Guild Wars 2

The corsair is a new elite specialization idea for the warrior. Corsairs are half pirate half mercenary soldiers. Originally from Elona, their seafarer lifestyle has made them agile and strong. They are a deadly force, able to operate with heavy armor and weapons in the most difficult situations, including boarding enemy ships in the middle of the sea. They move quickly, and strike without losing balance.

Aside from classic warrior weapons, corsairs can use pistols, crippling and blinding their enemies, weakening them before the real fight starts. If pistols aren’t enough, they also use many dirty tricks that you would expect from bandits or thieves. Honor isn’t something you’ll find when fighting against them.

Finally, the deadliest weapon of the corsair is his pet: The hawk parrot. These large birds of prey excel at murdering small targets, specially other pets. Corsairs equip them with iron beaks and claws, and nature does the rest. Against larger targets, they’ll just harass them to give their masters an advantage. All while screaming a wide array of pirate curses and insults.

Corsair

• New weapon: Pistols (MH + OH)
• New utilities: Tricks
• New mechanic: Hawk parrot pet

Watch out for the black flags!

But does it come with RGB lights?

A warrior with lord fifth?

You absolutely need to change the new utilities to lord Third!

One hundred percent on board with pistol and tricks (my other top weapon pick being a polearm themed melee staff). The pet does raise a red flag for me though- don’t want to hand our potential new elite spec the same handicaps rangers have been dealing with since launch about their fluffballs. The tricks themselves should also be pretty direct and simple in theme: hidden shot, kick in the privates, rum bottle to the face, etc. No thiefy shadowstepping or tripple backflips and the like.

Dadnir.5038:

A warrior with lord fifth?

You absolutely need to change the new utilities to lord Third!

Now that’s one obscure reference lol.

Jokes aside, an ooze pet of sorts could be cool. Not for warrior, though :P.

Onlysaneman.9612:

One hundred percent on board with pistol and tricks (my other top weapon pick being a polearm themed melee staff). The pet does raise a red flag for me though- don’t want to hand our potential new elite spec the same handicaps rangers have been dealing with since launch about their fluffballs. The tricks themselves should also be pretty direct and simple in theme: hidden shot, kick in the privates, rum bottle to the face, etc. No thiefy shadowstepping or tripple backflips and the like.

Tricks would just be dirty fighting stuff. Sand to the eyes, kick to shin, etc. The parrot hawk pet could participate in these tricks as well, being your dirty trick partner. So you kick someone down, and when he gets up, the pet knocks him again, while insulting the victim, you, or anyone else. This could prove a good time to introduce a “drunken” condition of sorts, too.

The pet would work through a revamped pet system. Some ideas here. Ideally it wouldn’t suck. Ideally.

You would be able to customize the pet in two ways:

• Aesthetic – Race and colors of the hawk parrot.
• Mechanic – Battle gear, like an iron beak, iron claws, etc, providing different stats to the pet.

You would collect aesthetic variations across the world, or doing special missions or achievements. This pet would be corsair exclusive, hawk parrots are too unstable, noisy, and untrustworthy for rangers.

Nah shesh… these ideas you already got tief for that… rather bring real knight warrior with polearms … not this crap it got with hots…

I love the idea but I can’t take it seriously.

Oh come! You said it’s not lord fifth?

But, a parrot that verbally harass player and scr** pets with feather and fur… Is there really another one of this kind?

I could see the parrot as an elite skill (similar to the ele skill to summon a greater elemental) but not as an entirely new mechanic. I’d probably want to murder my own parrot if it was constantly talking lol

Ditch the pet and you have my support.

Maybe we can have exo suites aswell like callofduty for better mobility.
Then instead of avatar of melandru we can have a other elite skill called SSG.
When you press that elite skill you will be become a super saiyan God super saiyan, your character will receive blue hair and can also multiply your damage multiplyer by using kaioken Foodbuffs. There are also SSG achievements. There is even a secret achievement, when you achieve all the SSG achievements, in the correct sequence, you will receive Minecraft decorations for your guildhall. What do you say op? Dont you think my idea is slightly better?

Black Iris Flowers.3418:

I could see the parrot as an elite skill (similar to the ele skill to summon a greater elemental) but not as an entirely new mechanic. I’d probably want to murder my own parrot if it was constantly talking lol

It needs to be a mechanic bar pet, so you can control it properly. If it’s an elite skill then you can’t control it and we go back to the problems of minion control the other professions have.

Jack Skywalker.5674:

Ditch the pet and you have my support.

The problem is “pet” gets always interpreted as the ranger version, which I personally despise. Remove the pet as a “has healthbar” element, and you just get a dynamic utility damage dealer, which you don’t have to worry about getting destroyed or such.

The problem with pet AI is that they rely on constantly attacking without failing to be effective. Change them to “do special attack when I say so” and they improve much more. While they aren’t obeying your commands, they could be idle, or doing weak attacks.

Or, since hawk parrots are birds, they could attack while flying and not miss attacks as often as ranger pets do. Just give the pet a target, and let it harass the enemy by flying over or whatever.

The pet can be done right.

So it’s basically a function gyro without res/stomp? Instead it has some relatively weak but special skills?

Yannir.4132:

So it’s basically a function gyro without res/stomp? Instead it has some relatively weak but special skills?

Those were just some random ideas on how it could work.

Ideally, it would be a pet with its own health bar and dps, that would engage by flying over the enemy, slashing when it gets close. You give it a target, and it chases it. Then the corsair would have the utilities, the tricks, affecting the pet as well.

For example, there could be a chain skill, where step 1 is the pet crippling a target, and step 2 the corsair jumping to that target. Or another where the corsair immobilizes a target, and then the pet attacks and blinds it. The idea is that the pet will help the corsair play dirty, and do “combos” with him.

As the enemy, you want to harass the pet, forcing the corsair to order it to retreat and stay out of combat so it doesn’t die. If the corsair is keeping it behind on purpose, waiting for the right moment to use it, you want to pay attention to it.

The hawk-parrot itself is large, like a vulture or a bald eagle, so it wouldn’t work well by using the same approach as the function gyro. Alternatively, if a health bar is not a good idea, it could use a break bar instead. We’re getting into general pet problems though, which deserves its own topic.

The inspiration comes from kittenfights and falconry, only that they’re used against people instead of other animals, and carry the parrot flavour for pirate and tropical reasons.

So, the final prototype for the hawk parrot pet idea, with a good chunk of lore:

• I’m giving them the name of an underused mythical creature, the Cokkatrice (ck instead of kk, forum filter). They’re a distant cousin of moas, raptors, and phoenixes.
• They’re a mix of different bird types, including Rooster, Vulture, Parrot, and Archaeopteryx. They have the size of a large eagle, and are able to fly.
• They have fingers in their wings, and a tail with a combat appendage, similar to a flail.
• They’re omnivore, and feed on fruits and mid-sized animals. Rarely they also attack larger animals, like goats, by grabbing them and pushing them off a cliff. They’re specially effective against enemy companions, be it pets or minions.
• Their only natural predator is the roc, a magical giant bird from the eastern mountains of Elona. Rocs feed on large mammals and reptiles, and they only target cokkatrices out of spite, for both races carve precious stones, although rocs actually feed off them, absorbing their magical properties. Rocs usually hunt elementals to harvest said magic, and cokkatrices steal the reserves from their nests.
• They gather at groups, but they don’t socialize too much with each other. They’re very individualistic, and hate each other easily. They’re always competing to look more majestic than each other, and love shiny trinkets, which they use to embellish their nests.
• They are intelligent creatures, with a penchant for conflict and provocation. They enjoy making others angry, and imitate sounds and voices. They usually avoid direct combat, except when defending their nests or fighting against other cokkatrices.
• Depending on the species, some have magical abilities as well. The bright colors of their plumage are usually linked to these abilities.
• Native to the jungles of the eastern Elonian coast, corsairs started using them long ago in beast fight tournaments. They can’t be tamed, but some corsairs have managed to form a bond with one, usually based on the shared affinity for violence. The nature of this relationship makes them unfit pets for rangers.
• Corsairs equip their cokkatrices with their own armor equipment, designed to make them deadlier in battle. This includes body armor, forged claws and peak, and a flail attached to the tail’s natural appendage. The cokkatrices love their gear, and keep it as clean as their own feathers.
• Their love for shinies makes them perfect guardians for the treasure chamber of every ship. With a cokkatrice aboard, the captain can trust none of his henchmen will take any gold away from the hold.

Some ideas for the armor equipment, with potential combat roles:

• No armor – Faster and lighter.
• Crusher armor – Blunt damage, charging, crowd control.
• Impaler armor – Piercing damage, higher critical chance, easier grabbing.
• Slasher armor – Cutting damage, bleeding, cleaving.

Corsairs can customize both the equipment and the plumage color of the cokkatrice. The equipment will determine the stats of the pet, as well as the pet skills. Corsair trick slot skills would have deep synergies with the cokkatrice, allowing a deeper control of the pet.

Cokkatrices would be a common enemy across Elona, specially in the swamps and the mountains. The lack of food would force them to fly further, attacking farms and cattle. They would be present among enemy corsair forces as well.

Lonami.2987:

• No armor – Faster and lighter.
• Crusher armor – Blunt damage, ..
• Impaler armor – Piercing damage, ..
• Slasher armor – Cutting damage, ..

I hope these are just skill flavor instead of mechanics. It is way too late to start tackling the issues concerning damage types.

Yannir.4132:

Lonami.2987:

• No armor – Faster and lighter.
• Crusher armor – Blunt damage, ..
• Impaler armor – Piercing damage, ..
• Slasher armor – Cutting damage, ..

I hope these are just skill flavor instead of mechanics. It is way too late to start tackling the issues concerning damage types.

Indeed they are, though the armor aesthetics and said skills are based around those damage types.

Think of them as different species of pets with their species skills, except here it’s not the species what changes, but the pet armor.

Absolutely not.

Since I finished crafting HOPE for my engi I was kinda hoping we could see pistols be a more common weapon. Warrior being one of the few that could realistically pull it off. I love the idea of a sort of pirate-y theme behind it, especially if we get to go to Elona with the next xpac (thanks leaks).

So going off of this idea, I think this is how I’d like to see it done.

New mechanics! Tricks would be a great set of skills so no need to change it there. But what about a new F2 ability? I’m thinking boarding line. Fits the corsair image, and it plays a little like thief, and could even help alleviate some of those inherent problems with warriors against kiters. Something along the lines of tossing out a grappling hook to grab your opponents and pull you to them. Maybe even adding terrain functionality? hooking onto a wall or a tree and dragging yourself to it. The latter is a pipe dream, but I think it would be amazing.

Corsair should be a brawler, up close and personal fighter. Even with pistols the range should be fairly short. No longbow ranges with a pistol shenanigans. Thinking <900 range. Traitlines should have a focus on staying in fights, being slightly to moderately tanky (For the sake of expanding warrior’s usefulness in PvE and PvP without being hogtied to taking certain traitlines, especially in PvP).

Minor Adept: Boarding Line/Grappling hook. Unlocks this functionality for the class (every elite spec so far has had the first minor unlock their new mechanic, no need to change it)

Major Adept options:
1: Increased toughness/vitality/etc when you’re within x range of an enemy. Or possibly smaller amounts and scaling based on number of nearby enemies.
2: Spending Adrenaline heals for a small amount/removes conditions.
3: Shorter CD on Grappling Hook (numbers may vary)

Minor Master: Gain quickness and/or vigor upon successful Grapple hook.

Major Master:
1: Upon being stunned/launched/other hard CC, activate your rum cask (noted later)
2: Gain ferocity/might/fury for each bar of adrenaline spent
3: Grappling Hook taunts nearby enemies when you pull yourself to them.

Minor Grandmaster: Grappling Hook applies weakness/immobilize upon landing. Gain stability (1 stack)

Major Grandmaster:
1: Every hit taken gives a stacking toughness buff that lasts x amount of seconds. At maximum stacks, gain pulsing stability (1 stability every few seconds)
2: Holding a pistol increases power by x amount and reduces recharge of pistol skills by x%. Landing a critical with a pistol skill grants bonus adrenaline and might (small amount)
3: Upon landing Grappling Hook, steal x amount of boons from the target, dealing damage for each boon successfully stolen.

Pistol Burst Skill: Rapid Fire. Unloads a barrage of bullets over a few seconds. Number of shots increases with the amount of adrenaline spent. Perhaps even making this an untargeted cone max pistol range aoe ability.

Pistol 1: typical auto fire. Maybe giving it increasing damage based on how close you are to the target.
Pistol 2: double-up. Fires two consecutive shots. The first bleeds, the second cripples. Could make this a bouncing shot as well, ricocheting to nearby enemies. (short CD, 5 seconds give or take)
Pistol 3: leap over your target, firing down on them. 1/2s evade frame, applies vulnerability. Medium cooldown (7-10s)
Pistol 4: shoots gunpowder, burning and blinding the area in a small cone. Something like 350-450 range.
Pistol 5: smacks the target with the butt of the pistol, either stunning or dazing them.

I think this gives the kit some fairly solid damage, defense, cc, and all around annoying qualities. I was taking a little bit of inspiration from Miss Fortune in League of Legends for the gun skills, though it’ll be a bit more Gangplank with the Tricks.

Healing: Fairly large burst heal with boons. Giving might/vigor/fury/quickness/stability

Rum Cask: as mentioned earlier. Stun break. take a large drink from your rum cask, granting protection and vigor. semi short CD 10-15 seconds

Fishing Net: Tosses a wide ranged net over a targeted area applying immobilize.

Explosive Cask: place a powder barrel in a targeted area. It explodes after a set time or when shot by your own gun. You’ll be able to set several barrels and overlapping barrels will chain explode.

Boarding Party!: Leap at a target area, evading during the animation. Leaving hanging ropes at your launching point that allies can interact with and use as well, using your same animation and evade frames. A little immersion breaking to have random hanging ropes, but come on, tell me that wouldn’t be amazing.

Elite: Pulls out a 24lb cannon and fires in the targeted line, knocking aside any enemies in the path and dealing decent damage. At the end of the line the cannonball explodes, leaving a fire field.

Obviously some is undertuned or overtuned, but I’m not a balance designer kitten! I think this would fit the theme of a pirate or seafaring warrior, meant to crash the lines and take over a ship. I would have continued with the pet parrot idea, but honestly I don’t think it would fit the idea very well (at least not this one).