This is almost ridiculously pointless since I'm going off incomplete, second-hand information about something in a beta that will likely change 100 times before launch, but, hey - ridiculously pointless is my specialty.
And speaking of specialties, this posting will be a brief rundown of which trait lines in GW2 fit with certain playstyles and preferences you may or may not have.
(You can peruse the listed traits directly from the source wiki and play with different builds here.)
Note that each trait line offers you up to 3 (max) of the automatic minor traits and you can only choose up to 3 (max) of the major traits when customizing your character.
And I'm not explaining it anymore because I already did that here.
ELEMENTALIST
Air Magic
Attribute Increases: Precision (Increases crit chance) and Prowess (Increases crit damage)
Target Audience: Swift movers and shakers that like shockingly strong lightning and wind spells
Weapon Preferences: Air Weapon Skills recharge faster
Other: Aeromancers can stun, blind and knock around foes. They deal more damage to vulnerable and low-health foes. Their Glyph utility spells can recharge faster and grant a boon
Arcane Power
Attribute Increases: Intelligence (Lowers Attunement recharge) and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Active casters that like to have a wide variety of spells to play with
Weapon Preferences: Staff area attacks are broader, Daggers grant added movement speed, Scepters allow you to dodge more
Other: Arcanists are meant to be very versatile mages that can continually cast a whole spellbook at you. Their Arcane utility spells deal an additional condition based on which element they're attuned to. Not much survivability, but an Arcanist can trait for dodge-and-kite fights
Earth Magic
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Improves armor) and Malice (Increases condition damage)
Target Audience: Debuffer casters that want some stony survivability
Weapon Preferences: Earth Weapon Skills recharge faster
Other: Geomancers are rugged, gritty casters with traits to add wallop to their dirty, crippling attacks. They also can keep the benefits of, and quickly recharge, spent Signet utility spells
Fire Magic
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Expertise (Increases condition durations)
Target Audience: Pyromaniacs that want to see the world burn
Weapon Preferences: Fire Weapon Skills recharge faster, Conjured Weapons deal more damage and have more charges
Other: Pyromancers burn things and deal more damage to burning things, and then burn things even more. They can be solid team-players, creating magical weapons and fiery combo-fields
Water Magic
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Compassion (Increases healing)
Target Audience: Helpful, hard-to-kill healers / Support casters
Weapon Preferences: Water Weapon Skills recharge faster
Other: Hydromancers make the most of Mist Form and Cantrip utility spells, becoming both slippier and sturdier. These Aquamancers regenerate health more quickly and can buff/cleanse/heal allies.
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ENGINEER
Alchemy
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Bi-polar types that enjoy keeping friends alive and burning foes to death
Weapon Preferences: Increased damage with Flamethrowers and Elixir Guns, E-Guns gain added range
Other: Alchemists excel at Elixir utility skills, firing off assorted buffs and debuffs. Has some useful tricks to help stay alive
Explosives
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Expertise (Increases condition durations)
Target Audience: AOE mad bombers that like to make things 'splode.
Weapon Preferences: Bonuses to Bombs, Mines, Grenades
Other: Explosive Experts are all about making things go boom better. Explosioneers also have some support traits that splash Elixir-y goodness all over the faces of his friends
Firearms
Attribute Increases: Precision (Increases crit chance) and Prowess (Increase crit damage)
Target Audience: Ranged damage dealers that like sniping with guns
Weapon Preferences: Increased range and recharge with Rifles and Pistols, Rifles hit harder, Pistols pierce, Flamethrower skills recharge more quickly
Other: Firearms Experts are as straightforward as Dirty Harry. They shoot big guns
Inventions
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Increases armor) and Compassion (Increases healing)
Target Audience: Tanky tinkerers that provide solid support
Weapon Preferences: Shields provide additional armor and cooldown faster
Other: Inventors may increase Turret utility skills, improving their damage and range. They may be especially resilient, quick-thinking combat medics once their health dips to a critical state.
Tools
Attribute Increases: Malice (Increases condition damage) and Ingenuity (Lowers recharge on Toolbelt skills)
Target Audience: Flexible Jacks-of-All-Trades, DOT-and-kite types
Weapon Preferences: Allows Med Kit skills to be thrown, Tool Kit wrenches cripple foes
Other: Tool-twirlers may switch kits faster, can gain armor and run speed from kits, and have versatile utility traits
GUARDIAN
Honor
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Compassion (Increases healing)
Target Audience: Tanky Healer/Buffer Support types
Weapon Preferences: Two-Handed Weapon Skills and Shields recharge more quickly
Other: Honorable Guardians may buff and cleanse allies with their proud Shouts and Symbols, heal allies with daring dodges and inspire those near them to hit harder
Radiance
Attribute Increases: Precision (Improves cit chance) and Expertise (Increases condition durations)
Target Audience: Debuffer damage-dealers/Support that want to blind, burn and burst down foes or boost and bless allies
Weapon Preferences: Increased crit chance with 1-Handed Weapons, Increased damage to Swords, Torch skills recharge faster
Other: Radiant Guardians may blaze through foes with a sword-and-torch combo and fiery Spirit Weapons or you might see one as a mace-wielding warrior priest with fast-recharging Signet buffs, healing Symbol and extra-protective Aegis
Valor
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Increases armor) and Prowess (Improves crit damage)
Target Audience: Heavily armored, meditative juggernauts who like buffing and blunt weapons
Weapon Preferences: Increased mace damage, Shields provide added armor
Other: Valorous Guardians are hardy, thinking fighters who benefit from fighting smartly -- gaining armor while fighting alongside allies, power when blocking, and health when buffing or using Meditations
Virtues
Attribute Increases: Malice (Improves condition damage) and Willpower (decreases recharge of Virtues)
Target Audience: Buffers that make bad targets for their opponents
Weapon Preferences: None
Other: Virtuous Guardians may activate improved, condition-cleansing Virtue skills to buff nearby allies, providing might for themselves and dealing retaliation damage to attackers
Zeal
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Supportive Damage Dealers
Weapon Preferences: Increased damage with 2-Handed Weapons, Scepters
Other: Zealous Guardians may benefit from stronger heals, harder-hitting Spirit Weapons and potentially fearsome fire area-attacks
MESMER
Domination
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Expertise (Increases condition durations)
Target Audience: A debuffing, ranged damage-dealing caster
Weapon Preferences: Increased Power while wielding a Greatsword
Other: Dominators can rend, stun, and cripple foes while finishing them off with painful Mind Wrack-ing and haunting Illusions
Dueling
Attribute Increases: Precision (Increases crit chance) and Prowess (Increase crit damage)
Target Audience: Hyperactive DPS'ers that want to actively dodge, slash, shoot and cast where they please
Weapon Preferences: Increased crit chance with Swords, increased range with Pistols
Other: Duelists prefer critty sword and pistol attacks, counter-attacks, crafting dodging, mind-f#$%ing Illusions and furious Phantasms
Chaos
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Increases armor) and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Evil DOT/Debuffers who want don't want to be made of soft tissue paper
Weapon Preferences: Staves grant additional armor (of course)
Other: Chaotics are able to suck it up and shrug off damage, they can also specialize in spitting out random conditions to torment enemies
Inspiration
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Compassion (Increases healing)
Target Audience: Support / Pet Class guys who want some survivability
Weapon Preferences: A Focus or Torch off-hand provides some added health
Other: The Inspired get more out of their Phantasm phriends - they can hit harder, live longer and heal allies. There's also a couple healing traits and ways to make Illusions inspire your run speed and make allies more dodgy
Illusions
Attribute Increases: Guile (lowers Shatter cooldowns) and Malice (Increases condition damage)
Target Audience: DOT/Debuffers, People who enjoy summoning pets and then destroying them
Weapon Preferences: Scepters increase your condition damage
Other: Illusionists can gain power from creating and tearing apart Illusions, they can excel at confusing foes and melting their minds
NECROMANCER
Blood Magic
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Compassion (Improves healing)
Target Audience: Life-sucking mages, Supportive Warlocks
Weapon Preferences: Daggers allow you to move faster and their skills recharge faster
Other: Blood Mages are vampiric masters at siphoning off life from foes,
they also know ways to help heal allies and create improved area-effect
Wells
Curses
Attribute Increases: Precision (Improves crit chance) and Malice (Improves condition damage)
Target Audience: Debuffer / Damage Dealers, casters who like to crit and DOT
Weapon Preferences: Increases duration of Scepter conditions, faster recharge of Warhorn skills
Other: Increased crit chance when entering Death Shroud form, can add bleeding and weakening to crits. Curse Invokers also can fart out poison gas clouds when they fall down
Death Magic
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Improves armor) and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Pet Summoners, casters looking for some survivability
Weapon Preferences: Reduced cooldown on Staff skills
Other: Death Mages can call upon stronger, sturdier minions, place more effective Marks upon the ground and wrap themselves in coats of spectral armor
Soul Reaping
Attribute Increases: Prowess (Increases crit damage) and Hunger (Increases Life Force supply)
Target Audience: Necromancers that want to make the most of their spooky Death Shroud form
Weapon Preferences: None, you're supposed to be in spectral form
Other: Each Soul Reaper trait is directly related to the Fear-causing, life-blasting Death Shroud
Spite
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Expertise (Increases condition durations)
Target Audience: Necros that become more vicious the closer to death they become
Weapon Preferences: Axe skills deal more damage, Focus skills have added range
Other: The Spiteful lash out terribly when dying/downed, and also have a
couple fearsome Death Shroud traits, and a bonus to healing
RANGER
Beastmastery
Attribute Increases: Compassion (Improves your healing) and Empathy (Improves pet attributes)
Target Audience: Players that want powerful pets to do their dirty work
Weapon Preferences: None, but there are traits for the warhorn offhand
Other: Has traits meant for Spider, Canine and the lizard-y Drake pets; Beastmaster pets are fiercely protective and react to dangerous situations by fighting like a desperate cornered animal
Marksmanship
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Expertise (Improves duration of conditions)
Target Audience: Sharpshooting long-ranged Archers
Weapon Preferences: Increases range and damage of Longbows, adds piercing to arrows
Other: Has traits that benefit Feline, Shark and the scorpion-y Devourer pets; Marksmen can open a fight with hard-hitting, wounding first-strike attacks
Nature Magic
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Unsure, I'd have to guess tanky support types
Weapon Preferences: Unknown.
Other: No info on this, probably has some traits to augment the Ranger's Spirit utility spells
Skirmishing
Attribute Increases: Precision (Improves crit chance) and Prowess (Improves crit damage)
Target Audience: Angry people that like to crit, bleed, chop, plink and trap their foes
Weapon Preferences: Axe crits land harder, Shortbow skills recharge faster
Other: Has traits that benefit Birds of Prey and Jellyfish pets. Yes, jellyfishes. A master trapster, Skirmishers can set larger, more efficient traps with ground-targeting. They can deal more damage while flanking targets and can goad pets to run faster and hit harder
Wilderness Survival
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Armor) and Malice (Improves condition damage)
Target Audience: Slippery, rugged Rangers that can slug it out in toe-to-toe in longer fights
Weapon Preferences: Prefers swords, thrown off-hand weapons like poisonous daggers
Other: Traits favor Bear and Armored Fish pets; Survivalists use potent poisons and know tricks to avoid damage completely, like using their endurance to repeatedly dodge attacks
THIEF
Acrobatics
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Slippery little dodgesters with some survivability?
Weapon Preferences: ???
Other: ??? Acrobats gain added run speed after dodging. That's all I've got
Critical Strikes
Attribute Increases: Precision (Increases crit chance) and Prowess (Increases crit damage)
Target Audience: Spiky Critheads, Pistoleers
Weapon Preferences: Pistols deal more damage and have a chance to bounce shots, Increased crit chance with Dual Wield Combo Skill
Other: Crit-Strikers crit chance is improved in advantageous situations (stealth, flanking, high Initiative) and their crits grant Initiative. Critsters can also gain power and Initiative with their quicker-recharge Signet skills, and ruthlessly attack foes with little health
Deadly Arts
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Expertise (Increases condition durations)
Target Audience: DOT'ers, Debuffers, Poison Enthusiasts, Dagger Lovers, Greedy Thugs
Weapon Preferences: Increased damage with Daggers and Dual Wield Combo Skill
Other: Deadly Artists are masters at applying improved Venoms. These Deadly assassins weaken, rend and exploit debuffed foes. They're also brutal muggers, able to damage and poison when stealing
Shadow Arts
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Increases armor) and Compassion (Increase healing)
Target Audience: Stealthers, Trap-Droppers
Weapon Preferences: Increased damage with Shortbow
Other: Shadow stalkers are masters of stealth; gaining run speed, cleansing, power, health and Initiative (energy) while in stealth. They can also stealth longer and blind foes when stealthing. They're expert trappers able to lay down instant, improved damage quick-traps. And if that wasn't enough, they can share their Venoms with nearby allies
Trickery
Attribute Increases: Malice (Increases condition damage) and Cunning (Improves recharge of Stealing)
Target Audience: Sneaky Kleptomaniac Jerks
Weapon Preferences: Deals more damage with Stolen Weapons
Other: Tricksters are dirty fighters who exploit foes' flanks, spam Trick skills, and drop crippling traps after dodging. Many have nimble sticky fingers; giving Steal a longer range, a Daze, a damage buff and a return of Initiative (energy)
WARRIOR
Arms
Attribute Increases: Precision (Increases crit chance) and Malice (Improves condition damage)
Target Audience: Pure, brute Damage Dealers
Weapon Preferences: Improves crit chance with a Sword, Greatsword crits rend armor, Increased damage and piercing with Rifles
Other: Arms Masters seek to tear apart their foes with an onslaught of crits and bleed DOTs, exploiting wounded and stunned foes and entering a berserker Frenzy at low health
Defense
Attribute Increases: Toughness (Increases armor) and Compassion (Increases healing)
Target Audience: Tanky, I-Wanna-Live-Forever guys
Weapon Preferences: Shields add armor, Maces and Hammers recharge more quickly, Mace crits have chance to Weaken, Hammers have increased crit chance on knocked-down foes
Other: Defenders would want to be on the front lines, building adrenaline, reflecting missiles, surviving attacks when at low-health and gaining armor when someone tries to slow them down
Discipline
Attribute Increases: Prowess (Increases crit damage) and Brawn (Improves Burst skill damage)
Target Audience: Your more methodical axe-wielding barbarians
Weapon Preferences: Axe crits add adrenaline, Melee Weapons boost run speed
Other: Disciplined Warriors are versatile, encouraged to swap weapons and use Signet skills frequently. They are the thinking man's Warrior, they may slip out of roots, deftly manage Adrenaline and execute Burst skills
Strength
Attribute Increases: Attack Power and Expertise (Increases condition durations)
Target Audience: Burly Damage Dealers that want a variety of attacks
Weapon Preferences: Increased damage with Greatswords, Axes and Axe/Mace/Sword Off-hand Weapons
Other: Strongmen are experts with several weapons and utilize improved banners and physical utility skills like Stomp and Kick. They can restore their endurance to fight evasively and still strike back at foes. The can drop down on enemies for a damaging knockback area-attack
Tactics
Attribute Increases: Vitality (Increases health) and Concentration (Boons you cast last longer)
Target Audience: Friendly Support/Healer/Buffers, Warriors with some range
Weapon Preferences: Warhorns recharge faster, Longbows have more range and hit burning foes harder
Other: Tacticians shine when fighting alongside allies; strengthening those nearby, healing with faster-recharge Shouts, buffing with wide-range Banners and quickly reviving the fallen. These field commanders can strike from backlines with Boon-fueled Longbow attacks
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