I know the developers stated that they do not want this game to be like WoW, and I respect their reasoning in that decision. However, there are things that WoW does better than GW2, and I think Anet should take note of these things, and use that knowledge to do it even better. Keep in mind that I make these suggestions purely because I want this game to succeed. Please read what I have to say and give me your feedback.
Argument:
First off, all classes should be viable in dungeons. How are they not viable you ask? It is quite simple, when our community dungeon runners favor one or two classes above all else and can run an entire group filled with the same profession immensely better than a diverse group, then we have a problem.
Example: 3 berserker wars and 2 mesmers, or 5 berserker wars doing CoF better than any diverse group I have ever seen.
How do we combat this? If your response is to nerf the classes involved then you are not thinking clearly, as that would result in ruining the experience of already enjoyable classes.
If the Anet team really wants a “play it your way” style, then there is no reason the engineer, ranger, elementalist, etc should have lower dps(damage per second) than a warrior if they are just as speced and geared for dps as that warrior is. This is showing little reward to those who favor a certain class by letting another unfairly dominate the PvE realm. I would hate to bring roles into this game (such as tank, healer, dps), but it is clear that some classes aren’t meant to be doing respectable dps, and all classes should be able to do that at the very least. Doing dps is enjoyable, and the fact that some people know their class is on an unfair playing field in departments such as damage just steepens their feelings that this game is biased.
Solution #1
I feel this is something that WoW did well, and that is to make unique class buffs that applied to the whole party depending on the skill points.
Example: A “Call of the Wild” %5 damage buff from having a damage speced ranger in the party would vastly improve dungeon group diversity. This is assuming that these buffs didn’t stack with the same buff. (Can’t get this buff twice from two rangers)
Solution #2
All classes should have viable AoE and single target dps if they so desire. Even the Rogue on wow had a viable AoE if he was speced right. As did the Priest and many other classes to do damage how they saw fit. (Often with a combination of both depending on the situation) Although we only have 5 abilities per weapon set, I don’t see why there isn’t an option to swap out for some new abilities to do damage how you want to do it and making the class more enjoyable as well.
Example: The Rogue class could throw knives while attacking that would stem from targets and hit other targets if my memory serves me right. This made even the preferred ganking class on WoW have good dps in dungeons with a viable AoE and single target compability. In the Thief’s current state that knife AoE is not viable as it interrupts his single target damage immensely which he relies on.
Solution #3
Expand on Elite skills, and bring classes closer together on damage per second. This would probably require for Anet to make glass cannons of every class and use some sort of damage per second measuring tool on a mob, but this is important if we ever want to have diverse class viability. There is also no reason that the ranger’s elite skills can’t rival my time warp. They should have something just as good or better; unlike the Engineer’s mortar that can’t even rival one from WvW, so how elite is that really?
Conclusion:
I note that Anet doesn’t want to play “Whack-a-mole” with classes, but guess what? WoW has never been able to find an absolute balance because the truth is as the game continually evolves with new gear, play styles, and content coming into play, there will always be an issue with balancing. In that regard the game is like WoW in its need for balancing, you can’t change that without removing the classes altogether. To hold back on balancing for fear of “Whack-a-Moling” is dangerous because there will never be a perfect balance, but the developers should always strive for perfection even if they don’t believe in it, because that is what is fair and just to the game and the players in it.
Maybe I am alone in this, but I feel that fear of this Whack-a-Mole game mentality has been a constant with Anet since this game came out, and it is hurting everybody in one way or another. It is almost as if they aren’t even trying even if we know they are.
Kudos if you managed to read all that, and feel free to touch upon any one part or the entire threat. Your feedback will make this better and possibly get some of the things on here considered.