My fellow Mesmers, I present to you my own original concept for an elite specialization, The Harlequin! I would love to hear what you all think of it.
New Elite Specialization:
The Harlequin
The Harlequin is an agile, high-mobility trickster who uses unpredictability and deception to her advantage on the battlefield. Drawing upon her background in the theater, the Mesmer utilizes the art of performance, in the form of the Harlequin Elite Specialization, to confound, control, and conquer the enemy in a spectacle of style and power!
>Aesthetic Style & Thematic Inspiration:
The Harlequin draws up the Thespian roots of the Mesmer by paying homage to ‘theatrics’ and using classical theater terminology in the skills. The Archetype of a ‘Prankster’ is also evoked, lending a colorful and comical visual effect to a variety of the Harlequin’s skills, as well as to their new weapon the off-hand scepter.
>New Profession Mechanic: Shatter Inversion
Your new F5 ability as a Harlequin is called Inversion and it allows you to do exactly what it says: invert your shatters! Inverted Shatter skills serve the opposite purpose of normal shatter skills, instead giving the Harlequin a fast way to produce more illusions with some utility.
Inversion acts as a shatter skill itself, destroying all active illusions and providing the Mesmer with ‘Schism’. However, Inversion has a significantly reduced cooldown based on the amount of illusions shattered.
Inversion: Shatter. Destroy all your clones and phantasms and invert the next base Mesmer shatter skill you use.
Cooldown: 1x Illusion 60 sec
2x Illusions 40 sec
3x Illusions 20 sec
~Schism: Shatters are inverted.~
~Inverted Shatters:~
Inverted Shatter skills have separate cooldowns from their un-inverted counterparts.
Inverted Mind Wrack – Mind Rend: Inverted Shatter. Emit a burst of magical energy, damaging all nearby foes. You create 1 clone per enemy struck (max 3).
Damage: X
Cooldown: 13 sec
Radius: 240
_Number of Targets: 5
Inverted Cry of Frustration – Cry of Astonishment: Inverted Shatter. Enemies at the target ground location are stunned and dazed. You create 1 clone per enemy struck (max 3).
Stun: 1 sec
Daze: 3 sec
Cooldown: 25 sec
Radius: 240
Range: 900
Number of Targets: 5
Inverted Diversion – Bedazzle: Inverted Shatter. Send forth a prismatic orb that captivates enemies’ attention. The orb will detonate when it reaches the end of its path or if activated a second time. When the orb detonates, nearby enemies are taunted, and 1 clone is generated per enemy struck (min. 1, max 3).
Orb Duration: 3 sec
Taunt: 2 sec
Taunt Radius: 240
Cooldown: 35 sec
Range: 600
Number of Targets: 3
Inverted Distortion – Persuasion: Inverted Shatter. Drop all conditions and become unattackable but you are unable to attack or use abilities. During this time, enemies you touch will give you a charge of Illusionary Charm, max 3 charges. When Persuasion ends, consume all stacks of Illusionary Charm and generate 1 clone per stack (max 3).
Duration: 4 sec
Cooldown: 45 sec
~Illusionary Charm: You’re so charming!~
>New Weapon: Off-hand Scepter
Harlequins being the “eccentric” characters they are, have done something interesting with scepters, a weapon that many magically-inclined Guild Wars 2 professions have come to recognize as a main-hand weapon: They wield them as an off-hand! Yes, this DOES allow the Harlequin Mesmer to be the first (and only?) class to dual-wield Scepters!
~Weapon Skills:~
Off-hand Scepter 4) Curtain Call: Roll forward evading attacks, then gain stealth. Becomes Encore.
Stealth: 4 sec
Evade: 1 sec
Cooldown: 15 sec
Roll Distance: 580
Notes: Stealth activates at the end of the roll.
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Encore: Teleport back to your original location.
Notes: Encore is usable for 3 seconds after casting Curtain Call.
Off-hand Scepter 5) Phantasmal Jester: Phantasm. Create a phantasm that attacks your target with a violent explosion and then gives itself stealth.
Damage: X
Cooldown: 20 sec
Range: 1,200
Phantasm Stealth: 3 sec
Combo Finisher: Blast
Notes: Phantasmal Jester, when cast, will appear at the enemy’s location and perform its explode attack before immediately turning invisible. The Jester’s attack interval is about 4 seconds, with its stealth lasting 3 seconds, so as to appear out of stealth just before attacking to avoid getting ‘Revealed’. It will repeat this cycle until destroyed. The Jester’s attack, an explosion of rainbow glitter and swirlies, counts as a blast finisher.
>New Skill Type: Tricks
You know those things that Thieves do that make them really hard to catch? Well the Harlequin has a bit of a different take on it… usually involving decoys, duplicates, and… a jack-in-the-box?
~Healing Skill:~
Intermission: Trick. Dazzle nearby enemies with a bright flash of smoke, damaging and blinding them. You are healed and gain stealth per enemy hit.
Healing: X
Damage: Y
Cooldown: 30 sec
Radius: 240
Blind: 3 sec
Stealth: 1 sec per enemy (max 5 sec)
~Utility Skills:~
Utility 1) Disguise: Trick. Change your appearance to look like a Phantasm. Double the duration of all boons currently affecting you.
Duration: 10 sec
Cooldown: 15 sec
Notes: Simply gives your character the visual effect of your phantasms.
Utility 2) Soliloquy: Trick. Becomes Pantomime.
Duration: 5 sec
Cooldown: 25 sec
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Pantomime: Steals one of the enemy’s skills. This skill is replaced with that skill.
Skill Swap Duration: 60 sec or until cancelled
Range: 240
~Copycat: You have something that doesn’t belong to you…~
Notes: Activating Soliloquy makes Pantomime usable for the next 5 sec. If Pantomime is not used, the spell reverts to Soliloquy and goes on cooldown. Stolen skills can be dropped early by removing the ‘Copycat" buff (by right-clicking it). Pantomime reverts to Soliloquy and goes on cooldown after the stolen skill is dropped or expires. When cast on enemy players in PvP, Pantomime will randomly steal one of the enemy’s Utility Skills. Enemy players still have access to their stolen skill.
Utility 3) Improvisation: Trick. Swap places with the target illusion and gain stealth.
Cooldown: 45 sec
Range: 1,200
Stealth: 5 sec
Notes: Can only be cast on one of your own illusions!
Utility 4) Avvio Diavolo: Trick. Place an invisible prop on the ground that triggers when an enemy approaches it. When triggered, nearby enemies are feared and confused.
Damage: X
Prop Duration: 60 sec
Cooldown: 20 sec
Trigger Radius: 180
Attack Radius: 240
Fear: 2 sec
Confusion: 5 stacks, 8 sec
~ELITE SKILL:~
Mantra of Insanity: Meditate, charging a spell that will incite madness into your target.
~Perplexed. Bewildered. Hallucination.~
Cooldown: 10 sec
Preparation Time: 2 3/4 sec
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Power Coax: Afflicts the enemy’s mind with insanity, massively damaging them every second that they aren’t using abilities for the duration.
Cooldown: 10 sec
Range: 1,200
~Insanity: Receiving massive damage while not using abilities.~
~Insanity Duration: 3 sec~
~Insanity Damage: X~
Notes: Enemy players hit by this spell in PvP will suffer from a screen-blur effect similar to the bobblehead laboratory for the duration.
~Possible Trait Ideas:~
-Minor Trait 1-
La Commedia: You can equip scepters in the off-hand slot and gain access to Harlequin Tricks skills. Gain access to the Inversion shatter skill, which allows you to change the effects of your ordinary Shatter skills to cause them to produce illusions.
~Other Traits:~
Stage Presence: Using a Trick or an Inverted Shatter fully heals all currently active illusions and gives them Distortion for 2 seconds. 10 sec internal recharge.
Chaotic Embrace: Your Inverted Shatters instead generate 1 random phantasm.
Ethereal Rejuvenation: Using Tricks and Inverted Shatters heals you. Heal each second while under the effects of Persuasion.
Master Prankster: Your Phantasms daze opponents when they attack. Your Phantasmal Jester inflicts burning.
Hideous Laughter: When ‘Revealed’, you project a haunting Laughter into the minds of nearby enemies. Laughter: If this enemy activates a skill, they are feared for 3 seconds. Lasts 2 seconds. 20 sec internal cooldown.
Trickster’s Wit: Tricks give 1 second of evasion and 3 seconds of Vigor.
Trained Performer: Reduces recharge on Trick skills.
Illusionary Circus: Your Phantasms can now dodge roll.
-Zen
(edited by Zendella.9573)
