Profession Speculation Thread

[MiatheHierophant]

Ok, so we know that GW2 will have playable races other than human. No matter what race you play, there will be professions of some sort.

I posted in another thread that I would like to see a system where there are no "professions", with everyone being capable of learning skills from all of them. The skills you learn would determine the skills available to you later in the game. So, if you choose to learn a "warrior" skill in the beginning, it might prevent you from learning one "mesmer" skill but allow you to learn a different "mesmer" skill.

Example using current skillsets: If you learn Vampiric Swarm (necro) you might be prevented from learning Light of Deliverance (monk) but still be allowed to learn Orison of Healing (monk). Then you could go to Skill Trainer Bob in the next town and learn Frenzy (warrior) which in turn would prevent you from learning Splinter Weapon (rit) but you could still learn Pain (also rit).

In this way, you wouldn't be limited by having only two "professions". After all, How many times have you made a character, found the perfect skillbar, but wished you could use "skill X" from another profession while running it?

Do you think the professions will be vastly different? Or do you think we'll basically have the same professions we do now, with little, if any changes?

[Tom Nook]

Example using current skillsets: If you learn Vampiric Swarm (necro) you might be prevented from learning Light of Deliverance (monk) but still be allowed to learn Orison of Healing (monk). Then you could go to Skill Trainer Bob in the next town and learn Frenzy (warrior) which in turn would prevent you from learning Splinter Weapon (rit) but you could still learn Pain (also rit).

Interesting.
Though, I'm not so sure that I want to learn a skill, only to find out at a later date that it has precluded me from learning another one. :undecided:

[Lanyare]

Personally, I really do prefer the current system.

They could come up with an entirely different set of skills for GW2. Since it'll be your first time around, how are you going to determine which skills you really want to get when you don't know any of them yet?

You could off course say the same about chosing your profession, I know. But choosing the profession is, as far as I'm concerned, an important part of character creation, just as much as choosing your looks is.

[Rockweaver]

OK a quick reference the classes we have ATM are

Warrior
Elementalist
Monk
Dervish
Ranger
Mesmer
Necromancer
Paragon
Ritualist
Assassin

Need a Thief

Most of all i want to add Crafting skills to the bar. let me craft and offer my stuff for sale.

also i want to loot the fallen ever thing should have some kind of a drop even if its junk.

[themagicmoedee]

Ok, so we know that GW2 will have playable races other than human. No matter what race you play, there will be professions of some sort.

I posted in another thread that I would like to see a system where there are no "professions", with everyone being capable of learning skills from all of them. The skills you learn would determine the skills available to you later in the game. So, if you choose to learn a "warrior" skill in the beginning, it might prevent you from learning one "mesmer" skill but allow you to learn a different "mesmer" skill.

Example using current skillsets: If you learn Vampiric Swarm (necro) you might be prevented from learning Light of Deliverance (monk) but still be allowed to learn Orison of Healing (monk). Then you could go to Skill Trainer Bob in the next town and learn Frenzy (warrior) which in turn would prevent you from learning Splinter Weapon (rit) but you could still learn Pain (also rit).

In this way, you wouldn't be limited by having only two "professions". After all, How many times have you made a character, found the perfect skillbar, but wished you could use "skill X" from another profession while running it?

Do you think the professions will be vastly different? Or do you think we'll basically have the same professions we do now, with little, if any changes?

First off, that method is too complicated. Guild Wars at least ostensibly tries to appeal to more casual players, and the convoluted skill tree that results from some skills stopping others but not with any clear, easily understandable bright line is like dousing all those people in acid. It has a killing effect.

That was a pun, but it probably wasn't as funny as it sounded in my head.

I don't like the idea of playable races with attributes because it geometrically increases the complexity of the game, but given that we definitely have races and might have abilities, it's important that if professions exist, they must be distinct from one another, if only to allow the player to identify what he's supposed to be doing with the tools at his disposal.

As to whether professions should exist at all - I'll be honest; I'd rather have professions than races. I don't want to be a hairy, ugly, rabbit gnome or a gargantuan amazonian warrior-ess. I do, however, want to be able to do substantively different things with different characters, and I like to have identified areas of affinity. It makes understanding a profession at a glance a lot easier. I mean, seriously - how many people don't understand Mesmers well because the class is too vague and unrelatable to grasp it?

Finally, not to pimp the article too hard, but today's feature on Gamasutra suggests that even if you do make free skill selection workable, you'll just end up creating de facto specialist classes without a lot of rework in the basic game design.

[raspberry jam]

What with all these people wanting to cut themselves out of content

[Terenas]

or a gargantuan amazonian warrior-ess.
Like, Norn ?
I'd definitely play as one.
Bring on the skimpy armor pleeeeease !!! :laugh:

/popcorn

[Avatin]

I don't like repetition. I don't like to be forced to explore the same areas again and again. That's the reason why I have mostly played GW with only one character, using my other ones essentially as extra storage places.

What I would like in GW2 : when I am finished learning every skills of my primary profession, I would be designated as 'Elite character' and thus allowed to improve my character further. How? By letting me learn another profession of my choice doing all quests related to it, learning all skills of that profession. When done, I could switch my primary profession to the new learnt one, as easily as I do with secondary.

I think this would be very fun, and would keep me playin' a lot more. One day exploring as a Necro, and the other, rapidly swithching to my other primary, monk for instance, because my team would need it.

And what about armor set? Well, I'd say you'd have to buy an armor set of that profession, or either, crafting one could be part of the quests leading you to learn the new primary.

I'd like to be allowed to play primary every professions of the game with a single character. Will that wish be implemented? I hope.

[raspberry jam]

I'd like to be allowed to play primary every professions of the game with a single character. Will that wish be implemented? I hope.I'm doubtful. The only good thing about Fury was that you had only one character and you could switch profession with it. But there might still be downsides to it depending on how the race system will work, and so on.

Also your avatar pic is very cool. Is that your GW character that is dancing on the palm of your hand?

[Avatin]

I'm doubtful. The only good thing about Fury was that you had only one character and you could switch profession with it. But there might still be downsides to it depending on how the race system will work, and so on.

I guess so. Since we don't know how races will look like... and we don't have any idea if ArenaNet will create some sort of race's particular set of skills... By the way you make me remember that I should go try Fury some day.

Also your avatar pic is very cool. Is that your GW character that is dancing on the palm of your hand?

You got it! And thanks! This is my Ada Faerie and me :)

[pokepetter]

I agree we should be able to change primary profession whenever we want.

It's boring to play a warrior for 600 hours, then find out you'd rather play an ele cuz it fit your playingstyle better. You'd play through the game again. There's no need for more than 5 character slots, and the different races will probably give enough replay ability anyways.

btw. Didn't ArenaNet say they would keep the primary/secondary profession system?

[Avatin]

(...) btw. Didn't ArenaNet say they would keep the primary/secondary profession system?

I haven't found anything on the net that could lead us to be sure about this. Anyways, I believe that mechanic will remain.

[slickslabmcknab]

itd be cool to change out primary professions. i was thinking a sec ago that maybe it should be restriced as far as skills you could learn, but then thatd suck to have restricted primary/secondary though. but maybe just on the skills through, not attributes, like not being able to have energy storage on a warrior who converts to ele would incredibly blow chunks.

as far as the armor, itd be hillarious to see a warrior in some mesmer spandex get ups, or ele ones with the huge coat. haha. but itd be cool to get a more mesmerish or ele or monk type armor for your original main profession, but not new armor, something like a mod from a crafter that tweaks your armor a bit. i think thatd be a lot less work for them to do, but prob more complicated tweaking the armor. but it could work like the hero armor deal, have to get certain pieces to mod your armor on the profession change. and only happens when you chage your main.

and god, HAIRCUTS can happen no matter where you are. let me change it once in a while. ugh. not like im asking for plastic surgery to change my character as a whole.

[DutchSmurf]

btw. Didn't ArenaNet say they would keep the primary/secondary profession system?

I do remember them saying keeping 6 of the current professions, but that was a long time ago. Since the primary/secondary system is a big part of what GW is, I don't think they are going to change it. I see no reason for it for sure.

[Princess eirika]

And how exactly would the thief be drastically different from the assassin? Yes it can steal things but as far as GW gameplay goes that means nothing.

GW professions represent archetypes of gameplay styles. You really have to find a niche that is competely unique from the current ten.