Guild Wars 2

After having now a much better understanding about what ANet is planning with their Systems and realizing, that it differentiates much from what I envisioned for GW2’s horizontal progression via Sub Classes and a Redesign of the Trait System via splitting it up into Traits, Talents and Expertises, I came to think about it now, what I believe ANet should do best to ensure that their designed Specializations won’t end up as a big flop, because currently – and I think I’m absolutely not alone with this opinion – I think that ANet puts too much things into the Specializations, that don’t belong into a system like that, like for example:

• Fall Damage Traits
• Revive Efficiency Traits
• Movement Traits
• Passive Effects

These things are all for example mechanics, that absolutely don’t belong in my opinion into a system that should only affect all combat related active effects, which actualyl do influence the gameplay of the class significantly and do affect with these effects the roles of a class, the combat related builds so to say.
I find it personalyl also totally obsolete, that ANet renamed Traits into Core Specializations and added on top of that the unneccessary term of “Elite Specializations” just to prevent any potential confusion, which simply wouldn’t exaist at all, if NAet would for friggin once show some CONTINUITY in the design decisions and would have stays simply at “Traits and Specializations”.

I also think its not a could decision to basically PUNISH players with their decreasing build options by lettign them lose alot of traits for making up the decision to let their Characters progress to a Specialization.
Its hardly to call it a “progress”, if you lose one fifth of your potential abilities just to change your professions gameplay in exchange of it.
Progress would Specializations be, if you simply gain some new gameplay mechanics or get something of your existing mechanics expanded/improved, like in the case of the Chronomancer, where ANet decided to expand the Shatter System for them instead of replacing it with a new gameplay mechanic like Time Aspects to give them a completely different gameplay feeling as an advanced profession what I personally would expect from a Sub Class how a Specialization should work like and how they traditionally would work like.

Also the massive butchering of the traits, removing alot of them, only because ANet thinkgs they aren’t useful based on their “metrics” is kind of ridiculous, without actually asking us the players about it, how we think about that.
Its always this kind of developing style that kind of irks me, when developers believe, they know everything about their community based on metrics, without ever actually asking the community once, what we want in fact really.
Alot of the traits that Anet simply butchered out could work still perfectly fine under the new system, beign merged together with some of the tons of completely untouched traits that partwise got until today not even a single look onto since game release, which is a shame, when there exist other traits, that got partwise already multiple times changged via Balance Patches or completely redesigned with new effects even.

Yes, the removal of the stats from the trait lines will open up more creative build diversity, because now you won’t be forced to take specific trait lines just to get the stats that you need/want for your preferred playstyle/build.
But look for what kind of massive cost this change comes together?
Build Diversity gets drastically reduced and as al ittle compensation we get all powered up by becoming able to max out 3 Trait Lines now instead of only 2.

The Options that a player should have should get increased from 3 to at least 4 different trait Options per Trait Line. And by the amount of Traits and wants to remove for each class, this would be even easily possible.
Especially if ANet would move all the mentioned above stuff, that has nothign to search imo in the combat relative active traits over to the Mastery System.
So that these things don’t waste space in there for more useful combat relative effects and not something, that basically is not part at all of an active combat, like the Fall Damage Traits, or the Revive Speed Traits or anythign that affects your Movement, for which we will have seen a specific Mastery under the Mastery System that could work for that under the term of “Talents”

An example of how the Thief could look like, if ANet removes everything that isn’t at the right place there, adds more build diversity options and puts fall damage stuff ect. into the Mastery system will follow in the next posting.

I think the Fall Damage Traits should be removed, with something like 75% fall damage becoming baseline. Right now, the Fall Damage Traits are just ruining the adept major trait selection of those core trait lines.

Thief Specialization/Mastery under my Concept:

Mastery: Body Mastery – Thief Style

Disciple:

• You move now 50% faster while being in Stealth

Adept:

• When you position yourself to revive an ally, you become from now on stealthed together with your downed ally for 4 seconds. While under stealth, you revive from now on 10% faster and grant to yourself and your wounded ally protection and regeneration, but only if you and your ally don’t have already these boons when you begin to revive.

Expert:

• Your Shadow Steps of all sources have from now on 25% increased Range and you can steal from now on twice, having an additional Steal Skill Slot now from this moment on giving you now more mobility

Master:

• Your Fall Damage is decreased by 50% from now on and you perform from now on whenever you receive Fall Damage, or when being disabled (Cooldown in this Case 10s) automatically a Smoke Bomb that puts you in Stealth for 3 Seconds, which works as a Stun Break and blinds and poisons foes, which stand in the Smoke Bomb’s area effect periodically every second for a duration of 3 seconds where the Smoke Bomb pulses per second

Grandmaster:

• Gain from now on everytime you perform a Dodge Roll successfully Swiftness and Vigor for 2 seconds. You gain also Stability now for 3 seconds if you successfully dodge an Attack, if you had at least 50% Endurance (Cooldown 15s), and 5 seconds, if you dodged successfully an Attack with full Endurance.

Next Step, how the Specializations with 4 Options would look like togethe whith these 5 Thief related “Body Mastery” Effects back in mind

Deadly Arts

Basic 1: Serpent’s Touch = Stealing applies now Torment. Your Auto Attacks have a chance of 15% now to deal additionally Poison (Lotus Strike becomes Vulnerability instead of Poison now)

I: Exposed Weakness = Deal 10% more Damage against Foes that suffer on Vulnerability or Weakness
II: Mug = Deal Damage and gain life when stealing. This Attack can’t deal critical Damage. Gain a random Boon based from which profession you have stolen.
War= Might, Guard = Retal, Ele = Regen, Engi = Prot, Rev = Resist, Nec = Vigor, Mes = Quickness, Ranger = Stab, Thief = Fury
III: Trappers Respite = Drop a Needle Trap when using a Healing Skill. and your Traps cause Vulnerability now and recharge 20% faster
IV: Residual Venoms = Increases the amount of Venom Strikes by + 2. Venoms recharge 20% faster now

Basic 2: Lotus Poison = Weaken poisoned Enemies. Weakness Durations increased by 20% and and additional 33% chance to gain 1 Initiative per Auto Attack back on hitting weakened enemies on Critical Hits.

V: Ressourceful Trapper = Stealing recharges colldowns of currently recharging Traps by 10s and you gain Endurance back when enemies run into your traps.
VI: Panic Strike = Immobilize foes that are under the health threshold of 50%. Fear them instead, if they are under 25%
VII: Revealed Training = Gain +200 Power when being revealed and gain for 3 seconds Stability (Cooldown 10s)
VIII: Fatal Strikes = Your Dagger Criticals have a Chance to cause Slow now for 3s (Cooldown 15s), if your enemy is under the health threshold of 50% and suffers on Bleeding, Poison or Vulnerability higher than 2 Stacks

Basic 3: Master of Envenom = Poison lasts 25% longer and deal 33% more Damage, while Venoms grant you Might on activation.

IX: Improvisation = You can use Stolen Items now twice and using a Steal Skill recharges a static amount of your Healing and Utility Skill Recharge Times when you use a Steal Skill.
X: Executioner = Deal 20% more Damage to Enemies under the Health Threshold of 50%. Gain greatly Life Back when you execute an Enemy with a Finishing Move and lose up to 2 Conditions
XI: Combined Training = Your Dual Weapon Skills deal 10% more Damage and cost 1 Initiative lesser
XII: Deadly Venoms = Gain +10% more Power based on your Condition Damage. The Power Bonus is increased to 15%, if your Enemies are either disabled or suffer on venoms.

Critical Strikes

Basic 1: Keen Observer = Your Critical Hit Chance is increased by 10% and your Ferocity is increased by 5% as long your Health Threshold is over 75%

I: Side Strike = 7% increased Critical Hit rate, while hitting enemies from the sides or from behind
II: Signet of Power = Gain Might of Signet Activation and Signets recharge 20% faster
III: Combo Criticals = Dual Wield Skills have increased Critical Hit Rate of +5% and you gain +150 Ferocity if you wield two Daggers
IV: Fluid Strikes = Deal 10% more Damage if you have not full Endurance and gain Quickness for 2s if you have no Endurance. (Cooldown 20s)

Basic 2: Unrelenting Strikes = Critical Hit Damage is increased agaisnt Enemies with a Health Threshold under 33%

V: Sundering Strikes = Criticals have a Chance of 50% to cause Vulnerability
VI: Practiced Tolerance = Gain 10% Vitality based on your Precision. If you suffer on more than 2 Conditions, gain Resistance for 3 seconds (Cooldown 10s)
VII: Ankle Shots = Pistols gain a 60% chance to cause cripple on Criticals and deal 10% increased Damage to crippled enemies
VIII: Furious Retaliation = Gain Fury when your target falls below 50% Health. Fury on you is 10% more intense while you have Retalitation on and lasts also 5s longer then.

Basic 3: First Strikes = Critical Damage is 10% increased, while you have more than 5 Initiative.Your Hits will also be 100% critical while in Stealth.

IX: Ricochet = Pistol Shots will bounce now between Targets, while Shortbows bounce to 1 additional target more. Both Weapons will have +150 increased Range
X: Invigorating Precision = 15% of your dealt Damage will you gain as Life back on Critical Hit
XI: Critical Haste = Gain 2 seconds of Quickness on Critical Hits (Cooldown 5s) when your Health Threshold is above 90%. Decreases Condition Durations that you suffer on by 20% while you have Quickness or Swiftness on. Gain Swiftness whenever you lose a Condition.
XII: Death Mark = Your Allies deal +10% Damage and have 10% increased Critical Hit Rate against enemies, that you take into target. You gain Might when Allies hit Targets that you have marked as Target.

the other lines follow later

I would make a core mastery for the movement stuff. So people can have those benefits without having to change their builds completely for that.

I’d call that mastery “Traveler”. It could have properties related to travel. For example:

Traveler Mastery:

• Rank 1: 33% movement speed while out of combat in PvE and WvW.
  • So people don’t have to change their builds to run faster between events and the like.
• Rank 2: 50% less fall damage. PvE only.
  • So people don’t have to change their build just for some jumping puzzle.
• Rank 3: All city waypoints are free from anywhere in the same continent.
  • To save time going to the mists then LA then the city.
• Rank 4: Permanent waypoint discount for the waypoints within the current map.
  • It won’t make cheater traveling to other maps, but it’ll help when the map is fully explored and you are jumping around between events of the map a lot.
• Rank 5: Map completion unlocks one permanently free waypoint in the map (the earliest or lowest level one).
  • Map rewards can be rather lackluster. One more reason to explore all is always a good thing. Having one free waypoint on each map will help with things like guild missions.