Elite specs

[Daniel Handler.4816]

What elite specializations in End of Dragons/Cantha do you want to see from a lore perspective? I personally want to see Guardians embrace their ritualist roots. 

[Kodama.6453]

I personally think that ritualist would be better as an elite spec for revenant, thematically they are way closer to each other than guardian is.

 

For engineer, I hope for an alchemy themed elite spec. For example: a plague doctor. The Am Fah in Cantha were experimenting with the plague to strengthen their soldiers, plague doctor could be their intellectual  successors, with strong alchemical weaponry in forms of gases, acids and stuff like that.

[Touchme.1097]

21 hours ago, Daniel Handler.4816 said:

What elite specializations in End of Dragons/Cantha do you want to see from a lore perspective? I personally want to see Guardians embrace their ritualist roots. 

Isn't Paragon supposed to be an elite spec more suitable for Guardians?

From a lore perspective I want to see Thief being able to spec into Assassin, condi based, high damage and with a harder rotation then the previous specs to justify the damage done.

 

I would also want to see something outside of the Canthian lore in EoD, like longbow Elementalist arcane mage.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Touchme.1097

[Daniel Handler.4816]

1 hour ago, Touchme.1097 said:

Isn't Paragon supposed to be an elite spec more suitable for Guardians?

From a lore perspective I want to see Thief being able to spec into Assassin, condi based, high damage and with a harder rotation then the previous specs to justify the damage done.

 

I would also want to see something outside of the Canthian lore in EoD, like longbow Elementalist arcane mage.

Paragons are an Elonan profession. Ritualists come from Cantha and merged with monks/paragons to become guardians.

[Bast.7253]

I'd like to see something related to the Elder Dragons, especially now that we have Aurene with the ability to further empower people. I had imagined one idea of elite specs could be themed around Aurene sharing magic on a larger scale with the people of Tyria granting them new abilities or somehow teaching them via the mists like Glint did with Rhytlock but that's a bit far-fetched.

I would kind of like to see an Elementalist elite spec at some point themed around the elder dragons though. 

For rangers I would like to eventually see a true shapeshifting spec but I'm not sure that would ever happen, especially when norn shapeshifting abilities have been neglected since vanilla.

Uh.. guardians.. I'm not sure. I imagine there's probably something they would pick up from the Ministry of Purity maybe? 

Necro - could go so many ways. I would LIKE to see a traditional skeleton summoning spec but I think Cantha could be a good opportunity to build into pre-existing lore with Shiro and Shiroken, perhaps a shroud that IS a Shiroken.. or a pet based necro spec where it has a strong pet like a ranger and the necro can take the soul out of the shiroken and merge with it? I'm not really fond of that one though.

They could also do more of a demon-inspired spec for necro. Basically I'd like it to get a neat shroud back. Not just a black smoky aura around it but an actual transform that turns them into something intimidating.

Thief - I feel like we'll get something Aetherblade/Corsair themed that might be condition-focused. But it's also possible I suppose that we could get another martial arts themed monk/support build despite monk in guild wars not really being about that. But daredevil feels like it would have fit much better in Cantha than Heart of Thorns.

Warrior - another potential fist weapon/brawler type spec but I could honestly see them getting staff or polearm. A lot of people want dual pistols and I suppose there's a chance that they could get something like that themed around the Aetherblades as well but I'm just not sure how well that spec would go or how great it would blend with a lot of the core utility skills. I guess no worse than rifle.

Revenant - probably the strongest contender for getting a ritualist themed spec but we SORT OF already have that with Renegade and I'd rather not have another spec based around mindless ground clutter granting boons and combat enhancements. I would imagine we could also have something themed around the Envoys.

Mesmer - not sure here but I have a strong feeling we'll get another ranged weapon - thinking probably bow. I'm not sure what the playstyle would be like but I feel like a bard spec with shortbow would fit well. 

Engineer - maybe golem-oriented thing? Although I feel like the mad-chemist condition-focused thing is probably a safer bet.

In general I really would like to see some specs inspired by the Elder Dragons though. Especially now that we've killed 4 and have one on our side. 


As far as realistic expectations - I don't think we can count on anything from the original game being made into an elite spec like ritualist/dervish/paragon/assassin or whatever. Path of Fire had so many things to pull from but it went in a different direction because it seemed they wanted to do something new and unique to this game. Heart of Thorns had a lot of really random things so I'm not sure we'll have anything TOO focused on lore. PoF at least did try to incorporate lore a little with its elite specs like having weaver based off of Djinn, Holo based off of Zephyrite technology, Spellbreakers based off of Sunspears, Scourges being themed around the desert and heavy emphasis on torment and burning. The rest were pretty random though.

 

[Mediahead.3542]

I personally would rather have the e-specs light on lore if at all possible so it won't feel out of place when, for example, a norn firebrand is channeling power from Elonian history.  I know it sounds ridiculous saying it out loud, but it just kinda bugs me a little.  That said, I do have an idea for a hammer ranger e-spec whose lore is based around the Echovald Forests that could turn into tree monsters.  I originally called them Wardens after the GW1 mobs of the same name (https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Warden), but now I'm thinking they should be called Juggernauts instead and have the lore center around the Kurzicks (https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Kurzick_Juggernaut)

 

(On the subject of norn firebrand, my personal headcanon is that they're channeling their own history instead)

[lockhart.6048]

On 5/20/2021 at 12:56 AM, Mediahead.3542 said:

I personally would rather have the e-specs light on lore if at all possible so it won't feel out of place when, for example, a norn firebrand is channeling power from Elonian history.  I know it sounds ridiculous saying it out loud, but it just kinda bugs me a little.  That said, I do have an idea for a hammer ranger e-spec whose lore is based around the Echovald Forests that could turn into tree monsters.  I originally called them Wardens after the GW1 mobs of the same name (https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Warden), but now I'm thinking they should be called Juggernauts instead and have the lore center around the Kurzicks (https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Kurzick_Juggernaut)

 

(On the subject of norn firebrand, my personal headcanon is that they're channeling their own history instead)

That's how I see Firebrands as well. Instead of recounting Elona specific tales, I head canon that the virtue books are from stories all over, it can be race specific or not. Lore wise, Firebrands are like the stereotypical fantasy "Bard" class, instead they recant history instead of songs. Heck, they are even a super hyper support E-Spec just like how most "Bards" are in other games.

[Aodlop.1907]

We have 0 useful profession with a hammer right now.

I just want a hammer build that's actually usable.

 

Now with the big question: who should get a hammer? Mesmer, Necromancer or Thief?

[The Greyhawk.9107]

17 minutes ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

We have 0 useful profession with a hammer right now.

I just want a hammer build that's actually usable.

 

Now with the big question: who should get a hammer? Mesmer, Necromancer or Thief?

RANGER OR GTFO!  RISE THE THE BUNNY-THUMPER!!

[TheLadyOfTheRings.9148]

On 5/28/2021 at 1:49 PM, Aodlop.1907 said:

We have 0 useful profession with a hammer right now.

I just want a hammer build that's actually usable.

 

Heal Scrapper? 

[Aodlop.1907]

5 minutes ago, TheLadyOfTheRings.9148 said:

Heal Scrapper? 

Well it requires being interested in healing. I don't know much about scrapper, but I've read in some other thread that shield+whatever did the hammer's job but better, making it sub-obtimal for that too.

[TheLadyOfTheRings.9148]

51 minutes ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

Well it requires being interested in healing. I don't know much about scrapper, but I've read in some other thread that shield+whatever did the hammer's job but better, making it sub-obtimal for that too.

Yes, one has to be interested in healing, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a useful and usable build with hammer, in fact it's meta in WvW 😄 In which thread did you read about that "shield+whatever" build? I'd like to check it out 🙂 

[Kodama.6453]

5 hours ago, TheLadyOfTheRings.9148 said:

Yes, one has to be interested in healing, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a useful and usable build with hammer, in fact it's meta in WvW 😄 In which thread did you read about that "shield+whatever" build? I'd like to check it out 🙂 

In general, pistol/shield is considered better for support builds, since it allows you to share protection through overshield and also gives you access to another blast finisher (so you can get more healing in combination with a water field like from med kit or other useful effects).

 

That being said, hammer on scrapper is still a great weapon, especially for bruiser builds.

[TheLadyOfTheRings.9148]

11 hours ago, Kodama.6453 said:

In general, pistol/shield is considered better for support builds, since it allows you to share protection through overshield and also gives you access to another blast finisher (so you can get more healing in combination with a water field like from med kit or other useful effects).

 

Oh, I didn't know that, thank you! 🙂 

[Teratus.2859]

Well the obvious two that come to mind are..

Revenant - Ritualist.
I'd like to see a summoner playstyle added with this, significantly changing how the class works.
Ritualists loose their Legend Swapping capability and instead gain a mechanic similar to Shades that allows them to manifest their legend's into the world for a brief time.
(we'll continue calling them shades for simplicity sake)

The first Shade will be based on the new Legend while shade's 2, and 3 will be player choice from the 4 core Revenant legends.
Summoning shades doesn't cost you energy and each shade that is active improves your energy regeneration.
The utility skills since we can no longer swap legends will become choice based between the 5 new Elite spec utility skills and the 5 unique utility skills of the 2 core legends you pick allowing you to mix and match your legend utilities as you see fit.

This is the basic concept I have in mind for a Ritualist Revenant.

The second obvious one would be.

Thief -  Assassin.

Don't have too much to say about this one but what I have in mind is a duel sword wielding professional murderer.
Steal gets replaced entirely on Assassin in favour of a new Assassinate skill. (sorry no more stolen items)
Assassinate will teleport the Assassin behind the enemy target and hit them with an guaranteed crit.
Using Assassinate on a downed player will instantly finish them.
The drawback however is that Assassinate has a reasonable cooldown so much like a real assassin, pick your moments when using this skill.

That said, Assassinate can be traited to provide either boons or AoE damage and conditions on a successful kill with the skill.
Boons being Superspeed and Stability applied to the thief on a Assassinate kill via the Fleeing the Scene Trait.

Conditions being Weakness and Cripple along with damage applied to nearby enemies on a Assassinate kill via the the Foul Play Trait, Enemies reviving the target will take extra damage from Assassinate along with being crippled and weakened.

As for the other classes.. 

Maybe Jade Knight for Warrior.
Animancer or Cultist for Necromancer.

Don't have anything for rest really.
Ranger needs Hammer though, and Bunny pet!!

[Ashantara.8731]

On 5/18/2021 at 7:07 PM, Daniel Handler.4816 said:

What elite specializations in End of Dragons/Cantha do you want to see from a lore perspective? I personally want to see Guardians embrace their ritualist roots. 

 

I would find Ritualist a lot more fitting for Necromancers (communing with the dead is actually a Revenant thing, but heavy armor doesn't fit the spec).

 

I definitely want to see Ritualist (necro), Assassin (thief), but most of all Monk (!) - perhaps they could combine the elite spec with an armor penalty so that it would fit the Guardian profession.

[Raknar.4735]

9 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

 

I would find Ritualist a lot more fitting for Necromancers (communing with the dead is actually a Revenant thing, but heavy armor doesn't fit the spec).

 

 

Revenants don't commune with the dead. They commune with echoes/copies imprinted in the Mists. A person doesn't have to be dead for an echo of themselves to exist.

[Inokumasan.5196]

Warrior--Monk (inspired by warrior monks of feudal Japan), weapon: land spear

Guardian--Retainer (inspired by samurai and other Asian bodyguard professions), weapon: off-hand sword

 

Engineer--Pyrotechnist (inspired by fireworks originating in China), weapon: bow

Thief--Assassin* (inspired by ninjas and other eastern assassins), weapon: off-hand sword

 

Mesmer--Performer (inspired by Asian performative dances), weapon: main-hand pistol? (or dual-dagger)

Necromancer--Exorcist (inspired by eastern practices of exorcism), weapon: hammer?

 

[The Greyhawk.9107]

I'm liking the increasing consensus on Thief off-hand sword and bunnythumper for Rangers.

[GrayHawk.7560]

Since Revenant's already invoke Shiro and don't have a spec which invokes a Norn legend it would be epic if we could invoke a legend like Asgeir Dragonrender using a Greatsword as a Power DPS spec

[Harak.8397]

I'd prefer they didn't restrain themselves to the given expansion's setting when designing Elite specs. They set that precedent in PoF but it wasn't the case for HoT.

Regardless, interesting takes all.

[The Greyhawk.9107]

12 hours ago, GrayHawk.7560 said:

Since Revenant's already invoke Shiro and don't have a spec which invokes a Norn legend it would be epic if we could invoke a legend like Asgeir Dragonrender using a Greatsword as a Power DPS spec

You and I are going to have to duel to the death.

https://giphy.com/gifs/highlander-there-can-be-only-one-9Jmb2idg10qJSygvTQ/fullscreen

[EdwinLi.1284]

personally I am interested what Elite Spec will Engineer get from Cantha since we don't know the advancements Cantha may have gone through.

There are left over Asura tech from the GW1 era days and trading with the Zephyrites with random stuff from outside Cantha such as technology they manage to obtain through trade so there is still a chance they have advance their own technology in their own way.

Edited June 18, 2021 by EdwinLi.1284

[Kodama.6453]

On 6/18/2021 at 5:15 PM, EdwinLi.1284 said:

personally I am interested what Elite Spec will Engineer get from Cantha since we don't know the advancements Cantha may have gone through.

There are left over Asura tech from the GW1 era days and trading with the Zephyrites with random stuff from outside Cantha such as technology they manage to obtain through trade so there is still a chance they have advance their own technology in their own way.

I enjoy lore based elite specs and Cantha has a great opportunity in this regard in my opinion.

 

Less based on technology, but more on alchemy. In Cantha, there has been the organisation of the Am Fah in the past, which were a cult experimenting with the magical plague caused by Shiro Tagachi to strengthen their own warriors.

They had a pretty scientific approach to this back then, they were researching the plague and how they could use it for their own cause.

 

I think we can enhance this by making the successors of the Am Fah experimenting with alchemy in general to create similar effects. Using acids, poison gases, and other concoctions for combat.

It would also perfectly fit for a condition based elite spec, which is what we will most likely get next since both elite specs so far have been power based.

 

I doubt that our elite spec will have any lore ties to Asura or the Zephyrite, since this is already the theme of holosmith. Holosmiths experimented with crystals they got from Zephyrites to create the photon forge in the first place and while Asura are not tied with holosmith in the lore, Anet admitted that the visual design of the holosmith is mostly inspired by Asuran aesthetics.

[The Boz.2038]

Thaumaturgist Engineer! Unique blend of alchemy, technomancy, and magic! Natural progression from the Am Fah alchemy.