Guild Wars 2

It’d be really handy to have an authoritative source of skill info, and the API mechanic seems like a great way to distribute it.

It could include:
- Profession/Race restrictions.
- Weapon/Heal/Utility/Elite
- Subclass of each (Axe or Signet)
- Cast Time
- Aftercast Delay
- Cooldown Time
- channeled?
- #Attacks, Damage/Damage Multiplier
- Conditions, Boons, etc.
- Combo Field/Finisher
etc.

Right now, so much of this information is collected by trial and error, and not well distributed where anyone can get it.
Also, this data should be static between patches, and is ‘public’, so wouldn’t be imbalancing.

PS – Trait buff info, too, if you can.

Please add [API Suggestion] to the title as that seams to be what the community is doing for tagging suggestions. This may make it easier to find in the future.

I could see this being useful for the build calculators.

Updated title, now that there is a convention.

No activity here. And yet it would be very usefull for managing a builder. It would also facilitate the theorycraft.

Absolutely agree. There would be no downside to this as far as I can tell.

It would be cool if some dev could comment on this as it is much requested.

I was thinking to create an app to create builds like http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/ but capturing your PvE and PvP builds of each of your characters, but the application doesn’t have a Auth to connect and get that data. We still need a better API to get those type of API that can give you access and manage your characters on any place at any time.

Hello devs? Any plans? Anything? I’m currently pulling skill/trait data from the wiki, but it’s not as clean as using a proper API…

Even if it would only deliver the current skill descriptions along with professions & ids and icons it’d be great!

smiley.1438:

Even if it would only deliver the current skill descriptions along with professions & ids and icons it’d be great!

I am thinking it would end up being almost or just as complex as the item_details api at this point. I mean, think about it:
every class has X different types of skill groups (stance, shout, trick etc.) and then those sub object could have a bazillion different optional attributes that could make the whole thing pretty messy. you d have to account for everything from range over internal cooldown all the way to cast time and how it behaves all together.

`Skill_type` would just be an attribute of the skill, like `item_type` for items. Similarly, `activation_time` and `recharge_time` (aka cooldown) would be top-level skill/trait attributes.

Range, damage, conditions, healing, etc. – all of these are skill/trait facts. There would be a list `facts` and each element of the list would be an object to describe each fact. The complexity would be contained to these fact objects.

I’ve also been curious about how skills/traits are stored. I played around with them in memory a bit but didn’t get to experiment across multiple professions. I think this would help with what the OP was suggesting, but I’m not sure how viable it’d be.

Please support this ANet. It is difficult to have an up to date database with that information. :P

I run overwolf with this game constantly and i would sell my necro’s soul for a build editor that stored my builds Please anet make the info public thats all you have to do this community will do the rest. all we ask is for the info to be released

We trust you, Pat! <3

Dare I say, it’s one of the most anticipated stuff for the API.

I’m also creating my own spreadsheet to calculate the expected damage. However using the formula on the wiki seems to be giving me a somewhat different result from what it shows in-game.

Having an API or some kind of data dump with current values would be greatly appreciated. Especially because I’m determined to find an alternative build to the popular Berserker builds. The new Sinister stats look promising.

I also hope to see this API! I think it would really give raise to new and better build sites. Right now there’s quite a handful of sites where you can make your builds but most of them are outdated when can be a bit annoying.

I think lot’s of poeple search for builds online, so I think this could really improve the player base for at least WvW and sPvP players.

Sorry to bump up the thread! Just wanted to show that I support this idea too.

Pat! You are our only hope.

Any update on this? Just thought I should check before I copy-paste all trait names and descriptions (1280 separate strings if I didn’t miscount) manually from the wiki… you know, for my own sanity’s sake

AGen.6234:

copy-paste all trait names and descriptions (1280 separate strings if I didn’t miscount) manually from the wiki…

WAT? You know there’s a Mediawiki-API which allows you to automate such things?
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API:Query

You can also use the powers of SMW: https://semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Semantic_search

smiley.1438:

AGen.6234:

copy-paste all trait names and descriptions (1280 separate strings if I didn’t miscount) manually from the wiki…

WAT? You know there’s a Mediawiki-API which allows you to automate such things?
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API:Query

You can also use the powers of SMW: https://semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Semantic_search

Well you learn something new every day, you probably saved me many hours of mindnumbing work, thank you!

I’ve used SMW for my wrapper, but it’s more focused on traits and skills. Data is stored in localStorage.