Guild Wars 2

There seems to be a theme where all the initial elite specs are given 4 abilities of a type (IE: Mesmer Wells) that weren’t there previously.

With this, we can assume that a type of spell will also be removed upon accepting that spec.

Here’s my fun question, what do you Rangers expect of Druids?

I expect cantrips in place of signets.

What are your guesses?

I’m going with wards in place of signets. I’m guessing the staff is a mass CC / area denial weapon.

Gotejjeken.1267:

I’m going with wards in place of signets. I’m guessing the staff is a mass CC / area denial weapon.

You don’t expect the staff to be more akin to the Guardian’s? Giving us some reliable aoe?

Thz.7569:

Gotejjeken.1267:

I’m going with wards in place of signets. I’m guessing the staff is a mass CC / area denial weapon.

You don’t expect the staff to be more akin to the Guardian’s? Giving us some reliable aoe?

Edit: You never said such, I meant it as a question.

Edit 2: Also, what are wards?

Yeah, wards like Guardians have:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ward

Guardian staff even has a ward..line of warding.

I don’t doubt we will get some form of AOE, but I’m thinking in a more crowd control way then ally beneficial way.

Would be interesting if this is tied to our pet. So you send a pet somewhere, and basically it creates a perimeter. Might even be some form of ‘mobile spirit’ (since actual spirits are stationary now). So it doesn’t attack, possibly can’t be killed (or is really hard to kill), and provides some CC, or other effect.

Gotejjeken.1267:

Yeah, wards like Guardians have:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ward

Guardian staff even has a ward..line of warding.

I don’t doubt we will get some form of AOE, but I’m thinking in a more crowd control way then ally beneficial way.

Would be interesting if this is tied to our pet. So you send a pet somewhere, and basically it creates a perimeter. Might even be some form of ‘mobile spirit’ (since actual spirits are stationary now). So it doesn’t attack, possibly can’t be killed (or is really hard to kill), and provides some CC, or other effect.

I was being coy, as I know what wards exist, but they are -not- utility spells.

Who says they have to work 100% as they do for Guardian? Necro well’s certainly don’t ‘change the future’, but Chronomancer wells do.

Basically a ‘pet ward’ would just be a mobile ward that pretty much does what wards do now, and that is area denial. The slight twist would be ‘denial’ can mean a lot of different things (denial of stealth would be hilarious).

So in short, while Chronomancers have the ability to manipulate cooldowns, I think Druids will have the ability to manipulate access.

Healing spring-esque wells with effects similar to the GW1 nature rituals could be interesting and druid-like. Things that dramatically change the battlefield in a certain area, for example:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Frozen_Soil

Could MASSIVELY impact a PvP battle. Probably too easy to troll with though.

Edit: I’d forgotten how many spirits we had in GW1. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Nature_Ritual

Yeah…which is why GW2 spirits being so lackluster is inexcusable. I know they are busy with the specializations at the moment, but I really do hope they bring some of those spirits back now that they are stationary.

hopefully new specialization put into place global effect like from GW1 which just makes sense: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Nature_ritual.

I’d like to see a couple of modified versions that would fit in GW2 gameplay a couple of samples:

Tranquility : Boons expire 50% faster for creatures in range.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Tranquility

Frozen Soil : Creatures in range cannot resurrect downed allies.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Frozen_Soil

To quote myself from another thread;

For the spirits themselves, I’m hoping for something truly build defining, team build defining, match defining and battle defining! So when you drop it, the enemy team REALLY don’t want it to be there and will have to split or change tactics to try and destroy it, or have a major disadvantage. Like GW1 spirits, but they probably would only be able to affect foes.

Effects such as; Doubling casting times (Nature’s Renewal), reducing healing (Predatory Season), inability to assist with revives (Frozen Soil), inability to use shouts (Roaring Winds), Cannot use signets (Primal Echos), Projectiles do more damage (Favorable Winds), More health per boon (Symbiosis), Boons expire faster (Tranquility), Dealing damage when reaching 0 endurance (Famine).

I want Frozen Soil and Favorable Winds, kitten it.

I want Roaring Winds/Predatory Season/Nature’s Renewal/Tranquility to shut down the eles and shoutbows.

Here are some random, baseless guesses on my end.

Consecrations: The druid could enchant the ground beneath them to gain different effects. Some ideas include:
Spring Meadow: Provides regen, vigor, and cures conditions to allies in the area.
Summer Plains: Provides might and retaliation to allies and weakness to enemies who enter the area.
Fall Woodlands: Prevents enemies from entering the area and destroys projectiles, as well as damages enemies already inside.
Winter Forest: Provides stability to allies and inflicts chill, vulnerability, and damages enemies in the area.

Minions: The druid could summon additional beasts of the wild to fight by their side, all tied to the pet’s F1 and F3 keys for limited control. All using an active skill similar to necro minions.
Bear: Tanky melee minion. Active skill taunts foes in an AoE.
Wolf: Support/damage minion. Active skill causes AoE fear to enemies.
Raven: High damage, squishy minion. Active skill sends the raven flying to the target like a projectile and inflicts vulnerability and blindness.
Leopard: High damage, squishy minion. Active skill shadowsteps behind the target and inflicts bleeds and cripple.

Ehecatl.9172:

Minions: The druid could summon additional beasts of the wild to fight by their side, all tied to the pet’s F1 and F3 keys for limited control. All using an active skill similar to necro minions.
Bear: Tanky melee minion. Active skill taunts foes in an AoE.
Wolf: Support/damage minion. Active skill causes AoE fear to enemies.
Raven: High damage, squishy minion. Active skill sends the raven flying to the target like a projectile and inflicts vulnerability and blindness.
Leopard: High damage, squishy minion. Active skill shadowsteps behind the target and inflicts bleeds and cripple.

I really hope anet has learned their lesson about AIs spawning. Turrets, moving spirits, clones… all of which have been or are being nerfed. The community collectively hates it. I mean really hates it. It’s not fun to play and not fun to play against. I don’t think we’ll being seeing more minions added.

Well, we supose to have a new theme for new utility skills, its has been confirmed all themes will be based on already existed themes. It also strongly rumored that recial skills will no longer be avilable. Another thing that cought my eye is that A.net chose to select a norn as presentor of the druid spec(and not the obvius nature theme sylvari) Is there a chance that our new utilites will be the old norn transformations? I’m not talking about the staff wepaon skills but the utility new skills.

Fluffball.8307:

I really hope anet has learned their lesson about AIs spawning. Turrets, moving spirits, clones… all of which have been or are being nerfed. The community collectively hates it. I mean really hates it. It’s not fun to play and not fun to play against. I don’t think we’ll being seeing more minions added.

Yeah, I doubt it will happen. The only minion-esque thing I can see happening is skills like Hunter’s Call, where the birds appear, do the damage and disappear again. It is merely an animation then and that would be very cool imo. Imagine a mark/well type spell that called loads of spiders or bats or snakes to attack everyone inside it lol.

Fluffball.8307:

I really hope anet has learned their lesson about AIs spawning. Turrets, moving spirits, clones… all of which have been or are being nerfed. The community collectively hates it. I mean really hates it. It’s not fun to play and not fun to play against. I don’t think we’ll being seeing more minions added.

A part of the PvP community hates it. It it was the whole community, there wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place as they wouldn’t have played these builds in the first place. That said, since that small crowd pretty much dictates the game balancing in every mode, i’d agree that it’s unlikely we’ll see more/better minions.

As for the rest of the community hating those builds, that’s a hell of an assumption. I very much doubt i’m the only one enjoying minion-builds.

Well, in GW1 you rarely saw Necros that weren’t MM spec, in GW2 you never see it. The minions were just so much better in GW1.

We do know from the recent interview (at the time of this post) from Jon Peters about Elite Specializations that the druid will be all about some CC/Support. I think it was MMO.com interview, I forget what MMO related website it was. (Too much work on the brain recently.) So, knowing that I’m still waiting to see if there are going to be support damage modifiers from the trait line or if it’s going to be something else, because, maybe, sword+axe/staff might turn out to be new ranger dungeon/fractal meta build… I mean, since we know very little anything is possible, right?

TheFantasticGman.9451:

We do know from the recent interview (at the time of this post) from Jon Peters about Elite Specializations that the druid will be all about some CC/Support.

I can’t find this interview, so please try to link it. But, assuming what you’re saying is true, consecrations as others have guessed, could be it.

Thematically, as far as best guesses go, and with the few solid tidbits we know (nature theme, druid was designed specifically around the starting point that it was going to be a staff specialization, stated in the “making the chronomancer” article), ANet is more than likely going to go with either the overlying theme (still best guesses) of either:

• spirituality, think martial, staff wielding “monks”
  or
• more magical themed, think forest warden (Radegast from the J.R.R. Tolkien books, seen in the new hobbit series of movies)

While that doesn’t inherently provide anything, it does help sort of grasping what sort of utilities might become available. Particularly, I had already had in mind:

• Wells
• Mantra
• Meditations
• Stances
• Consecrations
• Elixirs
• Glyphs

We don’t know whether or not utility types that one elite specialization is getting are going to be mutually exclusive or not (as in, we don’t know that just because chronomancer is getting wells that another class won’t also get wells).

Without having the same level of teaser that mesmers received (they were able to piece together the time theme from the shield from their preview easily), it’s hard too see exactly what sort of theme their will be at this point.

I’m also personally irked by ANets incessant teasing where in every interview they bring up the Druid as a reference point (unlike the druid where we did this, the chronomancer on the other hand etc etc etc). Having it not revealed yet but constantly be shoved in my face and then the news that they made it particularly obvious that even though they keep babbling on abstractly about the Druid that “it WON’T be the first elite specialization revealed” is a… trying experience, let’s say.

Maybe it is Wards, like GW1. We are getting the protective ward trait, maybe they are hinting at something there. GW1 has a lot of wards; The Ebon Battle standards of Courage/Honor/Wisdom/Power, Ward of stability/weakness, Ward against elements/foes/melee/harm. Druid being a Nature WARDen? Pretty weak, but eh?

Many different effects could be used, but they could be both support and CC. I’m also thinking traps are possible on the staff.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Maybe it is Wards, like GW1. We are getting the protective ward trait, maybe they are hinting at something there. GW1 has a lot of wards; The Ebon Battle standards of Courage/Honor/Wisdom/Power, Ward of stability/weakness, Ward against elements/foes/melee/harm. Druid being a Nature WARDen? Pretty weak, but eh?

Many different effects could be used, but they could be both support and CC. I’m also thinking traps are possible on the staff.

It just honestly doesn’t seem likely that ANet is going to be introducing a new utility type with the initial HoT release. If anything, like they mentioned, they are trying to make existing utility types more universal across professions so that they can create a system of gearing that has more synergy with the utilities.

That being said, I don’t think the idea behind Wards it out of the question. I just don’t think they are going to be a utility family named “wards.” If anything, they will be reminiscent of and have names with ward in them, but will be called an existing utility name.

All just speculation though

jcbroe.4329:

All just speculation though

With the nature of this specific thread, what is your best guess? Removal:Addition; 1:1.

Thz.7569:

jcbroe.4329:

All just speculation though

With the nature of this specific thread, what is your best guess? Removal:Addition; 1:1.

4 posts up from this new one I believe is where my response is and what I think.

jcbroe.4329:

Thz.7569:

jcbroe.4329:

All just speculation though

With the nature of this specific thread, what is your best guess? Removal:Addition; 1:1.

4 posts up from this new one I believe is where my response is and what I think.

You listed possibilities, not a guess. It’s all in good fun and if you don’t wish to tunnel in on something specific that’s fine I’m just curious.

Maybe you could post what you’d -like- to see.

im expecting Resistance boon, Slow condition, poison source(s), heals and condi cleanses incorporated into staff skills. some kind of synergy with healing spring. I at least expect those things.

I could imagine a kit for planting plant-turrets or root-walls (or this skills are utilities of his utility set). Or a transformation in a wild beast. I would dislike the last idea, but it could be possible.

Really cool would be, if they give the druid the new powerful spirits and give the core-ranger something other. Like preparation or venoms from thief. Because the spirits fits ideally to druid.

jcbroe.4329:

I’m also personally irked by ANets incessant teasing where in every interview they bring up the Druid as a reference point (unlike the druid where we did this, the chronomancer on the other hand etc etc etc). Having it not revealed yet but constantly be shoved in my face and then the news that they made it particularly obvious that even though they keep babbling on abstractly about the Druid that “it WON’T be the first elite specialization revealed” is a… trying experience, let’s say.

Yep, this gets to me as well. They show the Druid in the reveal trailer and constantly refer to it, however why are they holding back? It is a bit worrying that they are going to save it for last because it may not live up to the hype.

You are probably right mate, but a ward is just like a consecration really isn’kitten Maybe its them. Who knows? hehe

They originally revealed the professions in the order they were completed and ready for presentation, so I strongly suspect that’s how they’ll reveal the specializations. Revealing the chronomancer, I’ve got to admit even I didn’t want to see the druid. They’ve been spamming the same info about HoT over and over, druid, wyvern, stronghold, hang glide, druid, wyvern, blah blah. It would have been disappointing for everyone if the first specialization revealed was… druid. They even acknowledged that in a joking way. I think maybe next week will be druid. I am quite sure some professions aren’t very well fleshed out yet, sort of like the engi during the video thing they did.

Nothing ever lives up to the hype.

I’m actually kinda glad they have not revealed it yet, because the Chronomancer looks to be pretty impressive, tactically. Makes me feel like they are ensuring the mechanic is good for Druid, spending the extra time to get it right… I’m hoping anyway.