September Flux

All elite skills have a changed functionality of:
Elite Skill (Stance) You receive triple damage while in this stance (10 seconds).

What do you guys think? The lack of elite skills as viable build options would open up the metagame largely and make things much more balanced with greater variety.

No, that is a terrible idea.

At least then warriors could cancel their elites with Frenzy.

But seriously, changing skills so drastically, especially elites themselves, would be quite outside the realm of the Flux's original intention, as well as mess with the whole balance of the game. It would basically ask players to take their elite skills and replace them with non-elite versions of them, and while this would be happening for both teams to look "fair", it wouldn't have the same kind of impact across all bars.

Thank you, care to elaborate?

@Shayne
Most builds seen are built around their elites, removing those would require a greater shift than just taking the non-elite semi-equivalent. I think that we would see lots of creativity come from it and more build diversity. Gimmicks are generally the product of elites and they were a major problem of the game design in the first place. Isn't the point of the flux to increase build diversity/creativity and to shake up the metagame monthly?

But Bombers won't be able to spam contagion anymore (YES!)
I think it's a good idea for CERTAIN elites.
Some elites (Like WoH and other monk elites) don't deserve to be nerfed for a whole month. :/

How about just get rid of all elite skills for the month? That wouldn't be as dumb as this... Or just make all elites instakill you... :/

I don't understand how people say that if you completely nuke the purpose of elite skills, it produces creativity and diversity. All I'm seeing is complete panic, nothing to really make a build around, and the few builds that work without an elite skill are not going to be that efficient. And as for the past flux effects, so far none of them have tampered with skill functions, only with environmental effects and conditional/situational effects... messing with skills would hurt the metagame, not help it, imo.

How about a middle ground.
September Flux: Humble Pie
Whenever you use an elite skill you take 40 dmg and move 15% slower for 8 sec.

This would encourage strategic use of elites and require more planning for spikes. The slowdown would discourage the 3 dervish issue amongst others, and discourage spamming. This would also change up the meta because of the narrow window of time that you can use your elite would make mesmers a lot more interesting in all PvP formats.

So we continue to make it harder for Monks to keep people alive?

Infuse is still available! And Orison ofc. Invoke would begone, and Dev Hammers/Hammer bash spammers. It would create a major shift. Loads of rupts and small heals.

Would that make prots predominant, as WoH is the only good healing elite/skill in general?

It's certainly an interesting idea. But can you imagine how people will complain? Most of them can't even shut up about THIS month's flux. Not to mention the people that act as if everything GW does is horribly wrong anyways. You'd just be giving them too much to rant about :/

I have a better idea.
Flux: Everyone move 50% faster. Hitting a foe while moving have a 10% chance of causing a Knock Down. Everytime you use an elite skill, you only move 25% faster for the next 10 seconds.

This still allows the use of elite skills but you have to be much more tactical about it.

I don't think the flux was meant to shake up the meta game that much. Not like it changed the meta in any of the previous months . . .

I'd take the 25% + using my elite skill anyday.

Honestly, the worst idea ever. Without Elite skills as focus points, builds can't be made worth anything. Their elites, their strong, if they annoy you so much, interrupt the dang things.

Care to give us examples of said creativity?

You're destroying a backline. You're destroying a Warrior's utility. They will be forced to either choose damage or utility.

You may have stopped certain gimmicks but you're also severely hindering balanced teams. You're also basically ruling out entire professions that are elite-dependant like Dervishes and Ritualists.