Ok, I’m a returning player, played about a year ago. Back then you had 5 or 6 (can’t remember) trees of traits, and every 5 levels you’d get one trait point, until lvl 80. Like Elementalist had Fire, Air, Earth, Water and Arcane, and you spent your trait points on whatever you wanted, and you could respec on the fly.
Now, I’ve returned, and I’m completely lost. What is all of this?! What is training?? What are those hero points?
I’m looking for a place where I can learn all about this, but I don’t even know what to search on Google to get the right results. So in lieu of that, I’m posting here my questions. Maybe someone can redirect me to where I can read about all of this new stuff.
Hero points are points you spend in the “training” tab to unlock both skills and traits now. By the time you reach lvl 80, your character will have enough Hero points to unlock all skills and traits from the core game. (Essentially they replace half of the functionality that skill points used to serve.)
In the core game, we have 5 trait lines, which are now referred to as core specializations. You can equip a max of 3 at any one time. However, unlike the old trait system where you would not have enough to points to ‘max out’ 3 lines, we now can. You will get 1 adept, 1 master, and 1 grandmaster in all 3 lines that you take, the downside is that you are limited to the 3 traits available in the given tiers. You cannot use say, 3 adepts, any longer. However, many traits have been revamped – rebalanced, merged, moved, even removed and rolled into the class as a baseline feature.
Don’t look at me like that. Whatever you’ve heard, it’s probably not true.
Skill Points have been replaced by Hero points which are exclusively earned by levelling up (caps once you hit 80) or by completing Hero challenges (which is just a re-branding of the name for the previous skill point challenges).
Previously you would spend skill points to buy your different skills out of 3 tiers worth of skills. You would also have to unlock ‘x’ amount of skills from one tier before you can move on to the next. This has been reworked into part of the training. There are no longer any tiers but rather you buy your skills based on the ‘sections’. Each section will have its four skills associated with the theme and a potential fifth skill if that particular section unlocks an elite. (e.g. the Signets training section will unlock more signet skills as you put points into it).
Trait lines have become Specializations and follow more traditional ability trees rather than the previous point system. So rather than spending 14 trait points (or 70 points if you were around back in the day) you instead pick up to three Specializations to define your character. As Lanfear mentioned there is not more borrowing slots so an Adept slot will only offer from a choice of three adept traits, so on and so forth.
The bad new is there’s no longer any ‘dipping’ in that you can’t put in a few points here and there to get the best of the best but are instead committed to the line you chose. The good new is that a lot of traits got consolidated into single beefy traits or were made into ‘built-in’ traits for the class (mileage varies on a class by class basis). Also, stat increases have been separated from the new trait lines. Thus you are now free to pick Specs based on their functionality without having to worry about getting a useless stat or feel pressured to take a Spec that would offer ‘x’ stat that you are after. As compensation to this our baseline stats have been pushed up to 1000 from the previous 926, and equipment overall got an increase to make up for point we previously got from trait lines. As such, equipment is much more defining at what your stat block is going to look like.
Hmm… So only 3 at a time… So basically, each character now has 10 possible combinations…? Instead of the freedom of making your own personal build, you just pick out of 10? Seems there’s no point in exchanging builds, just look at the forums which of the 10 is the best….
On the other hand… More trait points, so that’s kinda cool. Hmmm…
I think I’ll start a new character, see how I manage with this new system. Never played a guardian, so ought to be interesting :)
Hmm… So only 3 at a time… So basically, each character now has 10 possible combinations…? Instead of the freedom of making your own personal build, you just pick out of 10? Seems there’s no point in exchanging builds, just look at the forums which of the 10 is the best….
On the other hand… More trait points, so that’s kinda cool. Hmmm…
I think I’ll start a new character, see how I manage with this new system. Never played a guardian, so ought to be interesting
There are less options but in some ways more useful options, since many traits that used to be separate are now combined into one. Don’t be fooled by the numbers. There are at least as many useful builds now as there were before. Many people say more.
Hmm… So only 3 at a time… So basically, each character now has 10 possible combinations…? Instead of the freedom of making your own personal build, you just pick out of 10? Seems there’s no point in exchanging builds, just look at the forums which of the 10 is the best….
On the other hand… More trait points, so that’s kinda cool. Hmmm…
I think I’ll start a new character, see how I manage with this new system. Never played a guardian, so ought to be interesting
Err, yes and no. Using the Guardian as an example two Guards running Zeal, Radiance, and Virtues can behave differently than one another. Even changing to something as subtle as Zeal, Honor, Virtues can radically change the functionality of the character. It’s all about knowing what tool to bring to the job.
I agree though, creating a new character is probably going to be the best way to learn the system.
You still have several different combinations now that item stats determine the additional value added to your base value. It makes things a bit more customized gear wise. It’s still a pretty new system that is not totally perfect.
The new system has combined some of the older traits into one skill, and added some new ones. Some are beneficial and some are not. Ah and POV combo when back lining with guardian is one of my favorites. Before it meant sacrificing power and critical damage for healing and condition removal. Now, since power and precision are based on item stats added to base values, it is even an more viable combination because of the higher damage outputs.
I think that creating a new toon isn’t the best solution. There is plenty of information out there on the changes and how they apply. I know that having to do research isn’t what you may have had in mind when wanting to play the game.
You have 10 possible combinations of 3 trait lines but each trait line has 27 combinations of adept/master/grandmaster traits, you choose from 1 of 3 in each category per trait line.
The expansion will add another trait line to the five for specialization which alters your profession extensively with added weapon and other skills. You can have only one specialization trait line but the “plan” is additional specializations will be added in the future for each profession. This yields an additional 10 combination of trait lines for each specialization.
Hmm… So only 3 at a time… So basically, each character now has 10 possible combinations…? Instead of the freedom of making your own personal build, you just pick out of 10? Seems there’s no point in exchanging builds, just look at the forums which of the 10 is the best….
On the other hand… More trait points, so that’s kinda cool. Hmmm…
I think I’ll start a new character, see how I manage with this new system. Never played a guardian, so ought to be interesting
Like other already said. No really. It’s true that the new system have less combinaison possible. But a lot of stuff were combine. For exemple. Before you could take a trait that give healing to your symbol, another one that make your symbol longer and another one that make them larger. Now all of that is combine into 1 single trait. They also removed a lot of useless trait.
The new system isn’t perfect. I hate the fact that you can’t put only 2 pts into one line or that you can take 2 adept trait. But at the same time I love that you don’t have stats from trait line and how they reworked individual trait, which are a lot better now.
I guess we can’t have everything. Overall the new system is better IMO.
