Guild Wars 2

I heard some suggestions recently to change weaponskills. the most important two is to throw it open that you can choose all your weaponskills from a poll just like your utility skills or two make different lines of skill for the same weapon you can choose between.

First off all I agree that at the moment it is too boring. Specially cause some classes are being really pushed to a single weapon

Throwing it fully open would be too dramatic for balancing things.

So I have a system in mind called Weaponsets.

What is a weaponset?
A weaponset is created in two way.

single weaponset are created by doubleclicking a newly acquired 2 handed weapon that is suitable for your class. You get a message warning you that this action makes it soulbound and if you are sure. Upon doing so it changes to an empty weaponset. More bout that later

combined weaponsets are created by doubleclicking a newly acquired 1 hand weapon. then you get a popup box aking you to drag a second weapon there (if you clicked an offhand only weapon then you can only add a main hand weapon and off course it most be suitable for your class). After making the set again your warned that this makes it soulbound and if your are sure. The result will be an empty weaponset.

Important to note here is that this will be 1 item. If you hover over it you see both weapons and stats of both weapons but it only takes one slot in your inventory.

In you hero screen you can now only equip weaponsets.

Equipping an empty weaponset

On equiping an empty weaponset you get a popup window asking you to select skills (1-5). Each slot have 3 different and unique options. wich ones depends on the weapon or weapons in the weaponset. (using a scepter will give three unique options for the scepter on your class, so yes this basicly means there will be 3 times as many weaponskills in total).

You can combine them as much as you want, just remember, each slot let you choose between 3 skills, the end result will be that you weaponset is very unique with 243 possible combinations. when done you click apply. You get a warning that this is permanent. After this the weapon is equiped in the weaponsetslot.

unequipping a weaponset
If you unequip a weaponset it will stay with the selected skills, they are part now off the set. If your re-equip them the same chose skills are back.

alt+clicking a weaponset means you open up a read only menu showing the different skill without needing to equip it. you can also nick name the weaponset so you can easily remember which one it is (e.g. ‘my condition daggers’)

Some side notes

Same looks
It is possible to have 2 identical weaponsets where the weapons look the same. This results will be that in PvP/WvW it is hard to guess what your oponents moves can be and if you dont see the weaponswap you can be surprised with a total new set off skills.

Elementalist
Ele’s have attunements. For each slot they can choose between two skills for each attunement. Besides that there will be a 5th bonus attunement. This attunement (f5) will have the possibillity to combine 5 skills from all 4 attunements. Any attunement trait effect will not work on this bonus attunement. This set can have the same skills (advantage is that you can change to it while the first is on cooldown) or totally different skills then the other 4 attunements.

So for each skillslot ele’s choose 5 skills, 4 for the normal attunements and 5 for the bonus attunement (where you can combine fire, air, water and earth skills but where attunement traits dont apply). (note some utility skills need to be reworked, if you are e.g. attuned to the bonus attunement and you use glyph of lesser elementals you summon one of the four elementals, wich one is then random)

Transmutation stones
Using a transmutationstone (name of the item should change) will first ask if you want to transmutate a weaponsskin or if you want to break a weaponset. if you choose to transmutate the effect is like your used to. If you want to break a weaponset you can drag a weaponset to the window and you are asked if you want to break it. For transmutating the rule of level 79 or below stays, but for breaking a weaponset that doesnt apply. Breaking a set will give back the original two weapons (soulbound or account bound), ready to be used again for a new weaponset with new skills.

Legendary weaponsets
If you equip a legendary weapon for a legendary weaponset you get a few advantages.
a: when making the legendary weaponset, if you use a 1h legendary weapon then regardless what the other weapon is, it will have the looks of that weapon, but it will have level 80 ascended stats just like the legendary So even if it is a level 1 white dagger, if you combine it with incinerator you will have a legendary weaponset with ascended stats and the other legendary benefits. The result will be called a legendary weaponset.
b: Upon doubleclicking alegendary weaponset you not only can select the stats (of both weapons) but also the skills. The only requirement is that you have to be out of combat to do so.

This will make wielding 2 legendary’s purely cosmetic. but will balance the difference between 1h and and 2h legendary weapons (atm a 1 handed as as difficult to get as a 2 handed legendary, this advantage makes up for that).

Pro’s
Beside the side effect the most important is that a player gets a lot more control over the skillbar and the skills. But this control dont get so far that balancing becomes an issue.

It also means that you can swap from one greatsword to another greatsword and have totally different skills.

Con’s
For a new player it is harder to understand. This can be countered a little bit with making starter weapons a starter weaponset (so you dont have to worry bout it from the start, but also with good help-balloons.

It is harder to see what build someone is running by just looking at his/her weapon.

Comments??
Please tell me what you think bout my solutions to make weaponskills more exiting and versatile without risking to make it too difficult to balance.