Guild Wars 2

BlizDK.5372:

The amount of effort you put into this thread is astonishing. I’ve always had a lot of ideas for new professions, but I could never put my thoughts into words like this. Hopefully the devs will notice this when the time for discussing the possibility of adding new professions comes around!

Thank you for the encouragement!

I usually go all-in on stuff like this, and as an aspiring-writer it gives me an opportunity to flex my creativity somewhat. That being said, I am the kind of person who plans out their character to the letter before she’s even hit the creation-screen, so that could be a contributing factor as well

And I’m not even finished yet: there’s a seventh idea of mine moments away from being completed and posted below!

….I may have too much time on my hands.

Edit: I got distracted, and was then informed that I occasionally need to consider sleeping from time to time. I’ll post my newest idea tomorrow.

BlizDK.5372:

I would love to see a new heavy armored class. Possibly one that uses spears (above water), pole-arms, halberds, glaives, lances or something along those lines.
It could focus on dealing out conditions to multiple foes, like bleeding, cripple, weakness and vulnerability.
Maybe give it less survivability than the Warrior and Guardian but add a more offensive feel to it, with focus on movement and proper placement.

Not to toot my own horn, but I have recently created a thread about submitting detailed suggestions for new professions, and I think the very first thing on my list is what you’re looking for

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Detailed-New-Profession-Suggestions/first#post1160485

I’d love it if anyone who read/saw this would check it out and tell me what you think of what’s been put up there. Better yet, add your own! A few people have already.

It’s nice to just say we want certain things, but to provide greater detailed layouts of our ideas should (hopefully) add value to them, in considering them as potential additions to the game. That’s my thought-process, at least, so that’s where my thread comes in.

Mystic Starfish.2586:

I like the battlemonk, sandwraith, and shadow knight ones the most. I can see a nimble heavy class like the battlemonk, although the biggest issue i have with it is amount of weapon choices, but thats for most of your creations.
Shadow knight, given a bit of polishing, could probably be viable for the game. The mechanic of getting stronger as you get closer to dying is an awesome thought process, almost like a barbarian or berserker type class. (I only skimmed the posts, but I think you could even lighten up on the mechanics of this one, just giving maybe more defense/attack rather than a whole new mode/skill to enter into).
Sandwraith interests me, because I could also see this working in-game. But, lore-wise, it is a pretty big elephant in the room.

Thanks for taking a look, and I’m glad you found a few you like

I specifically wanted to reply to you in regards to your comment about my number of available weapons to choose from. During my “designing” of each of these classes, I constantly had this page up from the Guild Wars 2 wiki:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Weapon

I did so for the graph that is towards the bottom, illustrating which weapons are available in-game and who has access to them. The most important detail to take away from that is the final piece of information at the bottom: “Possible Combinations”. Taking into account every main-hand being combined with every off-hand, plus the two-handers and underwater weapons, I tried to keep my classes in line with this listing, so that no one was too high or too low in comparison to the original eight professions. I added them up just like they did, and I would like to think I did a good job:

Dragoon —> 11 combinations
Battlemonk --> 12 combinations
Kineticist —> 13 combinations
Sandwraith --> 14 combinations
Shadow Knight —> 11 combinations
Jester --> 11 combinations

In summary, the Dragoon, Shadow Knight, and Jester are right below the Mesmer and Necromancer in terms of selection, the Battlemonk is tied with those two, the Kineticist is right above them (tied with Ranger), and the Sandwraith is just above that (tied with the Guardian). That leaves the Warrior as the clear winner still (21 combinations!), and the others are still on the bottom as intended (Thief, Engineer, and Elementalist, with nine, four, and six respectively). Their number of unique weapons to choose from is roughly down the middle as well, at either nine or ten (the median being eight).

All-in-all, they have a fairly average selection of weapons available to them, comparing to the original eight. Whether you wanted them to have more/less, that’s up to you I guess

Weaknesses Continued:

The Sandwraith
—> The sandwraith hits fast, hits multiple enemies, and can do so at a variety of ranges. The problems lies in the fact that it is a death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts: she has to poke away at your health reserves and whittle away at your defenses. Stack enough conditions on you, and you’ll go down quick for sure, but the sandwraith is mostly an aggressive offensive-support character; like the battlemonk above, she cannot be “center stage” like a warrior or shadow knight can, blowing people away with huge chunks of damage.

And that is where the sandwraith can lose: without help, it becomes a battle of attrition, and those who have adequate defenses to win those battles will come out on top because the sandwraith has almost no defenses of her own beyond mobility/dodging. Catch her alone and/or off-guard, and you’ll waste her quite handily.

Bottom Line: Don’t take all day; let the sandwraith waste her evasion and blinds, then rush her with your best offensive abilities. Persevere through her assault, and she’ll crumble.

The Shadow Knight
—> The obvious flaw comes from the Dark Rage itself, in that it blocks you from relying on your heal skill to save your butt in moments of need (and you will be damaged going in, as taking hits is what got you into Dark Rage in the first place). This can be countered somewhat by utilizing life-steal attacks, boosting your Vitality and Toughness, or putting points into the Tenacity line to balance things out, but that’ll only work to a point. In a sense, you are your own worst enemy at times. The second problem comes from range/positioning. The Scythe has some ranged skills, and there are the occasional skill that interrupts your foe(s) in order to close distance, but beyond that the shadow knight is greatly lacking in a range game.

Mobile enemies who can dodge away from your aggressive assaults can whittle your health down while frustrating the hell out of you, all the while your Dark Rage ticks onward until you’re locked from your heal-skill and implode. It’s practically assisted-suicide, if they know how to keep your barbarian-like efforts at bay.

Bottom Line: “Poke the bear” from a distance until he cracks. Dark Rage grows as you damage him, so keep at it until the knight enters the rage at the wrong moment.

The Jester
—> The jester almost completely lacks any means of interrupting an opponent, i.e. inflicting knockdowns, pushes/pulls, daze, etc. This means that while you are messing with the enemy’s head with your shenanigans in a meta-game sense, you’re not stopping them from continuing their own routines, which are more-than-likely detrimental to your own. A jester is a light-armor class, and doesn’t have the highest (or even an average) base health, so the chaos created can only go so far until the last laugh isn’t yours.

Not having an auto-attack skill also slows their aggressive tactics, creating pauses in the action, so-to-speak, similar to when a thief has depleted her store of Initiative (only for her, she can at least fall back on that #1 skill). The Jester’s collection of skills are powerful, to be sure, but if you blow through them too quickly you’ll be left with (literally) nothing.

Bottom Line: Keep your wits about you, and pay attention to what’s coming your way. When the jester has literally all skills on cooldown, look at his low health pool and laugh.

A Final Word: The Weaknesses of The Classes I Submitted

(It’s my “final word” in that I should hopefully be out of things to say about what has been presented above, not that I’m officially done coming up with stuff. )

One of the biggest challenges when creating a character class is to avoid designing them such that they have no weakness — if the Warrior had no fault, everyone would play him. The same could be said of any-other class: their flaws make them what they are and provides character, to the same extent as their strengths.

With that in mind, I am going to “reveal” the weaknesses of the six classes I have posted here for you. I’m doing this in an effort to provide the finishing details on their character summaries, as well as to avoid the notion that what I am creating is over-powered or “game-breaking”. I did in fact keep these in mind while I was designing the professions around becoming potential additions to Guild Wars 2.

The Dragoon
—> Being “unsubtle”, as I’ve described it, can also be interpreted as being somewhat predictable. Lacking in tactics to throw off the opponent with conditions and the like, a dragoon is trying to beat you “honorably” in a battle of his Power versus your Toughness, metaphorically-speaking. But in being predictable, one’s greatest strengths can become weaknesses in of themselves.

Having almost no range game, a dragoon doesn’t just want to close the distance to his target with Jumps and leaping attacks, he needs to, and that can be exploited. He’s a flying-duck once he is already in the air, so it can be simple enough for you to trap the landing zone, or simpler still to just dodge out of the way if you know where the dragoon is expected to land. An effective mobile character can readily evade the leaps, retreat backwards, and continue tagging him while the dragoon tries once again to close the distance. In a straight one-versus-one fight, you could theoretically kite him indefinitely.

Bottom Line: Counter the appearance of mobility with mobility of your own. The dragoon wants to face you head on, so don’t. Force him into predictability, then exploit.

The Battlemonk
—> If you have ever played the game “Final Fantasy XIII (13)”, then the character that most embodies this class is the main protagonist, Lightning. She didn’t have the highest strength or magical talent, but she was balanced in both and compensated by having the highest speed in the game. Knowing a wide variety of attacks both physical and magical in nature, she relied on speed and versatility to best contribute to the fight. The battlemonk is quite similar, and as such suffers from the same weaknesses as Lightning did in that game. The battlemonk needs to be surrounded by others to be the most effective, aiding in their efforts to overcome the opponent. Alone, she is flawed in the same way any jack-of-all-trades is: skilled in everything but master of none. She overcomes her weaknesses by having others by her side; catch her by herself, and the battlemonk can be easy prey.

Bottom Line: Isolate the battlemonk from the others, then overwhelm her with a varied offense. By not excelling in any-one area, she can only do so much by herself.

The Kinecticist
—> The kineticist is too prideful to notice (or perhaps doesn’t care), but he has a distinct lacking in one key aspect of the offensive game: conditions. He can blast people with powerful explosions that are heavy in neutral damage, and can interrupt them with skills that toss them about like rag-dolls, but the kineticist doesn’t have many more-subtle tactics at his disposal. Any conditions he does generate are mostly movement-related (like cripple), which is more annoying than anything. A character with a high enough Toughness and/or Health (or is a skilled dodger/evader) can simply engage him toe-to-toe and smack the kineticist with all of their own conditions, knowing it is a rather one-way fight in that regard. They’ll be able to withstand against his damaging assault, while their “under-handed tactics” tear him to pieces.

Bottom Line: Avoid or heal through his attacks, and inflict conditions; he has no answer for this. “Breaks Stun” or Stability is a devastating blow to most kineticist strategies.

Examples of Utility Skills and Major Trait Bonuses

The Jester

Utility Skills:
Mimicry —> Chaos Storm (as in the exact equivalent of the Mesmer’s Staff 5 skill)
Enchantment --> “Where’d I Go?!” (equivalent to the Engineer’s “Elixer S” utility)
Performance —> Revel In It All (allies + self gain swiftness, vigor; breaks stun)
Anarchy --> “Bon Voyage!” (a “reverse-Blink”, target enemy is teleported to target location)

Trait Bonuses
Amazement
—> Adept: Deja Vu* (create a Chaos Storm when you take falling damage. Take 50% less damage from falling.)
—> Master: Master of Misery (conditions inflicted by the Scepter and the Dagger last longer)
—> Grandmaster: Showstopper (killing a foe reduces the cooldown of any skill already on cooldown by a small amount [one second? more?])

*There’s a joke in that first one. I’ll wait for you to get it

Ridicule
—> Adept: Punch-Line (increased critical damage while affected by an Enchantment skill)
—> Master: Cheap Shot (Harpoon Gun skills have a chance to cripple. Reduce the cooldown of Harpoon Gun skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Schadenfreude (gain a random boon upon inflicting critical damage)

Amusement
—> Adept: Theater Troupe (nearby allies gain +X Toughness, scaled by level)
—> Master: Center Stage (using a Performance skill heals you. Reduce the cooldown of Performance skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Grand Performance (the boons granted from Performance skills last longer)

Captivation
—> Adept: Flabbergasted (using a Mimicry skill confuses target foe [or foes])
—> Master: Show Must Go On (recharge your heal skills at 25% health. 90-second cooldown)
—> Grandmaster: Sharing is Caring (using a Mimicry skill heals allies and yourself)

Madness
—> Adept: Diversity (gain a bonus to Condition Damage when using different IPs)
—> Master: A Professional [Troll, that is] (Anarchy skills grant retaliation. Reduce their cooldown by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: When Chaos Reigns, It Pours (there is an additional chance, on a skill applying its IP, that it will also apply the other weapon’s as well)

Jester information continued:

The most important thing to note is that amassing this powerful assortment of abilities from other classes creates an unforeseen problem: the Jester must maintain the mental fortitude (or simply the insanity) necessary to memorize and recreate them all. As such, he lacks any traditional #1 attack skill; all skills have a cooldown.

Note: The skills mentioned are the specific skills related to that weapon: “Guard 2” under Scepter is specifically the Guardian’s #2 Scepter skill, “Smite”. Any Thief skill that is copied would have a balancing cooldown created for it.

Main-Hand Weapons
Axe —> melee offensive; Necro 2, Warrior 4, Ranger 5
Sword --> maneuverability; Warrior 2, Mesmer 2, Ranger 3
Scepter —> balanced ranged AoE; Necro 2, Guard 2, Ele water 3

Off-Hand Weapons
Dagger —> close-range pressure; Thief 3 (with OH dagger), Ele fire 4
Pistol --> single-target assault; Eng 2, Thief 3 (with no OH? or pistol OH?)
Focus —> magical defense; Mesmer 4, Guard 5

Underwater Weapons
Harpoon Gun —> ranged, single-target shots; Warrior 2, Ranger 2, Thief 2, Eng 3, Eng 5
Trident --> close-ranged magical flurry; Mesmer 2, Ele earth 2, Guard 2, Ele air 3, Necro 5

Author’s Notes on the Skills Selected, and the Copycat Idea
I wanted to take a moment and point out that unlike the previous character professions I have created and listed above, this one (for obvious reasons) has every weapon skill identified and ordered as they would go in the hotbar, down to the last letter. I wish to assure you that I spent a very long while agonizing over what skills to put in, what combinations were too powerful, and similar questions. They’re supposed to be varied while maintaining balance; hording all of the other classes’ greatest skills was not what I was going for here. Every class is equally represented across the various weapons, with three appearances from each profession except the Elementalist, who has four (one for each attunement).

I once considered mixing-and-matching skills from dissimilar weapons (like a Hammer with a Pistol skill), and I was planning on having additional weapons in general (like the Shield, and a Dagger Main), but I ruled those out due to the question of class balance and overall fairness: this class is a chaotic mess to begin with (on purpose, of course), but having a giant list of seemingly any skill in the book just seemed way too powerful.
End Note

Utility skills emphasize mimic-ing the abilities of others, raising the spirits of your friends with mirthful performances, enchantments that amaze ally and enemy alike, and unleashing total anarchy on one’s opponent.

Elite Skills:
(10) Perfect Copy —> to an enemy player you appear as an exact match of a nearby ally of yours for a time (down to the name, physical appearance, boons/conditions on player, and what weapons they’re holding. There is no actual effect on yourself beyond this illusion)
(10) “Who’s the Fool Now?” --> alternating pulses of confusion and daze
(30) Total Anarchy —> for a time, weapon skills have an increased chance to inflict any IP; no control over what or when

Traits:
Amazement (Power, Condition Duration)
—> Focusing on the Scepter and Dagger, general offense
Ridicule (Precision, Critical Damage)
—> Focusing on the Axe and Harpoon Gun, Enchantment skills
Amusement (Toughness, Boon Duration)
—> Focusing on the Pistol and Sword, Performance skills
Captivation (Vitality, Healing Power)
—> Focusing on the Focus and Trident, Mimicry skills
Madness (IP Application Chance, Condition Damage)
—> Focusing on improving Imbued Properties, Anarchy skills

This next one made me cackle with evil glee throughout the “design process”, and by the end I was “as giddy as a school girl”…not that I was particularly giddy when I was a school-girl. It might have helped that I was listening to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37BjVXzN6RA the entire time

Light – The Jester, Mimic Extraordinaire! (Symbol: rainbow Jester hat)

Lore Summary: Whether the technique heralds from a carnival magician who just wanted to help the war effort, or a deranged shaman who cracked under the pressure of facing the Elder Dragons, no one can be certain. What is known is that not long after the defeat of Zhaitan, these curious warriors (?) arrived on the scene. The things they can do with their skills is seemingly impossible, even paradoxical in nature. Using the art of the copycat to sow chaos and confusion, the Jester’s penchant for general anarchy will quickly become the stuff of legend. For what it’s worth, the Pact should be grateful these masterful mimics are on their side…

Playstyle Summary: A Mesmer creates confusion with a classic trick in the con-man’s arsenal: the shell-game. The enemy monster (and/or player) is at a disadvantage in trying to determine which Mesmer is real, and who are the clones. The Jester doesn’t do that — you’ll always know where he is. Because for him, the game is in a more base (and at least to him, a more “fun”) problem: trying to figure out just what the hell is going on! The Jester is chaos incarnate, doing impossible things in impossible ways and laughing maniacally all the while. Mimic-ing the skills of those around him, he seems apparently capable of, well, anything, and the danger comes in assessing such an opponent who seems to exhibit no rhyme or reason for his craziness. To further mess with everyone’s head (including his own), the Jester Imbues his weapons with various effects that seem to change on the fly, to keep just about everyone and anyone on their toes.

This is the Class for You, if You: have Schadenfreude as your middle name, and the notion of being a Kefka/Joker/professional troll appeals to you.

Profession Mechanic: A Prize in Every Box
“You reap what you sow”, or so the saying goes, and if chaos is on the menu, then the Jester will take it super-sized with extra pickles. Using his magical arts, he applies special effects on his weapons, so that every skill comes with “a little extra somethin’”.

What this amounts to is somewhat similar to the Guardian’s Virtue of Courage, wherein an effect (in the Guardian’s case, burning) goes with the attack for additional damage. Unlike them, however, the Imbued Property has a percent chance of happening (starting at 15%, which can be traited to 30% [too high? too low? other ideas: 10 —> 25, 24 --> 33]). This is a passive, always-has-a-chance-activate effect, but it only applies to the Jester’s weapons.

A variety of applicable effects is available to choose from, and the selection grows as the Jester masters his craft. With each skill purchased in one of the four skill tiers (1-pointers, 3-pointers, 6-pointers, and Elites), the Jester is granted access to another Imbued Property. Each property is attached to one of the tiers, meaning the Jester must acquire enough skills from each tier to eventually unlock all of his Imbue properties as well.

Examples from Each Tier:
Tier 1 (1-pointers) —> Blind, Gain Swiftness (briefly)
Tier 2 (3-pointers) --> Vulnerability, Bleeding
Tier 3 (6-pointers) —> Gain Health, Chill
Tier 4 (Elite Skills) --> Immobilize, Confusion

Only one Imbue property can be assign per weapon: one for the main hand, and another for the off hand. Only the skills related to that specific weapon will apply the property given to them (i.e: the main hand won’t apply the off hand’s IP, and vise-versa). The same property could always be applied to both weapons, to double-down on its effectiveness, or different ones could be applied to every and all weapons, to double-down on the chaos!

Weapons: A master of mimicry, the Jester doesn’t necessarily do anything “original”, but rather pools abilities from other places to combine them in different ways (and possibly tweak them in the process). This is all in the name of confusing the enemy with the head-scratching dilemma of figuring out just what the hell is going on. To further increase the Jester’s “fun” in creating havoc, he refrains from any two-handed weapon; why only Imbue one when you can have two?!

(Underwater weapons only get one IP, unfortunately. Can’t win ’em all…)

(This description is too long – the rest is below)

A note on the Shadow Knight. I couldn’t put this in the description proper because of the word count, but it is something that is fairly important to consider:

Playing a shadow knight will not be easy: the first time your Dark Rage causes you to “commit suicide” will not be the last. Effectively managing the meter to time when to enter a Dark Rage can be just as important, if not more-so, than the power you gain from such a state. However, skilled use of the Dark Rage can have a devastating effect on one’s enemies; a risk-reward system is established, between embracing its power to destroy your opponents, balanced against the care needed to avoid destroying your own self.

And with that word of warning, on to the examples:

Examples of Utility Skills and Major Trait Bonuses

The Shadow Knight

Utility Skills:
Pact —> Shadow’s Betrayal (summon a shade behind the target, that damages and knocks foe toward the knight)
Fury --> “Surrender to Oblivion!” (drains 33% of the Dark Rage meter. Pulses PBAoE twice: the first burns, the second fears)
Night —> Dark Channel (looks like an “evil” Ride The Lightning; the knight travels to the target and damages them: the farther away they are, the more damage inflicted)
Conviction --> Martyrdom (inflict heavy vulnerability on self, great offensive buffing)

Major Trait Bonuses
Vehemence
—> Adept: Lesson in Mortality (gain Might upon inflicting vulnerability)
—> Master: Chill Up the Spine (Night skills inflict chill. Reduce the cooldown of Night skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Death’s Liaison (conditions inflicted by the Scythe last 33% longer)

Rancor
—> Adept: Jumping at Shadows (shades inflict confusion)
—> Master: Fuel for the Fire (+100 condition damage while wielding an Axe. Reduce the cooldown of Axe skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Army of Darkness (skills that summon shades bring forth another)

Insolence
—> Adept: Barbed Barriers (blocking or reflecting an attack inflicts vulnerability)
—> Master: “Know This Pain!” (Conviction skills’ self-affliction applies to the enemy as well. Reduce their cooldowns by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Self-Reliance (the rewarding effect of Conviction skills is greater [more damage, longer conditions/buffs, etc])

Tenacity
—> Adept: Dark Wellspring (heal for a small amount upon entering a Dark Rage)
—> Master: Soul Eater (Greatswords and Swords have an increased life-stealing effect. Reduce their cooldowns by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Refusal to Die (grants Regeneration for the length of a Dark Rage)

Malice
—> Adept: Short Temper (the requirement to set off Dark Rage is lessened)
—> Master: Controlled Demolition (Fury skills vent more Dark Rage, but are more powerful (inflict more damage, greater benefits, etc)
—> Grandmaster: Vendetta (the more the same enemy injures the knight in succession, the more effectively said damage fills your Dark Rage meter)

Heavy – The Shadow Knight, Warden of the Dusk (Symbol: black crescent moon)

Lore Summary: “The brightest lights cast the deepest shadows.” Upon the defeat of Zhaitan, a small sect of Pact soldiers embraced a simple truth: to fight the forces of evil, the line between the light and the dark must be blurred. If the “villains” change the rules of the game, a “hero” must follow suit if they hope to overcome them. A shadow knight has changed the rules; blurred the lines. “The night is darkest just before the dawn”, and now, the light and darkness have become as one.

Playstyle Summary: A shadow knight has embraced the darkness, in an effort to combat the greater evils that threaten the world. He wields the power of the shade, like a creature of the night. Evil is not subtle, and neither is the warden: a fury follows his movements, a Dark Rage driving his blade home. Alienated from their brothers and sisters of the Pact, a shadow knight can call on the darkness itself to be his sole companion.

This is the Class for You, if You: think the Warrior is too “soft” or “tanky”, and want someone a little more…barbaric. You are not afraid of risking your own life to defeat evil.

Profession Mechanics: Embrace the Night
The closer the shadow knight comes to defeat, the greater his fury; the will to live burns with a black fire filling his soul. He is in a constant internal struggle to maintain a balance, to keep from being overwhelmed by the very darkness he swore to defeat. None know of what he must do to keep in control, so none can help him; the knight must save himself. And so he will, with a Dark Rage that few have seen but no one will forget.

As the shadow knight takes damage, the darkness keeps him going, the shadow filling the void as his wounds seek to empty him of blood. All damage fuels his Dark Rage meter; the graver the injury, the more it contributes to filling the meter. If the shadow knight is filled enough to completely fill his heart with darkness, the Rage overtakes him. For as long as the shadow knight is driven by his Dark Rage, he cannot perform peaceful actions (changing gear, warp, etc), revive others, or even use his healing skill*. Fueled by aggression, seeking vengeance, he will strike down all that opposes him, the Rage providing greatly increased damage, movement speed, and dark power.

Weapons: A shadow knight inflicts pain, without mercy or remorse; the forces of evil do not think on such concepts, so why should he? Tearing flesh, crushing armor and bone; the goal is to subdue (and/or kill) any that stands in his way. They will meet their demise at the end of powerful blades that corrupt and infect (Greatsword, Sword), destructive tools that tear and crush (Hammer, Axe, Mace), and dark magic that envelops and consumes (Shield/Focus, Scythe). Staves and Scepters are for the weak; bows and guns the weapons of a coward.

Two-Handed Weapons
Greatsword —>poisons and drains; impaling leech, overhand leaping chop
Hammer --> crushes armor and burns foes; black-fire wave, detonation crash
Scythe —> magical ranged, fears and debilitates; shadow-claw summons, fearful spin

Main-Hand Weapons
Sword —> movement and life-stealing; draining flurry, shadow-step into a choke-hold
Axe --> summons and burns; black-fire chop, flaming shade spirits
Mace —> weakens and destroys; PBAoE shadow smash, vulnerability wave

Off-Hand Weapons
Shield —> preventing damage; reflective draining, enveloping cloud
Focus --> enemy positioning; fearful barrier, shadow-claw that pulls foe

Underwater Weapons
Spear —> drains and summons; leeching jabs, summoned-shade tackle that poisons
Trident --> burns, fears, and debilitates; flaming thrust, fearful burst, vulnerability spin

Utility Skills emphasize summoning terrifying shades through dark pacts, venting one’s Dark Rage in displays of unparalleled fury, being one with the darkness as a creature of the night, and the demonstration of the knight’s conviction to defeat evil no matter the cost.

Elite Skills:
(10) Pandora’s Box —> large burning, interrupting PBAoE shockwave. If an enemy just injured the knight beforehand, the effect is much greater)
(10) Shadow Army --> whirlwind of shades, clawing and chilling everything)
(30) Eclipse —> Enter a full-length Dark Rage, regardless of health or how filled the meter)

Traits:
Vehemence (Power, Condition Duration)
—> Focusing on the Scythe and Mace, Night skills
Rancor (Precision, Condition Damage)
—> Focusing on the Hammer and Axe, Pact skills
Insolence (Toughness, Boon Duration)
—> Focusing on the off-hand weapons, Conviction skills
Tenacity (Vitality, Healing Power)
—> Focusing on the Greatsword and Sword, counter-balancing Dark Rage
Malice (Dark Rage strength, Critical Damage)
—> Focusing on Fury skills, and taking advantage of Dark Rage

Examples of Utility Skills and Major Trait Bonuses

The Sandwraith

Utility Skills:
Climate —> Night’s Embrace (targetable AoE chilling field)
Sand —> Dust Shroud (blinds in an area, blocks projectiles)
Mirage —> Blistering Heat (grants evasion, creates a fire field)
Dance —> Scorpion Sting (poisons, cripples target)

Trait Bonuses
Scorpion
—> Adept: Power of the Sun (gain Might when you inflict burning)
—> Master: Scalding Blade (Greatsword skills have a chance to inflict burning. 20% faster cooldown of Greatsword skills)
—> Grandmaster: Extreme Weather (Climate skill effects [chill/burn] are doubled)

Snake
—> Adept: Fleet of Foot (grants Swiftness upon using a Dance skill)
—> Master: Cyclone Wheels (+10% movement speed while wielding a main-hand Chakram. +5% movement speed while wielding an off-hand Chakram)
—> Grandmaster: Whirlwind of Blood (Scythe skills inflict additional stacks of bleed)

Armadillo
—> Adept: Kick Up Dirt (use Dust Shroud upon falling. 50% less fall damage)
—> Master: Persistent Winds (Sand skills last longer)
—> Grandmaster: Press the Advantage (gain Toughness? a boon? upon afflicting a condition)

Jackal
—> Adept: Established Rhythm (gain Vigor at the end of evasion [not a dodge, but the evasion/distortion effect])
—> Master: Lingering Sentiments (evasion effects last for an additional second)
—> Grandmaster: Mass Hysteria (Mirage skills have a greater area of effect)

Wraith
—> Adept: Fine Particulates (blinds last 50% longer)
—> Master: Desert’s Kiss (inflict bleeding with the application of blinds)
—> Grandmaster: Desert’s Prodigy (33% chance of earning two sand orbs with each kill)

Light or Medium – The Sandwraith, Dancer of the Desert (Symbol: yellow “Hermes” foot)

Lore Summary: If you disrespect it, it’ll kill you; the same goes for the desert as well. Hiding amongst the golden sands, she is a blur, every bit a mirage as anything the heat waves or dust-storms can create. As much at home under the blistering Sun or the freezing Moon, the sandwraith has left her desert dwelling to join the Pact against the Elder Dragons.

(Author’s Note: I recognized almost immediately the inherent flaw in this character class, and it’s her regionalism. You wouldn’t readily expect a Sylvari sandwraith, and it seems incompatible with the Norns of the north. However, the reason I did not abandoned it is for potential expansions in the future; it could come with the opening of the Crystal Desert region, for example, and sometimes a regional class can be refreshingly different.)

Playstyle Summary: The sandwraith embodies the desert home from which they hail. Empowered by the elimination of enemies, their Deadly Dance combines exotic grace with deadly precision. Biting sands bleed and blind their victims, mirages and duststorms confound their enemies, and the extreme temperatures burn and chill the flesh; the sandwraith is as dangerous as the environment they have come to master.

This is the Class for You, if You: want someone as fast as the Thief, albeit more graceful in attacking; a true whirlwind of death. Personifying the dangerous desert appeals to you.

Profession Mechanic: Deadly Dance

The sandwraith gains power with each foe she fells, gathering momentum as the battle swings further in her favor. Each kill fuels the passionate flames, until she has reached the pinnacle of her dance of death. At this time, it could be said the sandwraith has become the personification of the desert itself; a true Dust Devil.

With each enemy defeated, the sandwraith fills one of her sand orbs, of which there are five. As long as one of the orbs has sand in it, she can expend every orb to become the Dust Devil; the more orbs filled at the time of the transformation, the longer she remains in that form. As the Dust Devil, the sandwraith benefits from a constant pulsing evasion/distortion effect, and radiates a dust-cloud that bleeds nearby enemies with each pulse. She can spend the sand orbs early and often to continuously benefit, or store them, using them all at once for critical moments, to devastate her opponents.

Weapons: A sandwraith fights with grace, acrobatically twirling, flipping, and spinning in an awe-inspiring display; beauty disguising the danger within. She appears to dance from enemy to enemy, and as such prefers weaponry that does not hinder her momentum, or upset the established rhythm. Slow, clunky melee weapons (Hammers, Maces) are avoided in favor of slashing blades, weapons that can be fired in motion (pistols, chakrams) are to the sandwraith’s benefit over those more methodical in nature (bows, rifles). She does not shy away from magic, however; the dancer takes any advantage to overcome her opponent.

Two-Handed Weapons
Scythe —> multitarget attacks, bleeding swipes
Staff --> magical support, focusing on debilitating others with blinds, etc
Greatsword —> maintaining movement, burning leap

Main-Hand Weapons
Sword —> burns singular targets, mirage-trick
Dagger --> chilling swipe, single-target debilitating
Chakram —> bleeds and blind nearby foes

Off-Hand Weapons
Dagger —> crippling throw, dodging
Chakram --> burning shroud, launching uppercut
Pistol —> blinding shot, screening dust-cloud

Underwater Weapons
Spear —> chills enemies, opening them up to bleeding
Trident --> blinds and burns targets

Utility Skills emphasize the dangers of the desert: the climate and its extreme temperatures; the blinding and biting sand that fills it; the mirages that confound those trapped within, and the dangerous creatures that inhabit the desert, characterized in the form of exotic dances.

Elite Skills:
(10) Heat Wave —> push + burning pulses
(10) Twirling Tempest --> pulls enemies in, grants retaliation; multi-attack
(30) Sandstorm —> massive blindness, bleeding AoE pulse

Traits:
Scorpion (Power, Condition Duration)
—> Focusing on the Greatsword and Sword, Climate skills
Snake (Precision, Critical Damage)
—> Focusing on the Scythe and Chakrams, Dance skills
Armadillo (Toughness, Boon Duration)
—> Focusing on Daggers and the Staff, Sand skills
Jackal (Vitality, Healing Power)
—> Focusing on general defense, evasion, and Mirage skills
Wraith (Dust-Devil length, Condition Damage)
—> Focusing on blinding, damaging conditions, Deadly Dance

Example of Utility Skills and Major Trait Bonuses

The Kineticist

Utility Skills:
Force —> Blow-Back Shield (block the next attack or reflect projectile, knockback the enemy who targeted you)
Diversion --> Implosion (“explode”, damaging enemies, before reappearing at target location)
Conversion —> Ripple Effect (Grant Quickness to all allies in the area of effect, but they are afflicted with an incurable Immobilize)
Charge --> Static Shock (the next attack dazes in a small AoE around target)

Traits:
Impact
—> Adept: Reserve Power (Charging skills last for additional strike)
—> Master: Vibrating Slice (Scythes and Axes inflict 10% more damage. Reduce the cooldown of Scythes and Axes by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Split Atoms (releasing a Stored Potential burns all surrounding enemies)

Momentum
—> Adept: Concussive Feedback (Diversion skills inflict damage both at the beginning and end. Reduce the cooldown of Diversion skills by 20%)
—> Master: Distortion Field (Evasion lingers for an additional second)
—> Grandmaster: Repulsive Barrier (Sword and Staff skills apply evasion while using an acrobatic technique. Staff and Sword skills recharge 20% faster)

Inertia
—> Adept: For Effect (Force skills apply 2 stacks of Might before activating)
—> Master: Forceful Blows (Hammers inflict an additional second of interruption. Reduce cooldown of Hammer skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Full Power (Force skills inflict 33% more damage)

Density
—> Adept: Impact Landing (Create a Force Pulse upon falling. Reduce falling damage 50%)
—> Master: Dense Aura (Conversion skills inflict Weakness on enemies who enter them)
—> Grandmaster: Purging Fields (positive Conversion skills cure all ally conditions, negative Conversion skills remove all enemy boons)

Potential
—> Adept: Piercing Energy (+5% Critical Chance with Dagger skills)
—> Master: Electron Pulse (releasing a Stored Potential briefly dazes nearby enemies)
—> Grandmaster: Internal Battery (25% chance of a Stored Potential not being lost upon release)

Kite.2510:

Dragoons are supposed to be mounted infantry.
The whole “Jumping” thing came from the Final Fantasy games.

If they make Jumping dragoon, then they’ll be copying Final Fantasy.
If they make a mounted dragoon, then they’ll be adding mounts to the game.
The gameplay sounded fun though…

My entire case to persuade you comes down to a simple phrase: so what? lol

I wanted the dragoon to incorporate both aspects of the class, coming from the history as a mounted warrior, and the Final Fantasy interpretation of a leaping combatant. Mounts will never make it into this game, at least in my opinion, so obviously a dedicated mounted warrior is out. Even though the central idea may come from Final Fantasy, the premise still consists of what appears to be an incredibly fun class to play as: Jumping across the battlefield, applying a host of buffs you Prepared in advance while Analyzing your enemy’s weakness, inflicting a series of devastating Polearm attacks, and then finishing off your opponent with a Takedown.

Pardon my French, but that sounds kitten-ing awesome, Final Fantasy or otherwise.

(They’re going to edit it anyway, so I put in the “kitten” first hehe)

Class Utility and Major Trait Examples
I couldn’t include them because of the word count’s limitations, so I have placed them all here as a summary:

The Dragoon

Utility Skills:
Maneuverability —> Flaming Charge (charge with lance, burning and knockback to enemies in line)
Takedown --> Coup de Grace (knockdown, followed by auto-critical damage)
Preparation —> Maintain Discipline! (prepared first, grants AoE stability, vigor, and protection)
Analysis --> Weak Link (heavy vulnerability, weakness on single target)

Traits:
Determination
—> Adept: Here I Come! (Gain 3? 5? stacks of Might after using a 2H weapon’s leaping skill)
—> Master: Salt in the Wound (takedown skills first apply five stacks of Vulnerability before damage)
—> Grandmaster: Commander’s Rage (two-handed attacks have +20% critical damage)

Timing
—> Adept: Targeted Effect (Analysis skills last 33% longer)
—> Master: Sundering Strikes (Axe skills inflict double the original number of vulnerability stacks. Reduce the cooldown of Axe skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Demoralize (Analysis skills become AoE)

Discipline
—> Adept: Opportune Moment (gain three stacks of Might upon switching away from a Rifle or Harpoon Gun)
—> Master: Reel Them In (Rifles and Harpoon Guns pull targets 50% more effectively)
—> Grandmaster: Charismatic Presence (Preparation skills last twice as long after use)

Resolve
—> Adept: Falling Sky (activate Flaming Dive upon falling. Reduce fall damage by 50%)
—> Master: Reverberation (Warhorn skills have a 33% greater area of effect. Reduce the cooldown of Warhorn skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Refusal to Quit (Shield skills grant Protection and Vigor with each use)

Mobility
—> Adept: Focused Landing (gain Protection upon using a Maneuverability skill)
—> Master: Sunbeam (Jumps inflict AoE burning upon landing, on top of anyother effects)
—> Grandmaster: Powerful Legs (Maneuverability skills can go 33% farther)

The Battlemonk

Utility Skills:
Grace —> Uplifting Boon (dodge away, heal and remove a condition)
Stance --> Dragon’s Rage (next five attacks inflict burning)
Spirit —> Blue Dragon Palm (straight damage in cone AoE)
Discipline --> Focus Your Fury! (grant Might, Fury, Swiftness to allies)

Traits:
Focus
—> Adept: Momentum (Stance skills grant one stack of might with each applied strike)
—> Master: Practiced Movements (Stance skills grant an additional attack use)
—> Grandmaster: Burning Resolve (burning inflicted by skills is 33% more effective)

Agility
—> Adept: Blur of Movement (Using a Grace skill grants Vigor after use)
—> Master: Renewed Purpose (Off-Hand skills grant Vigor after use. Off-Hand skill cooldowns are reduced by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Cold-Tempered Blade (Sword skills inflict [a light amount of] chilling)

Perseverance
—> Adept: Maintain Composure (Gain +X Toughness after interrupting a foe)
—> Master: Forceful Smack (Staff skills inflict one additional second of interruption. Reduce cooldown of Staff skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Conviction (Spirit skills inflict 25% more damage)

Willpower
—> Adept: Pillar of the Team (granting a boon to an ally applies Protection to self)
—> Master: Channel Inward (gain Regeneration anytime Protection is applied on you)
—> Grandmaster: Desire to Protect All (using a Discipline skill heals you)

Spirit
—> Adept: Inner Strength (Grant 2 stacks of Might upon using a Ki Ability)
—> Master: Whirlwind of Death (Gain +100 Condition Damage while wielding a Scythe. Reduce the cooldown of Scythe skills by 20%)
—> Grandmaster: Zenith (Ki Abilities inflict 50% more damage)

Edit: Word count prevents me from adding the Kineticist. See below.

Alayto.2483:

The Chakram and You! A New Weapon for Old Classes

Regardless of profession used, the Chakram provide attacks that strike an area. It doesn’t deal much damage per strike, but can apply it’s damage to multiple targets.

Potential Classes, and the Possible Use for the Chakram:

Elementalist: For the Elementalist the chakram is an off-hand weapon with a strong emphasis on support. It provides a “fire&forget”-spell that protects the elementalist for a short time or a ranged spell that sends it after a single enemy for a short time. The fire!chakram will pulse burning, the water!chakram will pulse healing, the air!chakram will zip around randomly inflicting daze and the earth!chakram will slowly circle and grind for direct damage.

Mesmer: The Mesmer can use the chakram as main-hand and off-hand weapon. The main-hand chakram offers a bouncing medium-ranged ranged attack (with a clone of the same capability) and skills which inflict randomly burning or chilling and protect with retribution, the off-hand chakram offers close-combat whirl-attacks and bleeding (with a phantasm that deals self-centered medium-ranged multiple-hit aoe-attacks with very low damage but chance to apply and stack confusion with each hit).

Thief: The thief uses the chakram as main-hand and off-hand ranged weapon. Damage is low, but it consumes low amounts of initiative and skills add “evade backwards”, “cripple enemy” or “gain stealth”-effects often. Stealth!chakram causes knockdown, dual!chakram multiple attacks with a chance to trigger daze on each.

An excellent use of the Chakram! I thought of a similar idea earlier, but I let it slide. I’m glad I did

Chakrams in my mind are for rapid AoE; low damage per hit, but general mayhem for all involved. Burning, bleeding, poison; these would be everywhere and on everything. My love for Chakrams came from Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, being a Shadowblade (Thief/Mage). My blades could poison and burn all targets, inflicting the panic effect so I could get automatic criticals. It was beautiful.

And I appreciate the love, using my layout for your idea

Fair enough, Nekroseth

Since I’ve been busy tearing down your idea, it seems only fair that I give you the opportunity to tear down mine:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Detailed-New-Profession-Suggestions/first#post1064250

I would greatly appreciate your (or others’) opinion on my ideas, and encourage you to add your own! (Although I guess that would be a double-post lol)

As you’ve said, it does appear that they listen/read what we have to say, so the only way to have our voices heard is to speak up. And despite what I’ve said regarding your suggestion, I can still hope that you (or I) are lucky enough to have our ideas brought into the game

LunarDeLuna.4123:

Its a bit hard to use a polearm with 1 hand. But why not javelin?

IMO thief with melee 2h weapon isnt good idea.

Also for battlemonk – scythe is a dervish weapon. Why cant we give them big metal knuckles or gloves? Or glaives [as in big chakram-like knives for close combat]

Polearm, Javelin, Spear, Pike, Halberd; they’re all names for essentially the same thing. It is just a class of weapons, of which I took one of them to denote as the subtype name; it could be anything, really, although we’d want to avoid using spear for obvious reasons.

I thought of battle-gloves, but I didn’t want people to become confused by why it doesn’t count as armor, was this a weapon battle-glove or an armor-glove, etc.; it sounded like it would be too confusing. I was trying to avoid calling the dragoon’s polearm a spear for the same reason, to avoid confusion with the underwater weapon.

I honestly didn’t think of something like a glaive, but that’s a pretty awesome idea. My reasons for assigning the scythe to the battlemonk were two-fold:

1. The battlemonk would be seen as GW2’s reworking of the original Dervish, into a Soldier class to change things up
2. I badly want the scythe to come back!

If I thought I could get away with two new weapons coming from a single class, I would definitely introduce the glaive into the mix.

I enjoyed your thoroughly-detailed and well thought out class suggestion. As a fellow “competitor” in the profession-ideas business, I sincerely hope your idea doesn’t make it into the game (just kidding :P)

If I may be so bold as to plug myself, I have created three new class ideas of my own, with a similarly-detailed summary of what they are capable of. I would be quite appreciative if you (or anyone else) could take a look and perhaps tell me what you think:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Detailed-New-Profession-Suggestions/first#post1064250

Light – The Kineticist, Energy Personified (Symbol: dark purple spiral galaxy)

Lore Summary: Of the various magical professions in Tyria, a common theme appears. Of the three (Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer), each creates and wields its power from established sources: an elementalist seeks to harness the powers of creation and nature itself, Mesmers confound theirs enemies by playing with the mind, and the necromancer is the master of life and death. To the prideful Kineticists, this is too easy, too simple. A kineticist creates from nothing, harnessing raw energy and channeling it into his weapons and body for devastating displays of explosive force. Eager to demonstrate their powers to the world, they have come to Tyria to direct their awesome abilities against the greatest threat known: the Elder Dragons.

Playstyle Summary: To be perfectly honest, a Kineticist is quite similar to the character of Gambit, from the X-Men. Capable of infusing their Stored Potential into weapons for truly awe-inspiring effects, a kineticist uses a form of telekinesis to direct them in unique ways, and creates energy forms to batter and blast their opponents without ever making physical contact. To them, it is of no small amount of pride that they have learned to do what others cannot, and they look for any and all opportunities to show off their abilities.

This is the Class for You, if You: are looking for a mage-class that is more…explosive in nature. Interrupting your enemy with knockbacks, pulls, and launches makes you smile.

Profession Mechanic: Stored Potential
Displayed as five? six? orbs above the weapon hotbar, the kineticist can release his Stored Potential energy to amplify his next attack. By expending one of his charges, the following skill does more: more damage, greater interruptions, longer durations of conditions/buffs, etc. It is up to the kineticist to time the use of this ability effectively: the Stored Potential only recharges outside of combat, when he is at “rest”. During prolonged encounters, timing this becomes even more imperative.

Weapons: The kineticist tries to utilize weapons in different ways, in an effort to throw off opponents and demonstrate their impressive skill. A kineticist relies primarily on maneuverability to evade attacks, and so tends to avoid purely-defensive weapons. And as he already has the power throw energy projectiles (or melee weapons as projectiles), the kineticist doesn’t necessarily benefit from ranged weapons.

Two-Handed Weapons
Staff —> acrobatic sweeps, trips, and spins
Hammer --> forceful interruption attacks, energy hammers erupting from the ground
Scythe (see Battlemonk; The Scythe and You) —> rending energy strikes, multiattacks

Main Hand Weapons
Sword —> acrobatics, pulling target closer, blade copies
Axe --> Rending attacks, blow-back chop (launch)
Scepter —> hovers to create floating beam turrets, energy bombs
Dagger --> long-range throwing, raining daggers

Off-Hand Weapons
Pistol —> bouncing shots, dodge-and-fire
Dagger --> blade wall-barrier, crippling wave

Underwater Weapons
Spear —> mobility, energy spikes, repulsion bubble
Trident --> energy beams, AoE burst attacks

Utility Skills:
The kineticist’s additional moveset emphasizes powerful energy waves and force blasts, diversions for quick escapes or attacks of opportunity, conversion skills to create positive (buffing) or negative (condition) effect-fields, and the ability to charge his energy for attack-effects or additional Stored Potential powers.

Elite Skills:
(10) Supernova —> slowly growing PBAoE mega-explosion
(10) Wave Collapse --> targetable “black hole” AoE pull + knockdown
(30) Critical Mass —> Stored Potential does not empty for a time

Traits:
Impact (Power, Condition Duration)
—> Focusing on Scythes and Axes, charging skills
Momentum (Precision, Boon Duration)
—> Focusing on Swords and Staves, evasion, diversion skills
Inertia (Toughness, Condition Damage)
—> Focusing on the Hammer and Scepter, force skills
Density (Vitality, Healing Power)
—> focusing on Conversion skills, healing, general defense
Potential (Stored amplification, Critical Damage)
—> Focusing on Daggers, stored effects

The Scythe and You! A New Weapon for Old Classes

The unifying characteristics of the scythe are its speed and penchant for attacks that strike multiple targets. Such attacks are generally medium-range and physical in nature, even when employed by classes with a magical focus. Scythes are primarily aggressive weapons, and focus on the affliction of damage and conditions. They are a two-handed weapon.

Potential Classes, and the Possible Use of the Scythe:

Elementalist: An aggressive medium between the Staff’s long-range AoE and the Dagger’s up-close power, the scythe is average in its effective range and damage output, with a variety of close-, medium-, and long-range skills. Fire allows for fiery spins and flaming uppercuts, Air provides a vertical, forward-spin and launching wind-blasts, Earth employs knockdown slams and eruption waves, and Water has chilling sweeps and healing spins.

Necromancer: A long-range casting weapon, more aggressive than the Staff and its marks. This provides the necromancer with a more “nuker”-style offensive moveset while still inflicting a host of conditions (or perhaps some additional life-stealing opportunities).

Dragoon: Faster than his iconic polearm, it also completely lacks any form of leaping attack, meaning it’s designed for a dragoon that doesn’t intend to leave his spot of land until all around him lies dead at his feet.

Thief: The thief would acquire either the polearm or the scythe, but not both. They are intended to assist in throwing off the enemy by changing the tempo of combat.

Guardian: Similar in goal to the scythe in the hands of the necromancer, this would provide the guardian a stronger, more aggressive ranged offense. A Staff is for long-range support; a Scythe is for long-range killing.

Heavy – The Battlemonk, Master of the Self (Symbol: white clenched-fist)

Lore Summary: Hidden away in the Shiverpeak Mountains, a group of disciplined warriors have learned to move with speed and grace, even while covered in heavy adornments. These battlemonks channel their inner spiritual energy – their Ki – to do seemingly-impossible things; abilities usually withheld to the realms of divinity or sorcery. With the threat of the Elder Dragons, these masters of body and mind have abandoned their hermit lifestyle and returned to the world…ready.

Playstyle Summary: A battlemonk fights with incredible speed and agility, inflicting multiple hits before the enemy even realized it has been struck in the first place. They utilize the newest weapon – the scythe – for incredibly acrobatic sweeps, spins, and trips. They channel their Ki into their weapons and/or themselves directly, to create elemental powers and conditions on their strikes, or even the cleansing of effects and the healing of wounds on themselves or possibly others.

This is the Class for You, if You: seriously miss the old Monk and Dervish classes, or the Scythe in particular. You want to play a Monk in Diablo III, but think they are terribly underpowered.

Profession Mechanic: Ki Abilities
As a battlemonk grows in experience, she is able to harness the power inside her to do wondrous things. She has available a selection of Ki abilities, from which she can choose from to denote as her F1-F4 skills. The battlemonk acquires more as she levels up, furthering the player’s opportunity to customize the moveset to fit his/her playstyle. The player can potentially pick a skill to offset a weakness in their build, to acquire access to an aspect of combat they have neglected, or maybe to double-down on their established moveset.

Examples of potential Ki Ability ideas:
Thunderclap: cone AoE daze
Jet Stream: grants swiftness, charges forward
Strength of Will: repulsion bubble, inflicting knockback
Conviction: automatically heals X% after falling to a certain percentage of health.

Weapons: A battlemonk looks inward to gain strength, and thus denies the use of magical weapons in combat. Modern weapons are similarly avoided, finding that even the more traditional weapons can be put to devastating use (or as a testament to their isolation from the world). A battlemonk’s combat style focuses on speed, mobility, and multihit attacks, so most slower weapons (like the hammer) are also not used.

A New Weapon Has Appeared: the Scythe!
A return of the scythe, now wielded by the powerful battlemonk. Used for graceful sweeps, spins, and slashes, an old weapon becomes infused with new life at the hands of the master.

Two-Handed Weapons:
Scythe —> fast AoE sweeps, inflicting bleeding and other conditions
Polearm (see Dragoon; The Polearm and You)--> unsubtle power attacks, slowest speed
Staff —> melee weapon, single target dazes/stuns and interrupts
Shortbow --> dodging while firing, crippling targets

Main Hand Weapons
Axe —> power chops, inflicting burning and bleeding
Sword --> fast multistrikes, great mobility
Mace —> inflicts weakness and vulnerability, interrupts

Off-Hand Weapons
Sword —> counterattacks, chilling slice
Dagger --> crippling throw, multistrike thrust

Underwater Weapons
Spear —> fast jabs and sweeps, great mobility
Trident --> channels inner power to attack target

Utility Skills:
The battlemonk’s additional moveset emphasizes grace, with dodges and evades, stances that apply additional effects to attacks, spirit skills that channel power into damaging abilities, and discipline skills that provide buffs for the battlemonk and her allies.

Elite Skills
(10) Physical Limit —> brief quickness, fury, and swiftness
(10) Ten-Thousand Fists --> teleportation to target, fast AoE multiattack
(30) Enlightenment —> enter the “Avatar” form, gaining new spirit powers and constant stability

Traits:
Focus (Power, Condition Duration)
—> Focusing on Axes and Polearms, stance skills
Agility (Precision, Critical Damage)
—> Focusing on evasion, Swords and Daggers, grace skills
Perseverance (Toughness, Healing Power)
—> Focusing on Staves and Maces, spirit skills
Willpower (Vitality, Boon Duration)
—> Focusing on healing, general defense, discipline skills
Spirit (Ki Cooldown, Condition Damage)
—> Focusing on Scythes, Ki Abilities

The Polearm and You! A New Weapon for Old Classes

The unifying characteristics of the polearm are its slower speed, balanced by greater damage. A polearm generally lacks in additional effects such as conditions, focusing on unsubtle, brutal strike-offense. Note that only a dragoon has training in wielding the polearm with one hand; for all others, a polearm is a two-handed weapon.

Potential Classes, and the Possible Use for the Polearm:

Warrior: A slow but powerful throwing weapon. It lacks the rifle’s crowd control, and the bow’s AoE, but it makes up for these in heavy damage against single targets.

Thief: A curious choice, the thief benefits from the polearm by creating a change in the combat’s established tempo, moving from speed and agility to unrestrained fury.

Ranger: Rangers currently lack a close-range weapon that allows them to defend themselves without relying on mobility/dodging. The polearm would see to that.

Engineer: an electrically-charged “boomstick”, this weapon provides the engineer his own opportunity to wade into the fray for an aggressive melee offensive.

Heavy – The Dragoon, Commander of the Skies (Symbol: dark blue spear pointed down)

Lore Summary: Dragoons are disciplined front-line soldiers, and capable commanders of the battlefield. It is in the dragoon’s training in the art of war that has honed their mind with thoughts on strategy, preparing for the battles to come and analyzing potential weaknesses in their enemy. It is in the dragoon’s experience against powerful beasts that they have honed their bodies into lethal instruments of battle, capable of devastating strikes. The dragoons have come to Tyria for a singular purpose, to lead the charge in taking down the greatest of monsters: the Elder Dragons.

Playstyle Summary: Utilizing the newest weapon – the polearm – to devastating effect, a dragoon takes advantage of singular, powerful strikes and high mobility to maintain a constant presence on the battlefield. Their Jump mechanic allows them to quickly enter and exit the fray, closing in on targets before opening up their defenses and taking them down with heavy burst damage. While it can be said that a dragoon lacks in subtlety, it’s never a good idea to say that to his face.

This is the Class for You, if You: like to get to the action quickly and intelligently. The idea of being a high-flyer is appealing. When I say “Kain”, you know exactly who I’m referring to.

Profession Mechanic: Jump
In the heat of battle, a dragoon is prepared to perform a powerful leaping strike onto his target, inflicting AoE damage at his ending location. For as long as the dragoon remains in combat, his Jump meter continuously fills with time. The bar consists of stages, and the dragoon can initiate a Jump at any of the three; the higher the stage at the time of the Jump, the more effective his leap will be. The dragoon will/can go farther, fly faster, and inflict more damage to those unfortunate enough to be in the landing zone. As a fight progresses on, a dragoon can rely on his Jump multiple times, for positioning or to maintain pressure.

Weapons: A dragoon is a front-line soldier; the first to engage and the last to retreat. As such, a dragoon focuses almost entirely on a melee offense. A distinct lack in range is overcome by the dragoon’s mobility through leaps, and he compensates for a magical deficiency with an increased physical ferocity.

A New Weapon Has Appeared: the Polearm!
The newest addition to the Guild Wars 2 armory has a special place in the dragoon’s arsenal. They are capable of using halberds, javelins, pikes, and spears in different ways depending on how they hold them. Held with two hands, a dragoon wields his polearm for power, inflicting singular, devastating thrusts, sweeps, throws, and chops. However, when used in the main hand in combination with a shield or warhorn in the off-hand, a polearm becomes about speed, with swift flurries of stabs and pinpoint strikes. In a way, changing a shield/warhorn in and out completely changes the dragoon’s entire moveset, due to his shifting tactics with the polearm.

Weapon Summary:

Two-Handed Weapons:
Polearm —> singular, powerful strikes, emphasizing pure damage
Hammer --> crushes armor, creates opportunities with interrupts and closing distance
Rifle —> Acts as a harpoon gun, to cripple/immobilize targets and pull them in

Main-Hand Weapons
Polearm —> flurry of stabs, jumping strikes, and targeted thrust
Sword --> defensive maneuvering, counterattacks
Axe —> powerful chops, destroying armor

Off-Hand Weapons
Shield —> Phalanx defense, barriers
Warhorn --> dazing shout-blast, swiftness + fury buff

Underwater Weapons
Spear —> thrusts, swipes; singular but powerful strikes
Harpoon Gun --> crippling/immobilizing/interrupting attacks, to close distance

Utility Skills:
The dragoon’s additional moveset emphasizes maneuverability with leaps and dodges, takedowns which act as powerful finishers, preparation skills that ready buffs in advance, and analysis skills which open up enemy defenses and create opportunities.

Elite Skills:
(10) Smite —> leap for massive AoE attack for critical damage to all enemies
(10) Commander’s Presence --> a perfect shield wall, blocking all attacks and enemies from hitting dragoon or allies from the front
(30) Climatic Moment —> go invulnerable with heavy offensive buffing for a time, then down/die at the end

Traits:
Determination (Power, Critical Damage)
—> Focusing on two-handed melee weapons, takedown skills
Timing (Precision, Condition Duration)
—> Focusing on main hand weapons, analyze skills
Discipline (Toughness, Boon Duration)
—> Focusing on ranged weapons, preparation skills
Resolve —> (Vitality, Healing Power)
--> Focusing on off-hand weapons, general defense
Mobility (Jump Fill Rate, Condition Damage)
—> Focusing on Jumps, maneuverability skills

Threads about new class ideas are certainly numerous, but only a small few of them seem to have truly in-depth details about how the hypothetical profession actually functions. While they may provide a generalization of what the class is about (and hopefully they’ll point out what the profession mechanic is), the weapon selection, utility/elite/healing skills and trait lines are usually not fleshed out or even brought up.

I am not trying to disrespect their suggestions, or decry them as being invalid because they lack detail, but I feel it might be difficult to take the idea seriously or provide genuine constructive input if the concept lacks a foundation from which to work from.

I would like this thread to become a listing of new profession suggestions, fleshed-out in detail — with enough information to effectively point out what the character does, what weapons they have at their disposal, and how they can go about doing…whatever it is that they do. The more detailed they are, I think the more seriously they can be discussed as potential additions to the game.

Note that when a new weapon is introduced, additional information should be included (or a post should follow) providing details in regard to incorporating them into the “older” professions. The new guy/girl can’t hog it all to him-/herself!

With that in mind, I would like to submit three new professions of my design, starting with:

Edit: Do to the word count limitations, I couldn’t provide examples of each class’ utility skills or major trait bonuses in the parent post. Each one tries to follow immediately afterward.

Edit2: I’m up to six profession-ideas now. I fully encourage others to join in on submitting their class suggestions; don’t let me have all the fun!

Kuraikoto.1957:

I hope they rework some of the existing weapon skills before they add another class though.

I think that is the penultimate point I would like to demonstrate; the OP can have the ranged nuker he wants through the retooling of existing weapons, or the introduction of new ones. Adding this theoretical new class would be damaging, in my opinion…

…although I would like to see a third Soldier profession eventually
(OCD number-balancing: 2/3/3 messes with me lol)

The rest of your post made some very valid points, but I’m going to hold off for now and let some of the others weigh in on what I’ve said as well.

Nekroseth.5186:

Second, i dont want to get in a quarrel abaut this, but balance? Whell i dont think there is anything to base on it. Some might say “it would be to powerfull or unbalanced” , but in fact, Necromancers are bugged to insanity, Guardians are half immortal. Bunker builds win the 70% of PvP matches. Thief-s have an insanely op Heartseeker. And so on.

There is no balance yet, so i dont agree on the topic it would be to powerfull only because it has higher armor then an Elementalist, but can nuke in a similar way.

I am not trying to be combative, either, but the perception of no-balance should not be cause for the dismissal of a balance-based argument.

Even if Guild Wars 2 lacked said balance, I don’t think it would help to let another unbalanced class enter the fray. That would seemingly add to the problem; you shouldn’t take a sledgehammer to an already-cracked foundation.

I am not arguing that Guild Wars 2 is or is not balanced, but that I believe my points maintain their justification regardless.

Nekroseth.5186:

I must state, that based on history Dervish do wear light armor. Basically no armor at all, they ware simply clothed up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dervish

Perhaps it would be easier if I didn’t call it a Dervish; the theoretical heavy-Dervish could readily be called something else in the process of its overhauling; the Assassin isn’t exactly around anymore, but we have the Thief to take its place, right?

But anyway…

“Balanced” is a strong word, and it comes with certain large expectations. I by no means am saying that a battlemage concept cannot be done; in Skyrim they’re rather enjoyable to play, and if such a class existed in GW2 I would try it out for sure. But I don’t have to worry about balance in Skyrim because it’s a single-player game; in GW2, the opposition needs a (in a perfect world, equal) fighting chance of besting such a class. And I do not readily see it.

Kuraikoto.1957:

Rifle warrior… no heavy armor and range damage, eh? Clearly it just breaking the game to have such a thing.

You can have a heavy do ranged damage and still balance it… you don’t give them the damage of the light armor or you don’t give them as much control/avoidance that way both have high survivability (albeit different methods) or high damage and low survivability (depending on stats/traits.) Play a heavy armor class without much toughness/vit the armor doesn’t do so much in that case.

I don’t think I said heavy + ranged couldn’t be done, but a Warrior’s rifle is a single-target weapon, and dropping people is not its primary purpose. If we are talking about a long-range nuker-esque class with heavy armor, their primary purpose is death-at-a-distance, and the heavy armor tips the scales in their favor. They would have the ranged offensive potential of a Staff-Elementalist (or better), without the lighter armor; that doesn’t seem particularly fair.

Kuraikoto.1957:

edit Also casters aren’t limited to ranged only… D/D elementalist isn’t nuking from the back. Can be fun and survive crazy amounts of people coming after it as well, not the easiest to play though.

I don’t think I said caster are limited to being singularly ranged characters, either, but this demonstrates part of my point:

If a caster wearing lighter armor engages in melee-combat, they are doing so at bodily risk by way of less defense; a light caster versus a heavy soldier in melee combat would be, theoretically, an uphill battle; the armor difference would tip the scales toward the heavy, unless the caster had additional offense to compensate. This is designed-as-intended, for the most part anyway, because a heavy cannot effectively compete against the caster at a distance, with their greater mobility and higher ranged damage. There are exceptions to this, of course, but the general layout of a perfect-world balanced game is: light versus heavy, close = heavy; light versus heavy, far = light.

But if the caster was also a heavy, then you’ve upended the system. Now a caster can stand his ground at close range, his chances of a success increased by removing the compensating-weakness the lesser armor created. But the ranged-battle remains in the caster’s corner, as well (and perhaps even more so), because he has not lost anything in the process. A melee-heavy cannot win against a heavy-caster from a distance, and he’s lost his defensive advantage when he closes said distance. And remember: a close-ranged fighter cannot use his melee abilities at range, but the truth does not hold in reverse. A battlemage can cast a fireball from 1200 just as easily and readily as she can from 20; the warrior cannot swing his sword at 1200 as he needs to at 20.

I am not trying to tear down this idea with malicious abandon, nor am I trying to dismiss it solely for the favor of my tangential-idea above. But the critical question of balance/fairness comes into play when “that would be a cool idea” starts entering a competitive gaming system. All things being equal, without additional compensation or the introduction of balancing-weaknesses, a primarily-ranged nuker-heavy readily wins against a primarily-melee soldier-heavy. A ranged nuker-heavy would also readily win against a ranged nuker-light as well. That is what I mean when I say it is not balanced.

This idea is great in theory, but in my opinion it is not compatible with Guild Wars 2.

Nekroseth.5186:

Necro has alredy way to many melee and medium range skills, i would propably reroll totally. If i play a caster class i want to be ranged. It is quite bad sour for my taste alredy anyway. No thy.

Good call. I was just throwing out ideas; whatever came off the cuff.

A Necro wielding a scythe could also be a long-ranged offensive weapon, versus their Staff skills (which are more support based; I really do not like the Marks, and that’s all the Staff is). This would provide you a window into a ranged-nuker, as you preferred.

Not to be a buzz-kill, but the idea of the Chronomancer making an appearance in Guild Wars 2 has already been shot down

http://www.onlinewelten.com/games/guild-wars-2/interviews/arenanet-im-interview-teil-2-4666/seite-6/ —> About a third of the way down the page

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Professions_reveal —> Italicized for emphasis

I like the battlemage-concept of a heavy who uses spells and long-ranged attacks, but I think they’re well represented in the lower armor categories; the ability to effectively attack at range is balanced by wearing lighter clothing, for maneuverability and positioning. A battlemage in this game could nuke you from a distance with offensive spells, single and AoE, while simultaneously tanking return-fire through her heavy armor. Cool in theory, but that doesn’t sound particularly balanced.

That’s why I am rather partial towards the heavy-Dervish idea. Dervish rely on close-range speed and almost a dancing-style of sweeps, spins, and acrobatic assaults. Does it make sense for that to be in heavy armor? Not entirely, but you could argue that an isolated group of monks hidden away in the Shiverpeak Mountains had discovered through rigorous training how to move so effectively in heavy adornments. They are balanced by a lack of ranged (as the other Heavys rightly are), while focusing on speed/grace (versus the Warrior’s physical power/defense, and the Guardian’s magical support/righteous fury).

…and they used scythes in the last game, and I really want to see them make a return!

I shall not be denied!!

Edit: …I went off-topic again, didn’t I? Sorry :/

And while we’re speaking in hypotheticals, I want to play as a polar bear!

I will be a Kodan heavy-Dervish named “Frost of the Morn(ing)”, utilizing a scythe for medium-to-close AoE physical attacks and a Staff for close-range chilling and interruption effects! My build will emphasize rapid weapon-switching, relying on the Staff for CC and keeping my enemies close with knockdowns and chills, and swapping for the scythe to quickly deal chunk AoE damage through spin attacks and sweeps. His stat allocation will focus on Emeralds (Prec, Tgh/Pwr), and his colors will be white, icy-blue, and black.

(spaces out in day-dreaming) Yes…I can see it now….

Kaimick.5109:

yeah Dervish if and when they introduce them cross fingers will probably be a medium armor class as they were in GW1

Perhaps they’ll revamp the Dervish into having Heavy Armor, while maintaining a sense of speed and mobility?

As for the words above about battle-staves…they’re called scythes. Boom, you’ve got yourself a third heavy class that uses a combat staff: the Dervish cometh once more!!

Then add the scythe to some of the other classes:
Guardian (for mobile burning, possibly ranged physical damage?) —> Angel of Death
Ideas: PBAoE burning spin (where the weapon spins around you on its own), burning slices, launching uppercut, Symbol of the Flame, leaping-dash that grants Might, fear-wave

Necromancer (for close range AoE melee?) —> Fear the Reaper
Ideas: Ghastly swarm (sweeps the scythe sideways, summoning ghosts that seek targets), blood cloud (bleeding), rapid sweeping attacks, life-draining downward slice-and-drag

Elementalist (D/D-esque damage, now with a longer handle!) —> Shaman’s Fury
Ideas: Electric reverse-wave that pulls and Dazes, Earth bleeding eruption-sweep, Fire burning horizontal-boomerang, Water chilling PBAoE pummel-ground-stomp

Thief (2Handed offense support?) —> Stalker of the Shadows
Ideas: Shadowsteps toward/away from target, throw the scythe down a line, chilling wave, Smokecloud spin (causing blindness), Daze-ing pummel-smash, stealth-sweep

Done and done

Note: Pictures provided for brainstorming reference. It was harder than I thought to find usable images of scythe-combat; an under-appreciated weapon, I suppose (although its impractical nature in real life might have something to do with it). The final picture below is a joke-pic in regards to Necromancers, along with a nostalgic scythe-reference

Daedalus.3954:

long snip

Having never seen this post before in my life, I, by sheer coincidence, recreated it on my own. Powered by my disappointment with my original build (read: a mess), and my love for the Flame, I overhauled myself to become a Burning machine.

While I really enjoyed the damage-output of my greatsword (Khrysaor – aka "a poor man’s Dawn), in WvW and larger fights I really needed a ranged element. And so, sadly, I benched my GS for a Scepter/Focus. I also double-downed with my damage, creating a crit-friendly, burn-heavy Guardian who uses Spirit weapons for even more fire:

+10 Power
— Fiery Wrath

+30 Precision
— Signet Mastery or Shimmering Defense
— A Fire Inside
— Right-Hand Strength

+30 Virtue
— Improved Weapon Duration
— Supreme Justice
— Permeating Wrath

Beyond that, I use Purging Flames, Judge’s Intervention (this sounds familiar), and Sword of Justice. The word’s out on the spirit weapon’s effectiveness in aiding my damage-output; if it doesn’t aid much, I’ll have to throw it away for some defense instead.

A Final Note: I came here looking for information on the value of Permeating Wrath, to see if I really wanted it.

I was considering going +20 Virtue and putting the other ten points into Toughness, for Defender’s Flame (100% Burn chance when you block an attack): the Focus and Sword both have blocking attacks (Shield of Wrath and Zealot’s Defense, respectively), and I am under the impression the Aegis would work in my favor as well. I would lose the AoE burning, but it would aid my defense a bit, and I’d be able to continue the burning assault even while blocking.

Just looking for some thoughts on this idea, and general opinions on my changes to your build.

Thanks for your time, and sorry about my wordiness (and posting in your direction a full month after your post lol)

TXinTXe.7563:

I don’t know if this is in the game already, but if it isn’t it would be a good feature:
-Make the mail return to sender automatically if the receiver doesn’t open it in a reasonable amount of time (like 10 days or something).

You know, I was just thinking of that as well. If they’re gone for a long time (or maybe forever), your item(s) are lost to the void of that person’s mailbox, trapped in limbo.

New Idea: I’d like to see a “Trade Letter” option, one specifically designed for people who are trading dyes or whatever between themselves.

Currently, unless you know them or have reason to expect friendliness, “trading” with people directly is more akin to a hostage exchange: there’s no guarantee that after you give over your half that they’ll reciprocate. A letter option that prevents the item from being sent until the other guy lays his item on the table as well could resolve that.

robinsiebler.3801:

My 2 coppers – https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Mail-Improvements

This message was brought to you by a Kitten who can see the Search Button

I apologize. I did in fact search through the forums for a thread similar to my own, to avoid repetition. I did not see yours, so I made my own to express my feelings regarding the matter.

There’s no need to be rude, when we’re both in agreement anyway.

My main ideas came to me last night, while I was trying to send a friend a letter talking about some goings-on in “the outside world” (you know of the place, right?). I have two things I would like to see implemented into the Mail system, one an update and the other an addition:

1. The Word Count, Inbox limit

Because I like to “chat” and send mail in correct English, with all of that fancy punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and what-not, it tends to get quite wordy. The letter to my friend ended up having seven (7) installments, each one piece of the puzzle with the words “stupid word-count” at the bottom to indicate that there was more elsewhere. My verbose and multi-part letters can be partially attributed to one problem (the word count), and can lead to a completely different problem (Inbox-flooding).

- In regards to the word count, why doesn’t my letter reach the bottom of the Compose box? I run out of characters with about 40% of the page empty. If it is possible, I would recommend letter restrictions based around this standardized space, rather than a specific character limit. You have until you reach the bottom, and that’s that.

- In regards to the inbox-flooding, my seven installments ended up being the majority of his inbox. That left one slot for a letter from a different friend sending him a dye, and two spaces for some spam mail. Had I sent something longer, or some other kittenered him yet another chance to buy gold at an amazing price, I would have been out of luck, and the last part would have been left out.

Can the inbox be something larger, like twenty (20) spaces? Beyond my specific problem, a benefit I can see this creating is more space for Guild-leaders, who might have a ton of information coming at him/her from their allies, like grouping times, etc. Not everyone has a website to handle these things.

2. A Sent Folder

Because of said spam messages, my friend ended up pressing the delete button in a rapid succession he did not intend, and erased the final part of my message. I had to retype it, which was only a minor annoyance, but it could have been saved with a Sent folder. With that, I could have hit “Resend”, problem solved. Another benefit could go to the Guild-leaders I mentioned, wherein they could Forward the same message multiple times to different people, rather than having to type it again each time. That Guild “Message of the Day” can’t do everything, you know!

Now, I can see where a copy of a letter you sent to someone can be the gateway into a major problem, one of duplication. If my Sent folder tells me that I gave a Summer Sky dye to a friend, what’s stopping me from pulling it out of that letter, or resending to him, essentially creating two copies of the dye out of one? Well, I propose that the Sent letter have more of a summary style at the bottom, rather than the boxes to put items in. If you want to send new items, then you’ll have to send a new letter. If your friend loses the items (like if I had sent an item at the end of my letter), then I guess you’re out of luck. But for all other times, your letter would look like this:

“Blah blah blah, blah blah.”

Your friend, Mr. Person

You sent: [Mac-and-Cheese Dye] x 1
You sent: [Sword of a Thousand Truths] x 1
You sent: [Poisoned Cookie] x 37
—————————————————————————————————————

You could highlight them, perhaps, but the letter itself would no longer have a copy of your item, to prevent duping.

TL ; DR: I guess you’ll have to get over it, lazy bum.

Well, I guess that’s it. As you can see, I am rather long-winded when it comes to typing, and such ideas that I proposed would do me (and others) a big favor.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to offer my suggestion.

Kreit.4709:

chronometria.3708:

They wont “go back to wow” they will simply choose a different class that gives better results for less effort. They shouldnt have to do that.

I hate opinion “just pick another class”. Personally I (and many other people) want to play elemental mage, not curse/DoT user, not prestidigitator and not boring warrior-type class (I like guardian, because it’s semi-mage, but I hate his ranged attack). Anet said there will not be roles for each class. But elementalist is forced to play as support most time.

I have a level 80 Guardian (Greatsword/Mace+Shield), and I find Elementalist quite different to an enjoyable extent, because the Guardian was quite frankly rather boring to play. For context, I normally play mages in fantasy/RPG games (D&D sorcerer all the way), but I am finding the Elementalist to be a difficult experience versus the usual.

To hear someone say “pick another class” really angers me, as an elemental-mage IS my go-to class. If I “should’ve” picked a different profession I would have from the outset, but I want to play an Elementalist, and without leaving 76% of my blood on the field after every fight.

And what if I don’t want to be a glass-cannon? Maybe I want to tank by focusing away from Fire, and relying on the other three? As I am currently learning, the answer to those questions is “good luck”. I understand we as Scholars wear light-armor, but each profession is supposed to be equally viable across the entire spectrum, and when it comes to staying alive, we just cannot compete. Necros can steal health, and Mesmers can teleport or distract enemies with other selves. As the OP so perfectly put: we can kite, or we can die.

It’s disappointing, to say the least.

I love your idea. As an aspiring Elementalist, I’m having issues deciding between double daggers and a staff, and it’s annoying being trapped into one or the other in longer fights, where both could be viable.

The problem I have is that wherein I love certain Dagger skills (Cone of Cold, Ride the Lightning, Earthquake), it’s sad to see that I would lose out on those Staff skills I also love (Windborne Speed, Eruption, Shockwave). Even in my examples, it would seem that I like Lightning and Earth a lot (and I do), but I cannot use them to their greatest extent, ’cause not all of the Lightning or Earth abilities are available to me. Allowing me to become an Aeromancer and/or Geomancer is an appealing notion.

I wouldn’t get worked up too hard about the above two; I took the time to read through your layout, and you made a supporter out of me

Edit: While my Sylvari Elementalist at the time of writing this is fairly low-level, I do have a level 80 Human Guardian, so I’m not entirely new to Guild Wars 2. The ability to switch from AoE-DPS-Machine with my Greatsword to I-Might-Be-In-Over-My-Head with my Mace+Shield is an invaluable asset, and one that is not really available to my mage. The Attunements are supposed to do that, and yet they don’t as readily as switching between the weapons can; my Ranger can go from Axe + Dagger to a Shortbow in seconds, drastically changing his range mid-combat, while my Elementalist just changes what she does while still trapped at short-range.

I may not have the answer, but I can tell even this quickly into my new profession that I could use some help.