tl;dr @ bottom
So I was going to post this in another thread, but it started seeming like it deserved its own post. It was a thread about how the only option for obtaining Skills is simply by clicking the mouse twice (for those with excessive Skill Points, which became a bigger issue with Champ Loot) which is a pretty stale way to do it for some; and I agree.
After being introduced to Anti-Toxin Spray, I was sad that it was a new skill to unlock by spending the Skill Points or just buying it with Coin (along with the fact it was 25 Skill Points for a garbage heal). But while reading the previous thread I mentioned, I recalled that Anti-Toxin introduced something extremely promising.
Here’s my suggestion to make the Skill system carry more progression:
You can unlock Skills for an increased amount of Skill Points like already implemented: 3 (Heal Tier 1), 5 (Heal Tier 2), 3 (Utility Tier 1), 6 (Utility Tier 2), 9 (Utility Tier 3), 20 (Elite Tier 1), & 30 (Elite Tier 2) Skill Points each *. Of course existing Skills could be re-sorted to be in a tier that makes sense.
This way people who don’t want to effort can still unlock the skill after patience of doing whatever they choose as normal.
Skill Point amounts increased because Scrolls of Knowledge are so common (helps beginners get more Points), as well as the vets already sitting on tons of Skill Points (wouldn’t effect much, but hits their funds slightly harder).
Here’s where the Anti-Toxen part comes in; Marjory was selling a Tome that teaches you the skill without using Skill Points. If you’d like more progression, instead of clicking on the Hero Panel, you could go to a new Skill Trainer NPC and select the Skill for a reduced cost: 1 (Heal Tier 1), 2 (Heal Tier 2), 1 (Utility Tier 1), 2 (Utility Tier 2), 3 (Utility Tier 3), 8 (Elite Tier 1), & 10 (Elite Tier 2) Skill Points each *. A popup will confirm your choice on the skill selection, and then proceed to open a solo instance.
The instance would have a short but harsh event inside. The Healing event could have you surviving against a hoard of mobs for a time limit (with a permanent revealed debuff). The Utility event could have you do general tasks or fights with a twist/limit based on profession (think Mistlock instabilities, but profession-aimed. example- can’t generate Clones, can’t use Earth Attunement, etc). Elite events would probably consist of fighting a Legendary mob (with toned down health) similar to the Queen’s Gauntlet. Or anything else that would be fitting for a fun challenge.
Upon successful completion of the event, you receive a character-bound instance completion reward which yields the Skill Tome of the selected Skill. Congrats, you just unlocked Time Warp for 8 Skill Points. However, if you die (downed is allowed, of course), the event fails and you’re removed from the instance. No refund on those Skill Points either.
Adding this seems like it would be perfect. The addition of Scrolls of Knowledge would make the general Skill Point amounts increase regardless, so changing the Hero Panel numbers seems pretty justified. This will still allow people who play primarily a specific sector of content (WvW, FotM, Champ Farming, etc) be able to continue to earn skills regularly as they release. This would also be a start into becoming a slightly bigger Skill Point sink if Skills start getting released in bulk (which would combo nicely with needing Skill Points for crafting recipes).
Now on the other hand, Skill Trainers would add in the progression that a lot of players want to see. Hunting down the specific Skill Trainer (probably just in the 6 cities) that has the correct Skill you want will add the sense of adventure. Gambling Skill Points on an event adds the sense of excitement if you’ll be earning (yes, earning) your desired Skill at a reduced price. Since it was announced new Skills were going to be a big part of the new character progression, the most important addition would be choice of how you want to get there.
The best part is that we already know being able to unlock Skills by Tomes, character re-positioning at the cost of an object via NPC, challenging yet balanced solo-instances, one-time character instance rewards, Skill Points being currency, instance-altering buffs, etc. ALL actually have been proven to be possible; it just needs to be woven together.