Guild Wars 2

Now that it requires a metric ton of HP to just unlock our elite, the likely hood we get another elite spec with this expo is basically zero.

Good luck to all of you with 9 + characters and enjoy your endless grind of hero points to play what you paid for!

Sorry ele players, were stuck with tempest -_-

The likelihood was always zero. I’ve never seen any indication that there would be additional elite specializations during this expansion, so I don’t even know why you were expecting it in the first place.

Idk, it seemed like more would be coming in the future. Seemed like that was something eluded to. But its 100% not happening if they force the HP issue currently.

In the future, yes, as in with the next expansion presumably (if there ever is one, I expect there will be if HoT is successful).

There could be a new specialization, but it was always very unlikely outside of an expansion. I doubt they’d force world completion, but if they did, they’d only need 20 new hero challenges. Like Dry Top and the Silverwastes, the living world would need to add new zones. Alternatively, the living world episodes could simply reward hero points, though that would be an easy way to lose track of them.

I wouldn’t expect to see a new specialization more than once a year however, even though the original goal was to regularly add new skills.

That wasn’t unexpected. I always thought that there would likely be 1 elite spec per profession for each expansion.

The “grind” that you have to do if you have 9 characters is probably better than having to grab all of the central Tyrian hero points on all of your characters. Central Tyrian HP completion would get tedious quite fast. Also, when you get the required masteries up, you basically have an enormous shortcut. The challenge will be getting the HP with your main for the first time. For your alts it will likely be a trivial process.

As for tempest, if the changes for HoT launch aren’t good, you could always save your HP in in order to unlock the next elite spec instantly instead. No sense in wasting the HP on something that you will never use.

It seems that Anet’s original design of skippable content has made people forget what an MMORPG is

If they banned folks for being kitteny and passive-aggressive there’d be no forums.

~~~

To the OP’s “Point”, I’ll agree that it’s totally unheard of for Anet to add new maps without an expansion. Also, we know that there are exactly 40 hero points in the new regions.

Since the next set won’t have the vanilla Tyria hero points to pad it, they’ll have to do something else. That could be hero points in the new maps of the next expansion combined with Mastery lines to unlock each new spec. Just because they did it by only hero points this set doesn’t mean that is the forever way.

Windsagio.1340:

If they banned folks for being kitteny and passive-aggressive there’d be no forums.

You guys kill me

Yeah because they can’t add new maps with future LS updates that happen during HoT which includes new HP…

Hero points are contained in open world maps.

Living story updates contain new maps.

Living story will continue after HoT launch.

PopeUrban.2578:

Hero points are contained in open world maps.

Living story updates contain new maps.

Living story will continue after HoT launch.

Anet would have to add at least 2 new maps that are of the size of HoT maps to make it possible to get a new elite spec. Even then you would have to get almost every hero challenge in the game to do so. I don’t think that something like this is very likely, though it is technically possible.

I hope they actually expand the CORE class, like add NEW WEAPONS without forcing you into a new trait-line.

This should take much less work than designing a whole trait-line to synergize with weapon/spec. This should also make the core class less inferior than the shiny Specialization.

Ganathar.4956:

PopeUrban.2578:

Hero points are contained in open world maps.

Living story updates contain new maps.

Living story will continue after HoT launch.

Anet would have to add at least 2 new maps that are of the size of HoT maps to make it possible to get a new elite spec. Even then you would have to get almost every hero challenge in the game to do so. I don’t think that something like this is very likely, though it is technically possible.

Well you forget that the intent is not to be able to max out the elite spec in one go, so it is fully possible that they wont introduce a new Elite Specialization until you have enough HP to get the first step. While continuing in the LS the new Elites are getting revealed more and more, I like the sound of that and I hope thats how it will work. They have themselfes stated that this new Specialization system is designed so they can easier build more stuff to it. Am I wrong?

Aomine.5012:

I hope they actually expand the CORE class, like add NEW WEAPONS without forcing you into a new trait-line.

This should take much less work than designing a whole trait-line to synergize with weapon/spec. This should also make the core class less inferior than the shiny Specialization.

They’ve explained multiple times exactly why they are not attacking it this way.

Adding to core classes means the thing you added has to be balanced against an interact with all the things you already have as well as all the things you will ever add in the future

This was a huge problem when it came to balancing GW1, and one of the main reasons GW2 was designed the way it is in the first place.

The elite spec system was designed specifically so that they can design new traits and skills in a bubble, only having to balance them against a never-moving target of the core class. This actually makes it easier to add these things to the game, as with each addition you are not also making the next addition harder to balance in terms of potential character build power and controlling power creep.

How is 6 challenges a metric ton to “just unlock”. Unlocking elite (not fully, just unlock) is 60 HP which = 6 Jungle challenges.

Killyox.3950:

How is 6 challenges a metric ton to “just unlock”. Unlocking elite (not fully, just unlock) is 60 HP which = 6 Jungle challenges.

It’s 40 for the full unlock, We were simply saying if it was 6 to unlock all the traits/abilites then it would be fine because the grind should be for the cosmetics not the playstyle.

If its 20-30+ per character for a full unlock that’s kittening rediculous, it means you have to repeate the same skill challenges (which really have no replay value) X number of times for Y number of characters, people with 9+ classes or even more characters will have to complete upwards of 200-300+ skill challenges reapeating the same things Y+ times. That isn’t fun just to unlock something that is fun.

People should be replaying HoT for its replay value and their enjoyment not to farm elite trait and ability unlocks. I barely even planned to finishe HoT one time after the story, I’d only 100% it if i wanted a leg, otherwise im pure in the PvP Raids and Fractals. I dont find WvW or PvE generally fun so I’m kitten out of luck and have to farm those HPs over and over so I can play all my characters and their elite specs when I want to.

PopeUrban.2578:

Aomine.5012:

I hope they actually expand the CORE class, like add NEW WEAPONS without forcing you into a new trait-line.

This should take much less work than designing a whole trait-line to synergize with weapon/spec. This should also make the core class less inferior than the shiny Specialization.

They’ve explained multiple times exactly why they are not attacking it this way.

Adding to core classes means the thing you added has to be balanced against an interact with all the things you already have as well as all the things you will ever add in the future

This was a huge problem when it came to balancing GW1, and one of the main reasons GW2 was designed the way it is in the first place.

The elite spec system was designed specifically so that they can design new traits and skills in a bubble, only having to balance them against a never-moving target of the core class. This actually makes it easier to add these things to the game, as with each addition you are not also making the next addition harder to balance in terms of potential character build power and controlling power creep.

They’re just playing with words.

In the end, Elite specialization need to balance around with other 5 traits too regardless of how you look at it. Most of the specialization actually synergize with other 5 traits, and makes it worth taking even for the core class.

That’s why I said sometimes just designing new weapons would be a better choice than developing a whole new trait-line to balance around. It actually takes more work.

OneKlicKill.4285:

Now that it requires a metric ton of HP to just unlock our elite, the likely hood we get another elite spec with this expo is basically zero.

Good luck to all of you with 9 + characters and enjoy your endless grind of hero points to play what you paid for!

Sorry ele players, were stuck with tempest -_-

+1 for both points. Tempest needs so much work, and cost is just insane.

Except im pretty sure during the twitchcon stream the devs said their goal was to have 3 elite specs for each class by the time the next expansion comes out. Which would mean they intend to add more maps through living story, and for all we know they might be well on their way to completing these other maps right now in the background of hot

OneKlicKill.4285:

Idk, it seemed like more would be coming in the future. Seemed like that was something eluded to. But its 100% not happening if they force the HP issue currently.

Actually, you’re presuming that there won’t be a combined 800 HP with HoT.

HoT could easily be providing 600 hero points – with 60 challenges spread across four maps. If we look at Orr maps, we have 12-17 hero challenges per map. If they gave the 10 points HoT maps do, those three would give us 440 points. If we presume an average of 15 hero challenges per HoT map, then we’d be getting ~150 per map or 600 from all four maps.

600 + 214 = 814 = 2 elite specs and 14 left over.

If they add some new maps between HoT and the second batch of elite specs… Well, let’s presume the second batch comes before the next expansion, presume each map averages 15 hero challenges like Orr, and that like between initial release and HoT we get 3 maps. That’s an additional 45 challenges on average, which means 450 hero points. That’s yet another elite spec’s worth.

So no, the chances are NOT zero to get another set of elite specs in the future (without new maps). Not when it comes to hero points we can obtain. Not until we know how many hero points we’ll get from HoT – we only know that we have at least 400 from HoT.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

OneKlicKill.4285:

Idk, it seemed like more would be coming in the future. Seemed like that was something eluded to. But its 100% not happening if they force the HP issue currently.

Actually, you’re presuming that there won’t be a combined 800 HP with HoT.

HoT could easily be providing 600 hero points -

No. Colin came out a few days ago and stated there are exactly 40 HP locations in the expansion, and that completion of the elite spec line requires 400 HP.

Aomine.5012:

They’re just playing with words.

In the end, Elite specialization need to balance around with other 5 traits too regardless of how you look at it. Most of the specialization actually synergize with other 5 traits, and makes it worth taking even for the core class.

That’s why I said sometimes just designing new weapons would be a better choice than developing a whole new trait-line to balance around. It actually takes more work.

The elite specializations need to balance around the other 5 specializations, true.

However, they do not need to balance to each other.

Let’s say the second necromancer elite spec will be called Deathknight. They give Deathknights spirit weapons for skill types and shield for a weapon.

Well they don’t have to balance the skills and weapons of the Deathknight to the Reaper. They can even change the Death Shroud into a “Deathknight Shroud” without worry of it clashing with the Reaper Shroud. Because you can’t equip two elite specializations at once.

This is what ArenaNet was talking about with what PopeUrban was referring to.

The only new skills ArenaNet might ever add to core professions is completing the skill types – some of them are lacking healing skills, elite skills, or both. IMO, every skill type should have 1 healing, 4 utility, and 1 elite (yes, including revenant legends).

DeceiverX.8361:

No. Colin came out a few days ago and stated there are exactly 40 HP locations in the expansion, and that completion of the elite spec line requires 400 HP.

All posts I saw from Colin only said that HoT hero challenges reward 10 points each, and the elite specl ines require 400. Care to point out which of his many posts at the time stated exactly 40 hero challenges in HoT?

However, even if this is so, it doesn’t change the fact that they will no doubt add more maps before the next expansion, just like how they added three before HoT.

If they use S2 as the format for all future Living World, and keep with 2 seasons between expansions, we could easily see 4 maps between each expansion. With Season 3 and on confirmed to require HoT, no reason for any hero challenge in those future maps to not reward 10 – or more – points. So it will still be possible to produce another elite spec before the second expansion – any new maps before said second expansion will just need to give 200 points.

Edit: I skimmed through Colin’s posts on the forums and nowhere does the numbers “40” or the word “forty” show up in any post more recent than a month ago.

The only thing he says about hero challenges in “the jungle” is that they’re worth 10 points each and there are enough in the jungle alone to fully unlock an elite specialization. Nowhere does he mention how many challenges exist in the Heart of Maguuma.

Unless it wasn’t a forum post.