Guild Wars 2

Considering the inferred correlation of the play mechanic for unlocking Masteries in HoT and the recent Gem store changes regarding XP boosters I have a suggestion on Elite Specialization unlocking that I think would help ArenaNet stay consistent with their monetization goals. I’ll detail this idea in steps

1.) Allow a player to use existing skill points to unlock their Elite Specialization, but adjust the cost so that even spending all skill points earned in GW2 for the average plyaer only a small portion of the Elite Specialization “track” can be unlocked.

2.) At the beginning of the second instanced Story mission in HoT, have the player interact with Rytlock. Have Rytlock give some backstory on his transformation and then have him give the player a reusable item they can double click on to enter a solo instance of the Mist (same mechanic as the Hall of Monuments stone). Once in the Mist the player then must complete 10 Hero Point challenges, each challenge getting progressively harder leading up to the final challenge which is almost impossible to beat. If a player completes all 10 Hero Challenges they will have more than enough total skill points needed to completely unlock their Elite Specialization. However, if a player dies at any point during these challenges all skill points earned from all challenges while in the instance will be removed and they will be removed from the instance and return to the world map. Now for the big catch- While a player can reuse the magic item given by Rytlock to return to the Mist instance and try the challenge again they are limited to one free try per day. Provide a gem store “Key to mist” item that cost 300 gems that will allow a player to gain an addition try per day. Allow players to use as many keys as they want per day.

3.) So that you’re not critized too harshly for this (the gaming media can be ugly, can’t they?) I’d also suggest placing just enough Hero Challenges throughout in HoT so that a player has an alternative to this challenge. Completing the 10 Hero Challenges in the Mist would be just an alternative path for players to attempt to unlock their Elite Specialization very early in th game. For those who choose not to the normal Hero Challenge progression would require them to get to the final map in HoT before being able to obtain all skill points needed for complete unlock of the Elite Specialization. Another great thing bout this idea is since it’s coming from a player though the forums you can always space goat it. If criticized you can say “The idea actually rose up from our gaming community on the forums”

NOTE: Although this is a bit of tongue I would not mind if something like this were implemented. I know it cost money for ArenaNet to cover operational cost every month and the reality is nothing in this world is free. I don’t believe monetizing a game is a bad thing if it can be done in a way that gives players who pay some perk but also provides a path to the same content for those who can’t afford to and I think what I’m proposing here provides for both of those things.