So, before I ride into the sunset - I checked with Eric about those two questions.
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Originally Posted by Mordakai
1. Will Shield skills change depending on the Main weapon? (ie, will a Sword/shield combo offer different shield skills than Axe/Shield?).
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No. The skills available when a particular weapon is equipped only vary based on the weapon type and profession. To further clarify, these skills cannot be changed out. If using a shield provides me with the Block and Shield Bash abilities as a warrior then those are the skills that it will provide. Character and build customization for the first five slots is mostly achieved by combining different one handed and off hand weapons and different weapon sets.
The first five skills may also be affected by traits. Traits are passive abilities that are earned and then equipped by the character. Traits can have a pretty dramatic effect on how two characters of the same profession and using the same weapon set will play. We’ll be going into more depth on the trait system in a future update.
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Originally Posted by Mordakai
2. When can Elementalists change Atunement? During combat, for example?
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An elementalist can change attunement at any time. The attunements themselves are actually skills with a significant cast time, energy cost, etc… Despite being skills they do not take up any of the elementalists skills slots so every elementalist will eventually have access to all four attunements at all times. In our experience some players prefer to stay in one element while others may switch regularly. Switching can be done to achieve cross element combos or it can be done purely based on situation.
For instance, I was playing an elementalist recently and was by myself mostly using fire so I could take down multiple enemies at once. I eventually ended up fighting with some warriors. One of the warriors was using greatsword and the other was dual wielding axes which are both weapon sets that inflict a lot of damage. I switched to air so I could provide more in the way of blinds and stuns to help mitigate damage while still dealing some of my own with Chain Lightning.
If the warriors had been using shields or more defensive weapons like mace and hammer I would have stayed in fire to provide damage. If they had been using ranged weapons like rifle or longbow I might have switched to water or maybe earth so I could slow incoming enemies and provide some crowd control. The attunements make the elementalist extremely adaptable to most situations.