Spell/skill speed.

[Kotemon]

What I mean is: It may be impossible for them to add a 'Speed' stat due to the inability for a single stat to govern both spells and weaponskill in this capacity.

What he said ^

Right now Skill speed affects a weapon skills cast/recast timers and physical dot potency. Magic skill affects only Spell cast/recast timers and magical Dot/Healing (regen/bubble) potency. While merging the two makes sense for simplifying things. That could only work if both physical and magical timers and DOT's were exactly the same. After all changing one effect's timer or potency could do something unintended for other things if they were all lumped together.

[Shurrikhan]

What he said ^

Right now Skill speed affects a weapon skills cast/recast timers and physical dot potency. Magic skill affects only Spell cast/recast timers and magical Dot/Healing (regen/bubble) potency. While merging the two makes sense for simplifying things. That could only work if both physical and magical timers and DOT's were exactly the same. After all changing one effect's timer or potency could do something unintended for other things if they were all lumped together.

Physical and magical DoTs use the same server tick. Their is no intrinsic typal difference between magical and physical debuff arming times.

They need only form a new variable that is merely seen on gear. We could technically have a piece of aetherial gear right now that has skill speed, spell speed, and parry, if not for typal restrictions. Just consider 'Speed' as shorthand for both skill speed and spell speed, and start making it a double-stat on gear. Done.

We also clearly already have the coding for Attack Speed. They need only decide what percentage or value of base GCD to reduce the GCD by per point of Speed, and apply level scaling. The only change then would be that skill speed would now actually improve AA. As an upside, we can also take out the part where Attack Speed checks Skill Speed and Spell Speed seperately for the final calculated weaponskill- and casting-GCDs. It could be left harmlessly within, but would be redundant.