Guild Wars 2

I often have some downtime at work, which I’ve used over the past couple weeks to write out an idea for an elite spec I had. It was inspired in part when I watched a friend play Balance Druid in WoW but of course with a GW2 twist. I liked the idea of having a resource that you can’t really control but must adapt with. I also liked the idea of cycling between a period of being very strong but also very exposed and a period that enables escape and recovery. Making this was just for fun, but I’m curious of other peoples’ thoughts.

Ranger Elite Specialization:
Circadian Hunter

Profession mechanic:

Day/Night Cycle: Every 10 seconds you switch between day and night stances, which influence many skills and traits. You cannot control this cycle as the stance change is automatic and so must anticipate these changes to achieve maximum potential.

Diurnal Ability (f5) (25 s cd, instant cast, breaks stun): Decided based on your grandmaster trait choice and current stance.

Weapon: Focus

Day:
(4) Solar Flare (40 s cd, 5 s cast): Pulse blind to enemies and might (3) to allies as long as you remain still.
(5) Solar Eclipse (50 s cd, 2.5 s cast): Channel the sun to restore 50% of your total health, then apply blind and revealed to yourself.
Night:
(4) Night Owl (40 s cd): Grant yourself stealth (5 s) and then rapidly regenerate endurance as long as you remain in stealth.
(5) Lunar Eclipse: Stealth yourself (10 s) and chill nearby foes.

Utility Skills: Meditations

Heal: 25 s cd, 0.75 s cast
Day – Serene Day: Pulse heal, vulnerability, and protection on yourself. At the end of the third pulse, heal yourself if below 75% health or deal damage and burn nearby foes if above 75% health.
Night – Serene Night: Heal yourself and gain stealth (3s). Continue to heal each second you remain in stealth (3 s). Damage and chill nearby foes if you leave stealth early.

(1) 15 s cd, instant cast
Day – Sunbeam: Teleport away from your target in targetted direction. Gain access to Sunshine (5 s).
Sunshine: Heal and blind in an area around you.
Night – Moonbeam: Teleport to your target. Gain access to Moonshine (5 s).
Moonshine: Deal damage, daze, blind, and confuse your target.

(2) 15 s cd, instant cast
Day – Photon Conversion: Convert all of your boons into quickness (1 s per boon) and might (2 per boon for 10 s).
Night – Photon Diversion: Convert all of your boons into stealth (1 s per boon).

(3) 25 s cd, instant cast, breaks stun
Day – Evaporation: Remove all damaging conditions and gain vulnerability (25 for 10 s).
Night – Condensation: Remove all non-damaging condition and gain vulnerability (5 for 10 s), regeneration (5 s), vigor (5 s), and protection (5 s).

(4) 15 s cd, instant cast, blast finisher
Day – Sunlit: Blind nearby foes, become immune to blindness (5s) and convert a condition into vulnerability (5 for 10 s).
Night – Moonlit: Blind nearby foes and gain stealth and vulnerability (5 for 10 s).

Elite: 90 s cd, instant cast
Refresh the cooldown of your Diurnal Ability. Your next Diurnal Ability has an additional effect (10 s window).
Day – Sunrise: Your next used Diurnal Ability grants stability and protection.
Night – Sunset: Your next used Diurnal Ability grants superspeed and quickness.

Traits

Focus Proficiency: You can wield a focus.

Adept

Minor – Circadian Soul: Gain access to Meditations and Diurnal Abilities. You now cycle between day and night every 10 seconds, which affects your skills and traits.

I – See No Evil: Grant fury (5 s) and swiftness (5 s) to allies when you are revealed. Gain health (700) when you grant yourself stealth.

II – Hear No Evil: You and your pet convert one condition into vulnerability (5) when you enter day and into fury (5s) when you enter night.

III – Speak No Evil: While below 75% health your Mediation skills recharge faster (40%). Using a mediation skill also casts either Sunshine or Moonshine based on your current cycle (20s cd).

Major

Minor – Masochist: Gain increased damage and condition damage for each stack of vulnerability on yourself (1.5%). Vulnerability you apply lasts longer (20%).

IV – Cyclical Focus: Receiving vulnerability reduces the recharge of focus skills by 1 s (2 s cd). Solar Eclipse and Lunar Eclipse are now blast finishers.

V – Contradiction: Gain vigor (1 s) when you gain stealth or vulnerability (2s cd). Gain vulnerability when you gain vigor.

VI – Strength of Sacrifice: Gain increased damage the lower your health is (3% per 10% health threshold).

Grandmaster

Minor – Day Break: Chance to apply vulnerability to yourself and your foe when you critically hit (33%).

VII – Stalker: Gain Revealed and might (5 for 10 s) when you enter day. You cannot be revealed at night (attacking breaks stealth). Your Diurnal Abilities become Starwalk (day) and Moonwalk (night).
Starwalk: Teleport to a target location and gain vulnerability (5 for 10 s). Range: 1200.
Moonwalk: Grant stealth to yourself (10 s) and gain vulnerability (5 for 10 s).

VIII – Elusive: Dodging costs less endurance during day (35) and more at night (65). In day, apply vulnerability to yourself and foes at the end of your dodgeroll. At night grant yourself stealth and blind foes at the end of your dodgeroll. Your Diurnal Abilities become Decimate (day) and Invigorate (night).
Decimate: Apply vulnerability (25 for 6 s) to yourself and nearby foes.
Invigorate: Refill nearby allies’ endurance (100).

IX – Sacrificial Soul: Gain health regen during day and incoming damage reduction (10%) at night. Your Diurnal Abilities become Sun Dance and Moon Dance.
Sun Dance: Sacrifice 50% of your total health. Gain might (10 for 10s), fury (10 s), switftness (10 s), and regeneration (10 s). Pull conditions from allies and convert them into vulnerability.
Moon Dance: Sacrifice 50% of your total health. Gain protection (10 s), vigor (10 s), regeneration (10 s) and stealth (10 s). Chill (3 s), daze (½ s), and damage nearby foes.

Rune:
Superior Rune of the Circadian Hunter
(1) 25 Ferocity
(2) 35 Power
(3) 50 Ferocity
(4) 65 Power
(5) 100 Ferocity
(6) +7% damage while under the effects of vulnerability

What about other weapons? What about pets?

An elite spec only adds one weapon and pets would be dependent on region :P

Pazu.8320:

Weapon: Focus

Day:
(4) Solar Flare (40 s cd, 5 s cast): Pulse blind to enemies and might (3) to allies as long as you remain still.

• Solar Eclipse (50 s cd, 2.5 s cast): Channel the sun to restore 50% of your total health, then apply blind and revealed to yourself.
  Night:

I believe the highlighted was a mistake. If not – I believe that’s a very bad idea. Getting revealed and blinded for casting our own spell on such a long cooldown doesn’t feel right.

I like the overall idea and mechanics. They sound unique and I do like the “uncontrollable” transformation.

It’s intended. The revealed is mainly there for trait synergy and to prevent some too strong interactions if you cycle to night mid cast. It also adds some counterplay to a huge heal, i.e. You can’t stealth yourself to cast it.

Will the only weapon affected by the day/night cycle be the focus?

Pazu.8320:

It’s intended. The revealed is mainly there for trait synergy and to prevent some too strong interactions if you cycle to night mid cast. It also adds some counterplay to a huge heal, i.e. You can’t stealth yourself to cast it.

I mean … Doesn’t it propose to reveal at the end ?
Which means it’s perfectly possible to cast it in stealth?

Hmmm I’d have to look at my notes. I was considering a few different things there. Thanks for pointing it out.

Pazu.8320:

Hmmm I’d have to look at my notes. I was considering a few different things there. Thanks for pointing it out.

No problem. Keep up the good work.

A few things…

We already have a day/night themed elite with Druid so I don’t think it would be good to have another theme like it. As much as I don’t like the design, Druid currently fills the duality role as well.

Players want dependability with their skills so the ever shifting nature will be off putting.

I made a very light suggestion before to make Druid and Celestial Avatar into two separate elites, and some of what you are suggesting might fit better in a scenario like that.

There are some neat new ideas and some similar “things” to what Ranger and Druid currently offers, but I don’t think it’s different enough. Maybe try using some different sources of power or themes.. So instead of the night theme, make a “Shadow Hunter” elite the uses the powers of darkness and stealth. Instead of a day theme, make a front line type “Fury Fighter” that uses fire based skills that burns enemies, heals the ranger and allies.

I think you have some creative ideas, but elites that are unique would work better.

i don’t want to say this Moon-kin much WoW?

the day night cycle is not somthing i’d like to see as a Specialisation.

Swagger.1459:

…

I think you have some creative ideas, but elites that are unique would work better.

I do agree with you on some points but I do find a transformation that you can’t control unique.

It doesn’t necessarily have to have to be called night/day. You can call it blossom and vegetation phases, change descriptions and art and you have a nature themed cycle.

While players want reliability in what they do – they don’t necessarily search for it in everything. I mean, if only the utilities and focus skills (or traits) are affected, you could still have your other weapons’ abilities on demand (CC, evades and such) just like Signet of Stone or Lightning Reflexes.
If you keep the use similar – for example you need both types of the same ability in the same situation but the way of execution is different (let’s say channeled heal vs stealth+regen has the same use but in a different way) – then it’s not the matter of reliability. Both are reliable but in a different way.

But yes, some ideas would definitely have to go through balance and enjoyment checks.

I don’t like how similar all those skills sound.. At the very least make them inflict different conditions instead of blind.. (Weakness / confusion, slow might fit thematicly)
Too long cast times on the focus skills making them pretty useless in just about any content (maybe make some use of dark fields or inflict fear at night before a surprise attack).
Overall interesting idea but need some diversity. Standing still while channeling should be more rewarding as you can be easily cleaved by random aoe with those 25 vul stacks..