Guild Wars 2

I’ve been thinking that 7/8ths of the professions have come mostly from human culture besides the engineer remembering that profession originated from the Charr, and lately I’ve been seeing a lot of threads about Tengu as a possible new race but also about what profession it could bring to the table. So if in the next expansion there would be the Tengu and the Ritualist(example sense they were from Cantha), so if ArenaNet follows this formula with each new race they also add a profession from that races culture couldn’t they also add an additional 3 professions based on the Norn, Asura, and Sylvari cultures as well with the Tengu and whatever profession it brings with, witch would only have 7/12ths of the professions be from human culture mostly and it would add professions with more cultural appeal to players. This is just my personal opinion that a few of my friends share and was curious who else would like something like this and what new professions based of the other races cultures could come forth as playable

Tengu where not from Cantha. Their origin is unknown, but they where active in the whole world. Even though the players never encountered them in Elona, they claim to have had presence there. After the cleansing of the Tengu in Cantha, the only branch that trusted humans in the first place, they moved to Tyria and build the dominion.

I also disagree that all professions have a human nature. Asuran Elementalists have existed since the time they crawl out of the ground (Vekk). Char used all kind of professions in the long lasting war in Ascalon (see the char bosses in gw1’s pre-searing ascalon). For most professions it is simply unknown wich race invented them.

I think however that if a new profession would be introduced it should rather be something build around an elonian professions.

During the events of the Eye of the North we know that sins, rits, dervishes and paragon’s started to grow in popularity in Tyria (continent) as well. After the cut off with Cantha, the sin’s adapted in the profession of thieves (atleast thats how I feel it). And there are some good indication’s that rit’s took part in the development of the guardian. Although Elona is lesser isolated (the order of whispers gets trough from time to time), the Elonian professions aren’t active at the moment.

I would like to see a return of for example the paragon. But off course game wise in a way they have learned from their mistakes in the past (so no more Imba).

mercury ranique.2170:

I would like to see a return of for example the paragon. But off course game wise in a way they have learned from their mistakes in the past (so no more Imba).

I doubt they will add new professions, so maybe the addition of a scythe weapon instead?

Imagine a melee Scythe Elemenetalist based on “Boon Juggling”? (Sacrificing their own boons to achieve various effects or other boons.)

Well, I want to point out that from what we know of the Guild Wars universe, the Ritualist profession was developed by the Canthans from their communing with the spirits of their dead ancestors. Eventually they received magic like everyone else and they used it to strengthen the power that they already had. So from our knowledge, ritualists came directly from the humans, and it’s history is more well known than most any other profession.

Kain Francois.4328:

I doubt they will add new professions…

Well actually, I doubt we will see new playable races. Just didn’t want to say it too hard cause so many people are enthousiastic bout it. I do remember however that they stated that the 5 starter area’s will be all there is, and there will be no new racial hometowns in future expansions.

I hope however that the enthousiasm we are all displaying makes them dicide different.

I think it will be more likely that future full expansions (lost shores is a minor expansion imo) will come with new professions. It is easier then developping a new race. Both as the OP is suggestion would be awesome, though I don’t share his enthousiasm that it has to be linked lorewise.

Actually in my mind developing new races, while it has more challenges in the beginning, is the easier choice. That way they don’t eventually end up with 12 professions that they have to balance with each other, and struggle to hold together.

I disagree with the notion that any profession holds origin in any one culture. There are deviations in professions based on the culture, but they all existed in multiple cultures.

Magic is universal, so are the schools of magic – that meant that the basics of these schools (Elementalism, Mesmerism, Monks, and Necormancy) were in all professions. Monks later evolved into Guardians due to, primarily, human culture but half of its origins were universal.

Engineers are also a universal thing – they’re simply people to make machines, present in charr, human, and asuran society (in regards only to the player races), but made combat-ready specifically by the charr.

Thieves, though mechanically originating from assassins which were fairly much human culture magic wise, also come from the Ash Legion of charr who were known for having scouts, assassins, and other stealthiness (note: assassins from GW1 did not hold stealth – they were all about get in, kill, get out – so the thief’s stealth aspect likely comes from the Ash Legion if not elsewhere).

As to new races bringing new professions – I don’t see this ever happening. Not because I can’t see there being professions unique to certain races’ culture that could then spread to other cultures, though that explanation is highly unlikely to ever occur imo, but rather because of this:

What niche would new professions give? The current eight professions fill just about all playstyles and niches. Any new professions I could ever think of just simply step on existing professions’ toes – it’d merely be a change in asthetics and nothing more. In other words, there’s no point in a new profession unless it can do stuff that other professions cannot.

And the only such profession I could think of ever happening would be a third soldier profession, and even then that’s unlikely to me.

Instead, what I would see is new weapons and skills to the existing professions, and new races and new racial skills. And not just new weapons, but new weapon availabilities (e.g., giving rangers the ability to use hammers).

New professions also mean, as Narcemus said, less balancing issues. As does fewer skills, so I don’t expect to see many new skills in the long run – best cases for new skills would be underwater-only skills (in a future expansion focusing on largos and the DSD crosses fingers) and weapon skills – that way they’d be restricted and easier to balance with the existing group. Possibly racial skills as well, since they too are lower in number and restricted in usefulness (since they’re supposed to provide unique but weak abilities).

I don’t care how many new Races or Professions are added in the game, as long as the number matches. i just want to play one char per race, each with different profession, without having to skip any

Personally, instead of them making new races or new professions, I’d rather have them expand the lore on the ones we have. Humans would be easy if we go into Cantha or Elona, but we could also do Asura by heading underground into their old cities and ruins, or the Norn by going north after Jormag and seeing their old lodges that the Sons of Svanir have corrupted.

The Sylvari would be the most difficult, considering they just came into being not too long ago, and the Charr, since they haven’t really come or gone anywhere. But I’m sure that something could be done to expand on their lore and racial stories.

I expect that we’ll see both new races (specifically, I see – in order – tengu, largos, and kodan as the most likely to become playable) and new lore on all races.

Humans already got a focus on historical lore with going to Orr, but can get more when going to Cantha or Elona. Norn will get such when we go after Jormag. Asura will get such when we go after Primordus. Sylvari will get such when we go west (to where Malyck’s tree is) most likely after the White Mantle and/or Mordremoth. Charr will get expanded when we go east into their original homelands (reason unknown?). Tengu will get expanded when we go to Cantha (or even Elona or some new land, since they were a world-wide race and said they were in Elona before). Largos will be expanded when going into the Unending Ocean to fight the DSD. Kodan when going north to face Jormag too, perhaps.

mercury ranique.2170:

During the events of the Eye of the North we know that sins, rits, dervishes and paragon’s started to grow in popularity in Tyria (continent) as well. After the cut off with Cantha, the sin’s adapted in the profession of thieves (atleast thats how I feel it). And there are some good indication’s that rit’s took part in the development of the guardian. Although Elona is lesser isolated (the order of whispers gets trough from time to time), the Elonian professions aren’t active at the moment.

I would like to see a return of for example the paragon. But off course game wise in a way they have learned from their mistakes in the past (so no more Imba).

The Guardian is WAY more like the Paragon than a Ritualist.

Engineer = Ritualist, mechanics wise
As much as I hate to admit it, there probably won’t be new professions, ever. One that I think could work is a Soldier class that behaves as an agile fighter like the Adventurers, but it would be easier to just add different weapon choices for existing classes as is.

That wouldn’t be bad either. Axes, scythes, lances, etc.

I agree that the introduction of more new professions might cause a greater imbalance to the more or less stable status quo of the eight, however, I see an alternative way to increase the number of playstyles and new weapons, even if it sounds a bit crazy: class specialization like in SWTOR.

Even though I’d love to go into guessing the names of the spec roles for each profession, I’ll stick to only one for greater simplicity:

Guardian: Spec #1: Dervish – Spec #2: Paragon

Dervish: DPS focus (Vitality, Precision, Critical Damage/Chance bonus), new class spec subtraits and dervish – themed skills (sans the devotion to the human gods). New weapon: scythe

Paragon: “Tankesque,” Support focus (Toughness, Power, Healing bonus), paragon – themed traits and skills, etc. New weapon: javelin/lance.

Probably never going to happen, but I can keep dreaming. (I really want a scythe-spinning, heavy-armor holy warrior…)

That would be interesting, but would probably go against everything the developers have done to make the 8 XD
And it would be somewhat easier imo to just make another new profession instead of doing a skill tree split type thing

Eh, easiest would be to just keep adding new skills – but they said they don’t want to do that because GW1 had a problem with such stuff.

Even though it would add a lot of flavour to gameplay if you could mix and match the 1-5 skills as well as your utilities.

Second best would be to add a possibility to pick a secondary profession, and then have profession combo unique skillsets (for example, elementalist/warrior→ battlemage skillset but warrior/elementalist→ arcane warrior skillset), that would open up gameplay a lot as well.

I still vote new weapons. It’d bring in new skills, without edging in too much on the old ones, it’d be pretty easy for characters to pick up and start using, etc etc.