Guild Wars 2

A long time ago, I posted an idea where the three dots could be replaced with the skill icon of summoned phantasms (a default icon would be used for simple clones). This would allow mesmers to better visualise the illusions that were active during fights.
While I understand that ArenaNet does not want players to play with its UI but with its game, this would really make the class easier to play. This is further reinforced now with mesmer axe 3 as illusions are no longer locked onto one enemy.
I have attached a screenshot illustrating my idea.

I was going to expand on this and ask if weapon swap could be used to enter and exit photon forge mode as this would free up F5 tool bet skills making. I miss having F5 tool bet skill while using the sword.

Personally I would still have players be able to max out a Mastery Tree. The idea behind a Mastery Tree is give players choice as to which Mastery they wish the unlock first. This would also provide ArenaNet with a better tool to control mastery progress.

My concern comes from Ancient Magic. It doesn’t make sense for players to require Koda Flame Mastery to unlock Oakheart Reach Mastery if they have not unlocked the episode A Crack in the Ice but have unlocked the episode Flashpoint. Here ArenaNet could have at an Ancient Magic Mastery Tree where depending on which episode is unlocked the corresponding masteries required for the episode could as well get unlocked, for example, having Flashpoint could unlock Thermal Propulsion and Oakheart Reach whereas A Crack in the Ice could unlock Thermal Propulsion and Koda’s Flame.

Current the mastery system is linear and it has disadvantages. For example, people who purchase the Flashpoint living story episode may not be able to access Oakheart Reach without leveling Koda’s Flame Mastery which is only used for A Crack in the Ice living story episode.
A non-linear mastery tree system would give player choice as to which mastery to level and provide the developers with better tools. To illustrate my point I have attached an example of how a non-linear mastery tree system could function. I am not sure but I seem to remember that ArenaNet said something around the decision to make the mastery system linear. Why did ArenaNet not use a non-linear system such as a Mastery tree and can anyone provide any links to this information ?

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Weh no Su – translation being Closer to the Stars – is the exact same thing as Ascension but with slightly different flavor to it. So no, Druids and Weh no Su are not the same thing. Unless the whole plot revolves around Ascension, it wouldn’t make sense for one profession to undergo it and others to not and even then it still wouldn’t be the same.

It should be noted that the Celestials of Cantha is not inherently tied to Weh no Su so much as the other way around – Celestials can exist without Weh no Su practices and trials.

There may be a relation between druid and celestials, but not likely to Weh no Su.

Though it does make me wonder about that header that they gave – Closer to the Stars.

The header for the class mechanic and the whole astrology theme is a very strong reference to Weh No Su. This makes me wonder if Anet hasn’t just given us a massive lore hint that the two are both related.

Daniel Handler.4816:

Pants Are Dangerous.2079:

The Druid specialization references heavily to Weh No Su (“Closer to the Stars” in Canthan) from Guild Wars 1 Faction. So far the maguuma druids have never been associated with Weh No Su. So is this a massive lore hint from ArenaNet that says that the druids and Weh No Su are the same ?

The thematic behind Druids and Weh No Su have been so far very different. In Guild Wars 1 Druids lived in the Maguuma Jungle and practice Nature (as in plant magic) and Weh No Su was associated with astronomy. These are not mutually exclusive but are they related ?

I do not believe that Colin Johanson would have allowed such a massive lore mistake. I think there could be a relation between Druids and Weh No Su and ArenaNet has just given us a huge hint. But alas this just my opinion thus it is not proof that this could have been indeed a mistake.

ArenaNet are the only persons who can provide us some sort of clarification about this.

I don’t know where you are getting weh no su from. Perhaps its because the celestial avatar form resembles the celestials that were weh no su, and not the druids from gw1 that now look like oakhearts.

The druid mechanic name on the reveal page is “Closer to the Stars” and in Canthan it is “Weh No Su” along with the whole astrology thematic, the reference is strong. This is why I am asking if there is a connection between druids and Weh No Su. Could this be a massive lore hint from Anet ?

I honestly believe that the Druid’s healer shroud would have been better as an elite specialization for necromancers with a different thematic associated of course.

I hope that this doesn’t mean that Necromancers won’t get some sort of healer specialization in the future.

What does everyone think ?

The Druid specialization references heavily to Weh No Su (“Closer to the Stars” in Canthan) from Guild Wars 1 Faction. So far the maguuma druids have never been associated with Weh No Su. So is this a massive lore hint from ArenaNet that says that the druids and Weh No Su are the same ?

The thematic behind Druids and Weh No Su have been so far very different. In Guild Wars 1 Druids lived in the Maguuma Jungle and practice Nature (as in plant magic) and Weh No Su was associated with astronomy. These are not mutually exclusive but are they related ?

I do not believe that Colin Johanson would have allowed such a massive lore mistake. I think there could be a relation between Druids and Weh No Su and ArenaNet has just given us a huge hint. But alas this just my opinion thus it is not proof that this could have been indeed a mistake.

ArenaNet are the only persons who can provide us some sort of clarification about this.

Hi,

I had a few questions regarding lore so I thought it would be best to post them in this forum so that lore experts could answer them.

The recent reveal of the Ranger’s elite specialization the Druid resembles Weh No Su. In Guild Wars 1, Druids were people in the Maguuma jungle who shed their physical form to become one with nature and in Factions Weh No Su was Canthan form of ascension.

Are Druids and Weh No Su the same ?
Is this a huge lore hint from ArenaNet ?
(Speculation) Are we going to see Cantha soon ?

Cheers

ShadowKain.9410:

Pants Are Dangerous.2079:

I agree that the druid does feel rushed.

This Druids celestial shroud does not fit the theme of Guild Wars 1 Druids but is more akin to Guild Wars 1 Factions Closer to the Stars. Are Druids and being Weh no Su the same ? Following the Scrappers inconsistency with Charr lore, I am starting to question if the development team at Anet knows the lore of Guild Wars. To quote Ruby Mayer from Point of Interest, the developments teams main source of lore information is Woodenpotatoes.

Also considering how Anet refuses to get rid of rangers pets as it is part of their core mechanic, they could have done something really interesting with said pets (for example have a set of staff or profession skills that would have interacted with pets differently from shouts) instead they added a simple healer shroud. Aren’t shrouds supposed to be the unique profession mechanic of necromancers ?

The theme and the mechanic seem incoherent hence I question if Anet didn’t rush the Druid to meet release date.

I don’t usually watch Points of Interest. Do you happen to know which episode it was that Ruby said this? If true, that news is extremely depressing. I don’t mean to slight or insult WoodenPotatoes, as he does run a neat channel, but there are far more lore-savvy community members, and relying on just one person for your facts – even when that person is an expert – is a horrible, dangerous idea.

I think that’s a huge barrier between people like you, me and a few others, and the rest of this toxic forum. There are some of us that know the lore intimately, and with that knowledge we can say from knowledge and experience that these skills simply do not fit with the magical affinity that Rangers have in lore. Put simply: They should not, and could not possibly wield this kind of magic.

I am sorry I don’t remember the exact episode but at the time I was quite surprised to hear this from Ruby. I would have thought that Anet would have used in house lore writers to inform themselves. I am really worried.

For those of you who do not know, Weh no Su was Canthan for “Closer to the Star” and this was Guild Wars 1 Faction’s method of “ascension”.

Are Druids and Weh no Su the same ?

I agree that the druid does feel rushed.

This Druids celestial shroud does not fit the theme of Guild Wars 1 Druids but is more akin to Guild Wars 1 Factions Closer to the Stars. Are Druids and being Weh no Su the same ? Following the Scrappers inconsistency with Charr lore, I am starting to question if the development team at Anet knows the lore of Guild Wars. To quote Ruby Mayer from Point of Interest, the developments teams main source of lore information is Woodenpotatoes.

Also considering how Anet refuses to get rid of rangers pets as it is part of their core mechanic, they could have done something really interesting with said pets (for example have a set of staff or profession skills that would have interacted with pets differently from shouts) instead they added a simple healer shroud. Aren’t shrouds supposed to be the unique profession mechanic of necromancers ?

The theme and the mechanic seem incoherent hence I question if Anet didn’t rush the Druid to meet release date.

I will admit that I don’t like the presentation of druid celestial form (I would have preferred a more leafy style) however this is only my opinion about presentation.

I am however really worried about the healer meta that the druid is supposed to fulfill. Anet has tried to very hard to avoid “looking for healer” situation and the druid appears to a substitute for this (are we going to see “looking for druids” for raids now ?).

The scrappers extended interaction range and the druid’s healer shroud both appear to be rather cheap and make me wonder if these elite specs were not rushed.

Druids feel rushed

I hate to spam the forum but I do believe that is a really good idea hence I am adding a reply to refresh this thread as it may have no longer be at the front of people attention with all the other post regarding Heart of Thorn.

I would also like to encourage as many people to like this thread to attract ArenaNet’s attention. Even if they choose not to implement this idea I would appreciate to know that they at least had a look at it.

Thank you very much

I do not know if this is the right forum for this but I have a suggestion regarding necromancers specialization.

I noticed that while the death shroud allows for ranged combat the reaper shroud is suited for melee. I’m not complaining about the specialization but I do wonder if having the reaper shroud bound to F2 and leaving the death shroud to F1 would enable necromancers to activate a shroud depending if they are back-line or front-line. If the shared life force pool isn’t enough of a limitation then perhaps having a shared cool-down would.

I know that a fair number of people will respond to this post with complaints regarding making necromancers more powerful but while I admit that their argument would have value as more option does make them stronger, I would like to present the counter argument that this isn’t about making necromancers more powerful but more versatile and thus I do think that my initial argument has value and should be given some consideration.

Thank you very much

Breachmaker was a long time ago.

Loins arch is awesome however I feel there is a missed opportunity with the space above the bay.

It would be nice to have floating platform to jump across the bay or even a huge floating vessel so that player can jump around in and explore. Anet could make it so that this vessel was in development so that over a period of time it would grow and give incentive for people to visit lions arch to view the progress.

This is merely an idea. I am not sure if this is even the right forum to port this thread.
Thank very much.

Healers in this game are not viable because the very few skills that can heal other players are often under powered. ArenaNet says its a design choice to avoid the holy trinity but I think there is also another reason.

Currently there is a heavy emphasis that in PvE damage is more viable than healing (and for good reasons). As a consequence in fights players will try to maximise damage while self sustaining. If a player was to excel in healing other players then they would no longer have to worry about surviving the fight thus making the game easier.

This would create a disparity between groups with a healer and groups without a healer.
Arenanet would have to either leave the content as it is or increase it’s difficulty making it unplayable without a healer. I think ArenaNet is afraid of this.

But I disagree with this. As players can switch there builds in mid game this means that each players in a group could swap roles at any time as long as each professions is given a viable alternate support role. Hence ArenaNet should crank up the heals.

I know Arena net has no intention to add any weapons at the moment however this post is more about a solution to a possible problem.

When your character has no weapon equipped, it has no weapon skills which can be a problem when a player accidentally enters combat without any weapons (I know its very unlikely but it can happen).

A solution would be to have weapon skills associated with a characters fist as the unequipped weapon slot.

This is merely a suggestion and not a request.

Thank you very much

I have two questions.

Given how much effort was put in to design guild wars 2 to remove barriers between players and bring them together, why is arena taking the risk of splitting players apart ?
For example, if specializations can only be unlocked at level 80 then the player base might be split between those who are specialized that is above level 80 and those who are not.
I am concerned about this because in some other mmo like wow players can be ostracized if they are not specked or gear properly. This can also be applicable with Masteries where some players might be kicked out of a party or dungeon for not having the right Mastery specs.

And my second question joins the one were everyone is asking if the classes will be updated with the new technology they showed off with the Revenant.

Thanks

This was merely a suggestion. I wouldn’t shift the aggro so that players would be able to stand right behind a foe but just a little.

@ Yargesh
I think the difficulty to implement this would depend on the Guild Wars 2 code but yes it would involve some time effort and resources to implement.

Please feel free to move or re-post this thread elsewhere if needed.

In most MMO including Guild Wars 2 the aggro detection range of an foe is the same regardless which the direction the player approaches it. This might be because the foe is at the center of the aggro detection perimeter.

However if said center of perimeter was to be in front of a foe, it’s aggro distance would be shorter behind it.
This would better emulate a foe’s visual detection range as foes that can see would theoretically rely on their sight more than there hearing.
Also it would provide players with the ability to sneak behind a foe to either to avoid combat or attack it.

The Secret World MMO has this implemented. In the very first area you can move behind zombies without being detected or you can sneak attack them. This adds to each fight a layer of preparation and strategy.

I would really like this as I enjoy sneak attacks a lot.

Thank you very much

@ Electro
You are correct when I wrote dots I meant the ones that are above the Mesmer weapon skills.

@ YamsAndHams
Regarding the blood minion, it would indeed help to know how much health has blood minion left or another solution would be when this minion dies it would replenish your health. Bone minions suffer the same problem. It would help to know how many and how much health is left on each one or at least to have them explode when they die. Unfortunately I do not have any ideas regarding a possible solutions for the HUD.

@ Everyone
I began this thread to suggest a possible solution to ANET to help Mesmers with their illusions but if you have suggestions, ideas or solutions feel free to post them. I do not see the harm talking about these issues especially if some improvement can come out of this.

Thank you very much

I don’t know if this is the right forum but if it isn’t feel free to move or re-post it.

At the moment, the dots only indicate how many illusions are summoned but not which are summoned. It is difficult for a Mesmer to track it’s summoned illusions in particular for new players and in large crowds (for example WvW Zergs).

Could the dots on the HUD be replaced with unique icons (or even perhaps the skill icon) indicating which clones or phantasm are currently summoned ? (Similar to how the generic condition damage indicator was replaced by specific ones)

This would make it so much easier to track illusions as player will no longer have to find nor guess which illusion is summoned.

Thank you so much

If each profession is only given one specialization to choose then this make it obvious choice. Anet will probably add more specializations in the future along with the ability to switch in between those specs (I hope).

Though I have written this in another post regarding specialization, I am rewriting my opinion in this one.

If specialization was a profession extension it would split the players between casual players who are not specialized and dedicated player who are. I believe that this is unlikely because it would make all the effort that Anet has put in to remove barriers between players obsolete.

I believe that specialization is simply an alternative version of a profession. For example, rangers and druids are both different versions of the nature archetype profession. Anet stated that each specialization will have new equipable weapon options, skills, traits and profession mechanics.
This does not necessarily mean that one professions specialization feature is exclusive from the other specialization. A ranger and a druid might be able to wield some of the same weapons like bows, to have some similar skills and traits and perhaps even share the same class mechanic.
I’ll also would like to suggest that some existing professions might also be changed to better fit the new specializations. The druid might be given the current pet control ranger mechanic as the kiting mechanic would fit a magic specialization better while a rangers would be given a new mechanic that would fit it’s fighting style better.

The point I would like to make is that Anet is not static but agile in its development philosophy. Until Heart Of Thorns is released Anet might implement new design changes.

It would seem unlikely to me. Anet has put in so much effort in GW2 to remove barriers between players with events and down-scaling. If Anet does make specializations a level 80 feature this would split players between casual and dedicated players.

@Invictus

Thanks, I see your point. Besides I suppose people can always play another class if they don’t like the revenant.

Instead of generic legend names, I would really like to see the legends name refer to guild wars 1 event. This would add some flavor to the class while being a bit of an easter egg. I would avoid giving unique legend names for each race as it could lead to confusion ( not the condition).

@Invictus

Thank you for the explanation, the name revenant does make more sense. This however raises other concerns.

With all the other professions are named according to the archetype they represent, will new players understand that the new revenant profession will be based on the death knight archetype when the name originates from an in game event ?

Necro → reaper ? or perhaps warlock ?

Am I the only one who feels that the revenant is almost like a heavy armor multi race ritualist ?

Also (I know I am going to get a lot of flak for this) but I don’t really like the name revenant, it doesn’t indicate very clearly what the class is.

I agree with tiger.

Arenanet stated that a specialization will offer new weapons, new skills and new class mechanic.
Arena tries hard to keep all the profession on par with each other, I don’t think that specializations would just be an super version of a profession. This would also split players between vanilla and super profession. I believe that specializations are just an alternate version of a profession hence each one will have two specialization in HOT, the vanilla and a new one.

For example, when a ranger changes it’s specialization to druid, it’s useable weapons, skills, traits and mechanic are all changed while still remain a nature archetype.

Why are blood golems are unsummoned underwater when necromancers can summon any other minion ?

I find myself avoid water when I have a blood golem summoned because the cooldown.

I would have liked to have this post in the suggestion thread but I don’t want to spam the forum either.

If Lion Arch is to be rebuilt, would it be possible to let the community decide how to rebuild ?

My idea is that the developers would offer different designs a section of Lion Arch to vote for in each chapter of the living story similarly to the election between Kiel and Gnashblade. This would give the community input regarding the main city hub.

This is merely a suggestion. I have tried to post this in the suggestion subforum but it would not allow me to.

I guess if anything that is outside the game is non canonical then most of the information would be just supposition even form the developer.

This does somehow answer my question

Thank you

So far all we have seen of this eternal alchemy is six colored orbs rotating around a larger central one.

My theories is to look at these orbs not as dragons, deities or locations but rather as forces that exist and cycle. Dragons, the human gods and other deities are just beings who know and use these forces. One could expand to say that when these forces rise they wake dragons or other entity who feed of these forces.

As the creator of Tequatl when Zhaitan died he no longer controlled or restricted the the powers of Tequatl hence the living story “Rise of Tequatl”.

Also the human gods have been so little featured that I wonder if they have anything to do with the dragon.

Please tell me what you think

I heard that the Elonian’s had historical records that predate the arrival of the gods in Tyria. This would mean that Elonians existed little before.

I also heard that the Kurzicks and the Luxons came from the south of Cantha while the remaining Cathans supposedly arrived first on Shin Jea Island. Some theorist suggest that they all came from the west but on different ships and landed on different shores.

All this is based on stuff I read online.
How much of it is true ?

I read that the six human gods brought humanity soon after they arrived on Tyria however Elonians and Canthans existed before the human gods arrival. There is also another suggestion that humans came from an island to the west of Cantha.

As you can see this is very confusing to me.

Could someone please explain where did humans come from in Guild Wars 2 ?
Are humans from Tyria or are they from another realm ?
Where did the human gods come from ?

I have attached a picture summarizing the information I found to help understand my question.

Thank you

I know this topic must have been made a thousand time but I just wanted to shout it out there.

I love Guild Wars 2

At the moment, Antitoxin Spray is the only skill that all players have in common regardless of race or profession however I feel this hurts the unique identity provided by profession and race combination.

I know that professions and races share skills but these were interdependent. For example, a Sylvari Warrior and Mesmer would both have Healing Seed and a Norn and Sylvari Warrior will both have Healing Signet but neither the Sylvari Mesmer nor Norn Warrior would have any skills in common hence making these two characters feel unique to each other.

Personally, seeing my Charr Guardian spinning around as if he was an Asuran Engineer to be odd.

I was curious if Anet will be replacing the AntiToxin Spray Healing Skill with unique race or profession Healing Skill ?