Transparency on "Way Forward" for Classes
They posted something like this a while ago:
I want to pose a question to Arena Net:
Are classes being balanced to fulfill certain roles or niches?
Before this turns into an argument about SPvP, WvW, or PvE I want to indicate that I am discussing all of them. I don’t care if you think Anet developers only play warriors.
In other MMOs, classes/professions have at least semi-clearly defined roles (either through design or through gearing and traiting) or they are pushed to fulfill certain shortcomings, in time.
Hint: This is where you (the reader) would want to step in and indicate that any class/profession can do X task as well as Y for Z content. But let me stop you there.
I absolutely agree there should be some cross pollination, we’ve seen this in other MMOs where a particular class is absolutely required for certain content, and that is typically avoided for those reasons.
Do classes fulfill a certain role now? Do you bring a warrior solely for damage and fury? Guardian for projectile reflection? These questions are rhetorical, do not bloat the post by answering them.
These are just thoughts. The main question being, What is the future planning for class balancing? Will I, in five months, switch my main to a warrior because of one small adjustment to Battle Standard? Will a Ranger trait be rebalanced to include a significant shift in weapon/sigil synergy? Should I make The Minstrel or wait to see if any changes will be made to Guardian Shield 4?
Please, inform the community of not what you are working on, but what your ultimate end goal is. I.e., I would rather know that over the course of a year, at some point, X class will be primarily designed to perform Y as opposed to shuffling around abilities for unknown reasons (primarily towards the current warrior changes: why shift things to provide more mitigation and longevity? Does Anet want warriors to be more durable, in general? Or will there be changes coming to condition damage and healing modifiers?).
Just some thoughts.
They posted something like this a while ago:
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