Guild Wars 2

I’m sure most of us can agree that the game gets real stale once you’ve been 80 for a while. I’m sure we can also agree that while we were leveling, each zone we entered was beautiful and visually stunning. I’ve been thinking for some time now how can ArenaNet make this game tasteful and fun again.

I came up with ascended professions. Imagine evolving your very own profession. A guardian evolving into a templar, an elementalist evolving into a sage, a necro evolving into a warlock and an engineer evolving into a machinest. I was thinking once a character hits 80 they have a choice to ascend there profession. the character goes back to level 1 but doesnt lose his current gear or anything and a whole new set of traits are formed. I would say you have to make new gear but just the visual look of gear should reflect to the current ascended profession.

To make it easier to explain refer back to ragnarok online. Something like that would be so much fun and it would motivate so much players that left this game due to boredom once you reach 80. I know I took a 6 month leave only because it was so kitten boring at 80. There was nothing to do, dungeons take to long for crappy loots and fractals took even longer to actually reach the level to get mediocre loot. The main problem with this game is the loot system. I mean if I kill a world boss that takes coordination and skill to kill and doesn’t respawn that often, I’m going to expect some exotics or something worth my time.

I would really love to see this come into effect in guild wars 2 because I do love what arena net did with this game. Everything is so unique and smooth. So I can imagine how amazing they can take this idea and make it better. If you agree with this idea then please help this movement by either sharing this topic and hitting the +1 button so that a Developer can see this.

So essentially you want me to level all my eight characters – again – so they can (again) unlock new traits to be able to do everything an “ascended” or “finished” character can do?

No. Just no. This treadmill mentality has got to stop.

Better idea: An expansion’s worth of armor/weapon skins that are purchased with some sort of token.

I’m not even sure most of us can agree that the game gets stale when you’ve hit 80 for a while.

I like the idea of ascended professions but done in a different way from the OP’s idea. I think it would be more logical to ascend individual trait lines by passing some sort of complicated trial that would require mastery of one’s profession and mastery of that trait line to succeed.

Passing the trial would ascend that trait line and give you access to a new weapon type and/or a new tier of traits past grandmaster with 2 extra points to spend soley on that, but you would only be able to use one ascended line (and one new weapon) at a time, to ensure that old weapons and skills are still used.

I’ll illustrate an example using necromancers.

The trials will involve mastery of the theme of that trait line in a sort of guantley scenario, culminating in a boss fight against an “avatar” or that traitline. This trial must be done alone with you as the only player, but some NPCs may be involved, and here are some examples

Spite-The trial is raw DPS check, with you having to do certain amounts of damage within a time limit to succeed, showing mastery of the necromancer’s damage potential. Additionally, CC skills may be used to grant more time to finish the parts of this trial.
The Avatar of Spite would use both necromancer axe skills and the new weapon for that traitline’s skills and would use high control and heavy damage attacks on you. Passing the trial would give a new past-GM minor that unlocks an improves a new weapon, and a past GM trait that gives you better damage or control abilities somehow.

Curses- This trial would be all about condition damage. The enemies would be immune to normal damage, but vulnerable to condition damage. As before, it would be a DPS check, but involving mastery on conditions instead, and being able to properly use boon corruption, and epidemic would be the key to success. The avatar of curses would essentially be a giant terrormancer.

Death Magic- This trial will be all about sustain and minion mastery… but mostly sustain. You’d have to use all of the necromancers tools to survive crossing a dangerous puzzle that hurts you if you don’t use DS and what not to help you survive. The avatar of death magic uses staff skills and has an army of minions.

Blood Magic- This trial involves group support, AoE spiking via wells, and enemies that are only vulnerable to the siphoning mechanic or wells. For one part, you need to keep NPCs called disciples of blood magic alive using well of blood and DS heal traits, while they cross through a dangerous area, much look the TA aetherpath ooze puzzle. The avatar of blood magic uses daggers, a new weapon (sword maybe?) and wells.

Soul Reaping- This trial will involve mastery of Deathshroud and life force allocation is some way. The avatar will use deathshroud skills against you. Instead of a new weapon, since its the class maehcanic line, this line should introduce new utility skills that enhance the class mechanic. For necromancers this could be unlocking skills 6-10 for DS, which are heal/utilities/elite that may consume life force to work.

I agree with a previous post that the treadmill mentality must stop.

The “get stronger is the only way of progressing” mentality must stop.

No. More. Power. Creep.

Stop it!

Vayne.8563:

I’m not even sure most of us can agree that the game gets stale when you’ve hit 80 for a while.

It does.

I’d prefer cool profession armors and weapons. The closest my Guardian has to that is Foefire’s Essence.

I don’t think it does. I’ve hit 80 on my first (main) character back in .. late 2012 or so, and it certainly didn’t get stale for me. Since then he has progressed in other things than numbers, I’ve come up with different builds with different armour sets and of course hunted down specific items for different looks. I really like it that once you hit max level, you can craft your end level gear right away. True you can go for ascended after that, but the stat difference is fairly minor when compared to say, the fine/masterwork/rare/exotic numbers. While I would love individual ‘trials’ for skill lines as described above to test my mastery of a profession, I think that such things should not feel mandatory to ‘finish’ a character. Titles or skins would be a better reward for that.

eye floater.7140:

Vayne.8563:

I’m not even sure most of us can agree that the game gets stale when you’ve hit 80 for a while.

It does.

Not as stale as it is while you’re leveling.

At least at 80 you can actually do things with traits, you know?

There’s no way I’m leveling my ten level 80 characters from the ground up again. No way.

I don’t want a gear grind, I don’t want the illusion of progress, and I don’t want to be chasing numbers. That is why I don’t play other MMOs.

However if they added new traits and skills to increase the number of builds and versatility of the professions, then I think I would probably support it. I know they said they wanted to limit how many skills and traits there were because GW1 became too hard to balance, but it seems GW2 is still too hard to balance, so we might as well have interesting and versatile builds while dealing with that.

Just don’t make it a grind. Leveling up my ascended crafting was one of the most unpleasant things I’ve ever done in a game, I honestly had to take a break after that. And I worry any attempt to add skills and traits would turn into a terrible grind.

Buttercup.5871:

So essentially you want me to level all my eight characters – again – so they can (again) unlock new traits to be able to do everything an “ascended” or “finished” character can do?

No. Just no. This treadmill mentality has got to stop.

I never said its mandatory. I said if the player chooses to ascend his character he can. I also never mentioned that the ascended class will be stronger than its previous class. Just different from its previous class, as in different skills. I think this would just bring more flavor to the game.

I do think that the whole “trial” system does sound like a better way to go about ascending a class. My thought on leveling again would make it just more rewarding rather than just completing a 3 min trial that just seems to easy mode. But I guess from level 1 would be a pain. maybe from level 40 or 60, idk just an idea of coarse.

Personally I have leveled 27-28 toons to 80 (I delete them unfortunately) due to boredom that hits me when I have been 80 with a toon for awhile. That’s just me ,but instead of ascended profession system we just need new races ,and professions out right. The game has added barely any real content to speak of considering the little new areas don’t have much in them ,and most content updates are more about adding cash shop items then anything. So in my opinion please give GW2 the same love the first one was given. The expansions gave new classes ,areas ,and tons of other stuff which GW2 needs on that scale.

Spaceghost.3485:

I came up with ascended professions. Imagine evolving your very own profession. A guardian evolving into a templar, an elementalist evolving into a sage, a necro evolving into a warlock and an engineer evolving into a machinest. I was thinking once a character hits 80 they have a choice to ascend there profession. the character goes back to level 1 but doesnt lose his current gear or anything and a whole new set of traits are formed. I would say you have to make new gear but just the visual look of gear should reflect to the current ascended profession.

^ this statement is not a solution for what you ourself outlined as the main issue:

Spaceghost.3485:

There was nothing to do, dungeons take to long for crappy loots and fractals took even longer to actually reach the level to get mediocre loot. The main problem with this game is the loot system. I mean if I kill a world boss that takes coordination and skill to kill and doesn’t respawn that often, I’m going to expect some exotics or something worth my time.

I can understand wanting more to do at 80, but reverting back to “level 1” to make a player forget about the loot sucking is only going to delay (or enhance even) their dissatisfaction with the game. In the end, as you say, the main issue is with the reward. Why bother reaching 80 again if the loot is going to be as terrible as my first ascent to 80?

They talked about Ascended professions some time ago but it was more about horizontal progression that not power creep or a treadmill that a sub job system.

I do no agree at all that the game gets stale at 80 for a while. Been 80 for years (how long has the game been out?) on my only level 80 character and it’s not stale at all.

This idea is absolutely horrible and goes against everything gw is supposed to be. Just absolutely horrible. If you’re looking for a time sink please go find it somewhere else, don’t turn this great game into a place to waste time for people who have too much.

Spending time just to spend it is not good gaming, it’s wasting your life.