Prologue: I come from over 13 years (2006 roughly) of playing multiple MMORPGs, Lineage 2, WoW, Aion, FFXIV, everything from PWE, DnD and the list goes on. What I am about to present are facts, concepts, design choices and so on. Zero interest will be show in specifics, or mechanics implemented currently in the game. Also, this post will be very PvE oriented, since the combat system of GW2 varies quite a bit to make a specific convo on PvP or WvW. Disclaimer: Elementalist was, is, and probably will be the take on the Mage, fits a specific archetype, and has multiple ways to be implemented. Lets begin by looking at some of those. World of Warcraft: Simplicity is the name of the game, all 3 talent specs are Damage oriented, the 2 talent trees decide the kind of damage being done, while the 3rd tree focuses on the theme of the Arcanum mage, the school of magic that comes from sheer willpower and thus is element-less, raw energy.Design: Here it takes on a very specific role, where one cannot be flexible out of it, and go for a healer, a support, a tank, a brawler, and so on and so forth.Role: Clean, straight forward, and adaptable on the occasions it comes to clear, depending on the situation, add control, clear, fast burst, constant keep of dps, and so on.Choices here branch on what the encounter is going to be, and allow the player a spot in every content needed, be it grinding, farming, questing, raids, dungeons, and so on.(Druid and shaman are not mentioned because they fit multiple roles and have a very different take on the game, also I do not want to make people disheartened and commit sudoku when looking at their elementalist.) Aion: 2 cases of the mage, both focused on the elements, the one called a Sorcerer, dealing insane burst damage with fire and ice, very similar to what we see from your standard staff elementalist, and Spiritmaster, a take on the summoner and condition over time damage, where the players is more tactical and strategic, splitting his focus on multiple aspects.Design: Again, a damage dealer, however with the additions of support in the form of short-duration buffs that are shared throughout the combat. Capable of tanking if geared accordingly, because of damage mitigation abilities, and summons, depending on the class chosen.Role: 80% of the times a damage dealer, sometimes an actual agro puller, they both focus on all aspects of a mage at the same time. Sorcerer is clean and direct, throwing large AoEs to deal with multiple adds, activating burst combos to deal with single chunky targets. Spiritmaster spreads damage over time spells on multiple targets while upkeeping most of them, and also has the permanent elemental pet to deal with the mechanic he sees fit, clearly both classes are given the tools they need for their content. Lineage 2: Over 6 kinds of mages, all attuned into some different department, having a lot of similarities. I will not mention the Necromancer / Soultaker class of this game, since it overlaps to our equivalent Necromancer.Design: All offensive-mages in that game share a lot of skills that are super similar to each other, just have a different elemental attribue, and cause a different condition, VERY close to how our elementalist acts righ tnow. Their name of the game is damage, nothing more, nothing less. The differences between them is their stats, 1 of them casts faster, but hits weaker, the other casts slower but hits the hardest, the other is balanced, and the other has a bit less in all stats in favor of causing crits, and having added crowd control to his kit.Role: All 4 can fit the exact same role in any scenario, having few abilities to mitigate damage and escape the combat, while relying on offense to stay alive when it comes to encounters with mobs, mechanics etc. FFXIV: 3 kinds of offensive mages once again. One that is your classic super glasscannon rain chaos, one that plays with summons and spreads conditions on multiple mobs, and the last is a mix of glass cannon and melee strikes, reminding a lot of what the mesmer would be if he had elements Design: Very thematic, living up the design choices presented, one individual relying on direct approach, the other on external mechanisms, and one presenting a mix.Roles: Both damage dealer and healing / support capabilities for all 3 choices, in some way shape or form, some from damaging enemies, others from straight out support spells, others by abusing some condition (similar to our combo fields). Elder Scrolls Online: Every class can play a mage, they are slightly limited on what said mage can do though.Design: Follows the theme of the class, abusing the school of magic the class is closer to, adding some standard spells common to most to finish off the kit.Roles: Every mage can dps, tank, heal, or support, depending on the stat choices and gear they've taken, as well as the abilities they have equipped, the only case something is "meta" is in extreme cases of competitive clean runs that people are running for the clock. Overall: The design of the Guild Wars 2 elementalist is trying to create an adaptable yet distinct class, but fails to do so because of the dependencies that come with it. Attunements / Weapon kits are severely miss-configured ending up locking a person into a situation rather than adapting, clearly a re-arrangement and/or re-design of said spots,positions and themes is in order. The traitlines do not focus on a playstyle, but rather on an elemental attunement, while the attunements are focusing on a playstyle, rather than a theme/traitline... There's only 1 word for that, contradicting. Last but not least, the advertising, in-game descriptions, theme, playstyle, design and so on of the whole class is leaning heavily towards one thing, Damage, and that is the one thing that has been getting nerfed, since 2016 (that is 2 years, if not even before that, I am not aware) without really addressing the actual issue.To add on top of that, people that choose to play the elementalist in slightly more competitive content, fractals and raids, (since dungeons are inexistent in any way shape or bug) are not given the slightest opportunity of experimenting and playing around with the class, to see what fits or adapts, but are rather guided to a 3rd party website of people who do keyboard gymnastics for 9 hours a day (no offense or ungratefulness intended, its just that I don't put you in a boxing ring for 3 hours if you just want to learn to defend yourself). EpilogueThus, in good old Guild Wars 2 fashion, allow me to post a meta build guide on how to relate to your audience: Biweekly devstreams that share and relate information on changes, choices, thematics, and interaction with the community.https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Warframe Monthly give or take letters from the producer explaining the implementation, usage, and adaptation of any change that happens to a class, mechanic or encounter.http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/642-Letters-from-the-Producer
Race: NornSex: AnyProfession: Any adventurerOn all races except norn, the Mist Walker chest has texture from the inside, but on the norn its invisible.https://imgur.com/a/8PCogo0
