Curse

BahamutKaiser · Oct 02, 2005, 03:11 PM // 15:11

I've been thinking about new classes since the game first came out. The current classes and gameplay are great, but I'd like to play as something besides a warrior, a melee job besides a warrior. So I looked around on the official website to see if anything had been mentioned about expansions and new classes and I found this in the FAQ section. (skip the quote if you don't care).

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuildWars Official Website

Q. "Am I required to buy the new chapters in order to continue to play Guild Wars?"

A. "No. Every purchase you make in the continuation of the Guild Wars saga will be your choice. If you purchase new chapters, you will gain access to new regions of the world, new skills and abilities, new items, NEW PROFESSIONS, and much more. And of course such a purchase will support the continued development of the game. However, if you choose not to purchase a chapter, you will still be able to play the chapters of Guild Wars that you own, and you will have common areas in which you will be able to play with and against your friends who have purchased the other chapter(s)."

And they mention new proffesions again in the next statement. So I'll assume there's new proffesions on the horizon, so I started coming up with ideas for new classes. Even the most recent interview with Gale Grey at GameSpot confirms that new proffesions will be in the second chapter, so argue that with GW if you don't agree. Some bases to touch on are what the class is, and what to name it, how it can work in the storyline, the basic attributes and skill types they would have, weapons, armor, and keeping them original from other exsisting classes.

There are 6 Current classes, of them 2 are physical and 4 are mages, 1 is melee and 5 are ranged, this leaves us with 1 melee/physical class and it is the only class that makes use of adrenailin. So it's my conviction that there should be at least 2 more melee jobs to increase the diversity on the battlefield, as it stands mostly warriors and newbs engage other warriors in melee combat and everyone else is running and casting/firing at eachother (execptions exsist, like geomancer and smiters).

The 2 classes that I came up with are some sort of Shape Shifter, and some sort of Ninja. I have already wrote on a Shinobi class idea, so I'm more interested in voicing ideas for shape shifters.

Well most of you know what a shape shifter is, so I'll skip that, but what to call it, Shape Shifter is a bit long and bland. So I look around online for folklore on shapeshifters and werecreatures, and this is what I've seen so far. We can call any of them Were(animal), "were" meaning man, but thats realy weak, so something more like lycanthrope, this is Greek for "lycos" wolf, and "anthrope" man. But since it would be kind of boring to have shapeshifters that only turns into werewolves I thought lycanthropy would be a good secondary attribute for one of the forms he could take. So I moved onto different names for multiple shapeshifting. Metamorph which leans toward rocks, Druid which has more to do with nature and trees then animals, Animagus which just sounds gay (unless you realy like Harry Potter and your 13), ShapeShifter......... , and then I found a bit on Shamen.

To me Shamen fits the bill, whether it be a native american shamen or an african one, they basicly fit the ideal for naturalist type magician who is more attuned to nature, and there are many lores about shamen priests and witchdoctors who could shapeshift into animals. You've probably noticed by now that I put alot of consideration behind what to call it, this is because the exsisting classes have very realistic and defined names, there arn't many broad titles like wizard, and monk has been defined by his role of spiritual enlightenment rather then a combatant. Also names like Thief, Assasin, and Wizard are very broad. Anyone can be a thief, by stealing, or an assassin by contract killing, or a wizard because they cast magic, but this game models very defined and discriptive names that mean exactly what they are, and not just something you can do.

Basicly, there is one melee class, warrior, and he fills the role of blockade and advancing, his attack power is strong enough to put any other class down if he reaches him so the name of the game when playing anything else against a warrior is keep away, and the best at this is probably ranger, because he has multiple slowing moves and he can run away wile his pet attacks his enemy. The mages form thier own kind of circle of power, Monk beats necro because healing magic is more effective then lifesteal and smiting does double on summoned creatures, necro beats mesmer because he can maipulate hexes and curses, as well as provide a small fighting force which is to much to hex to death, mesmer beats elementist because he is a master of energy manipulation and pretty much dominates elementist with backfire, and elementist can wipe out a monk faster then he can heal with interupting spells or so much damage that it kills a monk all at once. Good players can use an assortment of skills from any class to beat any other class, so there is not finite circle of power, these classes were just made to be a little bit more effective against eachother.

Well the physical circle of power is a bit small, Warrior and Ranger need 2 more pals to revolve around. So I imagined Shamen as an energy > adrenaline type melee job with the ability to raise his overall speed health and power with shapeshifting, and Shinobi (Assasin or Ninja) as a highly tactical melee job that is adept at countering melee attacks and manuvering. Exactly how this circle of power would work between a Warrior, Ranger, Shawmen, and Shinobi would work is unknown, I could speculate but 2 of them arn't exsisting so how they would work if Developers added them could be vastly different then I imagined or work different then I imagined. Anyhow, here is my basic idea for Shamen and Shinobi.

Shamen - Shape Shifting Proffesion
Primary attribute - True Metamorphisis
Secondary attributes - Lycanthropy, WereBear and/or WereCat, and Ritual

The Shamen would have an additional 10 energy on his armor just like other mage classes, but only 1 energy regeneration bonus, and about the same armor rating as ranger.

True Metamorphisis - improves the power of Morph skills
True metamorphisis would carry any skills that allow the player to actually transform, Wolf Change, Bear Change, Cat/Tiger change, and maybe another skill or 2, most primary attributes arn't known for thier number of skills but the effect they have with additional points. This would allow any class to second Shamen to morph, but Shamen would retain the ability to increase thier morphing power. The morphed forms could work like maintained enchantments, simular to mending, except they wouldn't be subject to all of the enchantment breaking spells in the game instead they would lose 5 energy when hit by enchantment breaking spells, they would require a casting cost, and then a maintaining cost. These would then give the player a sudo-perminant increase in certain stats. Increased points in True metamorphisis would improve the Morph enhancement. One of the important aspects of this class would be how the character would change, the old D2 shapeshifting was kind of fake with your armor and weapons disappearing and taking on the form of a large werebeast, instead I suggest a more sudle change. Using a Morph would look simular on all characters, reguardless of class, the face would take the appearance of a beast, the body would be about as buff as a warrior, or bigger, but the cloths would still be visable and you would still be wielding the weapon of choice in your hand. For the 2 or 3 Morphs there would be 1 model each for all "sub-morphed" characters, the only distinguishing difference would be what color the hair on exposed parts of the body, it would be the same as the hair color you chose, so your were character could be any color hair selectable. But I mentioned sub-morphed because Shamen would have an alternate more enhanced look, with 1 point added to True Metamorphisis the morph form would take on the advanced look exclusive to Shamens, this would have a greater morphed state which is a bit larger and muscular and more animal looking. This is because Shamens are supose to have a beat on shapeshifting, and because of the clothing restraints, other classes will be wearing thier same armor, so a warrior can't Hulk out and break his armor and you don't even want to see an elementist grow 10 inches in the arm, his pricy coat would be ruined, on the other hand, Shamen would wear overlayed bone armor simular to Native American warriors, this is designed with room to grow so their armor still fits when they morph all the way.

Lycanthropy - Improves melee damage and critical while in Werewolf form and increases the power of Lycanthropy skills
Lycanthropy would be the Werewolf shape change, this Morph focuses on Attack Speed, and Movement Speed. The Wolf Change skill would be a True Metamorph (TM for short) skill which cost 15 energy to cast and -2(-1 with 10 points in TM) mantinence cost, it grants the effect of 5%+(1% for each point in TM) increased attack and movement speed and +1 health regeneration. Werewolf form would retain moves that add damage with any melee weapon, enchantments or stances which increase movement or attack speed and feasting moves moves which regain health. These moves are only available if they maintain the Morph status, without it they cannot use Lycanthropy moves, most of them would be adrenalin based, and since the Shamen has to maintain his Morph to use these skills they would cost less adrenalin then warrior skills to use. Points in Lycanthropy enable characters to use claw weapons (a 2 handed weapon which actualy works in both hands, double strike) which deal slashing damage.

Werebear - Improves melee damage and critical while in Werebear form and increases the power of Werebear skills.
Werebear is a poor name for the attribute and if anyone has the time to look up Greek for bear I would much rather call it (Greek for Bear)+anthopy. Werebear is a Morph that decreases damage taken. Bear Change skill (also a TM skill) would cost 15 energy to cast and -2(-1 with 10 points in TM) mantinence cost, it reduces all damage taken by 2+(1 for every 2 points in TM) and adds +1(+2 with 10 points in TM) health regeneration. This attribute would retain skills which add extra bashing damage to any melee weapon, reguardless of weapon type, making any weapon you use a bashing weapon, these skills also entail many knock down moves and crushing moves which cause weakness. Again these moves are subject to the werebere form and cannot be used without it, and cost less adrenalin to execute. I havent thought of a good mauling weapon for them to use, basicly any melee weapon will suffice, this form adds more damage then werewolf of course, but since it's bashing no matter what they are limited.

Weretiger - Improves melee damage and critical wile in Weretiger form and increases Weretiger skills.
I'm not sure this is a nessisary class as much as it is a desired one, there are many inherit problems with being a werecat. One is the relation to the Lion/Humanoid looking Char, anything that looks simual to exsisting enemies is kind of taboo, Werebird = Tengu, Werecat are simular to Char, Scale are kind of lizard/salamander looking, so this may not be a good idea. Also Werecat/Weretiger is a lame name and could use a better cosign. This could take up 2 positions, either it could be a Big Weretiger instead of Werebear to replace Werebear, or It could be a tactical melee fighter with dagger type weapons. I would think it out further but I'm not sure this is even worth having as an attribute.

Ritual - Improves Ritual spells and increases damage with Spear weapons.
This is a mixed skill set to cover neccisary combination of healing and energy restoring spells. I say neccisary because Warrior in particular only has 2 points of energy regeneration, and with a 2 energy maintinece cost they cannot gain any energy leaving them with only 5 energy to maintain the morph and no regeneration. Ritual spells would mostly be adrenalin and low energy cost healing spells which you can cast on yourself or others, starting with an inspiration signet which restores 3-10 energy working just like healing signet (same cast and recast time) and weak healing spells which can be cast on teammates, and dances which cost adrenalin. Because Shamen have low energy they wolnt be able to continuously heal wile in morphed form. Thier dances are high adrenalin cost party effect spells which can heal health or energy or a number of statues on a party, with the same range as heal party skill. Early on they would have rain dance which removes 1 ailment from all party members, then other dances like aura dance which gives teammates a small amount of energy, and other dances that work just like heal party or remove 1 hex on all teammates. This allows shamen to help cure the party with the adrenalin they build, many other classes with shamen second that find themselves in a bind for healing may take up some dances to help keep the party healthy instead of morphs. As for the spear it is a defensive weapon and the very few skills for spear are all reduced damage multihit attacks which are ment to build adrenalin or imparing skills to save themselves, like spear foot, Shamen can use spears with thier Were forms for attack moves but the increased spear damage from ritual is half as effective as Warrior weapon attributes. Spear is suggested as piercing damage.

Just like any class Shamen has skills to face any opponent, but will not be able to use all of them, they are ment to be a low attention class as you can simply Morph and attack, and dances effect all teammates without targeting, but they have the very apparent weakness of energy cost, and if they lose all thier energy then they lose thier Morph, also they may want to change back to heal others. Morphed forms are made to add damage to any melee weapons so they can use a Morph and Swordmanship with warrior secondary and match a warrior for melee damage, thier Morph skills add just as much damage to any weapon as Warrior masteries do. Of course, this would be the worst job to fight a mesmer with, mesmers could suck up thier energy quickly, which is why it is important that Shamen have energy restoring skills and even a hex removing dance at some point towards the end, as well, Werebear would have 1 or 2 hex resisting or removing skills to help combat mesmers.

As for a ninja type job, I was interested in making a job that uses hand to hand attacks, dual wielding attacks, and Samurai Katana attacks. The class I came up with covers several opportunities and ideas, the warrior class leaves little to be used as a secondary for any of the exsisting classes, and the shamen class idea uses mostly skills which focus on themselves and not outside attributes. This class is designed to use tactical melee and physical skill which can be used even by casters to do effective damage even on a warrior in melee combat or defend oneself from melee attacks, the ability to utilize both effectively will lie in the Primary trait for this job hindering other classes from being effective at both.

The reason I don't support the titles of rouge or thief are because they don't literally describe set of skills as they do the kind of actions and one takes or his association. All of the exsisting profession titles are very specific to the type of skills they will use, like the 4 mage classes instead of a cliche title like wizard who generally uses magic. The same difficutly exsists with thief and rouge, murauder and many of the other coined titles from other games. Many players were suprised to see a monk that revolves around healing, as if all real monks are not about spiritual enlightenment rather then martial arts. The monks have been given an oriental look, but thier skills are natural to a monk type lifestyle, no one would consider a catholic monk doing martial arts, but you can understand an "eastern" style monk using spiritual techniques. Thus a ninja class supports the exact function of his skills, espionage, martial arts, and tactical well thought out attacks commonly placed with assassination. The most acceptable titles for a ninja class are Ninja (that was hard), and Assassin, but I rather the title of Shinobi, which is Japanese for ninja.

The word ninja comes from the art that Shinobi use, called Ninjutsu or Ninjitsu. Ninjas are commonly understood to be superior martial artist, and stealthy assassins and spies, also commonly understood to be good at wielding 2 weapons. What you may not know is that the focus of Ninjitsu is espionage, and that they combine the best of all martial arts techniques to develope a superior fighting style overlooking the exact form other martial arts for functionallity. The reason I think a ninja type class would be better than any other martial arts is because ninjas are associated with nearly any kind of martial arts, and most other martial arts titles would define narrower forms of martial arts, and I would rather wrap all martial arts under one title so players have a selection of martial arts to cover many desired appearance and play styles.

The general armor settings for Shinobi would have the same defense as ranger armor and the same energy regeneration, but have no added mana, as well, and the Hand and Foot armor would have added damage on them, this would add a small amount of damage to thier Hand and Foot attacks in Kung Fu, since Kung Fu is somewhat mild in damage and it is important that Shinobi can do a little better in thier own kind of attack I think this is important. Thier armors would feature a variety or additions, of course the added energy armor that everyone has, but they would have armors that defend against many differnt kinds of attacks. +10 to physical defense per piece on this set, +15 to piercing defense, reduces damage, and thier 15K set would have +5% evasion against physical attacks. You'll notice that Shinobi isn't particularly effective against magic damage, thats thier general weakness. The look for these armor would generally be tight fitting cloths (as if all the female cloths isn't tight fitting already) that is light looking with armored plates and guards on some of the more physical sets and claws or spikes on the boots and gloves of each set. The exception would be thier energy set which wouldn't have clawed gloves and boots and wouldn't have extra damage for thier Hand and Foot attacks, but have 2 more energy on the gloves and boots then other classes sets do. A simple getup for Pre-Searing, the physical set would have the highest damage on the gloves and boots and have plates and guards on the shoulders, shin, fore arm, etc. and have longer stronger looking claws. On the energy gear I suggest a kind of Dressy formal robes, like lords would wear to banquets, not the really long sleeves though, that just doesn't fit combat, just more casual then formal I guess. And the 15K armor, I imagined a kind of totaly black costume with obsidian looking black arm, leg, shoulder guards and breastplate, as well as a kind of shadowy smoke or mist eminating from the armor (if the graphics can handle it).

Shinobi - Tactical melee profession
Primary attribute - Ninjitsu
Secondary attributes - Kung Fu, Wing Chung, and Kenjutsu

Ninjitsu - Improves chance of critical strike and combination of martial arts skills.
Ninjitsu gives the Shinobi the ability to use 2 or all 3 of his other attributes together more effectively, as well as having a few powerful espionage skills which will be most effective with Shinobi since Ninjitsu is thier primary attribute. Each point in Ninjitsu increases the critical damage that they do with any weapon, and adds a chance to do a Kung Fu attack proceeding any attack. The chance to add and extra Kung Fu attack gives the Shinobi more reason to power up thier Kung Fu attacks as well as another martial art and use them together, since he will get added damage and hits from hand and foot attacks wile attacking with a weapon. This will make more sense once I've explained Kung Fu. There will be a number of skills tied to Ninjitsu which are used for hiding, escaping, and backstabing, more skills than normally tied to a Primary, but many of them wouldn't increase much or at all with added skill points and are functional even without having ninjitsu. Skills like turning clear, burying underground and climbing in trees (like monsters do) to ambush enemies, and backstabing moves which only work if possition properly (demanding that you be invisible to sneak up on enemies), as well as special ambush moves that only work if your burried or in a tree. One point in Ninjitsu changes all 1 handed melee weapons to underhanded grip, just like the Tengu (Shinobi can even run like Tengu).

Kung Fu - Improves the damage of Hand and Foot attacks, increases the number of strikes in Hand and Foot attacks, and increases the effectiveness of Kung Fu skills.
This allows players to attack unarmed, players would have to unequipt both hands in order to attack with Kung Fu, but are able to use Kung Fu skills even if they have a different kind of weapon in thier hand. This allows players using any kind of weapon to use Kung Fu skills, so they can carry any kind of weapon for its bonus effects and still use Kung Fu attack skills. But with Kung Fu utilizing adrenaline powered skills in quick repitition to compete effectivly players will need to use thier Hand and Foot attacks to build adrenaline quickly. These Kung Fu attacks are bashing damage and they hit very quickly, with added points in Kung Fu their attack does more damage, but also adds another strike to the attack every 3 skill points. Starting with a 1-2 punch, at 3 points in Kung Fu thier natural attack would do 1-2 punch and then a swift kick, at 6 points they would do 1-2 punch and a double kick, at 9 12 and 15 points (which can be reached with runes) they would randomly alternate from the 1-2 punch double kick and use differnt combinations as well which do a bit more damage or hit up to 5 times. Because added points in Kung Fu increase regular damage and number of hits Kung Fu users cannot do critical damage without points in Ninjitsu, but the nature of Kung Fu attacks is to get several hits quickly and unleash adrenaline based skills often, with 4 and 5 hit combos per attack the Kung Fu player is constantly hitting his opponent, if you consider the relitively fast speed sword and axe attacks land this is not suprising. Some of the skills however take time to execute, like a powerful punch, so unlike Warrior weapon skills which execute on the next swing, many Kung Fu attacks take a moment to execute just like spells, which causes the constant attack to pause, then unleash a consentrated strike. Kung Fu attacks aim for very paritcular parts of the body only taking an armor reduction for the armor on that part of the body, and several of them would be knock down moves as well as other crippling and imparing moves executed through accupuncture and secret skills. I chose Kung Fu as the unarmed attribute for Hand and Foot attacks because Kung Fu is also a very broad art which widely associated with unarmed combat. The skills would do pretty good damage but more closly effect statuses and knockdown rather then damage, the added damage is realy just a compinsation for the second or two pause in which they lose thier continuous Punchs. This is good for interupting and keeping an enemy "entertained", and is more effective against mages, simular to hammer attacks.

Wing Chung - Allows the use of 2 weapons and increases the chance to block melee attacks wile dual wielding with added points in Wing Chung, as well as improving the effectiveness of many Wing Chung skills.
This is an attribute that many players can enjoy since it allows the wielding of 2 weapons, notice that the 2 weapons would strike just as fast as 1 weapon of the same type, but no amount of points in Wing Chung increases the damage they do, 1 point in Wing Chung allows the use of 2 weapons so the only way to do more damage is to put points in Ninjitsu or use swords and axes with mastery attribute. This initially adds alot of damage, but not as much as you might think. Added points in Wing Chung allow characters to increase thier defense against melee attacks, and the skills for Wing Chung are simular, defense and counter moves for melee and arrow attacks, this allows Shinobi or any other class to increase thier defense more then thier offense, they can block attacks and use powerful counter moves. The catch is that some of the counter moves increase in damage with points in Kung Fu, like a counter move that blocks the next melee attack and does + X damage (based on Wing Chung) and Knocks down for X seconds (based on Kung Fu), this means that players will desire points in Kung Fu to increase the damage of some counters. These skills would be mostly energy based with only a few adrenaline skills and only a few of them as direct attacks, like a simple dual strike attack. Weapons related to this attribute would be very large, from mini Katanas, to Nunchauks, to Sais, a variety of different melee weapons which have several different damage types, slashing, bashing, and piercing. This allows players to equipt whatever weapon they think is cool for a Ninja (or Shinobi in this case). Oh yeah, for those of you who don't know what Wing Chung is, it's an art that studies in the use of multiple weapons, ending with dual butterfly swords (real butterfly swords). Many of the sword type weapons would be tied to sword mastery attribute and gain damage with more points in sword mastery as well as function with sword skills.

Kenjutsu - Improves melee damage and critical wile using a large Katana, as well increasing the damage and potency of Kenjutsu skills.
Kenjutsu is an art of the Samurai, the art of Katana wielding, alot of players will want to play as a Samurai, with thier 2 handed Katana, and not just some TMNT with 2 swords or 2 nunchauks, this is thier attribute and weapon choice. I wen't with Kenjutsu because I didn't want to make this a Samurai Class, this is simply an art of samurai swordsmanship. Samurai are also known for thier use with 2 swords, spears, and bows, and I'm not associating this attribute with all of that. The damage type here is the same as many axes, none, it is straight physical damage, wile many of the skills will use different damage types like piercing, slashing and even bash, the normal attack doesn't have a specific damage type. The attack intervals on a Large Katana (2 handed) would be the same speed as a bow, which is kind of slow, but have the Highest damage compared to other weapons, Bows are ranged and do a bit more damage then 1 handed weapons, but weapons like Hammer and Large Katanas are melee, and Large Katana would be slower then the Hammer. This doesn't mean the attack animation is slow, rather very fast, but they are not wild, continuous swings, they are consentrated and focused strikes which is the attack style of a Samurai (executing enemies in the fewest and most lethal strikes). The skills would be mostly signets, they would be very powerful and increase in power with points in Kenjutsu. Like most signets they are slow to recharge, and with very few adrenaline and energy moves they wouldn't put down several powerful attacks, rather they would move in, and use 1 or 2 skills to do a great deal of damage. These signets, even though they are melee moves, would have casting times and recharge times simular to an elementist spell, but do unparralled damage on a single opponent some on several opponents. Because of the casting time they forfiet thier ordinary attack momentarily, but they would hit exceedingly hard and dash toward thier opponent to execute the attack even if their target moves away. The more advanced skills would require certain conditions or more time or energy to do a great deal of damage in certain situations, wile my idea for an elite mega-damage skill would require energy and adrenaline to execute an instantanious but exceedingly powerful attack (+ up to 100 damage and ignore all armor.... and can't miss). It may seem like overkill, but it is, like many elite moves which do way more then your average skill, this job focuses on doing alot of damage in one place instead of chasing around trying to hack down your opponent. Also a mid game skill that negates knockdowns and interuption wile using the next signet. These powerful attack signets are related to the 7 tenants of kenjutsu which model samurai behaivior and thier different attack styles.

All of these marital arts attributes are much more effective for mage classes to use, from knocking over your opponent repetatively, to blocking melee attacks, to running away and using a few high damage Kenjutsu skills, this gives players the option to dual wield any weapon (even wands......), use melee attacks with relitive effectiveness even with a mage class, and allow players to escape or pursue eachother with dashing and jumping attacks and maneuvers. Alot of them sound broken, or too powerful altogether, but even though Ninjitsu supports the combination of Shinobi attacks it does not allow them to put points in all of them. Also, Shinobi is lacking in healing moves, it can have something simple and weak but it is ment to rely on escape, hiding, evasion and blocking skills to reduce damage rather than healing oneself. Using Shinobi or Shinobi secondary is a great way to use melee attacks in any combination, but you will end up relying on something else or someone else for healing, and wile have to play your character very tactically to be effective, a Shinobi who uses his skills is designed to overcome gerneal melee attacks, a Shinobi who doesn't use his skills properly is the worst melee fighter.

As for story line, there are new continents to discover and places to go in the expansion, any class added to the game will invovle new characters and trainers, maybe even new areas. The origin for a shamen class or a shinobi class could be writen in many ways, they do not have to hold the cultural steriotype that are associated with them in real life, but I have invented a few concepts of my own.

The lost continent of Orr where dedicated worshipers of the "Old gods", and they upkept the ancient dwelling place of the gods til the distruction of Orr. The story line even mentions that Orr did not enter the guild wars til Kyrta and Ascalon persued battle over the ancient city of the gods. So assuming Orrians where akin to temple alcolytes and temples.... what not, you can assume they leaned toward monks (who honor the gods and upkeep temples). Monks are a bit more asian looking anyways, Ascalons, ians or whatever they are called, are caucasion and and Krytans are black, so I thought Orrians would have been oriental. The viser that you cross in some of the later missions (so called last survivor of Orr) is somewhat oriental looking too. So, I thought it would be reasonable to say that Orrians where oriental, and influenced the attire which monks wear, and that shinobi could come from Orr as well. Shinobi are keepers of secrets and hide thier art from others as well, wile Orr was still standing they were sworn to maintian thier art in secrecy, but Orr is gone, and they no longer have a country to serve, so the surviving shinobi decide to put thier art too use, and thus it becomes a new class.

As for Shamen, they are more of a secluded culture, kind of like Native Americans before these continents were discovered. So they would best originate from an outside continent or an undiscovered area of the outskirts of the desert. They could be pilgrims or explorers from another continent, who end up practicing thier art in Tyria, and as you reach expansion areas thier culture and lands could be introduced.

They may seem a little odd in pre-searing, any job added will need an introduction and additions since there haven't been any backgrounds placed for new classes, for all I know. There are places in Ascalon where new characters can be hidden, shinobi can be placed in places like the catacombs and the mountains, and shamen can be placed in Green Hills County, and Regent Valley, there is actually a caravan parked in greenhills county with no purpose, except that there is a merchant and some peasants just standing there.

I know alot of people will want to submit ideas for other classes, but I'll ask that you follow a few simple rules. Don't copy and paste a Job you saw from another game, a name and 1 ability that they used isn't an idea, if you think that kind of proffesion would work in this game then make a legitimate statement on how it would play in this game. I.E. a thief that backstabs....... is very brief, you didn't come up with anything, your stealing and idea from another game and you didn't even derive an outline for the other 120 skills they might use. And if you wish to write an entire idea for a class then start another thread, this one is long already. Also, it isn't neccissary to come up with an entire skill lists for a class, we are not developers and they will not copy ideas right off a forum, a simple outline of how it works and what kinds of moves is enough. And if you have an objection then back it with a credible explanation, there are no psychics here and we will not be reading your mind, if all you have to say is you don't like it and you don't think it "fits" then I'm sure your mother will care more.

If you have some time I could use some help temperring ideas and whatnot, I know it may be pointless, because A.net may very well overlook these ideas altogether, but I have time to kill and I enjoy coming up with ideas for new classes. I think there is a live chat on this site, or we could get on TS and discuss ideas. I know there are alot of players who want dual wielding, and ninjas, and shapeshifters, as well as a million other things in the expansions, I hope that my ideas are acceptable means to add enjoyment an expansion to the game and that they would be used by A.net.

BigTru · Oct 02, 2005, 06:46 PM // 18:46

That's... a lot of text... o_o

lyra_song · Oct 03, 2005, 04:24 AM // 04:24

I would definitely like the shapeshifting class, i think thats very original and could fit well into guild wars. Catgirls!! ^^ rawr!

The ninja class is kind of unoriginal, no offense. I think its touching up on ideas that are TOO familiar and wont fit with the fantasy universe of Guild Wars. You put a lot of work into the idea though and i commend you.

I myself would like to see an Engineeer class. Imagine a character whos
primary roles is in mechanical devices and chemical mixes.

The reason i choose this is one simple reason. Theres already engineers in the game!!!!

I'm sure you've met Stone Summit Engineers and Ascalon Engineers. It only makes sense that we should be allowed to be one.

Engineer - An unsung hero, the Engineer stays behind enemy lines and runs the devices that help kings conquer castles and win wars. From ballistae, to explosives, to chemical mixes, the Engineer is irreplaceable in battle. Armed with a crossbow, their firing rate is slower than a ranger and not as strong or accurate.

*Inventiveness - This attribute entails quirky and ingenuis skills that only a true engineer can use.
Mechanical Wisdom - This attribute increases the strength of siege machines.
Chemical Wisdom - This attribute increases the strength of chemical mixes
Repair - Deals with fixing and upgrading contraptions and other utility skills.

* primary attribute

Sample skills:
Raise Ballista - Raise a Ballista that can fire bolts for piercing damage. Ballista must be controlled by a player with Mechanical Wisdom.

Raise Mangonel - Raise a Mangonel that fires large balls that cause blunt damage

(Mangonel and Ballista would be small enough to be pulled around, slowing down the player but not making him static)

Raise Trebuchet - Raise a Trebuchet that fires incendiary rounds that cause fire damage and set enemies on fire.

Quick Reload - For 10 seconds your reload time on your siege machine is quickened.

Detonation - mix an explosive keg that does fire damage

Tearful Gas - create a cloud of gas that causes nearby enemies to have 75% chance of missing with their attacks

Fixer Upper - Repairs a siege machine at the cost of health.

^.^ so ya, tahts what i want.

KvanCetre · Oct 03, 2005, 04:45 AM // 04:45

I stopped caring as soon as the word ninja was put in. When will people learn....

BahamutKaiser · Oct 16, 2005, 09:10 PM // 21:10

I know alot of ppl are tired or jaded by "ninjas", but the simple fact is, more ppl like ninjas, or some sort of martial arts. Being able to play as what you want, being able to "Role Play" what you want, is a very important part of a role playing game, nobody wants to be consitricted to the roles they arn't interested in.

And according to Gaile Grey, A.net is aiming to make a culturally diverse game that reflects the cultures present all over the world. Alot of americans have this jaded concept that this is a mid-evil world and nothing diverse should be in it, well take it up with the developement team, because they are trying to make the game culturally diverse, this isn't an american game, it's worldwide, with a very strong player base in Korea (BTW, I'm Korean).

I made the most original concepts I could for a shapeshifter and a martial arts class, and I specifically linked them to unaddressed cultures that are also very facinating, Shamen have a very Native American and somewhat african heritage, and Shinobi has a very oriental cultural background.

Your perfectly welcome to not like it, and your perfectly welcome to observe the wishes of others beside yourselves, expecially the vast number of martial arts lovers, other nationalities, and cultures. I hate to break it to you, but the Korean fanbase is extremely strong, there is just as much support for this game in a country half the size of most states as there is in the US, and incase your oblivious, martial arts is more then a fancy fighting style, it is a way of life and a heritage to most oriental ppl.

The concept I wrote for Shinobi is more then "a ninja idea", it covers the maximum amount of martial arts characterizations as possible within one class so anyone wanting to play any kind of martial artist, be it samurai, ninja or kung fu/brawler, will be served, as well as assasination and sneak attack game styles. It also provides the most effective opportunity for players to use new and interesting weapons, dual wield, and use effective melee attacks with even a caster class.

You don't have to like my idea to admit that it well wrought, and biased prefferances to D&D gamestyles isn't a sufficient reason to neglect the "majority" of players who would enjoy Shinobi as a class, even if they don't approve of the title or characterization.

Align · Oct 16, 2005, 09:16 PM // 21:16

Would feel like they're copying Diablo2 :/ Can't we like... have a Fencer? Swift attacks, lots of cheap(free with enough attrib points?) stances that are there to be switched between in battle... sort of thing.

EDIT: On second thought nevermind, if we want any new classes they'd better be aimed at the second expansion(=third release), as they're no doubt far far into making the professions already, and making completely new ones would be bothersome...

TwilightOblivion · Oct 17, 2005, 12:04 AM // 00:04

I really like your ideas Bahamut. I wouls probably make a N/S because of ninjitsu transformation
>_>
<_<
*poof*
im a superkitty with ninja prowess

The Hand Of Death · Oct 17, 2005, 01:33 AM // 01:33

I think that new classes should revolve around new weapons. What happened to spears and polearms? Maybe there should be a class that revolves around that, or maybe hand to hand. New ranged physical classes would be nice too, like throwing axes, javelins, and maybe crossbows. I personally don't like ninja because they would use a sword and in some respects be the same as a sword warrior. That would be also cool if you could be a non-human race like dwarf. But I think the game really needs spears and polearms.

skimo · Oct 17, 2005, 01:43 AM // 01:43

yeah im not really a fan of incorporating martial arts...it seems kind of silly picturing a ninja punching the sh** out of a huge hydra...I liked the assassin idea of diablo in that they incorporated martial arts with claws, etc. mbe daggers? shurikens? lol who knows...but yeah great basis for ideas

BannyD · Oct 17, 2005, 02:12 AM // 02:12

the only thing i would think a powerful ninja or whomever could do is rebound a projectile spell back at its caster.. (block a fireball with my duel sabars and launch it back at the ele)

riposte but for spells

Shinomori · Oct 17, 2005, 02:27 AM // 02:27

Yeah, cuz THAT wouldn't be rigged or anything.

pyrohex · Oct 17, 2005, 03:01 AM // 03:01

A spearman would be awesome. Imagine piercing shields, melee crowd control, and "pushback" - like knockdowns.

BahamutKaiser · Oct 21, 2005, 03:19 AM // 03:19

Obviously very few ppl are reading the OP, I did suggest spears in the Shamens Ritural Attribute, but left the class generally open to weapon use because their increased attack power comes from thier inhuman were powers and not thier skill with a weapon, their skill with a weapon would be provided by putting points in Ritual and using a spear, or using weapons from another class and another classes attribute.

I also suggested that the Shinobi armor have blades or claws on certain hand and footwear to incorperate the use of other weapons and hand to hand moves at the same time. This way hand to hand moves can be used reguardless of which weapon you are using, and thier attack power is increased by a small amount reguardless of equipted weapon, and also giving ninja a slight damage improvement doing hand-to-hand attacks compared to other classes.

Please read before writing, and definetly read before suggesting, your wasting space with undevelped repeat suggestions on ideas which I have already completed.

Also I would like to mention that there already is a Physical ranged attacker, it is the Ranger...... duh.

Iraqalypse Now · Oct 21, 2005, 03:30 AM // 03:30

My only issue with shapeshifter is that you need to be a primary shapeshifter to get any use out of any of the skill trees...

BahamutKaiser · Oct 21, 2005, 03:33 AM // 03:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by BannyD

the only thing i would think a powerful ninja or whomever could do is rebound a projectile spell back at its caster.. (block a fireball with my duel sabars and launch it back at the ele)

riposte but for spells

I don't think this is a great idea, the only class that uses projectile magic is Elementist, and they already have dozens of counters, not to mention, the entire mesmer class pretty much expounds on defeating elementist with his obvious cast times which can be countered a mile away.

Instead I think it would be interesting if Shinobi has a special mind diversion trick which could bounce the next hex on him back to the caster. Hexes have very few defenses, and the best ones are owned by the mesmer himself. Other classes don't realy have counters against Mesmer, Mesmers just have to come equipted with the right counters or they will fail. Shinobi is mostly a physical class with a background of stealth and misdirection, it seems appropriate for the Shinobi to have a decent counter to to the counter class, which currently doesn't have very many counters, but mostly ways to remove thier effects. Something like Mind Reversal skill which is a no attribute skill or Ninjitsu skill, and if it was a Ninjitsu skill it could increase from a very short duration to a reasonably brief duration. I think it would be best as a no attribute skill which lasted about 2 or 3 seconds, an adrenaline skill with no cast time, and a cost of just 1 adrenaline. Mesmers use mental tricks to create illusions and damage, a Shinobi uses physical and mystical tricks to hide and and damage, it seems fitting that the class who understands illusions be able to reverse them.

I think if any class is able to bounce magic projectile attacks, it should be elementist, because giving the ability to counter an elemental projectile to anyone else just further increases the numberous amount of counters elementist has, wile at least if you had to use an Elementist or second it you would increasing the value of Elementist.

BahamutKaiser · Oct 21, 2005, 03:44 AM // 03:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iraqalypse Now

My only issue with shapeshifter is that you need to be a primary shapeshifter to get any use out of any of the skill trees...

This is only partly true, just like any class, you have to be the primary to get full use out of most or all of its skills. It would be unfair if you could use Shaman secondary and be as good as a Shamen primary in his own skills. The way the Transformations are set up allows all shamen secondaries to use transformations and all of the skills, but just like a Monk using Swords Mastery, they do not do as well as a Warrior with Swords Mastery and Strength. Likewise other classes using a transformation will not be as effective. Unlike Seconding warrior though, The improvement to transformation primary attribute mainly benifits defense and endurance, so you can still get most of the damage effectiveness using Were skills.

It would be unbalanced if you could get the full effectiveness of Shamen on another class, then you would have all that classes power and all of your own. Shamen will always be the best shamen, just like Monk will always be the best monk. Using Shamen secondary effectively will require combining the effectiveness of your primary and Shaman secondary.

Balance is a very complicated equation, but trust me, I am very good at it.

Ruin · Oct 21, 2005, 04:06 AM // 04:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyrohex

A spearman would be awesome. Imagine piercing shields, melee crowd control, and "pushback" - like knockdowns.

Which brings to mind images of Dynasty Warriors.

Yes, this game desperately needs polearms.

Also, it's spelled 'shaman'.

generik · Oct 21, 2005, 05:32 AM // 05:32

I support your idea too..

I like the notion of being able to kill physically, but not with brute (stupid) strength like all those stupid W/Mos out there, but through guille and skill.

Zonzai · Oct 21, 2005, 08:10 AM // 08:10

AN has already stated that they are against adding ninjas to GW because they are cliché and overdone. (That's why you don't see any elves either.)

Shape-shifters are too much of a rip-off for me considering Diablo 2's druids. And --this is speculation -- but it seems to me that AN is trying to stay away from the Diablo and Warcraft comparisons as much as they can.

On the other hand, I would almost bet my left... uh, sock that we'll be seeing a dual-wielding profession in the upcoming expansion. I remember someone from AN saying that they were seriously considering it anyway.

Now, that may come in the form of a new attribute, a new profession or a new species. We just don't know and AN is rather unpredictable when it comes to that sort of thing.

=HT=Ingram · Oct 21, 2005, 08:24 AM // 08:24

Wow I think he beat my Long post record. lol