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[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

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Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Necromancer – Warlock
Weapon: Axe Off-hand
Utility Skills: Thralls (New)
Mechanic: Death Shroud is replaced with Grand Shroud, which expands the life force onto nearby allies and Minions, sharing a portion of the extra HP with them.

Mechanic: Grand Shroud
The Warlock is a mage who walks a dark path, but uses said darkness in order to aid his allies just as much as he uses it to call unholy forces to rend his enemies asunder. The Grand Shroud is an enhanced Shroud that extends the effects to nearby Allies and Minions.
Allies within 600 range upon entering Grand Shroud gain equivalent 20% of your Accumulated Life Force as their own Lesser Shroud, independant of yours. Unlike the Warlock, their skills are unchanged and Direct Damage is only reduced by 25%. They still have access to their Utility Skills. Up to 5 Allies can gain a lesser shroud like this.
Minions and Thralls are also shrouded. This Minion Shroud is only 10% of accumulated Life Force and carries no Damage Reduction, however any number of Minions and/or Thralls can be given this shroud.

Naturally, if the Warlock ends the Shroud or has their Life Force depleted, the Shroud effect for all allies or minions/thralls end immedietally.

Grand Shroud Skills

  • Life Rend – Send a Spectral claw racing along the ground, damaging and Bleeding enemies in front of you, gaining Life Force for each enemy struck. Inherits traits from Life Blast.
  • Cursed Brand -> Dark Haunt – Brand a target, causing allies and minions who attack them to gain Might. Consume the Brand to teleport to your target, Immobilizing them. Dark Haunt Inherits traits from Dark Path.
  • Inscribe Terror – Summon a terrifying visage at the target area, Fearing and Tormenting enemies struck. Inherits traits from Doom.
  • Seal of Torment – Channel, creating a Seal that pulses Torment to nearby Enemies, while transfering a Condition from yourself, Shrouded Allies or Minions with each Pulse. Inherits traits from Life Transfer.
  • Seal of Power – Channel, creating a Seal that pulses Fury to Allies and Minions, while copying a Boon from yourself to them with every pulse.

Weapon: Off-hand Axe
The off-hand Axe offers the Warlock a Condition-centric off-hand specialized in AoE denial, creating zones where the enemy are at a disadvantage against allies.

  • Blighted Ground – Tear open a fetid portal, creating a slowly expanding Poison Field that Corrupts Boons into Cripple. Everytime a Boon is corrupted, Allies within the field gain the Boon.
  • Soul Vortex – Send a vortex of tormented souls forwards, damaging and Tormenting enemies. The Vortex travels to the designated area, then returns to you. Acts as a Dark Field. Acts as a Whirl Finisher.

Utility Skills: Thralls
Thralls are more focused around Shroud than Minions. Thralls, unlike Minions, change their behaviour and grows stronger when shrouded with the Grand Shroud.

  • Bind Vampiric Horror – Summon a Vampiric Horrors that build Blood charges when striking an enemy. Upon gaining 5 charges, it returns to you and Heal you for each Charge. While shrouded, it won’t return and will keep attacking, building stacks past 5.
    • Quickening Offering – Consume Blood Charges on your Vampiric horror, healing yourself slightly and granting it Quickness for each charge consumed.
  • Bind Shadow Imp – Summon a Shadow Imp that attacks enemies from afar. While shrouded, it will Attack enemies more Frequently and gains Superspeed.
    • Unholy Totem – Command your Imp to erect a Totem for a short time. The Totem renders Minions immune to Direct Damage.
  • Bind Bone Horror – Summon a Bone Horror to attack enemies with Bleeding bone claws. While Shrouded, your Bone Horror will attack less Frequently, but now Lunges at enemies with Weakening blows instead.
    • Bone Armor – Sacrifice your Bone Horror to Break Stun and gain a Buff that pulses Stability and Protection to you every second for a short time.
  • Bind Aatxe – Summon an Aatxe to attack enemies. While Shrouded, the Aatxe builds Spectral charges every second, increasing its Damage and Damage resistance.
    • Siphoned Power – Siphon Spectral charges from your Aatxe, gaining Life Force and Might for each charge consumed.
  • Bind Rotting Horror – Summon a Rotting Horror to Poison enemies. While Shrouded, the Horror releases noxious fumes, becoming a mobile Poison Field that constantly damages and Poisons surrounding enemies.
    • Corruptive Essance – Command your rotting horror to breath a foul gas that Corrupts Boons on enemies in Poison.
  • Bind Lesser Behemoth – Elite Skill. Summon an Immobile lesser Shadow Behemoth that attacks enemies with Bleeding claws and Occasionally shrieks, Fearing enemies around it. While Shrouded, the Behemoth will instead summon falling bone pillars over enemies within range.
    • Call Portal – Withdraw your Behemoth and teleport it to your current Position, Chilling all nearby enemies.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Engineer Mecha Pilot spec.
Give engies a sort of deathshroud mechanic, where you fill up a energy bar and can jump in a big mecha/golen and use the energy to do BIG attacks (machineguns, lasers and rocket jumps!)

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Suggestions-Future-Elite-Specializations/page/5#post6011523

Shameless self-promotion. Ask and ye shall recieve!

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Well I am so sorry, I didn’t know you were an authority on such matter. Mea Culpa, mea culpa.

Allow me to rectify my monumental mistake by just removing the “Al-” from the name and voila!

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Engineer – Chemist
Weapon: Shortbow
Utility Skills: Wells
Mechanic: Your Tool Belt is replaced with Chemistry Belt, which carries entirely new skills.

Mechanic: Chemistry Belt
Chemistry Belt differs from the Tool Belt in that rather than gaining a unique Skill for the corresponding Utility Skill, it now gains a unique Skill depending on which type of skill it is, having less options but allowing more costumization of the Utility Bar without affecting the Chemistry Belt.
All Chemistry Belt skills spawn 2 “slimes”, which are Pets for all intents and purposes. However, once they reach their target, they’ll sacrifice themselves to cause an effect. If destroyed prior to reaching their target, no effect takes place. Slimes prioritize Low-Health targets wether friendly or hostile.

  • Elixirs: Elixir Slime – Create 2 Green-tinted Slimes that seek out Allies, greatly healing them and granting Regeneration (4s). Elixir Slimes are considered Elixirs for Trait synergy. Cooldown: 35s.
  • Weapon Kits: Adrenal Slime – Create 2 Orange-tinted Slimes that seek out Allies, healing them and granting Quickness (2s). Cooldown: 20s.
  • Device Kits: Cleansing Slime – Create 2 White-tinted Slimes that seek out Allies, healing them and removing 1 condition. Cooldown: 25s.
  • Turret: Grimy Slime – Create 2 Oily Slimes that seek out enemies, Immobilizing (1s) them and Increasing the duration of applied Conditions by 2s. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Gadget: Electro-Slime – Create 2 Yellow-tinted Slimes that seek out enemies, Dazing (1s) them and removing 1 Boon. Cooldown: 25s.
  • Wells: Healing Slimes – Create 2 Blue-tinted Slimes that seek out Allies, healing in a Radius around them. Radius: 180. Cooldown: 15s.

Weapon: Shortbow
The shortbow is a surgical tool of precision in the hands of an Chemist, used to administer medicine and poisons from afar.

  • Exotermic Injection – Fire a Syringe into your target, causing Burning (1 Stack, 1 1/2s) and granting Vigor (1s) to Allies around the target. Radius: 180. Range: 900.
  • Chemical Fan – Fire a Spread of syringe shots, Healing Allies and Bleed (1 stack, 5s) Enemies they pass through. Range: 600. Cooldown: 8s.
  • Elixir Shot – Fire an Elixir-infused arrow at the target Area, causing a burst that cleanses up to 2 conditions from nearby Allies, healing them for each Condition removed. Range: 900. Radius: 240. Cooldown: 15s.
  • Chemoburst – Fire a syringe into your target that sprays chemicals around them, making them a mobile Poison Field and stacking Poison (1 stack, 4s) every second, while Healing nearby Allies. Range: 900. Duration: 4s. Radius: 180. Cooldown: 20s.
  • Endothermic Injection – Fire a syringe into your target that causes Chill (1 to 3s) over time, eventually encasing the target in Ice, Stunning (2s) them. Duration: 3s. Chill Pulses: 3. Range: 900. Cooldown: 30s.

Utility Skills: Wells
Chemist Wells aren’t very magical, instead created by lobbing a bottle of chemical components at the target area, which cause a massive reaction and then leaves a lingering effect behind. Each Well has a Range of 900 and a Duration of 4s.

  • Well of Transfusion – Healing Skill. Heal all Allies in the initial Blast, creating a well that Heals them and grants Regeneration (2s) with every pulse. Combo Field: Water. Radius: 240. Cooldown: 20s.
  • Well of Ignition – Cause a Blast of fire that Damages all enemies, creating a well that Burns (2 stacks, 3s) enemies and grants Vigor (2s) to Allies with every pulse. Combo Field: Fire. Combo Finisher: Blast. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Well of Refraction – Daze (1s) and Blind (5s) enemies with flashing lights, creating a well that stacks Confusion (2 stacks, 5s) on enemies with every pulse. Combo Field: Light. Cooldown: 25s.
  • Well of Suffocation – Create toxic gases that Poisons (5 stacks, 5s) enemies at the target area, creating a well that stacks Torment (2 stacks, 3s) on enemies with every pulse. Combo Field: Poison. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Well of Terraformation – Shift the earth at the target area, Knocking down (2s) enemies and create a well that Cripples (2s) enemies and grants Stability (2 stacks, 2s) to allies with every pulse. Cooldown: 40s.
  • Well of Permeance – Elite Skill. Stun (2s) enemies in the target area, creating a well that increases Condition Duration on enemies by 1 second with every pulse and makes them unable to remove Conditions. Cooldown: 40s.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Guardian – Zealot
Weapon: Off-hand Mace
Utility Skills: Relics (New)
Mechanic: Virtues are expanded upon completely, becoming full-fledged Faiths with new passive and active effects. They also gain access to a new Boon called Serenity.

Mechanic: Faiths
Each virtue is replaced with a corresponding Faith, which carries new and more support-oriented effects focused on strengthening allies. Each Faith inherits traits from the Virtue it replaces.

  • Justiciar’s Faith – Replaces Virtue of Justice.
    • Passive Effect: Heal allies around your target with every fifth attack. Radius: 300.
    • Active Effect: Increase Damage and Condition damage for nearby Allies by 10% for 6s. Radius: 600. CD: 20s.
  • Protector’s Faith – Replaces Virtue of Resolve.
    • Passive Effect: Healing to Allies is increased by 20%.
    • Active Effect: Create a field that Heals nearby Allies every second, pulsing Serenity (1s). Radius: 360. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Champion’s Faith – Replaces Virtue of Courage.
    • Passive Effect: Pulse AoE healing and Protection (3s) around yourself every 20s. Radius: 180.
    • Active Effect: Nearby Allies gain a personal shield that reflects Projectiles for 4s. Radius: 600. Shield Radius: 120. Cooldown: 60s.

Serenity is the anti-thesis to Poison, as it increases any Healing the target recieves by 20% in addition to giving them a slight Heal-over-time effect (Although weaker than Regeneration).

Weapon: Off-hand Mace
The Off-hand Mace is a Supportive Weapon, designed around Healing and Protecting Allies.

  • Serenitous Impact – Strike the ground, creating a lingering shockwave that pulses Healing to allies, increasing in Size and Healing with each pulse. The last pulse grants Serenity (4s) to allies. Number of Pulses: 3. Intervall: 1s. Radius: 180/240/360. Combo Finisher: Blast. Cooldown: 15s.
  • Shimmering Shield – Channel, creating a barrier around each ally within range that Blocks all incoming attacks for the channel duration. Upon a full Channel, greatly Heal all affected Allies. Channel Duration: 2s. Radius: 240. Cooldown: 30s.

Utility Skills: Relics
Relics bear similarities to Banners: They create a Passive Effect around themselves and can be picked up and wielded as Environmental weapons. Unlike banners, they only carry a single “Drop” Skill while carried and Activating this skill consumes the Relic in return for a powerful effect. Like with Banners, their Cooldown is initiated immedietally upon Summoning them.

  • Benevolent was Ventari – Carry a Relic of Ventari, pulsing Healing to and Increasing Outgoing healing of nearby Allies by 20%. Intervall: 3s. Relic Radius: 600. Relic Duration: 90s. Cooldown: 120s.
    • Drop Ventari’s Relic – Consume the relic, Fully Restoring nearby Allies HP and Energy to Max. Activation Time: 1s. Radius: 300. Targets: 5. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Powerful was Asgeir – Carry a Relic of Asgeir Dragonrender, Decreasing incoming Damage and Condition Damage to allies by 10%. Intervall: 3s. Relic Radius: 600. Relic Duration: 90s. Cooldown: 120s.
    • Drop Asgeir’s Relic – Consume the Relic, creating a Powerful Shockwave that Launches all nearby enemies while making Allies Invulnerable (4s). Activation Time: 1s. Radius: 450. Targets: 5. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Determined was Scorchrazor – Carry a Relic of Kalla Scorchrazor, Increasing Critical Damage and Condition Duration by 10% for nearby Allies. Intervall: 3s. Relic Radius: 600. Relic Duration: 90s. Cooldown: 120s.
    • Drop Scorchrazor’s Relic – Consume the Relic, releasing a pulsing Shockwave that grants Might (4 stacks, 15s) to Allies and Weakens (5s) enemies struck. Activation Time: 1s. Pulses: 5. Duration: 5s. Radius: 300. Targets: 5. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Brave was Riannoc – Carry a Relic of Riannoc, Pulsing Swiftness (3s) and reducing Cooldowns by 10%. Relic Duration: 90s. Cooldown: 120s.
    • Drop Riannoc’s Relic – Consume the Relic, Rallying Downed Allies, granting them Superspeed (5s) and Cleansing All Conditions. Activation Time: 1s. Radius: 300. Targets: 5. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Diligent was Zinn – Carry a Relic of Zinn, pulsing Might (1 stack, 15s) and causing Actions to be 10% faster. Relic Duration: 90s. Cooldown: 120s.
    • Drop Zinn’s Relic – Consume the Relic, creating a large Field that pulses Aegis to Allies within. Activation Time: 1s. Duration: 5s. Radius: 300. Targets: 5. Cooldown: 30s.
  • Fearsome was Gwen – Elite Skill. Carry a Relic of Gwen Thackarey, causing Allies’ Critical Hits to deal AoE damage and Burning around their primary target. Effect Intervall: 3s. Relic Radius: 600. Relic Duration: 90s. Cooldown: 120s.
    • Drop Gwen’s Relic – Consume the Relic, summoning a Massive sword over each nearby enemy that deals Massive Damage, removes All Boons and Finishes Downed Targets. Activation Time: 1s. Radius: 300. Targets: 5. Cooldown: 60s.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Most Useless weapon in the game?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

On land I would say Torch.

Zerk warrior and PU mesmer would like to have a word.

As well as Scepter/Torch Guardians in raids.

I agree with rifle being the most useless followed closely by the shortbow.

Killshot Warriors and … ALL Thieves would like to have a word (are condi rangers still a thing?).

nah, they’re right.

rifle is okay on killshot warrior. but it’s only okay, on one build, in one gamemode. that’s not a good place to be.

as for shortbow condi ranger shortbow is okay, but generally outclassed by axe/torch. throw in that many condi rangers are now combo condi druids, staff has mostly replaced shortbow there.

on thief, shortbow was never a good weapon. it was a good utility item. it was used for movement and blast finishers. with daredevil, thief now has a decent innate movement, and the blast finishers are rarely that necessary.

overall, the shortbow was never great. it was used on ranger because it was the only other (and only ranged) condition weapon they had. it was used on thief because they needed the mobility. it’s never been a good weapon in it’s own right, and it’s seen less use since the HoT elite specs rendered it less relevant still.

You’re quite wrong on the SB on Ranger being outclassed by A/T. SB + A/T has been the top choice for Condi DPS on druid since the April patch, as it gains a bigger bonus from Alacrity than purely A/T.

The Mobility afforded to Thief on SB is absolutely vital in sPvP and WvW last I checked, still filling the utility role like a boss.

What we need is a new Elite Spec that takes SB in another direction. Like a Melee/Range hybrid Trickster for mesmer that shoots illusionary arrows at distant targets and summons an illusionary dagger to stab with in melee, or a Heal spec for Engi that fires off elixir arrows at allies filled with healing and boons. Stuff like that.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Why is crafting forced down our throats?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Again, Berserker/Valkyrie mix is basically the same as Marauder. Berserker Weapons/Trinkets with Valkyrie Armor, and you’re basically at Marauder already. Fraction of the effort, all the same effect.

Actual marauder gear will have 9.5% more stats overall.

9.5% more stats due to being a Quadruple set yep, but in return less Power than Berserker/Valkyrie. The overall feel will remain the same and performance won’t differ all too noticably.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Why is crafting forced down our throats?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

@TheSwede.9512 spoken like somebody who’s never tried to get ascended gear through RNG. I’m not even complaining about that, i figure i’ll get it when (if ever) i get it, but in the meantime i’ve got to get used to the idea of exotic gear and marauder would be the best choice for me.
Technically you don’t need gear at all to play the game, but i think most would argue that they want that gear. The only thing you need to play the game, if you want to look at it from that point of view, is the will to do so. You can still technically play it even without weapons or armor or traits, you’d just experience severely reduced quality of life and overall have less fun, which is what the topic is about.

Well, suppose that makes me as much an authority on Ascended RNG as you are on crafting, then. See, I can do passive-aggressive too and it’s none too pretty, now is it?

Taking things to the extreme there with your little analogy, as well. Neither Marauder nor Crusader creates a playstyle that widely differs from playstyles you can access through the use of other stat combos with similar and often-times better effect. The “Quality of life” is limited only to the part where you get to have “Marauder’s Breastplate of X” on your character sheet.

Again, Berserker/Valkyrie mix is basically the same as Marauder. Berserker Weapons/Trinkets with Valkyrie Armor, and you’re basically at Marauder already. Fraction of the effort, all the same effect.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Why is crafting forced down our throats?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Ascended Armor and Weapons can be obtained through:

Crafting (Long process, Expensive, but certain what you’ll get)
PvE: Fractals (RNG)
PvE: Raids (RNG and Vendor)
PvE: World Bosses (RNG)
PvP: Reward Tracks (RNG)

Ascended can be scratched off the list of “Crafting Exclusivities” from the get-go, just getting that done before moving on to my actual point.

Neither Marauder nor Crusader (The two new “Exclusive” stat combos for crafting) are optimal in either game mode. They add flavor and diversity but under no circumstances are they necessery to the point where “Crafting is forced down your throat.” In most cases, Berserker or Cleric fills their roles better, and you can pretty much match their effects by mixing gear (Berserker/Valkyrie and Cavalier/Cleric respectively) anyway.

That you Want these stat combos does not mean that you Need them in order to play the game. Crafting is still very much optional and by no means are you required to do it to play any content or experience any game mode whatsoever.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

New Elite Specialization Contest (Closed)

in Necromancer

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Well, I might as well toss in my idea for this. I wanted to create a Necromancer Elite Spec that was drastically different from the core Elite Spec that focused only on the fear and terror of death. So here, have the Spiritualist.

Necromancer – Spiritualist
Weapon: Shortbow
Skills: Spirits
Mechanic: Death Shroud is replaced with Spirit Shroud, which is a more benevolent and team-play oriented Shroud focusing on Healing and buffing Allies, while Weakening enemies.

Mechanic: Spirit Shroud
The Spiritualist focuses less on the darkness of death, but rather the emotions and impressions left by those who went before. Some are vengeful, some are protective, some are angry and some are very, very angry… And all of them colour the Spiritualist to some extent.

  • Spiritual Embrace – Call benign spirits to Heal Allies and Weaken enemies at the Target Area. Inherits Traits from Life Blast.
  • Spirit’s Lament – Teleport to the Target Area, appearing in a burst of Spectral Sorrow that Chills nearby enemies while Healing and granting Protection to nearby Allies. Inherits traits from Dark Path.
  • Taste of Condemnation – Send forwards a torrent of angry Spirits that claw and tear at enemies in its Path, Fearing and Bleeding them.
  • Undying Rage – Channel the rage of fallen spirits, sending out Crippling and Tormenting waves at Enemies, corrupting a Boon on a full Maintain. Inherits Traits from Life Transfer.
  • Caress of the Fallen – Surround yourself with Spirits that rapidly Heal nearby Allies while removing a Condition with each Pulse. Gain Life Force when you Heal an Ally with this skill.

Weapon
The Spiritualist’s weapon of choice is the Shortbow, with which she can attack enemies and support allies from any range. Channeling brave spirits who don’t hesitate to lend their power for a good cause, she fires off barrages of spectral arrows that carry the will of those who went before with them.

  • Brave Spirit Shot – Infuse your arrow with a brave spirit, causing it to split on Impact and bounce to nearby allies, Healing them.
  • Sorrowful Shot – Fire a Piercing shot that Chills enemies and Heals allies it passes through on its way to the target. When it hits its target, it explodes and transfers a Condition from nearby Allies to you, Healing you and granting Life Force for each Condition taken.
  • Merciful Fate – Infuse a benevolent spirit into your arrow and fire at the target area, causing a blast of Healing that also grants Protection to allies within its radius. Acts as a Blast Finisher.
  • Scars of Remembrence – Infuse your bow with vengeful spirits, sending a woeful barrage of undulating arrows into a Single target, Transferring up to 3 Conditions on yourself to the target.
  • Envoys of Judgement – Rain Arrows down at the target area, shaping them into a mystic circle that summons a great Spirit at its location. The Spirit pulses healing to nearby Allies and Weakness to enemies, before ascending and causing a greater Heal to allies and Fear to nearby enemies.

Utility Skills
Unsurprisingly, the Spiritualist gets to summon Spirits to aid them and their allies. Unlike the Nature Spirits that Rangers summon, these Spirits are those of regular people who simply cannot move on. By calling their aid, the Spiritualist can then release them from their torment, sending them to the other side at long last. The thankful Spirit then ascends, leaving behind a benign effect to aid nearby Allies.

  • Vengeful Spirit – Healing Skill. Summon a Vengeful Spirit that grants Allies a chance to Steal Health from their target with their next attack. I didn’t deserve this! I will make them pay!
    • Release Vengeance – Release your Spirit, Healing Allies affected by Vengeful Spirit and granting them Retaliation. “At long last… am I at peace.”
  • Sorrowful Spirit – Summon a Sorrowful Spirit that grants Allies a chance to Remove 1 Boon from their target with their next attack. Why? Why me? Why did it have to be me ?!
    • Release Sorrow – Release your Spirit, creating a mobile Ice Field around Allies affected by Sorrowful Spirit, which Chills enemies near them. “I understand now… Thank you, and farewell.”
  • Anguished Spirit – Summon an Anguished Spirit that grants Allies a chance to Torment their target with their next attack. How long have I been here? Why am I still here? Answer me!
    • Release Anguish – Release your Spirit, Converting up to 3 Conditions on Allies affected by Anguished Spirit into Boons. “It’s finally over…”
  • Vigilant Spirit – Summon a Vigilant Spirit that grants Allies a chance to Blind their target with their Next attack. “I’ll be watching over you.”
    • Release Vigilance – Release your Spirit, Granting a Spectral veil to Allies affected by Vigilant Spirit that pulses Protection to them and grants you life Force when they’re attacked. “My work here is done… Go in peace, travelers.”
  • Defiant Spirit – Summon a Defiant Spirit that grants Allies a chance to gain Stability with their Next attack. “No, this cannot be! I can’t be dead, it’s not true!”
    • Release Defiance – Release your Spirit, Breaking Stun for and granting Superspeed to Allies affected by Defiant Spirit. “I see now… I must go. Thank you.”
  • Tranquil Spirit – Elite Skill. Summon a Tranquil Spirit that increases the Attributes of nearby Allies by 10%. “I will aid you, so that you don’t face the same fate I did.”
    • Release Tranquility – Release your Spirit, Granting All Boons to allies Affected by Tranquil Spirit. “My time has come, I must be off. Thank you, travelers.”

Specialization Line

Minor Traits

  • Spiritual Awakening – Death Shroud is replaced by Spirit Shroud, which is a more supportive and defensive version of the Shroud.
  • Soulful Rejuvenation – Incoming Healing from outside sources while you’re in Shroud now grants 5% Life Force. ICD: 5s.
  • Last Breath Cadence – Healing to allies is increased by 20% while in Shroud and while under 50% HP. These bonuses do not stack.

Adept Traits

  • Share their Pain – Brave Spirit Shot and Sorrowful Shot now causes Torment (1 stack, 4s) when hitting a target. Shortbow Skills now recharge 20% Faster.
  • Thaumaturgy – Whenever you place a Condition on a foe, Healing to Allies increases by 2% for 8s. Stacks to 10.
  • Into the Light – Blind nearby Enemies when entering or exiting Shroud. ICD: 9s.

Master Traits

  • Lingering Regrets – Torment you apply lasts 33% Longer. Applying Torment to a foe now also Cripples them (3s). ICD: 12s
  • Dark Purity – Healing to Allies is increased by 3% for each Condition on target Ally.
  • Spirit and Body – Healing an ally with a Non-Shroud skill grants you Life Force (1%) for each Ally healed. ICD: 1s.

Grandmaster Traits

  • Spirit’s Burden – Weakness you apply now causes Condition Damage on enemies.
  • Tears of the Fallen – All Spirits are now surrounded by a Water field that Regenerates Health of Allies within and Slowly revives downed allies. Releasing a Spirit now grants you Life Force (10%). Radius: 240.
  • Spiritual Protector – While you are in Shroud, nearby Allies (Not yourself) take 15% Less Damage and Condition Damage, and Soulful Rejuvenation now Heals Allies in a radius around you whenever it activates. Radius: 360.

Rune of the Spiritualist

  • +25 Healing Power
  • +5% Condition Duration
  • +50 Healing Power
  • Outgoing Healing is increased by 3% for each Spirit you have Summoned.
  • +100 Healing Power
  • +15% Condition Duration. Cause AoE Torment (1 stack, 4s) whenever you Summon or Release/Sacrifice a Spirit. Radius: 240.

New Stat Combination: Shephard’s Amulet

  • + Condition Damage (Major)
  • + Healing Power (Major)
  • + Precision (Minor)
  • + Expertize (Minor)

Costume Piece – Spirit Wraps
Gloves. Talismans wrapped around the wrists and upper arm, forming intricate arcane patterns that help the Spiritualist communicate with spirits on the other side of the Mists.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

Where are the Monks?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Monk and Dervish are highly religious professions that no other race than Humans could be, if looking at it from a thematic point of view. They were strongly tied to the six gods that none of the other races would even consider to worship (Closest being the Norn, but they only Revere, as it’s made quite clear that Norn would never lower themselves to worship unless they’re filthy Dragonlovers).

Now, that doesn’t mean these two professions can’t get a spiritual successor, just without all the religious connotations. Dragonhunter was given to Guardian because another chief complaint about Guardians was their lack of Long-Range damage dealing capabilities and CC. Next Elite spec will probably combine Healer with mobility, as they’re the two most asked for features for Guardians atm.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Tutorial Rework (Suggestion)

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Bear in mind, I designed this idea with people entirely new to GW2 in mind, as they’re pretty much the only people in -need- of a tutorial.

Perhaps a better limit for skipping the tutorial would be having a certain amount of Gametime played, rather than character limit? Probably.

Predetermined weapons are already a thing in the tutorial, as for the utility skills they’re mostly there, again, for completely new players who have no idea how GW2 works, what the description on each Skill translates to in-game and what to do with them. Once they’ve learned how the game works, it’s free for everyone to experiment as they wish. But when you’re new, you don’t wanna sit forever thinking about stuff, you just want to try out what’s on the table.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Tutorial Rework (Suggestion)

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Addendum:

Also add the Option to Skip Tutorial once the Player has 3 or more characters on his Account, which can be reached by choosing it as an option from the first NPC available. Skipping the Tutorial will immedietally take the player to the Starting Zone.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Tutorial Rework (Suggestion)

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Let’s be absolutely frank here:

The Tutorial in GW2 isn’t all that good. Not because it’s boring and strikes me as an afterthought (Which it does, don’t get me wrong) but because it really doesn’t Teach players much about the game or about the most important aspects of combat in GW2:
The Soft Trinity of Damage, Support and Control

Earlier in the game, when Weapon Skills were unlocked by simply fighting and defeating enemies, the Tutorial served a purpose in that you got to try out fighting against nearby enemies. Nowadays, when Weapon Skills are level-bound, there really is not point in doing anything but rushing the boss.

So what can be done about this? I suggest the following changes to be done to Tutorials over all:

First Step: The Basics
Teaching the basics of Damage, Support and Control to new players
Player starts without a Weapon. When talking to the first NPC, instead of merely proceeding ahead they’re given the following choices:

  • NPC: We need your help! Pick up a weapon and Help out!
    • Player: Give me a Melee Weapon! I’ll take them on up close and personal!
    • Player: Give me a Ranged Weapon! I’ll cull their numbers from a distance!
    • Player: I want to change Weapons!

At this point, the player is given to choice to try out either a Melee Weapon or a Ranged weapon, familiarizing themselves with both for their profession. The weapons available I’d imagine being the following:

  • Warrior: Axe, Rifle
  • Guardian: Mace, Scepter
  • Revenant: Sword, Hammer
  • Thief: Dagger, Pistol
  • Ranger: Greatsword, Longbow
  • Engineer: Pistol, Rifle
  • Elementalist: Dagger, Staff
  • Necromancer: Dagger, Scepter
  • Mesmer: Sword, Staff

Objective
Defeat Attacking Enemies and Destroy the empowered Enemy!

  • First order of bussiness is Damage, where the Player uses their weapon and 1st Weapon Skill to defeat a few enemies around them.
  • When the Enemies number has thinned, a message will appear over the screen and a voiceover will play: The Enemy has brought in an empowered Monster! Quick, Rally this NPC and they will give you a means to defeat the empowered monster!
    • The player will now be pointed to a Downed NPC that they need to Rally by interacting with them, teaching them to Support allies by reviving them should they be downed.
    • The Empowered Monster has a Defiance Bar and a specific Buff that causes it to be invulnerable as long as the bar isn’t Broken, making it impossible to kill without reviving the downed NPC.
  • Once the NPC has been rallied, he will grant the Player a temporary first Utility Skill, which is always a CC move that can be used to break the Empowered Monster’s Defiance Bar. The strength of this Defiance bar scaled up in accordance with nearby Players. This teaches players the basics of Control.

The Utility Skill granted to Players temporarily are the following:

  • Warrior: Kick
  • Guardian: Hammer of Justice
  • Revenant: Forced Engagement (Dwarf Stance)
  • Thief: Scorpion Wire
  • Ranger: Spike Trap
  • Engineer: Throw Mine
  • Elementalist: Signet of Earth
  • Necromancer: Spectral Grasp
  • Mesmer: Mantra of Distraction

Once the Empowered Enemy has been defeated, the player can proceed onwards to the next step: Namely, fighting the Tutorial Boss.

Second Step: A Taste of the Game
In this Revamped Boss Fight, the present Destiny’s Edge Member will be there to temporarily strengthen the Player by giving them a Full Skill Bar to use against the Boss.

  • Destiny’s Edge Member: Here, take this. You’re gonna need it if you want to make it through this.
  • Message: You’ve been temporarily empowered by your mentor! Use this power to drive back the enemy!

Each Profession now gets kitted out with a Preset Build worthy of a Lvl 31 character, excluding Specializations. They gain access to all Weapon Skills, Weapon Swap (if they have it), a Healing Skill, 3 Utility Skills and even an Elite Skill. They do not get access to Profession Mechanic, however. This boost is only temporary and goes away once the player exits the Tutorial.

Warrior:

  • Gains Axe/Shield and Rifle
  • Gains Mending, Kick, “For Great Justice!”, Dolyak Signet and Battle Standard.

Guardian:

  • Gains Mace/Shield and Scepter/Focus
  • Gains Shelter, Hammer of Justice, “Stand Your Ground!”, Smite Conditions and Signet of Courage.

Revenant:

  • Gains Sword/Sword and Hammer
  • Gains the Legendary Dwarf Stance and all related Skills.

Thief:

  • Gains Dagger/Dagger and Pistol/Pistol
  • Gains Hide in Shadows, Scorpion Wire, Ambush, Signet of Infiltration and Basilisk Venom.

Ranger:

  • Gains Greatsword and Longbow
  • Gains “We Heal as One!”, Spike Trap, Signet of the Wild, Frost Spirit and Entangle.

Engineer:

  • Gains Pistol/Shield or Rifle, depending on which weapon the player choose during the first part.
  • Gains Elixir H, Throw Mine, Rifle Turret, Tool Kit and Supply Drop.

Elementalist:

  • Gains Dagger/Dagger or Staff, depending on which weapon the player choose during the first part. Also gains Fire and Water Attunement.
  • Gains Glyph of Renewal, Signet of Earth, Arcane Shield, Conjure Lightning Hammer and Tornado.

Necromancer:

  • Gains Dagger/Warhorn and Scepter/Dagger.
  • Gains Consume Conditions, Spectral Grasp, Signet of Spite, Well of Suffering and Summon Flesh Golem.

Mesmer:

  • Gains Sword/Focus and Staff.
  • Gains Mirror, Mantra of Distraction, Null Field, Phantasmal Defender, Blink and Signet of Humility.

To compensate for the fact that players are now much more powerful, so will the final Boss be. The boss will additionally be throwing out special moves that all have different call-outs, shown as On-screen messages to the players:

Boss Mechanics

  • Heavy Strike (Orange Circles. Deals heavy Damage and possibly CC’s)
    • Message: The Boss is launching a devastating attack! Dodge it by clicking V!
  • Charged Strike (Grants the Boss a Defiance Bar. Results in a Strong Attack if not broken)
    • Message: The Boss is charging up a powerful attack! Break its Defiance Bar to stop it!
  • Boon Distribution (Destiny’s Edge NPC grants Protection, Regen and Stability to nearby allies)
    • Message: NPC is preparing to aid you with Boons! Rally to their position to recieve them!

And that’s the general gist of my idea. Any thoughts or comments are welcome, and don’t peer too sideways on my choices for Weapons and Skills, tried to keep it relatively diverse and give one skill for each Utility Category.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Ok! Last in line is the Mesmer. Now, the Chronomancer was all about that Team Support, which is cool and all. But what the Mesmer really lacks is reliable, sustainable DPS. Now, I’m aiming to fix that with the following elite spec.

Mesmer – Esper
Weapon: Longbow
Skill: Cantrips
Mechanic: Esper Blades will now appear behind the Esper whenever they shatter a clone. These blades can number up to 4 and will hover behind the Mesmer as they fight. When 4 Blades are created, Shatter skills are replaced with Blade Command skills.

Mechanic: Esper Blades
With nothing but their mind, the Esper can create powerful and very deadly Esper Blades from pure ether to bring into battle. Whenever a Shatter skill is used, the Esper reshapes the shattered remains of their clones into illusionary swords that hover behind their back, ready to strike at their call and beckon. 1 Blade is created for each clone shattered, the Esper themselves included.

When 4 Blades have been created, the 4 Shatter Skills are replaced with 4 brand new Blade Command Skills that use all 4 blades at once for a devastating attack, before shattering them and returning the basic Shatter skills, necessiting for the Esper to keep creating clones and shattering them to maintain their secondary weapon.

  • Blade Impalement – Replaces Mind Wrack. Send your Esper Blades to impale your target, dealing massive damage and Immobilizing them.
  • Rain of Torment – Replaces Cry of Frustration. Rain your blades down over the target area, Crippling and Tormenting enemies within.
  • Thought Sever – Replaces Diversion. Drive your blades into nearby enemies heads, Blinding and Slowing them.
  • Mental Castle – Replaces Distortion. Surround yourself with your Blades, blocking the next 4 Attacks and lashing out with a Weakening strike when attacked.

Weapon
The Longbow might be an odd choice for a DPS weapon, but the Esper doesn’t use the Longbow in a conventional way. Instead, they use Longbow as a Mid-Range to Melee weapon.

  • Esper Slash -> Esper Slice-> Shattershot – Conjure an Illusionary blade in your hand and Slice your opponent twice, before knocking your bow with your blade and firing at your target, Shattering it and damaging nearby enemies. Deals increased damage the closer you are to your target.
  • Mirror Shot – Fire a piercing arrow in the target direction. If it hits an enemy, it generates a Clone that uses Esper Slash. The Cooldown of this Skill is reduced by 25% for each enemy above 1 that you successfully hit (Max 4).
  • Blade Recall -> Blade Burst – Leap at your target and send out a wave of magic behind them that damages enemies before returning to you, granting you Blur and giving access to Blade Burst. Blade Burst causes several illusionary blades to burst out from you, Damaging all nearby Enemies and removing 1 Boon.
  • Phantasmal Archer – Summon a Phantasmal Archer that will attack enemies with Rapid Fire.
  • Illusionary Barrage – Take aim and summon several Illusionary blades behind you that all fly forwards simultaneously, Damaging and Crippling enemies in their path.

Utility Skills
The Esper’s Cantrips are similar to the Elementalist’s only in the regard that they’re pretty much instant cast. But where the Elementalist focuses primarily on Defense and Escape, the Esper will use their Cantrips to chase down enemies or sow discord among their ranks.

  • Mental Leech – Healing Skill. Heal yourself. Daze and Confuse enemies around you, stealing Health from every target struck.
  • Shadow of Doubt – Send out bolts of energy that latch onto enemies, pulsing Slow and Weakness to them until they successfully Hit an enemy with a skill.
  • Flicker – Gain Flicker, causing you to avoid all incoming attacks. Enemies attacking you stack Confusion. Prevents Capture-Point contribution.
  • Shatterstep – Transform into a blade and leap at the target location, scattering identical blades in other, random directions. Each Blade shatters on impact and Cripples enemies hit, while enemies at your location at Immobilized. Also Breaks Stun.
  • Weave of Inspiration – Surround yourself with Strands of illusionary fabric, becoming a mobile Ethereal Field while randomly reflecting projectiles or destroying them and healing yourself.
  • Mind Link – Link with nearby enemies for a short time, causing any Boon they recieve to be Granted to you as Well, and any Condition you gain to be granted to Linked enemies.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Alright, let’s finish off with the other professions while I’m still at it. Next up is the Engineer. The Scrapper was a powerful bruiser, equally adept at offense and defense. However, Engineer lacks something that just throws caution to the wind and goes full throttle, no holds barred gung-ho on enemies. Let’s fix that.

Engineer – Devastator
Weapon: Greatsword
Skills: Overrides
Mechanic: The Devastator gains a new Overheat meter that rests behind their Toolbar that increases with each use of their weapon skills or Physical attacks, and decreases when a Toolbelt skill is used.

Mechanic: Overheat
Restraint isn’t in the Devastator’s vocabulary. Powered by a merciless high-octane engine of destruction, they’re prone to Overheat while in combat, trading their own better health for an incredible destructive power.

The *Overheat" bar has 3 levels: Cool (Green), Hot (Yellow) and Danger! (Red) divided into 100 strikes (40 for Green, 40 for Yellow and 20 for Red). As the Devastator uses Weapon Skills, the bar will increase at a rapid pace, starting at Green and moving towards Red. As the bar goes up, so does the Devastator’s damage and the sheer destructiviness of their Weapon Skills.

However, the Devastator must be careful not to go too overboard or it’ll come back and kick them in the face. If the Overheat bar goes over 100 strikes, they’ll need to cool off and lose access to all their bonuses while also taking increased Damage for a short time. By activating their Toolbelt skills, they can willfully let off some steam and lower the Meter back a few strikes.
The trick to mastering this mechanic is to maintain a balance between Weapon Skill uses, Overrides and Toolbelt Skills.

Weapon
The Greatsword is exactly what you’d think it’d be: A massive, heavy metal mastodon speaking only one language: Pain. A deceptively fast and extremely destructive melee weapon that leaves little room for defense. After all, who needs to defend themselves if there’s no enemy left alive to defend against?

  • Rabid Swing -> Raging Strike -> Devastate – Chain combo that increases in Damage and strikes faster as Overheat levels increases. The Final strike causes an Explosion that causes Burning when Overheat is at Hot or higher.
  • Overdrive – Leap at your target foe with a Crippling leap. Damage, Distance and Cripple duration increases with Overheat level.
  • Octane Circus – Exhaust flames and spin around, Damaging nearby enemies. Number of attacks increase with Overheat level and this skill Burns with each strike at when Overheat is at Danger!
  • Smokin’ Sweep – Sweep your sword before you, releasing thick fumes that Blind enemies. Additionally Poisons targets when Overheat is at Hot or higher, and also Burns enemies when Overheat is at Danger!
  • Chainsaw Dance – Thrash relentlessly with your Blade, dealing massive damage to enemies in front of you. Damage and number of hits increase with Overheat Level, and this skill grants Stability to yourself when Overheat level is at Danger!

The already existing weapons of course also get an Upgrade when overheat levels increases, so that they’re still relevant for use. However, they’re not quite as reliant on it as Greatsword is.

Pistol

  • Fragmentation Shot – Projectile Speed increases with Overheat level and Additionally Burns enemies when Overheat level is at Danger!
  • Poison Dart Volley – Damage and Projectile Speed increases with Overheat level
  • Static Shot – Projectile Speed and Number of Bounces increases with Overheat level
  • Blowtorch – Additionally Destroys Projectiles when Overheat level is at Hot or Higher.
  • Glue Shot – Immobilize Duration increases with Overheat level.

Shield

  • Magnetic Shield – Knockback Distance and Radius increases with Overheat level.
  • Static Shield – Additionally strikes enemies with Lightning while Blocking when Overheat level is at Hot or higher.

Rifle

  • Hip Shot – Damage and Projectile speed increases with Overheat levels.
  • Net Shot – Additionally stacks Vulnerability when Overheat level is at Hot or higher.
  • Blunderbuss – Damage increases with Overheat levels and Additionally stacks Burning depending on range when Overheat level is at Danger!
  • Overcharged Shot – Damage, Range and Projectile speed increases with Overheat levels.
  • Jump Shot – Additionally Knocks down enemies at the Landing spot when Overheat is at Danger!

Utility Skills
Overrides are simple in their conception in that they directly effect the Overheat meter, allowing the Devastator to manipulate it with even more versatility when a few of these are on their utility bar. Most of them are instant Effect, as well.

  • Override Code Blue – Healing Skill. Heal yourself and reset your Overheat bar back to 0, gaining increased Healing and Regeneration depending on current Overheat level.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Emergency Exhaust – Release a cloud of Steam around you, reducing Overheat gain by 50% as long as you stand in it and Pulsing Regeneration. Acts as a Water Field.
  • Override Code Green – Break Stun, Lose up to 30 strikes of Overheat and remove 1 condition for every 10 strikes of overheat lost.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Coolant Coating – Splash coolant on your weapon, causing your next few attacks to not generate Overheat.
  • Override Code Yellow – Lose 10 strikes of Overheat every second for a short time, gaining Protection and Retaliation whenever you gain attain Hot or Danger! levels of Overheat.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Heat Shielding – Surround yourself with intense heat, becoming a mobile Light Field that Blinds nearby enemies with each pulse.
  • Override Code Orange – Gain 30 strikes of Overheat and pulse Quickness for a time, as long as you remain within Danger! levels of Overheat.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Burning Tar – Splash tar at the target Area, Immobilizing and Burning enemies within.
  • Override Code Red – For a short time, you pulse Might, AoE Burning and 10 strikes of Overheat every Second.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Boiling Blood – Increase All Damage by 10% and Double the amount of Overheat you gain from the next few Attacks.
  • Override Code White – For a short time, Overheat level is set to Danger! and you cannot gain or lose Overheat strikes. While this skill is active, Weapon Skills recharge 66% faster.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Override Inversal – For a short time, Overheat level is set to Cool and you cannot gain or lose Overheat strikes. While this skill is active, you’re immune to incoming Damage, but still susceptible to conditions.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I have been scratching my head these last few days trying to come up with a unique and completely different take on a Revenant Elite spec. This crazy idea is the fruit of all that thinking, and introduces a face we only heard of in passing as a Legend to channel for Revenants: Zinn, the founder of Rata Novus.

Revenant – Architect
Weapon: Focus Off-hand
Skills: Zinn, Legendary Visionary Stance
Mechanic: Focusing on holding their ground, the Architect can use their F2 Skill to set up an Area of Operations, which reduced Upkeep cost by a large margin as long as the Architect remains in the area. This aids with their Utility skills, which are Constructs, upkeep skills with different effects.

Mechanic: Area of Operations
Like Zinn created Rata Novus, the Architect is a settler that finds a good spot on the battlefield and amasses a fortress from the Mists through channeling Zinn as a legend. A stalwart defender that specializes in point-holding and slowing down enemies, this legend relies heavily on staying in one spot to fight rather than being mobile.

Area of Operations is a ground-targeted skill that affects a medium-large area. As long as the Architect remains in this area, they’re constantly supplied energy from the Mists causing all Upkeep skills to only cost 50% of their original Upkeep cost (Rounded up) as long as the Architect stay within the confines. Much like Rata Novus, Area of Operations doesn’t last forever, so the Architect needs to build fast and efficiently once they’ve decided on a good location.

Weapon
The Focus is primarily a Utility weapon equipped to afford the Architect Mobility and CC so that they can work in relative peace, keeping themself busy and balanced while controlling enemies trying to disrupt their careful planning.

  • Mist Veil → Through the Mists – Cover yourself and nearby Allies in a veil that pulses Stability to them. Activate again to consume Mist Veil and Shadowstep to the target area, creating a short-lived mist rift at both Positions that allies can use to travel through if they’re under the effects of Mist Veil.
  • Singularity Bomb – Send an Orb towards the target position that Chills enemies it passes through. Once the orb reaches its position, it implodes and Pulls in enemies beyond the range Threshold and Launches enemies within the range Threshold.

Utility Skills
The utility skills that the Architect has access to are called Constructs. These are all immovable, destructible objects that can be placed anywhere within the range threshold and have a passive effect once placed. Up to 2 Constructs of the same kind can be placed at one time, and single instance of a Construct comes with an Upkeep cost. Once set, the Architect can interact with these constructs using their Interact key in order to remove them.

  • Mist Beacon – Construct. Healing Skill. Place a healing Mist Beacon at the target Area that pulses Healing to nearby Allies at a set intervall.
    • Second Mist Beacon – Place a second Mist Beacon at the target area.
  • Wall of the Mists – Construct. Place a wall at the target area that enemies cannot cross. When the wall is destroyed, it shatters and stacks Confusion on nearby enemies.
    • Second Wall – Place a second Wall of the Mists at the target area.
  • Mist Sentry – Construct. Place a node of Mist energy at the target location that will fire bolts of Mist energy at nearby enemies at a set intervall, leaving them Vulnerable. Acts as a Projectile Finisher.
    • Second Mist Sentry – Place a second Mist Sentry at the target area.
  • Mist Trap – Construct. Place a rotating bladewheel at the target location that will activate when enemies come within range, Damaging and Tormenting them with each strike. Acts as a Whirl Finisher while attacking.
    • Second Trap – Place a second Mist Trap at the target area.
  • Tower of the Mists – Construct. Elite Skill. Raise a mist Tower at the target location that pulses Protection and Stability to allies within, while removing Conditions. Combo Field: Lightning.
    • Second Tower – Place a second Tower of the Mists at the target area.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Survivable open world builds

in Players Helping Players

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Generally speaking, oftentimes it can be enough to simply swap Traitlines around.

For Warrior, for instance, just swapping Tactics to Defense will be a HUGE buff to your survivability as you’ll get Dogged March, Endure Pain Auto-proc and Cleansing Ire/Last Stand along with Adrenal Healing, making you extremely tanky. Simply slot in a few stances and you’re good to go even in Zerker.

As for gear, I tend to mix in either Knight or Soldier gear with Zerker for Direct Damage fighters, or if you don’t wanna lose too much effective power then you can merely go full Marauders (Crafting it can be expensive though).

For each profession I’d suggest the following:

  • Warrior – Change to Strength/Defense/Berserker (or Discipline if you don’t have the elite spec unlocked) while keeping the Zerker Armor. Load stances such as Balanced Stance, Berserker’s Stance and Endure Pain onto your tray and use Headbutt for max Adrenaline at the start of a fight. Should work with Full Zerker in Open World this way.
  • Guardian – Keep the Meta build (Zeal/Honor/Dragonhunter) but swap in Defender’s Dogma as your DH GM trait. Swap in LB as a ranged weapon. If this isn’t enough, consider equipping some Soldier gear, or go full Marauder’s.
  • Thief – Deadly Arts/Trickery/Daredevil all the way. Mug+Sleight of Hand will help sustain you this way, and Dash as your DD dodge will make moving about and running away a breeze. Use Staff as your weapon of choice, prioritize the use of Vault and Weakening Charge to maintain good DPS while also keeping enemies in check. Swap in some Soldier gear if you’re still having issues.
  • Necromancer – Spite/Soul Reaping/Reaper with Shouts and Signets, or Blood Magic and Wells if you don’t have Reaper. Use GS/Staff, or D+Wh/Staff. Use Valkyrie or Cavalier, as Deathly Perception/Decimate Defenses will be all the Critting you need.
    For Condition Builds, use Viper (Or if you can’t get that, Sinister or Carrion) and run with Curses/Soul Reaping/Reaper or Curses/Death Magic/Reaper if using Minions.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Sword change

in Ranger

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

That animation looks reeeeally slick, I kinda dig it. True, it has a very different feel to it compared to the old one (Which was also really slick) but it certainly isn’t much worse imo. It feels more elegant/composed compared to the old one though, which was more wild and unhinged which went well with the animalistic themes of Ranger.

Still wanna see this on human, male norn and asura. Seriously, if you haven’t seen the current Sword AA on male norn or asura yet, then you’ve missed out and should check it before it goes away.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Elementalist – Spellshot
Weapon: Rifle
Skills: Stances
Mechanic: Accumulates Spellcharges whenever they activate a Weapon Skill with a Cooldown, which differ depending on Attunement. When 10 charges have been gained, they can launch a powerful Arcane Burst with F5.

Mechanic: Spellcharges and Arcane Burst
Whenever the Spellshot uses a Weapon Skill with a cooldown, they gain a Spellcharge of the corresponding Element that they’re currently attuned to (For instance, using a Weapon Skill while attuned to Fire grants you a Fire Charge). Once they’ve accumulated 10 charges, the Spellshot gains access to a skill called Arcane Burst, which is a powerful Ground-targeted AoE, activated with F5, that gains different properties depending on what Spellcharges you’ve accumulated.

  • For each Fire Charge, the Damage of Arcane Burst is increased and each charge causes it to stack 1 instance of Burning on enemies.
  • For each Water Charge, the Healing of Arcane Burst is increased and every 2 charges causes it to Remove 1 Condition from affected Allies, up to a maximum of 5.
  • For each Wind Charge, the Critical Hit Chance of Arcane Burst is increased and each charge causes it to stack 2 instances of Vulnerability on enemies.
  • For each Earth Charge, the Radius and Target Limit of Arcane Burst is increased and each charge causes it to stack 2 seconds of Protection on affected Allies.

Oh man, I really like this mechanic, but I don’t think it can be done, not without an overhaul of how the engine handles skills.

My understanding is that any skill that has variation, for example, if a trait changes some aspect of it, the skill is actually multiple skills. One without the trait, one with the trait, and it silently swaps in the appropriate one when the trait is selected or deselected.

A skill that varies on charges like this would need 1 048 576 skills (permutation with replacement, set of 4 options, pick 10). Reducing it to 4 charges (probably the minimum acceptable number) still makes 256 skills.

Yikes, yeah I did not take that fact into consideration. Means I’ll have to think of something else, because realistically speaking that even if the skill “Looks” the same, if each charge would result in a different skill then it’s simply not feasible, yah.

UPDATE:
Changed the Mechanism altogether, but kept the idea of building up Spell Charges by using Weapon Skills.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

The world is too small

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

This feels like another “I want mounts!” thread in disguise…

Seriously, making a game “bigger” by making traveling a chore isn’t anything but a cheap measure to stretch out content and artificially increase game times for the players. It’s a shallow attempt at hiding the fact that maybe, there isn’t as much to do out there as you’re lead to believe, because 1/3rd of your playtime is spent waiting while a horse/train/balloon/watermelon auto-travels you somewhere at walking pace.

You wanna kill off world events? Force people to run from LA to Sparkfly Fen just to do Tequatl. Heck, Inquest Golem MKII has no chance in hell to survive that, being in Mt. Maelstrom and having paltry rewards in comparison.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Why is armor design so poor in this game?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I really don’t like the Final Fantasy Armor any more than the Bladed armor. Both are equally over the top and silly with an unnecessery amount of spikes.

There are a few problems with the overall design of some of GW2’s armors, such as the ever prevalent Trenchcoats under medium Armor, the mystery of Sylvari male’s Plus-sized pauldron problem and the inexplicable reasoning behind the female Phalanx armor (Seriously, what happened here? You don’t put Stiletto heels on plate armor! Ok, scratch that, it’s not even Plate for females, it’s Scalemail, why?! Rant over.). But issues like that arise in just about any Fantasy genre game ever created, with very few exceptions.

In general, GW2 armors and their designs are really, really good if you ask me. I’ll admit that some armors, specifically the starter and low-level armors, lack a great deal in imagination and amazement. But then on the other hand, we have such awesome sets such as:

Magitech:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Magitech_armor_human_male_front.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Magitech_armor_human_female_front.jpg

Phalanx (male):
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Phalanx_armor_human_male_front.jpg

Whisper’s Secret Armor:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Whisper's_Secret_armor_%28medium%29_human_male_front.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Whisper's_Secret_armor_%28medium%29_human_female_front.jpg

Acolyte Armor:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Acolyte_armor_human_male_front.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Acolyte_armor_human_female_front.jpg

And this is without mix-and-matching, which brings out the very best in armor design in GW2.

@Revolutionen

Not gonna bash your sense of style, but why are all the female armors negligés? Those don’t even qualify for miniskirts, I can see the panties on the first one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a straight red-blooded male who couldn’t care less when there’s pandering to male gaze and I’d prolly pay money for that outfit at some point in my life, but it doesn’t really make for a striking cause when arguing for armor design other than “I think this game needs more skimpy female outfits”.

On another note, we can see that the second set in that series suffers the almost archaic “Chainmail Bikini Syndrome”, in where the male outfit is a full set of heavy plate armor and the female is… underwear (Again, it’s a negligé with stockings and what I’m pretty sure is high heels.) Like I’m all for skimpy female armors, again I do so love pandering to the male gaze cause I have said male gaze, but at least make it fair when you do and dress the guy down too, like they did with the first set. GW2 has this very same problem with some sets (LIKE PHALANX! No, I’m not gonna let that go.)

I’m also gonna wager that the edgy Bee armor the male is showing off in the second link and the one that “Totally not Lightning from FFXIII” is showcasing in Link 3 are the same set. Which brings me to the next point:

THAT’S THE BLOODY PHALANX SET, BDO EDITION! Goshmadarnabbit I wanna shout profanities to the high heavens about this cause my Pet is peeved so hard right now and for once that isn’t a euphemism! It’s got the idiot thigh gap and dumbkitten boob window and the ANKLE-SHATTERING stiletto heels on full plate metal boots, it doesn’t add to the sexy-factor when it’s THAT BLATANTLY STUPID AND OUT OF PLACE!

Huff…

Huff…

Ok, I’m done. Rant over. For real this time.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Why does this game even have "Shortbows"?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I’m not missing anything. Greatswords and long guns (arquebus) were both weapons of the renaissance, as were rapiers (which are exist as skins) and to an extent arming swords. The fact that rangers use modern swords and greatswords (weapons of war) shows that using modern weapons is not against them, so there isn’t a reason for them not to use rifles beyond “because it would be too much effort for the devs to change now besides elite specs”-which I consider a valid reason. It’s not like guns mark the difference between the dark ages and industrial era, they came about in the time in between. It’s also not like they were made in factories on assembly line, they were forged much like anything else back then.

The biggest difference to take into note is that while Greatswords made their advent into Warfare at roughly the same time as the Arquebus, it nonetheless faded into obscurity over time whereas the Rifle prospered and quickly ended up superior through technological advancement. I’m not gonna argue that you’re wrong about the historical impact of Swords, cause you’re not, but I will argue that the Rifle most definitely represents the Industrial evolution of human society much more so than Swords do.

While my previous point only adressed the Thematical issues with giving Core Rangers rifle, that doesn’t mean I believe it to be the only reason. However, it was the subject of which it was argued that they should’ve been given Rifles back when I entered the debate, as such I focused on that aspect alone which may have made it look like I was arguing as if thematic reasons would be the only ones for the lack of Rifles on Core Rangers. While I’d argue that it’s possibly the chief reason, I won’t argue that it’s the only one.

From a Mechanical Point of View, the Rifle wouldn’t add anything to the Ranger that isn’t already covered by the Longbow (Extreme Long Range, Power Damage), Shortbow (Medium-Long Range, Condition Damage) or Axe (Medium Range, Hybrid). From a mechanical stand-point, adding Rifle is quite redundant as it stands now.

In the same vein, the reason that the Ranger has Swords and Greatswords in their weaponry is because they, as I stated above, needed Melee weapons. And thanks to Aragorn and Lord of the Rings (Which basically shaped Fantasy as we know it), Rangers and Swords have proved a favored combination (Even if the Rangers of other settings vary greatly in terms of visualization, thematic focal points and overall design).

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Why does this game even have "Shortbows"?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Wildfires are a common natural phenomena and they are extremely necessery for the sake of maintaining the status quo in Nature, as it burns down old and possibly dying fauna from which new life can spring (In the most simplest of terms). You don’t see nature suddenly starting to shoot lead everywhere through complicated contraptions made from metal and wood, ignited by naturally existing gunpowder.

The core reason why the Rifle isn’t a staple in the Ranger weaponry is because they represent Industrialization and Progression away from a Hunter-gatherer society towards a Settler society. It is in every way the anti-thesis to what the Ranger is supposed to represent, which is Naturalism and to some extent, Regression back to Nature and the Roots of creation and all that hippie mumbo-jumbo.

Rangers have changed almost nothing from their GW1 Counterpart and I’m fairly certain this is a deliberate move from ANet’s side. They use the same Traps, Spirits, Weapons and Survival Skills in 1328 AE as they did centuries ago, and excel at it. They’re the complete opposite to Engineer, who represents Industrialism and Utilitarian Progressiveness.

Also, the whole “Rifle vs Longbow” as a Hunting weapon thing? Lemme put it this way: The Rifle was designed as a weapon of war (Which is why Warrior has it) and wasn’t adapted for hunting purposes until the more Accurate and reliable Rifles of the 19th century were introduced. Meanwhile, the Bow is the archetypical Hunting weapon alongside the Spear and Skinning Knife, having been around since humanity learned to tie a piece of rope between two ends of a slightly flexible stick. Clearly, the Bow is the better representative for Hunting.

Could there be an Elite Specialization for Ranger that uses Rifle? Oh heck yeah there could be! The whole idea of Elite Specializations is to take the Core Profession and completely flip its theme on its head, and a Rifle would work wonders for that. But Core Ranger will never and should never have a Rifle as their weapon, because as has been stated several times before, it clashes with the thematics of the Ranger itself.

That still doesn’t explain swords or greatswords.

“Modern” steel swords are not hunting weapons, nor are they really old technology (excepting bronze/iron ones that were soft). In order to make such a length of steel that doesn’t shatter or bend out-of-shape on impact requires a high metallurgical understanding, such is only possible in more “developed” societies.

Greatswords are the renaissance era equivalent of carrying a Barret .50 cal. Not much specific documentation about use, but were used to guard bannermen in mercenary groups and sometimes were used for dueling. They aren’t convenient to carry. They aren’t ideal for trekking through the bush. In reality they can’t even be kept in a scabbard to draw quickly; the only way to carry them is with one hand holding it on one’s shoulder. They are purely for war, and like most 2-handed swords were designed in an era where body armor was well-developed (less need of the other hand for a shield), and when forging had reached new heights.

Rangers generally aren’t about being completely at harmony with nature, that’s given to druids. Rangers’ nature-based knowledge and magic places them near nature, but their use of modern technology is what means they are separated from a purely “primitive” style. To contrast, engineers are completely separated from nature but utilize a plethora of modern inventions.

As an aside you also don’t see nature propelling wooden sticks by means of elastic force through animals and people.

You’re missing my point. Rifles marked the end of an era, not only in terms of warfare but also in terms of industry and technology. They came around during a time when Enlightenment was taking baby steps and the era of the Dark Ages was running towards a close. Coincidental, perhaps, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Rifle is the weapon of the new age, one that has little room for Naturalism and the wonders of Nature in favor of science and progress.

I’m just reiterating my earlier point here, but the above is why Core Rangers aren’t given Rifles, because they represent those old-fashioned Values and the Respect for Natural elements in face of an insurmountable wave of new technology and inventions sweeping across civilization.

The difference between a Core Ranger and a Druid is that the Core Ranger is connected to the Naturalist aspect of Nature; basically what you see with your eyes, smell with your nose and feel beneath the sole of your feet; while Druids are connected primarily to the Mythical and Celestial aspects of Nature; the turning of the tides and cycles, the movements of celestial bodies, of life and rebirth. Seriously, Druids only gain a total of 4 Skills connected to Plant-life (Vine Surge, Sublime Conversion, Mystic Seed and Glyph of Alignment), rest are Celestial-based skills.


Where did I mention swords and greatswords? I never tried to explain their place among the Ranger’s weaponry, nor did I argue for or against them.

If we’re gonna get into why Rangers use swords, then we’ll have to dig all the way back to the Archetypical Ranger, the Ur-Ranger: Aragorn, of Lord of the Rings Fame. He popularized the idea of a Sword-wielding lonewolf with cool threads, from which countless copies (Including the well-known drow Drizzd Do’urden or however you spell it) sprung up in just about every fantasy setting ever created.
It’s basically the rule of cool.

Gameplay-wise, they needed Melee weapons because the Ranger, as a profession, was designed to be a Skirmisher that could weave in and out of any range with almost seamless fluidity. So it just made sense to go with the one Melee-weapon that is commonly associated with Rangers, namely swords.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Why does this game even have "Shortbows"?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

If the only reason to not have a ranger use a gun is that it “goes against nature”, than they need to remove our use of torches. Nothing destroys more of “nature” than fire (other than real world humans…and I live where this has happened and it’s not pretty). What “nature conscious” person runs around setting fire to things? (sure, you can use fire to fight fires, but the game doesn’t employ any firefighters that I’ve seen)

Wildfires are a common natural phenomena and they are extremely necessery for the sake of maintaining the status quo in Nature, as it burns down old and possibly dying fauna from which new life can spring (In the most simplest of terms). You don’t see nature suddenly starting to shoot lead everywhere through complicated contraptions made from metal and wood, ignited by naturally existing gunpowder.

The core reason why the Rifle isn’t a staple in the Ranger weaponry is because they represent Industrialization and Progression away from a Hunter-gatherer society towards a Settler society. It is in every way the anti-thesis to what the Ranger is supposed to represent, which is Naturalism and to some extent, Regression back to Nature and the Roots of creation and all that hippie mumbo-jumbo.

Rangers have changed almost nothing from their GW1 Counterpart and I’m fairly certain this is a deliberate move from ANet’s side. They use the same Traps, Spirits, Weapons and Survival Skills in 1328 AE as they did centuries ago, and excel at it. They’re the complete opposite to Engineer, who represents Industrialism and Utilitarian Progressiveness.

Also, the whole “Rifle vs Longbow” as a Hunting weapon thing? Lemme put it this way: The Rifle was designed as a weapon of war (Which is why Warrior has it) and wasn’t adapted for hunting purposes until the more Accurate and reliable Rifles of the 19th century were introduced. Meanwhile, the Bow is the archetypical Hunting weapon alongside the Spear and Skinning Knife, having been around since humanity learned to tie a piece of rope between two ends of a slightly flexible stick. Clearly, the Bow is the better representative for Hunting.

Could there be an Elite Specialization for Ranger that uses Rifle? Oh heck yeah there could be! The whole idea of Elite Specializations is to take the Core Profession and completely flip its theme on its head, and a Rifle would work wonders for that. But Core Ranger will never and should never have a Rifle as their weapon, because as has been stated several times before, it clashes with the thematics of the Ranger itself.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Next in line for this batch. I think we’ll go with the Elementalist this time. The Elementalist has often been shoe-horned into supportive and bunker roles because of their low HP values and reliance on healing back up. This idea is to try and remedy that.

Elementalist – Spellshot
Weapon: Rifle
Skills: Stances
Mechanic: Accumulates Spellcharges whenever they activate a Weapon Skill with a Cooldown, up to a maximum of 10 charges. Whenever they have at least 5 charges, they can activate Elemental Infusion by pressing the key of the Attunement they’re currently in.

Mechanic: Spellcharges and Elemental Infusion
Whenever the Spellshot uses a Weapon Skill with a cooldown, they gain a Spellcharge. Once they’ve accumulated 5 charges, the Spellshot gains access to a skill called Elemental Infusion, which can be activated by pressing the key of the attunement they’re currently in. When this happens, the Elementalist is locked into that attunement, however the Cooldown of all their Weapon Skills are drastically reduced by 75%, and skills below 10s CD recharge instantly. However, using a skill with a cooldown in this mode consumes 1 Spellcharge. Once all Spellcharges has been used up, Elemental Infusion goes on cooldown. Switching Attunements while under the effects of Elemental Infusion will not consume the Spell Charges, but will end the state prematurely and put it on Cooldown.

Weapon
The Rifle is an All-purpose Offensive weapon that has less access to Healing and Support in comparison to Staff, however makes up for this with rapid attacks and other viable options for sustain, primarily through Mobility and Range.

Fire

  • Flaming Shot – Fire an exploding, high-speed bullet at your target that Burns enemies in the Blast Radius.
  • Explosion – Fire an exploding Shot at the target area, dealing massive Damage to enemies within. Acts as a Blast Finisher.
  • Flame Step – Quickly teleport backwards in a burst of Flame that damage enemies at your original position.
  • Dancing Wisps – Fire Several shots in a quick succession that will Ricochet across the target Area, Damaging enemies within each pulse. Acts as a Fire Field.
  • Overheat – Gather heat and Remove up to 3 Conditions from yourself, Burning nearby enemies for each Condition removed.

Water

  • Icicle Shot – Fire a piercing Ice Shot that causes Vulnerability on enemies. Acts as a Projectile Finisher (20%).
  • Shattershot – Fire a Shattering shot that Damages all enemies around your target. Acts as a Projectile Finisher.
  • Ice Slide – Skate forwards in the target Direction on a patch of Ice, Chilling enemies in your path.
  • Blizzard – Spin around, granting yourself Frost Aura and creating a raging blizzard at your position that rapidly expands, damaging and Chilling enemies.
  • Avalanche – Block up to 3 incoming attacks while charging a powerful Ice Blast. After Channeling, release a frozen blast that Launches and Chills all nearby enemies. Acts as a Blast Finisher.

Air

  • Vacuum shot – Fire a deceptively Rapid wind bullet at your target.
  • Lightning Lance – Take Aim and fire a concentrated stream of Electricity that Pierces through enemies.
  • Gale Hop – Leap at the target Area while evading attacks. Acts as a Leap Finisher.
  • Whirlwind – Spin your Rifle before you, creating a powerful Gale that Knocks back enemies and Destroys projectiles.
  • Infused Lightning – Raise your rifle into the air and infuse it with Lightning, causing your next 3 attacks to Daze your target.

Earth

  • Stoneshot – Fire a sharp stone that Bleeds your target. Acts as a Projectile Finisher.
  • Gravel Shot – Fire a Close-range Gravel burst that Blinds and Bleeds enemies in front of you.
  • Heavy Shot – Weaken and Cripple your target with an encumbering Shot.
  • Magnetic Bullet – Fire a slow-moving magnetic Bullet that pulses Cripple to enemies and Reflects Projectiles.
  • Submerge -> Emerge – Submerge beneath the Ground, gaining Invulnerability until you emerge again. When you emerge, raise Sharp spikes to Bleed and Immobilize enemies around you.

Utility Skills
The Spellshot’s stances are all inspired by the elements and acts as Instant-cast mechanics, making them very useful both for setting up Combos or turning the tides of a fight.

  • Crashing Waves – Healing Skill. Become a mobile Water field and cascade waves of water around you, Healing yourself and nearby Allies with each Pulse. Acts as a Water Field.
  • Raging Flames – Surround yourself with Burning wisps, becoming a mobile Fire Field and pulsing Resistance to yourself. Acts as a Fire field.
  • Biting Ice – Become a mobile Ice Field and Leave a trail of Shatterstones as long as you remain Mobile, Damaging enemies when they shatter. Acts as an Ice Field.
  • Roaring Thunder – Become a mobile Lightning Field, periodically damaging and Dazing enemies close to you while pulsing Superspeed. Acts as a Lightning Field.
  • Immovable Rock – Pulse Stability and take no Damage from regular attacks as long as you remain Immobile. You’re still susceptible to Conditions.
  • Harmonious Arcana – Causes all Critical Hits to Heal you, equal to the increase in Damage gained from your Critical Damage.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

  • Assassin’s Promise – Elite Skill. Hex. Mark your foe with a deadly Hex for 6s. The Hex makes the target unable to remove Conditions and pulses Chill every 2s.

How is it able to not see how ridiculously op this skill is? You want to give a new condition elite spec a weapon which causes bleed, poison and burn, the utility skills do conditions too and all this stuff… and then unable the target to clean them?

How do you want to balance it? It needs kitten cast time and to be addressed like hell to even think about something like this. Oh and you should have to stand still while you cast it.

You’re quite right, the skill is OP despite my previous intentions with it. I only had in mind “Resistance” when thinking up this skill, along with the general idea that Marks have long Cast Time and Short range.

In Particular, I imagined this Skill to have around 1 1/2s Cast Time and require Melee Range (Similar to Touch Hexes in GW1) which I then felt would justify the redonkelously powerful effect, but that might just toss it into Useless Useful Spell territory as no Thief ever would be able to land it on a somewhat competent player.

I also think that I’ll add a small Damage Component to Hexes when you apply them, so that the Agent can’t just camp Stealth and spam Hexes to win a fight. Gave me something to think about, cheers!

EDIT:

Right, so changed the Skill completely, removing the Chill portion as well and splitting Torment and Bleeding across 2 Hexes instead of 1.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

We’re continuing on again, because I’m so full of wonderful ideas. This time it’s a Medium Profession’s turn, and we’re gonna go with Thief.

Thief – Agent
Weapon: Longbow
Skills: Hexes
Mechanic: Steal is replaced by Mark of Death, and stolen items are replaced with an Execute Skill. They also gain access to all-new Hex Utility Skills.

Mechanic: Mark of Death and Execute
The Agent is a sinister agent of death that specializes in Condition Damage and attrition, forcing his enemy into a drawn-out and painful dance of death by branding him with Hexes. Steal is replaced with the hex Mark of Death, which is a 900-unit Hex that inherits traits affecting Steal. Execute replaces Stolen Items, and inherits effects from traits affecting Stolen items.

  • Mark of Death – Hex. Damage and Mark your foe for execution for 6s. The Hex increases All Damage on the target by 10% and pulses Vulnerability to them every 2s.
  • Execute – Shadowstep to and Remove all Hexes from your target, damaging them for 2% of their Maximum HP for each Hex removed. This skill ignores all Armor values, Boons and buffs.

Weapon
The Longbow fires arrows coated with insipid venoms and other nasty surprises from a long range, allowing the Agent to set up a large area of operations from which they will rain havoc on enemy troops with debilitating conditions and sow discord with misdirection and deception.

  • Poison Tip Shot – Fire a Poisoned Arrow at your target, causing Poison. Acts as a Projectile Finisher (20%).
    • (Stealth Skill) Explosive Arrow – Fire an arrow into your target that Bleeds them and will Explode after 2s, damaging and Burning all enemies around your target. Acts as a Projectile Finisher.
  • Barbed Fan – Fire a spread of 5 Crippling Arrows in a cone in front of you. Acts as a Projectile Finisher (20%).
  • Lacerating Barrage – Fire multiple Bleeding Arrows at your target. Acts as a Projectile Finisher (20%)..
  • Serpent’s Trail – Fire an Acid-laced arrow forwards that pierces through enemies and leaves behind a Poison Field that damages and Poisons them. Acts as a Poison Field. Acts as a Projectile Finisher.
  • Rapid Sortie – Drop a smoke field and leap Backwards, Blinding enemies and disappearing in Stealth. Acts as a Smoke Field. Acts as a Leap Finisher.

Utility Skills
The Hexes available to the Agent are unique Debuffs that cannot be removed from the affected player, that pulses an effect on them over its relatively short duration. The most important part of these is that they forcefully keep the target stuck in combat, making escaping from an Agent once they’ve got a lock down on you a very difficult task. In return for these powerful effect, Activation Times or Range often suffers, meaning the Agent must carefully plan and set up each Hex rather than mindlessly throwing them out there.

  • Siphon Strength – Heal Skill. Hex. Damage and Mark your foe with a vampiric Hex for 6s. The Hex reduces their Damage by 10% and pulses Damage to them every 2s, Healing you whenever it damages the target.
  • Enduring Toxin – Hex. Damage and Mark your foe with a venomous Hex for 6s. The Hex increases Condition Duration on the target by 50% and pulses Poison every 2s.
  • Seeping Wound – Hex. Damage and Mark your foe with an insipid Hex for 6s. The Hex increases all Condition Damage on the Target by 20% and pulses Bleeding every 2s.
  • Shadowy Burden – Hex. Damage and Mark your foe with a burdening Hex for 6s. The Hex makes the target immune to Movement Speed increases and pulses Cripple every 2s.
  • Price of Pride – Hex. Damage and Mark your foe with a parasitic Hex for 6s. The Hex reduces Boon Duration of the target by 50% and removes 1 Boon from them every 2s.
  • Assassin’s Promise – Elite Skill. Hex. Damage and Mark your foe with a deadly Hex for 6s. The Hex stacks Torment on the target whenever they gain a Condition and pulses Chill every 2s.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I’m back, with a new profession again. Starting over with heavies, this time with Guardian. So far, Guardian has been a staunt and immobile profession with little mobility to speak of, and Dragonhunter didn’t exactly fix that. Well, the Cavalier is my response, a Defensive and Mobile Champion whose Vigil never rests.

Guardian – Cavalier
Weapon: Warhorn
Skills: Minions
Mechanic: The Cavalier gains access to an ethereal Mount, which they can saddle up on with F4 to gain a massive boost to Movement Speed and access to 5 new Skills.

Mechanic: Steed of Virtue
The Steed of Virtue takes the form of what looks like a Horse’s suit of armor, however hollowed out with only the Tell-tale blue flames animating the suit of metal. The Cavalier can choose to mount their steed whenever they wish, gaining a massive 50% boost to Movement speed and 5 new Weapon Skills, but in return losing access their Utility Skills. Furthermore, should the Cavalier be subjected to Knockback, Knock Down or Launch, then they will be throw out of their saddle and the Steed will be put on Cooldown. Provided, of course, that the Cavalier doesn’t have Stability.
While in Combat, the Movement Boost that being mounted grants is reduced by half. This movement boost also does not stack with other sources of movement boosts, such as Swiftness or Superspeed. There’s no time limit on how long the Cavalier can stay mounted, however.
While mounted, the Cavalier wields a Burning Spear made from blue flames, replacing his weapon skills with new ones:

  • Burning Javelin – Throw a Burning Lance at your target, damaging and Burning them.
  • Rear – Order your steed to Rear and kick at enemies in front of you, Blocking incoming attacks and Crippling enemies struck.
  • Zealot’s Rain – Hurl your spear into the sky and rain Immobilizing fire over the Target Area that ignites into a Fire Field that Burns enemies.
  • Thrash – Order your steed to Thrash wildly, Damaging and Knocking back nearby enemies. Acts as a Blast Finisher.
  • Gallop → Leap – Order your steed to Gallop forwards, Knocking Back enemies in your path and granting you Superspeed. Activate while Galloping to perform a Long-distance leap that will Knock Down enemies when you land. Activating Leap increases the Cooldown on this Skill.

Weapon
The Warhorn is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Cavalier, who uses it to Smite their enemies and Strengthen their allies with Offensive Boons.

  • Call of Judgement → Firestorm – Sound your Warhorn, granting yourself a Buff that pulses Might to yourself and nearby Allies over time. Activate again to call down a giant ball of fire over the target Area, Damaging and Burning enemies caught in the Blast depending on how long Call of Judgement was active. Acts as a Blast Finisher.
  • Calamitous Wrath – Call down a Pillar of Light at the target area that Slams into enemies, Damaging them and Knocking them down. The Pillar leaves behind a searing crack that stacks Vulnerability on enemies within and grows larger with each pulse. Acts as a Light Field.

Utility Skills
The Cavalier is a one-man army on his own right, but sometimes you just can’t be in two places at the same time. That’s where Minions come into the picture.
Unlike Necromancer Minions who follow their master like mindless drones, the Cavalier Minions are summoned to a specific point, and will not move outside of its designated Area but nonetheless Aggressively attack enemies that enter. Also unlike Necromancer Minions, Cavalier Minions create an Effect when summoned rather than dismissed. They have a Long Tether distance, however if the Cavalier moves out of it the Minions will be dismissed and go on Cooldown.
Cavalier Minions look similar to Exalted, only that their armor is shining Silver and their flames are Azure. Each wield a different weapon depending on their Role.

  • Summon Deacon – Healing Skill. Summon a Staff-wielding Deacon at the target Area, causing a Burst of Healing for nearby Allies. The Deacon will hold its ground, Healing allies in an AoE around itself at a set intervall.
    • Dismiss Deacon – Dismiss your Deacon, reducing the Cooldown by 25%.
  • Summon Arbiter – Summon a Sword-wielding Arbiter at the Target Area that will Advance forwards with a flurry of cleaving strikes before teleporting back to its area. The Arbiter will hold its ground, attacking nearby enemies with Rending sword attacks.
    • Dismiss Arbiter – Dismiss your Arbiter, reducing the Cooldown by 25%.
  • Summon Juggernaut – Summon an Unarmed Juggernaut that will Knock Down all enemies at the target Area, acting as a Blast Finisher. The Juggernaut will hold its ground, attacking nearby enemies with Weakening body blows.
    • Dismiss Juggernaut – Dismiss your Juggernaut, reducing the Cooldown by 25%.
  • Summon Firecaller – Summon a Scepter-wielding Firecaller that will Blind and Immobilize nearby enemies with a Baleful Light. The Firecaller will holds its ground, attacking nearby enemies with Burning fireballs that grant Might to Allies in the Blast radius.
    • Dismiss Firecaller – Dismiss your Firecaller, reducing the Cooldown by 25%.
  • Summon Knight – Break Stun and Summon a Shield-wielding Knight that Taunts all enemies at the Target Area and Grants Aegis to nearby allis, while gaining Protection for each enemy Taunted. The Knight will hold its ground, granting Protection and Stability to nearby Allies each time it strikes an enemy.
    • Dismiss Knight – Dismiss your Knight, reducing the Cooldown by 25%.
  • Summon Vindicator – Elite Skill. Summon a Greatsword-wielding Vindicator that Finishes Downed opponents and Revives Downed Allies at the target area. The Vindicator will hold its ground, attacking nearby enemies with powerful Whirling strikes and acting like a Whirl Finisher.
    • Dismiss Vindicator – Dismiss your Vindicator, reducing the cooldown by 25%.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Regarding Guardian

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

1) How Durable is Guardian for Leveling?
– Very Durable, but at a steeper learning curve than Warrior or Necromancer. Guardian requires intricate knowledge of your utility skills and specializations; because of their low HP Pool (It’s the lowest in-game alongside Thief and Elementalist) they can’t properly facetank everything with a shrug of their shoulders. Guardians rely heavily on Aegis (The Boon), Healing and other Active Defenses in order to sustain themselves in Combat.

2) Which Spec is the Tankiest?
– First things first, in GW2 the idea of Tanky Gear is generally that it acts as a buffer while you’re learning the Profession. As you gain better and better at managing your Endurance, Cooldowns, Boons, Healing and Active Defenses, you’ll be able to progress away from typically “Tanky” stats to full DPS. Outside of Raids, there are no clear-cut Tanking mechanics, meaning that the only way you’ll keep the attention of foes is by Out-DPSing the other players around you. But that’s really only a matter when you reach Lvl 80, up until that point just about any gear will do the trick, so run with whatever you want.

As for Specializations (First Tree available at Lvl 20, second at 45, third at 71), the first one you’ll want to max out is Virtues. It’s the most versatile tree and it enhances your 3 Virtues, meaning that it’s useful regardless of your weapon choices and Utility skills.

After that, Zeal is the best option. As a Guardian, you pretty much have Defense in the bag from the Get-go, so boosting your defense won’t be a necessity until later.

Third in line should be either Radiance or Honor, depending on wether you want to sustain yourself through Blinding and Controlling enemies, or Healing yourself consistently. Valor can be saved for last, but if you find yourself struggling you can go with it earlier since its got a lot of good Defensive traits for Solo Play.

When it comes to Utility Skills, the Guardian is pretty much swamped in nothing but good choices. The only exception being Spirit Weapons, which are ridiculously sub-par in comparison to their other options. It’s important that you keep in mind, though, that Utility Skills can and should be swapped out as the situation demands.

  • Shouts are always a good option because they pump out important Defensive Boons at short Cooldowns, and with no cast-time meaning you don’t have to interrupt your other skills.
  • Meditations are also good. Less team- and Boon-oriented than Shouts but they have a bigger effect on the Guardian. If you choose to go with Meditations, look into maxing out the Valor tree early to make the absolute most out of them.
  • Consecrations are very strong AoE Skills that can just about save you from harm completely. They’re long-duration and have long cooldowns, however, making them more useful for longer, tougher fights than mobile combat.
  • Signets are basically Passive Boosts that can be activated for a bigger effect. They’re good for what they do, but rather boring and simple. The right Signet for your build will never be out-of-place, but often cannot fill the void from other Utility Skills.

When it comes to Weapons, then the Tankiest weapon by far for Guardian is the 2-handed Hammer, if only because it leaves behind a Symbol that grants Protection to yourself and nearby allies whenever you finish an Auto Chain combo. The fact that Protection reduced incoming damage by 33% grossly outshines any Damage Mitigation from Toughness.

You could probably still do pretty well with Mace and Shield. The Mace is a Healing Weapon, sustaining the Guardian through the Healing it grants from the Auto Chain combo and Symbol, along with the Block from Protector’s Strike. Shield adds an Aegis source on relatively low CD, as well as more healing and projectile defense.

For moving around through the Open World however, I suggest keeping a Staff handy. It comes with a Symbol of Swiftness, which is the Guardian’s only reliable source of the Boon aside from the “Retreat!” shout. Also comes with Empower, allowing you to channel Might to yourself before swapping weapons in a fight to finish it faster.

Funny thing is that all 3 of these Weapons synergize particularily well with the Honor Spec Tree, while Mace and Hammer also Synergize well with the Zeal Spec Tree.

In the end, GW2 is a very casual game however, and you’ll prolly do pretty well in Core Tyria no matter how you build and run it. So don’t worry too much about that kinda stuff right now and focus on enjoying yourself.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Alternative Mesmer Graphics please?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Professions are colour-coded for our Convenience. It really helps me when I see certain specific colours hit me out of nowhere in PvP, because then I can make a quick note of what profession I’m up against and thus what to expect. If colours were suddenly thrown about, and we end up with Cyan Deathshrouds, Crimson Guardian barriers and Mint-green Mesmer Illusions then everything would be a jumbled mess.

As for why the Mesmer has Pink and Purple as their colours? Well, it’s quite simple actually. When it comes to mentalism and psionics, then Pink (Sometimes Light Blue or Azure) has always been the colour that has been strongly associated with such tasks. However, Blue/Azure is primarily something that’s connected to Soothing and Protection, so it obviously went to Guardian first.

Purple is the colour of superiority and arrogance, also of royalty. It represents one who is above the common mob, and sits well with the idea of the Mesmer being a mastermind that toys around with his or her enemies using Mindgames and illusions.

So overall, I don’t think any other colour than Pink/Purple could fit Mesmer whatsoever.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

This expansion is falling apart. [Merged]

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

My take? I’m kinda hopeful now, actually. The whole “Cancelling the Legendary Weapons” is a clear surrender on ANet’s part, but that doesn’t mean they can’t come back for it.

Personally, I think ANet might’ve gotten a bit comfortable with GW2. I mean, look at the competitors that have come and gone without leaving much of a lasting impression on their IP. Wildstar, ESO, BnS… The list goes on.

I think ANet just got a bit conceited for their own good, they felt safe and like they could weather a storm with relative ease. Only that the storm hit a little harder than anticipated.

Perhaps this will urge them to work harder on the game, to push people back into it. Everyone is allowed to dip now and then, and to be fair this was the first major XPac released for GW2, after they had run an entirely different business structure for some time. Mistakes were bound to made, only a bunch of humans working on this game.

I don’t feel like giving in to cynicism and salt just yet, and I don’t really have a reason to. I’ve already paid my due, and gotten a lot of entertainment back from the money I spent. So maybe I play less these days, doesn’t mean I won’t be coming back when something new and shiney shows up on the Forums.

If you’re tired of the game, you’re tired of the game. No more to it, take a break and play something else. GW2 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, pop on by after a few weeks or months and check back on it, won’t cost you a dime to have a look. Even if it’s going downhill now, it doesn’t mean that will always be the case. Things can get better, can get worse, might not change at all. Still gotta wait and see.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestion] Guardian Balance

in Guardian

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I don’t like your take on Dragonhunter, simply because I feel you’re making the equation that Dragonhunter = Guardian, which isn’t true.

Dragonhunter was supposed to add an All-out Offensive version of the Guardian, analogous to what an Inquisitor would be to a Paladin (One kills heathens in the name of faith/God, while the other protects the innocent in the name of Faith/God) just without the religious connotations. The name itself was inspired by Witchhunters, and we all know those were ruthless “Shoot first, ask questions later”-kinda people.
The whole idea of Elite Specializations was to add a different Flavor to each Profession and completely throw the concept on its head, not ONLY adding to what was already an integral part to the Profession. The Dragonhunter personifies Zeal, which is the Offensive portion of Guardian. Other Elite Specs will probably focus on different aspects.

But let’s talk about your Weapon changes first:

Greatsword: Nothing to add, looks fine.

Hammer: You’re basically killing the DPS on the Hammer for a slightly faster Auto-chain, and the Ring of Warding change is uncalled for as it is a very strong Lockdown mechanic (Especially for professions that move a lot just by attacking). I would suggest merely reducing Activation Time from 1s to 3/4s.

Staff: Piercing Light is unbalanced and OP as they come. 5s Silence on an 8s CD means that a Guardian only needs about 60% Condition Duration in order to keep it up 100% With this skill Alone, which is a Piercing, 1200 units Non-Projectile with an Activation time of 1/2s. AND it Reveals for 5s. I will propose changes to Silence and Purify down below, but in their current iterations and with their current durations, those Conditions are very OP.

Longbow: Made entirely, and completely, useless with those changes. PvP Viability goes out the window if you gotta “Reload” your only source of consistent Damage (Since you suggest nerfing damage on Deflecting Shot to nothing, nerfing Symbol Damage and added nothing to Hunter’s Ward) for 3 1/2s after each shot. That’s a death sentence. In PvE, the DPS drop would be so enormous that noone would bother using it, you’d probably get better DPS with Staff.

Defender’s Arrow is an unnecessery change. The Longbow is not a defensive weapon. Deflecting Shot rewarded skillful use with a big Damage Increase, fitting both the Defensive concept of Guardian, and the Offensive direction that Dragonhunter was headed.

I’m going to suggest the following:

  • Increase the Cooldown on True Shot to 5s, up from 4s. Reduce Damage by around 17~22%, and Power Scaling by about 10%. Remove Lockdown, but keep the Activation Time the Same.
  • Remove Blind Component from Deflecting Shot. Add that it grants Aegis to Allies it passes through, and gain the Damage Bonus if this happens. (Does not affect the Dragonhunter himself).

Mace: Protector’s Strike was very Hard-hitting, so the Mace loses a lot of Spike Potential with this, as well as a Block Skill. This synergized very well with Communal Defenses. I don’t particularily dislike your change, but I feel it won’t really change Mace’s situation much.

Scepter: This is a big one, much to go through here. First, the idea of the Auto-attack is very interesting in Theory, however I don’t know how it’ll look in Practice. One important thing to consider is how it’ll perform In Melee, as there the slowness of the Projectiles won’t be an issue and you might be pushing what’s supposed to be a Guardian’s fallback weapon into another Melee weapon through this. Still, 10 orbs is a LOT in order to gain the expected AoE Damage Burst out of it, which might end up being too gimmicky to reliably use over another weapon.

As for the change of Binding Light into Frozen Light… Guardian has very little Synergy with Chilled. The Hammer had use of it due to the fact that a slow-moving target was easier to Strike with Symbol of Protection or trap in a Ring of Warding, however Scepter as you’ve designed it isn’t gonna have much use of it since the Orbs home in regardless.

Here are my suggested changes:

  • Orb of Wrath: Simply add Burning (1 stack, 2s) to each Orb and cause them to deal AoE Damage in a small area around their target (About 180 units), in order to give it a DoT Component that synergizes better with the Guardian’s other traits.
  • Smite: Changed into Symbol of Smiting. Now last for as long as other Symbols (4s Base) and has 5 Pulses that deal consistent Damage and grants Might (1 Stack, 5s) to Allies within. Synergy again, also now causes consistent hits against all Targets, rather than the RNG from before.
  • Binding Chains: Changed to both work as a Single Target Lockdown, and AoE damage Component. Now Immobilizes (1s) your Primary Target, before causing a surge of light (x6 hits) that cause Vulnerability (1 stack, 4s) on nearby enemies.

Sword: Needed an upgrade quite badly. However, you didn’t fix the primary issue with Zealot’s Defense which was the horrible accuracy and pathing with its projectiles. The Auto-attack idea is quite interesting, I’ll admit. I wonder how it will look in practice, however (Consider Animation Differences between Humanoids, Male Norn, Charr and Asura.)

Here’s a few suggested alterations:

  • Sword of Wrath (AA Chain): Keep the first and second animation Intact, but move the Zealot’s Defense animation to the last instance while keeping the part where it Destroys Projectiles. No need to keep the Fired Projectiles, however.
  • Zealot’s Defense: Reworked to rather than sending out several projectile instead Produces a Wave much like Wave of Wrath or Shield of Judgement, only with the Addition that the Guardian Blocks incoming Attacks during the Animation (About 1/2s). Uses Ranger’s Sword #1 Animation (old Hamstring). Cooldown at 8s base.
  • Flashing Blade: I like your change, let’s keep that.

Focus: Hoooo boy, you reeeeeally went overboard with this one. This Focus is OP out the whazoo altogether, and will completely throw any other Off-hand out the window in seconds. 10s of being unable to land Conditions, on a 20s (Base) Cooldown? And it Pierces? And Blinds? Waaay too much.

Meanwhile, 5’s “Shield of Wrath” was one, if not the One skill that made Guardians effective. To remove it for a skill that is basically an AoE Version with a redonkelous Activation Time is quite the Hit to the Focus, almost enough to balance it out. Almost.

As with Staff, I’ll go over the possible changes down below we we’ll discuss Silence and Purified.

Shield: Like the 4 skill, but it might be quite OP in Team Fights since it’s an AoE, meaning the Guardian can basically make the team Invulnerable while they wail on enemies. Some slight change is necessery.

Changes:

  • Shield of Judgement: Make it into a PBAoE which causes the Guardian to Block incoming attacks for 2s, while granting Aegis to nearby Allies in a 240 Radius. If Fully Channeled, all Allies also gain Protection (3s).
  • Shield of Absorption: Make the Channel 2s, but the Shield Duration 4s, meaning that the Guardian must channel it for a while at least, in order to reap the rewards.

Torch: Good enough changes, don’t have anything to add here.

Silence and Purified:
Alright so, these basically do the same thing except that Purified causes enemies to grant Boons when they try to add conditions to foes. All-in-all, both these conditions are Pretty kitten powerful, and we’re talking Fear/Taunt and Resistance-levels of Powerful here. 10s Durations when hitting 50% or even 100% Condition Duration in PvE is common practice means they’re way overtuned since they basically shut down Condition Builds altogether, and completely so.

Here’s what I suggest:

  • First, remove Purify. Instead, add a Grandmaster Major trait somewhere (Honor, possibly) that causes Silence to act like Purified, rather than creating two separate Conditions for it.
  • Second, either curb Silence’s Base Durations down to somewhere around 2-3s Base, or 5-6s for Long CD Utility Skills.
  • OR, cause them to act like Blind, where they block the next attempt at applying a Condition but are then Consumed.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Hat Trick! This time it’s a Light armor caster, because Heavy and Medium’s been covered once each already. Necromancer is up!

Necromancer – Spiritualist
Weapon: Shortbow
Skills: Spirits
Mechanic: Death Shroud is replaced with Spirit Shroud, which is a more benevolent and team-play oriented Shroud focusing on Healing and buffing Allies, while Weakening enemies.

Mechanic: Spirit Shroud
The Spiritualist focuses less on the darkness of death, but rather the emotions and impressions left by those who went before. Some are content, some are protective, some are angry and some are very, very angry… And all of them colour the Spiritualist to some extent.

  • Protective Courage – Cause a burst of energy at your Target’s Location, Weakening your target and Healing Allies around it. Inherits Traits from Life Blast.
  • Spirit’s Lament – Teleport to the Target Area, appearing in a burst of Spectral Sorrow that Chills nearby enemies while Healing and removing 2 Conditions from nearby Allies. Inherits traits from Dark Path.
  • Taste of Condemnation – Send forwards a torrent of angry Spirits that claw and tear at enemies in its Path, Fearing and damaging them.
  • Undying Rage – Channel the rage of fallen spirits, sending out Crippling and Weakening waves at Enemies while granting Might to nearby Allies. Inherits Traits from Life Transfer.
  • Caress of the Fallen – Surround yourself with Spirits that rapidly Heal nearby Allies and Immobilizes enemies caught in the torrent. Gain Life Force when you Heal an Ally with this skill.

Weapon
The Spiritualist’s weapon of choice is the Shortbow, with which she can attack enemies and support allies from any range. Channeling brave spirits who don’t hesitate to lend their power for a good cause, she fires off barrages of spectral arrows that carry the will of those who went before with them.

  • Empowering Bravery – Fire an Arrow that splits upon Impact, bouncing to nearby Allies and slightly Healing them, while also granting them Might.
  • Sorrowful Shot – Fire a Piercing shot that Chills enemies and Heals allies it passes through on its way to the target. When it hits its target, it explodes and removes a Boon from enemies before returning to you, granting you Regeneration.
  • Merciful Fate – Fire an arrow at the target area that explodes in a spectral light, granting Protection to and Healing allies in the blast.
  • Mystic Barrage – Infuse your bow with rage, sending a woeful barrage of undulating arrows into a Single target, Damaging and Blinding them.
  • Envoys of Judgement – Rain 5 Arrows down around yourself, summoning a Spirit of Judgement from each Arrow that will Damage, Fear and Weaken enemies around them, while greatly Healing nearby Allies.

Utility Skills
Unsurprisingly, the Spiritualist gets to summon Spirits to aid them and their allies. Unlike the Nature Spirits that Rangers summon, these Spirits are those of regular people who simply cannot move on. By calling their aid, the Spiritualist can then release them from their torment, sending them to the other side at long last. The thankful Spirit then ascends, leaving behind a benign effect to aid nearby Allies.

  • Vengeful Spirit – Healing Skill. Summon a Vengeful Spirit that grants Allies a chance to Steal Health from their target with their next attack.
    • Release Vengeance – Release your Spirit, Healing Allies affected by Vengeful Spirit and granting them Protection.
  • Sorrowful Spirit – Summon a Sorrowful Spirit that grants Allies a chance to Remove 1 Boon from their target with their next attack.
    • Release Sorrow – Release your Spirit, Granting Frost Aura to Allies affected by Sorrowful Spirit.
  • Anguished Spirit – Summon an Anguished Spirit that grants Allies a chance that their Next Condition has 50% Increased Duration.
    • Release Anguish – Release your Spirit, Removing up to 3 Conditions from Allies affected by Anguished Spirit.
  • Enraged Spirit – Summon an Enraged Spirit that grants Allies a chance to gain Fury with their Next attack.
    • Release Anger – Release your Spirit, Granting Extreme Might to Allies affected by Enraged Spirit.
  • Defiant Spirit – Summon a Defiant Spirit that grants Allies a chance to gain Stability with their Next attack.
    • Release Defiance – Release your Spirit, Breaking Stun for and granting Superspeed to Allies affected by Defiant Spirit.
  • Tranquil Spirit – Elite Skill. Summon a Tranquil Spirit that increases the Attributes of nearby Allies by 10%.
    • Release Tranquility – Release your Spirit, Granting All Boons to allies Affected by Tranquil Spirit.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Double Post! Because I can. This time it’s Ranger’s turn.

Ranger – Strider
Weapon: Shield
Skills: Spectral
Mechanic: The Strider no longer has their trusty pets along. At least not in corporeal form. Yet, these loyal beasts remain in the form of Spirit Companions that passively empower the Strider, and can be called on to strike enemies at their leisure.

Mechanic: Spirit Companion
The Strider is no proud warrior, not anymore. A ranger who lost his trust companion, their only solace, or possibly torment, lies in the fact that their pet’s bond extended beyond the reaches of the Mists.

While the Strider has no visible Companion, they’re constantly surrounded by the spectral whisps of their pets. While Passive like this, the Spirit Companion increases a Parameter of the Strider depending on which type it is:

  • Canines, Drakes and Shark increases their Damage and Damage Resistance by a %.
  • Felines and Birds increases their Damage and Critical Damage by a %.
  • Ursines, Porcines and Armor Fish increases their Max HP and Damage Resistance by a %.
  • Spiders and Devourers increases their Condition Damage and Condition Duration by a %.
  • Saurians and Wyverns increases their Condition Damage and Damage Resistance by a %.
  • Moa and Jellyfish increases their Max HP and Boon Duration by a %.

The Strider can materialize his or her Spirit Companion for a short time in order to attack his enemies. The Spirit Companion is stronger than normal Pets, however they cannot be summoned indefinitely, as the Strider must maintain a new Spirit Force Level to keep them corporeal, which is a Bar behind the Pet Commands that fills as the Strider Deals or Takes Damage. When the Bar is full, the Strider can either Summon their Companion with F1 or consume all of it to unleash an Empowered Spirit Companion to perform a Devastating *Companion Strike" with F2. When Summoned, the Strider can call his Companion back prematurely with F3. F4 still switches between 1 of 2 Companions.

Spirit Level diminishes slowly Out of Combat, meaning the Strider is on his own until a bit into the fight, when his Companion senses he needs aid.

Weapon
The Strider is a Defensive champion, who won’t let his mistakes be repeated with his allies’ lives on the line. The Shield mixes CC with Defense and Defensive Boons, making the Strider a tough adversary to take down, and even tougher to go through if you’re headed for his allies.

  • Mocking Bellow -> Turtle Down – Taunt all nearby enemies with a loud insult. If this skill strikes a target, gain access to Turtle Down. Turtle Down Blocks all incoming attacks, while pulsing Protection to nearby Allies.
  • Aggressive Protector -> Brave Distraction – Rush your Target with your Shield and Knock them Down, gaining access to Brave Distraction if they were using a Skill. Brave Distraction Immobilizes your Target, while removing Movement-Impairing Conditions from and granting Swiftness to nearby Allies.

Utility Skills
The Strider’s thoroughly connected to the world of Spirits, just like a Necromancer is. Calling upon the restless spirits of the forests and wilderness, the Strider makes sure that even on his lonesome, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Like how Spectral Skills grant Life Force to Necromancers, Striders gain Spirit Force to fuel their Spirit Level with, in order to Summon their Companions.

  • Spectral Renewal – Healing Skill. Heal yourself and Gain Spirit Force. The Healing and Spirit Force gain is increased as your Health Gets Lower.
  • Spectral Defiance → Spectral Vengeance – Break Stun and Prepare to Block incoming attacks, gaining access to Spectral Vengeance if attacked. Spectral Vengeance lashes out against your Target with spectral whisps, Chilling and Immobilizing them while granting you Retaliation.
  • Spectral Cleansing – Remove up to 5 Conditions from yourself, gaining Spirit Force and Protection for each Condition Removed.
  • Spectral Sight – Pull nearby enemies out of Stealth, Reveal them and Chill them, gaining Spirit Force for each target Struck.
  • Spectral Shadow – Create a Spectral Double of your weapon that Mimics all of your attacks, causing you to deal 10% more Damage and gain Spirit Force with each Attack.
  • Spectral Protector – Elite Skill. Surround yourself and nearby Allies with Protective shroud, causing them to Pulse Protection for 4s. Taunt enemies attacking a Protected Ally and gain Spirit Force. Each Enemy may only be affected by this Taunt Once every 2 Seconds.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Ok, I’m starting over from the top with a fresh batch of new ideas. First is a blast from the past in the form of Warrior!

Warrior – Wardancer
Weapon: Staff
Skills: Meditations
Mechanic: Wardancer, inspired by the Dervish of old, gain access to unique Enchantments, which are unstrippable buffs gained through Meditations and Minor Traits usage. These Enchantments can then be spent to activate new Chain Bursts on old and new weapons.

Mechanic
As spiritual successors to the Dervish of the old times, Wardancers keep the heavy reliance on powerful Enchantments without all the religious baggage of its precursor. From their Minor Traits in the Wardancer Specialization line, the Wardancer gains access to 3 “Aura Enchantments” that are activated by performing certain actions:

  • Minor Adept: Guiding Hands – When you gain a Full bar of Adrenaline, gain the Guiding Hands Enchantment for 4s. Guiding Hands removes and makes you immune to Blind, while also increasing Critical Damage by 15%. ICD: 20s
  • Minor Master: Featherfoot Grace – When you use a Movement Skill, gain the Featherfoot Grace Enchantment for 4s. Featherfoot Grace makes you immune to incoming Movement-impairing Conditions. ICD: 24s
  • Minor Grandmaster: Mirage Cloak – When you Block or Evade an Attack, gain the Mirage Cloak Enchantment for 4s. Mirage Cloak reduces incoming Damage and Condition Damage by 20%. ICD: 30s.

Furthermore, Wardancer gain access to something called “Chain Burst Skill”, which is exactly what it sounds like. After they activate a Burst Skill, If they have an Enchantment active, they can combo the Burst skill into a devastating Chain Burst Skill which consumes 1 Enchantment (Prioritizing lowest Duration). You must connect with the Burst Skill to activate a Chain Burst Skill.

  • Sword: Rupture – Chain Burst Skill. Strike your target and Consume all their Bleeding stacks, dealing Damage and stacking Torment for each Stack of Bleeding.
  • Axe: Overkill – Chain Burst Skill. Leap at your target a Second time, striking them down with a powerful blow that Cripples them and Finishes Downed Opponents.
  • Mace: Banishing Strike – Chain Burst Skill. Strike your target with a Brutal Uppercut, Launching them backwards. If they were Stunned, this attack deals double damage.
  • Greatsword: Vicious Descent – Chain Burst Skill. Leap into the Air and strike your blade into the ground at the Target Area, creating a Shockwave that Cripples enemies and grants Might to Allies. Acts as a Blast Finisher.
  • Hammer: Bonegrinder – Chain Burst Skill. Knock Down your target and Pummel them with Several brutal strikes, each causing Vulnerability.
  • Longbow: Oiled Arrows – Fire an arching Spread of arrows that Immobilize enemies struck and leave behind small patches of fire, Burning enemies within. Acts as a Projectile Finisher. Creates a Fire Field.
  • Rifle: Double Tap – Quickly pull the trigger a second time, firing a Ricochetting shot that bounces between enemies. Acts as a Projectile Finisher.

Weapon
Of course, as the spiritual successor to Dervish, the Wardancer wouldn’t quite fit the role without an impressive Polearm to dismember enemies with. As such, they get Melee Staff as a Balanced Weapon mixing Offense, Soft CC and Self-sustain. Their Unique skin would obviously be a Scythe skin, and their Animations would be fitted to work with such.

  • Rending Sweep -> Crippling Sweep -> Twin Moon Sweep – Chain Skill. Strike your foe and inflict Vulnerability, then swipe their legs to Cripple them, before unleashing a Twin strike that deals increased Damage for each Boon on yourself.
  • Radiant Scythe – Rush your target with your weapon and strike them Down with a powerful sweep. Deals increased Damage if you have Full Endurance.
  • Mystic Sweep – Strike enemies before you with a powerful Shockwave that Destroys Projectiles and grants Vigor to Allies.
  • Shield of Force -> Reap Impurities – Prepare to Block incoming attacks. If this skill Blocks an attack, you gain access to a Counter-attack that transfers 1 Condition from yourself to your target, Dealing increased Damage if you have a Condition.
  • Aura Slicer – Strike your target with a powerful strike that sends bouncing Projectiles towards enemies behind them that cause Weakness. Each projectile then returns to you, granting you Might for each enemy struck.
  • Burst Skill: Irresistable Sweep – Spin around, Pulling enemies towards you with a vortex and Crippling them.
  • Chain Burst Skill: Victorious Sweep – Strike all enemies around you, Healing yourself for each enemy struck.

Utility Skills
Like Guardian Meditations, the Wardancer’s Meditations are all instant-cast effects. However, rather than creating an instant miracle, the Wardancer grants themselves Enchantments or other Over-Time effects through these skills. Enchantments gained through Meditations also carry an End Effect which kicks in when they expire naturally or are consumed for use with a Chain Burst Skill.

  • Vital Boon – Healing Skill. Heal yourself and Gain the Vital Boon Enchantment for 4s, increasing your Max HP by 20%. End Effect: Heal Yourself and Remove a Condition for each Enchantment currently on you.
  • Onslaught – Gain the Onslaught Enchantment for 4s, causing you to attack, move and gain Adrenaline 25% Faster. End Effect: Gain Endurance.
  • Veil of Thorns – Gain the Veil of Thorns Enchantment for 4s, causing all attacks to Inflict Bleeding. Attacks that already Inflict Bleeding instead has their duration increased by 50%. End Effect: Lash out with an Immobilizing strike that Torments nearby enemies.
  • Vow of Strength – Gain the Vow of Strength Enchantment for 4s, causing you to deal 10% increased Damage and Critical Hits to deal AoE Damage around their target. End Effect: Remove up to 3 Conditions, gaining Might for each Condition removed.
  • Aura of Might – Gain the Aura of Might Enchantment for 4s, causing any further Enchantments you gain to be shared with nearby Allies. End Effect: Extend the Duration of Boons for nearby Allies by 4s.
  • War Incarnate – Elite Skill. Break Stun and gain the War Incarnate Enchantment for 4s, causing you to become immune to Control Effects and making all Attacks Unblockable. End Effect: Remove Boons from and Weaken nearby enemies.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

While the above idea is well thought out and pretty interesting, it really falls flat on the point that it simply adds Too much to Elementalist.

Just adding 2 new attunements means ANet must create 30 new Skills for the already existing Elementalist weapons. Then to slap on an Avatar form for each (30 more skills) and a New 2h weapon (30 more skills) on top of 6 new Utility Skills just ends up being too much. Heck, even if Avatar Form has Only 5 additional skills that are the same disregarding the Attunement, you still end up at a whooping 71 new Skills just for 1 Elite Specialization. Imagine the outcry from everyone who isn’t playing an Elementalist, heh.

Perhaps condensing it a bit is more appropriate:

  • Thematically speaking, Light and Dark aren’t Elementalist attributes, but rather they belong to Guardian/Mesmer and Necromancer respectively. A lot of the skills one could think of for these Elements would probably be more fitting with either of the other. So I’d let these go.
  • Make the “High Summons” into Utility Skills if the Summoner keeps the Ether Bar, they’ve already gotten a Profession Mechanic with Elemental Avatar.
  • Alternately, remove the Ether Bar and make the “High Summons” into the new Profession Mechanic, that can be summoned by pressing F5 but locks you into an Attunement while they’re active. Then Wards could be kept as Utility Skills (However, they’d need to be renamed since Wards are a Guardian Skill Set in Gw2. Most likely, they’d be renamed into Consecrations so that they could be categorized along with Guardian’s such, as the mechanics seem pretty similar).

Good idea overall though! It’s nice to see people giving a lot of thought to this fun topic.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

revanent sword/axe how do i combo

in Revenant

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Direct Damage DPS run Berserker with Assassin Earrings

Or, if you cannot get them because no one runs dungeons anymore and you came to the game too late! You can do an assassin weapon. Though some classes you will need more. On my DH I run assassin weapon, 3 pieces of assassin armor and a sigil of accuracy. The rest is zerker. That puts me at crit cap.

Very true. It’s also dependant on wether you have Spotter or not, as well.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

revanent sword/axe how do i combo

in Revenant

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Metabattle generally has the best setup for most people, but I can break it down for you:

The only “Required” Professions are often:

  • Chronomancer for Quickness, Alacrity, Distortion and occasional Tanking.
  • PS Berserker for Might and Banners
  • Glint Herald for Natural Resonance and Protection/Fury
  • Druid for Healing and Damage Buffs
  • Staff Tempest for Direct Damage DPS

Not quite recquired but still universally useful are:

  • Hammer Dragonhunter for Perma-Protection and Heals to the Melee team
  • Viper Condi Reaper for Condition Damage, Boon Strip and occasional Tanking
  • Viper Condi Engineer for Condition Damage and Utility

Professions that you can always do without but can still be brought along without a severe loss to efficiency:

  • Daredevil for Direct Damage DPS and Occasional Tanking.
  • Viper Condi Damage Berserker
  • Aurashare Tempest Healer

Direct Damage DPS run Berserker with Assassin Earrings
Direct Damage Tanks run the same as their DPS counter-parts, just with Toughness added in the form of a backpiece, infusion or trinket. The more Toughness a Tank slaps on, the more the DPS team has to compensate for the DPS loss. Less is often More in this case.
Condition Damage generally run Viper Armor until they cap 100% Condition Duration, then fill up with Sinister.
Healers generally run the same as DPS, however should the team be new to the Raid or just need the extra sustain, they can swap out to Zealot or Magi pieces, though the latter is a big DPS loss.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Difficult solo content

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

New, redesigned adventures that take you into smaller, instanced versions of already existing areas such as caves or similar, like PS works. The goal is to clear the place of enemies, defeat a boss or defend against waves of enemies.

  • Bronze Level: Mobs are as they appear in open world. Boss monsters are Veterans and must be finished with a Stomp or they’ll eventually Revive.
  • Silver Level: Mobs have increased aggro range, Veterans that need to be finished appear more frequently and enemies gain Enrage when their friendlies are killed. Boss monsters gain Defiance Bars.
  • Gold Level: In addition to the above; Mobs have permanent, unstrippable Quickness and Alacrity, all Veterans gain Defiance bars and any Boss monster is now Elite Level.

Bronze Level awards a Box of Uncommon Gear or T4 Crafting Mats and Coin Daily, as well as 1 Mastery Point on first clear.
Silver Level awards a Box of Rare Gear or T5 Crafting Mats and Coin Daily, as well as 1 Mastery Point on first clear.
Gold Level awards a Box of Exotic Gear or T6 Crafting Mats and Coin Daily, as well as an Achievement worth 10 AP and Progress towards a Meta Achievement.

Meta Achievement would be getting Gold on all Challenges and rewards the Player with a Specific Title and Special interactive node in their Home Instance from which they can take on any of these Adventurers, rather than have to run around and chase down each Adventure on their respective maps.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Armor Request: Battlemage

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Here are some designs I’ve used at one point or another. There’s a light one, a dark one and a “I don’t even know”-one.

Attachments:

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

What new fractals would you like to see?

in Fractals, Dungeons & Raids

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

1) Palawa Joko-reigned Elona (preferably somewhere around present time to 50 years ago) where you, like the Urban Battleground Fractal, are thrown into the shoes of one of the warring factions (In this case, the undead Mordant Crescent) with the objective being Assaulting the last (known) Sunspear base and killing its leader (or something like that).

2) Also, Canthan fractal, where you fight besides Shiro Tagachi during his mission to subdue the Am Fah rebels back in 858 AE, which would be one of the most famous battles in the life of Shiro. We’d also get to see a part of him that wasn’t present in the original game due to him having gone mad and stuff.

With new fractals though, they could introduce Cooking 500 with Ascended food, which adds additional Agony Resistance on top of existing bonuses using ingredients you find in these new fractals, such as Duck meat in the Canthan Fractal and Elonian Spices in the Elonian Fractal. Both Fractals could drop recipes in the reward chests.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Have you ever deleted an 80?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I have deleted:

2x Human Warriors for different reasons.
1x Norn Warrior (Full Berserker Unlocked)
1x Sylvari Warrior
1x Sylvari Guardian
1x Human Elementalist (Second character ever created. Dat Birthday bonus went poof)
2x Human Necromancers
1x Human Mesmer (Fourth ever created. Also Poofed)
1x Sylvari Ranger
1x Charr Ranger
1x Human Thief
1x Human Revenant (Full Herald Unlocked)
1x Asura Revenant (Full Herald Unlocked)

I’unno, leveling once you have loads of alts and tomes just becomes redonkelously easy, so I don’t really mind deleting over and over. I do it when I’m bored and get a new concept thrown into my head.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

Racial Elite Specializations: Get some!

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

The only way to balance this is to make the exact same skill 5 times, but with different animations depending on race.

For example: An AoE that deals a load of Damage over an area and applies burning:

Humans could have a Smiting Prayer-inspired Rain of Burning Swords, Balthazar style.
Asura could have a precision strike with Orbital Lasers
Charr have a simple Carpet Bombing
Norn prays to Drake, conjuring a spiritual image of a firebreathing Drake.
Sylvari cause combustible Blooms to spring from the ground and explode in a fiery inferno.

Same damage, same activation time, same cooldown, same EVERYTHING except just the looks.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Revenants class is it better then others

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

@OP:

To answer your question, yes Rev is the best class.

Correction:

Baseline Revenant is Bottom Tier in everything.

Elite Specialization Herald is God Tier (In PvP) and Great Tier (In PvE). No idea where it stands in WvW currently.

More precisely, the Herald elite specialization is what makes Revenant desired in a team setting because it has the unique Facet of Nature buff, along with some incredibly strong Boon Support and immense self-sustain through traits and Shield.

It still falls short in some areas and cannot really replace any other profession with ease while in Raids (Save for maybe a Dragonhunter, but that’s at a serious DPS loss in comparison to having a Dragonhunter along).

In PvP, Herald is currently one of the meta-definers along with Reaper and it’s currently the strongest overall contender due to being relatively easy to play and having a good balance between offense and sustain.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

[Suggestions] Future Elite Specializations

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I had actually forgotten one Profession! So here it comes, ending strong with the craziest idea I’ve had so far:

Engineer – Mechanic
Weapon: Mace Main-hand
Skills: Modules
Mechanic: Instead of Weapon Swap, Mechanics can press Weapon Swap to equip a High-tech, Full-metal Exo-Suit, gaining new weapon skills. They also gain access to a new Boon: Barrier

  • Barrier – Grants a Temporary HP bar on top of your existing HP, equal to 10% of your Max HP. Stacks Intensity (Max 3).

Prof. Mechanic: Exo-Suit and Fuel Generation
Mechanics accumulate Fuel while in combat, whenever a Skill comes off Cooldown. The Fuel meter is displayed as a Bar behind the Toolbelt Skills and goes from 0 to 100%.

Once the Fuel Meter is at least 20% filled, the Mechanic can activate their Exo-suit, creating a mechanical armor filled to the brim with weapons and utility that is specialized by your Grandmaster Traits.

  • Rail gun – Fire a High caliber shot that pierces through enemies, causing an effect depending on Loadout. Acts as a Projectile Finisher.
    • Defender’s Loadout – Causes Vulnerability on enemies struck.
    • Assaulter’s Loadout – Causes Burning on enemies struck.
    • Medic’s Loadout – Heals allies it passes through.
  • Wrist Launcher – Fire a wrist-mounted missile at your target, causing an effect depending on Loadout. Acts as a Blast Finisher.
    • Defender’s Loadout – Fire a concussive missile that Weakens enemies struck.
    • Assaulter’s Loadout – Fire a Shrapnel missile that deals more damage and Bleeds enemies struck.
    • Medic’s Loadout – Fire an Elixir-infused missile that deals less damage and Heals allies in the blast radius.
  • Mecha Slam – Strike down with a heavy overhead blow, creating an effect and a Combo Field depending on Loadout.
    • Defender’s Loadout – Pull all enemies towards you with a Magnetic shockwave and grant Protection to nearby Allies.
    • Assaulter’s Loadout – Cause an explosion of static energy that Immobilizes enemies and grant Fury to nearby Allies.
    • Medic’s Loadout – Create a wave of healing energy, Healing nearby allies and Cleansing a condition.
  • Micro Munitions – Unload a volley of miniature missiles at the target area, dealing damage and causing an effect depending on Loadout.
    • Defender’s Loadout – Fire Flashbangs that Blind and Taunt all enemies struck.
    • Assaulter’s Loadout – Fire Napalm that deals increased Damage and Burns enemies struck.
    • Medic’s Loadout – Fire elixir-infused missiles that Heal allies caught in the blast and grant them Regeneration.
  • Forcefield – Grant Barrier to nearby Allies, along with a secondary effect depending on Loadout.
    • Defender’s Loadout – Grant 2 stacks of Barrier to nearby Allies for a short time.
    • Assaulter’s Loadout – Grant 1 stack of Barrier and Fire Shield to nearby Allies for a short time.
    • Medic’s Loadout – Grant 1 stack of Barrier and Shocking Aura to nearby Allies for a short time.

Weapon:
The Mechanic isn’t helpless while not on his Exo-Suit, however. While these octane addicts enjoy the size and firepower of their mechanical masterworks, they’re no strangers to bashing heads in up close and personal, should they need to step off to teach someone not to touch the finish without their say-so.

  • Mech Strike -> Double Down -> Explosive Assault – Chain Combo. First and Second strike causes Vulnerability, while the third causes you to Leap at your target with an Explosive strike that Burns enemies around them.
  • Oil Slick – Slam your mace into the ground, creating a puddle of Oil that Blinds enemies, then pulses Cripple. If a Burning target enters the area, it catches on fire and spreads Burning to nearby enemies, becoming a Fire Field.
  • Hammertime – Hammer your target 3 times in rapid succession. The first strike Stuns your target, the Second causes Confusion and the last causes Bleeding with a shrapnel explosion. Acts as a Blast Finisher.

Utility Skills:
Modules are a unique type of Utility skill that is visually similar to Banners, however they have wildly different mechanics. Once a Module has been planted, it will Pulse an effect to nearby allies or enemies for a time, until it’s built up enough energy to Overcharge, causing it to create a greater effect and subsequently Self-Destruct. Like Banners, Modules can be picked up and wielded as Environmental weapons.

  • Mobile Field Hospital – Healing Skill. Heal yourself and Plant a Module at the target area that pulses Healing to nearby allies with each Pulse while building up energy. After a while, the Module will Self-destruct and cause a Healing Ripple that cleanses conditions.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Elixir Blast – Splash yourself and surrounding allies with an Elixir, Removing 2 Conditions and becoming a Mobile Water Field for a short time.
  • Tesla Coil – Plant a Tesla Coil at the target location that will periodically create a Static Field around itself that Stuns enemies trying to cross it, while building up energy. After a while, the Module will Self-destruct, sending out Bouncing chain lightnings that Weaken enemies and grant Quickness to Allies.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Static Shock – Release a burst of Electricity and gain Shocking Aura.
  • Disruptive Wave Module – Plant a module at the target area that periodically removes 1 Boon from nearby enemies, while building up energy. After a while, the Module will Self-Destruct, causing a surge of Energy that grants Might, Fury, Barrier and Regeneration to nearby Allies.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Emergency Barrier – Break Stun and gain 2 stacks of Barrier.
  • Searchlight – Plant a Module at the target area that periodically lights up, Blinding and Revealing nearby enemies while building up Energy. After a while, the Module Self-destructs, causing a surge of energy that Blinds enemies and Stealths nearby Allies.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Headlight – Create a Headlight in a cone in front of you, becoming a Mobile Light Field that grants Vulnerability to enemies.
  • Disaster Control Centre – Plant a Module at the target area that periodically grants Stability to nearby allies and Cleanses 1 condition, while building up energy. After a while, the Module Self-destructs and causes a wave of seismic energy that Knocks Down and Cripples nearby enemies.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Seismic Surge – Leap at the target area, causing a Crippling shockwave at your original position and a Bleeding Shockwave at your target location.
  • Watchtower – Plant a Module at the target area that periodically grants nearby allies a buff that Reduces incoming Damage and Condition Damage, while building up Energy. After a while, the Module Self-destructs and Analyzes nearby enemies, drastically reducing their resistance to Damage and Condition Damage.
    • Toolbelt Skill: Carpet Bombing – Mark the target area for an explosive barrage that Knocks down and Burns enemies, leaving behind a Firefield.

Traits:
Just gonna touch on the Grandmaster Traits real quick, as they affect how your Exo-Suit functions.

  • Defender’s Loadout – Your Exo-suit is outfitted with Weapons designed to Control enemies and Protect Allies. With Defender’s Loadout, you take 10% Less Damage and Condition Damage while in the Exo-Suit, and incoming Stun Duration is reduced by 25%. However, Attack and Movement Speed is decreased by 10%.
  • Assaulter’s Loadout – Your Exo-suit is outfitted with Weapons designed to deal massive Damage and Condition Damage to enemies. With Assaulter’s Loadout, you deal 10% more Damage and Condition Damage while in the Exo-Suit, and Attack Speed is increased by 15%. However, Incoming Damage and Incoming Condition Duration is increased by 10%.
  • Medic’s Loadout – Your Exo-suit is outfitted with Weapons designed to Heal and Support Allies. With Medic’s Loadout, Boon Duration and Outgoing Healing is increased by 15% while in the Exo-suit, while Movement Speed is increased by 25%. However, Outgoing Damage and Condition Damage is reduced by 10%.
Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

(edited by TheSwede.9512)

Rate the HoT zones!

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

1. Which map is your favorite to EXPLORE?
Tangled Depths. The Labyrinthian caves and overgrowth, smacked full of dangerous enemies, is the very epitome of what the Maguuma jungle is supposed to be if you ask me. A Dangerous place that never sleeps, where pretty much everything is out to kill you in the most painful way possible.

2. Which map has your favorite MAP META mechanic
Also Tangled Depths. It’s long, sure, but that allows for a “Come-and-go” playstyle where you can pop in and do events whenever you feel like, before popping back out again. There is no rush, you can spend your time as you wish.
Verdant Brink takes a close second on this one.

3. Which map has your favorite REWARDS (unique zone rewards)
Dragon’s Stand take this one, cause Crystalline Ore needed for Guild Armors. Personally not a fan of the edgy, try-hard Bladed Armor in VB, or the Auric/Chak weapons in other zones. AB has Viper recipes though, which I guess is pretty neat.

4. Which map has the best STORY (both personal story and event story)
Hard to pick one, didn’t pay much attention to the story overall. Dragon’s Stand, I suppose, since it’s the bombastic climax where the Pact Troops mobilize to keep the Mouth of Mordremoth busy, while the Commander and his team make their way along the side to deal with the Dragon itself.

5. Which map has the best VISUALS (map design, best view)
Auric Basin is one of my all-time favorites. When I first came to the city, I felt like a pioneer in the new world who just stumbled upon El Dorado. The sight was quite breathtaking and I ran around like those Skritt NPCs do. No Shame.

6. Which map has your favorite MAP CURRENCY acquisition method
Hardly care much for it, once you get the Nuhoch Hunting mastery, then you’ll end up with bags of currency from just doing events and killing enemies. Which is pretty much how I do it, anyway.

7. Which map has the best ENEMY DESIGN (mechanics AND visuals)
Tangled Depths again. I really don’t care for the Suarians much, but in TD you get the flippin’ Chak. I love how they really feel like an unending swarm of insects hellbent on eating you alive. Even if the can be a real pain when they start swarming, they make for interesting enemies at all times.

Then we have the mushrooms, but let’s not talk about the mushrooms. As stated above, everything in TD is out to kill you in the most painful way imaginable.

8. Overall which zone is your FAVORITE
Tangled Depths, if that wasn’t already obvious.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

New Mastery Idea: Make Parties Matter!

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

I could see this Mastery be added to Core Tyria Masteries, however. That way, everyone has access to it once they reach Lvl 80.

Bonuses could be something like:

One for All (3 Mastery Point)
While in a Party, you and all Party members gain +5% to All Experience and Karma gain, as well as Magic Find. This stacks with other players’ “One for All”. In Squads, you may only benefit from 5 Instances of this buff, and may only affect up to 5 other players.

Altruistic Teamwork (6 Mastery Points)
Skills and Traits that grant Boons or Buffs to a maximum of 5 people now grant their effects to a maximum of 10 people, while you’re in a Squad.

Wolf Pack (9 Mastery Points)
Gain Enrage when a Party or Squad member is downed. Enrage increases Damage and decreases incoming damage by 10% for a short time. Enrage disappears once the Party Member is Rallied or Defeated. Enrage does not Stack.

All for One (12 Mastery Points)
While in a Party or a Squad, you may now achieve Platinum Award Level when completing Events, gaining increased rewards from completed events.
The Bonus to Experience Gain, Karma and Magic Find is increased to 10%.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

Upcoming Global Change to Player Minions

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

Holy necromancy, Batman!

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |

HoT and Chronomancer

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TheSwede.9512

TheSwede.9512

As long as Chronomancer remains as the only profession that can dish out Team-wide Quickness and Alacrity for extended periods of time, they ain’t never gonna become obsolete.

Is it wrong that Chronomancer is nothing but a Quickness-and-Alacrity-bot? I’unno, is it wrong that Warrior is nothing but a Might-and-banner-bot? Druid is nothing but a Heal-and-Buff-bot? Herald is nothing but a Fury-and-50%BoonDuration-bot? And the fact that Engineers and Reapers are Condi-and-CC-bots?

Every profession is equally specialized and provides (in theory) something equally important to the team.

Warrior – Wardancer | Guardian – Lorekeeper | Revenant – Vindicator |
Thief – Duelist | Ranger – Strider | Engineer – Technician |
Elementalist – Spellweaver | Necromancer – Warlock | Mesmer – Trickster |