Guild Wars 2

Terrahero.9358:

Knighthonor.4061:

Terrahero.9358:

lordkrall.7241:

In fact I believe that they have outright stated that going with a specialization might stop you from using the some of the base-class’s mechanics or skills.

I couldn’t find any sources where they said this. Rather it was implied when they explained you could easily switch back and play Ranger again if you felt like it. If Druid is everything a Ranger is and more there wouldn’t ever be a reason to switch back to the “base” profession.

Look at the interview on MMORPG.com and others with quotes

I did, mmorpg.com’s interview did not have any specific mention that going in to a specialization means you lose something. It was only deduced from the fact that there would be no point in swapping if it wasn’t the case.

CJ: Correct, and then you can swap back and forth, you can say “My character’s a druid, but I’m going to play as a ranger today.” It’s very similar to changing out your skills and traits, you can go in and change whenever you want, as long as you’re out of combat.

They only seem to ever focus on “you can still use base profession skills when specialized”, but I haven’t seen a source where they explicitly say “you lose something from the base class when you specialize”.

See here for the relevant quotes.

During HoT reveal it was stated already that Specialization will be straight upgrade and boost to our classes, with new this and that, including weapon and mechanic of class being altered but not totally changed. It was also stated that every new expansion will bring new specializations, making a choice then. Till that happens, every druid will be fully working ranger with all ranger traits and weapons and additional staff and some new skills + new mechanic about pet. DONE. You dont loose anything by becoming a Druid, till next spec will be added, then you will need to choose. It was stated officially on reveal during PAX and end of discussion.

Astralporing is FIRST player I saw on entire forums who actually listened and understood the revealed info. Finally someone intelligent xD

Machiavell.7396:

During HoT reveal it was stated already that Specialization will be straight upgrade and boost to our classes, with new this and that, including weapon and mechanic of class being altered but not totally changed. It was also stated that every new expansion will bring new specializations, making a choice then. Till that happens, every druid will be fully working ranger with all ranger traits and weapons and additional staff and some new skills + new mechanic about pet. DONE. You dont loose anything by becoming a Druid, till next spec will be added, then you will need to choose. It was stated officially on reveal during PAX and end of discussion.

Astralporing is FIRST player I saw on entire forums who actually listened and understood the revealed info. Finally someone intelligent xD

They never said that. Nice try.
They said it wasn’t a upgrade. They even compared it to Dual Classes from GW1… Nice lie…

Machiavell.7396:

Astralporing is FIRST player I saw on entire forums who actually listened and understood the revealed info. Finally someone intelligent xD

…I suggest you read the quotes i linked a bit better, because they don’t support your position.

Mortifer.2946:

So I was right the whole time.
;) never argue with me :)

Mortifer.2946:

Ok, so maybe I am wrong.

Well, with a resume like that…

Machiavell.7396:

During HoT reveal it was stated already that Specialization will be straight upgrade and boost to our classes, with new this and that, including weapon and mechanic of class being altered but not totally changed. It was also stated that every new expansion will bring new specializations, making a choice then. Till that happens, every druid will be fully working ranger with all ranger traits and weapons and additional staff and some new skills + new mechanic about pet. DONE. You dont loose anything by becoming a Druid, till next spec will be added, then you will need to choose. It was stated officially on reveal during PAX and end of discussion.

Astralporing is FIRST player I saw on entire forums who actually listened and understood the revealed info. Finally someone intelligent xD

hahahahahah really if you’re right you should have no problem giving a link to a video where he clearly says that otherwise kitten plz and stop acting to arrogant

Astralporing.1957:

Terrahero.9358:

Knighthonor.4061:

Terrahero.9358:

lordkrall.7241:

In fact I believe that they have outright stated that going with a specialization might stop you from using the some of the base-class’s mechanics or skills.

I couldn’t find any sources where they said this. Rather it was implied when they explained you could easily switch back and play Ranger again if you felt like it. If Druid is everything a Ranger is and more there wouldn’t ever be a reason to switch back to the “base” profession.

Look at the interview on MMORPG.com and others with quotes

I did, mmorpg.com’s interview did not have any specific mention that going in to a specialization means you lose something. It was only deduced from the fact that there would be no point in swapping if it wasn’t the case.

CJ: Correct, and then you can swap back and forth, you can say “My character’s a druid, but I’m going to play as a ranger today.” It’s very similar to changing out your skills and traits, you can go in and change whenever you want, as long as you’re out of combat.

They only seem to ever focus on “you can still use base profession skills when specialized”, but I haven’t seen a source where they explicitly say “you lose something from the base class when you specialize”.

See here for the relevant quotes.

Ah thank you very much. Havent even read that zam article I think.

Have they stated the number of specializations being released on the first go, or if you can hold off on choosing a specialization?

I can imagine that specializations are completely optional, or at least I hope so.

gricks.1897:

Have they stated the number of specializations being released on the first go, or if you can hold off on choosing a specialization?

I can imagine that specializations are completely optional, or at least I hope so.

1 per profession.

You can also freely switch between specialization and base-class any time you are out of combat.

I think the title of this thread perfectly fits the OP.

Mortifer.2946:

http://youtu.be/sG5oUKqbIVM?t=5m15s

News so it seems I was right

No, this confirms nothing you said, and I’ll explain why:

The interviewer[Joe] asked “Will this block off any content by specializing?”
The interviewee[The Dev, forgot his name, which is probably bad] said “No, whenever you’re out of combat you can switch right back to being a ranger. So you can play as a druid or a ranger, choosing how you want to play.” This isn’t the exact quote, but close enough that it doesn’t matter.

The fact that they added that part in the end still confirms nothing, but highly implies that one will not be able to “play as a ranger” while they’re a druid, meaning the ranger’s gameplay, its mechanics and maybe more, will be blocked off when you’re a druid, and vice versa.

I feel like the devs need to be less vague, as they’re known to be, when they’re explaining how specializations work as they stick to the extremely non-specific “you can swap between the base and special, so you’re not really losing anything when you specialize”, because this is leaving a lot of room for misinterpretation.

Anyway, if you’d like to explain with rational thought why I’m wrong, please do.

DocZed.6973:

Ithilwen.1529:

healthy downgrade to power ranger

Don’t even try it

Sentai is superior anyways. DEAL WITH IT

I don’t think anyone was arguing that you lose your profession. In the end you are still a ranger, just your a druid as long as your in that form. As for when your in druid form and losing access to something, there is a good chance that will happen. If anything you will defiantly lose access to other specializations as long as your a druid (yes you could easily change out of druid to say “poacher” as long as both are unlocked for you)

Btw, in the interview for ZAM, Colin says that the specializations were developed mainly to fill up the gaps of every profession. I am not an expert on all the professions, but it is known that every one of them is very great in something and not that great in something else. The specializations allows us to become something what we couldn’t be before, without having to relog into another character. Isn’t that great? I think it is

Great, so now my Ranger with have AOE/CC… and suck at DPS. Awesome. I’ll try out the Druid, of course, but my guess is all I’ll be doing is trying it out and not sticking with it because PVE is a DPS race. If Druid ain’t brining the DPS just like the Ranger can or better then it can kindly G__O.

Ithilwen.1529:

It’s seems ranger is anet’s current golden child.

LOLOLOIOLLINEWLKMGLKWNLKMLAMLMAOALMAOAOLMLMOLAIMNLMAOROFLLOLOLOLOIMOLIWEMLFIGJWHIOG#W$OHIEGOI$JEHNGoiHJ$EGOIHW$PGOIHWP$EGOVWNE$PLIOG NHWORIHGL:VKJRGN WORKMNG:L KWEJMF:L JEWM:OFIJ WE:LIFJ :LWEIJF :LIj

You cray cray

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/2tk5t2/woodenpotatoes_expansion_confirmed_heart_of/co02ham

Here is a link to somebody at the Pax afterparty when it was explained that certain skills and traits will be locked.

I will do more digging for the other articles.
Problem is, most of the interview sites that came out back then I have never heard of, so I have to go back into pages of threads to find those interviews.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/87848/guild-wars-2-director-discusses-heart-of-thorns-revenants-guild-halls-and-more

Shacknews: The expansion is set to introduce some new mechanics. Can you explain more about Mastery and Specializations?

Johanson: Specializations is a new system that allows you to take each of the professions we have in the game and grow them almost into a new sub-profession or secondary profession. An example of this is, a Ranger can become a Druid. Once a Ranger becomes a Druid, they have the ability to use the powers of the jungle and that gives them new skills, new traits, they can use a new weapon that a Ranger could never use before, and they get new profession mechanics that fundamentally change the way a Ranger plays when they become a Druid. Each of the professions will be getting one of these Specializations and this also is a framework that we’ll use to grow the professions in the future. This will be the way we add more skills, traits, and abilities to the game moving forward. That’s how we’re growing our existing professions.

At this point I now know where all the black wings on the Black Lion store came from – they’re leftovers from all the crow they’ve been cooking up. Hope some folks are hungry . Because watching the interview I almost laughed out loud at the dancing Collin did.

Paraphrased~
“Will you lose anything by being a Druid?”
“No, you can change back to being a Ranger at any time out of combat”

Think it through for just one moment – if druids don’t lose anything, why would I need to change back to Ranger?

Nike.2631:

At this point I now know where all the black wings on the Black Lion store came from – they’re leftovers from all the crow they’ve been cooking up. Hope some folks are hungry . Because watching the interview I almost laughed out loud at the dancing Collin did.

Paraphrased~
“Will you lose anything by being a Druid?”
“No, you can change back to being a Ranger at any time out of combat”

Think it through for just one moment – if druids don’t lose anything, why would I need to change back to Ranger?

Thats misconception.
Check out the afterparty post above.

Test.8734:

BrunoBRS.5178:

they said new traits, not a whole new trait line. it’s entirely possible that they just sprinkle druid traits on the existing lines.

I would prefer if we lost access to trait lines, so they can be replaced by something new. If the Mesmer specialization has no access to Shatter skills, for example, it wouldn’t be surprising if said specialization lost access to the trait line that reduces the recharge of Shatter skills, and instead got an all new trait line.

Likewise, if the Engineer specialization cannot use pistols or rifles, it wouldn’t be surprising if it lost access to the Firearms trait line, and had it replaced by something else.

It would even open some interesting possibilities. What if a specialization had two trait lines increasing Toughness, but no trait line increasing Vitality? And so on.

but using your example, all mesmer trait lines involve shatters and illusions to some degree. there isn’t one single trait line you can pull out and bam, shatters aren’t a thing in mesmer traits anymore.

which makes me wonder if some of these “brand new traits” are actually just replacing traits tied to the old mechanics that are getting redone (if they actually do take mechanics out to add new ones in).

Knighthonor.4061:

Nike.2631:

At this point I now know where all the black wings on the Black Lion store came from – they’re leftovers from all the crow they’ve been cooking up. Hope some folks are hungry . Because watching the interview I almost laughed out loud at the dancing Collin did.

Paraphrased~
“Will you lose anything by being a Druid?”
“No, you can change back to being a Ranger at any time out of combat”

Think it through for just one moment – if druids don’t lose anything, why would I need to change back to Ranger?

Thats misconception.
Check out the afterparty post above.

You are ignoring the interviews where they said that druids will be able to use some ranger skills in addition to the Druid ones.

Depending on which ones they loose (i.e. all pet related ones) I may never need to switch back to Ranger… Especially if the class mechanic gets replaced

The druid still has at least one pet – we see a wolf rushing forward in parallel with the “vine-strike”.

Yeah… we also saw polearms in the video too… but that turned out to be artistic latitude and not what was in the actual game. So, until Beta comes out or they release full info about the Druid prof mechanic… I guess we just won’t know.

There’s a bit of difference between animation and in-game footage .

I don’t remember anyone that got to play the Demo’s said that Druid has the pet as the class mechanic still.. If they did can you kindly post a link to that article

thefantasticg.3984:

I don’t remember anyone that got to play the Demo’s said that Druid has the pet as the class mechanic still.. If they did can you kindly post a link to that article

You’re being a bit dense. Of course no-one who played the demo said anything about the druid because specializations were not playable. However, the footage shown of the spear was not in-game, while the footage shown of the druid was.

We know the druid has a changed mechanic but that is not the same as an entirely different mechanic.

“Of course no-one who played the demo said anything about the druid because specializations were not playable.” <— And that was the point. I wasn’t being dense… I was making a point that nothing is 100% confirmed. People are assuming from seeing the video. It’s still not confirmed that the Reverant is going to be using the sword either (as far as I know).

“We know the druid has a changed mechanic but that is not the same as an entirely different mechanic.” <— No… What we know is that we saw some game footage that may or may not be in the Beta or full release versions on what the Druid class mechanic may or may not be. Until it’s 100% confirmed it’s just speculation.

Astralporing.1957:

Knighthonor.4061:

Nike.2631:

At this point I now know where all the black wings on the Black Lion store came from – they’re leftovers from all the crow they’ve been cooking up. Hope some folks are hungry . Because watching the interview I almost laughed out loud at the dancing Collin did.

Paraphrased~
“Will you lose anything by being a Druid?”
“No, you can change back to being a Ranger at any time out of combat”

Think it through for just one moment – if druids don’t lose anything, why would I need to change back to Ranger?

Thats misconception.
Check out the afterparty post above.

You are ignoring the interviews where they said that druids will be able to use some ranger skills in addition to the Druid ones.

No i didnt. I been saying that.

Some Ranger skills will be locked out while as a Druid.

Druid will use some of the Ranger skills, not all. Otherwise it would be a complete upgrade, which they said multiple times, that it isnt.,.

You are confusing specialization with mastery “points”

Knighthonor.4061:

Astralporing.1957:

Knighthonor.4061:

Nike.2631:

At this point I now know where all the black wings on the Black Lion store came from – they’re leftovers from all the crow they’ve been cooking up. Hope some folks are hungry . Because watching the interview I almost laughed out loud at the dancing Collin did.

Paraphrased~
“Will you lose anything by being a Druid?”
“No, you can change back to being a Ranger at any time out of combat”

Think it through for just one moment – if druids don’t lose anything, why would I need to change back to Ranger?

Thats misconception.
Check out the afterparty post above.

You are ignoring the interviews where they said that druids will be able to use some ranger skills in addition to the Druid ones.

No i didnt. I been saying that.

Some Ranger skills will be locked out while as a Druid.

Druid will use some of the Ranger skills, not all. Otherwise it would be a complete upgrade, which they said multiple times, that it isnt.,.

…that’s what Nike was saying when you “corrected” him…

Apparently reading and distinguishing the words “mastery” and “specialization” is important before making clear cut arguments and being arrogant. But reading’s overrated and costs too many skill points anyways.

Nike.2631:

There’s a bit of difference between animation and in-game footage .

How do you know which is which? In the reveal trailer, it all looked like gameplay footage. Yes, obviously characters themselves can’t push open doors and what-not but I’m pretty sure the clip where Rytlock beats a mordrem to death with a spear-like weapon wasn’t just “animation” but an actual skill (most likely an auto attack for staffs or a bundle he picked up). I don’t see why they would make an animation for a auto-attack chain just for the sole use of a trailer when it could be an actual skill. It’s the same thing with the anniversery trailer where all of the footage of characters is actual in-game footage, just manipulated in a cinematic way.

Also I feel like the reason why they showed the druid with a pet is because maybe they felt that if there was no ranger pet then players would not be able to distinguish what class it was. Or, maybe the druid doesn’t change the class mechanic at all and instead adds new skills and removes others. We will see.

Zelkovan.2630:

Nike.2631:

There’s a bit of difference between animation and in-game footage .

How do you know which is which? In the reveal trailer, it all looked like gameplay footage. Yes, obviously characters themselves can’t push open doors and what-not but I’m pretty sure the clip where Rytlock beats a mordrem to death with a spear-like weapon wasn’t just “animation” but an actual skill (most likely an auto attack for staffs or a bundle he picked up). I don’t see why they would make an animation for a auto-attack chain just for the sole use of a trailer when it could be an actual skill. It’s the same thing with the anniversery trailer where all of the footage of characters is actual in-game footage, just manipulated in a cinematic way.

Also I feel like the reason why they showed the druid with a pet is because maybe they felt that if there was no ranger pet then players would not be able to distinguish what class it was. Or, maybe the druid doesn’t change the class mechanic at all and instead adds new skills and removes others. We will see.

I think Nike meant to distinguish between the animated trailers like the ones after Episode 8 of LS Season 2 and ones like the Heart of Thorns announcement, which are in-game footage.

thefantasticg.3984:

“We know the druid has a changed mechanic but that is not the same as an entirely different mechanic.” <— No… What we know is that we saw some game footage that may or may not be in the Beta or full release versions on what the Druid class mechanic may or may not be. Until it’s 100% confirmed it’s just speculation.

They specifically said in the pax announcement that there would be changes to the mechanic so yes we know for a fact there will be changes

Absolutely! More diversity more options more tinity like choices to change up the combat playing field! More options are always better!

GummiBear.2756:

thefantasticg.3984:

“We know the druid has a changed mechanic but that is not the same as an entirely different mechanic.” <— No… What we know is that we saw some game footage that may or may not be in the Beta or full release versions on what the Druid class mechanic may or may not be. Until it’s 100% confirmed it’s just speculation.

They specifically said in the pax announcement that there would be changes to the mechanic so yes we know for a fact there will be changes

Yes, we do know there will be changes. We don’t know, however what exactly will be changed. Trailer at least seems to suggest that pets will remain – though not necessarily unchanged, of course.

Ok first of all I believe as soon as you hit level 80 you get that specialization but anet haven’t told us anything about them we don’t know now as for new specializations we don’t have to wait for expansions as I believe I read an interview that said these are things the devs can push out with live updates and feature packs but again don’t take this as gospel.

Actually when more specializations are unlocked you can swap between every single one of them you don’t need to choose a specific one.

The OP’s info is wrong on so many counts.
they already stated in some interviews that specialization utilities and extra legends would be unlocked with skill points.

Zelkovan.2630:

Nike.2631:

There’s a bit of difference between animation and in-game footage .

How do you know which is which? In the reveal trailer, it all looked like gameplay footage. Yes, obviously characters themselves can’t push open doors and what-not but I’m pretty sure the clip where Rytlock beats a mordrem to death with a spear-like weapon wasn’t just “animation” but an actual skill (most likely an auto attack for staffs or a bundle he picked up). I don’t see why they would make an animation for a auto-attack chain just for the sole use of a trailer when it could be an actual skill. It’s the same thing with the anniversery trailer where all of the footage of characters is actual in-game footage, just manipulated in a cinematic way.

The simple fact you used the verb ‘beat’ should tell you that’s not a spear-like anything. You don’t beat with spears- you ‘thrust’ or ‘stab’. That’s a piece of in-game footage of using a staff to beat/clobber/whack something.

The only actual “spear” shown in relation to HoT trailers was during the animation where the corrupted Sylvari impales an enemy and that animation is the thing Colin was talking about where the artists went a little wild and showed something not in game just like there is concept art that shows characters riding dolyaks.

The problem is people, including the OP, are actually trying to get an overview of what specializations are before Anet did anything but announce them. We’ll get more detail on them when Anet releases the deep dives into specialization.

Until then, even if you understood stuff said correctly, it can always be changed anyway.

Vayne.8563:

The problem is people, including the OP, are actually trying to get an overview of what specializations are before Anet did anything but announce them. We’ll get more detail on them when Anet releases the deep dives into specialization.

Anyone determined to get a leg up on understanding specializations should probably check out this thread and just work through it backwards.

Specializations: Every profession is indeed only getting one new weapon. However, Jon Peters teased that classes getting an offhand would get something “just as good” as the extra three skills and that he couldn’t say more. I suspect that the specialization might unlock three new utility skills, but that’s my speculation.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/2yh56f/more_dev_talk_from_pax/

My biggest concern is when uspecialize do u still get access to olnew weap or a druid only has access to staff n that’s it?

I am really hoping to get a longbow for Guard to go with my other weap set but would really suck if they got the LB but could ONLY use that lol

Astralporing.1957:

GummiBear.2756:

thefantasticg.3984:

“We know the druid has a changed mechanic but that is not the same as an entirely different mechanic.” <— No… What we know is that we saw some game footage that may or may not be in the Beta or full release versions on what the Druid class mechanic may or may not be. Until it’s 100% confirmed it’s just speculation.

They specifically said in the pax announcement that there would be changes to the mechanic so yes we know for a fact there will be changes

Yes, we do know there will be changes. We don’t know, however what exactly will be changed. Trailer at least seems to suggest that pets will remain – though not necessarily unchanged, of course.

Right. That’s pretty much what I was trying to get across.

Achrisos.1360:

My biggest concern is when uspecialize do u still get access to olnew weap or a druid only has access to staff n that’s it?

I am really hoping to get a longbow for Guard to go with my other weap set but would really suck if they got the LB but could ONLY use that lol

That would mean Guardians and Rangers would lose the ability to swap weapons in combat which seems highly unlikely.

However it might be the case that specializations lose access to a weapon type in exchange for gaining access to a different weapon type.

Nike.2631:

The simple fact you used the verb ‘beat’ should tell you that’s not a spear-like anything. You don’t beat with spears- you ‘thrust’ or ‘stab’. That’s a piece of in-game footage of using a staff to beat/clobber/whack something.

The only actual “spear” shown in relation to HoT trailers was during the animation where the corrupted Sylvari impales an enemy and that animation is the thing Colin was talking about where the artists went a little wild and showed something not in game just like there is concept art that shows characters riding dolyaks.

Believe me, I understood it wasn’t a spear when he began to swing it the wrong way, haha. However, there definitely were people who were convinced 100% that spears were coming…

Anyway, my point was more on elaborating how we don’t really know anything yet. Specifically on the whole paraphrase that seems to be emphasized from Collin and other interviews where they say “I can switch between playing a druid or ranger”, implying that there is something that druids lose access to when switching from a ranger, otherwise you would just stay a druid all the time. However, we don’t know and should just wait IMO.

We should probably wait until the beta as thing will change.

Diovid.9506:

Achrisos.1360:

My biggest concern is when uspecialize do u still get access to olnew weap or a druid only has access to staff n that’s it?

I am really hoping to get a longbow for Guard to go with my other weap set but would really suck if they got the LB but could ONLY use that lol

That would mean Guardians and Rangers would lose the ability to swap weapons in combat which seems highly unlikely.

However it might be the case that specializations lose access to a weapon type in exchange for gaining access to a different weapon type.

Another idea, what if instead of Weapon Swap, the specialization change their new weapon skills but keep same weapon.

So take Druid for example. It would have two sets of staff skills. 10 total. Weapon swap simply changes between those two.