Guild Wars 2

When specializations were first announced one of my worries was that people would feel forced/obligated to use the weapons and skills related to them, making them all play about the same, and now that we’re getting details, there doesn’t seem to have been much done to prevent this.

I would strongly suggest loosening the tie between the new weapon and skills from elite specializations; having to first unlock their use via the new “hero points wheel” is fine, but having to take that specialization to use them at all is unnecessarily restrictive. Many people like to use more than one skill type in their builds, like a single signet or shout, because it fits their build or they find it more fun, and they don’t always have the associated traits for each type. Likewise, sometimes they use untraited weapons because they find a certain one more fun or a good fit for their build that doesn’t necessarily include the trait.

Forcing people to be a chronomancer to use mesmer shield/wells, or a Dragonhunter to use longbow/traps, etc, badly stifles such builds and doesn’t seem to really give any trade off. The traits and ability being added with the spec, and made accessible through the wheel, is enough to make them feel connected to the specialization.

It’s supposed to be restrictive, otherwise there’s no tradeoff, and someone with the specialisation has an even more significant advantage over someone who doesn’t. Hell, it’s a pretty weak-sauce limitation as it stands.