Guild Wars 2

ELITE SPECIALIZATION PREDICTIONS

From the reveals of Chronomancer and Dragonhunters so far, and mentions from devs about Tempest, Necro with Greatsword and Druids, visual clues from Engi with a Hammer and small flying droids.

Not to mention one Elite specialization getting Shouts, I’ve been noticing some trends and patterns.
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So from these patterns/trends I will have some fun making predictions of what I think will come up.

-Firstly all the new utility skills are thematic to the name of the specialization

-Chronomancer Wells tell time and simulate it’s manipulation of time
Dragonhunter’s traps…..well… they trap dragons? Anyway you get what I mean.

-And also their playstyle gives the Core profession a playstyle that is originally NOT available to them.
Mesmers with Chronomancy get more group support and ground AoE capabilities, with the Shield, Continuum Shift, controlling time, changing skill recharges, etc.
Guardians with Dragonhunting get long-range, pretty straightforward, with the Longbow, Spear of Justice, etc..

So, recap, Utilities match the theme, and gives a brand new playstyle not originally available to them through the Weapon and Profession Mechanic.

I’ll try guess their name, utilities and new weapon. And will have a go of how the mechanic might change or not.

Lets Go!

First up:

1. Forgemaster
- The Engineer Elite Specialisation

Confirmed Facts: New Weapon is Hammer

Hammer-
Gap Closing, Melee Attack’s ranging from Aoe Direct Damage, stuns, and burning burst damage. And from the Trailer their is alot of mobility between enemy attacks, chaining from one to the other. (We all asked for this pretty much)

Utility- Summon skills (like that of Minions/Spirit Weapons)

They can forge machines and mechanics that give a melee playstyle they couldn’t do before, and be able to soak in damage and dish out damage along with them in the form a mobile summons shown in the HoT reveal trailer.

I’d imagine the Elite would be an AI “Hulkbuster” suit that can attack enemies and you can hop into that you can use yourself. Along with the insect bots that we saw that absorbs damage, and that you can send out to to attack enemies.

~~~Mechanic Change- Not sure, all their F skills can do everything. Can’t think of anything else

2. Lich (or Vampires or Immortals)
- Necromancer Elite Specialization- Based of Livia from GW1 Eye of the North

Confirmed Weapon- Greatsword

Utility- Shouts

Other than the Elite Specialization, Necromancers NEED a lot of love as a core class with many lacking capabilities many other classes have: disengage abilities, Stability, and lack of options and utility from the Death Shroud.

All those Specialization names serve the idea of a Necro that can survive for long periods of time, being able to effectively be defensive for itself and allies, with more bursty life siphoning, chills, and transferring Condis to enemies and stealing boons from enemies, while gaining access to more defensive boons itself

Greatsword -
Would give it that mobility and disengage it sorely needs, and getting up close, escaping, and dealing with 1vX fights. Hopefully with a lifesteal skill a lot like Giganticus Lupicus with some stability.

Shouts-
It would work differently from Warrior shouts: clearing condi, and placing single conditions, Guardian shouts: giving itself and allies boons, and Ranger shouts: with specific Pet commands.

Lich shouts for example – Absorbing health in Bursts, Condi Transfers/Boon Stealing, and access to Defensive boons for himself and allies.

Vampire’s Scream- Steal large chunks of health from enemies with the AoE. (Can steal health from your own and other minions too), more within radius, more health for you.

Cry of Immortality- Use of the carcus and corpses within the earth to give you allies Stability and Aegis, blocking the next attack and saving you some stability stacks.

Death Nova- (shout out to GW1 peeps), this shout measures all the damage taken and sends it back out. So you the Necromancer still take damage, but whoever is around you receives it equally. So if three thieves dish out 500 dmg each during Death Nova, once the shout ends, each thieve gets 1500dmg.
(Tit for Tat, as they say)

Elite Shout- “Your life is mine, My life is yours”- This Elite shout is a few second effect, stealing all boons from enemies to yourself, and any conditions on you are given to enemies within a radius.

Again this fills in the defensive niche and group support Necro’s have been lacking, and being able to handle/disengage 1vX situations. And making Lifestealing, Condi and Boon Absorbing/Transfering a more viable option.

Opponents with boons are afraid of being around you, and they have to strategize when to put conditions on you. You can’t burst these guys without caution.

~~~We should be given different skill options from Death Shroud, and being able to build Death shroud from the condi stacks we place.

3. Druids
- Ranger Elite Specialization

Confirmed Weapon: Staff

Utilities- Glamour’s

It’s already quoted and confirmed: “Using the knowledge of druid magic found with the Heart of Maguuma, rangers can choose to specialize and become druids. Druids can wield staff weapons, and have more plant based attacks.”

Staff-
would work a lot like Guardian Staff, except rather than heal, it CC’s and Controls enemy movement with plantlife.

Druid Glamour’s-
I’d imagine they’d possess powers to use Nature and Wildlife directly and to their advantage. Using Sunlight and Photosynthesis to heal allies in the area, use animal spirits to attack enemies, and use plantlife to CC enemies and protect allies.

Glamour Utilities for example-
Photosynthesis, allies absorb sunlight, replenish health, and burn enemies.

Snow White call (or some kitten like that)- All animal spirits just kitten enemies in an area like Shrek 2.

Druid’s Scent- Stuns enemies in an area from a disgusting smell and cures conditions from allies.

Elite Glamour- Pet Overgrowth: Your pet will actually transform into a plant like lifeform (kinda like Swamp thing from Marvel Comics) with it’s own Pet skills and abilities. Your pet literally becomes an embodiment of Forest Nature.

Overall this would be like if Guardian were a Secondary Profession for Rangers, more support and AoE control options. Story-Wise using Modremoth’s abilities against him.

~~~(tough call for changes in Profession Mechanic on this one, pets are still involved, would have to wait for Anet to give more details)

4. Tempest
- Elementalist Elite Specialization

New Weapon: Main Hand Sword

Utilities- Consecrations
from wiki “apply an area effect that aids allies or punishes enemies.” or “involving the placement of helpful effects on the ground.”

Also the word Tempest means: “a violent storm” so I was thinking…

Perhaps the Tempest specialization would manipulate the actual WEATHER of the elements and change climate and temperature to suit it’s combative form.

This would allow Elementalists to go straight up Melee and survive in their own unique way and have more physical control of the environment.
(we have D/D ele, but its close to mid range, and we are still quite squishy and need to be mobile)

Main-Hand Sword:
With this we can do direct close damage, be able to parry and block attacks, freeze enemies in a block of ice with sword touch skills, and stun enemies with blunted stone sword attacks. Making Melee viable for Elementalists for longer periods of time.
With each attunement focusing on different things: Fire- Dmg and Burning, Earth- Stuns and Parry, Water- Freezing, Chill, and enemy CC, Air- Dodges like Thief skills for evades and quick strikes.

Utilities- Consecrations:
Because it’s called a Tempest the Consecrations will take the form of ACTUAL Weather Disasters, and changing climates (effects appropiate conditions) and meddles with temperature.

Volcano: A volcano spawns as a physical entity increasing burning damage and duration and explodes knocking all enemies back. Allies close to the Volcano next attack has burning (Destructible, when destroyed it explodes earlier)

Boulder: Elementalist sends out a Giant boulder knocking down all enemies in a line.

Quick Sand: Sink enemies into the ground AoE, dazing and immobilizing them

Dark night of the Storm: A Thunder Cloud lumes over you and follows you, blinding enemies as DoT, and Thunder does massive damage to enemies who decide to get too close to you.

Tsunami(Possible elite)- Literally Surf on a Tsunami knocking down enemies in a wave and increasing healing stat and give regeneration to allies for a short period. And toggle it freezing the tsunami, freezing enemies caught in it (Destructible and can be damaged by enemies)

~~~The change for Attunements would be a tough thing to speculate, perhaps you guys have suggestions.

EDIT: Also every Elite Specialization gets a new weapon skin associated with it: Chronomancers get the Clock Shield, Dragonhunters get the dragon longbow.

This what data-mined a few months ago, I do believe this is the mainhand sword the Tempest uses [&AgGWDwEAAA==] It’s called the Fargate Operner
(http://dulfy.net/2015/03/16/gw2-upcoming-items-from-march-16-patch/)

5. Wraiths
– Thief Elite Specialization

New Weapon- Scepter

Utilities- Cantrips

This allows Thieves to survive in large group fights, support allies occasionally, and has more magic capabilities to use on itself in fights.

Very similar to that of Ninjutsu, Shadow magic, and with scepter can mix Mid-range and melee range with it’s setup and dual-skills.

Scepter-
Can stealth allies, taunt enemies to unlikely locations, Fear, and do minor damage to enemies through conditions (bleed and poison). Focusing on small AoE and Midrange, which Thieves we’re incapable of doing prior as a “partial niche”

“Cantrips — magical tricks, sorcery, and charms which activate on an instant.” from wiki.

Some possible examples:

Lost in the Shadows- These utilities would allow Thieves to displace his enemies, moving them to different locations against their will when they attack the Thief.

Or Shuriken Armor- placing Spikes on the Thief damaging the enemy for each strike, giving thief protection for a short period, and can use a toggle skill to throw shurikens.

Ninja’s Deflection- Any conditions that get placed on you are redirected back to the source

Cantrips allow thieves to fulfill the niche it needs to hold it’s own while in a group/zerg fight, and gives more aces and tricks up it’s sleeve rather than dodging/evading and stealthing.

~~~Mechanic Change-
The Steal Skill would still teleport the Thief to the enemy, but, instead of stealing an item, the thief would first stealth his allies and go into “Shadow Form” temporarily evading attacks like Mesmer’s 2 skill for a short period of time, then teleporting him back to the original location, ending the stealth on his allies as well.

(Thief is a tough one to speculate for , but other possibilities for utilities are Spectral skills or Physical Skills. But they definitely need more capabilities for zerg fights, a unique way to support allies and survive without stealthing and moving around so much.
Using magic, cantrips, and Scepter would make sense for it’s elite specialization.)

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

6. Warrior Elite Specialization

Okay, for some reason this is a tough one. And my MAIN is a Warrior, LOL.

First off, they have excess to all types of damage, DD/condi, short range, long range, single target, AoE, stuns/some blocks. They have a lot of mobility and have A LOT of options melee wise and very self-sufficient.

They can AoE support with Banners, shouts, and Warhorn.

So what’s left?

Let’s start with Weapons:
They actually don’t have any options for mid-range attacks as a one-hand weapon option that can hit multiple targets

-It’s either Main-hand Pistol(gunslinger type usage with a burst skill to hit many targets like a cowboy)
or
-Off-hand Dagger(as a throwable weapon that bounces between foes)

And as for Utilities, we got AoE support as buffs/heals (banners and shouts), check. Mobility and Gap Closers from Physical Skills, check. Stun Breaks and sustain skills through Stances, check. What’s left?

We’ll actually, what’s left are blocks/parries/evades/and control through the use of utilities.

“But Tzozef, we already have a bunch of weapons that can already do that?”

But have you ever wanted to have full use of weapons focusing on damage, and have block/parries in your utilities to make up for your lack of defenses? Well here you go.

AND also we currently possess no utilities to enhance our weapons, Thieves get Venoms, Rangers have spirits, Engineers have kits, and Elementalist have Conjures.
which are usable by themselves and for their allies directly or indirectly.

So what utility type can fulfill both niches as weapon enhancements, and defensive and evasive utility all at the same time?

SURVIVAL SKILLS. -
From wiki “Survival skills — enhance damage and avoid it”
This would be great for Warrior’s Elite Specialization. If you look at the already existing Survival skills for the Ranger, each skill are actually pretty unique and different all on it’s own! (Muddy Terrain: acts like a trap, sharpening stone: gives bleeds on next attacks, and Lightning Reflex’s evading attack)

Survival Skills due to its versatility and creativity, can fulfill any role that Warrior has YET to have.
Giving warrior’s options to evade, parry and weapon enhance as a utility.

~~~Mechanic Change
-And as for the change to it’s Adrenaline Burst Skill, they’d get an Off-hand Burst Skill.

HOWEVER, instead of an attack it works a lot more like a UTILITY. So for example

~A shield burst skill will grant the Warrior protection 3 full bars of adrenaline last 8s, 2 bars 6s, and 1 bar is 3s.

~Warhorn burst skill would be a Daze, as like a loud screech, again the duration would last depending on the bars of adrenaline.

~For Two-hand Weapons like Greatsword, the Off-hand burst skill would be a block, lasting longer depending on adrenaline.

~Longbow off-hand burst would be a large blind field, in contrast to it’s first damage burst skill which is burning.

The CATCH is that none of these Off-hand burst skills do ANY damage, they are purely for utility. So the trade-off and question you’d ask yourself as a Warrior: In this combat situation at this moment, do I want to protect myself, evade/control enemies? or do I want to do damage?

Names that come to mind are:
Dualist
Zaishen (credit to- https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/Heavy-Speculation-on-Zaishen-Elite-Spec/first#post5036881)
Mariner
Arsonal
Weapons Master

THAT’s ALL FOLKS! Hope you enjoyed the post, give some suggestions or changes you may think are better below.

Look forward to what you guys think!