OH Sword/Torch - EOD and Elite Spec Icons

[DeceiverX.8361]

Close to a guarantee the elite spec weapon will be OH Sword or Torch.

There is a spec icon with two crossed swords surrounded by three initiative icons on the specializations part of the release page.

There is also one with the initiative icon at the center of a flame.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/end-of-dragons/

 

Unless they decided to just throw around the thief's core mechanic icon on multiple other professions, It's probably one of the two.

 

If I had to wager a guess, the spec will indeed be the OH sword variant and will heavily favor dual wielding the same weapon or include changes or feature dual skills.

I think Ele will get the initiative mechanic as their elite spec to encourage staying in one attunement rather than swapping around.

Edited July 27, 2021 by DeceiverX.8361

[Tails.9372]

The thing that makes this whole thing a bit vague is that they said that the new e-specs go against what the professions usually do so we don't even know if the new e-spec will even use the ini system at all but yes I would also have guessed that the one for thief is the one with the two swords although I personally would rather have a torch for a mid-ranged aoe condi e-spec instead of another close-ranged focused e-spec.

[Zacchary.6183]

There is an icon beside it with a diamond as well. You can't assume that the crossed swords is going to be the symbol for thief.  It could be one of the others and the actual elite may be completely different. Then again, I have not watched any trailers or EoD content.

[DeceiverX.8361]

50 minutes ago, Zacchary.6183 said:

There is an icon beside it with a diamond as well. You can't assume that the crossed swords is going to be the symbol for thief.  It could be one of the others and the actual elite may be completely different. Then again, I have not watched any trailers or EoD content.

 

I mention this as a possibility for justifying Torch in the OP.

 

Some people in the ele community seem to believe this is their icon, though.

I didn't watch the stream in full, but most of the other communities have good justifications for their respective icons, or at least a sample few based on what was shown.

[Eduardo.4675]

If u go through the 1 hour long stream from devs, ull see that the crossed swords is the elite special for mesmer, the virtuoso. Elite skill on that deals over 40 k on golem... go to minute 45,31 in that stream.

[Eduardo.4675]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilt8HPmPWnU

This is the link.

[DeceiverX.8361]

9 minutes ago, Eduardo.4675 said:

If u go through the 1 hour long stream from devs, ull see that the crossed swords is the elite special for mesmer, the virtuoso. Elite skill on that deals over 40 k on golem... go to minute 45,31 in that stream.

 

I'm not really seeing how that splash art indicates anything for the icons.  The three daggers icon makes a lot more sense.

[Eduardo.4675]

go to minute 45,31 on that stream i linked, ull see the reveal of the mesmer new elite spec. Its that crossed sword and initiative simbol u mentioned in OP.

[DeceiverX.8361]

38 minutes ago, Eduardo.4675 said:

go to minute 45,31 on that stream i linked, ull see the reveal of the mesmer new elite spec. Its that crossed sword and initiative simbol u mentioned in OP.

 

I did.  There's no such icon anywhere as far as I can tell.

 

The spec prominently features three daggers on two of its shatters and two of its utilities, though.

[Sindrener.1592]

Samurai gs is thief i promise ezclap

[Caligrafers Blade.3871]

Given the weapons left to select from to match Thief thematically, it looked like OH sword was a contender. Personally, I'm not crazy about it myself, but I was under the impression the Thief community wanted that too. My problem is that MH sword isn't so much fun for dual wield, and an OH sword with say a MH dagger or pistol just look really unwieldy in my head, like what happened to Soulbeast: MH dagger and OH axe.. hilarious .  Hopefully, the new mechanic and utilities make up for it. And also, hoping that the demon face is our new icon. I wonder what we will be stealing...

[hatsamu.4327]

If it is the dual katanas icon, I'm hyped! I had an elite spec concept that was hoping for a combo-type mechanic. (Funnily, it ended up looking similar to what they did for Virtuoso) Could the 3 initiative(?) diamonds be referencing a mechanic like the 3-step assassin attack chain? They said they broke a lot of rules in these elite designs, so maybe initiative will be massively changed to facilitate this.

Edited July 28, 2021 by hatsamu.4327

[Teratus.2859]

I also think it's OH Sword Thief.

I think this is going to break away from what thief is.. a stealth and port spammy annoying dodgy class and push it more into a proper duelist instead.
Wouldn't be surprised if they replaced the steal function for a Riposte.

[Fueki.4753]

I think that offhand sword would be best for Thief.

 

"Breaking the rules" should mean for Thief to lose access to Stealth and getting a proper defense mechanic instead.

[Psycoprophet.8107]

Anets breaking the rules so it's pretty obvious what spec thief is getting. Gs ronin, smaller gs model hip mounted and wwwhhattt isss it noowww....also oh sword! Sweet anet is definitely raising the stakes.

[Kallist.5917]

6 hours ago, hatsamu.4327 said:

If it is the dual katanas icon, I'm hyped! I had an elite spec concept that was hoping for a combo-type mechanic. (Funnily, it ended up looking similar to what they did for Virtuoso) Could the 3 initiative(?) diamonds be referencing a mechanic like the 3-step assassin attack chain? They said they broke a lot of rules in these elite designs, so maybe initiative will be massively changed to facilitate this.

I could deal with a Sword Offhand, if it meant the return of the combo system.  Downplay the Initiative system for it, and allow us to do the old chains again. I'd go for it in a heartbeat.

[Doggie.3184]

As I've mentioned before; Dual Torch Arsonist is what I want most but I'd settle for offhand... Mainhand is just more new and creative and could have a fire whip like Ele's lightning one. A black fire based "Shadow-form" (like guardian setting themselves on fire) and attacks would be really cool. 

 

I know it will be offhand sword though because of Shiro... it's the most obvious and expected thing they could think up. I wonder if it'll be tanky with a block (and probably counter) since it's commonly a part of sword offhands usually. And Assassins were block tanks in GW1.

[serow.6524]

Personally I still want a Thief healer elite spec, that would totally break the rules/conventions about Thief.

And also because Thief doesn't have a proper healer/support spec yet.

[Lincolnbeard.1735]

Since they're so keen on break the designs and rules, remove initiative and replace with chain attacks - gw1's assassins style on the new e-spec.

(I know it won't happen, that would be a lot of work 😕  )
 

[Nomad.4301]

Main problem i see with sword OH (spec mechanics aside) is that it wouldn't really compliment any of the existing main-hand weapons thief can use.

 

Main-hand sword for example is currently a terrible weapon overall, in PvE its damage is way too low for how slow the AA is and the #2 skill is all but useless outside of PvP, S/D is only really useful in PvP and S/P hasn't really been good since Daredevil was added and staff became a thing. MH pistol is just a joke for anything other than a condi build and Dagger gets overshadowed by both staff and rifle outside of D/P in PvP.

 

While OH sword could theoretically change the way you play while dual-wielding since it would affect skill 3 and give a new 4/5, it wouldn't change how bad the current options for main-hand weapons are in PvE and PvP (Just look at main-hand pistol..) which is what concerns me, imagine having this really cool and dynamic off-hand weapon and then all you have to pair it with are weapons that no-one has really used since vanilla.

 

IMO thief currently lacks anything that would make it desirable in groups like support, AoE, unique buffs, high damage or even something like a dedicated condi build (spamming d/d 3 doesn't count) so there's plenty they COULD do with this elite, I just hope if it is sword that it isn't as narrow-minded as "here's a new off-hand with (3+)2 new skills - K bye." Thief weapons are much more important to the overall usefulness of the elite than on other classes, Herald Shield for example is just kinda... "there" no one really cares or uses it outside of a few specific circumstances in say.. PvP/WvW, whereas Rifle is integral to the function of Deadeye and staff is the only real choice on Daredevil for PvE.

 

So my guess/hope is that the thief elite will not just add new off-hand sword skills but that it will also add new skills for main-hand sword, to bring it more in-line with other thief elite spec weapons. If they don't do this then I can't see how S/S will ever be a compelling combo outside of WvW roaming. this fits with what they said about "breaking their own rules" for EoD elite specs.

 

I just hope thief doesn't get yet another Thief+ elite that fails to expand our repertoire beyond just more of the same ole' "porting/leaping around hitting single-targets for power damage in melee with minimal AoE".

[sajah varel.9261]

A dual wielding samurai theme that would forgo stealth attacks in favor of something else and use group support abilities, like shouts. That would be great. And the thief also have a ninja and monk theme, so a samurai theme here would fit right in.

[draxynnic.3719]

3 hours ago, Nomad.4301 said:

So my guess/hope is that the thief elite will not just add new off-hand sword skills but that it will also add new skills for main-hand sword, to bring it more in-line with other thief elite spec weapons. If they don't do this then I can't see how S/S will ever be a compelling combo outside of WvW roaming. this fits with what they said about "breaking their own rules" for EoD elite specs.

Well, it naturally will, by default. An offhand sword would bring a new skill 3 for every mainhand weapon it can be paired with, along with a new skill 4 and 5. And skill 3 is generally a major offensive skill for most thief dual-wield sets (D/P being the exception, where it's mainly a gap closer).

 

Thief sword 2 follows the trend of a sword on most professions having some form of gap-closer skill, often with some form of snare attached. It's less of a 'press for DPS' button than some, but it does offer condition cleanse, which could open up space for a more damage-oriented utility in lieu of condi cleanse. 

 

If sword auto damage is underpar, that's a matter of buffing the damage appropriately. Personally, I've found that it does well enough, but it's been a while and I might not be mentally comparing it to the current state of the game.

[DeceiverX.8361]

On 8/1/2021 at 8:25 PM, Nomad.4301 said:

Main problem i see with sword OH (spec mechanics aside) is that it wouldn't really compliment any of the existing main-hand weapons thief can use.

 

Main-hand sword for example is currently a terrible weapon overall, in PvE its damage is way too low for how slow the AA is and the #2 skill is all but useless outside of PvP, S/D is only really useful in PvP and S/P hasn't really been good since Daredevil was added and staff became a thing. MH pistol is just a joke for anything other than a condi build and Dagger gets overshadowed by both staff and rifle outside of D/P in PvP.

 

While OH sword could theoretically change the way you play while dual-wielding since it would affect skill 3 and give a new 4/5, it wouldn't change how bad the current options for main-hand weapons are in PvE and PvP (Just look at main-hand pistol..) which is what concerns me, imagine having this really cool and dynamic off-hand weapon and then all you have to pair it with are weapons that no-one has really used since vanilla.

 

IMO thief currently lacks anything that would make it desirable in groups like support, AoE, unique buffs, high damage or even something like a dedicated condi build (spamming d/d 3 doesn't count) so there's plenty they COULD do with this elite, I just hope if it is sword that it isn't as narrow-minded as "here's a new off-hand with (3+)2 new skills - K bye." Thief weapons are much more important to the overall usefulness of the elite than on other classes, Herald Shield for example is just kinda... "there" no one really cares or uses it outside of a few specific circumstances in say.. PvP/WvW, whereas Rifle is integral to the function of Deadeye and staff is the only real choice on Daredevil for PvE.

 

So my guess/hope is that the thief elite will not just add new off-hand sword skills but that it will also add new skills for main-hand sword, to bring it more in-line with other thief elite spec weapons. If they don't do this then I can't see how S/S will ever be a compelling combo outside of WvW roaming. this fits with what they said about "breaking their own rules" for EoD elite specs.

 

I just hope thief doesn't get yet another Thief+ elite that fails to expand our repertoire beyond just more of the same ole' "porting/leaping around hitting single-targets for power damage in melee with minimal AoE".

 

I agree with you in a vacuum but there is one particularly good opportunity here for ANet to explore which is dual skills. They did evasion on DrD, Stealth with DE, and possibly dual skills as the next elite. 

 

It's not unreasonable for them to say, make skills 2-4 on all weapon combos dual skills as the spec mechanic, and opt for one of the weapon-stat traits for sword such as something like +10% damage per sword.  Now the functionality changes drastically for each weapon and could encourage some weaker kit like P/P and D/D to be useful, too. 

 

That said, I still think the spec is Torch lol. 

Edited August 5, 2021 by DeceiverX.8361
Mobile bugged out and had post over my keyboard.

[Tails.9372]

36 minutes ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

It's not unreasonable for them to say, make skills 2-4 on all weapon combos dual skills as the spec mechanic, and opt for one of the weapon-stat traits for sword such as something like +10% damage per sword.  Now the functionality changes drastically for each weapon and could encourage some weaker kit like P/P and D/D to be useful, too. 

 

I would expand on that for matching weapon combos in which case 1-5 should be dual skills.

[MatyrGustav.6210]

I feel as though the 4th icon with the flame will be Thief. I bet it will be some sort of Shadowmancer with torch used as a magical catalyst. Dual sword will happen eventually but i think this time it will be a torch.