Elite Specialization Concept: The Raider

[Orpheal.8263]

After having said, that in principle its no problem to have a GS E-Spec for Thief, if the design fits, it has no real world culture connections ect. I just wanted to challenge myself here into making a concept, thats true to what I said to show, that theres better thing, than unfitting Samurais for GW2 ...

The Raider

With this Concept I will try to mix together some of my other Thief Spec Concept Ideas and Gameplay Mechanics together, cause basically those gameplay Mechanics aren't specificly tied to a certain weapon or a certain thief gameplay system or so.

Raider Gameplay Mechanic = Shadow Instinct

Shadow Instinct is an upgraded version of the Initiative System which works essentially as like a second Initiative Bar that is only useable, while being stealthedWhile being in stealth, does allow you on cost of your Shadow Instinct Points this mechanic to do things in stealth, which would otherwise reveal a normal Thief.However, doing these things comes with a hefty cost, cause performing a Shadow Instinct Action will temporarely decrease when being revealed your Maximum Initiative, so you have to twink twice, before spamming too quickly some SI-Skills in stealth, without overthinking first the consequences for when you get revealed.

Weapon Skills

1) Cross Slash > Tiger Claw Blade > Twilight Moon CutterA three section Attack Ccombo beginnign with two x shaped strikes, followed by one big uppercut strike that slices the foe up from ground to head, causing Bleedings, jumping into the air with the sword, finishing the combo with a vertical whirling multiple hitting attack as you fall with the sword down to the down again, with each hit causing vulnerability if the foe had more health, than you, torment if you had more health than the foe.Stealth) Demonic Shadow BladePerform out of stealth a massive long range shadow shockwave blast, which is unblockable and hits all foes in light of sight, causing Burning and Blindness to foes over 50% Health. Fear and Torment to foes under 50% Health. Grants 2 Shadow Instinct Points.

2) Phantom Strike - Costs 3 initiativePerform a fast moving Leap Attack that lets you whiel you perform it auto evade incoming attacks and projectiles, while moving even through objectives like Wall Skills that would block you otherwise from surpassing them. With Phantom Strike you just casn leap through blocking wall skills, liek for example that earth ele skill that creates a stone wall which blocks you off. Phantom Strike will allow you to ignore these kind of skills. if used onto a target enemy, that is closer to you ,than the max range of phantom Strike, then will Phantom Strike put you into the back of your enemy to attack it that way from behind. If you attack with this Skill enemies with less than 50% Health, then you gain 1 Shadow Instinct Point

3) Venomous Counterstrike - Costs 4 InitiativeBlock with your Greatword the next incoming attack, to perform then a venomous counterattack that stuns your foe for 3 seconds and causes it to suffer in that time on a powerful Poison Stack too.

4) Ravenous Blade - Costs 5 InitiativePerform a wide cleaving swing attack which hits up to 4 foes and evade after the attack backwards auto evading incoming attacks, which steals from all hit foes up to 2 Boons and grants them to you and up to 5 of your nearby Allies.

5) Shadow Catcher - Costs 6 Initiative
Ram your Greatsword into the ground, causing some short ranged AoE Damage that leaves a Smoke Field on the ground through that you can gain Stealth, if you leap through it, which creates a shadow from it that will bind itself to your target enemy. The to the enemy tethered shadow can then be used to shadow step to your target foe within a certain amount of time within a range of 3000 units, so that fleeing from a Raider that has successfully tethered their shadow on you will become very difficult.

Elite- Utility & Healing Skills

The Raider will use as its Utility Skills the Skill Type of Glyphs as he uses supportive Shadow Magic Spells, which help the Raider to perform multiple helpful things, with that they are great Group Supporters, be it in PvE, PvP or WvW.With their Shadow Spell Glyphs they provide for all kinds of situations something helpful - be it either localizing and removing set up traps, or being it disarming and weakening foes through significant AoE-Attribute Reductions to counter the Effects of Banners, or be it through stealing and sharing stolen Boons.

Healing

Glyph of Twilight - Heal yourself, gain Stealth if you have full Shadow Instinct and regain some Initiative back. Can remove some of the Initiative limitations from having performed a Shadow Instinct Skills from F3 to F5 (F1 and F2 are still Steal & Steal Skills.)

Utility

Glyph of Disarmament - When being used, you will stun a foe for 3 seconds and every second the foe is stunned, he will lose a Boon that you will steal from your target foe.Glyph of the Black Eye - When being used, you reveal hidden foes in your near as like also detect and remove Enemy Traps. Detected Enemy Traps will explode and cause damage to your foes if they got reveled through the Glyph of the Black Eye as they get removed from the field.Glyph of Suppression - When beign used, you create an AoE suppression field, which decreases all Attributes of foes which enter this field and also negates any positive Attribute buffs from Banner, which can't be used in a created Field of Suppression from this Glyph, which have the same radius size from that of Banners.Glyph of the Nightsky - When being used you create an area, in which "night" gets simulated, which becomes darker, lettign you gain in there quicker Shadow Instinct Points, which enhances the durations of your Stealth in there significantly and adds to yours and that of your allies attacks you perform in that Area Chill and Bleedings, while your successful hits let enemy boons end slightly faster each time. Stealth Attacks performed in an Area of the Nightsky are also more powerful by +20%..

Elite

Glyph of Dark Ravens - When being used, you summon a group of Shadow Ravens to your side, which will swirl around you like a protective shield, taking hits for you, until either all Shadow Ravens have been killed, letting you receive in that time no damage - or the Shadow Ravens will be useable for an unblockable string of Attacks, letting you send them out like a swarm to deal multiple hits on your target foe, granting you back some Shadow Instinct per Shadow Raven, while causing with their attacks Bleedings, Blindness, Weakness and Poison, but then you lose their defensive function, if you use them instead for the offense.

Shadow Instinct Abilities

Shadow Instinct Abilities are 3 specific Raider unique Skills which are to be found on the F3, F4 and F5 Button.They are three special maneuvers a Raider can perform while being under Stealth, to perform powerful Attacks for the cost of Shadow Instinct, not getting revealed for using them, but using them will reduce for some time your maximum Initiative Pool for when you decide to deal an Attack that will reveal you. However if your Shadow Instinct runs out or you have not enough anymore to perform a Shadow Instinct Skill, you will automatically get revealed as you will gain new Shadow Instinct Points only, while being not in stealth.

1) Unseen FuryPerform a wild strike from stealth, which will launch your foe away when beign attacking it from behind and grants you fury and might. Costs 3 Shadow Instinct. Reduces Initiative Pool on reveal by 3 for the next 20 seconds

2) Shameful FearStrike a foe from stealth from behind with this, and you will cause Fear and Torment, but you grant to your Target foe as well Super Speed in that time that Fear is active for 3 seconds.Costs 4 Shadow Instinct, but reduces on reveal your Initiative Pool for 25 seconds also by 4 Initiative.

3) Shadowy BurdenPerform a ranged Blast of Shadow Magic to deal damage from stealth, which immobilizes and slows the hit target, while also temporarely reducing the Toughness Value of the foe for the next 10 seconds. Costs 5 Shadow instinct, but also reduces on your reveal your Initiative pool for 30 seconds by 5 Initiative as well when being using in Stealth, before it ends.

Traits

The Raider's Traits will exactly provide with each line one different Playstyle Build. There will be basically:

• The Shadowmancer Style, which is fully focused on Shadow Instinct, the Utility Skills, Stealth and GS Combat
• The Rogue Style, which is fully focused on Boon Steal & Sharing, Steal Mechanics & Stolen Skills and Disarmaments
• The Marodeur Style, which is fully focused on Trap Control, Enemy Suppression, Sabotage and Mobility Control of foes.

---

Minor Proficiency - Greatsword Proficiency - You can wield GreatswordsMinor Adept - Rogue Tongue - Grants access to Shadow Instinct. Gain access to Greatswords and GlyphsMajor Adept - Dark Spellblade - When you hit a target with your Greatsword critically, you have a chance to cast randomly a lesser Glyph-Version of your Healing & Utility-Glyphs.Major Adept - King of Thieves - When you steal, you recharge one of your Utility Glyphs in cooldown instantly and you gain the chance to receive a unique Steal Skill, that can prevent you from getting revealed once and increase the power of your Stealth Skills.Major Adept - Glyphs of Revelation - All your used Glyphs will automaticaly activate also the Glyph of the Black Eye as well too now and grant you Protection, Stability and Regeneration for some seconds, when you use them.Minor Master - Pact of Shadows - For every spent 3 Initiative you gain now 1 Shadow Instinct and your Maximum Initiative is increased by +3Major Master - Night Assault - Increases the efficiency of Shadow Instincts by +20% if performed under night situations or when being under the Effect of the Glyph of the NightskyMajor Master - Ravenous Spellblade - Whenever you use Glyphs, you will steal a Boon from nearby foes, and share them with nearby allies and when you use your Healing Skill, you have a small chance to set the Healing Skill of your Target Enemy into Cooldown, or if it was already on cooldown, increase its cooldown again for your Target Enemy.Major Master - Suppressing Analysis - Increases your Critical Hit Rate with Greatswords, Swords and Daggers by 10% and suppresses via critical hits the Attributes of your hit targets by a certain amount for all Attributes, which stacks with the suppression coming from Glyph of Suppression and its Attribute Reduction it causes to foes inside of its effect area.Minor Grandmaster - Realm of Shadows allows you while you are in Stealth to see also hidden stealthed foes, that are in Stealth as well too, making this way stealth against you from now on pointless and you see now also hidden traps to directly remove them with a press on F in their near or whatever button you assign to this task, allowing u then to reuse removed traps against your foes after having sabotaged them to turn them against your foes now.Major Grandmaster - Shadow Barrier - Grants you and nearby allies of yours Barrier when you regain Shadow Instinct or use Shadow Instinct based on the amount of regained or used Shadow Instinct PointsMajor Grandmaster - Swift Interruptor When you perform a Dodge Roll you will cast with an Internal Cooldown now a Lesser Glyph of Disarmament which stuns nearby foes for 2 seconds and your Dodges become now Stun Breakers for you to ensure, that you stay swift and mobile as a Raider at the frontlines.,Major Grandmaster - Painful Strikes Your Greatsword Attacks cause now on low chance Cripple and on critical hits have a chance to cause Torment as well.

[Kageseigi.2150]

@Orpheal.8263 said:Minor Grandmaster - Realm of Shadows allows you while you are in Stealth to see also hidden stealthed foes, that are in Stealth as well too, making this way stealth against you from now on pointless and you see now also hidden traps to directly remove them with a press on F in their near or whatever button you assign to this task, allowing u then to reuse removed traps against your foes after having sabotaged them to turn them against your foes now.

I've been wanting this since HoT released. The Thief NEEDS to be the undisputed King of Stealth. There needs to be capability to see and engage Stealthed foes. And I would go even as far as to say that striking a Stealthed enemy should not Reveal you... it should add Stealth to you. I so want invisible duels!

The seeing and disarming traps is the same as above. It's simply fitting for a Rogue class... a Thief in particular.

[Orpheal.8263]

Yeah, I know what you mean.. the thief class has been so destroyed by Anet, that you kind of have as a player the impression on this class by now, that it has totally lost its identity as to what it means to be a thief in this game ...

very sad