Guild Wars 2

Confirmed at the GW2 Heart of Thorns announcement:

Rangers will be able to turn into Druids (profession specialization), which give them access to a new heal skill, a new elite, and the ability to use a Staff.

is this pve only? they didnt really say.

and new utility skills

and as i remember they told something about our profession mechanism (maybe stove? aspect?)

Yuk, just a staff? No other weapon?

Staff is my wet rangerdream.

sandman.9850:

Yuk, just a staff? No other weapon?

We don’t know how many specializations each class is getting. I could see us choosing between a sniper or a druid. Rifle OR staff, as it were.

Harnel.6810:

sandman.9850:

Yuk, just a staff? No other weapon?

We don’t know how many specializations each class is getting. I could see us choosing between a sniper or a druid. Rifle OR staff, as it were.

Rifle AND Staff. That’s my preference.

New support option for me to play on my ranger in WvW

If specialization change profession mechanics like I have seen some people say, I wonder if they will use this to implement that idea that some devs seemed to like of stowing pets to receive unique buffs

Levetty.1279:

If specialization change profession mechanics like I have seen some people say, I wonder if they will use this to implement that idea that some devs seemed to like of stowing pets to receive unique buffs

I’m not getting my hopes up. The staff wielding ranger in the trailer had an alpine wolf by his side who charged into battle as he fired off an entangling root with his staff. Rather than a permanent stow, I hope they’ll take the chance to improve many of the shortcomings the pets suffer from at the moment. Fix the problem, rather than remove it, basically.

on the idea of specializations modifying existing unique mechanics, I could see a ranger spec that supports beast mastery fairly heavily. For all we know, Druids might do that, but i feel like that’d preferably be its own spec – The choice between Marksmanship, Beast Mastery, and Druidism seems like it’d be fairly compelli- I just realized that’s hunters in WoW.

Levetty.1279:

If specialization change profession mechanics like I have seen some people say, I wonder if they will use this to implement that idea that some devs seemed to like of stowing pets to receive unique buffs

Doubt that’ll come with Rangers Druid, I however am hoping that we’d have one single pet that’s stronger than a normal one, but we get more magical druidy things for the F2 and F3 and maybe even different skills the pet uses themselves.

I’ve wanted a ranger staff since before launch. When I read rangers don’t use rifles because they moved away from technology and towards magic I was disappointed we didn’t end up with staffs (only medium class to use a staff or traditional magic).

Rifle doesn’t make a lot of sense to me – longbow is the long ranger high DPS weapon and shortbow is the medium range DPS/condi weapon. Axe is a short range ??? weapon, rangers really don’t need ANOTHER ranged weapon like a rifle. Staff makes sense because rangers currently rank as one of the weakest support classes in the game and it’s a possible ranged weapon that still has unique gameplay available to it (whether it be ranged AoE DPS, ranged support or ranger control). Rifle would too easily become like the longbow, shortbow or axe, struggling to find a niche.

If rangers get another weapon in addition to staff I’d like it to be polearm. Rangers need a dungeon meta, high DPS melee weapon that doen’t have the control issues of the sword, or the DPS loss of he greatsword. A polearm would fill that niche for he ranger.

I’m really excited to see how druid ranger turns out, I’m putting a lot of hope into it being a powerful build to play in PvE and not just garbage like spirit ranger.

Perhaps druids could have possession as their F2 (i.e., you press F2 to literally become your pet)? That would help somewhat with the existing pet problems, although it might be seen as lore-inappropriate.

what if with a druid staff instead of summoning spirits(like we currently do forst ect) they summon real forest sprites with a psyhical form? eh.

and those staff attacks are all vine based that give secondary effects to the pets in addition to summoning/ activating secondary effects on those forest sprites?

maybe we should think that way rather than thinking oh staff its going to be like ele or guard with 111 spam and some aoes.

Durzlla.6295:

Levetty.1279:

If specialization change profession mechanics like I have seen some people say, I wonder if they will use this to implement that idea that some devs seemed to like of stowing pets to receive unique buffs

Doubt that’ll come with Rangers Druid, I however am hoping that we’d have one single pet that’s stronger than a normal one, but we get more magical druidy things for the F2 and F3 and maybe even different skills the pet uses themselves.

I think it was deliberate that Anet showed the Staff Ranger, that still had the pet with them. Either they don’t want to show off the new Ranger mechanics yet until the info dump in a few weeks, they don’t have anything ready yet, or they weren’t planning on changing the Rangers class mechanics anyways.

Or they showed off the pet to be sure everyone knew it was a Ranger. Everyone should have figured that out by the vines and stuff, but hey…

it probably changes the skills each pet possesses.

interesting… i was expecting main-hand dagger.

I’m probably the only one in the entire world who wishes it was a melee staff specialization, but… either that or ranged way, go staff.

If there’s a new class mechanic for the specialisation – (maybe something like the zephyrite aspect crystals) that completely replaces pets, I will immediately make a new ranger.

Keeping an eye on this…

evilunderling.9265:

Perhaps druids could have possession as their F2 (i.e., you press F2 to literally become your pet)? That would help somewhat with the existing pet problems, although it might be seen as lore-inappropriate.

that could be fun. but they have to add cooler looking pets to play as… just saying…

cough Griffins cough…

Who wants to bet it’s a support profession that’s essentially blacklisted from the PvE “kill kitten before it kills you” zerker meta.

^Don’t blame the specialization, blame the inherent flaws in the PvE system. :>

I’m expecting the other specialization to use a mainhanded dagger or a rifle.

Zenith.7301:

Who wants to bet it’s a support profession that’s essentially blacklisted from the PvE “kill kitten before it kills you” zerker meta.

This is why i play with my friends and not pugs lol

Harnel.6810:

sandman.9850:

Yuk, just a staff? No other weapon?

We don’t know how many specializations each class is getting. I could see us choosing between a sniper or a druid. Rifle OR staff, as it were.

Please let this be true. Let them pretend read the future in bones while shaking their stick and gimme a hunting rifle to big game hunt with my monocle, my mustache and my dog. <3

If at least the staff was a proper Robin Hood melee quarterstaff, we’d be talking, but druid/shaman? zzzzz

evilunderling.9265:

Perhaps druids could have possession as their F2 (i.e., you press F2 to literally become your pet)? That would help somewhat with the existing pet problems, although it might be seen as lore-inappropriate.

Or maybe super-direct control of the pet via staff? Like a ground target ability with a super short CD that teleports your pet to area + some other effects (pet gets quickness or some aoe cripple or something).

I hope only, what ANOTHER choices will be focused more on ranged weapons ONLY, also as someone would wish focusing more on the melee weapons.

If staff and druid will be the only "option" - kitten, they are gonna to broke wonderful range class again ><

I’m betting that these specializations, don’t replace anything, they only add new stuff, and that nothing is required (you wont need a staff to be a druid. You can use the new class mechanic without the other parts, etc.).

I don’t think that Anet added all this stuff, and then forces you to only play with the new stuff while ignoring all our other wonderful(horrible) weapons, skills, pets, etc. The only thing it actually does is add new options and ways to play the Ranger profession that you can pick and choose what to play.

Well, at least if anything talked about endlessly in the Horizontal Progression thread is anything to go on. It seems like a lot of ideas from that thread were reworked, then used for the Specializations feature (and I’ll shamelessly take some credit for helping to think of it over a year ago!!!

my original idea ::
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/cdi/CDI-Character-Progression-Horizontal/3470419)

I hope its something similar to that, and it doesn’t require any permanent choices, or specialization switching that locks you out of other options.

alvarez.3159:

Staff is my wet rangerdream.

Chrispy.5641:

I’m betting that these specializations, don’t replace anything, they only add new stuff, and that nothing is required (you wont need a staff to be a druid. You can use the new class mechanic without the other parts, etc.).

I don’t know… When Collin used words like “…almost a secondary profession” that leaves some room for speculation on what exactly will change. The way I read the transcript is that it pretty much is, for all intensive purposes, a new profession. Why else phrase it the way Collin did? That’s the marketing though, I imagine. That hype train and all that funky jazz. Either way, I’m hoping for multiple Specializations and one of those allowing me to perma-stow or trade in the pet for new F skills or something. If not, I’m hoping the new heavy class is something I’ll enjoy. From the video it looks like a highly mobile heavy class…. which is right up my alley. I just sold zap so it looks like I’ll be using those funds to make ascended zerker or sinister armor for it. Already saving Tomes and Writs of XP.

thefantasticg.3984:

Chrispy.5641:

I’m betting that these specializations, don’t replace anything, they only add new stuff, and that nothing is required (you wont need a staff to be a druid. You can use the new class mechanic without the other parts, etc.).

I don’t know… When Collin used words like “…almost a secondary profession” that leaves some room for speculation on what exactly will change. The way I read the transcript is that it pretty much is, for all intensive purposes, a new profession. Why else phrase it the way Collin did? That’s the marketing though, I imagine. That hype train and all that funky jazz. Either way, I’m hoping for multiple Specializations and one of those allowing me to perma-stow or trade in the pet for new F skills or something. If not, I’m hoping the new heavy class is something I’ll enjoy. From the video it looks like a highly mobile heavy class…. which is right up my alley. I just sold zap so it looks like I’ll be using those funds to make ascended zerker or sinister armor for it. Already saving Tomes and Writs of XP.

I kind of hope not, since one of the biggest arguments against sub-classes/ specializations/ etc. across several CDI threads was that no one wanted to be pushed, locked, shoved, imprisoned, shoehorned, cattle-prodded, or otherwise forced into having to be a subclass and the sum of its parts, instead of just the parts you like and keep the rest of the original profession (example: instead of being forced to only have all the things from one specialization, Ranger can have the rifle from the marksman specialization plus the nature spirit pet from the druid specialization.)

6 weeks though. That’s all the waiting we have to do. It wont take more than 5 minutes of looking at the demo footage to see exactly what this new system forces us to do, or doesn’t force us to do.

(I’m also saving up Tomes. Its going to be crazy seeing a hundred thousand fully leveled, fully traited, fully armored Revenants running around day one!)

Bows never quite fit the magical aspect of the ranger, I wonder if they, or one of them, are something that druids give up compared to rangers.

Durzlla.6295:

Zenith.7301:

Who wants to bet it’s a support profession that’s essentially blacklisted from the PvE “kill kitten before it kills you” zerker meta.

This is why i play with my friends and not pugs lol

This is why my friends don’t play GW2 anymore.

I hope that druids will have to give up on some physichal aspectes that ranger have what else would be the point of being a ranger? Or do they want everyone to be a druid? Regardless what role u want to play?

fenix.1860:

I hope that druids will have to give up on some physichal aspectes that ranger have what else would be the point of being a ranger? Or do they want everyone to be a druid? Regardless what role u want to play?

Rumor (on reddit) has it that specializing will get you a new trait line at the expense of an old one. If this is true (and really we have no confirmation), which line (or weapons, or skill type) do you think the Ranger will give up for the new specialization?

fenix.1860:

I hope that druids will have to give up on some physichal aspectes that ranger have what else would be the point of being a ranger? Or do they want everyone to be a druid? Regardless what role u want to play?

The specializations don’t say anything about altering current weapon choices or traits, or utilities. Just that it gives access to traits, utilities, heal skills, a weapon, an elite skill, and it changes up the profession mechanic.

Because of this though i’m almost positive there’ll be more than one specialization. One that’ll focus more on the physical aspects, and one that’ll focus more on the magical aspects.

Otherwise, like you said, everyone (rangers) would just be a Druid and that’d be pretty lame imo.

imarah.7940:

fenix.1860:

I hope that druids will have to give up on some physichal aspectes that ranger have what else would be the point of being a ranger? Or do they want everyone to be a druid? Regardless what role u want to play?

Rumor (on reddit) has it that specializing will get you a new trait line at the expense of an old one. If this is true (and really we have no confirmation), which line (or weapons, or skill type) do you think the Ranger will give up for the new specialization?

I would think either the “beastmastery” or the marksmanship would be excanged(if annything) due to those two being the typical profession mechanic/physical ones(imo).
If they were to change anny of the skills or removing the usage of some weapons, it would probablty be the more physicaly focused ones (LB, GS) keeping the rest the way they are and addind the staff?

fenix.1860:

I hope that druids will have to give up on some physichal aspectes that ranger have what else would be the point of being a ranger? Or do they want everyone to be a druid? Regardless what role u want to play?

If you become a druid, you have to forego trenchcoats and wear a dress instead. :p

Durzlla.6295:

fenix.1860:

I hope that druids will have to give up on some physichal aspectes that ranger have what else would be the point of being a ranger? Or do they want everyone to be a druid? Regardless what role u want to play?

The specializations don’t say anything about altering current weapon choices or traits, or utilities. Just that it gives access to traits, utilities, heal skills, a weapon, an elite skill, and it changes up the profession mechanic.

Because of this though i’m almost positive there’ll be more than one specialization. One that’ll focus more on the physical aspects, and one that’ll focus more on the magical aspects.

Otherwise, like you said, everyone (rangers) would just be a Druid and that’d be pretty lame imo.

They might make more then one specialization for each class it would make sense imo to have a “sniper spec” and a “druid spec” and the beastmastery traitline will probably change then into something like “nature XXX” or “rifle XXX” but considering they are only introducing staff for ranger(one weapon) and GS for necros(one weapon) might that be a sign of there only being one specialization?

Well… from what I can see there either needs to be more than one specialisation per class, or there needs to be some serious drawbacks to becoming a druid, otherwise everyone will be a druid and it will pretty much just be Ranger v2.0 and frankly there’d be no point calling it a Druid other than for shiney marketing, which would be pretty underwhelming.

Personally, I am hoping for multiple specialisations per class Even if they don’t add them right away, it’s something they could / should build on in future updates which would be awesome.

Cufufalating.8479:

Well… from what I can see there either needs to be more than one specialisation per class, or there needs to be some serious drawbacks to becoming a druid, otherwise everyone will be a druid and it will pretty much just be Ranger v2.0 and frankly there’d be no point calling it a Druid other than for shiney marketing, which would be pretty underwhelming.

Personally, I am hoping for multiple specialisations per class

Consider this tho they might release 1 specilization to begin with and there might be more on the way?(to get to release HoT a bit earlier?

Durzlla.6295:

Zenith.7301:

Who wants to bet it’s a support profession that’s essentially blacklisted from the PvE “kill kitten before it kills you” zerker meta.

This is why i play with my friends and not pugs lol

There’s rumors (and some arguments to back that up), that for now (heart of thorns plans), every prof only gets ONE specialization. Wich would dissapoint me a lot, still, I rather warn you in advance.

I love staff on most professions. I even made Bifrost (would love to use it on ranger). However please do not make ultra weak auto attack mistake like many other staffs/scepter weapons. Elementalist has best implementation of staff auto attakcs, guard second best (but boring), necro just isn’t up to standards, it’s just a filler skill, to refill death shroud wich is already not an amazing mechanic. Staff mesmer is good in theory, but in practise the after cast is waaaay to long, making it, no matter how good the build is centered around staff (like extra bounce trait), the auto attack is to weak. Secondly, the chance an npc/player steals boons, and lowers damage potential is a big issue with this skill imo). The outcome is way to random.

For me a good auto attack would be, an aoe on land auto attack (with perhaps special effect like maybe heal or short immobalize or something else), a bounce (but with power attack, and no player interferring it), and not to long cast (maximum like elementalist air staff autoattack, no slower casting please). It’s very important anet realizes this, cause ranger already has many auto attacks failing in this regard, this one must be up to standards (especially for pve).

@Chrispy.5641
WoW man, this is amzing, the way you detailed the specializations system more than a year ago. The thing i don’t understand with your desighn, if the specializations system is just an “achievement-title” for unlocking new skills/traits/weapon(dynamic aspect of the game), how will they handle changes for the mechanic(static aspect of the game)? Will we be able to change our mechanic system the way we change pets(change, not swap ) or will there be a tradeoff(old mechanic for rangers, new mechanic for druids, this option will also be folloewd with additional tradeoffs for the subclass, like staff for a bow, new for heal for heal as one, new ulty for rampage as one etc…).

LughLongArm.5460:

@Chrispy.5641
WoW man, this is amzing, the way you detailed the specializations system more than a year ago. The thing i don’t understand with your desighn, if the specializations system is just an “achievement-title” for unlocking new skills/traits/weapon(dynamic aspect of the game), how will they handle changes for the mechanic(static aspect of the game)? Will we be able to change our mechanic system the way we change pets(change, not swap ) or will there be a tradeoff(old mechanic for rangers, new mechanic for druids, this option will also be folloewd with additional tradeoffs for the subclass, like staff for a bow, new for heal for heal as one, new ulty for rampage as one etc…).

No idea honestly. There’s a dozen rumors everywhere saying every possible thing.

In order for the Staff to be equal with other weapons, it will need at least 3 traits, we’ll need at least 3 traits for the new utility skills as well, so it would make sense for there to be a new trait line that replaces an old one when you pick the specialization, or there will just be new Adept and Master traits added instead (Staff and all relevant Druid traits would fit just fine in Wilderness Survival and Nature Magic)

For Mechanics, the problem with figuring this out without knowing is that each class has different mechanics that work in different ways. Warriors have burst skills tied to weapons, Elementalists have attunments, Mesmers and Guardians have the same set of F1-F4 skills, Engineers have a Toolbelt tied to their skills, and Necromancers have their F1 Death shroud thing. Rangers are the only class that can switch out their class mechanic independent of weapons and skills, and we have a dedicated menu for doing it. Its all different….

I don’t know if Anet is doing something as simple as letting us press K, then switch out swappable pets for permanent spirits or aspects, or if we’re getting an entirely new mechanic that we switch out for our old one, which requires yet another menu, and way more work. We’ll find out in a few weeks.

Thanx for answer. I thought it will be somthing like, when you press the F2 with druids, your pet will dissapear and will be replaced with temporary buff(for you and your group). The buff is connected to the pet used for activation.

LughLongArm.5460:

Thanx for answer. I thought it will be somthing like, when you press the F2 with druids, your pet will dissapear and will be replaced with temporary buff(for you and your group). The buff is connected to the pet used for activation.

(thanks to Diovid.9506 for finding this)

Quote from this site (who I seriously never heard of before…) :::
http://www.shacknews.com/article/87848/guild-wars-2-director-discusses-heart-of-thorns-revenants-guild-halls-and-more

Johanson: Specializations is a new system that allows you to take each of the professions we have in the game and grow them almost into a new sub-profession or secondary profession. An example of this is, a Ranger can become a Druid. Once a Ranger becomes a Druid, they have the ability to use the powers of the jungle and that gives them new skills, new traits, they can use a new weapon that a Ranger could never use before, and they get new profession mechanics that fundamentally change the way a Ranger plays when they become a Druid. Each of the professions will be getting one of these Specializations and this also is a framework that we’ll use to grow the professions in the future. This will be the way we add more skills, traits, and abilities to the game moving forward. That’s how we’re growing our existing professions.

If its as fundamental as he’s saying, it could be an entirely new and different mechanic from what Rangers have now, and they have it only when they are druids (which means, no pets mechanic), but the problem with that was we saw the druid in the trailer with his pet, meaning that didn’t actually change. That or the new mechanic really is optional and can be switched out at any time, or its not related to our pets or our F1-F4 skills and is something different.

I’m not entirely sure how that would work if it removes pets, since pets are literally half of our profession when you count our survival, utility, and damage, and the half of our traits that only work with pets.

Ya, i see your point….

MORE PETS CONTROL MUAHAHAHHAA

Now with twice as much magic

Nah i think drink will be some kind of minion master and pet spammer less inclined toward physical combat itself.