Curse

Matix411 · Aug 25, 2006, 10:44 PM // 22:44

Okay, I dunno about you guys, but I'm getting fed up with having to re-buy all my skills every time I want to change a profession.

It was nice back in Prophecies when you could earn most the basic skills by doing quests. That being said, it got a little aggrivating because, without buying, you were limited to the builds you could make.
When Factions was released, they eliminated the whole basic-skill earned by quests deal (minus the first what ... 14 skills you get through the Insignia quests?). So, we are forced to buy literally all of our skills. For some, this is beneficial because you can buy what you need and be done with it, but for others (those of us who like to collect all skills), it nears the 70k mark for one, if not both, professions.

So, what happens if you go from being a N/Mo, and 30% of the way through the game you decide you want to change professions, but you've spent so much money on all of your monk skills? Let's say you decide to change prof's, in this case, you would be required to re-buy any skills you need for your new second profession (I've never changed BACK to an original profession, so I dunno if you have to rebuy those skills, so if you went from N/Mo, to N/Me, then back to N/Mo, I dunno if you have to rebuy all the monk skills).
Regardless.
This gets a bit frustrating.
Now before all of you impatient flamers decide to spit fire at me because 'money making is easy' and 'there are a million ways to make money to support your skill-buying needs', hear me out.
I understand the options for making money, and frankly, I'm getting tired of spending thousands of dollars on skills simply because I want to experiment with other professions. I realise it is my choice to change professions, and therefore must deal with the consequences, but again, hear me out.

I thought of an idea that, to me, makes a hell of a lot more sense than wasting money on skills AFTER we've already bought them, or, simply after wanting to change professions.
Why do they give you 3 or 4 skills to replace the 40 that you previously owned on your old secondary profession? Why not replace all 40 with an accurate selection of skills in place of the old?

Now, you may ask yourself how they would go about doing this.
There's a few ways, but I think the most simple, is the most obvious.

Create a numbering system.

Lets take two professions for example, the Warrior, and the Ranger.
And lets say, that the Warrior's Swordsmanship skills, are the equivalent of the Ranger's Marksmanship skills.

The numbering system would work as follows (and this is going by how the skills are listed in the Prima Guide for Factions, it could be done slightly differently):

Swordsmanship:
1. Dragon Slash [E]
2. Final Thrust
3. Gash
4. Hamstring
5. Hundred Blades [E]
6. Jaizhenju Strike
7. Quivering Blade [E]
8. Savage Slash
9. Seeking Blade
10. Sever Artery
11. Silvering Slash
12. Standing Slash
13. Sun and Moon Slash

Marksmanship:

1. Barrage [E]
2. Broad Head Arrow [E]
3. Concussion Shot
4. Determined Shot
5. Favorable Winds
6. Focused Shot
7. Hunter's Shot
8. Marauder's Shot
9. Melandru's Shot [E]
10. Needling Shot
11. Pin Down
12. Power Shot
13. Precision Shot
14. Read the Wind
15. Savae Shot
16. Seeking Arrows
17. Splinter Shot
18. Sundering Attack

Now, regarding the numbers [The basis of this idea]:

When a player chooses to change their secondary profession, rather than eliminating all the skills said player had previously purchased, replace them with the existing skills for their new secondary profession of choice, in terms of their numbering.
In other words, lets say you were a Mo/W and you had purchased skills 1 through 13 of the Warrior's Swordsmanship skills, DISREGARDING the elite skills:
You decide one day you would like to switch your secondary profession to Ranger, thus becoming Mo/R. Rather than spending 18 or so thousand dollars on new skills, replace them with the appropriate numbered skills.
So, in exchange for 1-13 of the Warrior's Swordsmanship skills, you would recieve 1-13 of the Ranger's Marksmanship skills, not including elite skills, or other skills that were capped.
In doing this, you would be given a fair deal of variety to begin with when starting the new secondary. If you're 70% of the way through the game and you decide to switch secondary professions, you're going to waste so much time buying and experimenting with new skills, when you could be continuously progressing through the game. So, rather than buy the skills, simply replace all previously bought skills with the appropriate replacement skills, thus saving the player time, but giving them a chance to experiment at the same time.

If the numbering system I have presented is an odd idea, why not simply number the skills in a way that labels some 'base', some 'core', some 'advanced', etc. etc. And so, any 'base' skills you have bought, are replaced with the appropriate (or relating) 'base' skill from the new secondary profession, and so on. This way you're not recieving 13 completely random skills, you're recieving skills categorized in the same level as all your previous skills.
Any elite skills, capped skills, or skills which cannot be exchanged for a number, simply have to be bought.
So, you switch from Mo/W to Mo/R and you recieve skills 1-13, the remaining skills, must be bought, or capped respectfully.

It's just a thought.
Many people may not agree, and that's fine, but please do not submit flames and negative opinions, for it is only an idea which I thought of and not something that requires arrogance to be discussed.

Furthermore, I only thought of this idea because I find it a waste of time rebuying needed and appropriate build-direct skills , or even ALL skills if that's the way you roll. The time you spend saving money for these skills, could be used in training and experimentation with new skills immediately after the new profession is chosen.
I also realise people have the choice of reading about various builds and blah blah blah. Reading is nowhere NEAR the equivalent of experiencing for yourself. You can read about the right skills that you need to buy for your secondary profession, or you can be given a certain amount in respect to your old profession, so that you can TRY THEM YOURSELF without wasting countless hours simply saving money to buy them.

Once again, I realise money may or may not be hard to make in Guild Wars. Whether you believe one or the other, I do not want flames stating facts I already know, nor do I want flames in regards to the fact that you have had no problems getting the skills you need. This is a simple idea, and I'm putting it out there with the idea of convenience and logic in mind.
I would also like to state that currently I am NOT having problems making money, as I once was, so back to flaming, do not post anything bitter in regards to the fact that I myself have a variety of ways of making money to buy these skills. I'm well aware of that. I simply think this numbering system could be convenient for those who are constantly changing their secondary professions and becoming increasingly aggrivated with having to re-buy all their skills.

mega_jamie · Aug 25, 2006, 10:57 PM // 22:57

If im reading this right, that means, potentially a player can go and cap Dragon Slash, change secondary, and then suddenly have barrage unlocked?

this seems like a very silly method which will get UAX very fast, adn al UAX ppl up in arms angry about it.

Yes I agree that its rediculous when the game is "not a grind" but you have to grind so much money and XP just to allow a little bit of adaptability on your characters. Unfortunatly, I dont really think this is the way to change it.

Monk Mystic · Aug 25, 2006, 11:19 PM // 23:19

firstly, no you DONT have to rebuy skills after you change back.

secondly, I'm sorry but im gonna be one of those "flamers" you speak of. not because i think making money is easy but simply because your system would make getting skills insanely easy i could unlock every skill in the game for a whole 60k or whatever. allthough i do wish that getting skills was made better than how they did it in factions. Perhaps they could bond the two methods and make them all available but still have quests to get them free. but i dont think the "number" idea would work well. sorry but thats mho

Matix411 · Aug 25, 2006, 11:28 PM // 23:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by mega_jamie

If im reading this right, that means, potentially a player can go and cap Dragon Slash, change secondary, and then suddenly have barrage unlocked?

"So, in exchange for 1-13 of the Warrior's Swordsmanship skills, you would recieve 1-13 of the Ranger's Marksmanship skills, not including elite skills, or other skills that were capped."

Matix411 · Aug 25, 2006, 11:32 PM // 23:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monk Mystic

firstly, no you DONT have to rebuy skills after you change back.

secondly, I'm sorry but im gonna be one of those "flamers" you speak of. not because i think making money is easy but simply because your system would make getting skills insanely easy i could unlock every skill in the game for a whole 60k or whatever. allthough i do wish that getting skills was made better than how they did it in factions. Perhaps they could bond the two methods and make them all available but still have quests to get them free. but i dont think the "number" idea would work well. sorry but thats mho

I don't consider this a flame, there is nothing arrogant about your post, it's just your honest opinion.

And true, it would make the skills easier to get, but it leaves elite skills and any "out numbered" skills for capping or buying only. I'm not saying ALL skills would be exchanged, only a certain number, and again, excluding elites and other previously capped skills. Thus you skill have to make an effort to get a lot of them, but the base skills (if that's the easiest way to refer to them) would be numbered and replaced.

Monk Mystic · Aug 26, 2006, 01:13 AM // 01:13

ahhhhhhh base skills. allright now if you add that word "base" i completely understand and aggree lol. i aggree that you shouldnt have to start with anythign. and like i said i deffinately hope that nightfalls system is better than factions. and actually i liked the proph. system better. the buy-all system got way to expensive for me and im not even poor lol.

Terra Xin · Aug 26, 2006, 03:49 AM // 03:49

Why don't you have it work like the factions system? So lets say you have unlocked 18 skills of a particular profession, and you decide to switch, you automatically 'learn' 9 skills of that secondary profession, and when you switch again you get 4 skills (rounded down). This way, it would cut down on the costs to purchase skills, and it would become more effective with the more skills you had unlocked in the first secondary profession you had.

I hope that made sense...

Monk Mystic · Aug 26, 2006, 04:41 AM // 04:41

no it didnt lol at least not to me sorry. are you saying that thats the way it works in factions now???like you get 9 when you first switch and then get half every other time you switched. cause ill admit if thats true i never knew that.(although ive never changed for first time n factions.

Matix411 · Aug 26, 2006, 05:14 AM // 05:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terra Xin

Why don't you have it work like the factions system? So lets say you have unlocked 18 skills of a particular profession, and you decide to switch, you automatically 'learn' 9 skills of that secondary profession, and when you switch again you get 4 skills (rounded down). This way, it would cut down on the costs to purchase skills, and it would become more effective with the more skills you had unlocked in the first secondary profession you had.

I hope that made sense...

ahaha
It did and it didn't. :P