Disclaimer:
There are many things GW2 does WAY better than GW1. Graphics, voice acting, being able to jump (lol), open world, etc.
This thread is not about how much better GW1 is, it’s about the one thing GW1 did that is still leagues above GW2: skills.
The following is an analysis of what each player has access to in ONE character as far as creating a skill build goes.
GW1:
-7 of 1026 normal skills (roughly 125 per profession, everyone has 2 professions, second profession can be changed. 81 skills are common across all professions).
-1 of 293 elite skills (you can choose to drop an elite for a normal skill instead)
-200 attribute points (to distribute across 1 primary attribute and 8 of 36 secondary attributes)
GW2:
-2 of 5 sets of 5 weapon skills with aquatic counterparts (on average).
-3 of 22 utility skills (2 racial)
-1 of 4 healing skills (1 racial)
-1 of 6 elite skills (3 racial)
-70 points (to distribute across 5 trait lines)
-7 traits (1 for each 10 spent in a single trait line)
In my opinion, GW2’s skill system is far too restrictive. The biggest issue is in the weapon system, because those are the skills you will be using the most in combat and there isn’t much room for experimentation there. The pool of skills to choose from is simply too small once you’ve committed to your race and profession at character creation.
The only thing GW2 does better than GW1 as far as the skill system goes is Traits. Traits are infinitely better than attribute points.
I don’t think Anet would overhaul their skill system this far into the game’s lifetime, but I might as well bring up my two cents and see what happens.
(edited by Space Cow.2431)