They’re just playing with words.
In the end, Elite specialization need to balance around with other 5 traits too regardless of how you look at it. Most of the specialization actually synergize with other 5 traits, and makes it worth taking even for the core class.
That’s why I said sometimes just designing new weapons would be a better choice than developing a whole new trait-line to balance around. It actually takes more work.
The elite specializations need to balance around the other 5 specializations, true.
However, they do not need to balance to each other.
Let’s say the second necromancer elite spec will be called Deathknight. They give Deathknights spirit weapons for skill types and shield for a weapon.
Well they don’t have to balance the skills and weapons of the Deathknight to the Reaper. They can even change the Death Shroud into a “Deathknight Shroud” without worry of it clashing with the Reaper Shroud. Because you can’t equip two elite specializations at once.
This is what ArenaNet was talking about with what PopeUrban was referring to.
The only new skills ArenaNet might ever add to core professions is completing the skill types – some of them are lacking healing skills, elite skills, or both. IMO, every skill type should have 1 healing, 4 utility, and 1 elite (yes, including revenant legends).
No. Colin came out a few days ago and stated there are exactly 40 HP locations in the expansion, and that completion of the elite spec line requires 400 HP.
All posts I saw from Colin only said that HoT hero challenges reward 10 points each, and the elite specl ines require 400. Care to point out which of his many posts at the time stated exactly 40 hero challenges in HoT?
However, even if this is so, it doesn’t change the fact that they will no doubt add more maps before the next expansion, just like how they added three before HoT.
If they use S2 as the format for all future Living World, and keep with 2 seasons between expansions, we could easily see 4 maps between each expansion. With Season 3 and on confirmed to require HoT, no reason for any hero challenge in those future maps to not reward 10 – or more – points. So it will still be possible to produce another elite spec before the second expansion – any new maps before said second expansion will just need to give 200 points.
Edit: I skimmed through Colin’s posts on the forums and nowhere does the numbers “40” or the word “forty” show up in any post more recent than a month ago.
The only thing he says about hero challenges in “the jungle” is that they’re worth 10 points each and there are enough in the jungle alone to fully unlock an elite specialization. Nowhere does he mention how many challenges exist in the Heart of Maguuma.
Unless it wasn’t a forum post.
Further, it’s rather sad that two of the commanders are the exact same model. When the Mordrem Guard blog post went up, I was expecting all three commanders to look completely different, having their own unique model that are all equally monstrous. Something like Faolain’s model – that was what I was expecting.