Just because an old class is an inspiration for a new class doesn’t mean it can’t inspire other classes. Engineers and Turrets mechanically represent the spirit build only, but aesthetically they’re nothing alike. Anet can and has mixed both mechanics and aesthetics to create whatever new things they may desire. Just because Rits borrowed from Necro and Monks doesn’t mean Rt = N/Mo.
The schools of magic are irrelevant in GW2. They no longer constrain what people can do. Magic, and the “understanding” of magic is changing. There is lore that exists now in GW2 that doesn’t in GW1. Anet themselves have said some lore is no longer relevant because of their changes in direction. Chalk it up to “science and technology over 250 years has changed the understanding of magic and how it interacts” (paraphrased).
Everything I’ve mentioned could be quoted to the Lore creators, either through interviews, posts, or otherwise. The wiki isn’t pure canon, its built by fans. Anet owns the lore, and they can change it to whatever they see fit. At any time. There is nothing actually preventing Revenant from getting a Ritualist based E-spec, possibly revolving around spirits as we once knew them.
Your first statement is an argument against your own point. Also, I never said that Rt = N/Mo and made nothing that should, or could be suggested otherwise except under the loosest stretch of the imagination. I mentioned that the Ritualist pulled Primarily from the Preservation school and the Aggression school of magic. What you basically just accused me of saying is that Cats are Dogs because they’re both mammals. Which doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Another problem you forget is the schools of magic are absolutely still relevant. And I’ll quite the GW2 wiki for you just to prove this point “Historically, magic was separated into four distinct “schools”: Preservation, Aggression, Destruction, and Denial, and most magic users fell squarely into one of these. Over time, these schools came to be seen as limiting and unfashionable, and only the most ancient magic users still adhere to them. Still, it is very difficult to master more than one form of magic, and most users tend to aim to become highly specialized rather than only moderately proficient in many of the schools and the risk of magic becoming uncontrollable becomes greater the more one practices different forms of magic together." Sounds pretty freaking relevant to me. Which is also why I said it sounds contradictory though because one minute in this statement it says “Its so last week” and the next minute it says “Trying to master all magic at once, like, totally makes you more likely to kill yourself.” So yeah, the wiki disagrees with you. (You say the wiki isn’t relevent but that isn’t true either. As they pull it from in game sources and interviews. So… You’re out of luck there. The GW2 wiki has more information about magic on it than GW1. Read both, looked for clues in game, read interviews on the topic. So… Yeah. Although Anet isn’t always consistent in interviews either. There have been times they’ve been factually incorrect which would be shown later inside the actual game. Which happens, everyone makes mistakes. I don’t expect everyone to remember every little detail.)
Its clear that everyone has some proficiency in all forms of magic. Though most favor heavily one school over another. The necromancer is pretty hard into aggression, the Guardian and Druid are very deep in the Preservation, Thief and Mesmer are hard core into Denial, and Elementalist and Revenant push more into destruction.
Not just Lore though, Mechanically the Revenant doesn’t line up with Ritualist. The ritualist is a backline support profession. They’re entire philosophy is taking care of NPCs and aiding in battle through minor to major support. The SoS build is an antagonist build, not so much a raw damage build. Ritualists are rather slow as well. They played slow and their moves where all very prepared ahead of time. This is completely opposite of the Revenant’s philosophy who seems way to willing to risk her own life on the front line and seems to be a profession that entirely revels in the bloody heat of combat.
Another major conflict of interest for the Revenant in comparison to the ritualist is that the ritualist is defined by its spirits. The revenant is a profession with its skills only defined by its legends. A trait that could change in the future, sure, however as they are now they would be legendary tengu stance skills or whatever it is they decided to use. They wouldn’t carry that Spirit type. Even more issues with Spirits is that they’d lock the revenant out of their primary mechanic. Utility swapping. This would be absolutely horrible for the revenant. If you really wanted to be a spammer build you’d have to lock yourself into whatever the stance was called and you yourself would be subpar in the process. At least until the point which you’d have to switch in which case you’d instantly despawn all your spirits. But lets say you didn’t despawn them. Well that creates a problem as well. Because that means that any time you switch back into the spirit side of your build you’re basically gimping yourself by not having utilities you actually want at that moment. And if you can switch the spirits can’t be very strong because if they where it could easily dip into the over powered range and would go the way of engineer turrets. Or worse.
Even further issues is the Revenant has 3 utility skills. Not the 4 that other professions have. You might not think this is a big deal but here’s the major problem with that. Ritualists where an extremely diverse profession from the first game and their remembered fondly for multiple builds with very different functions. Limiting it to just 3 puts it just shy of allowing the spirit builds to go into two different directions. Which means the more popular, but the less interesting, build would be the one that is favored. You’d have a healing spirit, 3 offensive spirits and a defensive spirit. Way favored to an offensive build which the revenant could have used that energy for a far superior elite spec that’d push them into that direction anyway.
Compare that to the necromancer. The necromancer is a profession that at the moment has some extremely strong offensive builds. They have some decent support as well, but they don’t have anything that really pushes them into that to favor it over their normal damaging builds. Although both the necromancer and revenant have untapped potential a second support elite spec would be a majorly poor choice when given to the Revenant. Since, if its not support, its not the ritualist. The Necromancer on the other hand is missing that major support build that it so desperately craves. The ritualist is the perfect match to round out its support.
And its not like the Devs didn’t want the necromancer to support at all. There was a history of supportive ideas long before the specialization change. Putrid mark used to transfer conditions from allies and yourself, not just yourself. The whole plague signet was designed for it, Signet of undeath as well. Transfusion and Life from death have always been traits in the necromancer’s kit in blood magic but it wasn’t useable for the longest time because the necromancer was just the worst profession for the longest time. They even had old traits that worked further the support angle that where eventually dropped. The big example being Healing blast. A massive heal on Death shroud 1. But the trait didn’t work well. The necromancer now has amazing support traits in Transfusion, Blood ritual, Last rights, Life from death. What the necromancer is really missing to make a rather good support spec is the proper weapon, the right utility skills and an appropriate shroud.
The ritualist already fits in the necromancer’s idea of Odd ways to heal allies or support. Both professions provided support to allies through death as well as life stealing. The spirit weapons, although a staple in the first game will never be a part of either the revenant or the necromancer is something that could absolutely be implemented in spirit in the necromancer’s shroud. They could easily cause ghostly chains to show up, linking to her allies giving them a short duration buff similar to splinter weapon or even Xinrae’s Weapon. Two of the most popular ritualist skills in the first game. Xinrae’s weapon would now absolutely fall deep into the necromancer’s domain of magic.
Spirits get even more interesting with the necromancer. As the trait Vampiric could be changed to include summon creatures that the necromancer creates and not just minions to further fill out the feel of the SoS build. Simulating a similar idea to Painful Bond. Another extremely popular skill in GW1 that the revenant again could never hope to obtain through an elite spec without further stepping on the necromancer’s toes.
The necromancer would also have access to 6 spirits. They would be able to have 3 supportive spirits and 3 offensive spirits. 2 utility spirits which aid in helping allies through defensive means as well as the healing spirit which could provide a very unique package between the spectral shroud, support weapon(most likely torch), and the spirits with the blood magic trait line and the Ritualist trait line they could fully dedicate themselves to support to allies. Something that they struggle with now only having a single support line while all the others are extremely selfish. The Revenant already has 2 dedicated support specializations and further support sprinkled throughout the profession. And even 2 support weapons in shield and staff. Giving the revenant another support elite specialization would basically lock them in that roll for years to come which would be bad for the profession’s overall balance as well as could trivialize some of its previous legends such as centaur stance or even dwarf.
The necromancer has the perfect design set up to do everything that the Ritualist wants mechanically. Spectral shroud could easily be implemented with no awkward growing pains that the Druid has and would thematically fit the necromancer. Suddenly causing minor healing to allies while gaining lifeforce? Makes sense, Suddenly providing boons or some form of buff while entering and exiting shroud much like the urn builds in GW1? Its pretty niche, but that’s another function that the necromancer could easily fill. Provide weird life stealing support? Yeah, totally fits the necromancer theme as well.
There is nothing about the Ritualist that doesn’t fit so perfectly into the necromancer. Its absolutely insane. From a lore perspective and from a mechanical perspective its like the elite specializations demand a marriage between the two. Honestly there are only 3 elite specializations that fit so perfectly together. One of them is already in the game. Chronomancer for Mesmer, Assassin for Thief and Ritualist for Necromancer. You could say 4 by saying Paragon fits Guardian as well, and although I agree it does I feel that that fit just isn’t as perfect as the other 3. And I’d even say I wouldn’t be shocked to see Pragon given to warrior.
In Closing, Why would you want a second support elite specialization? Wouldn’t you rather branch into new territory such as a more offensive or controlling elite spec?
