Guild Wars 2

My suggestion is to create an Unique Weapon Type for each class – a weapon type that is only accessible to characters of your class. This idea came to mind when I was playing my warrior, who primarily uses Greatswords, when I saw a Mesmer using a Greatsword as well. I don’t mind it, but it just seems a little odd. I can understand other classes like Guardians using Greatswords.

Anyway, more on topic… With the quirks of each class kept in mind, I came up with a few ideas.

• Guardian – Lance used in conjunction with shield (?): 1 Handed; Knockback.
• Warrior – 2-Handed Axe or Polearm: 2 Handed; Slow, but offers a slight longer range.
• Engineer – Sniper Rifle (?): 2 Handed; Slow, high damage longer range but more precise. Maybe even a skill with scoped shots for higher critical chances. Just… don’t turn it into a full FPS.
• Ranger – Whips: 1 Handed, although I can’t picture whip with an off handed weapon; Ranged melee weapon. Idea from someone else’s suggestion thread. Was thinking of crossbow, but it may be too similar to shortbows/longbows.
• Thief – Shurikens/Throwing Knives: Fast ranged weapons. However is weaker, to balance it out.
• Elementalist – Books/Tomes: 2 Handed (I hand to hold weapon and another to cast) Grants new magic skills, for variety.
• Mesmer – Orbs/Spheres (like in Diablo 3): 2 Handed (similar to Books/Tomes Again); grants new variety for skills.
• Necromancer – Scythe: 2 Handed; Melee weapon, just to change things up. Idea also from another suggestion thread.

Please keep in mind that I haven’t thoroughly played through all classes, so if there are already weapons similar to those I posted above, I apologize. Hopefully, if this is implemented, we wont see everyone hoarding to the unique weapons. That may be a problem… But I thought it was a fun concept.

Do you guys have any other ideas? Post them below!

Oh dear. Sorry, but I’m going to come in & be all negative. What rationale says that I can’t pick up & use… most of those weapons? Any farm hand from a non-mechanised age will know how to use a scythe (which, frankly, is a rotten weapon, as is a whip) . Why is it only available to Necromancers?

Some of your suggestions could work as new weapons (e.g. books for Scholars), if Anet feel new weapons are needed (personally, I’m not disappointed by the variety currently on offer), but why do you feel the need to make things exclusive to a single class? I don’t get that at all.

I really like this idea, even the whip for the ranger is pretty cool(it’s melee but still has longer range, and fits in with the pet class). I would personally prefer to see some kind of katana/Wakizashi as a thief unique weapon instead of a throwing knife though(there’s already that ability if you equip a knife in your offhand). Throwing shurikens I think would probably be more suitable as a utility skill though.

To answer the criticism, sure any class could pick up that weapon but that doesn’t mean that any class could make full use of that weapon. By that logic, thieves should be able to use maces and elementalists could use 2 handed broadswords. Just because they can pick it up, doesn’t mean that their profession is proficient in using that weapon.

Raedwulf.3712:

What rationale says that I can’t pick up & use… most of those weapons? Any farm hand from a non-mechanised age will know how to use a scythe (which, frankly, is a rotten weapon, as is a whip) . Why is it only available to Necromancers?

Why can you only use rifle and pistol as an Engineer? Why can’t you use rifles as an Elementalist? Why is it that Guardian isn’t able to use a bow like a Warrior can?

Because the game’s creators have deemed it so, for mechanical and balance reasons.

Given this, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with unique weapons for each class, especially if they fit the theme of the class. I know I wouldn’t mind seeing something similar to this idea implemented.

Raedwulf.3712:

Oh dear. Sorry, but I’m going to come in & be all negative. What rationale says that I can’t pick up & use… most of those weapons?

Ever try to use a bow and arrow? my money is on you not being able to fire very accurately or very far, if at all. (assuming you had no experience).

You strong enough to lift and use a two handed axe or lance? They’re heavy!

Whips? not really hard, but wont be doing much dmg with little experience

Shuriken/Throwing stars? Can you throw a knife? O_o I can’t throw one very accurately or very far to be honest….

Orbs? pffft, i cant see the future

Lets not get started on Sniper rifles. -_- (Oorah.)

End of Witty Comment, Semper Fi kiddies

I love this idea!

I like how we can use a variety of weapons, but it does seem to… I don’t know, devalue them a little bit when I see another class using the same weapon I have. If each class has their own weapon, it individualizes them just a little bit without being too much. And I love the weapon ideas you came up with – really interesting!

Xbow for thiefs! shurikens dont seem much of a weapon choice really when thieves got a throwing blade skill already. However they need some slow longer range weapon set for events like wvw and some world event bosses (flame elemental from Metricia province.) Don’t see the point in a “sniper rifle” when they already have a rifle. IF anything, you’re lookin into diff weapon skills for that rifle to switch up play style which AreaNet hasn’t really talked much about. (Or i havn’t found it) but either way, we need some extra skills without making any imbalance between the professions noticable or larger.

Good idea, though how about claws/knuckles for thieves?

OurDelusions.2635:

Raedwulf.3712:

Oh dear. Sorry, but I’m going to come in & be all negative. What rationale says that I can’t pick up & use… most of those weapons?

Ever try to use a bow and arrow? my money is on you not being able to fire very accurately or very far, if at all. (assuming you had no experience).

You strong enough to lift and use a two handed axe or lance? They’re heavy!

Whips? not really hard, but wont be doing much dmg with little experience

Shuriken/Throwing stars? Can you throw a knife? O_o I can’t throw one very accurately or very far to be honest….

Orbs? pffft, i cant see the future

Lets not get started on Sniper rifles. -_- (Oorah.)

End of Witty Comment, Semper Fi kiddies

Where did the witty comment start, then? I’m a medieval martial artist. I own (and they’re not all weapons, several are tools) several swords of various sizes, 3 longbows, a pole-axe, quarter-staves, knives, daggers (yes, there’s a difference), axes & hatchets, a lump hammer, a sledge hammer, two scythes, no firearms (though I’m not necessarily unfamiliar with them); I’ve probably missed a couple out… You neglected to mention your own expertise? It’s better to be sure of your “opponent’s” experience before trying to be clever, y’know.

In fairness, I will acknowledge the counter-logic of “but there’s all these weapons that not all the classes can use!” Yes, that’s true. Allow me to explain my point slightly better. Every weapon can be used by several by classes. No weapon is exclusive to a class. As I said, some of the OP’s suggestions aren’t bad, IF Anet feel the need to add new weapons (presumably because they add genuine diversity, and not just for the sake of it). But where is the good argument for making a weapon “unique”? A book is by no means a bad idea for a scholar, but why would only an Elementalist, say, be able to use it, and the Mesmer & the Necromancer not?

Yes, “Because the game’s creators have deemed it so, for mechanical and balance reasons”, but that’s entirely arbitrary. It’s not a rational argument. Anet can and WILL do whatever they want to. Including ignore this thread, if they want to! So it isn’t an argument as to why unique weapons should be introduced, is it?

In a classic pencil & paper RPG, I would not have a problem with any of this. I’ll let you use whatever you want; I’ll just inflict an appropriately-sized non-proficiency on you. In an MMO it’s a different matter. Whips & scythes, qua weapons, are a non-starter. If you want to argue that they fulfill some different function, as the sceptre or focus do, that’s another matter; a discussion I’ll cheerfully engage in based on the merits of what is suggested. But as weapons? No, they don’t work. No-one in their right mind would try to hit someone with a scythe if they had something better to hand!

>Claims anybody can use these weapons
>Only owns weapons because is “Medieval martial artist” (lmao)
Ironic.

Yes on new weapons, no on limiting them to one profession.

Musta.9803:

>Claims anybody can use these weapons
>Only owns weapons because is “Medieval martial artist” (lmao)
Ironic.

Your point is what, when you’ve finished trying to sneer? I never said “only owns”; don’t try putting words into my mouth. I know a lot about how to use medieval weaponry; I also own a lot. The two statements are disconnected, since either could be true whilst the other was false. I do not see an argument for creating class-unique weapons. I’m inviting someone to make a rather better one than “Because the dev’s say so”. What are you contributing?

Raedwulf.3712:

Yes, “Because the game’s creators have deemed it so, for mechanical and balance reasons”, but that’s entirely arbitrary. It’s not a rational argument. Anet can and WILL do whatever they want to. Including ignore this thread, if they want to! So it isn’t an argument as to why unique weapons should be introduced, is it?

It is not arbitrary, and it is a rational argument. Mechanics currently say that certain classes cannot wield certain weapons — allowing unique weapons would build on this current mechanic. You are right in that ANet can and will do as they please, but I’ve never argued against that. As for my pointing this all out in the first place, it does prop up unique weapons, as well as invalidate your original point. What keeps you from picking up and using whatever weapon you like? ANet’s mechanics.

I do not see an argument for creating class-unique weapons. I’m inviting someone to make a rather better one than “Because the dev’s say so”. What are you contributing?

Do you have any solid reasoning to say no to the idea? From what I can gather, it seems you’re opposed to it because it makes no logical real life sense, when that is not what we’re operating on at all with this suggestion.

Why exactly would we need class specific weapons? The way it’s set up now, two different classes use the same item(greatsword, for example) but neither of them use them even remotely the same anyway. They are already different weapons mechanic-wise. The only difference would be appearance, and we get access to more weapons on a per-character basis with shared weapons.

I would much prefer they went the exact opposite direction here, and give the existing weapons to classes that don’t have them yet. Unless of course they don’t make sense(warrior with a scepter, for example).

No, it would not “build on”; it would take a currently arbitrary mechanic (“because we feel like making this rule. Because it makes out lives easier if we do it that way, that’s why.”) and make it even narrower. We, Cinder, are splitting hairs. We agree, in essence, that Anet have the power to… and disagree over what the implications of that are.

On the fundamental principle, we disagree. I can accept the status quo, even though if I looked at it in detail, I would probably start saying “Why this, but not that?” I accept that GW2 is only loosely connected to the real world, so I don’t fuss about it, but I would not want to see the game get… “sillier” is the only word I can come up with right now.

In the detail, meh, I don’t want to start explaining just why half the things that people with little knowledge say would be great weapons simply aren’t. Give me a decent pseudo-magical sceptre / focus reason why they should be in the game and I might concede. Give me a game mechanic reason why they should be in the game, and I might concede. At the moment, though, I’ve 5 of 8 classes with ALL of their weapons fully opened up, and I can’t really see a string of skills that’s missing. Unless you want to tell me that X class should also have the skills that Y class has, in which case we’re off into a different argument about class balance & how you want your’s to be equal to everone else’s only better!

Cinder.4865:

Do you have any solid reasoning to say no to the idea? From what I can gather, it seems you’re opposed to it because it makes no logical real life sense, when that is not what we’re operating on at all with this suggestion.

Logical real life physics that appear to be largely true in the game (falling damage, QED) aren’t solid reasoning? Should I presume you want flying mounts and… As for the “we”, is that the royal we? YOU are operating on a different set of criteria to me. That is all. I don’t see anything in the original suggestion that said “real life sense is to be ignored so that we can have whatever we want”.

ANet plans on adding more weapons in future expansions. To me, this signals that they have new ideas for skills for each class — in essence, things are “missing”. And by “missing”, I mean that they know they want to build on the current system and expand it with more skills.

Be it for lore reasons, such as the new skills they’ve introduced are so “strong” that they require an Elementalist to cast them from a grimoire, or mechanical ones, such as augmenting the F1-4 keys in some way, unique weapons are a way to add more flavour to a class and diversify them just that little bit more. While it may not appeal to you personally, it is an appealing idea to many players.

It doesn’t have to happen exactly as the OP has suggested, but the idea of unique weapons, for a lot of players, is a major draw to a class. It’s no different from class-specific armours (which, I know, GW2 does not have), people love them.

Edit: As for your argument about real life, I’m operating solely on the mechanics ANet has laid out for us. I don’t want to impose real life restrictions on the game or suggestions that ANet has yet to do, because it only serves to stunt ideas before they’re even fully realized. As I’ve said many, many times before and will likely say many, many times again: real life analogies do not work in video games, as it’s apples to oranges, and games are an escape from reality into the, often, fantastical.

Personally I am happy to do away with the class only weapons and just be able to pickup and run with what ever floats your boat but in a way that suits the profession you play. Such as thief with a staff that makes invisible for 60s and has a couple of ranged attacks that is all you can do with that weapon but you get the staff stats too.

Theif and longbow obviously would be awesome, Engineer carrying duel daggers, I dunno I personally just find class based weapons a con in today’s gaming environment.

Not big on the limitation, as there’d inevitably be something I’d prefer that another class gets, but more weapons in general would be welcome.

That said, if rangers got crossbows, blowguns, or anything else as an additional max-range option, I’d be cool with however they want to do it. <_<

Kind of a cool idea, not sure how easy it would be to balance though.

Then the world would be filled with drops that only one profession can use. It’s the exact opposite of what the game follows.

Also, for every person that can’t understand why a Mesmer can use a greatsword, there are others who can. We don’t all have the same perceptions. Some may know why, because they found the lore/sources that explained it, and it makes sense to them. But others wouldn’t understand, because they never were given the same knowledge.

The same can be said about uniqueness. Engineers and Warriors both use Rifles, but they use completely different attacks. Some consider that unique.

My point is, it wouldn’t add much to the game, and would just become “why didn’t we get XXX?” or “why did they get YYY?” while also making drops become useless to the major of the population.

Cinder, I’m sure Anet have lots of plans for future expansions. It’s one of the reasons I always wince at the suggestions for missing classes which are, invariably, unbalanced if not downright daft. Anything suggested here… Anet probably had it on the drawing board at least 6 months ago!

My argument is not that I expect things that are unappealling to me to not be added. That would be selfish. I’ve already acknowledged that I tolerate stuff that is daft in GW2, and that I am happy to tolerate new stuff that is plausible, even if it’s unfeasible in real life (up to a point). Yes, maybe let the Necromancer have a scythe IF the argument is that the scythe is a symbolic item like the focus. I assume no-one thinks of the focus as something you physically bash someone over the head with?

It is that 1) most gamers & games designers are clueless when it comes to what a weapon is & how it works (that goes all the way back to TSR and D&D, who pretty much started the craze for including everything under the sun that might have been used once somewehere, sometime, as a weapon, without understanding the why or how of it); 2) that no-one, so far, has presented a good argument as to why a weapon should be unique to a class. All the classes are already strongly differentiated in what they do & how they do it. Apart from inducing protest from players like me (and I’m not the only one here saying that unique weapons are a bad idea), if you put them in, you’ll then draw howls of protest from others who will say “Wow! That’s really cool! Errr… Why can’t my class use it? I think my class SHOULD because… I WANT that weapon on my class!” To that, whilst you can talk about mechanics, your response ultimately boils down “You can’t have it because I DON’T want you to have it…”

Lots of players may want unique weapons, but lots also don’t, and lots will want your unique weapons to not be unique if they ever come in. I’ll put my faith in Anet, and hope they continue to resist the temptation! Also, I flatly disagree with your assertion “real life analogies do not work in video games”. I’ve already gone wall o’ text again, so I’ll confine myself to taking that line at face value and asking, do you therefore think we should not take falling damage? That’s obviously based on real world physics. Do you think every class should have a personal flying spell that allows them to pass over everything at 200% speed? That’s fantastical, too…

Nice debate, by the way!

{edit} Incidentally, on the Mesmer / greatsword thing, I rationalise that as the Mesmer being an illusion based warlock (given that warlocks are most often envsioned as chucking around fireballs & lightning bolts, whilst typically being able to use more weaponry than a “standard” magician type).