Guild Wars 2

Ok I’ll go one-by-one.

Empathic Fighter, Thank you!

Sirendor, Thanks for your suggestions, but I don’t want to stray too far from the mold that Arenenet has already set. I won’t add new weapons until Anet decides to do so themselves. The battlestaff idea is excellent. Exactly how I imagines two-handed staves would work in the hands of the Spiritualist.

Orpeal,

Ok lots to respond to here,

1) Necromancers are masters of Death, but the original ritualists had spirits summons which aren’t so different to necomancer minions. They summoned souls. Min summons his own soul. There are parallels between the two in both the original game and in my concept.

2) Similar to elementalists attunements. I can see how this conclusion was drawn as well. However, they function more like traps or turrets than attunements or even kits. I don’t see how they would give repetitive gameplay.

3) Agreed. Edited

4) I’m gonna go ahead and say that maybe it’s not a mechanic that you personally enjoy, but I believe others might and I guess this concept is more for them.

5)Dolls are kind of like the original weapon spells, with a facelift.

5.5) I can see you’ve also developed some ideas, I would be happy to give my 2 cents to your own concept in another thread. Can you post a link further on? thanks

To all
I think the mechanics I’ve provided are both simple to understand and have an innate learning curve attached. I’ve provided for different types of gameplay and have mechanics to work with in most situations.

I’ll be editing the original post for clarity and the new Ideas you’ve all given me

P.s. I just wanted to say how you’ve all been really supportive, helpful and enthusiastic, I’m really appreciative of all your ideas and questions. I was actually quite nervous to post this concept but I’ve been really chuffed how great you’ve all been.

Mesmers fuction well without clones; Necromancers without death shroud. I wouldn’t want to back them into a corner. They can focus on other aspects of play as well.

Torch, dagger and focus were obvious ones. The shield was about being supportive. The Spiritualist uses his shield to protect his own soul and the souls of his allies with a war shield. The dagger was offensive, the focus was magical and the torch is condition-y. I wanted to choose an offhand that would really ‘round’ out all the other choices.

That being said, I’m not married to the idea.
Mainhand ideas:
Staff will focus on AoE and have 2 Dolls, one friendly, another malevolent.
Sceptre will focus on direct damage
Dagger will be Ranged (throwing dagger) and conditions
Offhand Ideas:
Torch: conditions
Dagger: direct damage
Focus: speed/offence and support
Shield: defence and support

Have you ever played with the necromancer’s flesh wurm? Even if it is far away, the teleport still works. Besides 10% isn’t a whole lot of health. 20,000 health down to 12,000, with 8000 in your pocket, hidden away? If the Spiritualist has hidden their jars TOO well, they will also be giving you time to heal up. That’s why they need to place their jars carefully, not too close to avoid detection but not too far so that they are thrown out of a fight. And yes, they get that health back. You’re portioning your health. Jars are the receptacle for the soul, not the soul itself. Break the jar and the soul is released, snapping back to its home body

Killing the spiritualist teleports them back to the jar, with that last 10% of health, giving them the opportunity to heal up and come back at you. You’ve given back to the player something you don’t want: time. First, kill off the jars, that puts the jar on cooldown, then go at the Spiritualist.

The jars are the core mechanic. The Ritualists had their ancestor spirits, but we Spiritualists, we use our own.

I’ve just changed a core effect of a soul jar. Jars now only apply boons unless traited to be aggressive. This should avoid turning Jars into Turrets

Cantha may open up, but the Order of the Whispers and the Durmand Priory would be over there so fast, they’d bring the profession over in a heartbeat. Profession has no impact on storyline, so I’m not sure if Arenanet would embrace switching, since if you switch one way, people will invariably want to switch back…

To tackle the idea of the health bars, you won’t see them in the UI. That makes the profession a challenge. You might notice your health increase when a Jar is ‘killed’ and your health returns to you, but if you miss it…you miss it.

Direksone, I’ve edited the original post as medium armor. You were totally right, ‘voodoo doctors’ wear animal pelts and skins. Edited

Adine, I know, that’s why I’ve modified the playstyle. I wanted to introduce some unique mechanics into an old profession, same as the mesmer got it’s facelift with clones.

Direksone, I went with heavy because of the 2/3/3 in soldier/adventurer/scholar ratio, and then made up the reason. I have a feeling this works out better as a adventurer or caster.

FacesOfMu absolutely, those jars should be as far apart as they can safely go. We’ve all seen summons-builds that cave under AoE. Turrets, Minions, Elementals, and Clones/Phantasms and all the rest all suffer from AoE spikes. I would want players to make decisions about where they want the jars, and this also gives a learning curve.

Inititally I had the thought that a Spiritualist could sacrifice health to do larger damage, but thinking again this game is very health-centric, and without potions that mechanic would quickly serve against a player.

I might be drifting from the aesthetic but two possibilities are ‘Death Masks’ or ‘Ash Urns’ or ‘Grave Markers’ (I haven’t decided which fits better with the concept) which would be Utility Skills. Death Masks/Ash Urns /Grave Markers are toggleable, temporary weapons that the Spiritualist uses, like kits or the guardian tomes. I can flesh some out, but with a maximum of 3 (and a heal and elite), they should provide a variety of dps (as direct or condition damage). What do you think of those ideas?

p.s. the only issue i can see with toggleable weps is we might get too much variety of weps. That’s why engineer is so limited in wep choices.

Iv’e had names from Siadodh (Sha-doh) to Arholyle, Arhovinh, etc. Once you understand celtic or gaelic pronunciation you can choose a name and construct it accordingly. Oisin (oh-sheen) is another I’ve seen wandering around.

Have a look at my Spiritualist concept for the Ritualist class?
I know a lot of people want the class back, and I’ve developed a concept so they’re unique but maintain their feel.
Let me know your thoughts https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Concept-Profession-Spiritualist/first#post1278125

Thanks for your comment Leo, you’re very kind. Anything specific you liked, or thought needed expanding?

Weapons:
Example Weapons
The spiritualist is a caster in medium armor, for a good reason. Seriously lacking in health when sacrificed, they mitigate damage through their Soul Orbs. Examples of weapons include
F1 Soul orb skill is solely dependent on the Mainhand weapon..

Two-handed and Mainhand weapons
Staff (Supportive)
1° Spirit light (apply regeneration to allies near target)
2° Spirit strike (blind)
3° Ritual of the Mother’s Touch: (with 2 orbs, ) Reflect incoming damage for 2 seconds by calling upon your ancestors (gain x % (scales with level) more Healing Power per orb for a duration of 5 seconds.)
4° Thump (knockback)
5° Ritual of Sorrow: (With 4 orbs, ) Summon a forgiving ancestor who cures up to 3 conditions and grants AoE heal. ( each orb present also immobilizes one enemy in the area, but they do not take damage, while immobilized to a maximum of 4 enemies.)
Mace (Defensive)
1° Smash (attack chain)
2° Rock (grapple foe, knocking down).
3° Ritual of Warding:(With 2 orbs) Summon a protection bubble around yourself, deflecting ranged damage for 3 seconds(plus 2 seconds per orb).
Scepter (Offensive)
1°Soul Scar (chain) : cut scars into your foe, applying vulnerability, bleed
2°Sacrificial scream: Scream with fury, gaining fury for 3 seconds and damaging enemies in a cone in front of you
3° Ritual of Empowerment:( With 2 orbs and) Focus on your inner strength, and release your power. Spirits slash at your foes repeatedly (cripple added with 1 orb sacrificed, bleeding with 2)
Dagger (Speed)
1°Dagger throw: throw your dagger, bouncing off multiple foes
2°Thickened Blood: Slash forward, striking all in a cone in front multiple times.
3° Ritual of Urgency: (With 2 orbs to) gain swiftness for 5 sec (plus 3 sec per orb)
Offhand Weapons
Torch (Defensive)
4°Soulflame: Burst into flames, interrupting all nearby foes with fiendfire
5° Ritual of Unfeeling: (With 4 orbs and) Call upon the souls in the Vault of Souls to stand around you. They will take 1/3rd of the damage you get dealt and reflect 50% of the attacks for 2 seconds (plus 1 second per orb)
Focus (Offensive)
4°Calming grace: Center your energy, teleport to your enemy, deal a strike, and teleport away again
5° Ritual of Pain: (With your Orbs, and) gain protection (plus 2 stacks of might per orb sacrificed)
Dagger (Speed)
4°Chained Dagger: Throw a dagger tied to a chain, pulling your foe towards you and interrupting them.
5° Ritual of Immediacy (With 4 orbs to apply swiftness to yourself and allies for 2 sec per orb and to) apply quickness for 5 sec to yourself, at the cost of all endurance.
Trident

The Mainhand weapons are mainly ranged, and offhand weapons are ranged/melee.

(Further editing needed for consistency from this point on)
How will this fit in?
The unique playstyle that this reflects is “damage portioning”. Essentially the prepared spiritualist cannot be one-shotted, as they will have up to 5 health receptacles, being their own and 4 smaller ‘in their poket’ with 10% of their total health.

This is an idea I developed a few months back, and I’m hoping there are some experienced players with good mechanics knowledge that can help me refine further. Looking for your suggestions, ideas, criticisms, and compliments.

Cheers,

Redrex

Scroll down to view some other ideas and concepts that have been have developed together as a team. Shout out to Direksone and Sirendor!!!

Concept Profession: Spiritualist

Introduction:
Since the waters surged, and the drowned city of Orr rose from the depths, Canthan Ritualists have been evolving. The Ritualist, finding themselves cut off from their ghostly ancestors by some unknown force, have evolved, learning to harness their own spirits in battle. The Ritualist has become the Spiritualist, and the Spiritualist rushes into battle with their soul tied to their Soul Orbs.

Profession symbol (inspiration)
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e286/amravinhome/digital%20thoughts/Picture13.png
Once garbed in light clothes for easy of movement, the now heavily built ritualist relies on armor to protect his soul-deficient body.

Mechanics:
Soul Orbs:
• Health receptacles that spin around the spiritualist, containing 10% of their total health.
• A Spiritualist may have a maximum of 4 Soul orbs at any one time.
• The mainhand weapon defines the type but not number of soul orb that is summoned
• When a Spiritualist is hit to 0 health, They are teleported away and a soul orb is destroyed
• The soul orb provides them with 10% health.

Soul Orb types:
The f1-f3 skills are soul orb mechanics.
F1 summons a orb
F2 activates the innate effect
F3 destroys the last-cast orb

Soul orb inspiration:
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IWuqqwJ7xIc/0.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IHHF1ke5I00/0.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ygpzcGlFOjU/0.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yrI_qKDSCww/0.jpg

The Spiritualist can have a maximum of 4. A trait will activate the aggressive effect (in parentheses).
• Mace – Bai : The Defensive Orb. Pulses, (knocking back enemies and) provides Protection
• Sceptre- Chi : The Offensive Orb. Pulses, (causing bleeding and) providing Might
• Staff-Qing: The Supportive Orb. Pulses, (causing poison and) providing Regeneration
• Dagger-Shen: The Speed Orb. Pulses, (causing cripple and) providing Swiftness
These have no cool downs out of combat, and will remain passive until activated or the Spiritualist enters into combat

Possible combinations:
- 4 orbs that grant ability x (1 weapon)
- 2 orbs that grant ability x, 2 that grant ability y (2 weapons)
- 1 orb that grants ability x, 3 that grant ability y (2 weapons)
- 3 orbs that grant ability x, 1 that grant ability y (2 weapons)
- 4 orbs that grant ability y (1 weapon)
You would have to choose between those 4 weapons and their respective boosts, and decide upon which 2 you like more, or you can simply stick with 1.

Rituals:
Weapon skills 2 and 5 are both rituals, long channel skills. Skill 2 will require max 2 Orbs, and skill 5 will require max 4 orbs to be fully charged. The more orbs the spiritualist has, the stronger the ritual will be. Rituals do not require a sacrifice of orbs.

Dolls:
Environmental weapons that allow for the casting of curses or blessings. Curses punish enemies for making choices, blessings reward players for the same. Eg:
see further in the thread for examples
Doll types
Greater Dolls are specific to target. Lesser dolls are not specific (AoE). Greater Dolls will not work on any target they were not specifically summoned for. That being said, Greater dolls are much stronger.

Grave Markers:
Place a grave marker upon the ground, and have a small AoE effect. The spirit of the dead aids you. Think reverse banners.
Eg: Baoyi the wise- reduce cooldowns by 10%
Minghei the blind- forces opponents out of stealth for 1 sec every 3 sec

Curse Markers:
Create a cursed object, and dangle it from a tree, watch as your enemies whiten and flee
Eg: Gaomei’s last breath: immobilise all foes within range
Kakai the white snake: Create a line in the sand. enemies who cross are plagued by the demon Kakai, and will suffer poisonous ague

Death masks:
Utility skills that copy the skills of an opposing profession. Each will copy a certain type of skill, such as a damage, control or support mask.