Guild Wars 2

Step 1. Nerf all vanilla Minor Traits.
Step 2. Allow vanilla specializations to be “upgraded” into Elite specializations once placed into the third elite slot; gaining new minor traits to define the spec.

The slot where you can place your elite spec should upgrade any vanilla trait line into an elite specialization with new minor traits which are stronger and which define the elite.

- No need for new profession mechanics (i.e. all new shroud like Reaper shroud). All that is needed is a simple but defining tweak to the overall playstyle.

EXAMPLE: Placing Blood Magic in the necromancers third specialization line will upgrade it into the Vampire elite spec. The new minors cold look something like

Tier 1 Minor: Blood Shroud – You gain 33% of all incoming healing effects while in shroud. Does not apply to siphons.
Tier 2 Minor: Vampiric – Same as before but increases the effectiveness of all siphones by 20%
Tier 3 Minor: Unnatural Shift – Your dodge rolls are replaced with a shadowstep with slightly increased range. Gain 1 second of quickness after dodging.

Might seem strong but, hell, so do elite specs.

None of the Major traits will be effected. This keeps things a bit more simple while still providing a very hefty buff to vanilla specs.

Making the elite spec Minors exceptionally stronger than non-elite specs will help define the playstyles of the elite specs; making traits easier to balance overall. (by having one definitive leading specialization.)

EDIT:

Btw, yes, that would mean every class would have access to 5 vanilla elite specs. (albeit without as much stuff like new weapons and new class mechanics)

Nobody has any thoughts at all?

How is this different than Anet just making a new elite spec? ’Cuz (using your example) the “Vampire Blood” elite does not exist and Anet would still have to create it.

And isn’t part of the appeal of an Elite spec that they do have some sort of new functionality? If a warrior whacks away with their sword as a vanilla or whacks away with their sword as the new “Whacker Elite,” then other than the numbers being a bit different, how does that change game play?

Sounds on the face of it like a minor nerf to all lines not slotted in slot 3 along with a buff to 1 core line. This might mean a narrowing of the power creep gap between the have-nots of core and the haves of HoT. The concerns that I’d have are:

• Does ANet intend Elite power creep as a sales incentive? If so, we can discuss this all we want, but it won’t happen.
• Not all minor traits are equal, and not all would be easily nerf adjusted without being rendered useless.
• As always, just how much dev time would this take and what would suffer as a result.
• ANet has iterated the trait system so much that there comes a point where “good enough, let’s move on” becomes more enticing than, “Let’s reinvent again.” It was my belief that the current iteration was supposed to represent a solid foundation onto which expansions of profession capability in the form of elite specs would be grafted.

It’s an interesting thought, well thought out with a lot of potential. I wouldn’t nerf the minor traits a whole lot but having a vanilla elite would make core builds more viable.

However it’s the allure of something new that gets me interested in elites. If we could get both without suffering, awesome, but I wouldn’t sacrifice fresh content for upgrading core traits.