DISCLAIMER: I have never played Guild Wars 1. I realize that the Monk existed in GW1, but I am led to believe that it filled a different character archetype.
So what is a monk? The best way to sum this up is a quote from Wikipedia:
“The monk is a character class in a number of role-playing tabletop and video games. In those games which follow the Dungeons & Dragons traditions, monks are characters with martial arts skills and have very powerful strategies.”
Before I continue on, I would like to touch on two points. Do you see WoW listed there? I certainly don’t. I believe it mentions Dungeons & Dragons, which has been around for far longer than WoW, right? Right. Moving on.
“The Monk was a profession in GW1!” If it is physically impossible for people to accept the fact that you can re-interpret how something has been presented, there are two alternatives.
The first alternative is to refer to the GW1 Monk profession by another name, such as ‘Priest’ or ‘Cleric’, as that is the archetype it filled in the original game.
The second alternative is to refer to this new profession by a new name. What name? Well, there are a number of options. Ascetic, Chanter, Martial Artist, etc.
Finally. Why would GW2 benefit from a martial artist profession? AKA the “WoW has a monk class! I want GW2 to remain a special snowflake. We don’t want monks because WoW has monks!” argument. To put it simply, the martial artist archetype is beloved by many people, even some that play this game! It has been around for an incredibly long time, and has spawned games entirely focused on martial arts. (Age of Wushu, as an example.)
How would a martial artist profession work on GW2? Well, there are a few ways to approach such a profession! However, I am only going to offer one, while keeping in mind that each profession in GW2 has unique mechanics that differentiate them from the other professions. I am also not going to go into great depth, as that is the job of the developers.
The Martial Artist is a Scholar class that utilizes a stance mechanic somewhat similar in concept to the Elementalist. The Martial Artist has two stances: An offensive stance and a defensive/control-focused stance. These stances do not completely change the Martial Artist’s weapon skills, but rather influence how they function. Let me give an example:
Let us say that the Martial Artist is using a block skill of a staff. The ability uses the staff to block the next physical attack. The followup used depends on the stance the martial artist is in. If the martial artist is in an offensive stance, perhaps they counter-attack with a strike to a vital area that is now exposed. If the martial artist is in a defensive stance, perhaps they counter-attack with a trip or knockdown, thus unbalancing their foe.
These stances could define how the martial artist approaches each fight, and could change how each of his (or her) abilities function depending on the situational need. Some additional examples could include: An attack where the martial artist leaps to an enemy. An attack where the martial artist grabs an enemy, rolls backwards and throws the enemy behind them.
What sort of weapons would a martial artist use? The most logical weapon would be a fist weapon. However, here are a few examples based off current weapons: The staff as a non-magical physical close-ranged weapon. The mace as a potentially dual-wielded close-ranged physical weapon. The torch as a potential magical utility weapon. The shortbow as a physical long-ranged weapon. The spear as a close-ranged physical aquatic weapon.
Utility and elite skills would likely include signets, meditations, shouts, and physical skills. The names of these skills could easily be changed to keep certain profession skills unique, but the general idea is the martial artist is a master of one’s own body. Some possible abilities could include: Cleansing conditions and converting them into boons. Briefly making the profession immune to damage, or significantly reducing damage taken. Focuses upon evasion or control, etc.
Any thoughts and/or other ideas are more than welcome.