Guild Wars 2

Just watched PoF release, more new specs, but still no new skills… why?

I heard a couple years ago new skills were “on the table,” which is why I keep checking up on Anet and the game. Is this just a pipe dream for me? I just want to love this game and come back. Does anyone else feel as if new skills would be extremely refreshing for the game, or is the majority of players totally cool with just more specs? They just aren’t enough for me to come back to the game.

They do include new skills.

I don’t remember all of them but rangers are getting stances, guardians are getting tomes which are like long-term support skills, engineers get new toolbelt skills (I think) and so on. Plus of course new weapons that will each come with 2-5 new weapon skills.

I assume that just like HoT the new skills will be unlocked as part of the elite specialisation track – but once they’re unlocked they function just like normal skills.

I thought the new weapons (besides Ele) had new skills.

Each new Elite Specialisation comes with up to 8-11 new skills (2-5 weapons, 1 heal, 4 Utility and 1 Elite)…. so why just take 1 if you can have both?

In some special cases (for example the mirage or weaver) that skill numbers will also be extraordinary high (around 35 for the weaver I heard)

As others have said the elite specs give each class a new weapon (new weapons skills) and new utility, healing and elite skills that work with those specs they also add new class mechanics, these are often skills. HoT also added a “special action” concept, this special action is a skill that becomes active in certain situation most often in boss battles in raids but also in the latest Living Story.

So they have added lots of new skills.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

I thought the new weapons (besides Ele) had new skills.

The Elementalist has a lot of new weapon skills with sword. The number 1 and 2 skills are unique to sword and differ with each element as you’d expect. The number 3 skill is like the Thief number 3 skills when they’re Dual Wielding; it changes depending on which attunements you’ve selected, so if you’re Fire and Water it’s different that if you’re Fire and Earth or Fire and Fire. Unlike Thief Dual Wield skills which only apply when you’re wielding two weapons they also get this on Staff.

It sounds fantastic and might be enough to make me switch mains, TBH.

I just watched it again and I saw nothing about new elite or utility skills. I’m somewhat wondering if the skills they talked about were just the weapon skills? I just feel like if they were adding new elites and utility skills it would have been a major point and not just skimmed over lightly while talking about specs. Maybe I’m a kitten and I’m missing something idk. Lol

Edit: just watched someone demoing the scourge, I see the new skills. Thanks for the replies

xKole.9175:

I just feel like if they were adding new elites and utility skills it would have been a major point and not just skimmed over lightly while talking about specs.

Did you even check what an elite specialization is? Just by checking the wiki you’ll find the answer to your question:

In contrast to core specializations, which merely allow use of certain traits, choosing an elite specialization fundamentally changes abilities of a given profession by providing it access to a new weapon, healing skill, elite skill and a set of utility skills in addition to its own set of traits, as well as by altering or expanding on the base profession mechanic. All core profession skills, weapons and specializations are still available while an elite specialization is equipped.

Each (new and existing) elite specialization adds a new healing skill, a new elite skill and a set (usually four) of new utility skills. No need to give them special mention when they are a fundamental part of what makes up an elite spec anyway.

As for why they didn’t make a big deal of it I assume that’s because it’s exactly the same thing they did with HoT so it’s not really news any more.

Just like they didn’t make a big thing of not increasing the level cap or adding new equipment tiers and instead giving us masteries – that’s now business as usual for GW2 so it’s not worth spending much time on it when they’ve got all the other stuff to announce.

(Having said that the previews do show the characters using new skills and weapons – they just don’t explicitly say “this is not a trait, this is a skill which will go in a utility/weapon/elite slot”).