So the weapon beta has been up for a bit and I experimented with my main class, Mesmer. Results are meh.
Problem: only off-hand we have is shield, and shield really doesn’t do much. It’s probably going to find use in tanky builds, but that’s it. Biggest problem: blocks are channels, so you can’t do anything for several seconds on ends.
Everything else: too much tailored towards their specialisations.
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Axe stays melee condition, sword stays melee power. Won’t change anything up.
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Dagger has slight applications in ranged power.
That’s it. Dagger maybe for ranged power, under certain circumstances.
Axe Virtuoso? Dagger Mirage? Both meh. Shield with anything? Double-meh with a sigh on the side. Chrono with dagger as DPS? Can’t compete with anything.
I’d hope that smarter people than me will find some applications, but I’m afraid that all that’s being checked for is meta DPS, so there’s probably nothing to be expected from on that front.
Dagger Ambush Spam kind of worked almost somewhat, DPS-wise. Riveting.
I am very happy they’re doing this since it allows for more build diversity.
That being said, nothing really stood out as a big change to me (probably because I suck at theorycrafting). I feel like the specializations, weapons, and skills are tied so close together to really get good synergy. For example sword really only works on holosmith since you need that specialization to get the bonus effects on the sword. I’m sure some niche builds will come out of it, but I feel like they need tweak some skills and core traits to really open up the build possibilities.