OnlineWelten Artikel zum Onlinespiel Guild Wars 2

Onlinewelten: ArenaNet has just revealed the traits system of Guild Wars 2. Naturally we are very curious about it. Will the traits completely replace the attributes, which we know from the original Guild Wars?

Eric Flannum: Traits do partially replace attributes in that they allow a player to customize their character beyond the choices they make with their skillbar. We do however have a set of attributes that more directly replace those that we had in Guild Wars 1. Instead of being heavily profession oriented these attributes are more general, much like those you’d find in other RPGs.

Onlinewelten: Can players upgrade and enhance their traits or are they “merely” unlockable?

Eric Flannum: Players cannot enhance traits.Onlinewelten: Each profession has roughly 100 traits and you have made it clear, that it won’t be possible to equip them all on a single character. So how many traits can we equip?

Eric Flannum: It varies slightly by profession but each character can have several dozen traits equipped in various categories at any given moment. Of course not all of these traits will be active at a given time. A warrior will have axe traits equipped in axe mastery but if they aren’t wielding an axe then those traits are not active.

Onlinewelten: Do some traits exclude the use of others? Like for example fire and water mastery with elementalists? What kind of traits do elementalists actually offer? Could you give us some examples?

Eric Flannum: Traits are equipped much like utility skills so it is fair to say that if you equip a trait in one slot you are definitely choosing to exclude the use of other traits. Elementalists will not have to choose explicitly between fire and water mastery as they have enough slots to improve both if they wish. Elementalist traits can do things such as cause signets to recharge more quickly, make the Chain Lightning skill strike additional targets, and give the Water Trident skill an aoe healing component centered on the area it hits.