Okay, here is a quick sketch of my concept of a 3rd heavy class. I’m biting the bullet and am prepared to be laughed at! This is only a very, very VERY rough sketch of the basic idea of this class, and I am 100% open to criticism, suggestions or other input offered. Just please be constructive.
Suggestion for 3rd heavy class – Man At Arms.
When people hear the term Man At Arms, they mostly presume that it refers to a soldier, or maybe an armoured knight. However, a Man At Arms was originally a term for a more specific form of soldier, that of the nobleman combatant.
Most Men At Arms would be mounted cavalrymen. However, in GW2 this is not entirely possible, so instead I have focused on the concept of a professional soldier and commander of a retinue as most Men At Arms hired and maintained such a retinue.
Weapons:
The weapons used by the Man At Arms would not be unlike those of an armoured knight or a soldier, although with a bias towards lighter and single handed weapons. Generally, the main hand would be a striking weapon, the offhand a defensive.
Main hand:
Sword:
A given for a mounted soldier.
- Slash/thrust/slash/strike. A 4-move attack, to be delivered fluidly (maybe similar to Thief’s #2 combo but slower?) either with a medium damage with bleed condition, or higher damage and no condition. Perhaps a 3s Vuln on the third strike.
- Lance. A single move attack, with longer range than #2, that delivers 3 stacks of vuln for 3s.
- Powerful Blow. A heavy blow, 12s cooldown, giving confusion for 3s and higher damage than #2.
Mace:
An under-utilised weapon in the GW2 skill range.
- Bash, pommel, slam. A 3 move attack, with simple damage, weakness for 2s, simple damage combo.
- Take that! A heavier blow, single move overhead bash, applying a small amount of confusion (3-4s).
- Parry. Defend from next attack, reducing damage by 1/3rd, strike back if struck for medium damage.
Off hand:
Sword:
The old favourite.
- Counter-strike. Parry next attack, gaining 5s Protection if struck, and granting it to allies
- Vengeful strike. Strike the opponent, grants 8s(?) retaliation.
Shield:
Swash those bucklers!
- Stone Wall. Parry next attack, granting Aegis to yourself and allies.
- Get Back! Knockback multiple enemies, gain 5s Protection.
Warhorn:
A friend in need…
- Phalanx. 5 strikes vs targeted enemy (group?), each dealing at random: Bleed, Burning, Chilled, Poison for 2s each. (maybe delivered by a summoned swordsman?)
- Charge! Grants 8s Swiftness to self and allies, and 5s Fury to self and allies.
Two-handed:
Staff:
Usually a magic caster weapon, this would have a more physical use with Man At Arms as many used lances or pole-axes.
- Quarterstaff. A simple bash, lance, bash combination.
- Guard. Protection 3s, with a single strike.
- Blinding Strike. A quick succession of 5-6 strikes, delivering Blind to enemies, plus damage.
- Officer’s Courage. Short range Weakness AOE, whilst curing 3 random conditions on self and 1 on allies.
- Artillery Fire! AOE fire-from above attack, striking enemies within range with Burning, and 3s Retaliation to self and allies.
Longbow:
Keep your enemies close… but not too close.
- Archer. A reasonably quick AA, 1000 range, somewhere between Ranger LB #1 and SB #1 in speed.
- Tracer. Higher damage than AA, with 3s Burn on enemy.
- Marked Man. A volley of 8 shots vs single enemy, dealing Weakness with each shot.
- Rain From Heaven. AOE attack, causing Bleeding to enemies and Regeneration within AOE circle.
- HellFire. Counterpart to #5, this AOE attack causes fire on the ground, dealing Burn to enemies, and Fury to allies within AOE circle.
Aquatic:
Spear and Trident. Skills to be added later if I continue this concept.
Utility skills
I haven’t gone much into the main utility skills, except the overall concept of the Man At Arms.
It’s specific Utility Skill class would be Retinue. These would be summoned similar in effect to the Mesmer clones, each type with its own specific abilities.
Heal Retinue:
Combat Medic! This would summon a Retinue medic, healing the user, and running to injured allies, granting a few seconds regeneration to each.
Other Retinue would include:
Arquebusier. Rifleman, dealing damage at range up to 900.
Jack. Quarterstaff user, short range, dealing confusion with bash attacks.
Shieldbearer. Tanks damage, grants Aegis once to user and allies when summoned.
Militiaman. Uses sword, short range, dealing bleed to enemies.
Duellist. Uses dual pistols, medium range akimbo damage (similar to pistol user from Theif’s Thieve’s Guild?)
Elite Utility Retinue:
Summons 3 of the above, random which type is summoned, plus Fury and Retaliation for user for 15-20s.
We need more of that around here, rather than people begging for mounts and using suggestions as a soap box for targetted complaints….