I am a huge fan of Warrior in every game that I play, the entire loop of the class is relatable and simple to understand (pick up a weapon, hit the enemy with the weapon) and so in GW2 I have a Warrior of every race because I love them so much.
Because of this I thought I would post some suggestions of possible directions for the Warrior profession.
### Elite Specializations ### Staff: This to me is the most logical next step for a Warrior, it seems odd that a warrior (who is a weapon master in most games) is unable to wield the most basic of equipment, the big stick. I thin that the staff should function a cross between the Revenant (except less magical) and the Daredevil (less acrobatic). This would also fit with the theme of cantha as it's usually associated with eastern cultures and martial arts, it feels like it's designed for this next expac.
Dragoon / Lancer: This is an idea that I heard from Wooden Potatoes, using underwater weapons as primary weapons, and I think that in that theme there is MUCH potential for a Dragoon to be a fantastic idea of an elite spec that would suit heavily within the warrior theme (I am so down for this suggestion).
Gladiator: One of the things I liked about World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor was the limited time Gladiator specialization, as the idea that you could do damage by wielding a sword and shield was just fantastic to me and it was implemented in such a great way that I think it could be applied here. It wouldn't be using a new weapon as such, but taking an old weapon and turning it into a power damage workhorse and this would really allow me to fulfill one of the styles in game that really speaks to me (for now i'll just have to equip it just for giggles in open world) and an elite spec could really add some meat and bones to this play style.
Samurai: This is would also fit with the eastern theme and could be functionally similar to the SAM in Final Fantasy XIV, but a whole elite spec around a samurai would just be thematic, great from a fun perspective and a unique addition to the Warrior / GW2.
Archer: As a pivot from the melee style, you could either reuse longbow as a power option, or add shortbow for Warrior to have an archer ranged power elite specialization, this would really fit a certain theme and could be really fun to play.
### Possible Changes ###
I'd like to maybe see some changes to things like rifle, maybe having some aoe viability with the 4 and 5 ability rather than the 2 it currently has, to make it a bit more useful in power builds. It would be good to see iconic weapons like sword and longbow have options to make them more useful in power builds (eg. if you have more power than condition damage, the damage profile is shifted from burn to direct damage and visa versa) as this would allow some more thematic choices for those of us that like the "weaponmaster" theme of the warrior.
There is a lot to love about the warrior, and I find myself going back to it even though I also like playing other characters and even if it's not the best profession around 🙂