The "names" I've given to each line in the trees are self explanatory, but I'll still explain my reasoning.
Basically, I've tried to keep in mind these things while I made the changes:
- Each line on the skill trees must have a theme
- The central line should be filled with passives that you would want all for all builds
- Get access to abilities earlier, you don't want to be level 16 when that happens
- Replace as much as possible the passives or skills that have no use whatsoever for the character
Guardian
#1 Can't Touch Me
A lot of changes here. The Guardian tree is about defense so giving easy access to boost his basic inner abilities (Armor and Guard) makes sense. Another strong argument for putting access to Armor and Guard passives here is that it allows more build diversity if you want to combine abilities from the Combined Arms skill tree.
#2 Come Here!!!
This is the first "specialization" line of the Guardian tree. If you specialize in defense, you have to be able to keep aggro too. I moved Warcry here to give easier access and made Cutting Words a mandatory passive. The reason I made Cutting Words mandatory is that it can also synergize very well with Counterstrike and To The Death from the Combined Arms tree. Making that passive accessible opens up diversity and promote taunting at the same time. Combat Roll was completely removed from the Legionnaire because it doesn't feel very "Legionnaire-y". I mean, the Lego is made to build Guard, to be a tower of defense, making him "roll" is funny but totally out of character.
#3 Endurance
I must confess this line is much more about making the remaining passives accessible than anything else. I had to put them somewhere, but couldn't find a great theme for them. The 3rd line is a good spot and I made sure to put Turn The Bolt (in place of Biggest Threat) at the center so you don't feel too cheated by having to take it. I realize with enough promotions it's completely useless, but it does help most of the player base so it's a small sacrifice. It was either that or putting the 5th line here, and it wouldn't have been any better...
#4 Hold The Line
Technically, it's not really an easier access since it's the same amount of skill points to get to either Unbowed or Walking Fortress. But the 4th line is the usual place for abilities #4 and #5 in skill trees so it made sense to put them there. I removed the passives locked behind those skills so you don't waste skill points.
#5 I'm The Boss
This line is now about showing you're the man. You're the threat, if enemies hit you, they'll suffer in return. Everything that was on the 6th line has been moved elsewhere so I made this line with the best theme I could come up with. It's not like a lot of people are rushing to get those passives so it's a good spot for them. I took care to put Biggest Threat in the middle since it's usually the most useful of the three.
Combined Arms
#1 Starting Skill
No change, same starting skill as usual.
#2 I'll Get You
Since I moved the passive I Cost You to the Guardian tree, I needed to replace it with something else. Nothing felt "right" for the line until I found Coup De Grace from the Katari/Reaver. 30% damage on enemies that are knocked down or stunned fits perfectly with Shield Bash and Payback Strike. It also synergize surprisingly well with Lunge and Slash since you can easily use that move to close the gap between you and a knocked down enemy.
#3 Relentless
Just as with the Guardian tree, it wasn't easy to find something that would fit for the 3rd line for the Combined Arms tree. I decided to put the emphasis on gaining Stamina, of which Warrior's Resolve is the best passive since it works even when you only lose Guard. I moved to the side Deep Reserves as it's not as good as Warrior's Resolve but pretty nice nonetheless. Finally, I digged again in the Reaver's arsenal and added Relentless Attack (+1% Critical Chance per attack, reset on Critical Hit). It does fit the theme name well and I think it will synergize well with Flow of Battle later in the tree.
#4 I'll Fight Back
This line is completely different than the original. Grappling Chain is completely gone and the passives have been relocated elsewhere, only To The Death remains. With the goal of gaining access to abilities earlier, I decided to also put Unyielding and Counterstrike here. The location of those skills is a great compromise if you want to specialize in both skill trees at the same time to give you a mix of defense and offense. It gives you more build diversity because the abilities aren't tied to the very bottom of each tree.
#5 Feel My Light Touch
This line is mostly about critical hits. While Flow of Battle is 1 skill point farther, I made sure to put it in the middle for easier access. Blood Frenzy is gone as it was a bit too much out of character. A Legionnaire should stand with its Guard up, defend with its Armor and be ready to Shield Wall if necessary, nothing to do with being as close to death as possible...
#6 Offense Specialist
Here we specialize in breaking Armor, damaging Guard and not being flanked in the process. It's pretty straight forward as a line theme. I've put those passives there since they're usually aren't as useful as the other, you use them to put the finishing touches on you build, they're usually not core passives. Although they can be very useful on Nightmare and Heartbreaker, I didn't feel like they belong anywhere before the 6th line.
Additional Notes
Resilience should be boosted from a 5% to a 15% chance to stun. A 1 in 20 chances a melee attack stuns your enemy is way too low to make a difference. Most of the attacks are ranged to begin with and you usually don't get a lot of melee attacks in a short amount of time. I think a 1 in 6.65 chance of stun is perfectly reasonable.
To The Death should see its cooldown reduced from 32 to 24 seconds. In the lower difficulties (Routine, Threatening and Perilous), by the time the animation is over your target has already been dealt with by an ally. It's very good for Nightmare, but the cooldown is very restrictive. Furthermore, the cooldown of every other taunting abilities have been reduced generously, I think 24 seconds is very reasonable in the circumstances.
Relentless Attack is pretty weak in its current form. There are no Warriors able to actually use it efficiently. I think it would be a very nice addition to boost it to maybe 3% or 4% per hit. It would make a world of difference for underpromoted players but wouldn't change much for overpromoted players since they already Critical Hit often enough to not need it.
Balanced Combat is really bad. 10 Stamina after a block if you attack is simply not worth it. Not only do you lose a good chunk of Stamina by blocking, but you're also not regenerating any either. 10 Stamina is a slap in the face, 25 would seem much more appropriate.
Finally, Warriors don't have a lot of good passives. I thought it would be much easier to rework the Legionnaire's skill trees than it was for the Assassin. I realized quickly that there isn't much variety at all for the Warriors. Maybe that's why they felt so underwhelming at first, we're luck the balance changes made them much better than the original version...
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