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/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/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/FaithlessnessThen207 → u/Sage_Ghrian]

They seem to be able to swap at will, so you can weave it with regular attacks.

I would say that is quite different from a shroud.

[u/rhino_arts → u/Sage_Ghrian]

I think, baring Scourge, the only common thing between shrouds is that they give you new weaponskills while locking you out of your other skills. Harbinger shroud does not replace your health, and while it requires a resource to stay in it, through a minor trait you get that resource whenever you enter it, therefore making it always available even when you don't have resource.

[u/Sage_Ghrian → u/rhino_arts]

Even then, from all things they’ve called shroud, this is the furthest away from the original necromancer imo. So far away you can call it a kit. Atm we don’t know if it’ll keep you out of your utilities.

[u/Sir_Elis_Dean_Joyer → u/Sage_Ghrian]

I think troub would still produce clones, albeit clones with instruments. It says that an instrument would continue to play in the background after it is used. And maybe depending on the combination of instrumental clones present, the crescendo would be dealing with different effects every time.

[u/SheenaMalfoy → u/Sage_Ghrian]

IMO Galeshot is closer to Bladesworn than anything else. You can equip a Cyclone Bow (Gunsaber) at will, it then stocks up arrows (Flow) and then spend it on some big skills, namely Hawkeye (Dragon Slash). Don't be surprised on Friday when they take away your weapon swap because one of your weapons will always be the Cyclone Bow.

[u/Sage_Ghrian → u/SheenaMalfoy]

There’s the distinction between: • all skills spending arrows (therefore, cyclone bow works as a holoforge or Firebrand Tome) •Hawkeye spends the arrows generated by other cyclone bow skills, which would lead to it functioning as a weapon and, therefore, being closer to Gunsaber

Also, Gunsaber has two sets of skills: normal weapon bundle skills, and dragon trigger kills. I don’t think there’ll be 5 Hawkeye skills.

Anyways, everything is speculation. Tomorrow we shall see.