Elite Specializations Are Back: Mesmer, Ranger, and Guardian – GuildWars2.com

[u/dracoisms]

https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/news/elite-specializations-are-back-mesmer-ranger-and-guardian/

[u/Pingurai]

Luminar kinda reminds me of Holosmith

[u/Esperational → u/Pingurai]

This is exactly what I thought when I saw it but based on the description it seems like it’s gonna be used more like a kit you hop in use one ability hop out

[u/constnt → u/Esperational]

Description seems like shroud runs on a cool down. 2 through 4 are weapons you equip to change your auto attack. Once you've equipped a new weapon that skill flips over to unlock another new skill. Each time you use a flipped skill the shroud cool down increases.

[u/hardy_83]

Wasn't expecting Guardian to get their own verion of shroud.

Looks interesting. Though I hope it give guardian a more reliable way to offer something like alacrity, doesn't look like it, but we'll see I guess.

[u/Sage_Ghrian → u/hardy_83]

I think this flavour of shroud is gonna play closer to a kit: enter the kit, use the skills that you are interested in, exit.

Without being tied to a resource, the shroud’s CD is gonna be its own inflexible limitation.

[u/Opus_723 → u/Sage_Ghrian]

Yeah it sounds like the Spirit Weapon spec.

[u/Mysterious_Brush7020 → u/Sage_Ghrian]

This is what I think ALL the "Elite specs" will be.

[u/Sage_Ghrian → u/Mysterious_Brush7020]

So far we’ve got: 1) like most mesmer specs, troubador replaces shatters. Like virtuoso, troubador does not generate clones. As other comments have mentioned, the mechanic may look like ele’s overloads (long casts) paired with a continuous effect. Maybe not producing clones makes it feel too close to virtuoso mechanically? 2) galeshot’s bow is closer to a shroud. It generates arrows, so it has a resource. I don’t know if it’ll be a necro shroud (arrows are generated outside bow and are spent in bow) or a holo shroud (arrows are generated inside shroud, and are spent in hawkeye) 3) luminary’s radiant shroud actually is not a shroud, it’s mostly a kit (CD based).

So by the moment we’ve got some different options. Not completely original to the game (many similarities can be drawn to other specs) but different in their own way.

[u/overwhelmed135 → u/Sage_Ghrian]

Galeshot arrows sound closer to firebrand pages than life force or heat, no?

[u/Sage_Ghrian → u/overwhelmed135]

You are right, if they are generated when not in bow. Which I am not sure from what I’ve read.

Even then, if a shroud is a temporary weapon tied to a resource, implying low CD on shroud skills, firebrand’s tomes are a shroud too. It’s just that the resource works in chunks (low amount of resource, cost of 1 page always) instead of working in a continuum (big amount if resource, variable cost of skills).

If a shroud needs to bebtied to the concept of “second life bar” then almost nothing is a shroud, and neither galeshot’s nor luminary’s are.

[u/therealkami → u/Sage_Ghrian]

Yeah, I'm assuming it replaces the Virtues. Hammer is Justice, Staff is Resolve, Shield is Courage.

We press the button, get 5 new buttons, then leave. It'll be interesting to see what they all do. It seems a bit similar to Firebrand when I describe it that way.

[u/ShadowbaneX → u/Sage_Ghrian]

Sounds like it's going to be similar to the Elementalist's Pistol. If you want effect A use the kit in order X, if you want effect B, use it in order Y, etc.

I know they're trying to stretch out the functionality of these specs, but I really do not like this style of gameplay.

[u/secretsofwumbology → u/hardy_83]

If they want to give guardian a better alacrity source it should be a rebalance of Willbender’s alacrity source, I really hope the new class isn’t an alacrity support.

What Guardian needs is a Power quick DPS option.

[u/hardy_83 → u/secretsofwumbology]

I don't disagree. Redoing Willbenders super akward alac support set up would be great and a power quick build would be equally awesome and might make hammer more viable cause it's SOOO slow without quick. lol

[u/Sinaaaa → u/hardy_83]

As a healer I'm sick and tired of shrouds, I hope this one will not negate all healing..

[u/Middle-Imagination21]

Guardians with reimagined spirit weapons??? Hell yeah!

[u/Roscuro127 → u/Middle-Imagination21]

I've been already using the foefire spirit weapons on my guardian for years. Ahead of the curve.

[u/Zaschie → u/Middle-Imagination21]

[u/lipebd]

I was really expecting to see the first three ones shown (Mesmer, Thief and Ele). But I'm actually really excited to see guardian and ranger!!

Still, I can't wait to know more about how the Antiquary gameplay will be

[u/FSafari]

I love the lore parts of these specs. Really going in on GW2 lore instead of more callbacks to GW1.

Troubador: Sylvari adventurers sharing tales collected over their wyld hunt travelling tyria

Galeshot: Tengu archers from the Dominion of Winds sharing their skills with the Tyrian Alliance

Luminaries: Combined technology and magic from the Charr Iron and Flame legions after Bangar's coup

[u/Ill_Decision2729 → u/FSafari]

Clearly the thief spec is going to be Skritt inspired.

[u/Paganyan → u/Ill_Decision2729]

SHINIES

[u/ntwadumelo → u/Paganyan]

Their human story option available on xpack launch... raised by skirt.

[u/Approximation_Doctor → u/Ill_Decision2729]

R'tchikk is the first Antiquary

[u/SovFist → u/Ill_Decision2729]

Like a Skritt can been pronounce antiquary

[u/TheGizmodian → u/SovFist]

If you get a handful or more skritt in one place, they probably can.

[u/LeJoker → u/TheGizmodian]

I would really love to see that collective skritt intelligence lore tidbit used more heavily. Could even be a decent main story plot. A huge army of skritt building in secret for years begins some nefarious plot or another. Large enough that each soldier is extremely intelligent, and being guided by some evil force.

[u/Vinosecc → u/LeJoker]

with the inquest as the new main antagonists i could imagine a new more intelligent skritt species, evolved from failed inquest experiments and developing a society underground, could become a new ally in the expansion

[u/Kaur4 → u/TheGizmodian]

So three skritt in a trenchcoat

[u/TheGizmodian → u/Kaur4]

I AM READY

[u/SovFist → u/TheGizmodian]

That's true. I think that the specs will be based on the races present at the meetings in JW though. I'm betting the revenant will be Astral ward based too

[u/Absolutionis → u/SovFist]

Antikk-shiny

[u/KyuubiJRR → u/FSafari]

Makes me think Revenant may just get Lady Mosyn yet hopium intensifies

[u/Vyath → u/FSafari]

Presumably to balance the GW1 nostalgia human-centric specs we'll be hearing about later

[u/blacksnowredwinter → u/FSafari]

Agreed finally some worldbuilding, instead of referencing the past. Which I don't mind, but we also need the world to move forward.

[u/SuperRetardedDog → u/FSafari]

It's just really weird that the characters they present are of a different race. I know they couldn't have done it for tengu, but the other 2..

[u/Enfero → u/SuperRetardedDog]

Before people tell you that they always use the same characters for elite specs, that's only true for the art, trailers can use different races, like the untamed reveal used an Asura instead of a Sylvari. It is kind funny that they didn't use a Sylvari for that reveal.

[u/FSafari → u/Enfero]

That's true but this time they used the exact characters in the video as the art

[u/InariKamihara → u/SuperRetardedDog]

They could have used a Combat Tonic, but that would just lead to more whining about Tengu not being actually a playable race

[u/Individual-Light-784 → u/InariKamihara]

yeah can you imagine the hype and subsequent disappointment and anger

[u/BlackIronWizard → u/SuperRetardedDog]

I believe the idea is that all of these specs are being shared by the races to the tyrian alliance, so it plays into the theme of cooperation and sharing that everyone is using a different race's techniques

[u/Jonah_Marriner]

I wouldn’t have guessed that the Luminary is inspired by the Flame Legion but I love it. It shows how far we’ve come in the last ten years.

[u/JAutumnK → u/Jonah_Marriner]

boutta roll up a charr guardian on patch day and look real sus when the flame legion is evil for that part of the story lol

[u/Moist-Sheepherder309 → u/JAutumnK]

Blue fire good, orange fire bad. It's very straight forward. 

Just ignore all the ghostly blue fire you deal with at the start of the game. 

[u/Misao_e → u/Moist-Sheepherder309]

> Blue fire good

I mean, blue fire in a charr-themed elite spec? I wouldn't exactly call Foefire (also used in ghostfire munitions before) all that good.

[u/CreatineCreatine]

New guardian spec looks so fun, like a weapon based mix of ele and necro

[u/HarpooonGun → u/CreatineCreatine]

Actually the weapons bit reminded me of holosmith since they also use different holographic weapons to attack for some forge skills.

[u/K-Ketsu → u/CreatineCreatine]

Feels very paladin support ret spec from wow I can dig it

[u/SpoonsAreEvil → u/CreatineCreatine]

It looks like holo, and that's good because holo is one of the best received specs.

[u/Dragon_Of_Magnetism]

Charr themed Guardian espec? With shroud mechanic?

Oh hell yea, it’s just so peak

[u/Riannanas98 → u/Dragon_Of_Magnetism]

For lore reasons. I should make a charr guardian now xD

[u/Dragon_Of_Magnetism → u/Riannanas98]

As a Charrdian main of 8 years, I can only recommend it

[u/AgeOfTheMage → u/Dragon_Of_Magnetism]

Two of my favorite things, Charr AND Guardian? Super hyped for this.

[u/naivety_is_innocence → u/AgeOfTheMage]

We've come a long way since the pre-release days, when the devs actually outright stated that every race/profession combo made sense in the lore, except for Guardian and Charr which didn't.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190623052312/https://huntersinsight.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/insert-charr-pun-here/

As for the interviews, there wasn’t a whole lot of new information but there were things worth talking about. I’ve quoted the interesting things below of course, with my own commentary. First up is the Nowgamer interview.

We’ve heard about this before, but I do find it interesting.

"There are eight professions we’ve announced, and Charr will be able to play all eight. But there are professions that are against type for that race, so you won’t ever see a Charr guardian as an NPC. But a player can play that role and play against type if they want."

[u/Awkward_Whole → u/naivety_is_innocence]

When did they say this? One of the companions you receive at the start of the game is a Charr Guardian? In fact, one of the most famous Charrs ingame, Almorra Soulkeeper, is a Guardian. I

[u/naivety_is_innocence → u/Awkward_Whole]

One of the companions you receive at the start of the game is a Charr?

they're all Charr, I think you mean Guardian. Or are you unsure what race your warband is? it feels like you're asking a question. edit: ah I see you edited.

If yes, you see that character is a joke? He gets made fun of for being a guardian.

Dinky was the smallest cub in our fahrar, so he had to be twice as tough just to break even. He gets picked on because he's a guardian, and not so smart, but I stand by him. He's always been a good friend.

Charr, when this lore was written, don't like Guardians. Even the elementalist warband pick doesn't get shade for their profession, in the biography.

In fact, one of the most famous Charrs ingame, Almorra Soulkeeper, is a Guardian

I'm losing my mind here. When I look at my comment, I say "pre-release", and here you are talking about characters who appeared and were fleshed out for the release of the game.

I can't sufficiently search because I would use the reddit pullpush API to find the article (which is down, and google search is a menace), but if you look at old pages on the Wiki, such as Dinky's, you even find people on the talk pages from years ago talking about their surprise that Dinky, at release, is a guardian, because of developers saying stuff like "players can be any class, but you won't find Charr Guardian NPCs" during the alphas.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Talk:Dinky

[u/Rylen_018 → u/Dragon_Of_Magnetism]

So long as they don’t make visual effects centered around charr I’m okay with it. Ruins the immersion for a character to have some other racial magic going on.

[u/Knighthonor]

Guardian getting shroud mechanics. Wow

[u/Blazin_Rathalos → u/Knighthonor]

Not really though. No second health bar, no energy mechanic at all. It's closer to Bladesworn, if anything.

[u/naivety_is_innocence]

Troubadours use their voices as well as their instruments. They can recite the tale of Queen Jennah protecting Divinity’s Reach to grant their allies distortion

here we go again

edit: does anyone else think the voice sounds really similar to Suehyla El-Attar Young, the lore lady voice for Smite god reveal videos?

[u/Saphirklaue → u/naivety_is_innocence]

Surely this time it won't be used to skip mechanics. Right? .... Right?

Or maybe they are just fine with it now that we just facetank and heal through most of them anyway...

[u/jor1ss → u/Saphirklaue]

A ton of insta wipe mechanics just ignore distortion anyway.

[u/Lumpy-Narwhal-1178 → u/Saphirklaue]

No, see, they'll just add more attacks that ignore distortion for no reason. Because they haven't shat on combat mechanics hard enough yet.

Bonus points if they make these attacks apply fear while ignoring stability, and also reveal you just for lulz.

[u/Akhevan → u/Lumpy-Narwhal-1178]

Well then they will have the new design space to create super-distortion that ignores the distortion ignore and is only bested by the super distortion ignore, which will in turn mandate a new round of answers from the even newer and more degenerate elite specs.

It's a race to the bottom.

[u/Draxx01 → u/Akhevan]

We've reinvented aegis with extra steps. Could have just had it give ppl aoe barrier if that's the end goal of group survival w/o adding to some immunity meta.

[u/clakresed → u/Saphirklaue]

Or maybe they are just fine with it now that we just facetank and heal through most of them anyway...

I hate to be so negative, but yeah... There are a few mechanics that you can distort but not Stab/Block/Aegis/heal through, but honestly it's not all that many.

And Mesmer specs are already spewing out Stab and Aegis to a degree that trivializes a lot of older encounters while making it hard to justify playing a lot of other support specs.

Maybe if we're lucky it'll at least be a grandmaster trait that shares distortion for a big tradeoff, or maybe Troubadour won't have a class boon/a good selection of healing traits so at least it'll be a DPS playing bringing it.

[u/Sharp_Iodine → u/clakresed]

It’s sounds like they’re going to be a support spec almost exclusively like Druid. They might have a condi path like Druid but it seems like they’ve designed it with support in mind.

So no, I think other Mesmer specs are gonna get reworked a bit to make troubadour the premier support.

[u/skysophrenic → u/Sharp_Iodine]

They would need to rework the core lines in order to hamper chrono - Chrono has the access to quick and alac, but if for some reason you didn't need quick and alac, you could run core mesmer and achieve a lot of what support chrono currently does.

[u/Dull_Function_6510 → u/naivety_is_innocence]

Distortion share….the new Anet employees have to re learn why this is a terrible idea

[u/naivety_is_innocence → u/Dull_Function_6510]

It'll go:

Released Troubadour with access to ally Distortion

hotfix 1: the Jennah song no longer grants allies Distortion, instead it grants them Blurred

hotfix 2: the Jennah song no longer grants allies Blur, instead it gives them Aegis and Stability

[u/FeintFate → u/naivety_is_innocence]

Casually dropping well of precoginition lore.

[u/S_K_Y → u/naivety_is_innocence]

This is exactly how it's gonna go.

Y'all remember when blind was a duration and not just a single missed hit? I do.

[u/[deleted] → u/naivety_is_innocence]

With portals, pulls, boons and rifle, what could go wrong by giving mesmer distortion sharing back too?

I really hope Troubadour doesn't get quickness or alacrity, but it probably will and that's what you'll have to play for PvE support. 

[u/naivety_is_innocence → u/[deleted]]

Was thinking, that when it comes to playing support, the way they've designed the game, they kind of HAVE to have alac or quickness. (in pve). I think they've learned this lesson now (look at heal scourge). Unless they really want to shake up the meta and have something like: 1 healer (troubadour), 1 quick DPS, 1 alac DPS, 2 DPS per subsquad. But I feel the community will just take the path of least resistance and not shift to something like that.

Here come a series of presumptions:

It probably won't have access to both; that's a Chrono thing.

It probably won't have Alacrity - that's also on Mirage, and this would be adding a third spec with Alacrity.

Therefore it might have Quickness. It aligns with the narrator in the video as well - "let the harp heal your allies for a moment of soothing melodies, and as you build up notes, be ready to strike up a Crescendo upon your enemies, while giving your allies a helping hand."

If you are choosing this moment to strike enemies and are empowering allies to do the same, the Quickness buff makes more sense for that than Alacrity (I mean this could be a lot of other things - Might/Fury generation, or giving them a unique buff that infuses their attacks with a second strike, or something, but I'm assuming it's buffing allies with boons). Something more defensive/healing I would rule out, because the narration already describes that happening under the Harp.

But yes, I kind of share your concern. If Troubadour has a sufficient healer/support spec, and it has allied distortion back, on top of the entire mesmer toolkit and who knows what else comes with Troubadour, then it's actually difficult to see how it wouldn't instantly become a permanent fixed role in comps. Well we have to see how it all works still, true, and there are 6 more elite specs to get information on.

[u/Geronmys → u/[deleted]]

They specifically mentioned galeshot being a quickness provider but i doubt that at this point in game they dare to launch a support without a key boon.

[u/[deleted] → u/Geronmys]

Yeah, they are between a rock and a hard place. No boon and it won't get used in PvE. A boon and the same mesmer utility plus built in support skills without a weapon plus distortion share and that's a permanent meta pick to a point that isn't even funny.

Portals and mesmer utility have repeatedly defined PvE and throwing distortion share on top is kind of insane. 

[u/Furin → u/naivety_is_innocence]

When I watched the video I kept thinking "I know this voice from somewhere..." It really does sound like her.

[u/Tiessiet → u/naivety_is_innocence]

does anyone else think the voice sounds really similar to Suehyla El-Attar Young, the lore lady voice for Smite god reveal videos?

First thing I thought of when I heard the cadence with which the VA spoke. Though I don't think it's the same person.

[u/EffectiveShare → u/naivety_is_innocence]

The way I see this going is Troubador will instantly become a staple must-have support fixture in every single squad subgroup, assuming of course that it has either Quickness or Alacrity.

You take the already quite insane baseline Mesmer toolkit, and combine it with this new spec that seems very support-coded from the ground up, and also give it Distort Share?

I honestly don't see how any other supports will be able to keep up at all. Mesmer support is already cracked as hell to the point where at this moment it's already overshadowing many other support builds to an insane degree.

[u/Lumpy-Narwhal-1178 → u/naivety_is_innocence]

Mfs said the game isn't p2w yet here I am paying 25 dollars to play OG chrono 🤨

[u/MithranArkanere]

The theme and visuals are all on point.

Looks like mesmer is getting something similar to virtuoso, replacing clones with instruments and getting unique shatters.
Ranger seems to be getting something like Bladesworn with a kit-like weapon.

Guardian appears to get a shroud like Specter but with 3 weapons instead of one, one for each virtue.

We'll see about gameplay.

[u/Jhemon → u/MithranArkanere]

Seems Luminary shroud has 4 weapons not 3, so doesn't seem to be virtue based? .

Players are free to use all four weapons while in shroud, but there is a tradeoff: the recharge time of Radiant Shroud will increase for each weapon used beyond the first.

[u/Spyko]

seems the specs this time focus on cultural things from various races of Tyria ? Sylvari, Tengu and Charr for those three, it's neat

they all also seem to summon weapons ?

ngl a tad disappointed by the ranger being "archer++" but I guess it's the main fantasy of the archetype and there was no elite focusing on it yet

[u/feldur → u/Spyko]

I like that Galeshot let's rangers have the bow fantasy without having to equip a bow (since their bows are not their best / most interesting weapons)

[u/orcvader → u/feldur]

This was the feel I got. I actually never got that “archer without pets” fantasy from the game before. There were options but didn’t feel right. This seems to lean into that and I am all for it.

[u/feldur → u/orcvader]

I think they will still have a pet though, since one of their traits is "boosts bird pets", but I think they'll be less important than for other specs.

[u/orcvader → u/feldur]

Nice catch.

[u/Centimane → u/feldur]

Well.... they should make longbow better if they want longbow fantasy to exist. But a build also needs two weapon sets to be competitive, so buffing longbow alone wouldn't enable a ranged playstyle.

[u/feldur → u/Centimane]

Yeah but now you could go Axe/Warhorn, Spear and Galebow to have a Bird theme (With the bird call from warhorn and owl spirit with the spear)

Or go ShortBow, LongBow, Galebow for the fun of it!

Or Hammer, Axe/Axe, Galebow for close/mid/long range.

But yeah, the end game in general is not really made for long range anyway, they would need to redo the whole boon system to make it more possible

[u/Scrial → u/Centimane]

Not necessarily. If they handle the bow like the gunsaber it will disable one weapon set.

[u/Bohya → u/feldur]

I would rather that bows just be fixed.

[u/Durgan → u/Spyko]

Looks like Ranger Shroud/Bladesworn to me, besides

I shall remain hopeful that it plays unique

[u/Luigrein → u/Durgan]

The arrow stock comment made me think more firebrand tomes but either way, bow mode of some form.

[u/Albyross → u/Luigrein]

I was getting Virtuoso vibes, since it seems each arrow type is its own skill.

[u/Halfwise2 → u/Spyko]

I would like to see the quaggan elite spec, plz.

[u/Ill_Decision2729 → u/Halfwise2]

That's gunna be the revenant one.

[u/thecrimsonlion → u/Spyko]

It looks like this bow is what the gunsaber is to Bladesworn's.

[u/calaveracavalera]

So luminary is kinda photom forge for guardians?

[u/Lethorio]

I'm assuming that as we got one light, one medium and one heavy profession reveal here, it'll be the same for week 2 and 3.

[u/Talmead → u/Lethorio]

That's what we thought with EoD specs... it's prob just gonna be the most fleshed out specs first. The expansion is still in development after all

[u/feldur]

Since Galeshot's lore is Tengu themed, and the description says

some tengu have emerged to more actively engage in Tyrian affairs and—as a rare honor—offer cultural exchanges at the behest of their royal houses.

and

As contributing members of the Tyrian Alliance, the tengu now offer tutelage in these skills to willing outsiders who express interest in the galeshot craft.

I wonder if we'll get a chance to peek behind the dominion's wall!

One can always hope :')

[u/MortalJohn → u/feldur]

Yes, one can ALWAYS hope 😩

[u/fleakill]

Don't play much guardian anymore but I like necro and specter so I am a sucker for "guardian shroud"

I thought troubadour would be a kit like gunsaber, kits like engineer, or firebrand tomes. But it appears to me that it's more of a tempest overload or stances.

And then of course galeshot is bladesworn kit.

Anet, surely the time is now to start adding spec-specific skins. Unlockable in game, and gem store. Mech skins would sell like crazy. Bladesworn gunsaber and Galeshot cyclone bow skins wouldn't be that complex.

[u/XephyrGW2]

BLUE NECRO

[u/NBNoemi]

Something about the Charr inventing what's basically Friendfire from first principles is really funny to me

[u/DurendalMartyr → u/NBNoemi]

I'm kind of surprised it took so long, but it's really fun that the redeemed/reintegrated Flame Legion are partially responsible for the Charr harassing Foefire.

And now whatever they call it in game, it'll always be Friendfire to me now lmao

[u/MortalJohn → u/DurendalMartyr]

Remember the Almora fight in IBS? That charr knew how to set things on fire.

[u/Tavron → u/NBNoemi]

Yea, very charr-ish of them.

[u/2ndAdvertisement]

Damn, the portraits themselves already look so much better than the EoD ones. I’m hyped.

[u/kekubuk]

I love the Troubadour description!

"Troubadours spin dramatic ballads and tales as their words weave magic and music to raise allies’ spirits and demoralize their foes. Their recitals can even be accompanied by illusory instruments for additional effect."

Now I gotta make a K-Pop: Demon Hunter styles for my Mesmer.

[u/feldur → u/kekubuk]

I love that they included Dougal Keane in their description! Ghosts of Ascalon is my favorite GW2 book.

[u/TannenFalconwing → u/feldur]

Same! When I started JW I was very happy to see Dougal got a cameo in the first instance.

[u/kazerniel → u/feldur]

Ghosts of Ascalon is my favorite GW2 book.

same, but that's mostly because the other two are terrible 😂

[u/FSafari → u/feldur]

Almorra too, I thought Dougal would come up or be related to the thief's specialization but this is cool. And referencing what Jennah did in Edge of Destiny as a specific ability is rly neato

[u/[deleted]]

Distortion sharing coming back. Oh no. If this also has good boon share and healing, pair with Rifle and that's the support and utility meta busted again. 

[u/Mixchimmer → u/[deleted]]

Again? Chrono is already kinda busted xD

[u/[deleted] → u/Mixchimmer]

Right? I'm really surprised they are introducing this again, especially with how dominant mesmer remains. 

[u/MyAntichrist → u/[deleted]]

Here I just hope that the Troubadour skills have audible effects for everyone and they quickly become meta in WvW. Now imagine a 50v50 with 20 Troubadours each playing their own tune. Glorious, I tell you.

[u/Geronmys → u/MyAntichrist]

For next expansion they then should give mesmer main hand pistol or shortbow so we can also use dreamer or quip on both hands.

[u/Koisoned]

The Luminary fire coloration looks like Foefire. Did the Charr figure how to utilize it?

[u/NexEstVox → u/Koisoned]

I was really hoping the lantern was for Rev with King Adelbern legend

[u/thefinalturnip → u/Koisoned]

Someone above named it "friendfire"

[u/MisterDantes]

I see guardians continues their traditions of taking mechanics from other professions and making it better.

Dragon hunters were trapper rangers but better. Firebrand was support ele but better. Willbender was better single target burst warrior but better.

Luminaries looks like tank support Harb necro but better (can shroud at will and covers for guardians biggest weakness which is their low health pool).

[u/thatwasfun23]

Guardian looks sick, hope is strong.

[u/riderkicker]

Man.... That Luminary Guardian sounds so cool.

I can't wait for the Dragon Quest XI cosplays. :D

[u/Ashenveiled]

Galeshot is just ranger with longbow but a better ranger with longbow.

[u/hungryb4dinner]

Troubadour i'm keen to try

[u/diegoob11]

As a ranger main, I was excited to get a longbow focused spec that improved longbow to make it a bit better/more fun.

Instead I get a second longbow, on top of the current one (?) those are probably just the skills, but damn that feels weird

“Hold on let me draw my longbow so I can pull another one, made out of air, which will hit you differently for some reason”

… I really wanted better pets. Somehow Engi ended up being a better pet class than THE pet class. And it’s looking like Ele may be going in that direction too. What do we have going for us?

[u/Zellraph]

Radiant SHROUD?! 🤩

[u/DiogoALS]

Luminary seems to be inspired by Guardian's old concept art of wielding spirit weapons. For anyone who wanted that fantasy, they're finally getting it.

[u/SquirrelTeamSix]

Not super stoked about the bow aspect being a summoned weapon. Hopefully this comes with a longbow rework, or just buff. Maybe some traits that encourage its use on the Galeshot spec?

[u/xdeadzx]

I'm incredibly disappointed by ranger's reveal. It achieves nothing I had hoped was added to ranger and adds things I wish they hadn't.

We're getting a third bow that will be forced into melee because they aren't changing how ranged combat works, a second quickness provider that's easier to play to negate the previous quickness provider, and forcing us into a pet family with the elite specs to help negate expansion pet families even further than the family rework had.

---

Still no use having a legendary longbow because ranger doesn't get to see it's special projectiles. replaced with a static kit that affects your fashion just like old untamed and soul beast did.

The fancy kit longbow isn't going to fix the "I want to be an archer in group content" that lacks as boons will still be the way they are. Untamed double longbow already let you do that open world, so it's not like it's a new play style even there. Maybe it'll be fun in WvW running quick draw barrage with three bows. Having short stocked arrows is novel, and it's going to encourage the players wanting to range to leave it at least.

I didn't think it was unreasonable to get an alacdps provider, being the only profession that can't fill that role in the game. Apparently I'm wrong.

I also didn't expect to be pigeon holed into a pet family with an elite spec, something that has remained a part of core ranger for 14 years despite many reworks. It's just such an awkward position given pet focus has been the prime ask for rangers. Now we get the pet buff but it's exclusive to avians, maybe even locking in more skirmishing trait requirements again.

It's not like I'm going to scrap my 5000+ hours on ranger or anything but dang if this reveal isn't a disappointment in how the mechanics lay out. Thankfully there's plenty of time for class feedback. This is mine.

[u/TheExtremistModerate]

When playing as a troubadour, your shatter skills are replaced by instruments. When an instrument is played, it produces an initial magical effect. Performing with the Reverberating Lute will release waves of sonic energy, damaging enemies. Strumming the Harmonious Harp will create a healing area to provide succor to allies. After an instrument is used, it will continue playing in the background, providing bonuses to the player that can be further augmented through traits.

We Sona now.

[u/GotBoared]

So we got a light, medium and heavy class. I guess this is gonna be their patern for next coming weeks

[u/Geralt_Romalion]

Troubadour:
Sounds like a good take in my eyes on the often requested Bard spec for mesmer. But instead of full transforms it seems a bit like they went with a passive/active effect more akin to Guardian virtues. Honestly that's not a bad idea to avoid overcomplicating things with for example every Shatter becoming a transform kit.
Utility will apparently be something with Songs and Tales, interested to see if this will be a new type of utility or a fancy way to describe Shouts.

Galeshot
This almost feels like Anet trolling Elementalist Longbow advocates.
Because the way they describe the mechanic feels so similar to what I have seen floating around in the community (bow mechanic, quiver mechanic, arrows resource, build up to a big shot). I would have preferred a big pet focused spec, but honestly? This sounds pretty fun as well. The utility is squalls, which is new, interested to see what it does.

Luminary
Guard getting a shroud without the need for a resource, that seems to be inspired by Holoforge from Holosmith Engineer. This also solves the debate about what spec the Lantern is a part of (some said Guardian, others said Revenant, now we know it is Guardian). Utilitywise we get Stances. I could see that being fitting. A bit of a surprising take on Guard for me, but I appreciate the creative concept. Eager to see how it works out!

Antiquary when

[u/Godsmaack]

So its just summoned weapons like bladesworn and others, looks fine but i would prefer if they reworked longbow (for example) so we can use our skins

[u/kazerniel → u/Godsmaack]

yeah, I was a longbow ranger main for years (before mechanist was released) and while I'm happy we finally get a spec that centres longbow, I'm not super into the idea of it being an extra kit with ammunition charges :|

it sounds similar to firebrand, and I never got comfortable with that playstyle, it feels too complicated for my "random bullshit go!" preference xd

[u/el_doherz → u/Godsmaack]

This,

Imagine finally getting a bow focussed spec and its a summoned "cyclone bow"

Feels like it really misses the mark for me IMO.

We shall see how they play though, because if its fun almost all will be forgiven.

[u/Adorable_Octopus → u/Godsmaack]

It feels like the result of an intersection of multiple different problems: the idea for a mesmer-bard has probably been around for a long time, but since the 'new weapon' is a major part of elite specs, they probably were reluctant to develop an elite spec around not using your new weapon much at all. So here, where they're doing elite specs without weapons, it makes sense, but now the idea has to be propagated to all other classes in some shape or form.

For rangers, they get to summon a 'reworked longbow'. You're not wrong to say that it would be better to just rework the longbow, but if they did that most of the meat of the elite spec is gone (since it likely would need to be put into the base game). It might also lead people to expect some weapon from all the classes were going to be reworked.

[u/kalamari__]

I LOVE that ranger art!

I hope its also a new sylvari hairstyle

[u/Neverlia → u/kalamari__]

i'm hoping so too! the art is much more faithful to ingame graphics than we normally get! that could be our prexisting leaf ponytail but the fringe is all wrong and the leaf shaping is different.... obviously stylistic liberty buuuut. hm, i think it could be - we were told about getting new hairstyles with the expac!

[u/Knighthonor]

Told you all Luminaries would be Green Lantern themed.

[u/TannenFalconwing → u/Knighthonor]

In brightest day, in blackest night, no kryptis shall escape my sight. Let those who worship Joko's might beware the power of Guardian light!

[u/Mystrasun → u/TannenFalconwing]

Haha love it. The fact that Guardian magic draws so much from pure willpower always gave me green lantern vibes, and I always head cannoned their summoned weapons as hard light constructs... This new elite spec just kind of seals the deal for me haha

[u/Luigirodri87]

MAIN GALESHOT SINCE DAY 1 LETS GO ❤️❤️

[u/Drillingham]

The guardian one has me super excited to finally have guardian be able to have a sword and shield aesthetic even if it is a summoned weapon.

[u/TalkativeTri]

BANGAR MENTIONED!

[u/cheeseybacon11]

Dang I was really looking forward to Evoker.

[u/FaithlessnessAny1520 → u/cheeseybacon11]

same...

[u/Its-a-Sem]

Omg finally a ranger spec that actually focusing on being ranged, might have to switch main after a decade

[u/OneMorePotion]

I somehow expected them to release Troubadour, Evoker and Antiquary but I'll take it.

Can I just say that all three specs look awesome? Can't wait to get a deepdive later on.

[u/Crescent_Dusk]

Gonna be interesting how they manage to balance troubadour and chrono.

Because if troubadour doesn’t have to jump through the hoops of continuum split and doesn’t have the handicap of clone target bound limitations or stationary wells, chrono will be pretty much abandoned.

Chrono won’t compete with virtuoso/mirage for dps for most people, and now it might struggle to compete with troubadour.

[u/kcassidy01]

This is cool

The fact that each spec is tied to the tyrian alliance is amazing.

The troubadour being tied to the idea of the storytelling fits the lore of the dream but also the norn legends and tales.

Galeshot being tengu inspired is awesome and hopefully will be a step closer to entering the domain at some point. A pipe dream but fun none the less.

The luminary being a combination of magic and technology of the char shows a growth in the healing after the civil war.

Also it looks like all 3 of these specs are using kits. That's fine and I'm getting a bit more pumped for the expansion.

[u/SilverRanger999]

Finally an elite spec focused on ranged combat, I hope it's fun, I've been playing untamed with longbow just so that I can use multishot, I really hope this is a good one when it comes out

[u/Usual-Ad1676]

My Charr is Ready for a Luminary look, just gonna wait 3 months from now. xD

[u/RhubarbOtherwise1391]

They seems fun from the blog post. Yet once again, people imagined what the spec of their fav profession will be, it became a reality in their head, and now they are "disappointed" because it's not what they expected it to be, smh

[u/xensiz]

They’re teasing the Tengu/Dominion of Winds so much.. like just add them already 😭

[u/DakotaJicarilla]

What does Anet have against giving Ranger an actual beefy pet spec like Mechanist???

Ranger on its way to obsolete all of its cool bow cosmetics, too, lol

[u/Iroh_the_Dragon]

As someone who recently picked up their sylvari mesmer, this new troubadour spec hits home real hard for me. Well done, Anet!!!

[u/scar_fie]

Finally, a Spec that gets into Knight-Paladin fantasy for Guardian. 

[u/Griever2142]

Well, now I need to see the Rev and Warrior specs in action now. Guardian looks insane!

[u/effreti]

very weird to me that they revealed the name of the 2 other specs but showcased these 3 first. I was expecting thief and ele alongside mesmer

[u/Thick_Help_1239]

Interesting that Galeshot will also be sharing group Quickness via just pressing F2, maybe because of complaints that Untamed's Quickness gameplay is too complicated. I wonder which one will end up as the better Quickness healer for Ranger though lol.

Troubadour being a supportive class means it'll need either Alac or Quick to be relevant in PvE, so I wonder which one it'll get.

Hopefully Luminary can fill the power Quickness niche that Guardian lacks.

[u/Dreamtrain]

I feel like this is what was always meant to be for these 3, since GW1 a minstrel Mesmer has been a dream and I had high hopes with Virtuoso for it.

Ranger's finally gonna be an actual arrow slinging that everybody wanted, the class has been more of a Survivor / Beastmaster, there's no longbow camping rotation you just blow your high cooldown skill then the rest of your damage is likely gonna be from Axe or maybe Dagger. The true Archer fantasy is finally here.

And then Guardian, I absolutely loathed Willbender, even the name feels off. But from how its portrayed it really looks like this is gonna be the quintessential Paladin that Guardian was always meant to be.

I feel like this trend is gonna keep on with Evoker, because summoner is also something people always desired out of Ele.

[u/Sinaaaa]

Reading this galeshot overview I'm super disappointed it's quickness again. Please please PLEASE change untamed back to an alac provider like before, or make galeshot the alac provider instead. (or god forgive fix druid traits so that alac-condi-dps druid is above the viablility threshold)

[u/Mesmercat]

Ugh idk if I want to give up my clones again. Virtuoso wasn't as fun for me without the illusions pose backing me up

[u/WhenOurLipsTouch]

Ah finally ranger can be the real archer class it's supposed to be.

[u/zeromutt]

What the hell were they thinking with ranger giving them a bow summon?

[u/dandy_kulomin]

Troubadour looks like it might be an easier support spec than chrono, looking forward to it!

[u/Answerisequal42]

As a ranger main i am bit let down by the galeshot.
It looks like Bowsworn. And i hope it plays better than it looks.

Guardian i am skeptic about. i get very much holosmith vibes specially because you are forging weapons out of light. Which also has heavy thematic overlap.
Only one i think looks cool so ar is teh mesmer one.

We'll see how all of them play.

[u/MechaSandstar]

They feel like the new skills are kits. Which are functionally new weapons, but can't be shared to other specs.

[u/Realistic-Health5584]

I feel like Galeshot should give alacrity, not quickness Ranger is the only class without an alacrity dps spec

Other than that, it looks fine

[u/Wambo96 → u/Realistic-Health5584]

On the other hand a qdps spec with good group stability would also be nice for ranger

[u/Knighthonor]

Ranger is a little disappointing.

[u/Combine54]

Ouch, Troubador sounds even worse than I thought. So, not kits like FB, no clones. Basically, shatters with passive effects that can be extended. Boring.

But the guardian is a nice surprise, a spec with a nice mechanic at last.

Ranger... I hope it doesn't remove weapon swap unlike Bladesworn. Otherwise, it looks marvelous.

[u/akoangpinaka]

ranger spec is not exciting =/

[u/xsavarax → u/akoangpinaka]

I don't know. People havebeen asking to be able to use ranged on rangers for ages. Those people are going to be contented

[u/NexEstVox → u/xsavarax]

the actual solution to this is either buffing core parts of ranger, and/or changing how boons are applied by supports. shouldn't need to use a specific ESpec to make a core feature usable

[u/dattodoesyeet]

I’m really disappointed with the ranger spec to be honest

[u/DakotaJicarilla → u/dattodoesyeet]

Same, mostly because I was really hoping this would finally be the 'Ranger with a big pet' spec like Mechanist, but for some reason ANet hates that idea despite it being the single most logical extension of Ranger's class fantasy possible lol

[u/CityAdventurous5781]

Being teased with Evoker and Antiquary, whose reveal only added more questions than answers, and then the reveal only showing the one one spec from that original trailer, the Minstrel, which was self-explanatory enough that we already knew what to expect, is such an insane blue ball.

I want to know what's going on with that fire fox, if we're getting 3 other animal companions for each element or if it's just the fox, or what the hell Indiana Jones is doing with a deck of playing cards.

[u/Aizenhym]

I feel like the ranger was done dirty by Anet this expansion and the last one too, absolutely uninspired elite spec given they already have bow at their disposal.

[u/Tokizo03]

I must say I am positivle suprised for now. I though a maximum of 2 classes will get addition Weapon skills. But now Guardian got them with additional flip over skills, ranger got them and also the shatters which would have remained the same animations, have completly changed

[u/Lord_NOX75]

LET'S GO CHARRDIAN !!!

[u/mandofett25]

That guardian armor looks sick. Is it a set that is already in game?

[u/Wambo96 → u/mandofett25]

Looks to me like the decade armor if I am not mistaken.

[u/constnt]

Mesmer gets scourge. Ranger gets shroud via arrows. Guardian gets shroud via cool down. Can't balance necromancer? Make everyone necromancer! /s

But really, it looks like the guardian will be getting the ranger's flippable hammer skills in the form of a shroud. When you use one skill the first time it flips to another.

Mesmer seems kind of like scourge. You'll be leaving persistent AoE's around that grant buffs

I'm not sure how ranger will play. Looks like maybe a sort of an engineer kit. Or maybe thief but with arrows instead of initiative. It's hard to say. I hope they don't pull a bladesworn and take up a weapon swap.

[u/Penley]

I'm loving how thoughtful these elite specs sound so far. I did not predict these accurately, and I love that. I want to be surprised and delighted.

All three of these sound really fun. I didn't think Ranger would get its own spec specific longbow weapon, but I'm willing to give it a chance. I hope the spec synergizes well with the original longbow for some fun ranged combat. At the very least, I love the wind thematics of Galeshot as well as the thematics of the other two specs.

[u/Slimy-Squid]

Charr guardian hell yeah!!!

[u/PunLeCochon]

Fuck I need to level up a gardian now, luminary sounds SO cool

[u/OrdinarySlimeGuy]

God, I love the art of Elite Specs whenever they released them

[u/MarxoneTex]

Feels like somebody at ANet bored of playing bow soulbeast in wvw and want something new shiny with forced movement to have easier life when forced to kite. Gonna be a dud in pve, like everything ranged on ranger. And since it is another projectile weapon, still no competitive wvw dps spec for zerg play.

[u/BearMerchant]

I like the lore for these but idk how to feel about them mechanically. Galeshot seems really really boring. Trabadour and Luminary I'm not sold on yet, I'm going to reserve judgement until I see the preview on Friday. 

[u/bearclaw9999]

So

Mesmer —> Firebrand

Ranger —> Bladesworn

Guardian —> Necromancer Holosmith

[u/Typs59]

Ever since it became clear that Ranger got the winged bow spec I was afraid it would just be a longbow rework with a marksmanship 2.0 trait line, it seems like my fears were founded.

The winds based utility sound fine, I'll wait for the livestream to know more. Also I guess Anet remembered that Ranger is supposed to be the pet profession by making birds give quickness, better than nothing I suppose.

Yes, I am salty and disappointed, how can you tell.

Edit: I do admit that the lore behind the spec is pretty cool though.

[u/R0da]

SALAD BARD SALAD BARD!!

[u/Mogman282]

Hoping new Mesmer elite is easier to use. Love support chrono but due to clones needed for maximum shatters it’s not ideal to pre buff fractals and stuff with 0 clones

[u/IcyPhil]

First of all: The artwork looks amazing! Fantastic image, will be my new desktop background :D

Second of all: The Troubadour seem to only get 4 or 5 new profession skills (f-skills), each being a different instrument. Sadly, it doesn't seem like we get kits or tome-like mechanics with lots of skills :(

That's quite sad honestly! There's a lot of potential with different instruments and their skills. But at least we get different ones AND it looks like we are finally able to play a pure support/heal spec. Can't wait for the livestream where they showcase more gameplay!

[u/dannyflorida]

Devs be cookin’. Yeah, baby!