Guild Wars 2

I am a fan of the Ranger class. I also love the Guardian. And I loved playing the Monk class back in GW1.

Now, regarding elite specializations: I hate it when people request me to abuse my Ranger by playing a Druid. Nope, that is certainly not what I created a Ranger character for. Ranger are fighters, not healers … and druids were mystic clerics in mythology and had ZERO to do with rangers.

The fact that they decided to give the Ranger (I repeat, the RANGER!) a healer’s elite specialization (Rangers are fighters not healers!) instead of giving those abilities to the Guardian (a class that is already prone to healing) makes me facepalm every single time.

Note: Dragonhunter would have been ideal for a Ranger elite specialization. (Oh well.)

Or even better: why not introducing the Monk to GW2?? I miss that class severely and if there wasn’t a need for a healer class you wouldn’t have abused the Ranger to fill that gap.

Actually…Druids are more related to Rangers, rather than Clerics. They are at one with Nature, similar to the Ranger. In fact, in AD&D scenarios, Rangers can cast Druidic spells, once they’ve reached a certain level. So, it makes perfect sense for a Ranger’s specialization to be Druid.

And the historic Druid were very much tied to the same things the ranger class in GW2 is. The entire Nature Magic Spec is a direct rip from druid. Get over it dude, it makes sense for our class. No one said you had to play it.

Ashantara.8731:

I am a fan of the Ranger class. I also love the Guardian. And I loved playing the Monk class back in GW1.

Now, regarding elite specializations: I hate it when people request me to abuse my Ranger by playing a Druid. Nope, that is certainly not what I created a Ranger character for. Ranger are fighters, not healers … and druids were mystic clerics in mythology and had ZERO to do with rangers.

The fact that they decided to give the Ranger (I repeat, the RANGER!) a healer’s elite specialization (Rangers are fighters not healers!) instead of giving those abilities to the Guardian (a class that is already prone to healing) makes me facepalm every single time.

Note: Dragonhunter would have been ideal for a Ranger elite specialization. (Oh well.)

Or even better: why not introducing the Monk to GW2?? I miss that class severely and if there wasn’t a need for a healer class you wouldn’t have abused the Ranger to fill that gap.

The monk in Guild Wars 2 is the Core/basic Guardian. They got sick of just being backline healbots and equipped heavy armor and weapons so they could heal while kicking kitten on the front lines.

Elite specializations aren’t ‘same but more’ of the base class – Instead, they take it in a different/unique direction that either allows the class to be something new or shore up weaknesses in the original design. This time around, Guardians and Rangers decided to cross-class with each other.

Guardians didn’t need another healing/support specialization, when they already have Virtues, Valor, and Honor. Rangers didn’t need another weapon specialization when they already had Marksmanship, Skirmishing, and Survival.

Monk and Dervish are highly religious professions that no other race than Humans could be, if looking at it from a thematic point of view. They were strongly tied to the six gods that none of the other races would even consider to worship (Closest being the Norn, but they only Revere, as it’s made quite clear that Norn would never lower themselves to worship unless they’re filthy Dragonlovers).

Now, that doesn’t mean these two professions can’t get a spiritual successor, just without all the religious connotations. Dragonhunter was given to Guardian because another chief complaint about Guardians was their lack of Long-Range damage dealing capabilities and CC. Next Elite spec will probably combine Healer with mobility, as they’re the two most asked for features for Guardians atm.

And I hope the next elite spec for ranger gives them Rifle (I want to be a Charr, Her Gun, and her devourer!) and focuses on giving rangers a much-needed boost to damage and defense.

I always found it odd they turned a ranged DPS pet class into a healer myelf.

Maybe monk will show up in next xpac?

Ashantara.8731:

I am a fan of the Ranger class. I also love the Guardian. And I loved playing the Monk class back in GW1.

Now, regarding elite specializations: I hate it when people request me to abuse my Ranger by playing a Druid. Nope, that is certainly not what I created a Ranger character for. Ranger are fighters, not healers … and druids were mystic clerics in mythology and had ZERO to do with rangers.

The fact that they decided to give the Ranger (I repeat, the RANGER!) a healer’s elite specialization (Rangers are fighters not healers!) instead of giving those abilities to the Guardian (a class that is already prone to healing) makes me facepalm every single time.

Note: Dragonhunter would have been ideal for a Ranger elite specialization. (Oh well.)

Or even better: why not introducing the Monk to GW2?? I miss that class severely and if there wasn’t a need for a healer class you wouldn’t have abused the Ranger to fill that gap.

Instead of arguing that ANet should have consulted me before they started implementing the elites, rather than imposing my world view on the game…
… I find it more fun (and easier) to focus my energies on making good use of the tools the game offers me.

I don’t necessarily disagree with the OP’s analysis, I just think it’s moot. ANet didn’t add a Monk class, they didn’t offer a healing elite to other classes (most of which can already do it, using vanilla specs). The matched druid to ranger, for better or worse. I find it fun to play (well, except for the fact that a lot of my buddies seem to deliberately dodge out of healing fields, because they are used to constantly moving).

“…the hunting pack gathered around and as the arch shaman casts his enchantment, her bow straightened into a staff, no longer was she a hunter, she becomes a druid…” – from AoW III

I would kinda like to see some lore in game that shows how Alesia started the very first Guardian school, training others in her particular way of fighting. Except of course now they would be wearing armor for the task.

GW1 had monks. I didn’t play one.

My main memory regarding monks is standing at every Zaishen mission in a group saying ‘6/8 GLF 2 monks’ for 5-15 minutes.

My second strongest memory is advertising my services as ‘LFG SOS rit (or prot)’, being taken by a group, and immediately hearing ‘switch to resto heals please’ before leaving the group and trying LFG again.

There are never quite as many people who want to play healer as there is need for them. Pen and paper roleplayers have known this for more than 30 years, and MMO players for more than a decade, but it took GW2 for a dev to finally get the *@#£ing message.

Getting rid of the healer class is the best thing Anet ever did.

And now they’ve put them back.

sigh

they simpyl dont exist ,because they are a human lore bonded class.

All other races have NO monks..

if there ever would be something related to monks, as E-Spec it would need to have an other name, so that it fits together with all playable races – Ascetic for example.

And you know as well as me, that of they ever woudl add somethign like, this, it absolutely won’t be the same like what you know of GW1.

If its just the healer thing you are searching for, the best thing you can do is play either Tempest, Ventari-Revenant or Druid

I used to love my Monk in GW1 but sadly in Anets infinite wisdom they removed them and any fun that was to be had with them..

Yea, monks are heavily religious themed class, with dervishes, have most likely lost their most of their power.

Charr don’t believe in gods.
Norn are more shamanistic.
Asura don’t hold much of a religion either, instead just philosophy of innerworkings of the universe.
Sylvari are mostly blank slates given personality and purpose by the dream of the pale tree, the pale tree is their mother, but not their god.

On other thought when thinking about elite specialization:
I hoped that Necromancers would have received 2-handed Scythe instead of Greatsword on their Reaper elite, would fit more the concept and all…

They did this for a very simple reason.

People do not want full support builds in this game. In fact, they get really really angry when they see people on full support builds. Back when Nomad’s gear was introduced, there were pages upon pages upon pages of complaints on the forum that people were running around in “useless” gear that did effectively zero DPS.

ArenaNet learned from this, and when chosing which class they would make the official healer class, they chose the Ranger because even a full support Ranger is never zero DPS because they have a pet with its own stats that are unaffected by the gear that the Ranger has equipped and only moderately by his build.

It was to keep the player base from screaming “I HATE HEALERS”, nothing more.

The nonhuman races might not be eligible, in theory, to be monks (in name) but in GW1 charr were able to cast monk spells.

TheSwede.9512:

Monk and Dervish are highly religious professions that no other race than Humans could be, if looking at it from a thematic point of view. They were strongly tied to the six gods that none of the other races would even consider to worship (Closest being the Norn, but they only Revere, as it’s made quite clear that Norn would never lower themselves to worship unless they’re filthy Dragonlovers).

charr’s gargoyles and white mantels were monks as well yet they had absolutely nothing to do with the old gods, the same thing counts for the dervish.
it is less a worship and more a tapping in power kind of thing, nothing god related.

So you’d give staff and heals to the class that already has staff and heals, and traps and bow to the class which already has… traps and a bow. lol

The purpose of elite specs was to give classes something new to do.

To answer your question OP:
A monk, a Paragon, and a Ritualist stepped into Mallyx’s lair…

Oh wait..It’s a Guardian now! /slap me un-stoopid.
All silly aside, I believe ANet may touch back onto it’s roots and re introduce different elite classes in the future, with the flavor of some of our all time favorites:)
(I’m looking at you my wonderful Bow Dervish!)

Necrotic.7820:

I would kinda like to see some lore in game that shows how Alesia started the very first Guardian school, training others in her particular way of fighting. Except of course now they would be wearing armor for the task.

Alesia? She was more adept at rezzing the hench with no rez signet and then dying a horrible death while doing it.

Also, the idea that Monk was solely human related is just silly. Stone Summit, Mursatt, charr, husks..lol, Island guardians, Afflicted, Margonites, the game was full of monk skill users. Pure heals? I guess you never drew an AI helper team in Cantha, only to watch them stand stiff and stupid in an Afflicted Monks ROJ and fall over dead.

Ashen.2907:

The nonhuman races might not be eligible, in theory, to be monks (in name) but in GW1 charr were able to cast monk spells.

that was because in GW1 all thigns, enemies as like playes shared the same skills, because ANet didnt make back then themself the huge effort to give all creatures in this game their very own skills, like they did here in GW2, where all enemies, all creatures have their very own skills, nothing shares the same skills from the players.

So your point is invalid

Orpheal.8263:

Ashen.2907:

The nonhuman races might not be eligible, in theory, to be monks (in name) but in GW1 charr were able to cast monk spells.

that was because in GW1 all thigns, enemies as like playes shared the same skills, because ANet didnt make back then themself the huge effort to give all creatures in this game their very own skills, like they did here in GW2, where all enemies, all creatures have their very own skills, nothing shares the same skills from the players.

So your point is invalid

No, the point is that we could have characters who used Monk skills regardless of player character race. It is established in setting that one does not need to be a follower of the human gods to have access to a monk-like build or skills.

Sartharina.3542:

…
Elite specializations aren’t ‘same but more’ of the base class – Instead, they take it in a different/unique direction that either allows the class to be something new or shore up weaknesses in the original design. This time around, Guardians and Rangers decided to cross-class with each other.

Guardians didn’t need another healing/support specialization, when they already have Virtues, Valor, and Honor. Rangers didn’t need another weapon specialization when they already had Marksmanship, Skirmishing, and Survival.

This is where the problems lie. If elite specs are supposed to just be different, then they also need to not be so much better than base specs to nearly erase them. Out of all the classes, I think the only non-elite backline healers are ventari revenants and water staff eles (? don’t know the class), and while ventari revs have a lot of healing druid can do more+nonhealing support. Guardians (since I’m familiar) DO need another healing/support spec, because since tomes were removed they don’t have a backline healing option and staff is rather bad. There are no guardian healers in raids except for Obal’s novelty 10-guard VG which used 2, despite base guard being a supporty/healy class. But even in close support guard is outdone by heralds and tempests, and burnzerkers outburn them. That’s just the example I know most, I’m pretty sure the only time base classes are taken over elite is PS warriors/condi engis and wvw where everything’s crazy anyways.

There should be an elite spec playing to the strength of each base class, or elite specs should be leveled out to par with base. If the former, then those should have been the elites rolled out in HoT. It’s just weird that at endgame one should find what they signed up for when rolling the class actually isn’t what the class is good for.