Guild Wars 2

So one of the things that’s been bugging me about GW2 is the amount of skills available per weapon for a given class. 5 for two-handed, 3 for main hand and 2 for off hand (excluding elementalists).

Now yes, most classes have ‘weapon switch’ capabilities and therefore have access to 10 weapon skills at any given time, and that’s great. But what if I want a warrior power build with the mobility and playstyle that I get by using a sword? That’ll never happen with the current system, which is a shame because the sword has always been my favourite weapon to use but I prefer burst power stats.

My suggestion is to add a new mastery system that pertains specifically to a class’ weapons. For example, by progressing the ‘tree’ for swords, I can unlock abilities to replace the standard ones (for example, higher direct damage attacks which apply vulnerability), so that one is then able to use the sword for a power build. Likewise, this could apply to all other weapons.

My motivation for this is three-fold:
- More build variation: I don’t want to be forced to use a scepter for 100hrs+ just because I like playing condi necromancer. Slot skills have huge customisation potential because there are many of them. Weapons, not so much.
- Aesthetics: Greatswords are cool, but what if I want to roam around like a knight in shining armour with a sword and shield, without compromising on my warrior’s damage potential?
- Fun: Weapon skills get dry, plain and simple. The elite spec mastery system introduced in HoT is a breath of fresh air to classes, but I feel like the weapon system has been somewhat left behind in that regard (excluding the addition of new weapons, but again they fulfil very niche purposes). Similar to the first point, I don’t want to have to use a weapon I don’t find as fun to play just because it’s the only viable weapon for a given build.

I hope this doesn’t come across as too complain-y, because I absolutely love the dynamic, active combat system that GW2 has. It’s one of those things that keeps me drawn to this MMO in comparison to others. I just feel like the weapons could be given a bit of a touch-up to make them more interesting to experiment with.

Got this idea from Secret World Legends? I was thinking their trait system could fit GW2, and it’s immensely better than what we have, since it truly let’s you build however you want.

Example, the Assault Rifle being a healing weapon, but you can use traits to specialize in direct some damage, aoe healing or condition damage. I’d love to see something like this…