Mastery Revamp - If you could change one facet, how would you change/revamp the Mastery System?

[Nick Lentz.6982]

Anet ruined the mastery system by not having it cross over. There should always be a place for all masteries. Are mounts going to be out when the next expansion comes out? Because people are not willing to shill out for the previous expansions? Some of the masteries were horribly pointless too, either a xp wall or a one and done situation.

[derd.6413]

the main problem with masteries are some of the masteries themselves, not the system. maybe add a few core tyria masteries like a mount so we don't need to abandon things each expansion

[Tekoneiric.6817]

Most of us on here have been GW2 players for a long while and had years to go through the core game/HoT and many months with PoF. For new users the mastery system is increasingly an uphill battle to get basic stuff they paid for when they bought the expansions. I think it's crazy to expect a new player to either boost to level 80 while not understanding the game just to get gliding and their 4 mounts or grind through months (or longer) of game content to get them.

 

If they want GW2 to continue to be a viable game for new players they have to shift the new player experience up with each expansion. Either give them the basics they bought with the expansion or let them earn them through new inserted personal experience segments at the start so they can get them w/basic skills and enjoy the entire game experience at their own pace. GW2 will end up with a lot more happy new players. They can earn the advanced skills when they get to the expansion content.

 

The griffon being unadvertised at PoF roll out should still be a mastery or end of PoF story reward.

 

I'd also like to see collecting unbound magic removed from the mastery system, opened for all users and volatile magic rolled into unbound magic. They are two much alike to separate and they should be basic skills for all users. Rolling together can make them usable across the whole game.

[Healix.5819]

The whole point of mastery points is to force you to play the content. The problem was, without a traditional leveling experience, people were skipping through the game, then complaining about the lack of content. The problem with forcing content however is that now people have to play what they don't necessarily want to play, and what they've always had previously has now been taken away, nor can they reach what is being advertised as the new level cap.

 

The simplest thing they could do is change the way mastery points work, so rather than requiring them, they're treated as something like a 500k experience boost, with the masteries now requiring that much more experience. Any excess points would simply end up as spirit shards. Now you can play as intended, or take the much longer approach as an alternative. The problem however is that some people will only see the grind, ignoring the points.

[Menadena.7482]

> @"juhani.5361" said:

> > @"Mea.5491" said:

> > Get rid of mastery points and only use exp to unlock mastery. I really don't enjoy collecting mastery points.

>

> Completely agree. Points seem totally unnecessary, especially since so many of them are locked behind irrelevant activities like spoon collecting or wardrobe purchases or rifle shooting or...

 

What, you find doing a fractal to get a spoon does not have much relevance to something like pact commander? :)

 

I hate the points as well. Either get rid of them or have them 1 per level. The xp should be enough to have tougher levels of masteries as you will eventually reach whatever number it is. Points just add some random gate and having most of them be insights anyway makes them more 'what is the point' than anything else.

[Menadena.7482]

> @"Nick Lentz.6982" said:

> Anet ruined the mastery system by not having it cross over. There should always be a place for all masteries. Are mounts going to be out when the next expansion comes out? Because people are not willing to shill out for the previous expansions? Some of the masteries were horribly pointless too, either a xp wall or a one and done situation.

 

Fortunately they seem to be learning their lesson. The most popular masteries have been the ones you could use anywhere, like gliding and mounts. I am just suprised the extra downed skill we got from Doric did not get a lot of rah rah because I use it often to get out of jams.

[Tekoneiric.6817]

> @"Menadena.7482" said:

 

> Fortunately they seem to be learning their lesson. The most popular masteries have been the ones you could use anywhere, like gliding and mounts. I am just suprised the extra downed skill we got from Doric did not get a lot of rah rah because I use it often to get out of jams.

 

While I use that downed skill it is a lot like the engineer's downed skill booby trap just over a wider range.

[Tekoneiric.6817]

> @"Nick Lentz.6982" said:

> Anet ruined the mastery system by not having it cross over. There should always be a place for all masteries. Are mounts going to be out when the next expansion comes out? Because people are not willing to shill out for the previous expansions? Some of the masteries were horribly pointless too, either a xp wall or a one and done situation.

 

I'm still upset that they didn't include updrafts and ley-lines in the PoF / LWS4 areas. I feel the jackal was introduced as a basic way to get up to things that would have otherwise been updrafts or ley-lines.

[Warlyx.6732]

> @"Mea.5491" said:

> Get rid of mastery points and only use exp to unlock mastery. I really don't enjoy collecting mastery points.

 

+1 , its only 1 time , because is account shared but ugh , they arent marked on map (thats kinda ok since not every thing needs a mark) but u find it with luck or just see some guide :/ , both are "meh"

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

> @"Warlyx.6732" said:

> > @"Mea.5491" said:

> > Get rid of mastery points and only use exp to unlock mastery. I really don't enjoy collecting mastery points.

>

> +1 , its only 1 time , because is account shared but ugh , they arent marked on map (thats kinda ok since not every thing needs a mark) but u find it with luck or just see some guide :/ , both are "meh"

 

What? Insights *are* marked on the map. Some of them are a little unclear(1), but they *are* on the map before you get them, just all greyed out.

 

(1) I'm thinking of that one in the extreme west of the Elon Riverlands, where you end up on a sort of scavenger hunt around the map, but there's no prompt for it. There *is* a greyed indicator, though.

[sablephoenix.1593]

Remove all content and progression gates that require Mastery points. Especially in Heart of Thorns.

 

Requiring grind to advance the _single player storyline_ is horrible game design and indefensible from any perspective.

[Lord Kreegan.8123]

Remove it completely. Skills should be granted through XP, not being lucky enough to join some zerg at just the right time or being part of some big guild that runs zergs all the time. I'm reminded of the six-year old kid I ran into a couple weeks ago who had 255 mastery points; am I to believe that he was/is some great and marvelous player? No... he's just part of a big guild.

This isn't Zergs-R-Us. It takes no skill whatsoever to be part of zerg-land. If ANet's whole design approach these days is to force players into zergs, then I'll be out of here soon.

No, you may not have my stuff.

[Majirah.5089]

> @"Lord Kreegan.8123" said:

> Remove it completely. Skills should be granted through XP, not being lucky enough to join some zerg at just the right time or being part of some big guild that runs zergs all the time. I'm reminded of the six-year old kid I ran into a couple weeks ago who had 255 mastery points; am I to believe that he was/is some great and marvelous player? No... he's just part of a big guild.

> This isn't Zergs-R-Us. It takes no skill whatsoever to be part of zerg-land. If ANet's whole design approach these days is to force players into zergs, then I'll be out of here soon.

> No, you may not have my stuff.

 

You don’t need zergs to get mastery points. Some require some team work, but a huge amount of them can be done solo or with a friend.

[Lord Kreegan.8123]

> @"Majirah.5089" said:

> > @"Lord Kreegan.8123" said:

> > Remove it completely. Skills should be granted through XP, not being lucky enough to join some zerg at just the right time or being part of some big guild that runs zergs all the time. I'm reminded of the six-year old kid I ran into a couple weeks ago who had 255 mastery points; am I to believe that he was/is some great and marvelous player? No... he's just part of a big guild.

> > This isn't Zergs-R-Us. It takes no skill whatsoever to be part of zerg-land. If ANet's whole design approach these days is to force players into zergs, then I'll be out of here soon.

> > No, you may not have my stuff.

>

> You don’t need zergs to get mastery points. Some require some team work, but a huge amount of them can be done solo or with a friend.

 

Which I certainly know, but thanks anyway for stating the obvious.

Fact is, however, that the VAST majority of them cannot be earned without a zerg. Try telling the truth. You'll sleep better at night.

[Majirah.5089]

> @"Lord Kreegan.8123" said:

> > @"Majirah.5089" said:

> > > @"Lord Kreegan.8123" said:

> > > Remove it completely. Skills should be granted through XP, not being lucky enough to join some zerg at just the right time or being part of some big guild that runs zergs all the time. I'm reminded of the six-year old kid I ran into a couple weeks ago who had 255 mastery points; am I to believe that he was/is some great and marvelous player? No... he's just part of a big guild.

> > > This isn't Zergs-R-Us. It takes no skill whatsoever to be part of zerg-land. If ANet's whole design approach these days is to force players into zergs, then I'll be out of here soon.

> > > No, you may not have my stuff.

> >

> > You don’t need zergs to get mastery points. Some require some team work, but a huge amount of them can be done solo or with a friend.

>

> Which I certainly know, but thanks anyway for stating the obvious.

> Fact is, however, that the VAST majority of them cannot be earned without a zerg. Try telling the truth. You'll sleep better at night.

 

Wrong. I have gotten the the vast majority of them solo or with one or two friends. Some I have gotten with a groups of 5-10. The ones I have gotten with huge zergs have been relatively few in comparison.

[Glacial.9516]

Pretty happy with the Mastery system overall.

 

I would like to see simple "reward track" options added to the Masteries in addition to the Spirit shards we can earn.

For example:

* Spirit shard (254,000 exp required)

* Tome of Knowledge (508,000 exp required)

* Transmutation charge (1,016,000 exp required)

* Potion of WvW/PvP Rewards (1,524,000 exp required) (250 reward track progress, just like daily reward potion)

* Small bag of Map currency (2,540,000 exp required) (30 Geodes, 30 Bandit crests, 50 Airship parts, 50 Aurillium, 50 Leyline Crystals, 100 Unbound magic, Etc. Comparative values taken from Tyrian exchange voucher)

 

Nothing majorly rewarding (though the WvW/PvP potion may be controversial) but it does let us choose which type of items will be most useful to us, and leaves plenty of room to expand or balance rewards.

 

[Ashantara.8731]

I like the system as it is. The only thing I would change is the type of masteries. I would ask for more intelligent masteries, like in the core game, that make sense everywhere. (Maybe, for instance, unlock new mounts or mount skins that way, which to me makes more sense than some ability I can use on only one map. Or give me "builder" abilities for the home instance. Or anything other than map-bound masteries.)

[Red Haired Savage.5430]

I would go back and re-vamp the HoT ones to be more inline with the PoF ones. That is on ease of getting the mastery point, but 90% of that is probably the map complexity difference between HoT and PoF.

[MokahTGS.7850]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> I like the system as it is. The only thing I would change is the type of masteries. I would ask for more intelligent masteries, like in the core game, that make sense everywhere. (Maybe, for instance, unlock new mounts or mount skins that way, which to me makes more sense than some ability I can use on only one map. Or give me "builder" abilities for the home instance. Or anything other than map-bound masteries.)

 

So you would change things. I personally like your suggestions, you just should have voted for the second to last choice. I agree that the area bound masteries don't serve a big enough use to justify their existence. It's evidence in my book that ANet is struggling to figure out how to use the system they created.

 

[Pifil.5193]

The only thing I'd change is to just unlock the raid mastery line for everyone.

[Pifil.5193]

> @"Lord Kreegan.8123" said:

> > @"Majirah.5089" said:

> > > @"Lord Kreegan.8123" said:

> > > Remove it completely. Skills should be granted through XP, not being lucky enough to join some zerg at just the right time or being part of some big guild that runs zergs all the time. I'm reminded of the six-year old kid I ran into a couple weeks ago who had 255 mastery points; am I to believe that he was/is some great and marvelous player? No... he's just part of a big guild.

> > > This isn't Zergs-R-Us. It takes no skill whatsoever to be part of zerg-land. If ANet's whole design approach these days is to force players into zergs, then I'll be out of here soon.

> > > No, you may not have my stuff.

> >

> > You don’t need zergs to get mastery points. Some require some team work, but a huge amount of them can be done solo or with a friend.

>

> Which I certainly know, but thanks anyway for stating the obvious.

> Fact is, however, that the VAST majority of them cannot be earned without a zerg. Try telling the truth. You'll sleep better at night.

 

Yeah that's not even remotely true.

[Orpheal.8263]

I would completely revamp the Mastery System and combine it together with Elite Specializations as for which reason the system has gotten implemented nto the game for the first place actually - for Character Progression, so it just makes sense to put together systems, which follow both the same goal and in fact should belong together for a better ingame immersion. I would add alot more masteries in general, so that there is on the first look an overwhelming amount of Character Progression, that Players will be busy for a long while, not nowing, where to begin first, while at the same time simplefying some aspects of the mechanics, so that the whole thing gets less grindy for huge amounts of Exp only, and receives instead more of kind of a Quest System that requires the player to fullfill somethign in the game to gain new Talents and Abilities which will be needed to learn Masteries - but learnign is not everything - you have to master also what you have learned by beating Trials that will test you, if you truly can master what you have learned to receive a Bonus Boost in the Efficiency of learned Mastery.

 

Masteries will get first splitted up into two types:

 

Mastery Types are called Talents and Abilities.

A Talent is a passive Mastery, something that is always there, once learned and mastered, for that the player has nothing to do actively.

An Ability is an active Mastery, something that your character can do, if the player actively does something in the game with the Character to perform that kind of active Mastery.

 

Example:

 

A passive Mastery, a so called Talent is for example Riding Arts, which is a Mastery focused on Mounts in general to improve your Riding Skill on mounts and make you a better rider, you have only to learn and master them and from then on they are always passively there for you, your Character progresses indirectly by them.

 

An active Mastery, a so called Ability is for example the Ability to use Fishing Rods actively, making it possible for you from that moment on to go Fishing anywhwre you want and where water is in form of ponds, lakes, rivers, seas ect to pull out your Fishing Rod out of your "Tool Box" to use it activelythe moment you put it out of your Tool Box.

 

Both Types can support each other, from an Talent can you get to learn how to use new Abilities.. and by using your learned and mastered abilities, you can improve in return eventually some of your Talents and become better this way in them.

 

The point is, ANets System is rushed (as usual), but also as usual provides alot of potential, which the system so far as it works right now, absolutely makes no usage from.

 

To learn Masteries in form of Talents, the system under my poroposal woudl get made easier. The Beginner Form of any Talent should get learned very simply, for example by reading Books, by talking to some Master NPCs that take you in as their Pupils and teach you some BASICS from where you start then progressing under their teachings and lessons THAt YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW for immersion, instant of instant learning and mastering everythign in this game, without ever having done something for your wisdom ... that just killing unendless amounts of monsters for exp and collecting some points by traveling around the maps /facepalm.

 

However, Mastery Points can be kept, it woudkl be anyway too much of a rework now to remove all this junk now, so its best to resuse this Mechanic and the collection of Mastery Points for somethign else - TRIALS, Mastery Points under my proposal would become acrtually the kind of "Currency" that Grandmasters of the Masteries that you want to master, to become accepted as a true Master of your Talents/Abilities self is to overcome the trials of grandmasters twhich test your wisdom and skills, if you truly are worthy to be called a Master.

To unlock the feature to become able to start the Mastery Trials of your Talents and Abilities that you have learned, you have to find the fitting Grandmaster NPCs in the world of Tyria, do domething eventually to convince them to take you as their pupils and win their trust, until they want to test you, if you have everythign whats needed to become self a master and to overcome them by beating their trials for which you would need then a certain amount of Mastery Points, that they want to have to accept your request to try their Mastery Trials (which can from then on be tried as many times as you need, once unlocked, in case you fail miserably and need to put back your butt on their learning chair first again to hear again their lessons better next time an be better prepared on your next try xD

 

Elite Specializations under this proposal wouldn't be learned anymore via Hero Points. Instead there would be Grandmaster NPCs of the corresponding Professions added to the game, which will teach you then the basics of becoming an Elite Specialization and if you master their Elite Trials, you iwll unlock this way then some parts of the Elite Specs to become useable for the Core profession as well (Utility Skills, Healing Skill & Weapon), while Traits and Elite Skil lremain Elite Spec unique and stay useable only via the Specs, if your Character is builded for the E-Spec by using their Traits.

 

Traits and Skills of the E-Spec won't be learned then anymore by Hero Points, Hero Points will get renamed into either Talent or Ability Points based on what type of task you do in the game, some spots that gave hero points earlier wil lgive now talent Points instant, other spots Ability Points, it will get split up.

Talent Points will be needed then to learn Traits from your teaching Grandmaster, while Ability Points will be needed to learn Skills from your teaching Grandmaster.

 

Aside of this can be Talent Points be used to boost the progress of your Character in learning Talents. EarnedTalent Points can be used to buy with them then Talent Boosters which increase your progress by a certain percentage in order to speed up the progression of learning new Talents.

Same could be done then with Ability Points for learnign faster new Abilities.

 

To learn a new Talent or Ability from a Mastery Line, the Talent/Ability has to reach 100% Progression to be "star"'ed as symbol for having learned something.

From then on begins for the learned Talent/Ability the progress of "mastering" it, another 100% Progress bar, which will take this time triple as much as long than it took to just learn something. Once you reach here 95%, then you fulfill aside of having enough Mastery Points the second and last requirement that is needed to master truly somethign in the game as part of your Character Progression, doing then your Grandmaster's Trials successful will earn you the last 5% needed to reach the 100% to master your Talent/Ability to receive its Bonus Effect(s) that truly make you outshine from others, which haven't mastered, but just only learned that Talent/Ability, so that you can see as player, how outstanding you are as a master, compared to a non-master of a Mastery. (inclusive eventually some other improved visual fluff here n there where it fits, cause as a master of something, you are legendary, so this needs some visual improvements as well). Once uve mastered a talent/ability, it will become triple "star" ed as symbol so that you can see, what you have so far only learned, and what you have truly mastered with your Character.

[Orpheal.8263]

Example:

 

**Pact Commander:**(Requires no Points, Pact Commander Progress will be learned and mastered over the course of your Personal Story)

 

Ability - **Pact Mentor** - Automatically learned over the course of Personal Story when you become Pact Commander. Mastery Condition: Complete the Main Story

Bonus Effect when mastered: Players in your Party receive a Bonus to Exp, when they are Level lesser in their Level, than you. You gain a Bonus in Karma for every party member in your party which you lead, while being the leading Mentor, when doing successfully Events with your Party. You hear now a Winning Fanfare Sound when completing Events successfully under your lead.

 

Talent - **Noblesse Oblige** - You learn how to revive defeated Allies faster. Mastery Condition: Complete the Main Story, learned when you revived enough defeated Allies.

Bonus Effect when mastered: You receive now lesser damage while reviving an Ally, better looking visual Effects at reviving and revived Allies will get rallied now with more Health than before and receive for a few seconds Might, Protection and Swiftness.

 

Talent - **Advanced Logistics** - You will Auto Loot now and move in peaceful areas like Towns with your Party 33% faster - Mastery Condition: Complete the Main Story, learned when you by buying and selling stuff in Towns over time, until the progression reaches 100%. Won't be mastered, if not learned first before in case someone wants to try to cheat the system by trying to complete the story without having bought and sold stuff enough first before.

Bonus Effect when mastered: Your Run Animations look now more heroic/epic/faster like expectable from a heroic Dragonslayer and you gain now access to new Trading Goods from NPCs all over Tyria, which you didn't had access before. Karma vendors will have now all significantly upgraded better rewarding Stuff to sell for Karma, than before especially, now that you are Hero of Tyria, the folks trust you alot more and want also to thank you with their improved goods they sell now... (includes also vendors which sell stuff for Gold..)

 

Ability - **Call of Duty** - A unique PvE only Healing Skill which can be used also too to revive yourself, working basically like a skill version of Revival Orbs. Learned when you rally your first time up after gettign downed. Mastery Condition: Complete Zhaitan Battle alone without getting defeated more than once.

The more often you use this Skill in an Instance, the longer the Cooldown will become

Bonus Effect when mastered: The general Cooldown of this Skill gets reduced and the Fail Punishment Cooldown Increase gets reduced, more impressive visual effects now for you when you rally up in general

 

Ability - **Call for Reinforcements** - A unique PvE only Elite Skill that enables you to call for help in form of your chosen Faction that you followed, before becoming Pact Commander - Vigil, Order of Whisper or Durmand Priory, so its basicaly a 3 different version Elite Skill that is based on your choice of your personal story. Automatically learned when you join one of those factions. Mastery Condition: Complete the Main Story while having this Skill in your Build

Bonus when mastered: The Effects of this Elite Skill will get boosted in their Efficiency, making them this way more fun to use and spectacular to watch and when you use Elite Skills in general you gain for some seconds an heroic Aura Effect to underline this way visually, that you have performed something elitious right now ...

 

Thats for example how i'd rework the Pact Commander Mastery, so that you get an impression of what I mean with Talents and Abilities, just that this line is an exception in regard of requirign no points ti increase your progression, as i find, this one here should get progressed naturally over the course of our Personal Story, where we are the pact Comanders, so its for me just normal, that as part of our Character Progression as Pact Commanders in our Story we should learn new Talents and Abilities, which make our characters as a Pact Commander better.

I removed Productive Downtime here, cause that has nothing to do with being a Pact Comander,m that I suddenly become faster in crafting..that one belongs into a specific Crafting Mastery Line, that is just only focused on Craftign alone.

Under my Proposal wouldnt this Mastery Line require anymore its 19 Central Tyria Mastery Points, it also wouldn't require anymore to grind like 11,5 Million Exp nearly, all that would be required of you then woudl be to have fun with the game and complete the game!!! That is, what players should do in the first place - play the game and its story, not grind exp and points just to unlock step by step something for your character progression and pact Commander was there just the perfect prime example for this, how it could be done definetely better, less grindy, more fun and feeling more immersive in regard of character progress, cause the progression becomes simply natural part of playing the game, and not something, that just artificially distracts you from playign actually the game and its story by having to grind obnoxious high amounts of exp for them and to collect mastery points all over the place by basically getting forced to do certain achievements for them, if you want to have enough of these points

 

The same treatment would I do with all other already existing lines and see, what can be merged, or moved elsewhere to become part of a more fitting own Mastery Line (see Crafting/ removed Productive Downtime, cause it doesnt fit to Pact Commander!!), look after, what of the current existing stuff can be changed over into either a Talent or an Ability to distribute them into the new two Mastery Types and add some interesting, and rewarding feeling Bonus Effects to those talents and Abilities to make them interestign and rewarding to be mastered and not just only learned by having interesting and (more) challenging mastery conditions, than naturally Pact Commander woudl have by mostly completing only the Main Game xD - which is quite simple - but naturaly everything should start first with something simple and become then slow but surely more challenging, so further you progress with your character and become better at things to learn and master new things, lke the Elite Specializations, which should be definetely more challenging to master, than the Talents of Abilities of the Pact Commander Mastery Line, thats clear for sure!!

[Ozimul.9185]

The biggest change I'd make, I think, would be to reduce the amount of points the HoT mastery tracks require, because they're downright _painful_ (aside from Ancient Magics.) Seriously, 12 mastery points for an ability that's usable on only 2-3 maps? It's absurd.

[MokahTGS.7850]

> @"Ozimul.9185" said:

> The biggest change I'd make, I think, would be to reduce the amount of points the HoT mastery tracks require, because they're downright _painful_ (aside from Ancient Magics.) Seriously, 12 mastery points for an ability that's usable on only 2-3 maps? It's absurd.

 

As someone who is trying to complete Nevermore, I can agree here most diffidently. Absurd is the word I would use as well.