is perhaps the concept of an already existing weapon, like staff, getting new skills exclusive to the elite spec, because the lack of exclusivity of weaponskills has led to the current balance dilemma. Let's say we do get a " elemental specialist" specialisation and a weapon that allows for one element to potentially cover more roles; this would cause the other ele elite specs to shoot out crazy numbers again due to their high multipliers, leading us back to square 1 i.e. weapon gets nerfed and becomes the same kitten as everything else. If weapon selection is already dictating what our role is, then why do we also have attunement selection doing the same thing? 

Anyway, I've been thinking of an elementalist spec that uses draconic magic as a substitute for elements, with the ultimate goal of unlocking an "Avatar of Aurene" shroud or holoforge mode with some strong skills. The main issue with this though is that there are six elder dragons, excluding Aurene, and only four elements to the elementalist, even if we can lump Soo Won and Jormag together as water (and Zhaitan and Mordremoth together as earth). Since we are so fascinated by "role purity", I propose that: Primordus = Fire, power + condi; Jormag = Water, condi + CC; Soo Won = Water, power + boon removal + support; Zhaitan = Earth, condi + boon corruption; Mordremoth = Earth, power + support; Kralkatorrik = Air, power/condi + CC; Aurene = All. The main idea behind this is to have both damage types (condi and power) covered by all elements potentially, and no single element must be relied upon for a specific thing. 

 

Other idea probably mentioned a million times already:

->Transmute aura as an elite specialisation mechanic. Having to have a very specific weapon for one, maybe two transmute auras is so stupid. This mechanic deserves better. 

You ever try just having all of one element on you skill bar? It might not be meta, but it's definitely doable. 

[new elite spec idea]

21 hours ago, Dadnir.5038 said:

This is the only e-spec relevant here. The off-hand scepter probably isn't going to happen. I'm not sure an F5 providing yet another skillset is what the elementalist need to gain in popularity. Even if the spec become "meta" it will most likely be ignored by the vast majority of the players since it's rotation would be "too complicated".

Please explain the rotation concern. I would think everyone has their own play style and those that like this elite will adjust like others done with prior elites. How is this different than a conjured weapon?

[new elite spec idea]

Warrior: Weapon Master- These Warriors have 3 weapons sets instead of 2. Your normal weapon swap (~) will goto the next weapon where your F3 will toggle back to the previous weapon.  The adrenalin would be one bar and the F1 will still be the burst attack. An F2 ability will mark a combat area called "Battle Grounds" which will buff the Warrior when in it or attacking a foe that' in the marked area. The new weapon will be either Dual Focuses (Foci) or Main hand Shield. Their skills will be similar to Elementalist Augmentation, which will add buffs to the Warrior and additional buffs when their in or attack a foe that's in the Battle Grounds.

Guardian: Summoner- Guardians now have mystical mythical spirit animals that morphs based on the virtues the summoner attunes to. F1 will be Chimera, F2 will be a  Caladrius, and F3 will be a Spirit Fox. The Summoner will always attune to one virture when the animal spirit is active and only has the passive of the unattune and off cool down virtures.  The F1 - F3 will Summon the corresponding spirit animal and mark their destination. The spirit animal will attack in their area while also pulsing out their corresponding virtues. F4 will dismiss or re-summon the animal spirit if it dies and when it's not on cool down.  Their weapon will be the War Horn. Their skills would be similar to necro's punishment skills.

Revenant: Remnant- These Revs use the F2 to  transform to an Avatar of the Mist. Like a necro shroud, it changes all their weapon skills and reducing the energy cost for using their right skill bar while loosing the ability to weapons swap while in this state. They're new legend could be the first master of the mist or a legend from the Future, since the mist knows not time. Their skills would be similar to Glyphs. 

Rangers: Shapeshifter- Simply put, these Rangers can finally merge into their pet, opposite of the Soulbeast. The F5 will transform the Ranger into their pet and change the weapon skills to their pet skills, where while their in animal form, skill 1 will be the pets first attack,  2 will be the second, 3 will be the third, 4 will be the known beast ability, and 5 could be the soulbeast's archetype skill or a new skill altogether. Their new weapon would be the Shield. Their new skills will be Nature Whisper, where they can call animals or plants to damage enemies or buff their allies. 

Engineer: Mastermind- These Engineers are master planners that professional mechanics change from "Tools" to "Tactics" against their enemies. Like the Thief's Steal ability, Engineers' F1 Surveys an enemy granting an engineer an F2 tactical skill based on the enemy surveyed. This Tactical ability can be an attack that damages/conditions foes or a buff for allies. Their new weapon is the Focus. Their new skills would traps.

Thief: Raider- These thieves have a new mechanic called Intuition, that generaes when Initiative is full and when the 5 intuition points are maxed, generating a point/sec, they can automatically evade the next incoming attack.  Their new weapon would be Torch. Their new skills will be Improvisations, similar to Ranger Survival Skills.

Elementalist: Archemage- These Elementalist F5 skill is a Arcane, the 5th element, that relies on a energy bar that builds with Arcane magic as the Elementalist switch between the Core Attunements , and allows them to use the 5th element, "Arcane" to go into the Arcane Shroud. While in this Shroud they can't use any other skill, but when they attune to any other element, it goes on cool down. Their new weapon is the offhand Scepter. Their new skills are meditations.

Mesmer: Doppelganger- These Mesmer have only one clone instead of three, that has a health bar and regenerates health every time a skill is used that summons an illusion, instead of summoning a new clone. The F1 causes damage around the clone and command the clone to attack a marked area, F2 causes confusion around the Mesmer and the clone and they swap places. F3 Dazes those around the Mesmer and clone. F4 causes Distortion around you and summons the clone back to your location. The clone will always use the same weapon as the Mesmer and will swap weapons either at the same time or after it lands it's last attack. If a Phantasm is summon, the clone will be replaced by the phantasm and will convert back to the clone after the last phantasm attack. If the clone dies, than the next clone skill will summon the next clone but at a low health. Their new weapon will be a main hand focus. Their new skills will be a new type of Illusion call Poltergeist. Like minions, these are horrid illusions cause a range of conditions when they attack, while also, like the phantasm, replacing the clone when summoned.

Necromancer: Warlock- F1 is a Shroud that allows their life force to be used as a second health bar, but provides no new Shroud skills, but F2 is now a Burst ability where when the life force bar builds up they use energy to cause a major attack based on their offhand weapon or Two-Handed weapon. Their new weapon will be the Shield. Their new Skills will be Glyphs that change when their in Shroud.

[Did the 'Secret's of the Obscure' class features have an impact on your gameplay?]

Here my ideas

 

[Let's create the next Elite Specializations.]

Warrior: Weapon Master- These Warriors have 3 weapons sets instead of 2. Your normal weapon swap (~) will goto the next weapon where your F3 will toggle back to the previous weapon.  The adrenalin would be one bar and the F1 will still be the burst attack. An F2 ability will mark a combat area called "Battle Grounds" which will buff the Warrior when in it or attacking a foe that' in the marked area. The new weapon will be either Dual Focuses (Foci) or Main hand Shield. Their skills will be similar to Elementalist Augmentation, which will add buffs to the Warrior and additional buffs when their in or attack a foe that's in the Battle Grounds.

Guardian: Summoner- Guardians now have mystical mythical spirit animal companions that morphs based on the virtues the summoner attunes to. F1 will be Chimera, F2 will be a  Caladrius, and F3 will be a Spirit Fox. The Summoner will always attune to one virture when the animal spirit is active and only has the passive of the unattune and off cool down virtures.  The F1 - F3 will Summon the corresponding spirit animal and mark their destination. The spirit animal will attack in their area while also pulsing out their corresponding virtues. F4 will dismiss or re-summon the animal spirit if it dies and when it's not on cool down.  Their weapon will be the War Horn. Their skills would be similar to necro's punishment skills.

Revenant: Remnant- These Revs use the F2 to  transform to an Avatar of the Mist. Like a necro shroud, it changes all their weapon skills and reducing the energy cost for using their right skill bar while loosing the ability to weapons swap while in this state. They're new legend could be the first master of the mist or a legend from the Future, since the mist knows not time. Their new weapon is Focus. Their skills would be similar to Glyphs. 

Rangers: Shapeshifter- Simply put, these Rangers can finally merge into their pet, opposite of the Soulbeast. The F5 will transform the Ranger into their pet and change the weapon skills to their pet skills, where while their in animal form, skill 1 will be the pets first attack,  2 will be the second, 3 will be the third, 4 will be the known beast ability, and 5 could be the soulbeast's archetype skill or a new skill altogether. Their new weapon would be the Shield. Their new skills will be Nature Whisper, where they can call animals or plants to damage enemies or buff their allies. 

Engineer: Mastermind- These Engineers are master planners that professional mechanics change from "Tools" to "Tactics" against their enemies. Like the Thief's Steal ability, Engineers' F1 Surveys an enemy granting an engineer an F2 tactical skill based on the enemy surveyed. This Tactical ability can be an attack that damages/conditions foes or a buff for allies. Their new weaponry is the Focus. Their new skills would traps.

Thief: Raider- These thieves have a new mechanic called Intuition, that when 5 intuition points are maxed, generating a point/sec, they can automatically are granted Aegis, blocking the next incoming attack.  Their new weapon would be Torch. Their new skills will be Improvisations, similar to Ranger Survival Skills.

Elementalist: Archemage- These Elementalist F5 skill is a Arcane, the 5th element, that relies on a energy bar that builds with Arcane magic as the Elementalist switch between the Core Attunements , and allows them to use the 5th element, "Arcane" to go into the Arcane Shroud. While in this Shroud they can't use any other skill, but when they attune to any other element, it goes on cool down. Their new weapon is the offhand Scepter. Their new skills are meditations.

Mesmer: Doppelganger- These Mesmer have only one clone instead of three, that has a health bar and regenerates health every time a skill is used that summons an illusion, instead of summoning a new clone. The F1 causes damage around the clone and command the clone to attack a marked area, F2 causes confusion around the Mesmer and the clone and they swap places. F3 Dazes those around the Mesmer and clone. F4 causes Distortion around you and summons the clone back to your location. The clone will always use the same weapon as the Mesmer and will swap weapons either at the same time or after it lands it's last attack. If a Phantasm is summon, the clone will be replaced by the phantasm and will convert back to the clone after the last phantasm attack. If the clone dies, than the next clone skill will summon the next clone but at a low health. Their new weapon will be a main hand focus. Their new skills will be a new type of Illusion call Poltergeist. Like minions, these are horrid illusions cause a range of conditions when they attack, while also, like the phantasm, replacing the clone when summoned.

Necromancer: Warlock- F1 is a Shroud that allows their life force to be used as a second health bar, but provides no new Shroud skills, but F2 is now a Burst ability where when the life force bar builds up they use energy to cause a major attack based on their offhand weapon or Two-Handed weapon. Their new weapon will be the Shield. Their new Skills will be Glyphs that change when their in Shroud.

[Did the 'Secret's of the Obscure' class features have an impact on your gameplay?]

10 hours ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

Has been attempted before, threads got combined, and the ideas either ignored or completely spat in the face of.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Suggestions-Future-Elite-Specializations/page/6#post6072256

Many posts, like the above, were their own threads.

Don't waste your time.  Better-off home-brewing D&D classes.

Good to know. I think the difference is trying to create an elite specializations with the current elites in mind, as opposed to just trying to create just something someonevthinks would be cool. I'm definitely going to comb through this and see what stands out.

 

Thanks!

[Let's create the next Elite Specializations.]

Alright, I'm gonna start with Warrior, which I think is the hardest profession, right now, to be creative about. One thing for sure is they currently have the most used weapons in the game so to come up with fighting style that's different, with the current available weapons to pick from will be a task. 

I think Warriors should get Dual Foci styled like cestus. The professional mechanics definitely should be different than the other three, so I'm still unsure what direction to go with that. Skill wise, I think they should get something like a necro minions, calling them retainers or troops. That's just an idea until someone come up with a better one. 😁

[Did the 'Secret's of the Obscure' class features have an impact on your gameplay?]

5 hours ago, Gaiawolf.8261 said:

Sounds fun to me. I used to design RPG rulesets. It would be neat to jump back into it as a hobby.

Here a link to that post.

[Let's create the next Elite Specializations.]

This post is for those that want to collaborate and create the next set of Elites. I know a fourth elite specialization is not promised, but wouldn't it be nice if we could contribute to the next concept or idea.

Please share your idea for the elite Specializations of your dreams. Also let's try to stick to what is probable based on what can actually be created without conflicting with what current elites and core class abilities that are already in the game. I hope you'll are ready for this.

[Vision for Guild Wars 3]

This guy needs to get hired by ANet. He clearly has life experience that he could substitute for college credit and years on the job.

[Did the 'Secret's of the Obscure' class features have an impact on your gameplay?]

9 hours ago, Gaiawolf.8261 said:

I haven't gone as far as to think up mechanics for each yet. I tend to start with concepts for building class fantasies and building them up. Themes tend to come before mechanics in the RPG genre anyway. But I'll share a few before bed:

Illusionist: Replace shatter skills with Phantasmal Horror skills. Instead of shattering clones, they warp into an illusionary monster that persists for a time. These illusions are not dispelled when targets die and will seek new targets until they expire. The more clones consumed by the skill, the longer the illusion persists.

1. F1: Summon an illusionary beast that attacks relentlessly, pelting foes with strike damage.
2. F2: Summon an illusionary horror that spreads torment and confusion in a radius around it as it hounds the target.
3. F3: Summon a giant serpent that coils around an area, dazing and immobilizing foes.
4. F4: Summon a phantasmal guardian that protects you, blocking attacks and reflecting missiles.

Incarnate: Staying attuned to a single element grants charges and boons over time. Fire: Might. Water: Regeneration. Air: Quickness. Earth: Protection. Certain trait selections can share these boons with allies. When you have accumulated enough charges in an element, you may choose to transform into an elemental based on your attunement. Some utility skills or traits grant charges to transform faster, while others can extend the duration of your elemental form, so you have to choose which you want. When your transformation ends, you must switch attunements before gaining charges again (or maybe weapon skills go on CD until you swap attunement or something like that).

Exorcist: You chant your virtues to punish enemies or support allies. Virtues become toggle skills that grant persistent bonuses to your weapon skills depending on which is active. Justice: Adds area damage/burning to weapon skills. Resolve: Adds area healing to weapon skills (staff auto seriously could use this). Courage: Adds area protection and resolution to weapon skills. Obviously these will have ICDs and low durations. You may only chant one virtue at a time. Elite: Words of Power: Share the effects of your active virtue with allies for a short time.

 Obviously these are rough and need more thought, but I like the ideas.

Dude, you just gave me a great idea for a new thread. Would you like to join me in creating a and flushing out great ideas or concepts for the next line of elite specializations? I hoping if they're great maybe ANet would actually put them in the game. It'll at least be a fun new hobby.

[Did the 'Secret's of the Obscure' class features have an impact on your gameplay?]

4 hours ago, Gaiawolf.8261 said:

I know I've posted these before, but here are some missing themes I'd like that could be fulfilled by especs:

Warrior: Spellblade, rune knight, battlemaster, warlord

Guardian: Exorcist, inquisitor, oathbreaker, priest/monk

Thief: Trickster magician, soulknife, swashbuckler (maybe daredevil covers this last one)

Engineer: Alchemist, power armorer, artillerist

Ranger: proper shapeshifter, monster hunter/slayer/trapper

Necromancer: witch doctor, pact warlock, proper minion master

Mesmer: proper summoner, mind mage, item enchanter, illusionary monsters/horrors 

Elementalist: Specialist, elemental transformation 

Revenant: Let's bring back some OG GW incarnates: dervish, ritualist

And I'll say it again, a proper spearman, lancer, polearm master, etc.

I feel like you're just throwing out a lot of names, where what we need to see is some mechanics with those names. And where you do have mechanics, some of those are already possible,  so I'm curious to what you think is missing.

I will say, I agree with some of what you have, highlighted it, and I would love to see it, but a lot of what you described is already in the game if you build for it.

As far as Revenant, since we know their planning for GW3, they should make the next Revenant Elite from the future of guild wars, not the past, and give him Dual Pistols. 😉

[Did the 'Secret's of the Obscure' class features have an impact on your gameplay?]

13 hours ago, Dadnir.5038 said:

That's probably gw1 influence in the early arts. GW1 Mesmer skills art often pictured "demons". I imagine that after that they choose to take the path that led to mesmer farting clones.

That might disappoint you but what you're looking for is clearly the physical elite skill Rampage. I seriously doubt that the devs will introduce new weapons in the game. Maybe kits/conjure/"shrouds" but definitely no new weapons.

Ah... Gosh! I wish they would! From the moment they start talking about elite specs I've been fantasizing about such a spec... Well, objectively, daredevil might be give a "lara croft" gameplay feel. I wish thief had a torch and a "whip kit" (thought, engineer could also fit the bill for such a spec)

I do agree that GW2 could be much more. However, I must say that I'm quite disappointed by the way the last batch of especs and the new weapons have been integrated in the game. It's like they just want the later to be independant from the professions/specs that use them and, ultimately, it fall short of expectation.

I definitely know that that Mesmer idea, whether GW1 or GW2 inspired is awesome and they need to do that. 

The Warrior just need to get Dual Focus and they'd be good enough for me.

We both agree on the theif thing so kudos to all those that can make that happen. 

And the final point.... it's okay that the EOD didn't hit it's mark with everyone. Everything is not for everybody. What they did do is address the thing that was missing, which was needed. Now they just got to finish the job. The great thing is, if they do a final fourth elite specialization, the way I have in mind, it won't be a classical archetype they wouldn't be able to play with and they could really start build full stories in the future around all the profession instead of shoe horning them in.  The future of GW will be more lavish and lush because they'd have a great foundation amongst the professions to build around.