I hit on this idea in another post I responded to, think its worthy of it’s own suggestion post.
Weapon sub-classing, Keep the current system of weapons and skills, but add more types of those same weapons.
So take a weapon like the sword, pretty simple weapon, but in real life, there are different kinds of swords that are used very differently from each other: take the rapier, a sword for thrusting, maybe swiping at someone with the tip… the sport of fencing replicates a little (very little, but it fits the broadest of form) to how the specific skills for this weapon might animate or function: parrying and thrusting mostly, maybe some slashing with the sword tip for flavor and bleeds. The short sword, fast and maneuverable, the most generic form would be able to slash and thrust, with emphasis on rapid attacks rather than power. A long sword is somewhere in between, meant more for thrusting at weak points in armor, it is perfectly capable of a little hack & slash. And the Scimitar, a true 1 handed slashing weapon, no thrusts here, maybe some could hack, symantics, etc… point being almost every weapon the ones represented in game can be used in very different ways depending on shape, and I think the game could represent this in a fun way while also allowing for more flashy skills, or maybe at least a change in graphics without doing something drastic like going from sword/shield to hammers (And typically suffering painful death for want of something different)
Example varieties with generic names (disclaimer: some might be incorrect):
Swords: rapier (thrusting/parrying), scimitars/khopesh(slashing/hacking), long/short sword(thrusting/slashing)
Greatswords: Katana (typically swung 2 handed, gimme a break…slashing[only]), claymore(yes, generic name…hacking, and big swinging), hand and a half sword (kitten sword if it survives the censors… quicker variety of GS, maybe parrying, or rapid attack dps)
Daggers: Knives (slashing attacks), shanks/spikes/piercing(thrusting), parry daggers
Hammers generally are what they are, maybe a variety with less knockdowns, and more for applying weakness or vulnerability with faster attacks…. so instead of a massive hammer head, you might have something as small as a mace head on a 2 handed weapon model.
Maces: generic mace(be it morning star or what, easy), flail(just because this is fun, maybe imobilize, or other conditions), chain whips(for lack of anywhere better to put them, they go along the lines of the flail type weapon, but a different extreme of size vs speed)
Spears, Tridents, and Spearguns are all hammered down pretty well except that the guardian’s spear auto-attack is ranged compared to all others in that set which are melee only… and I honestly wish I could skewer some fools on land since everyone hates the water
Bows are also nailed down well enough, GW1 had more distinctions in the types of bows, although I don’t see that being an issue in gw2 yet.
Pistols: considering we are already firing flintlock looking things at full auto, it cant hurt to make a distinction between a dueling pistol and something more along the lines of a service pistol (the dueling pistol has longer cooldowns, but hits harder, and the service-type pistol is more about that rapid fire)
Rifles: Fun stuff… sniper/hunting rifles (ranged, single target), Assault-type (rapid fire, medium range), and shotguns/blunderbuss/hand cannons(melee range, cone effect)
Staves: have a Mage/Wizard/Thaumaturge type for casting ranged spells and such, and a quarterstaff, bo or maybe cudgel for some melee action, talking parrying and some knockdowns, daze or confusion, and so forth.
Scepters: Looking for Scepters (for general physical bashing, but not quite a mace, but something to get physical with for those with soft arms), and a wand (for those times you just want to shove a lightning bolt where the sun dont shine)
And the Foci: Tomes/librams etc(defensive variety of skill choices), and focus/symbol/icon etc(offensive abilities)
Remember these are all on top of what is already there, which is typically a fair selection of a variety of what the name’s archetype does… but as said, adds some specialization, new flashy moves, moar gearz, etc. Would also go well with a second drop box in the auction house to further narrow search results (so go Weapon > Greatsword > Claymore > quality…etc, which would also help some when searching for something specific like just light armor, looking for item skins to try). Also it doesn’t need to be so in depth, maybe just break the class in half for the moment and make new skills… dying for the feedback, good, bad and ugly