User:Dr ishmael/Feature pack/Trait

The trait interface of an elementalist. The grandmaster tier traits have not yet been unlocked.

Traits are passive abilities that can enhance a character's skills, provide bonuses to damage and attributes, and modify their actions. Each profession has 15 minor and 65 major traits grouped into five trait lines across three tiers. Like utility skills, only a small number of traits can be equipped at a time, determined by how the character allocates their trait points among the trait lines.

The trait interface is accessed through the Hero panel, in the Traits section of the Skills and Traits tab.

Definitions

Trait types

Elementalist traits

	Minor traits have small icons marked with the profession's symbol. All minor traits are unlocked by default.
	Major traits have large icons marked with a Roman numeral. Major traits must be unlocked (per-character) using trait guides, which can be acquired as rewards for completing various in-game content or can be purchased from profession trainers.

Trait lines

Elementalist trait lines.

Every profession has five trait lines, each of which is linked to one primary and one secondary attribute. See the profession trait tables below for how each profession's lines and attributes are linked.

Primary attributes

 Power — increases damage dealt.

 Precision — increases critical hit chance.

 Toughness — increases armor.

 Vitality — increases health.

Profession-specific attributes — increase effectiveness of the profession's unique mechanic.

Secondary attributes

 Boon Duration — increases boon duration.

 Condition Damage — increases condition damage.

 Condition Duration — increases condition duration.

 Ferocity — increases critical hit damage.

 Healing Power — increases healing.

Trait tiers

Within a trait line, traits are grouped into 3 tiers: Adept, Master, and Grandmaster. These tiers unlock sequentially as a character progresses and determine how many trait points can be spent in any trait line.

Tier	Unlock level	Max points per line
Adept	30	2
Master	60	4
Grandmaster	80	6

Trait points

Characters acquire their first trait point at level 30 and earn 1 additional point every 6 levels up to level 66, when they start earning 2 points at a time. In total, a level 80 character will have 14 trait points.

Level	Points earned	Total points
30	1	1
36	1	2
42	1	3
48	1	4
54	1	5
60	1	6
66	2	8
72	2	10
78	2	12
80	2	14

Mechanics

Allocating trait points

The traits available to a character are determined by the allocation of trait points across the five trait lines. Trait points can be reallocated for free any time a character is not in combat or in a structured PvP match. The number of points in a trait line can be adjusted discretely using the plus/minus buttons at the left of the trait line's display, and all points can be deallocated by clicking the "Refund traits" button at the top of the panel.

For each point invested into a trait line:

• A +50 bonus is granted to each of the two attributes associated with that trait line.
  • +5% for the percentage-based Boon Duration, Condition Duration, and the profession-specific attributes.
• A minor trait is activated for the first point in each tier.
• A major trait slot is opened for the second point in each tier.

Examples:

• Spending 1 point in a trait line will activate the Adept minor trait and give an attribute bonus of +50 or +5%.
• Spending 3 points will activate the Adept minor trait, open the Adept major trait slot, and the Master minor trait, as well as give an attribute bonus of +150 / +15%.
• Spending 6 points will activate all 3 minor traits, open all 3 major trait slots, and give an attribute bonus of +300 / +30%.

Equipping major traits

Each trait line has access to 13 major traits, split across the three tiers. The first 6 (I–VI) major traits are in the Adept tier, the next 4 (VII–X) are in the Master tier, and the last 3 (XI–XIII) are in the Grandmaster tier.

In order to use a major trait, it must be equipped in an open major trait slot. The tier of the slot must be equal to or higher than the tier of the trait — i.e., an Adept trait can be equipped in any trait slot, a Master trait can be equipped in a Master or Grandmaster slot, and a Grandmaster trait can only be equipped in a Grandmaster slot.

Profession trait tables

These tables list the trait lines for each profession and the attributes linked to them.

Soldiers

Guardian (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Zeal	Power	Condition Duration
Radiance	Precision	Condition Damage
Valor	Toughness	Critical Damage
Honor	Vitality	Healing Power
Virtues	Virtue Recharge Rate	Boon Duration

Warrior (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Strength	Power	Condition Duration
Arms	Precision	Condition Damage
Defense	Toughness	Healing Power
Tactics	Vitality	Boon Duration
Discipline	Burst Recharge	Critical Damage

Adventurers

Engineer (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Explosives	Power	Condition Duration
Firearms	Precision	Condition Damage
Inventions	Toughness	Healing Power
Alchemy	Vitality	Boon Duration
Tools	Tool Belt Recharge Rate	Critical Damage

Ranger (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Marksmanship	Power	Condition Duration
Skirmishing	Precision	Critical Damage
Wild. Survival	Toughness	Condition Damage
Nature Magic	Vitality	Boon Duration
Beastmastery	Pet Attribute Bonus	Healing Power

Thief (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Deadly Arts	Power	Condition Duration
Critical Strikes	Precision	Critical Damage
Shadow Arts	Toughness	Healing Power
Acrobatics	Vitality	Boon Duration
Trickery	Steal Recharge Rate	Condition Damage

Scholars

Elementalist (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Fire Magic	Power	Condition Duration
Air Magic	Precision	Critical Damage
Earth Magic	Toughness	Condition Damage
Water Magic	Vitality	Healing Power
Arcana	Attunement Recharge Rate	Boon Duration

Mesmer (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Domination	Power	Condition Duration
Dueling	Precision	Critical Damage
Chaos	Toughness	Boon Duration
Inspiration	Vitality	Healing Power
Illusions	Shatter Skill Recharge Rate	Condition Damage

Necromancer (trait list)
Line	Primary attribute	Secondary attribute
Spite	Power	Condition Duration
Curses	Precision	Condition Damage
Death Magic	Toughness	Boon Duration
Blood Magic	Vitality	Healing Power
Soul Reaping	Life Force Pool	Critical Damage

Trivia

• ArenaNet decided against including racial traits in the game as a matter of game balance: each race should be equally effective in each profession. For example, there should not be important differences between norn and asura warriors. [ref]
• The trait system was redesigned into tiers prior to the second Beta Weekend Event.
• The spring 2014 feature pack made numerous changes to the trait system. Changes introduced:
  • Automatic tier unlocks. Previously, each tier had to be unlocked by purchasing a trait manual; tiers also could be unlocked earlier, at levels 11, 40, and 60.
  • Unlock system for major traits. Previously, major traits were all unlocked by default. Existing characters retained the unlocked traits.
  • Trait points were condensed by a factor of 5. In the original system, points accrued at a rate of 1 per level starting at level 11, for a total of 70 points. Each point only gave +10 to attributes, and 5 points were required to activate each minor trait/major trait slot; a maximum of 30 points could be spent per trait line.
  • Free trait point refunds outside of structured PvP. Previously, points could only be refunded for a fee at profession trainers or by using an Instant Trait Reset.
  • A 13^th major trait was added to every trait line.

{{Specializations nav}} [[Category:Traits|*]]