-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Guild Wars 2 |OT5| We've got fun and games
- Thread starter Retro
- Start date
- Status
Vigilant Walrus
Member
im going to miss moveable spirits
Ranger
(general)
- troll unguent becomes survial skill
- heal as one, rampage as one become shouts
- spirits no longer move [RIP my PvP spirit build, glad I already have the title]
(marksmanship)
- signet of wild on low health, adept
- predator's instinct, adept
- call of wild (horn 5) on pet swap, adept
- signets grant might, opening strike, signet CD, master
- steady focus, master
- moment of clarity, master
- pet deals bonus damage to foes w/ movment condis or under CC, gm
- fury restores opening strike + 25% opening strike damage, gm
- longbow speed, piercing, CD, gm
(skirmishing)
- ???
- stack might while below 50% health, adept but moving up
- spike trap on revive, adept
- successful evade grants vigor, master
- spotter, master
- trap condi duration, area (may become baseline), CD, master
- when you swap, next weapon skill used has reduced CD, gm [really? we really needed more rapid fire?]
- damage and condi duration while moving, shortbow piercing and CD, gm
- strider's defense + sword CD and damage, gm
(wilderness survival)
- bark skin applies to you and pet, gm minor
- fall damage, adept
- condi damage with torch or dagger, torch and dagger CDs, adept
- pet condi damage and duration, adept
- oakheart salve + reduced damage while regen, master
- peak strength, master
- shared anguish, master
- ???, gm
- sharpened edges + survival CD + condi cleanse, gm
- poison master, gm
(nature magic)
- boon duration, gm minor
- bountiful hunter, adept
- % healing into power + pet stat boost, adept
- revive trait, adept
- evasive purity + cripple, master
- aoe vigor on pet swap, master
- call of wild grants regen + warhorn cd, master
- spirit active area + on-death, gm
- on being damaged, aoe protection and weakness, gm
- nature's bond [I think?], gm
(beastmastery)
- pets move faster and deal more crit damage, gm minor
- companion's might, adept
- rending attacks, adept
- shouts apply regen + swiftness, shout CD, adept
- pet actives grant weakness, master
- gs damage, CD, grants fury, master
- pet gains regen and healing power, master
- pet F2 AoE taunts, gm [oh the tricks my jaguar and I will pull]
- zephyr's speed, gm
- ferocity with axe, axe CD, winter's bite now an AoE, gm
(general)
- troll unguent becomes survial skill
- heal as one, rampage as one become shouts
- spirits no longer move [RIP my PvP spirit build, glad I already have the title]
(marksmanship)
- signet of wild on low health, adept
- predator's instinct, adept
- call of wild (horn 5) on pet swap, adept
- signets grant might, opening strike, signet CD, master
- steady focus, master
- moment of clarity, master
- pet deals bonus damage to foes w/ movment condis or under CC, gm
- fury restores opening strike + 25% opening strike damage, gm
- longbow speed, piercing, CD, gm
(skirmishing)
- ???
- stack might while below 50% health, adept but moving up
- spike trap on revive, adept
- successful evade grants vigor, master
- spotter, master
- trap condi duration, area (may become baseline), CD, master
- when you swap, next weapon skill used has reduced CD, gm [really? we really needed more rapid fire?]
- damage and condi duration while moving, shortbow piercing and CD, gm
- strider's defense + sword CD and damage, gm
(wilderness survival)
- bark skin applies to you and pet, gm minor
- fall damage, adept
- condi damage with torch or dagger, torch and dagger CDs, adept
- pet condi damage and duration, adept
- oakheart salve + reduced damage while regen, master
- peak strength, master
- shared anguish, master
- ???, gm
- sharpened edges + survival CD + condi cleanse, gm
- poison master, gm
(nature magic)
- boon duration, gm minor
- bountiful hunter, adept
- % healing into power + pet stat boost, adept
- revive trait, adept
- evasive purity + cripple, master
- aoe vigor on pet swap, master
- call of wild grants regen + warhorn cd, master
- spirit active area + on-death, gm
- on being damaged, aoe protection and weakness, gm
- nature's bond [I think?], gm
(beastmastery)
- pets move faster and deal more crit damage, gm minor
- companion's might, adept
- rending attacks, adept
- shouts apply regen + swiftness, shout CD, adept
- pet actives grant weakness, master
- gs damage, CD, grants fury, master
- pet gains regen and healing power, master
- pet F2 AoE taunts, gm [oh the tricks my jaguar and I will pull]
- zephyr's speed, gm
- ferocity with axe, axe CD, winter's bite now an AoE, gm
UltimateIke
Member
It's time!
What I anticipate will be the dungeon build for Ranger. Going off memory here and notes.
Marksmanship
The minors see a pure buff with opening strikes doing +25% damage. While the signet and remorseless traits could take advantage of this, Predator's onslaught will still be king I feel, since everything is always crippled pretty much. Adept will be the Call of the Wild on pet swap, free fury at least. Steady focus moves to the Master slot from the Adept. And then Onslaught.
Skirmishing
Sees a lot of changes. The two pet traits we took basically based on elimination (Critical damage and might to pet) are gone to the Beastmastery line. Minors I think were completely untouched. The adept trait I think goes to the one where you do extra damage at low health? The options here are fuzzy and I'm not sure of a clear winner. Spotter takes Master slot. Nu-Striders defense takes GM slot with its buff, though the double maul and double rapid fire traiting sounds neat too.
Didn't pay too much attention to Wilderness Survival, super condi focused. Even Martial Mastery is gone from the line now, but free bark skin is cool for pvp.
Nature magic seems kinda debuffed, espcially with the 7% spirit proc being base now, and the anticipated +5 from bountiful hunter being +1 per boon now. I supposed you still could pick that as your adept and pick the regen/swiftness on Master to correspond with the Marks adept trait. Then you'd take the weakness/protection on being hit to help the group for free. Don't think larger spirit radius /death proc is necessary.
Beastmastery ceases (maybe) to be the worst trait line in the game by stealing from the other lines. You'd pick Companions Might and get Pet's Prowess for free. Zephyrs speed would be your GM pick I guess. No idea what you'd pick for Master if not running GS.
Marksmanship
The minors see a pure buff with opening strikes doing +25% damage. While the signet and remorseless traits could take advantage of this, Predator's onslaught will still be king I feel, since everything is always crippled pretty much. Adept will be the Call of the Wild on pet swap, free fury at least. Steady focus moves to the Master slot from the Adept. And then Onslaught.
Skirmishing
Sees a lot of changes. The two pet traits we took basically based on elimination (Critical damage and might to pet) are gone to the Beastmastery line. Minors I think were completely untouched. The adept trait I think goes to the one where you do extra damage at low health? The options here are fuzzy and I'm not sure of a clear winner. Spotter takes Master slot. Nu-Striders defense takes GM slot with its buff, though the double maul and double rapid fire traiting sounds neat too.
Didn't pay too much attention to Wilderness Survival, super condi focused. Even Martial Mastery is gone from the line now, but free bark skin is cool for pvp.
Nature magic seems kinda debuffed, espcially with the 7% spirit proc being base now, and the anticipated +5 from bountiful hunter being +1 per boon now. I supposed you still could pick that as your adept and pick the regen/swiftness on Master to correspond with the Marks adept trait. Then you'd take the weakness/protection on being hit to help the group for free. Don't think larger spirit radius /death proc is necessary.
Beastmastery ceases (maybe) to be the worst trait line in the game by stealing from the other lines. You'd pick Companions Might and get Pet's Prowess for free. Zephyrs speed would be your GM pick I guess. No idea what you'd pick for Master if not running GS.
TwofaceTomahawk
Member
I can't believe no more moving spirits. Such a shame, I was going to start using spirits more too.
Warrior
(general)
- if >50% endurance, physical skills are more effective
- rampage is a physical skill
- healing surge is a shout. [adios healing signet, it's been fun]
- active of healing signet grants resistance
(strength)
- death from above, adept
- restorative strength, adept
- physical skill damage based on adrenaline + physical CD, adept
- inflicting CC causes weakness and bleed, master
- might on gs crit, gs damage and CD, master
- % power given to vitality, master
- 10s damage boost when use burst, size depends on adrenaline level, gm
- distracting strikes with might, gm
- axe crits grant adrenaline, bonus ferocity per axe, axe CD, gm
(arms)
- unsuspecting foe, master minor
- adrenaline in combat, fury on hitting low health foe, adept
- signets grant stacking precison buff, signet of might when hitting low health foe, adept
- applying fury boosts condi damage, adept
- hits have chance to apply vuln and swiftness, master
- gain fury on immob, master
- sword crit chance, even more crit against bleeders, sword CD, master
- 100% crit for burst skills, gm
- crits grant adrenaline and [?] stacking buff, gm
- dual wielding attack speed and damage, gm
(defense)
- spiked armor also procs when you block, gm minor
- shield master reflect + might on block, adept [i'm going to have to go back to shield in wvw]
- dogged march, adept
- armored attack, adept
- last stand + stance CD (but no vigor), master
- damage to weak foes and weakness on hitting low health foes, master
- cleansing ire, master
- mace damage, vuln to cc foes, mace CD, gm
- endure pain, gm
- toughness on stun break + heal, gm
(tactics)
- increased boon duration and outgoing healing, gm minor
- leg specialist, adept
- quick breathing, adept
- empowered, adept
- shrug it off, master
- dual shot causes burning + longbow CD, master
- empower allies, master
- activating a leap combo finisher activates twice, gm
- shouts heal + grant adrenaline + shout CD, gm
- phalanx strength, gm
(discipline)
- rifle pierce + CD, adept
- warrior's sprint + movement skills break immob, adept
- vengeance traits combined, adept
- banners grant regen to allies, master
- ???
- ???
- meciless hammer + hammer CD, gm
- burst mastery, gm
- gain quickness when you hit low health foe, gm
[happy shouts were improved. GM traits in defense are quite underwhelming. many thoughts overall but I have to run.]
(general)
- if >50% endurance, physical skills are more effective
- rampage is a physical skill
- healing surge is a shout. [adios healing signet, it's been fun]
- active of healing signet grants resistance
(strength)
- death from above, adept
- restorative strength, adept
- physical skill damage based on adrenaline + physical CD, adept
- inflicting CC causes weakness and bleed, master
- might on gs crit, gs damage and CD, master
- % power given to vitality, master
- 10s damage boost when use burst, size depends on adrenaline level, gm
- distracting strikes with might, gm
- axe crits grant adrenaline, bonus ferocity per axe, axe CD, gm
(arms)
- unsuspecting foe, master minor
- adrenaline in combat, fury on hitting low health foe, adept
- signets grant stacking precison buff, signet of might when hitting low health foe, adept
- applying fury boosts condi damage, adept
- hits have chance to apply vuln and swiftness, master
- gain fury on immob, master
- sword crit chance, even more crit against bleeders, sword CD, master
- 100% crit for burst skills, gm
- crits grant adrenaline and [?] stacking buff, gm
- dual wielding attack speed and damage, gm
(defense)
- spiked armor also procs when you block, gm minor
- shield master reflect + might on block, adept [i'm going to have to go back to shield in wvw]
- dogged march, adept
- armored attack, adept
- last stand + stance CD (but no vigor), master
- damage to weak foes and weakness on hitting low health foes, master
- cleansing ire, master
- mace damage, vuln to cc foes, mace CD, gm
- endure pain, gm
- toughness on stun break + heal, gm
(tactics)
- increased boon duration and outgoing healing, gm minor
- leg specialist, adept
- quick breathing, adept
- empowered, adept
- shrug it off, master
- dual shot causes burning + longbow CD, master
- empower allies, master
- activating a leap combo finisher activates twice, gm
- shouts heal + grant adrenaline + shout CD, gm
- phalanx strength, gm
(discipline)
- rifle pierce + CD, adept
- warrior's sprint + movement skills break immob, adept
- vengeance traits combined, adept
- banners grant regen to allies, master
- ???
- ???
- meciless hammer + hammer CD, gm
- burst mastery, gm
- gain quickness when you hit low health foe, gm
[happy shouts were improved. GM traits in defense are quite underwhelming. many thoughts overall but I have to run.]
The only build I'm attached to that's getting removed is Deathblossom Thief. In fact, I get to spec into the same exact lines mostly. I'm going craft a less rambly post about Thief later.
As for Elite Specializations, I hope they do them in the order they first announced the classes. I think the order was... Warrior, Elementalist, Ranger, Necromancer, Guardian, Thief, Engineer, and Mesmer. Edit: and Revenant.
As for Elite Specializations, I hope they do them in the order they first announced the classes. I think the order was... Warrior, Elementalist, Ranger, Necromancer, Guardian, Thief, Engineer, and Mesmer. Edit: and Revenant.
hockeypuck
Member
For guardians, Strength in Numbers going from Adept to Master is a big nerf to me, since Valor is a defensive-minded trait line. If I have to choose between losing personal DPS versus losing group defense for dungeons, then good-bye group defense.
Edit: Blue fire-covered guardians everywhere (Radiant Fire trait giving Zealot's Flame 3 seconds every 6 seconds with critical hit) for the rest of the game's lifespan, confirmed.
Edit: Blue fire-covered guardians everywhere (Radiant Fire trait giving Zealot's Flame 3 seconds every 6 seconds with critical hit) for the rest of the game's lifespan, confirmed.
I actually thought about crafting one myself this weekend... but someone will probably beat me to it.
But it is already on Valor? I mean, you will invest on it anyway, so the change doesn't affect it, and it doesn't seem to conflict with any self-DPS trait on the Master line (there is none).
Note that the Skirmishing GM trait (+10 while moving) even though it gives shortbow recharge (and piercing I think?), it +10 while moving wasn't weapon specific. So you could slot that instead if running GS ranger.
edit: Unless holding down a movement key while attacking with sword counts as moving, then you could just slot that regardless.
edit: Unless holding down a movement key while attacking with sword counts as moving, then you could just slot that regardless.
hockeypuck
Member
Oops, forgot that we have to fully invest in each trait line now. So it's moot.
Edit: Oh ffs they're increasing equipment stats to make up for the majority of stat points lost with the separation of trait lines and stat points? I'll need to make new ascended gear.
UltimateIke
Member
Slashing Power and Forceful Greatsword merged and a terrific new way of handling Berserker's Power. Strength line is looking good.
Terrific things happening with the shout trait combinations. Healing Surge still healing based on adrenaline would be great since shouts grant adrenaline with the trait. Lots of synergy going on there.
At the end they said banner cooldowns might be made baseline. Yes, please. Throw in the damage on summon too while we're at it.
And the shield traits finally together, haha.
Terrific things happening with the shout trait combinations. Healing Surge still healing based on adrenaline would be great since shouts grant adrenaline with the trait. Lots of synergy going on there.
At the end they said banner cooldowns might be made baseline. Yes, please. Throw in the damage on summon too while we're at it.
And the shield traits finally together, haha.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
I agree. So many of my builds have been compromised around getting both slashing power and forceful greatsword.
Btw...
does this still mean that you get a 25% increased movement speed when wielding melee weapons? this is one of the most important traits for me because it gives some good mobility.
Ok time to mess with the stuff on Dulfy's post and build some Guardians
Meditation Guard:
S/F & GS
Specialize:
Valor
PVP: Strength of the Fallen
PVE: Smiter's Boon, Strength in Numbers, Monk's Focus
Basic survival stuff here combined with Monk's Focus ridic stuff. Smiter's Boon seems fucking OP as balls when you use it with Litany of Wrath; You get Monk's Focus heal, plus heal on hit for the rest of the duration, get Fury, pop Smiter's Boon, clear a Condi, get Monk's Focus heal AGAIN, get Fury AGAIN. 20s recharge means it will always be up every time you use Litany. That is insane.
Radiance
Healer's Retribution, Retribution, Amplified Wrath
Virtues
Unscathed Contender, Supreme Justice, Indomitable Courage
This build is super tentative and weird, but I really like it. You go full Condition, Toughness, and Healing Power. Apostate's gear. Huge heals, you're hard to kill, and burns do great damage. You get a side effect of having great crits, if burn can crit too (who knows!), this build should be pretty damn beast mode.
Man there's so many builds I want to make here, signet build, symbol build, whoo
Meditation Guard:
S/F & GS
Specialize:
Valor
PVP: Strength of the Fallen
PVE: Smiter's Boon, Strength in Numbers, Monk's Focus
Basic survival stuff here combined with Monk's Focus ridic stuff. Smiter's Boon seems fucking OP as balls when you use it with Litany of Wrath; You get Monk's Focus heal, plus heal on hit for the rest of the duration, get Fury, pop Smiter's Boon, clear a Condi, get Monk's Focus heal AGAIN, get Fury AGAIN. 20s recharge means it will always be up every time you use Litany. That is insane.
Radiance
Healer's Retribution, Retribution, Amplified Wrath
Virtues
Unscathed Contender, Supreme Justice, Indomitable Courage
This build is super tentative and weird, but I really like it. You go full Condition, Toughness, and Healing Power. Apostate's gear. Huge heals, you're hard to kill, and burns do great damage. You get a side effect of having great crits, if burn can crit too (who knows!), this build should be pretty damn beast mode.
Man there's so many builds I want to make here, signet build, symbol build, whoo
UltimateIke
Member
Yep! And things like the Sword's Savage Leap or Greatsword's Whirlwind Attack activate the effect from Mobile Strikes, which is now merged into the trait.
I think we will be looking at 6/0/0/6/6 Warrior being the meta in groups. 6/6/0/0/6 maybe for solo? Moving Forceful Greatsword to Strength was a godsend.
I'm absolutely certain people won't call it 6/0/0/6/6. It'll be 1/0/0/1/1.
Kos Luftar
Member
Is stream still going, been out trying to buy my first house, haven't had a chance to watch at all.
Okay, so the three builds I play most are Condi/Support Warrior, Power/Shroud Necromancer, and Dodge/Condi Thief.
Warrior: Sword/Warhorn, Longbow. Moondrop's post: http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=161473771&postcount=3914
Arms: Fury on low health, Sword Mastery, New Furious
I already used Furious because it can grant adrenaline during a burst skill. This means every crit I get during Sword's burst skill and Longbow's burst skill got me back adrenaline quickly. Hell, the build originally used Rampager's gear back at launch.
Tactics: Quick Breathing, Burning Arrows, Either Phalanx Strength or the new Leap Finisher.
Tactics was a line I couldn't get enough of. I loved Warhorn early on because of the constant Swiftness with it's trait and I played a loooooooot of WvW at launch. It's honestly because of that constant Swiftness that I moved away from Shouts and possibly Healing Shouts. Well, that and Longbow. The new Longbow trait is a balanced combination of Stronger Bowstrings and Burning Arrows. Stronger Bowstrings was important because it increased your range (lost forever) and made your auto-attack a 100% combo finisher so you could stack burning through your fire field, or use other people's fields. Now it'll always shoot fire without a combo field, but won't have as much power with other people. It's a trade off I can live with to have more burning and make its plain auto attack more appealing. Finally, Phalanx Strength is wonderful and we already know this. But the option to get double the effects from leap finishers... extended Fire, Water, and Chaos auras excite me.
Discipline: Super Sweet Vengeance, and I'm not sure
If I stick to this it'll mostly be for the minor traits Fast Hands and the burst cooldown reduction. Otherwise I'll go into Defense and grab stuff like Cleansing Ire.
Necromancer: Dagger/Warhorn, Axe/Focus. Moondrop's post: http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=161467891&postcount=3889
Spite: Reaper's Might vs. new Spiteful Talisman, Chill of Death vs. Axe Training vs. Death Shiver, Close to Death vs. Cripple Mastery
Things are a bit shaky here. Spite is no longer the straight damage boost it was, and instead is a lot more risky. Despite the minor trait changes, everything else leaves me spoiled for choice...
Curses: Weakening Shroud vs. Reaper's Precision, Banshee's Wail, not sure.
The new grandmaster minor is incredible! Now when I load an enemy with a bunch of non-damaging conditions before my Well or Death Shroud spike, I'll get a ton of bonus damage! My only wish is that the Adept Minor caused Poison on crit instead of Bleeding. Poison is much better as a general choice as it lowers healing.
Soul Reaping: Unyielding Blast vs. new Speed in Shadows, Spectral Attunement vs. Foot in the Grave (I think this was still here, it might be the death shroud skills cooldown reduction), Deathly Perception vs. Foot in the Grave.
I think I'm going to lean on faster Death Shroud building, faster dip into Death Shroud, and the stun break. My hope is that the stability gets increased to at least 3 seconds baseline, as it looked like the current stability set was a placeholder. I want to Shroud Stomp safely! Also, Warhorn reduction + Spectral reduction gives perma swiftness in current game. I like perma swiftness, and if it's this easy to keep I'll probably keep it.
Alt: Blood Magic: Ritual of Life, Dagger Swiftness, Well Mastery
I miss Blood Magic. I really do. It goes well with Wells. I might even consider going back to full Vampiric if they ever get the numbers right for PvP.
Thief: Dagger/Dagger, Shortbow Moondrop: http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=161452588&postcount=3839
Deadly Arts: Mug, Panic Strike, Potent Poison
Before I only put in enough points to grab mug, for the extra healing. Now I might as well grab the poison buff, if it's worth it. It means Shortbow contributes more to my damage with less initiative, but I'm still annoyed about the new Minor Grandmaster, Exposed Weakness, only helping direct damage.
Acrobatics: Pain Response, Guarded Initiation vs. new Hard to Catch, Assassin's Reward.
The new Grandmasters look fun, but this build will not work without Assassin's Reward and Signet of Malice. Not unless they give Deathblossom more evade frames, that is. Also, my memory was faulty; Deathblossom has 1/2 second duration but only 1/4 second evade. I still don't want to let it go...
Trickery: Thrill of the Crime, Bountiful Theft, Sleight of Hand.
Honestly, every level has at least one choice for me here. This is just the three I usually use. Trickster might be worth swapping out for because my only condi clear is Pain Response, but Bountiful Theft gives Vigor. Also, the Minor Grandmaster again is only useful for more damage, even when it's in a trait line that provides multiple conditions. I'm most torn on what to do with Thief overall.
This ended up looking pretty messy anyway. But I have a headache. Will continue this tomorrow, probably with editing my currently bad Guardian build.
Edit: Dulfy finally has pics of all classes. Maybe I'll edit some time: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/33qrg0/specialization_ama_livestream_notes/
Warrior: Sword/Warhorn, Longbow. Moondrop's post: http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=161473771&postcount=3914
Arms: Fury on low health, Sword Mastery, New Furious
I already used Furious because it can grant adrenaline during a burst skill. This means every crit I get during Sword's burst skill and Longbow's burst skill got me back adrenaline quickly. Hell, the build originally used Rampager's gear back at launch.
Tactics: Quick Breathing, Burning Arrows, Either Phalanx Strength or the new Leap Finisher.
Tactics was a line I couldn't get enough of. I loved Warhorn early on because of the constant Swiftness with it's trait and I played a loooooooot of WvW at launch. It's honestly because of that constant Swiftness that I moved away from Shouts and possibly Healing Shouts. Well, that and Longbow. The new Longbow trait is a balanced combination of Stronger Bowstrings and Burning Arrows. Stronger Bowstrings was important because it increased your range (lost forever) and made your auto-attack a 100% combo finisher so you could stack burning through your fire field, or use other people's fields. Now it'll always shoot fire without a combo field, but won't have as much power with other people. It's a trade off I can live with to have more burning and make its plain auto attack more appealing. Finally, Phalanx Strength is wonderful and we already know this. But the option to get double the effects from leap finishers... extended Fire, Water, and Chaos auras excite me.
Discipline: Super Sweet Vengeance, and I'm not sure
If I stick to this it'll mostly be for the minor traits Fast Hands and the burst cooldown reduction. Otherwise I'll go into Defense and grab stuff like Cleansing Ire.
Necromancer: Dagger/Warhorn, Axe/Focus. Moondrop's post: http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=161467891&postcount=3889
Spite: Reaper's Might vs. new Spiteful Talisman, Chill of Death vs. Axe Training vs. Death Shiver, Close to Death vs. Cripple Mastery
Things are a bit shaky here. Spite is no longer the straight damage boost it was, and instead is a lot more risky. Despite the minor trait changes, everything else leaves me spoiled for choice...
Curses: Weakening Shroud vs. Reaper's Precision, Banshee's Wail, not sure.
The new grandmaster minor is incredible! Now when I load an enemy with a bunch of non-damaging conditions before my Well or Death Shroud spike, I'll get a ton of bonus damage! My only wish is that the Adept Minor caused Poison on crit instead of Bleeding. Poison is much better as a general choice as it lowers healing.
Soul Reaping: Unyielding Blast vs. new Speed in Shadows, Spectral Attunement vs. Foot in the Grave (I think this was still here, it might be the death shroud skills cooldown reduction), Deathly Perception vs. Foot in the Grave.
I think I'm going to lean on faster Death Shroud building, faster dip into Death Shroud, and the stun break. My hope is that the stability gets increased to at least 3 seconds baseline, as it looked like the current stability set was a placeholder. I want to Shroud Stomp safely! Also, Warhorn reduction + Spectral reduction gives perma swiftness in current game. I like perma swiftness, and if it's this easy to keep I'll probably keep it.
Alt: Blood Magic: Ritual of Life, Dagger Swiftness, Well Mastery
I miss Blood Magic. I really do. It goes well with Wells. I might even consider going back to full Vampiric if they ever get the numbers right for PvP.
Thief: Dagger/Dagger, Shortbow Moondrop: http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=161452588&postcount=3839
Deadly Arts: Mug, Panic Strike, Potent Poison
Before I only put in enough points to grab mug, for the extra healing. Now I might as well grab the poison buff, if it's worth it. It means Shortbow contributes more to my damage with less initiative, but I'm still annoyed about the new Minor Grandmaster, Exposed Weakness, only helping direct damage.
Acrobatics: Pain Response, Guarded Initiation vs. new Hard to Catch, Assassin's Reward.
The new Grandmasters look fun, but this build will not work without Assassin's Reward and Signet of Malice. Not unless they give Deathblossom more evade frames, that is. Also, my memory was faulty; Deathblossom has 1/2 second duration but only 1/4 second evade. I still don't want to let it go...
Trickery: Thrill of the Crime, Bountiful Theft, Sleight of Hand.
Honestly, every level has at least one choice for me here. This is just the three I usually use. Trickster might be worth swapping out for because my only condi clear is Pain Response, but Bountiful Theft gives Vigor. Also, the Minor Grandmaster again is only useful for more damage, even when it's in a trait line that provides multiple conditions. I'm most torn on what to do with Thief overall.
This ended up looking pretty messy anyway. But I have a headache. Will continue this tomorrow, probably with editing my currently bad Guardian build.
Edit: Dulfy finally has pics of all classes. Maybe I'll edit some time: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/33qrg0/specialization_ama_livestream_notes/
UltimateIke
Member
I'd rather go with something like I/IV/V in that case.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Do you still think healing shout Warrior will be viable with the new changes?
I didnt hear what they said about shout heals!
UltimateIke
Member
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Inspiring_Shouts
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Lung_Capacity
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Vigorous_Shouts
Those three got merged into one trait in the same spot Vigorous Shouts currently occupies, so I think Shout Warrior will greatly benefit from the changes. Healing Surge becomes a Shout too.
OK Medi Guardian is cool and all but time to revamp and put forth my SYMBOL GUARDIAN BUILD which I love and was kinda wonky, but now will be totally fucking badass
Zealot's Gear (P/Pre/HP) - Greatsword & Hammer/Staff OR Scepter if 2 is a symbol!
Zeal
Honor
Virtues
Purity of Body recovering endurance + Battle Presence = everyone gets 15% increased endurance regen. Fucking awesome.
Zealot's Gear (P/Pre/HP) - Greatsword & Hammer/Staff OR Scepter if 2 is a symbol!
Zeal
- Fiery Wrath (Adept) - This one depends. Is Scepter 2 a symbol now? Then I take Zealous Scepter.
- Zealous Blade (Master)
- Symbolic Avenger (Grandmaster)
Honor
- Protective Reviver (Adept)
- Honorable Staff (Switch to Empowering Might if using Hammer)(Master)
- Writ of Persistence (Grandmaster)
Virtues
- Master of Consecrations (Adept)
- Virtuous Mallet (Switch to Supreme Justice if using Staff) (Master)
- Battle Presence (Grandmaster)
Purity of Body recovering endurance + Battle Presence = everyone gets 15% increased endurance regen. Fucking awesome.
human onion
Banned
Buffs to Engie and Guard make me happy. Seems like Ele is nerfed, although I guess they had it coming (from a PVE perspective). But most importantly, NO MORE HOBOSACKS.
Kos Luftar
Member
Damn that's a lot of catch up!
Been looking for a month now and I just accepted the counter offer from seller on the one that we really like. Closing is June 1st, I got till July 1 to move out of my apartment so wI'll be moving in there sometime in June.
Ele is not really "nerfed". The most damaging class combo (Ele staff) will get even stronger, it's just that the other builds will change because of how a lot of damage boosts are going away (for example, fresh air D/X ele can't use Bolt to Heart and Fresh Air), but I think we should wait and see how weapons are affected before passing judgment on builds
appletoasty
Member
I'm going to wait until we see how they change weapons and conjures, but if they nerf everything but staff ele into the ground I will be very sad. Most boring build in the world
I was going to post this on the GW2 forums, but it's late and I realize maybe I'm over reacting. Thoughts GW2 GAF?
In response to Specialization Ready Up, they asked about messed up or lost builds. There's one build that's gimmicky but dear to me: the Death Blossom build, also known as the Unicorn build back in the day.
Problems:
-There are no trait lines that have minors that support a condi-only set. Closest are Deadly Arts and Trickery, but both of them have Minor Grandmaster traits that only affect *direct damage.*
-Sword/X got direct love with Swindler's Equilibrium, the new Acrobatics trait. The only other skills with evades are Shortbow 3 and Death Blossom.
-Death Blossom (and Unload) still don't match their sets very well. Unload has a ton of utility to go with it, but has a bleed stacking auto-attack and stealth attack. Dagger will always and forever have Backstab and Cloak and Dagger, which seems to hamstring the strength of all its other skills.
-Initiative regen: Death Blossom has a decent amount of synergy with Assassin's Reward and Signet of Malice, but it looks like you want to force me to drop Signet of Malice for Withdraw, go with Trickster, and combo it with Hastened Replenishment, but I lose out on the choice of Sleight of Hand (great utility) and Bewildering Ambush (condition damage outside of poison and bleed). Alternatively I drop Assassin's Reward and pick up Quick Pockets. Maybe I'm just not meant to combo the Signet of Malice and Assassin's Reward, but Death Blossom Thief makes a decent home point bunker when played well with both.
Good:
-Poison is getting buffed. Dagger auto-attack already provides Endurance and casts Poison.
Maybe my build is fine. With the new patch I'd probably go Deadly Arts (Mug, Panic Strike, Potent Poison), Acrobatics (Pain Response, Guarded Initiation/Hard to Catch, Assassin's Reward), and Trickery (Thrill of the Crime, Bountiful Theft, Sleight of Hand/Bewildering Ambush).
The issue I'm realizing is that my build probably isn't focused. It provides support, smatterings of control, and decent condition damage. In PvE/WvW it has constant swiftness and in PvP if I'm at 100% concentration I can bunker a point. It pretty much does what I want now while still feeling on the weak side and having lots of utility choices.
In response to Specialization Ready Up, they asked about messed up or lost builds. There's one build that's gimmicky but dear to me: the Death Blossom build, also known as the Unicorn build back in the day.
Problems:
-There are no trait lines that have minors that support a condi-only set. Closest are Deadly Arts and Trickery, but both of them have Minor Grandmaster traits that only affect *direct damage.*
-Sword/X got direct love with Swindler's Equilibrium, the new Acrobatics trait. The only other skills with evades are Shortbow 3 and Death Blossom.
-Death Blossom (and Unload) still don't match their sets very well. Unload has a ton of utility to go with it, but has a bleed stacking auto-attack and stealth attack. Dagger will always and forever have Backstab and Cloak and Dagger, which seems to hamstring the strength of all its other skills.
-Initiative regen: Death Blossom has a decent amount of synergy with Assassin's Reward and Signet of Malice, but it looks like you want to force me to drop Signet of Malice for Withdraw, go with Trickster, and combo it with Hastened Replenishment, but I lose out on the choice of Sleight of Hand (great utility) and Bewildering Ambush (condition damage outside of poison and bleed). Alternatively I drop Assassin's Reward and pick up Quick Pockets. Maybe I'm just not meant to combo the Signet of Malice and Assassin's Reward, but Death Blossom Thief makes a decent home point bunker when played well with both.
Good:
-Poison is getting buffed. Dagger auto-attack already provides Endurance and casts Poison.
Maybe my build is fine. With the new patch I'd probably go Deadly Arts (Mug, Panic Strike, Potent Poison), Acrobatics (Pain Response, Guarded Initiation/Hard to Catch, Assassin's Reward), and Trickery (Thrill of the Crime, Bountiful Theft, Sleight of Hand/Bewildering Ambush).
The issue I'm realizing is that my build probably isn't focused. It provides support, smatterings of control, and decent condition damage. In PvE/WvW it has constant swiftness and in PvP if I'm at 100% concentration I can bunker a point. It pretty much does what I want now while still feeling on the weak side and having lots of utility choices.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
nerfing eles and buffing thiefs?
Vigilant Walrus
Member
excellent.
Then I should be able to do
a build With top defense, great greatsword damage and shout healing. Dream build!!
nerfing eles and buffing thiefs?
Don't forget Eles are still getting a lot of traits merged, Blasting Staff baseline, and 10 second attunement swap baseline
UltimateIke
Member
Not far away from what a lot of Berserker Warriors currently run, but still some neat new toys.
Greatsword + Axe/Mace is still looking to be top-notch, pending any major weapon skill changes.
This is what I'll call a I/IV/V build for the time being. You'll be carrying Strength and Discipline Banners, along with the Battle Standard.
I. STRENGTH Restorative Strength + Forceful Greatsword + Berserker's Power
-Healing Signet is getting nerfed (again), but depending on by how much it may stay the preferred skill, so you wouldn't be able to use Restorative Strength. Really wish Great Fortitude had stayed in Adept. Death From Above and Physical Training are pretty useless in this case.
-But the Forceful Greatsword and Berserker's Power changes are more than I ever could have hoped for, so it balances out. Forceful Greatsword merges with Slashing Power, and the new Berserker's Power means you are no longer punished for using Burst skills.
IV. TACTICS Empowered + Empower Allies + Phalanx Strength
-Empowered and Empower Allies are pretty standard even now.
-Phalanx Strength can quickly be swapped to Vigorous Shouts depending on the party composition. Even if you're carrying Strength/Discipline banners, you'd still have room for For Great Justice and Healing Burst.
V. DISCIPLINE Warrior's Sprint + Brawler's Recovery + Burst Mastery
-Warrior's Sprint becomes even more wonderful after merging with Mobile Strikes, letting Greatsword and Axe both add ways to break immobilize.
-Brawler's Recovery might have to switch to Inspiring Battle Standard. They didn't mention where Inspiring Banners went, so I think it will get merged there if it doesn't become baseline; the Regen is also another constant 1% damage bonus on Empowered.
-Burst Mastery is almost too good combined with the new Berserker's Power. Love it.
A second Warrior could very easily run the same specializations, but change Mace to Warhorn, grab a full compliment of Shouts, and run the following Tactics traits.
IV. TACTICS Quick Breathing + Shrug It Off + Vigorous Shouts
-Party condition cleanses!
-Vigorous Shouts is really, really good. Really.
A third build if you are the second+ Warrior in the party, or running solo, requires replacing Tactics with Arms. A I/II/V build.
II. ARMS Signet Mastery + Rending Strikes + Dual Wielding
-Signet Mastery is sort of merged with the old Deep Strike, and gains a free automatic usage of Signet of Might on low health enemies. Pretty terrific with Signet of Rage honestly.
-Rending Strikes is standard even today. Extra Vulnerability is extra damage.
-Dual Wielding merged with Dual Wield Agility and seems like a really solid choice for your Axe/Mace combo. Axe/Axe and Axe/Sword both have places they belong when solo too.
I've seen a few comments talking about I/II/IV builds for groups, and that seems pretty bad to me. You lose Fast Hands and your major ability to stack Vulnerability, Signet Mastery is uncalled for when you are going to be running Battle Standard (Berserker's Fury in the same slot is pretty worthless too when Arcing Slice keeps you at 100% fury uptime), and you'd be running Pure Greatsword, so Dual Wielding would get replaced with Furious, and you just don't need it. Burst Mastery and Versatile Rage are going to keep your Adrenaline full, and Versatile Power gives four Might to you (and your party with Phalanx Strength) and gives faster Burst Skill cooldowns. I have a hard time believing Attack of Opportunity is so valuable it can match more frequent and more powerful Eviscerates and Arcing Slices. The Arms line doesn't give Condition Damage anymore, so Bleed damage from a Berserker Warrior is barely worth mentioning; the new Deep Strike and Furious aren't going to make it much more impressive. And with Discipline you get to use the Axe autoattack during cooldowns rather than the Greatsword, so you pick up even more DPS there. I/II/IV could possibly be a comparable solo build to I/II/V, but that leaves you with a worthless Grandmaster Trait choice in Tactics. Fast Hands possibly being even more important when solo makes IV over V hard to swallow, even if theoretical DPS numbers were to put IV ahead. Empowered is usually at best a 3% damage increase when alone (matched or exceeded in several cases by Destruction of the Empowered), Empower Allies is closely matched by Versatile Power (150 vs 120 power), and Burst Mastery is unmatched, so I still say I/II/IV isn't the way to go.
These are Power builds and don't even touch on Condition builds using stuff like Physical Training + Body Blow + Distracting Strikes from Strength. The entire Arms line has so many toys for Sword Warrior. And you have to think about Defense having all the shield and mace stuff. A I/II/III Condi build would be quite the sight to see. Sword/Shield and Mace/Sword (or Mace/Mace) sounds good! With Physical skills like Stomp and Rampage sprinkled in too.
Greatsword + Axe/Mace is still looking to be top-notch, pending any major weapon skill changes.
This is what I'll call a I/IV/V build for the time being. You'll be carrying Strength and Discipline Banners, along with the Battle Standard.
I. STRENGTH Restorative Strength + Forceful Greatsword + Berserker's Power
-Healing Signet is getting nerfed (again), but depending on by how much it may stay the preferred skill, so you wouldn't be able to use Restorative Strength. Really wish Great Fortitude had stayed in Adept. Death From Above and Physical Training are pretty useless in this case.
-But the Forceful Greatsword and Berserker's Power changes are more than I ever could have hoped for, so it balances out. Forceful Greatsword merges with Slashing Power, and the new Berserker's Power means you are no longer punished for using Burst skills.
IV. TACTICS Empowered + Empower Allies + Phalanx Strength
-Empowered and Empower Allies are pretty standard even now.
-Phalanx Strength can quickly be swapped to Vigorous Shouts depending on the party composition. Even if you're carrying Strength/Discipline banners, you'd still have room for For Great Justice and Healing Burst.
V. DISCIPLINE Warrior's Sprint + Brawler's Recovery + Burst Mastery
-Warrior's Sprint becomes even more wonderful after merging with Mobile Strikes, letting Greatsword and Axe both add ways to break immobilize.
-Brawler's Recovery might have to switch to Inspiring Battle Standard. They didn't mention where Inspiring Banners went, so I think it will get merged there if it doesn't become baseline; the Regen is also another constant 1% damage bonus on Empowered.
-Burst Mastery is almost too good combined with the new Berserker's Power. Love it.
A second Warrior could very easily run the same specializations, but change Mace to Warhorn, grab a full compliment of Shouts, and run the following Tactics traits.
IV. TACTICS Quick Breathing + Shrug It Off + Vigorous Shouts
-Party condition cleanses!
-Vigorous Shouts is really, really good. Really.
A third build if you are the second+ Warrior in the party, or running solo, requires replacing Tactics with Arms. A I/II/V build.
II. ARMS Signet Mastery + Rending Strikes + Dual Wielding
-Signet Mastery is sort of merged with the old Deep Strike, and gains a free automatic usage of Signet of Might on low health enemies. Pretty terrific with Signet of Rage honestly.
-Rending Strikes is standard even today. Extra Vulnerability is extra damage.
-Dual Wielding merged with Dual Wield Agility and seems like a really solid choice for your Axe/Mace combo. Axe/Axe and Axe/Sword both have places they belong when solo too.
I've seen a few comments talking about I/II/IV builds for groups, and that seems pretty bad to me. You lose Fast Hands and your major ability to stack Vulnerability, Signet Mastery is uncalled for when you are going to be running Battle Standard (Berserker's Fury in the same slot is pretty worthless too when Arcing Slice keeps you at 100% fury uptime), and you'd be running Pure Greatsword, so Dual Wielding would get replaced with Furious, and you just don't need it. Burst Mastery and Versatile Rage are going to keep your Adrenaline full, and Versatile Power gives four Might to you (and your party with Phalanx Strength) and gives faster Burst Skill cooldowns. I have a hard time believing Attack of Opportunity is so valuable it can match more frequent and more powerful Eviscerates and Arcing Slices. The Arms line doesn't give Condition Damage anymore, so Bleed damage from a Berserker Warrior is barely worth mentioning; the new Deep Strike and Furious aren't going to make it much more impressive. And with Discipline you get to use the Axe autoattack during cooldowns rather than the Greatsword, so you pick up even more DPS there. I/II/IV could possibly be a comparable solo build to I/II/V, but that leaves you with a worthless Grandmaster Trait choice in Tactics. Fast Hands possibly being even more important when solo makes IV over V hard to swallow, even if theoretical DPS numbers were to put IV ahead. Empowered is usually at best a 3% damage increase when alone (matched or exceeded in several cases by Destruction of the Empowered), Empower Allies is closely matched by Versatile Power (150 vs 120 power), and Burst Mastery is unmatched, so I still say I/II/IV isn't the way to go.
These are Power builds and don't even touch on Condition builds using stuff like Physical Training + Body Blow + Distracting Strikes from Strength. The entire Arms line has so many toys for Sword Warrior. And you have to think about Defense having all the shield and mace stuff. A I/II/III Condi build would be quite the sight to see. Sword/Shield and Mace/Sword (or Mace/Mace) sounds good! With Physical skills like Stomp and Rampage sprinkled in too.
nerfing eles and buffing thiefs?
Everyone got buffed and everyone got nerfed, best to look up what was shown for ele and see how it affects your build(s). Bear in mind we haven't seen anything of the Elite specs and none of the changes shown are close to final yet.
Moving bolt to heart from adept to GM (where it can't be paired with fresh air) and moving elemental attunement from master to GM (where it can't be paired with evasive arcana) are deliberate nerfs; I don't have to wait to deduce that analytically. But I never claimed eles would be nerfed overall; they'll be fine.
https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/game/pvp/Impact-on-PVP-with-no-stats-from-traits/first#post5004601
1) PvP Celestial amulet will be nerfed ~10%.
2) Moving stats away from the trait lines may have small effects in PvE and WvW, but the effects in PvP will likely be substantial. Originally there were three sources of PvP stats- traits, amulets, and jewels. For the new players, the amulets gave most of the stat combos they do now but they could be socketed with jewels of other stat combos (e.g. a zerk amulet with a valkyrie jewel) to spread stats around. When jewels were removed, build diversity consequently went down. Without stats from traits, amulets will be the only source of stats and there will be no way to statistically compensate within a build other than some of the traits themselves. Yes, I know that some stat increases will be baked in overall. That has no bearing on the reduction to build possibilities that removing stats from traits will cause.
https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/game/pvp/Impact-on-PVP-with-no-stats-from-traits/first#post5004601
1) PvP Celestial amulet will be nerfed ~10%.
2) Moving stats away from the trait lines may have small effects in PvE and WvW, but the effects in PvP will likely be substantial. Originally there were three sources of PvP stats- traits, amulets, and jewels. For the new players, the amulets gave most of the stat combos they do now but they could be socketed with jewels of other stat combos (e.g. a zerk amulet with a valkyrie jewel) to spread stats around. When jewels were removed, build diversity consequently went down. Without stats from traits, amulets will be the only source of stats and there will be no way to statistically compensate within a build other than some of the traits themselves. Yes, I know that some stat increases will be baked in overall. That has no bearing on the reduction to build possibilities that removing stats from traits will cause.
I don't know what to say about your build specifically. I've always found dagger/dagger to be a set lacking in synergy for PvP/WvW. I don't really know what a whole build around death blossom would look like- fun but unoptimized I would guess. But as to the overall point of fun builds that will be lost, I don't doubt there will be many. I'm going to make my own megapost on which of my builds survived and which returned to the earth.
Nemesis121
Member
We need a release date for HoT because i am currently bored of GW2...I am so fucking bored i started playing Battlefield 3 again, come on Anet give me a price, release date, and pre-order info so i can pay for HoT, maybe a release date might stop me from playing shitty fucking games...
It's at least 3 months out.
A release date won't come without at least 1 month lead time. They have to produce boxes and put them in stores.
The next 8 weeks will be on base class elite specializations. Maybe a 9th week for the Revenant and its specialization. Maybe.
There will probably be a week at some point for Guild Halls. We've technically had streams or betas for PvE (Verdant Brink and the Mastery System), PvP (Stronghold), and WvW (Desert Borderlands). All we need now is to get more info about Guild Halls. There's a good chance they'll be added to the base game actually...
So 3-4 months at the very least. Best guess, they're aiming for the next major patch with the specialization change and rebalance to happen after the World Tournament Series August 8th 2015. They'll announce the expansion before then, because the WTS will be the perfect place to have a lot more media hype around it. So expect the announcement of the release date to happen in July.
To tide us over, we may get a WvW tournament immediately after the Tournament of Legends, and it'll likely run from June to July/August.
If it wasn't for yesterday's stream, I'd have no idea how much work they were putting into the expansion just from a profession point of view. They're only halfway through just getting the new trait system done and ready to ship into the base game. Luckily, they probably already finished their work on the Revenant and are balancing them along with the regular specializations. They likely have the new weapons picked out for each of the Elite Specializations and the concept behind their use, if not their exact skills, and will be showing those off over the next two months. If we're lucky, they'll also show off the Elite Specialization traits at the same time, which would mean they're further ahead than I think.
The Desert Borderland is probably done and in just polishing/balancing like Edge of the Mists was by the time we got to beta on it, so it'll definitely be done in a month at the very most. Same with Stronghold. So the only worry that's left is the PvE content creation. We know that PvE has been worked on perhaps the longest, and they even got the voice actors in already to do their stuff. Content on the new zones is likely done or at final stages.
Masteries are a PvE concern, and they weren't done by the time we looked at them, and they didn't even get back to Masteries (like the Precursor craft) for the base game yet. They just gave us a high level idea, one that I assume they were in the middle of implementing at the time. They should have finished creating the other Masteries by now and making sure they work in game. They have a bunch of currencies to work out too. Ugh.
When I think about it... there's just so much that at this point is probably nearly done, but will probably need to go through months of polishing and final pass testing to make sure some other system doesn't cause some terrible bug. The only thing I think they're actually behind on is the Specialization stuff, given that Engineers only had a power point, and the fact that they're adding new traits and rebalancing every skill in the game currently, including profession skills, and will probably have to touch on runes and sigils after they've done all that. We have new boons, new conditions, and new ways that they all interact with each other and with us that they have to consider.
Just like how this post spiralled out of control, that's probably what's happening over there at ANet despite the fact that tentpoles for the expansion (PvE Zones, New Class, Specializations, PvP map, WvW map, Guild Halls) would be easy enough for them to put out one by one by themselves.
So... I still expect a late August/early September release date (with the core game Masteries/PvE reward tracks/Core Specializations patch coming right after WTS) but won't be surprised if it slips into late December.
A release date won't come without at least 1 month lead time. They have to produce boxes and put them in stores.
The next 8 weeks will be on base class elite specializations. Maybe a 9th week for the Revenant and its specialization. Maybe.
There will probably be a week at some point for Guild Halls. We've technically had streams or betas for PvE (Verdant Brink and the Mastery System), PvP (Stronghold), and WvW (Desert Borderlands). All we need now is to get more info about Guild Halls. There's a good chance they'll be added to the base game actually...
So 3-4 months at the very least. Best guess, they're aiming for the next major patch with the specialization change and rebalance to happen after the World Tournament Series August 8th 2015. They'll announce the expansion before then, because the WTS will be the perfect place to have a lot more media hype around it. So expect the announcement of the release date to happen in July.
To tide us over, we may get a WvW tournament immediately after the Tournament of Legends, and it'll likely run from June to July/August.
If it wasn't for yesterday's stream, I'd have no idea how much work they were putting into the expansion just from a profession point of view. They're only halfway through just getting the new trait system done and ready to ship into the base game. Luckily, they probably already finished their work on the Revenant and are balancing them along with the regular specializations. They likely have the new weapons picked out for each of the Elite Specializations and the concept behind their use, if not their exact skills, and will be showing those off over the next two months. If we're lucky, they'll also show off the Elite Specialization traits at the same time, which would mean they're further ahead than I think.
The Desert Borderland is probably done and in just polishing/balancing like Edge of the Mists was by the time we got to beta on it, so it'll definitely be done in a month at the very most. Same with Stronghold. So the only worry that's left is the PvE content creation. We know that PvE has been worked on perhaps the longest, and they even got the voice actors in already to do their stuff. Content on the new zones is likely done or at final stages.
Masteries are a PvE concern, and they weren't done by the time we looked at them, and they didn't even get back to Masteries (like the Precursor craft) for the base game yet. They just gave us a high level idea, one that I assume they were in the middle of implementing at the time. They should have finished creating the other Masteries by now and making sure they work in game. They have a bunch of currencies to work out too. Ugh.
When I think about it... there's just so much that at this point is probably nearly done, but will probably need to go through months of polishing and final pass testing to make sure some other system doesn't cause some terrible bug. The only thing I think they're actually behind on is the Specialization stuff, given that Engineers only had a power point, and the fact that they're adding new traits and rebalancing every skill in the game currently, including profession skills, and will probably have to touch on runes and sigils after they've done all that. We have new boons, new conditions, and new ways that they all interact with each other and with us that they have to consider.
Just like how this post spiralled out of control, that's probably what's happening over there at ANet despite the fact that tentpoles for the expansion (PvE Zones, New Class, Specializations, PvP map, WvW map, Guild Halls) would be easy enough for them to put out one by one by themselves.
So... I still expect a late August/early September release date (with the core game Masteries/PvE reward tracks/Core Specializations patch coming right after WTS) but won't be surprised if it slips into late December.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked