Guild Wars 2

In an mmo it is believed that a soft balance is impossible due to the cheer number of classes. HoT specilisation(s) can create a solution to that.

The specialisation process can be directed to a route of focusing on trait lines without breaking the theme of the class but with a controlled aspect. The perfect idea would be that each of them would have only 1 heal, 6 utilities and 1 elite with 1 trait line made up of traits 85% focused on the stats related to it. This would create a controlled spec system that wouldn’t limit variations . The player can identify them selves through one of 5 different playstyles available to it’s class.

Thief:
-Deadly Arts focuses on power and condition duration.
This Sp. shall match with players that like focus on the use of raw power and controlled conditions such as poison or weakness. I feel like the rifle thief would be the most suited for this since due to theme the thief doesn’t put himself at glass state for a rifle but rather to control at range. traps would be their utilities.

-Critical strikes focuses on critical chance and damage.
This Sp. matches players that prefer a glass state for greater damage. The d/d would fit this Sp. due to theme and can be easily made due to the resemblance with the normal dagger, signets would be their utilities. Their damage comes from rotation to high burst and minimal stealth.

-Deadly Arts focus on toughness and healing power.
This Sp. focuses on players who choses a shadow caster thief. Staff would the appropriate weapon,deceptions the utilities as they focus on blinding,stealthing ,damage reduction and providing healing/cleansing through those applications their damage come from mitigating incoming ones.

-Acrobatics focuses on vitality on boons.
This Sp. focuses on scout play creating opportunites and providing opportunities. Venoms would be their utilities,s/d their weapons providing boons and stealing them would their way of dishing out and mitigating damage with more evasive frames.

-Trickery focus on condition damage and previous initiative system.
This Sp. would focus conditions application,uses p/d,tricks and improve the Sp.’s common mechanic. Providing AoE stacking condition fields and punishing players who fall to their tricks instead of relying of conditions on AA.

DA CS SA AC TR
Damage output : 66% 100% 45% 50% 66%
Toughness : 50% 25% 100% 50% 66%
Vitality : 50% 33% 50% 100% 33%
Cleansing : 25% 33% 100% 33% 75%
Boon removal : 33% 25% 0% 100% 25%
Healing : 25% 33% 100% 10% 25%
Boon : 10% 33% 25% 100% 33%
Mitagation : 25% 33% 100% 50% 33%
AoE : 10% 50% 33% 33% 50%
Single target : 100% 33% 10% 33% 33%
CC :100% 33% 33% 33% 33%
Stun-break : 25% 50% 50% 25% 33%

With controlled skills players won’t be forced to choose between efficient or preferred. I would also recommend instead of weapon swap create utility swap it’s make sense to have more utilities to help you. They would have normal 10 CD and only affect 7,8 and 9 on swap traits,sigils and alike shall affect it. Balance would be easier since we don’t worry about what each spec can run and would mostly take part in traits and 5v5.

-One controversy that gives PvE a bad name is the characterization and roles. A simple fix would the boss mechanic but not simply increase of damage. Examples, would be to introduce critical resist , an stat unique to bosses that reduces chance of critical hit and critical damage,boon abuse a passive that would increase mobs attacks as they have more boons on them, fear of conditions tanky mobs that would take increase damage as they have more conditions on them, reverse damage mobs that recreate received firect damage in last 10 sec in and AoE burst with a tell of when the effect starts, damage trickery mobs burst healing for received direct damage in last 10 secs at end of effect but conditions would do a burst damage.

No more single bosses, more unskipable mobs(not trash ones) with heavy different mixed abilities would encourage diversity, more AoE. This might be useless but they are many ways and mechanics to improve the game in HoT. One major mistake of boss fight is the fact that there only 1 mob of them to catch attention of all players,mixed (mini/big/temporary)bosses with non-similar abilities will give you challenging group content.

P.S. : I know it’s not neat .-. feel free to criticize.