Class Concept: Illuminator

What is the process the ArenaNet developers follow when designing the new content? It seems to me that, as of the moment, the trend of adding two new professions each chapter will eventually crowd all the niches of the game. Not that it is a bad thing to have more choices for the same fundamental responsibilities of a party, but do you really think it's a good idea to have 3 of the 4 new professions so far appear to be mostly centered around melee combat alongside the Warrior profession?

I hope that there are plans to introduce more complex professions that explore areas that the other professions cannot specialize in by themselves. Sure you can say there are only 3 basic niches (damage taking, dealing damage, and support), but seeing as how they have already split those into 8 (soon to be 10) professions, I don't see why you can't concoct more sub-niches.

For example, I have yet to see a profession that is centered around buffing.

Monks have some, but they're mostly for healing and I prefer making my team more powerful. Necromancers have some, but they're terribly inefficient due to short duration and high cost of life. Ritualists have some, but they are difficult to keep active due to spirits being immobile and subject to death while weapon enchantments mostly end in one hit.

Perhaps an Illuminator profession is in order. Scribes of the ancient Margonite people who specialize in the power of knowledge and study. Another caster class with paper armor, but one that offers the party a service that has so far been quite rare and scattered throughout the other professions. Various buffing shouts and maybe environmental effects using ancient incantations drawn on the ground. Their buffs would have to be weak to accomodate the obvious benefits of shouts and non-spirit based effects (they can't be removed short of death), but if that is their specialty then layers of buffs would provide a welcome addition to any party. Perhaps another counterbalance to the non-dispellable nature of shouts and wards would be to have the shouts/wards last a very short time, but only cost a small amount of energy. Thus making them similar to maintained enchantments in that they are a constant drain on energy only they cannot be dispelled.

Proposed Attributes:

Erudition {Primary Attribute}: For each rank of Erudition, the duration of your shouts and wards is increased by 4%. Some Illuminator skills, especially those which augment the Illuminator's abilities, become more effective with higher Erudition.
Exhortation: No inherent effect. Many Illuminator skills, especially those pertaining to beneficial effects, become more effective with higher Exhortation.
Indignation: No inherent effect. Many Illuminator skills, especially those that hinder your enemy, become more effective with higher Indignation.
Pragmatization: No inherent effect. Many Illuminator skills, especially those dealing with directly effecting targets, become more effective with higher Pragmatization.

In short, Erudition is the primary and it would be useful if used in an I/W or I/E or I/R combination in particular as they have the most shouts and wards. I'm thinking it shouldn't have very many linked skills since the innate effect is so powerful. The main point of the innate effect, however, is to increase the efficiency of many of the other skills linked to the other attributes, since they will have short natural durations forcing them to be recast often. Maybe it would only have like 2 linked skills, and both of them would be elites (like Soul Reaping). Maybe a stance to double duration of shouts/wards temporarily or a stance that gives # energy after it wears off for each shout used during its duration.

Exhortation is the buff line of skills that contains many buffing shouts and wards. A perfect example of an Exhortation skill would be a ward that grants all party members within it a bonus to armor penetration.

Indignation is the debuff line of skills that contains many debuffing shouts and wards to weaken enemies. A perfect example of an Indignation skill would be a shout that causes weakness for 5 seconds on all nearby enemies which recharges every 5 seconds and costs 5 energy, making you have to spam it to keep enemies weakened. If the enemy cures its conditions, they will pretty much be wasting energy and time since it would have only lasted 5 seconds anyway and it can be recast super quickly.

Pragmatization is the line of skills that make the Illuminator not completely helpless while soloing or trying to support the team's damage. I gave my Illuminator concept Pragmatization for the same reasons Anet gave Monks Smiting. I think a new kind of spell, spell scrolls, would be classified (like weapon enchants or well spells) to determine the Illuminator's use of magical scrolls to deal directly damaging or otherwise instantaneous effects. All scroll spells are easily interrupted like traps, since it takes concentration to activate the scrolls.

I don't know what sort of lore they have stashed away on the Margonites, but I was thinking it would be cool to have their homeland be a small archepelago which they have built huge scaffoldings around connecting the islands and building upwards in strange looking tower structures.


Can I get some criticisms and (hopefully) compliments on this concept please?

You are so great. You are the best. We all love you.

Now that the compliment is out of the way...

I agree on the need of buffer (the Paragon might take some of that role). While Monk and Ritualist does do buff, there could be a more differnt type of buff... namely AoE buff effect to all around you, aka... Auras. While personally I like a Bard or a Paladin class for it, but that is just me. An Illuminator is as good as any.

Would like to see a few example skills and new mechanics. Just having straight Spell type of buff just seem very "blah" I mean, look at the difference between Warrior Buff, Monk Buff, and Ritualist Buff, and you can see that while they function in similar function, their usage is still different. And I will leave your creativeness in coming up with that difference. Rest of attribute seems okie, and would be better if they are further expansion to that unique difference.

Well, you wouldn't see a Paladin - that build would be more of a combination of Warrior with something else (currently ascribed to W/Mo, but a W/Pa may prove to be a good approximation to the Diablo 2 Paladin).

As has been stated - it currently looks like it's a role the Paragon is intended to fill, but we'll see. Just don't expect the benefit to be as great as from Ritualist spirits, for the very reason that the Ritualist spirits are balanced by being killable . I suspect the Paragon may be to Warrior shouts as the Ritualist is to Ranger spirits - taking an existing but relatively low-key mechanic and shining the spotlight on it, possibly giving it a bit of a twist, and making a profession out of it that way.

That depend on if you read my Paladin (or Templar) CC before or not....
While function still similar, but with lot more different use of Aura, I try hard not to make it another War/Mo clone.

But, enough about that. So some skill example might help to illustrate the uniquness of your class more.

I think it sounds great. But unfortunately, as has been said, it will be too similar to the paragon. Since Anet is already making that class, I don't think an Illuminator will be made if it will be a Paragon with less attack and less armour.

To be honest, I do. That's 4 melee, and 5 casters. Or is it going to be 3/6. Eitherway, seems good to me.

WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY

great concept. good stuff, man

yeah sounds cool, but paragon seems to be hinting that it will be an awesome buffer thingy

still more cc's are always welcomed in my mind, fun to read other peoples ideas

Well as long as the Paragon is centered around buffing, I'll be relatively content.

I was just under the impression that they intended to make it a fistfighter or something.