End of Dragons: ideation for new elite specs (thief, ranger, mesmer)

[Desaita.3792]

I saw a lot of this on reddit and I was hoping to start something similar on gw2 specific forums.

It is an exciting topic and I'm really excited to see what the team releases, but I'm dying of anticipation.

 

Some thoughts on potential new elite specs (borrowing the idea of ronin from a reddit post)

The concept of ronin the wandering samurai seemed like a very cool suggestion for potential thief spec

It would be crazy to see a thief wielding a dai-katana. a suggestion of this being condition damage is

cool but there are a lot of viable thief condition builds out there. It might be cool to introduce thieves

to the world of melee and give them a tankier set of skills that they have not seen yet.

 

I will use a system of 1-10 to rate damage

 

Theif - Ronin Weapon Skills

1 Eishin Slash: 3, Eishin Stab: 4 + bleeding, Laijutsu: 4 +block

2 Battle Scar: 4 + 2 (life leech) (reference to skill of shiro from factions)

3 Saya Guard: Resistance+ Block 2 seconds

4 Furious Arcs: 2 x 3strikes + bleeding each strike

5 Slice the Mists: 6 + burning + 1 condition transfer

 

utilizing stances (also suggested by reddit)

heal - braving storms: heal 2 and increase the duration of boons on you at intervals (3 intervals)

utility - wanderer: gain swiftness and regeneration then remove a condition at intervals (3 intervals)

utility - shadow riposte: gain retaliation when delivering attacks (reference to shiro again) (5 seconds)

utility - tagachis heart: break stun, gain stability when blocking attacks (reference to shiro again) (5 seconds)

utility - unforgivable: gain aegis and inflict poison on nearby targets at intervals. (3 intervals)

elite - Impossible Odds: all attacks inflict a second leeching strike for a short duration. +1(life leech) (5 seconds) (reference to shiro yet again)

 

 

 

This next idea is something also mentioned on the reddit but not with reference to its roots many years previous

in guild wars 1. This build was created mostly as a joke pvp build but was semi-effective and it is the Thumper. A ranger

wielding a large hammer. In the reddit it was ideated as a minion mastering build which I don't really know how

I feel about a minnion spamming ranger build. Pvpers are annoyed enough already that I have one pet. I thought wells

might be a great opportunity to get some power based AOE damage onto a ranger that is currently lacking.

 

Ranger - Thumper Weapon Skills

1 Wump: 4, Bump: 4, Thump: 5 + Remove boon

2 Wild Swing: 7 + might

3 Uppercut: 3 + knockback

4 Bunny Smash: 6+ short distance leap finisher + 2 if knocked down

5 Thumping Ring: 1 at intervals while preventing entry or exit (3 intervals)

 

utilizing wells (4 intervals each)

heal - Jackalopes Hope: initial heal 5 + swiftness at intervals /combo field light

utility- Dazzling Well: inflict daze then remove boons at intervals /combo field light

utility- Well of Quakes: 3 at intervals inflicting knockdown on final pulse

utility- Kicking Pit: 4 at intervals granting allies might per interval

utility- Stomping Ground: 1 at intervals allies gain stability per interval, break stuns

elite - Alls well that ends well: leech life 2 at intervals, final pulse blast finisher

 

utilizing minions

heal - Jackaloper: summon a harmless jackalope that heals allies at intervals and grants protection

utility - Pack Mentality: gain 2 weaker versions of your pet (with an inability to use f2 skills)

utility - Coordinated Strike: 2 +leap to a target, cause all pets to leap at the same target dealing +2

utility - Masters Call: call your secondary pet to your aid for a short duration

utility - Thumpers Call: grant might to allies, break stun

elite - Wild Tactic: select a location you and your pet(s) teleport to the location, transfer 3 conditions to targets in the area.

 

 

This next idea is an original and it comes from a place of disliking illusions and phantasms. By this point you realize I'm speaking

about the mesmer. An elite spec could be the Possessed, this specialization would utilize a system that replaces illusions with ghostly

figures that lash out from their body. This could create problems with weapon swaps which is why I suggest this specialization use a similar

system to the elementalist and attunement swap rather then weapon swap. This spec could utilize dagger/dagger and utility skills of "hexes" that

appeared commonly in guild wars 1.

 

Possessed Weapon Skills

 

Atunement 1 (condition damage)

1 Poltergash: 4, Ghast Slice: 4 + agony, Murder: 6 + bleeding

2 Clawing Skin: 1x4strikes causing agony per strike (with illusion effect of hands coming out of the body)

3 Horrors Descent: 6 + poison leap finisher

4 Unwieldy Power: 2x4strikes gain 2might per strike(with illusion effect of characters wielding weapons swinging from out of the body)

5 Chaotic Host: 3x3 whirl finisher

 

Atunement 2 (crit damage)

1 Subtle Strike: 3, Repeated Strike: 5, Ghost Stab: 7+distortion

2 Slashing Demons: 3x2 strikes whirl finisher (with illusion effect of hands coming out of the body)

3 Ghoulish Scream: 3+ freezing, give allies fury

4 Phantasm Slice: 8 + distortion (with illusion effect of a large character swinging from out of the body)

5 Beckon: 2 + pull target and inflict freezing, gain fury.

 

hexes

 

heal- Parasitic Infusion: when a foe suffers from damage you heal for a percentage of that damage (5 seconds)

utility- Viral Shock: when a foe suffers from a condition give them an extra stack of that condition. (4 seconds)

utility- Fel Hex: 1 at intervals the final interval will cause knockdown to surrounding targets. (3 seconds)

utility- Devouring Hope: steal boons at intervals and cause bleeding (4 seconds)

utility- Hexers Veil: gain a small amount of shield each time your target gains a new stack or condition (6 seconds)

elite- Endless Gouge: 1 per interval + agony (8 seconds)

 

 

This is about all the energy I have for ideating new stuff tonight but I would love to see anyone else's ideas who wishes to post!

[huluobo.7036]

I hope to switch more weapons and templates during the battle. The difficulty in Guild Wars 2 is not the dungeon, but a group of ten experienced players to fight. In the dungeon, the team will die or leave the battle to change the template weapon, which requires a lot of waiting time. , I think template communication will cause serious quarrels among players. If you can switch at will, players can quickly know whether the current template is valid, and there is no need to make the whole teammates wait for discussion.

[Sindrela.1846]

i wish mesmer gets a master class thats all glammer... i miss the days of casting and watching someone spam skills and kill themselves.

[Desaita.3792]

I think confusion was the replacement of empathy and backfire. but it could be cool to have these brought back.

[Redfeather.6401]

A non clone/phantasm mesmer would get me to stick with mesmer. I mained mesmer in guild wars 10 years ago but cannot play gw2 mesmer without hating it.

[Desaita.3792]

Thankyou Redfeather, I feel very much the same way. Having clones is cool and all but when it is the only viable source of damage for the mesmer its a little annoying. It would be like if a necromancer was only strong when using minions.

[Desaita.3792]

Something off brand and unique for a necromancer would be introducing a Rifle or a Longbow, giving them better dueling capabilities and less obnoxious area crowd control. Currently the best necromancer builds are all aimed towards crowd control or area condition damage. There is an exceedingly low ability to duel well, this comes from a lack of any kind of invulnerable evade invisibility or block. So I propose the Deaths Harbinger with a rifle and to stop this from being ridiculous remove lifeforce transform and replace it with a single lifeforce skill shot.

 

Necromancer - Deaths Harbinger Weapon Skills

1 Grenths Bullet: 5 + life force 3%

2 Deadly Recoil: 3 + daze + evade backward.

3 Skyfall: 2x5 ranged area damage + 1% life force per strike

4 Underworlds Reach: 7 + 10% lifeforce

5 Unholy Haste: 3 + evade + finisher leap + quickness

 

Life Force Attack - Grenths Claim: 9 +finishes downed, line missile, consumes all life force.

 

utilizing deceptions inherently given to thief

heal - Messengers Path: heal 6 and gain invisibility (3 seconds)

utility - Bringer of Bad News: inflict vulnerability and Reveal in a targeted area. gain 2 life force per target struck. (4 seconds)

utility - Dark Tidings: create a smoke field that inflicts poison and breaks stun (3 seconds)

utility - Barrel of Death: your next 3 attacks will critically strike. (5 seconds)

utility - Dont Shoot the Messenger: remove conditions and gain boons.

elite - Six Feet Under: 6 + knockdown, attacks against this target will give allies quickness for 2 seconds (marked 3 seconds)

[Psycoprophet.8107]

Hoping for gs ronin for teef, greatsword modeled as just a shorter version of balindas gs with a left side stow instead of on the back. Many ronin resorted to becoming bandits and thieves to get by before being hired by another lord. A kimono may be more light armor but could still be considered medium for the sake of the espec theme or armor similar to what ashigaru wore if they wanted a slightly armored look. Be cool in my opinion atleast.

[Mungo Zen.9364]

I like the framework for the Thief and Ranger ideas.

 

I really do not get the Mesmer idea. What happens to all the Illusion skills we would typically have? What about the Shatters? How would all the Traits that empower Shatters and Illusions be utilized with your new idea?

 

The Necro feels a little too all in on the Lifeforce to DMG conversion, perhaps something similar to Warriors Adrenaline where you get 2-3 bars to fill and can spend 1 or all to empower a specific skill or F1-F3 types ability. Going a step further, why not have them include party support of some kind?

[Kodama.6453]

> @"Psycoprophet.8107" said:

> Hoping for gs ronin for teef, greatsword modeled as just a shorter version of balindas gs with a left side stow instead of on the back. Many ronin resorted to becoming bandits and thieves to get by before being hired by another lord. A kimono may be more light armor but could still be considered medium for the sake of the espec theme or armor similar to what ashigaru wore if they wanted a slightly armored look. Be cool in my opinion atleast.

 

I would prefer to see a one handed weapon for thief next, tbh. Thief already got 2 2handed weapons with both elite specs (staff + rifle) and especially on thief it would be interesting to see a new one handed weapon because of the dual attack mechanic.

[Psycoprophet.8107]

> @"Kodama.6453" said:

> > @"Psycoprophet.8107" said:

> > Hoping for gs ronin for teef, greatsword modeled as just a shorter version of balindas gs with a left side stow instead of on the back. Many ronin resorted to becoming bandits and thieves to get by before being hired by another lord. A kimono may be more light armor but could still be considered medium for the sake of the espec theme or armor similar to what ashigaru wore if they wanted a slightly armored look. Be cool in my opinion atleast.

>

> I would prefer to see a one handed weapon for thief next, tbh. Thief already got 2 2handed weapons with both elite specs (staff + rifle) and especially on thief it would be interesting to see a new one handed weapon because of the dual attack mechanic.

 

I'm easy..... off hand sword still would work for ronin spec :)

Call the spec the sword saint or kensei lol.