Guild Wars 2

This is one of the things I’d like most in this game. Classes could really gain a strong sense of identity as a whole if you see them running around in gear that is specific to their speciality. Tiers would be interesting as well to add more variation and flavour.

I would really like that. They had it in GW1 so they can find its way into GW2 too. But it shouldn’t work with transmutation stones either. It will be nice to see warrior and guardians be able to ware the same or different armor skins.

When I was creating my necro for the first time, I thought it was going to happen. I miss my leather looking armor from the first game.

Gotta say, one of the best suggestions I’ve read. Simple and easy to do, time to make the Archers engineers and thieves really stand apart ;p

No, no, and no. If thieves want to pretend to be half as awesome as me by getting my armor, that’s their decision, and they should be allowed to do it.

Besides, you don’t need, or even deserve a strong sense of identity in a game where you’re literally exactly the same as everyone else, no matter what. There are no roles, no jobs in any part of the game that can be done by one profession better than another.

Lastly, it would be a far better move to simply add more variation in armor skins, without limiting them by profession. After all, just look at a sword/dagger ranger, and a sword/dagger thief:

Sword/dagger Thief
Auto attack, with cripple
Shadowstep in, shadowstep out
Evade and stab in the back
Throw dagger to cripple
Vulnerability and stealth

Sword/dagger Ranger:
Auto attack with cripple
Jump out, jump in.
Evade around and backstab
Throw dagger with cripple
Poison and evade.

They’re almost exactly the same thing. You can even put up similar utility skills:
Roll for Initiative ~ Lightning Reflexes
Haste ~ Quickening Zephyr
Spider Venom ~ Sharpening Stone

Minor differences between them, but this is essentially true for every profession in the game, where the only difference is their profession mechanic. Because it’s so simple to make a ranger that plays exactly like a thief, or a warrior that plays pretty close to a guardian, or a guardian that’s pretty close to a mesmer and so on… making class specific armor sets is kind of silly.

Why not just make more armor sets?

Nels i think that’s more of an argument FOR profession based armor than against it . If they are going to be similar in almost every other way at LEAST give them something to differentiate themselves other than weapon sets. I’m in favor if Profession based armor even if you don’t get it till later in the game . Maybe give each order one set each race 3 sets and each temple ( balthazar etc ) 2 sets per profession as well as a dungeon set