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Excitement
for ArenaNet's
upcoming
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2">Guild
Wars 2
continues to
build as more gameplay details are revealed. One such aspect of the
game that's been a hot topic of discussion among fans was
the recent announcement of the Traits system. In a nutshell, traits can
be
unlocked through the completion of a series of profession specific
challenges, and then
used to enhance specific aspects of your character. Some might directly
influence the way specific types of skills function in combat, while
others will beef up the attributes associated with a given profession.
Ten Ton Hammer took some time
to analyze how this system might play out
in the live game in our article titled
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/traits">An
Introduction of Traits in
Guild Wars 2.
If you haven't already done so, I thoroughly
suggest checking it out to learn more of the nuts and bolts of the
overall system.
We also had a few questions on
how this system will function in the live game, and while rampant
speculation is always fun sometimes
it's better to go straight to the source to get the official scoop.
That's
exactly what we did, and Lead Designer Eric Flannum
was awesome enough
to take some time out of his busy schedule to provide us more details
on traits as well as further insights into skill chains and the Warrior
profession.
Ten
Ton Hammer: Will players from a
given profession be able
to master or unlock all Traits associated with their profession? For
example, if there are 100 different Warrior traits, will all players of
that profession eventually be able to unlock all 100 traits, or will
there be some choice involved in which out of the longer list of traits
can be unlocked?
Eric:
Yes, A warrior can master and unlock every trait available to
their profession. It may not be the easiest thing to do but it is very
possible.
Ten
Ton Hammer: Will professions
still have the equivalent of a
"primary" attribute, or will the placement of traits into specific
lines allow players to achieve the same effect in terms of being able
to choose which specific attribute they want to favor over others?
"Players will not be forced to
favor one trait line over another but rather customize each trait line
as they see fit."
Eric:
The concept of the “primary” attribute as it
was used in Guild Wars 1 is not something we needed in Guild Wars 2. In
GW1 primary attributes were used to make an Necromancer/Mesmer play
differently from a Mesmer/Necromancer as well as give each profession a
unique mechanic. Since we don’t have secondary professions in
Guild Wars 2 the primary attribute mechanic was unnecessary.
Instead,
each profession has a unique profession mechanic and in some cases
multiple mechanics to make them feel distinct and play differently from
their peers. Trait lines are used to allow players to differentiate
themselves from others who share their profession. All warriors for
example will equip traits into their tactics line but will choose
different traits depending on their play style as well as their choice
of skills and weapons. Players will not be forced to favor one trait
line over another but rather customize each trait line as they see fit.
Ten
Ton Hammer: Can players still
directly
adjust their attributes, or
will these be handled differently in GW2 than they are currently in the
original Guild Wars?
Eric:
Players can still adjust their attributes. A character is given
attribute points each time they level and players can assign them as
they see fit. These attributes are much more like traditional RPG
attributes and are shared among all professions. Respeccing attributes
will of course be very easy to do.
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Ten
Ton Hammer: Will other
professions be able to utilize skill chains,
or are those something a bit more specific to the Warrior profession
since its obviously very weapon dependent?
Eric:
We pretty much run the spectrum on that one. I think
it’s fair to say that no profession uses them more than the
warrior (who has one on every melee weapon). The more melee oriented
the profession is the more heavily they rely on chain skills although
there are some exceptions to this where chain skills are sprinkled into
some professions that make less use of them.
We’d
like to thank Eric and the rest of the Guild
Wars 2 team
at ArenaNet for providing us answers to a few of our burning questions,
not to mention developing one of the most anticipated games currently
on our
radar. Be sure to hop on over to Ten Ton Hammer’s Guild
Wars
2 forums and join in on the
discussion, and don’t forget to
bookmark
us!
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To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Guild Wars 2 Game Page.
