Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Combat Basics
Conditions Guide
Boons Guide
Guide to Conditions vs. Boons
Attributes Guide
Intro Guide to Builds
Combo Fields and Finishers
Intro Guide to Dodging and Vigor
Downed State and Finishing
Guide to Underwater Combat and Drowning
General Gameplay
Guide to Earning XP
Skill Points Guide
Intro Guide to Karma and the Renown System
Inventory Management Tips
Trading Post Basics
GW2 Currency Guide
Guide to Traveling in Tyria
Cities, Explorable Zones, and Dungeons by Level
Bundle System Guide
Norn Keg Brawl Guide
Conditions Guide
Overview
There are a total of 11 Conditions in Guild Wars 2, each causing a negative effect against
foes through the use of your skills or traits. Each Condition has a specific effect and duration.
When Conditions are reapplied to a foe that already has it, they either stack in intensity
(increasing their effect) or duration, while some have no change. Conditions in Guild Wars 2
wont provide you with huge instant damage numbers but instead offer a flexible, attrition based
play style that can cause serious misery to your opponents over a period of time.
Condition damage is directly affected by your Condition Damage attribute and gains no
numerical benefit from Power or Precision. In basic terms, the more Condition Damage you
have the more damage all your Conditions will deal. Behind each Condition there is a math
formulae that allows you to calculate how much damage each Condition will deal, when you
have X amount of Condition Damage. However, I suspect for many this is a daunting prospect
and so the easiest thing I would suggest is you aim for a total of 1200 to 1300 Condition Damage
if you are undertaking a Condition focused build. These values will guarantee you are dealing the
height of what is possible, without overstretching yourself (and thus compromising other
attributes). You can have less or more than this dependent on your build or play style but I found
venturing over 1200 results in only minor differences in damage, for a lot more effort (At 1400
Condition Damage bleeding dealing 113 damage instead of 110 at 1300 Condition Damage).
Unlike direct damage skills, Conditions bypass an opponents armor value meaning you attack
just their health pool rather than having a portion of it mitigated. You should also be aware that
Conditions can be removed which can significantly reduce your damage output if they are
stripped from the person you are fighting, so be wary of your opponent!
Fear - Causes the target to run directly away from the caster.
Fear is a mechanic originally unique to the Necromancer but can also be used by Warriors and
Mesmers. In the Mesmers circumstance, the Fear effect is as a result of Chaos Storm that causes
random Conditions and so lacks the certainty of the skills available to the Necromancer or
Warrior. When youre affected by Fear your character will run away for around 1 second.
During this time you cannot move or use any skills and as a result, you are incredibly vulnerable.
As a Mesmers Chaos Storm is obvious (a giant purple electric cloud on the floor) primarily you
only have to worry about the Necromancer and Warrior. A Warriors Fear Me! has a very limited
range while the Necromancer can only cause Fear when using a Staff (Reapers Mark) that can
clearly be seen on the floor, or when they are in Death Shroud. If theyre in Death Shroud it is
often better to just avoid them until it wears off.
10
Conditions Summary
Conditions bypass armor and affect a foes health directly for maximum
damage.
Dealing high damage with conditions is reliant on you having a large
amount of Condition Damage.
Relying on Condition Damage can leave you vulnerable, as it can be easily
removed by other professions.
Conditions you receive or inflict on other professions can be turned into
Boons.
Conditions that stack in duration only, such as Burning, mean that two
players cannot stack Burning on the same target twice but you can prolong
the damage.
Conditions are an excellent form of control through their debilitating effects
and ability to apply huge pressure to foes.
Secure your copy today
BOONS GUIDE
Overview
There are a total of 8 Boons in Guild Wars 2, each causing a positive effect on the
recipient. Boons tend to be considered the polar opposite of Conditions with each Boon causing
an effect for a limited duration. Boons stack in Duration but with the exception of Might, their
effectiveness does not stack. You could not for example have two stacks of Protection (which
would give 66% damage reduction) instead, you are limited to just one Protection Boon (33%
damage reduction). Boons are designed to support any number of play styles as well as offer
significant improvements to your character even if it is only for a short period.
Almost all professions have access to several boons though some, like the Guardian,
excel at creating or distributing them. Boons only tend to last several seconds due to their
potency but this is often enough to provide you or allies with a significant buff.
Unlike Conditions, many Boons (with the exception of Regeneration and Retaliation)
function at their maximum potential without the necessity to invest in any attributes. However,
Boons can still be stripped by other players, meaning Boon heavy builds (where a player relies
on their continued benefits) can be left vulnerable should they come across an individual intent
on removing them.
12
13
14
15
Boons Summary
Boons are valuable buffs that provide great benefits to you and your team
mates.
Guardians excel at creating Boons, but most professions have some access to
them.
Swiftness and Vigor combined will allow you to avoid damage for
significant periods through your running speed and ability to dodge
repeatedly.
Traits that cause Protection when you are Immobilized, Stunned or Dazed
are invaluable in a PvP environment.
A 33% damage reduction will regularly save your life.
Boons you receive or pass on to others can be turned into Conditions by
some professions.
Relying on Might stacking to achieve high damage is very risky as the single
stack can be removed instantly by other professions.
The only Boon to rely on attributes is Regeneration, the rest all function at
their maximum capability without any investment by you.
16
17
Conditions Removal
The most common form of condition removal is from profession specific skills, which come in
three forms: individual, area or passive.
Individual
These are the most common of the three profession specific skill types and
are often skills that can be used while moving and tend to remove some or all
conditions currently affecting you, regardless of the amount of conditions you
are suffering from. Dependant on your preferences, choosing an individual
condition removal skill will save you considerable health loss against foes
that are intent on stacking as many conditions on you as quickly as possible,
because you can simply wipe them out (meaning they then have to reapply all of them).
However, individual condition removal skills tend to have long cooldowns that will leave you
vulnerable after their use, while some condition removal skills only remove certain types.
For example, a Thieves Hide in Shadows will only remove Burning, Poison and Bleeding
(leaving you exposed to many others) where as a Mesmers Null Field will remove all conditions
you are suffering from. If you want to cover all bases in the Thieves example, you would need
to pair this with traits or further condition removal skills to ensure all of them can be removed.
Passive
Not all professions have access to passive condition removal as the skills tend
to be unique to Signets, meaning if you choose a profession that doesnt have
them youll have to make use of individual or area condition removal instead.
I think passive condition removal skills are great as they can be relied on to
always remove conditions from you, regardless of cooldowns. However, they
only tend to remove conditions every 10 seconds meaning if you do come
across a condition focused player, youre likely to be overwhelmed in a very short space of time
as your Signet struggles to keep up. Paired with traits however (such as those that remove
conditions when you heal or when you use a skill) can be very effective at keeping conditions on
you low. I have found that using a passive condition removal skill will see you never condition
free in combat but it can keep conditions low enough to not have to worry about them.
18
Area
Certain skills will only remove conditions in an area, at the point where you
used the skill or manually placed it. These skills are great for encounters
where you know you need to move very little or if you are fighting on a
single location (such as a Capture Point). Still using the Mesmers example
above, their Null Field is an area of effect condition removal skill and with its
wide radius will guarantee (if you stay within its boundary) you are
unaffected by conditions for its duration. What is also great about such skills is that they extend
to other members of your party, meaning they too can receive its benefits if they dip in and out of
the area.
Area condition removal skills can be invaluable in PvP encounters where fighting takes place in
close quarters as it will nullify any conditions you receive, while supporting your team at the
same time (especially team mates who dont take a condition removal skill!). Ive often found
these incredibly useful in Capture Point scenarios, defensively or offensively, as approaching the
Capture Point you can simply lay down the area condition removal skill and guarantee a large
proportion of any incoming damage is mitigated. It should be noted however that area condition
removal skills are often poor when moving from point to point as they rely on you staying within
their boundary to receive their effect. A clever player tends to wait for the skill to end before
attacking you if you use it too early, which will then leave you incredibly vulnerable.
Traits
The only profession that doesnt have access to a trait that removes conditions is the Warrior
(that may change) and most other professions can only remove one condition in a specific
circumstance, when they actively trait for it. Some traits will only remove one condition per
trigger and some up to three with these traits designed more as a support tool to existing
condition removal skills.
For example, the guardian trait Inscribed Removal will remove one condition from you when
you activate a Signet. As the guardian only has one Signet (which also removes conditions
passively every 10 seconds) you can realistically remove two at once by activating the Signet. If
you paired this Purity of Resolve, a trait that removes three conditions when you use Virtue of
Resolve, you could within a very short space of time remove 5 conditions instantly (and still
maintain the passive condition removal from the Signet).
Pairing condition removal traits with skills in this manner is incredibly powerful and can make
many professions and players who rely on condition damage incredibly weak, as they never have
the opportunity to stack conditions on you to their full effect.
Boons Removal
As mentioned above, very few professions have the skills or traits to actively remove opposing
players boons. As a Mesmer or Necromancer you should be rubbing your hands together at the
opportunities afforded to you in this department as you are the only two professions that do this
job splendidly. The Mesmer has 4 skills that remove boons and the Necromancer has 3.
20
Transfer/Transform
Arcane Thievery and Corrupt Boon are formidable skills that will either
transfer or transform any boons on a player into random conditions and
although they both share long cooldowns, they are incredibly powerful
against professions that choose to pursue boon orientated gameplay. There is
nothing more satisfying than removing boons from a player you know is
relying on them as part of their setup.
Archane Thievery differs from Corrupt Boon in the sense that it sends conditions on you to your
foe and you steal their boons, while Corrupt Boon directly transforms boons on a foe into
conditions. The Mesmers Archane Thivery is obviously a lot more defensive than Corrupt Boon
based on the fact you receive boons in the place of any conditions you passed on, but Corrupt
Boon also has a significantly lower cooldown so can be used at least three times before Archane
Thievery is ready again.
Forced/Direct
Mind Stab, the last attack in the swords auto attack sequence, removes one
boon from your foe. As the only auto attack in the game that does this, there
is little wonder that 90% of all mesmers use a sword, as it allows for you to
really cut through defensive boon heavy professions incredibly quickly.
Paired with any other of the Mesmers boon removal skills, it leaves very little
opportunity for your foes to actually maintain their boons for any length of
time.
Null Field, as mentioned above, is an area of effect condition removal skill, however it also
removes boons to anyone within its field. As a Glamour skill there are also various traits that
allow you prolong its duration and reduce its cooldown. Considering it only has a 45 second
cooldown to start with, it really is an excellent skill to have in the Mesmers arsenal. Paired with
Magic Bullet or Signet of Domination, you can quickly lock a player down inside the area for a
long period of time to strip their boons completely.
21
Phantasmal Disenchanter summons an illusion to remove boons from foes and conditions from
allies. As the Phantasmal Disenchanter only uses a skill once every 8 seconds, Ive often found
it much more practical to equip Null Field or Arcane Thievery instead as these arent
susceptible to damage from opposing players while Phantasms can be overridden should you
summon any other illusions.
In the Necromancers circumstance, it has two skills available to directly remove boons from
opposing players.
Spinal Shivers is an excellent skill based on the fact that not only does it cause
chill but removes 3 boons in the process and with a relatively low cooldown at
25 seconds there arent many professions able to reapply boons quickly
enough for you can use it again.
Well of Corruption acts similarly to Null Field, where the player can place the Well down and
anyone within its area will see their boons removed every 2 seconds. With an 8 second duration
the skill is exceptional in a Capture Point scenario especially if you know that a Guardian is
actively defending the point as placing it in the centre of the Capture Point will force them off it
(if they know whats good for them). The fact it also acts as a Combo Field is an added bonus.
Id recommend any Necromancer to take Well of Corruption in structured PvP environment.
Traits
Only the Thief, Mesmer, Necromancer and Guardian are capable of removing boons through
traits and each only have access to one capable of doing it. I personally dont use the boon
removal trait on the Mesmer as I dont specialize far enough into the Domination trait line to
actually use it (I prefer Crippling Dissipation) although Shattered Concentration can be
incredibly powerful for those who dont use the sword. Where the Necromancer is concerned,
their trait offers a 10% chance to removes boons every time your minions attack which is
formidable if you take every minion available. But, with plenty of options already there to the
Necromancer for boon removal, it might be worth taking other traits instead but it does afford
you some flexibility.
The Thief if specializing in the Trickery trait line can remove two boons by stealing from their
target which can be useful if you open combat with a steal or save your steal for mid way
through a fight. Lastly, the Guardian when using Searing Flames has a 25% chance to remove
boons every time they burn an enemy. From virtues alone the Guardian has a high chance of
causing burning but even more so when using Torch off hand and skills such as Judges
Intervention or Purging Flames.
22
23
Attributes Guide
Attributes in Guild Wars 2 are the fundamental characteristics which improve your effectiveness
in combat.
Each profession can access ten attributes, with nine of those shared between all
professions and the tenth unique to each profession. Attributes are subdivided into three types:
Primary, Secondary and Profession. As you level up, your primary attributes will increase
automatically. The total value of your primary attributes when you reach level 80 will be 916.
Attributes can also be increased through items or traits as you progress through the game. In
general terms, the higher your attributes the stronger you will be.
Primary Attributes
The four primary attributes are split into two offensive and two defensive types. As mentioned
above, these will naturally increase as your level progresses.
24
25
Secondary Attributes
The five Secondary Attributes common to all professions, like the primary, are split offensively
and defensively (three and two, respectively). Secondary Attributes, unlike primary, do not
automatically increase as you level and can only be increased through specializing in trait lines
or from items and equipment. To make things a little more complicated, Secondary Attributes
also have names they are familiarly known as.
26
27
28
Profession Attributes
Unique to each profession are eight attributes. Like secondary attributes, profession attributes do
not automatically improve as your character levels and require investment on your part, into a
specific trait line. Each unique profession attribute improves a key element of the profession. It
should be noted that you do not have to specialize in profession attributes if you do not wish and
wont be at any disadvantage over another who does. Profession attributes are there to support a
specific style of play and if that style of play doesnt suit you, you shouldnt feel any pressure to
invest in them. Below is a list of the profession attributes which well be covering in a little
more depth in a future guide.
Profession
Attribute
Description
Willpower
Brawn
Ingenuity
Empathy
Cunning
Intelligence
Guile
Hunger
29
Level Unlocks
1
Weapon Swapping
10
11
20
30
40
60
Please note that in The Heart of the Mists, GW2s massive structured PvP lobby, each of these
components will automatically be unlocked and your character will be scaled directly to level 80.
For more on this aspect of structured PvP (sPvP for short), be on the lookout for our complete
guides to sPvP in GW2.
30
Weapon Skills
The first, and most important part of your build that youll have access to are your weapon skills.
When you create a new character, you will have a main hand weapon equipped, with the first
skill automatically unlocked. As you actively engage in combat and defeat enemies, you will
progressively unlock the remaining skills for that weapon.
Upon completion of the intro for each race, you will be rewarded
with a choice of off-hand weapons. The off-hand weapon skills
occupy the 4th and 5th skill slot on your hotbar, and need to be
unlocked through active use the same as your main hand
weapon skills.
Its important to note that weapon skill unlocks are progressive.
This means that you wont be able to unlock your off-hand skills
(slots 4-5) if you havent yet unlocked the second and third skills
on your equipped main hand weapon (slots 2-3).
You will need to complete this unlock process for each weapon your profession is able to equip.
To see a full list of available weapons for your profession and a list of the associated skills, open
the Hero window [H] and on the left side open the Skills and Traits tab (shown above to the
right).
31
A full list of which weapons are available to each profession can be seen
below:
Weapon
Axe
Dagger
Mace
Shield
Torch
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Hammer
X
X
Longbow
Rifle
Shortbow
X
Harpoon
32
Spear
Greatsword
Trident
Warhorn
Staff
Sword
Focus
Pistol
Scepter
Profession Mechanics
The second part of your build that will automatically be unlocked (either partially or in full
depending on your profession) when you begin the game is a unique mechanic specific to your
profession. In some cases these profession mechanics will also need to be progressively unlocked
through active use, similar to your weapon skills.
For example, new necromancers will be able to activate the Death Shroud mechanic [F1] once
youve built up enough Life Force. This gives you temporary access to 4 unique skills, though
only the first of these (Life Blast) will be unlocked initially. As you continue using Death Shroud
actively in combat and defeating enemies, you will progressively unlock the 3 remaining skills.
Certain professions will unlock additional aspects of their unique mechanic through leveling.
Examples here include the Warrior which unlocks the ability to build up to three stages of
Adrenaline power as they level (shown above), or the Elementalist which unlocks additional
Attunements after the first few levels of gameplay.
33
Healing Skills
The third and final aspect of your overall build that will be automatically unlocked on newly
created characters is your Healing Skill slot. This skill will appear on your hotbar in the 6th skill
slot, located directly to the right of your heath meter as shown below.
Additional healing skills can be unlocked as you advance your character by purchasing them
with Skill Points. Skill points are earned 1 per level upon reaching level 5, and can also be
earned by completing various challenges found throughout the world in both PvE and WvW
gameplay.
All professions have access to 3 unique healing skills, with an additional healing skill available
based on the race of your character (Human and Sylvari only). Once an additional healing skill
has been purchased, you can slot it on your hotbar by clicking on the small arrow for that skill
slot. A full list of skills available for that slot will appear, with locked skills being grayed out on
the list.
As there are no dedicated healing professions in Guild Wars 2, your healing skill will be a
critical aspect of your build, regardless of which game type you choose to participate in. Please
note that racial skills (including healing skills) cannot be used in sPvP. This helps preserve the
balance between all characters in competitive PvP, while still offering you some unique
gameplay options based on your characters race in PvE and WvW combat.
34
Utility Skills
At level 5 you will unlock your first Utility Skill slot. Similar to healing skills, utility skills need
to be unlocked for use by purchasing them with any skill points youve accumulated through
leveling or skill challenges.
The available utility skills for your profession can be seen by opening the Hero window [H] and
clicking on the Skills and Traits tab. In this view, left-click on Slot Skills to bring up the
complete utility skills list for your profession.
As you can see above, utility skills are broken down into three basic tiers. You must unlock 5
skills in each tier to progress to the next, and the skills in each tier will cost more skill points to
unlock.
35
Weapon Swapping
With the exception of the Elementalist and Engineer, beginning at level 7 you will unlock the
ability to swap between two unique weapon sets during combat. To equip a second weapon set,
open your Hero window [H] and you will see a list of all items in your inventory that you are
able to equip to the left of your character portrait.
From here you can drag & drop weapons into your second weapon set slots. Once youve got a
second weapon set slotted, you can quickly change weapons by simply right-clicking on any
weapon from your inventory and select to equip it in your main or off-hand depending on the
weapon. Please note that this will replace the weapons in your Active set only.
To swap weapon sets either in or out of combat, press the [`] key, located directly to the left of
the number 1 key on your keyboard. Outside of combat you can swap active weapon sets at-will,
but during combat there will be a short recharge time each time you swap active sets.
36
Traits
At level 11, you will gain access to Traits. Traits allow you to enhance the primary and
secondary Attributes for your profession, customize how certain skills function in combat, and
improve your overall effectiveness in combat.
Beginning at level 11, you will gain 1 Trait Point per level, for a total of 70 points at level 80.
Each profession has access to 5 unique Trait Lines, with each line consisting of 3 10-point tiers.
The levels at which these tiers unlock is as follows:
Adept Level 11
Master Level 40
Grandmaster Level 60
To unlock each of these tiers, you will need to visit the Trainer NPC for your profession. These
will be located in all major cities, or just outside of them in the starting explorable zones. To find
the trainer for your profession, you can open your map [M], or they will also display a book icon
for your profession over their nameplate.
The cost of each training manual can be seen in the image below:
37
Elite Skills
The final major component of standard builds in Guild Wars 2 is your Elite Skill slot (skill
number 10 on your hotbar). Elite skills become available to purchase and use starting at level 30,
and are more powerful than your other utility skills. As such, both the skill point cost and
recharge times for elite skills are also much higher than other skill unlocks.
The available elite skills for your profession can be found in the same tab of your Hero window
as your healing and utility skills. There are also two tiers of elite skills; first tier skills cost 10
points to unlock, while second tier skills cost 30 points.
38
Fields come in two forms, circular or wall based. If a player remains within a circular field any
finishers they activate will trigger an effect, where wall based fields are concerned, only leaps or
projectile finishers will combo but they have to pass through the field. In the current build
however, it is possible to activate some finishers with wall based fields, though I'm unsure if this
is intentional.
39
If as a Mesmer you cast Chaos Storm (Field) and use Phase Retreat (Leap Finisher) you
will trigger the combo field Chaos Armor on yourself.
If as a Mesmer you cast Chaos Storm (Field) and use Illusionary Duelist (Projectile
Finisher) you will trigger the combo field Confusion, per bullet that passes through the
Chaos Storm and onto your target.
These two examples are specific to the Mesmer skills, but it is the use of cross-profession
combo fields where things get really interesting, as not all professions have access to all combo
finishers. A Mesmer has Leap, Projectile and Whirl but doesnt have access to Blast.
Pairing with a Warrior, for this example, a Mesmer could cast Chaos Storm (Field) and the
Warrior could use Stomp (Blast Finisher) which would result in Chaos Armor being applied
in the area to all team mates.
Although some combo finishers only have a certain percentage chance of triggering, often 20%
on projectiles (likely as a result of the rate of fire) some are certain, such as the Leap and Blast
example I provided above.
The potency of such cross-profession combo finishers is undeniable and offers a whole host of
new approaches to the way in which certain professions and profession combinations can
interact with one another.
A specific example of where this worked wonderfully for me was during a structured PvP
tournament match in the last Beta weekend. With a thief on our team, he would use Black
Powder (Field) at the beginning of the match, and then use Cluster Bomb (Blast Finisher) to
area stealth our entire party. This then allowed us to leap from the spawn point and run across
the centre of Niflhel unseen, before working our way to Svanir or the Chieftain (dependent on
which side we were).
Another favorite combination of mine as a Mesmer was the use of Time Warp when paired with a
Thief. Coupled with a Chaos Storm, a Thiefs Unload would not only fire ridiculously quickly,
but the bullets when traveling through the Chaos Storm resulted in stack after stack of confusion,
dealing massive damage and killing Niflhels NPC in around 3 seconds. This spike made
stealing the NPC easy, but killing it as quickly as we did often freed up precious time to rush to
and hold the Keep.
40
The main hurdle to overcome in using combo fields is remembering which of your skills offer
the finisher, while remembering what finisher type it actually is. Almost all are sensible in design
but it is worth remembering that not every single skill is a combo field. An Engineers Poison
Grenade is, but an Engineers Freeze Grenade isnt, despite them both being area of effect spells
that fall into the standard combo field rules (poison and ice elements).
Im incredibly happy with the system in its current form thanks to the added indictor and I
believe there is a great deal of tactical play yet to be discovered. The two examples I listed above
show the real potential of combo fields. Many effects are obviously reliant on other players being
aware of their surroundings and knowing which skills they can and cant interact with. However,
Im confident effective use of combo fields is critical to gaining an edge over opponents.
With all that in mind, what uses have you found for combo fields; is there anything you would
want to change and do you rate them as highly as I do?
41
42
This can really save your proverbial bacon in many situations as it allows you to avoid larger
direct damage attacks, crowd control effects, or can even help you quickly move out of the radius
of an area-of-effect (AoE) attack. A perfect example of the latter would be the massive damage
dealt by the trebuchets in the Battle of Kyhlo structured PvP (sPvP) map.
Before we get too far into any advanced usage situations or concepts, lets take a closer look at
the nuts and bolts of how the system works.
43
Now that you have your preferred mapping set, I cannot stress enough how important it is to
begin using the ability to dodge early on during combat. This is going to help you achieve two
critical things:
1. Knowing how and when to dodge in combat can mean the difference between staying
alive and taking an untimely dirt nap
2. It will give you a better feel for how long it takes the dodge meter to replenish
Whats this about the dodge meter replenishing you ask? Good question, so lets take a look at
how this aspect of the dodge system works.
The meter will naturally replenish over time, but you can also speed this process up via a handy
Boon called Vigor. Vigor increases endurance regen by 100%, and can stack in duration. This
boon is often overlooked in builds, but can make a sizable difference in your overall
survivability. Simply put, the more often you can dodge, the less often you will be hit by
incoming attacks.
To learn more about Vigor be sure to check out our Complete Boons Guide. You can also view a
complete list of skills and traits for each profession that grant Vigor below:
44
Profession
Skills
Traits
"Save Yourselves!"
Vigorous Precision
Call to Arms
Vigorous Focus
Invigorating Speed
Lightning Reflexes
Primal Reflexes
Vigorous Evasion
N/A
Bountiful Theft
Martial Agility
Phoenix
Heat Wave
Renewing Stamina
Soothing Disruption
Critical Infusion
Vigorous Revelation
N/A
N/A
As you can see above, necromancer is the only profession that does not have any skills or traits
that grant Vigor, at least not directly. They can still randomly gain Vigor through the utility skill
Well of Power which transforms negative conditions into boons every two seconds. Through
Well of Power, Bleeding (a very common condition) will be transformed into Vigor, so necro
builds do still have the ability to grant Vigor, albeit not in a direct fashion.
45
46
Downed Skills
Each profession has access to four downed skills. Three of these are unique, based on the
profession you play with the fourth common to all professions. Unlike your standard profession
based skills, those available in a downed state are not powerful. In fact they are often pitiful.
However, they are intended to buy you precious seconds to finish of your foes (and thus rally) or
survive for long enough to heal yourself up and rally.
Skill 1
For all professions this is your primary attack when downed and allows you to feebly damage
your foe. In many instances, particularly in PvE this can often be enough to see off the last few
drops of health the enemy might have which will cause you to rally.
Skill 2
A skill based specifically on your profession, this can vary drastically. A ranger for example has
Thunderclap which damages and dazes foes around their target (exceptionally useful for stopping
people finishing you off) while a Necromancer can cause fear in their foes, causing them to run
away. Used at the right moment, you can seriously hinder anyone wanting to finish you off.
Skill 3
The third downed skill tends to be offer defensive utility and again varies from profession to
profession. Some are certainly better than others, but most can cause enough damage to finish off
weakened foes. My particular favorite is the thieves, which allows you to drop a smoke bomb
and vanish in stealth. The rangers ability to call your pet to your downed location, to revive
you, is also incredibly useful.
Skill 4
Lastly is the universal skill available to all professions. Called Bandage, this skill calls your
allies to help and restores your health while you channel it. If you manage to complete the
channel, you will rally. You should be aware however that bandage is easily interrupted so can
be made useless if you are still under attack.
47
In PvP (and unlike in PvE) you can actually finish players when they are downed. This will kill
the enemy player and force them to return to a Waypoint, unless another member of their party
resurrects them. You can finish another playing by pressing the F key but I should forewarn, you
can be interrupted when using the finishing move. When you are near a player you can finish,
the message "FINISH THEM!! [F]" will appear on your screen.
48
Summary of Downed
1. You enter a downed state when your health reaches zero.
2. When in a downed state, your standard skills are replaced with 3 profession
specific skills and 1 global skill all professions share.
3. You can rally when downed by killing your foe through using your downed
skills (or if someone else helps) or by using your Skill 4 (bandage).
4. You can finish other players when they are downed by (default) pressing F
next to their downed body.
5. Beware when finishing people as they will be able to fight back and disrupt
your attempts with their own downed skills. Learning each professions
downed skills is incredibly important (the guardians is a nightmare!)
49
50
There are considered to be three layers to underwater environments. At the surface, there are
relatively few enemies so if you do need to get from point A to point B without fear of being
attacked this is where you should stay. Towards the middle of underwater environments youll
find a scattering of enemies, but with a little finesse you can also travel at that level with relative
safety. At the bottom is where most underwater events occur and as a result, these areas tend to
be littered with aggressive enemies that will quickly turn on you.
As several last notes, you're are more likely to obtain rebreathers (as an armor upgrade) in
underwater combat rather than on land. In addition (and this for many professions is a big deal)
many skills from 7 to 9 on your combat bar actually have variances underwater or won't work at
all. The Engineer in particular struggles in this area as many of their skills simply don't work,
such as turrets or the flamethrower. We will however be covering this aspect in a lot more detail
in a separate guide, in a couple of days.
51
Help Im Drowning!
Similarly to on land, your character can be downed when your health reaches zero but this is
replaced with a state called drowning. When drowning, you will have access to four skills that
you can use to rally. The major difference however between downed versus drowning is that
players can recover by swimming to the surface. When your drowning health becomes full, you
with then rally with 25% health. You should be aware however that you can still be finished off
while drowning so quickly making your way to the surface or fighting back with your drowning
skills is your best hope.
52
Guide to Earning XP
Getting your character all the way from level one to eighty requires a lot of time, work, and, of
course, experience. Unlike most MMOs, Guild Wars 2 does not chain you down to just one or
two methods to earn xp for your character. In fact, there are quite a few different ways for you to
harvest those xps laying all around Tyria. Whether you use all of them, or just some of them,
depends upon how you wish to play the game. Let's take a look at the multitude of ways to bring
your character from zero to hero.
Killing Creatures
The most obvious way to earn xp in Guild Wars 2 is to kill every creature you see. You get xp
for every monster you slaughter, and with the game's scaling mechanism, everything you face
will yield some xp. You can maximize your xp harvest from combat by traveling to out of the
way locations in that Guild Wars 2 rewards you bonus xp if you kill a creature that's been alive
for a long time. So it would behoove you to hit those lonely areas of a zone where few players
travel.
52
Renown
The second way to earn xp is to fill up Renown Hearts. These are fixed quest locations in every
zone marked by a big heart on your map. You'll perform a number of different tasks associated
with that area, and once you're finished with those tasks, you'll be rewarded with xp and some
Karma you can spend at vendors.
Dynamic Events
Dynamic events are quests that will pop up as you travel through the various lands of Guild Wars
2. These events will show up on your map and can different forms. One of the most common
events is providing escort to either a trader or for some person looking to get from one place to
another. Naturally, there'll be plenty of attackers spawning along the way. Other events include
defending local citizens from attackers or helping to gather items that need to be turned in to an
NPC. The more you participate, the more xp your character will earn.
53
Dungeons
Players can earn xp by going into dungeons, which are instanced areas that are group-based. You
can replay the various dungeons as many times as you wish, but there are two modes to them.
The first time you enter a dungeon will be story mode. This mode has cut scenes and follows a
linear path. Once you've finished story mode for a dungeon, then you can play it in explorable
mode. This second mode tends to follow the events of the story mode and has more options open
to the players as they explore the dungeon.
Personal Storyline
Another obvious way to earn xp is to play your character's personal storyline. As your character
plays through their personal storyline, you'll gain xp for each successful quest.
Skill Challenges
Scattered throughout the lands of Guild Wars 2 are various skill challenges. These can take the
form ranging from simple communion with an object to single combat to fighting through a mob
of creatures to trigger an item. Completing a skill challenge will earn you some xp and, perhaps
more importantly, a skill point to spend on your slot skills.
54
World-versus-World
While normal PvP doesn't result in any xp gain, you can gain xp by partaking in World-versusWorld (WvW) PvP. You'll earn xp by defeating enemy players in combat, taking keeps, and
doing dynamic events.
Exploration
Guild Wars 2 definitely rewards players for exploring. You'll gain xp for discovering new
waypoints and points of interest. You'll see points of interest on you map represented by small
squares. The more areas you explore, the more likely you'll also come across or trigger an event.
Daily Achievements
There are a number of daily achievements that a player can do to rack up some xp. These include
doing a number of events, gathering a certain amount of resources, killing a specific number of
creatures, and killing a number of creature species. These achievements reset each day so you
can gain this xp every day.
55
Reviving
You can earn a small amount of xp by reviving NPCs or other players. This is a nice touch as
that it adds a little bit of incentive for players to heal each other as opposed to just running past
their broken bodies.
Gathering/Crafting
Our final method of earning xp in Guild Wars 2 is through gathering and crafting. What is nice
about the system in the game is that gathering resources isn't tied to any particular crafting
ability. All you need is a gathering tool (pick, axe, or sickle) to harvest resources. Once you have
resources, you can earn more xp by crafting items and discovering new recipes.
While there are lots of different ways to earn xp in Guild Wars 2, the beauty of the system is how
it works together. While doing an event will net you xp, you'll also gain them by defeating
creatures during the event. Escorting a merchant might take you to a new area, which will result
in more xp for discovering a new point of interest. Loot drops may contain resources you'll use
to craft, thus reaping in more xp. PvE not your cup of tea? Then head off to world-versus-world
and start gathering xp there. Guild Wars 2 allows you to earn xp depending upon your own
particular playstyle and the result is a rather elegant system.
56
57
As seen below, in the upper right corner of the map you will be able to see how many skill challenges
exist in the current zone, and also track your World Completion:
Each time you enter a new zone, at the bottom of the loading screen you will also see how many
skill challenges are contained in that zone, as well as your current progress towards completion
of that particular map:
There are a number of different types of skill challenges, some being more difficult to complete
than others. Some of the more basic challenges will require you to interact with a friendly NPC
and defeat them in combat. Others might require you to fight your way deep within a cave or
structure, defeat a more difficult creature type, or even interact (commune) with a specific object.
Many of these skill challenges can be completed while solo, though there will be cases where
completing the challenge might require the efforts of a group. Since the more difficult challenges
tend to be considered mini dynamic events and will also reward you with XP or even other
rewards, you usually shouldnt have a problem finding other players to participate as they can
still benefit even after having obtained that particular skill point.
58
To purchase a new skill, move your mouse over its icon and a blue button giving you the option
to Buy that skill will appear. Clicking on this will bring up a confirmation option to either
complete or cancel the purchase.
59
Healing Skills
All professions will start the game with one healing skill automatically unlocked, with two
additional heals that can be purchased with skill points. The first of these will cost 1 point, with
the second costing 3 points. Depending on your character race, you may have an additional racial
heal skill that will also cost 3 points to unlock.
Unlike utility and elite skills, there are no tiered restrictions on when you can purchase new heal
skills. As long as you have enough points, you can unlock them in any order you choose.
Utility Skills
You unlock your first utility skill slot at level 5, with the second unlock at level 10, and the final
slot unlocked at level 20. The process of purchasing new utility skills is similar to healing skills,
with one major difference.
Utility skills are broken down into three tiers, and you must purchase 5 skills in a tier before you
can progress to the next tier. First tier skills cost only 1 point each, with the second tier costing 3
points each, and the final tier skills will cost 6 points each.
Please note that within a given tier, there are not restrictions on which order skills can be
purchased. This allows for a certain amount of flexibility in terms of which specific skills you
earn as you advance your character, rather than being a more rigid progression like you would
see in most other MMOGs.
Elite Skills
The final skill type you can purchase with skill points are called Elite skills. These are much
more powerful than your normal utility skills, and won't unlock for you to purchase and use until
level 30. Each profession has a total of 3 elite skills, with two in the first tier and 1 in the second
tier. You will also have additional elite skills that you can purchase and use in PvE and WvW
gameplay based on the race of your character.
60
Bloodstone Shards can also be purchased for 200 skill points each, and are used in the creation of
Legendary Weapons. As additional information on these weapons, or other items that can be
purchased for skill points becomes available we'll be sure to update this guide with the full
details. In the meantime, also be on the lookout for our complete guide to the Mystic Forge!
61
Renown
We're all used to the standard MMO fare of grabbing quests from multitudes of NPCs in an area
and then running off to do them. Guild Wars 2 handles this aspect in a different way. Instead of
multiple NPCs that give quests, there are a handful of fixed locations in every zone that are
known as Renown Hearts.
These are marked by heart-shaped icons on your map and will be highlighted by any scouts
(people marked with the telescope icon) you interact with, along with what is need to complete
each Renown Heart and its level. Each Renown Heart is associated with a specific NPC (those
with hearts floating over them), and those NPCs will ask the players to help them. However, a
player does not need to talk to the NPC to get the quest as just moving into the area will have it
automatically show up on your screen.
62
To help a Renown NPC in Guild Wars 2, the player will need to perform a variety of tasks.
Being able to fulfill a quest by different means is a refreshing change from the typical MMO. In
the image below, you can see that I'm involved in helping Farmer Diah. The various ways that I
can help her are shown along with a bar showing how much I've completed for this Renown task.
As you will notice, I can gain progress by watering corn, stomping wurm mounds, feeding cattle,
and defending the fields. Each task you do will increase the total in the progress bar. You can
choose to do the same task over and over again (allowing for respawn) or do a multitude of
different tasks. It does not matter which task you choose and the choice is up to you.
63
Once you've completed the Renown tasks and filled up the bar, you will get rewarded with some
XP and Karma. You will then also receive a letter from the NPC that includes some money as a
reward. Fulfilling a Renown Heart also counts towards the total completion of your map.
Once you have finished the Renown tasks associated with a specific NPC, the heart floating over
them, as well as on your map, will be filled. Once this is accomplished, the NPC becomes a
Karma Merchant, which leads us to...
64
Karma
Karma is a form of currency in Guild Wars 2 that you can spend at Karma Merchants for a
variety of goods. Every Renown NPC becomes a Karma Merchant once you've completed all
their tasks, but there are also other Karma Merchants scattered throughout Tyria. For example,
there are Karma Merchants located in each major city that will sell you a variety of crafting
materials, and even certain crafting trainers, such as the Chef trainer, will sell materials for
Karma. You can gain Karma from completing Renown tasks, dynamic events, and through
personal storylines (both yours and other players if you're grouped with them). Karma Merchants
can sell everything from weapons and armor to potions to food. Usually, the items that a Karma
Merchant carries are of higher quality than items dropped by creatures of a relative level range.
Naturally, the better the item, the higher the cost. Below you can see some items carried by a
Karma Merchant in lower level zone in Guild Wars 2.
As you can see, Renown
and Karma go together,
hand-in-hand. Completing
Renown tasks rewards you
not only with XP and
money, but also with
Karma points and the
ability to spend those
points from the NPC
you've just helped. Overall,
the Renown and Karma
systems in Guild Wars 2 is
a different take on the
quest/reward mechanic.
Instead of running willynilly all over a zone
looking for quests, you
automatically know where
to go, what you need to do,
and
what
level
the
challenge is
for the
Renown tasks. Wasting
time is irritating and Guild
Wars 2 really keeps that to a minimum. Now get out there and start making those hearts glow!
65
66
67
Bag Upgrades
When you first exit the intro for your chosen race, one of your rewards will be a shiny new 4 slot
bag. Not bad to start off with, but youll want to upgrade this and any other smaller bags you
obtain through personal story or as drops early on. The concept here is pretty simple; the more
bag space you have, the less frequently youll have to seek out the nearest vendor to clear more
space.
Perhaps the easiest way to increase the size of your bags
is through crafting. Armorsmiths, Tailors, and
Leatherworkers can make new boxes or bags fairly
cheaply, and can be a good choice for one of your 2 trades
depending on which profession youre playing since it
will allow you to craft armor upgrades as you level.
With little cost and effort youll be able to upgrade to 8
slot bags, and will probably even be able to craft the 10
slot bags within the first few days of playing depending
on how quickly you choose to advance your crafting skill
level.
Its worth mentioning that bags do require a Rune of Holding (shown above) to craft. This is
smart for a few reasons, perhaps the biggest one being that it puts a base value on bags and helps
keep the Trading Post pricing of bags somewhat in check. For example, it costs 2 gold for a
Greater Rune of holding, so crafted 18 slot bags will most likely always sell to other players for
at least that much.
68
Storage Vault
One of the very first waypoints youll want to unlock in the major cities will be the ones located
next to the bank. This will allow you to quickly travel there to drop off crafting materials, item
upgrades for your alts, or other collectables you want to store.
Storage space is exceedingly limited though, but it can still serve as a handy overflow for your
bags if youre a giant pack rat like me and hate to get rid of anything that might be useful at
some point over the next 20 years. Thankfully there is a very simple way to increase your
available storage all it takes is a little dedication and time.
Under the Architecture category of the guild management Upgrades tab youll find a number of
guild storage upgrades that can be researched. Regardless of what size your guild is, this should
be the first group of unlocks you spend your Influence on. Larger guilds will like have them
unlocked in a solid week of playing, but even smaller guilds should be able to unlock at least the
initial Guild Stash fairly quickly.
While some guilds might scoff at the idea of letting their members join multiple guilds, allowing
members to occasionally accrue some Influence towards a personal guild isnt a bad idea as far
as inventory management is concerned. Guild leaders who would deny their members such an
obvious benefit via the multi-guilding system could really stand to learn a thing or two about
keeping their guild members happy in my humble opinion.
69
70
As you can see, there is a pretty major difference in the amount of bag space weapons will take
up depending on your profession. I keep hoping ArenaNet will create a dedicated weapon
inventory container to account for the massive disparity here, but so far no dice. At present, a
warrior is far worse off than an Elementalist in terms of inventory space, and that honestly makes
no sense on any level.
So until the above is address in some way, it is worth keeping in mind when first starting out.
Think of it this way: your warrior will start with a 20 slot backpack + 4 additional slots from
your intro reward. Of those 24 slots, youll be left with a scant 13 open slots if you want to have
1 of each weapon available to unlock skills or try out different builds. Thankfully there is a bit of
relief at level 7 when your second weapon set unlocks, but it still makes little sense that weapon
storage should be a major concern for some professions, and not at all for others.
71
72
Based on my Beta experience there was never a shortage of players willing to buy even the
cheapest of objects so rather than making your way to vendor with your items, take a look at the
auction house first as youd be surprised how quickly your money can stack up even when
selling for a few copper at a time.
Under the Buy tab youre able to search for any specific items you need but you are also able
to rick click on the item in your inventory (similar to Sell at Trading Post) and select Buy at
Trading Post. Selecting multiple items from listings available will also provide a total price for
the purchase or sale of the items with you then able to complete the action based on an offer you
make or a sellers willingness to part with their goods for the price specified.
73
Last but not least is Gem Trading. Through the Currency Exchange window you can trade gold
for gems or gems for gold based on the current market price. The Currency Exchange window
will also display recent gem sale prices, the average price as well as the highest and lowest over
a period of time. For anyone wishing to convert their gold or gems, its well worth keeping track
of the market data rather than exchanging them instantly as you might get a little more bang for
your buck if you play it right.
74
75
76
Earned by...
Purchased with...
Defeating creatures
Training Manuals
Waypoint Travel
Crating Materials
Item repairs
Karma
Karma is another form of currency that you will be able to earn and spend similar to gold, with a
few key differences. While you can obtain Karma through many of the same activities, you will
not earn Karma directly by defeating normal creatures. Likewise, you cannot purchase items on
the Trading Post for Karma.
The primary method of earning karma will be completing dynamic events or Renown objectives,
though karma can also be earned by map completion, or completing all tiers of daily and
monthly achievements. Upon completing all objectives for a Renown NPC, they will become a
merchant who will sell you a variety of unique items for karma.
You can view your available karma at any time by opening your Inventory [I] where it will be
displayed on the bottom left corner. Examples of how karma can be earned and item types it will
allow you to purchase can be seen below. Please note that some items may have both karma
and coin cost to purchase.
Earned by...
Purchased With...
Crating Materials
Gathering Tools
Salvage Kits
Map completion
Transmutation Stones
77
Badges of Honor
Badges of Honor are a currency that is unique to World vs. World gameplay. Unlike coins or
karma, these badges will be looted as physical objects, and will take up a free slot in your
Inventory [I]. So if you plan on spending much time in WvW, you will want to be sure to keep at
least one free inventory slot open for badges, otherwise you will not be able to loot them.
The primary method for obtaining Badges of Honor will be through defeating enemy players,
though they can also be obtained by defeating NPC creatures in WvW. Given the often chaotic
nature of WvW gameplay, any loot you are rewarded will spawn at your characters feet, so you
will not have to worry about running into the thick of combat to open a loot bag.
Badges of Honor can be used as an alternate form of currency to by Siege Weapon blueprints
instead of coin. This allows you to still purchase blueprints but retain enough coin to purchase
other high priority items such as Trait training manuals, or armor repairs.
Glory
Glory is a currency that is unique to structured PvP. You will be able to earn glory through
participation in either hot-join or tournament matches, with the amount earned based partly on
your personal contributions during a given match, and whether your team was the victor.
You can view how much glory you currently have by opening the Hero window [H] and clicking
on the PvP tab. The amount of glory you have will be seen on the left side of the screen in this
view as shown below:
78
At present, the main items you can purchase with glory include a
variety of Reward Chests, and a unique type of Salvage Kit that
is used specifically for breaking unwanted PvP items down into
components that can then be used in the Mystic Forge. Glory
Merchants can be found near the Asura Gates and training NPCs
in the Heart of the Mists, the main PvP lobby. An example of the
items they have for sale and the associated glory costs can be
seen to the right (click to enlarge).
Dungeon Tokens
Tokens are a currency type that is unique to playing through dungeons in GW2. Rather than
having to repeat dungeons in hopes of obtaining specific armor or weapon drops, you will
instead be able to earn tokens that can then be spent on the items of your choosing at special
dungeon vendors.
Each dungeon in GW2 will have an associated type of token, with vendors for all dungeons
centrally located in Lions Arch near the asura gates in Fort Marriner. The items they have for
sale will allow you to complete a set of armor or obtain weapons that have a unique cosmetic
appearance associated with that particular dungeon. In general, players will need to complete a
given dungeon in both Story mode along with multiple runs through in Explorable mode to
complete a full set of armor.
79
Gems
Gems are a special type of currency that can be used to purchase items for sale in the in-game
store. This includes things like non-combat cosmetic items or costumes, consumable boosts,
extra character slots, or account storage upgrades. Gems are also the currency type that is used to
transfer your account to a different home world, with the associated cost dependent upon the
population of the world you wish to transfer to. In general, transferring to a low population world
will cost less gems than if you wish to transfer to a high population world.
Gems can be purchased in one of two ways; real world cash, or in-game gold. You can also
purchase gold in-game with gems, based on the current market value. The current rate can be
seen in the Black Lion Trading Company window [O] by opening the Currency Exchange tab.
Please note that the real cash purchase cost for Gems remains static; only the gold exchange rates
will fluctuate based on market trends as shown below:
Purchasing gems for cash can be done in-game on the main tab of the Trading Company UI
window. Your current gem total will be displayed here in the upper left corner, and to purchase
gems you can click on the Get More Gems+ button located directly beneath your current total
gems. From here you will have a number of different options for the amount of gems you wish to
purchase, and once your purchase has been completed you will be able to immediately begin
spending them in-game.
80
Active waypoint
Locked waypoint
Contested waypoint
81
Waypoint Travel
Traveling in Guild Wars 2 is simple and relies upon two types of transport: waypoints and asura
gates. Waypoints are fixed locations throughout a zone that are unlocked when a player moves
close to it. They are marked on your map with a diamond shape and are filled in when
discovered. Waypoints appear as a floating stone marker that has a glow around it. Whenever
you load into a zone, you can see the number of waypoints you've unlocked at the bottom of your
loading screen. Once you've unlocked a waypoint, you can always travel to it by opening your
map and clicking on the particular waypoint you wish to go to.
There is a monetary cost to travel to a waypoint and the cost increases the further away the
waypoint is from you. You are not locked into any particular zone with waypoints and can travel
to other zones by use of waypoints. Traveling within a city by using waypoints is free. Some
waypoints may become contested if there is fighting going on in the vicinity and you will be
unable to use them. You also cannot travel whilst you are in combat. If you die in combat, you
can be revived at any waypoint by paying the associated travel cost. If you have no money, you'll
be revived for free at the closest waypoint.
82
Asura gates.
83
84
Major Cities
City Name
Race
Black Citadel
Charr
11
17
Divinity's Reach
Human
13
20
Hoelbrak
Norn
14
24
Lion's Arch
Neutral
13
21
Rata Sum
Asura
19
The Grove
Sylvari
19
85
Levels
Caledon Forest
1-15
18
18
20
Metrica Province
1-15
16
16
22
Plains of Ashford
1-15
16
18
26
10
Queensdale
1-15
17
16
21
Wayfarer Foothills
1-15
16
17
18
10
Brisban Wildlands
15-25
16
12
19
Diessa Plateau
Kessex Hills
15-25
15-25
15
14
19
18
21
21
8
5
Snowden Drifts
15-25
13
18
20
Gendarran Fields
25-35
11
22
15
Fields of Ruin
30-40
Lornar's Pass
30-40
Valley Headland
35-45
Blazeridge Steppes
40-50
Dredgehaunt Cliffs
Bloodtide Coast
40-50
40-50
Fireheart Rise
45-55
Timberline Falls
50-60
Sparkfly Fen
55-65
Mount Maelstrom
60-70
Frostgorge Sound
70-80
86
Dungeons by Level
Dungeon Name
Level
Location
Ascalonian Catacombs
30 / 35
Plains of Ashford
Caudecus's Manor
40 / 45
Twilight Arbor
50 / 55
Caledon Forest
Sorrow's Embrace
60 / 65
Dredgehaunt Cliffs
Citadel of Flame
70 / 75
Fireheart Rise
Crucible of Eternity
80
Mount Maelstrom
80
Frostgorge Sound
Arah
80
Ruins of Orr
87
88
Some dynamic events or personal story missions in Guild Wars 2 will require you to use the
bundle system. One example that sticks out in my memory took place during the first beta
weekend. My personal storyline had me trying to infiltrate a circus. One of the tasks given to me
in order to worm my way into the confidence of the circus was to follow the directions of the
mime. I had to replicate his movements in order to further the quest, and, initially, I was
confused. After a minute, I realized that all my weapon skills had been replaced by mime
actions, which I then used to complete the quest. I was bummed afterwards because I no longer
had the mime actions available to me and I desperately wanted to hang about Divinity's Reach
performing as a mime to drive people crazy.
89
90
The amount if bundle items seems to be quite large and there is a variety of uses for them,
ranging from hitting other people or consuming the item in question. Below is a partial list of
bundle items discovered so far.
Garden Hoe
Shovel
Champagne Glass
Branch
Mug of Ale
Empty Bottle
Bottle of Rum
Ice Bow
Tree Branch
Rusty Scrap
Boulder
Wooden Plank
Metal Bar
Broken Plank
Diving Goggles
Water Bucket
Poison Pod
Bomb
Wooden Sword
Egg
Meat on a Stick
Cow Pie
Training Rifle
Shield
Pile of Snowballs
Bag of Feed
The bundle system in Guild Wars 2 is an interesting mechanic that not only allows for more
options for combat and events, but also adds interaction with the environment as well as some
fun. From throwing cow pies to whacking enemies with a plank of wood, the bundle system is
one of those quiet, under-the-radar game mechanics that adds a refreshing air to the game.
91
92
93
Disarm
Dive
Roll
Charge
Stomp
If your team has the keg, you goal is to prevent the other team's players from hitting your keg
carrier and getting the keg. Your main job is to run interference for your keg carrier. If the other
team has the keg, then your obvious goal is to stop them from scoring by getting the keg. You
can make the opposing team drop the keg by hitting the carrier or intercepting the keg if they're
throwing it.
94
When you pick up the keg, then your abilities change and you no longer have the Swiftness
boon. While carrying a keg, you'll have the following abilities:
Lob
Lob the keg. Less accurate, but longer range and hard to
intercept.
Dive Roll
Head
Crack
Pour Ale
95
If you have the keg, your goal is to get to your team's ale collector (you interact with him
normally using the [F] key). You will want to avoid attacks from the opposing team using Dive
Roll. You can also evade attacks by dodging normally as well. You can smack other players with
Head Crack, which will stun them. Pour Ale is exactly what it says: you pour some ale on the
ground causing an ice slick. If the other team runs over it, they'll be knocked down. This is a
great way to give yourself some breathing room, but the cooldown is pretty high. You can also
pass the keg with two different passes. Throw is a shorter pass and is more easily intercepted. To
be honest, I really sucked at passing the keg.
Keg Brawl is a hell of a lot of fun to play. The game is brutal, quick-paced, and provides a nice
alternative to normal gameplay of PvP or PvE. Guild Wars 2 is really giving players a lot to do in
the game and the various mini-games will definitely garner a lot of interest. Keg Brawl promises
to be an extremely popular mini-game full of action and good old-fashioned violence. Head on
over to Hoelbrak and play the most bone-crushing game on a real frozen tundra.
96
Stealing is a fun mechanic for Thieves and introduces a random element into combat. You
should definitely be attempting to steal as often as possible as that the effects from the various
items gained can be quite beneficial, such as causing blindness, bleeding, or going into stealth.
Experiment with this ability and see what you can steal from the various creatures in the game.
Also take heed that quite a number of stolen items have a decent range associated with them, like
rifle shot or throw feathers.
97
The items that you can steal as a Thief vary quite a bit as you can see from the
miscellaneous items shown below.
All in all, the ability to steal is a fun, and useful, ability for a Thief in Guild Wars 2. You
automatically gain something useful to use in combat and it costs nothing in initiative to use.
Plus, you're a Thief so you should be stealing from your enemies whenever you can!
98
Necromancer Guide
The necromancer in Guild Wars 2 draws plenty of thematic inspiration from the traditional caster
archetype of being a practitioner of the dark arts who can control the dead, drain life force from
the living, and use poison and cold based attacks to slow and wear their foes down over time.
While each of these rings true of the necromancer profession, in GW2 they are also built for high
survivability, and are one of the games best examples of what is possible with Conditions as the
cornerstone of damage output rather than larger direct damage attacks.
100
This helps make them a great profession for solo PvE, but the necro also stands out as one of the
best tanks in dungeons, and offer strong defense in structured PvP. On the flipside, in World vs.
World the necro does tend to suffer from a lack of long-range offensive capabilities, and often
functions best in a support role in that game type.
101
Necromancer Weapons
Starting at level 7, the necromancer is able to equip two unique weapon sets. These can be
actively swapped by pressing the [`] key at any time out-of-combat, though there will be a short
cooldown after swapping weapon sets during combat before you will be able to swap back again.
For more information on how this system works, please refer to our Intro Guide to Builds.
The weapons that necromancers can equip along with their associated skills can be seen in-game
by opening the Hero window [H] and selecting the Skills and Traits tab on the left. You can see a
list of available weapons for the necro below, or also by clicking to view a larger version of the
image shown to the right.
Main Hand
Off-Hand
Two-Handed
Aquatic
Axe
Dagger
Staff
Spear
Dagger
Focus
Scepter
Warhorn
Trident
102
Upon entering death shroud, your life force will slowly drain over time, but will also serve as a
temporary secondary health pool. In other words, instead of taking damage to your health while
in death shroud, incoming damage will instead reduce your available life force. Once your life
force has been depleted you will automatically exit death shroud, but can also do so at any time
by pressing the [F1] key again.
This mechanic can be used to greatly enhance your survivability, and there are a number of traits
that provide additional benefits to using death shroud, slow the rate at which life force drains, or
even factor in strong team support components.
For more details on death shroud, life force, and supporting skills and traits be on the lookout for
our Complete Necromancer's Death Shroud Guide.
103
Spite
Curses
Death Magic
Blood Magic
Soul Reaping
104
Visit GuildWars2 Necromancer for the latest up to date builds, skills, traits and news.
105
Mesmer Guide
Overview
The mesmer uses magic that is intended to confuse, disorientate and control the opposing player.
Their unique mechanic is the ability to summon two types of illusions (clones and phantasms)
and shatter them to create unique effects on yourself or your foes.
As a scholar profession,
similarly to an elementalist or necromancer, mesmers wear light armor and because of that
could be considered fragile. However, with their use of illusions to distract enemies and to act as
cannon fodder as well as having several cloak abilities, they can survive for long periods of time.
Contrary to stereotypical views of caster type professions, mesmers can also excel in melee
combat.
106
107
Mesmer Weapons
In the table below are the combinations of weapon sets that the mesmer can use. Contrary to
traditional weapon and skill designs within the genre, the greatsword is actually a projectile
weapon meaning the mesmer only has one melee weapon. Like all professions the mesmer
unlocks their second weapon set at level 7. Once youve equipped a second weapon set you can
press the [`] key at any time when out-of-combat to change weapon sets without cooldown. If
you are in combat there will be a short cooldown after swapping sets. For more information on
how this system works, please refer to our Intro Guide to Builds.
Main Hand
Off-Hand
Two-Handed
Aquatic
Scepter
Focus
Greatsword
Spear
Sword
Pistol
Staff
Trident
Sword
Torch
Greatsword
As briefly mentioned above, the mesmer greatsword is actually a projectile
weapon. You wont be jumping into melee with it and instead will be firing off
a range of spells that cut through the ground or send purple lighting through the
air, from afar. The greatswords autoattack, Spatial Surge, deals more damage to
your foes the further away they are while the Phantasm for the weapon has a
whirling attack which cripples foes. It also has an awesome knockback!
Staff
The Mesmers staff is the only one specifically designed with Condition Damage in mind. With
the ability to grant you Chaos Armor (that causes boons on you and conditions
on foes, when struck) as well as having one of the best area of effect spells in
the game (Chaos Storm) the Staff is a great weapon. Even if you dont
specialize in Condition Damage the ability to use it defensively with skills such
as Phase Retreat combined with Chaos Storm (which can cause fear) makes for
an excellent escape tool.
108
Sword
Available as a mainhand and offhand weapon, the main hand sword is excellent. Providing an
immobilize and a high burst skill in Blurred Frenzy (which also allows you to
avoid damage) it really is formidable. The fact that the main hand sword also
removes boons during auto attacks makes it the weapon of choice for most
Mesmers. In regards to the offhand sword, Illusionary Riposte is relatively
weak but the Phantasmal Swordsman can deal heavy damage. In reality its
much better to take any other offhand weapon and avoid offhand sword all together.
Pistol
As an offhand weapon, the pistol is currently the staple of most mesmer builds.
Based on the fact Illusionary Duelist not only deals excellent damage but is
also a truly ranged Phantasm. The pistol also provides one of the few stuns
available to the profession, making it invaluable at keeping foes glued in place
especially if you are using a sword.
Torch
The torch allows the mesmer to blind nearby foes before cloaking and on
reappearance cause burning. This can be an incredibly useful escape tool if you
dont wish to take a utility skill that cloaks you. Its Phantasm, Phantasmal
Mage, creates an illusion which confuses enemies.
Compared to other
Phantasms (such as Illusionary Duelist) at times its actually quite poor and
relies on you have plenty of Condition Damage for it to be worthwhile.
Scepter
Like the sword, the Scepter is available as a mainhand. The main hand scepter is
thankfully a little better and is intended to be a defensive weapon set. Its main
attack causes confusion and creates a clone on the final skill of its attack chain
while its channel skill, Confusing Images, also causes confusion and deals quite
a large amount of damage.
109
Focus
Arguably the worst off- hand of them all, the offhand Focus allows you to lay
down Temporal Curtain that cripples foes and provides swiftness to allies. Its
Phantasm, Phantasmal Warden, is designed to protect allies by creating a
defensive bubble. In reality, it doesnt work in practice and can easily be
avoided by opposing players. The speed buff provided by Temporal Curtain is
nice however in World versus World.
Mind Wrack
Arguably the mesmers most practical Shatter, Mind Wrack it is all about raw
damage. As [F1] by default, using Mind Wrack will cause all your illusions
and phantasms to run to the target and shatter, dealing a damage spike based
on the number of illusions and phantasms (to a maximum of 3). Using Mind
Wrack to finish a player off or as an early warning shot is its common use
while its damage is determined by your Power.
Cry of Frustration
Using Cry of Frustration causes confusion on your opponent based on the
number of illusions you Shatter. Each Shattered illusion causes 4 seconds of
Confusion with each stack dealing 65 damage per skill use. Generally Cry of
Frustration is considered quite weak but can still be useful if your Mind Wrack
is on cooldown.
110
Diversion
Diversion causes your opponent to be dazed based on the number of illusions
or phantasms you Shatter on your target. A single Shattered illusion will
cause 1 second of daze, with 3 seconds being the maximum (for 3
illusions/phantasms). If you don't use a pistol offhand, Diversion is an
excellent tool at disrupting your foes, especially if paired with Imbued
Diversion to make the daze effect multiple targets.
Distortion
Last but not least is my favorite Shatter: Distortion. Some might argue its
lack of worth, but the fact it provides invulnerability to the mesmer for 3
seconds (if you shatter 3 illusions/phantasms) can be invaluable. The
mesmer has limited tools to mitigate damage so this can work wonderfully
to buy you precious time if your heal isn't quite ready.
Dueling
Chaos
Inspiration
111
Illusions
Visit GuildWars2 Mesmer for the latest up to date builds, skills, traits and news.
112
Ranger Guide
The ranger in Guild Wars 2 excels at both melee and ranged combat, and is the game's only true
pet class. Rangers also make effective use of a suite of Traps that are capable of crippling foes,
or spreading various Conditions to further augment the damage caused by their core weapon
attacks.
113
Eir Stegalkin, shown above, is a norn ranger that characters from that race will interact with throughout
their personal story in Guild Wars 2
114
Bear in mind that these are not hard rules to follow, but rather a more general thing to be
conscious of while getting a feel for which combat style - melee vs. ranged - you prefer the most.
Rangers are also capable of providing plenty of group support through traps and spirits, and
excel in World vs. World, PvE, and structured PvP equally unlike many other professions.
Before moving on to other aspects of the ranger profession, I would also note that they tend to be
one of the less complex professions to play and eventually master. As such, they can be an
excellent choice for both traditional MMO gamers, as well as those a bit newer to MMO combat
mechanics.
The unique profession mechanic for the ranger is its ability to summon a persistent Animal
Companion (also simply called pets) to fight alongside them during combat. During character
creation you will be able to select from a few different pets that you will begin the game with,
with the available options dependent on your character's race. There are no wrong decisions to be
made here, as you will have the opportunity to charm or tame all available pet species through
normal gameplay.
To see a complete list of the ranger pets currently available, be sure to check out The Complete
Ranger Pet Guide Portal. From there you can view a mini-guide for each pet species with full
skill descriptions, locations for where to charm them in-game, and any additional notes for each
specific pet.
We've also put together a listing of the starting pet options for each race below:
Asura
Human
Norn
Sylvari
River Drake
Brown Bear
Fern Hound
Moa
Whiptail
Devourer
Brown Bear
Alpine Wolf
Jungle Stalker
Jungle Stalker
Jungle Stalker
Snow Leopard
River Drake
Red
Charr
River
Drake
115
Red
Moa
Jungle Stalker
The skill bar for your active pet will be displayed directly above your weapon skills (shown
below), with the F1-F3 keys used to command your pet to attack your current target [F1],
activate its unique skill [F2], or toggle between passive and aggressive mode [F3]. Each pet
species has 1 unique skill (activated by pressing the [F2] key) with the remaining three shared
between other pets from the same family. This unique skill should be considered an active part of
your normal skill rotation during combat, and as such you will want to use a pet that
compliments your overall build in some way.
Once you've tamed at least one additional pet, you will be able to switch between them during
combat by clicking on the small arrow icon to the right of the pet skills. You can have a total of 4
pets slotted; 2 for combat on land, and 2 for underwater combat. Your slotted pets can be
changed at any time by opening the Pet Management [K] window.
To tame new pets, you will need to locate a "juvenile" version of that animal type in PvE and
WvW zones. They will be easily distinguished from other creatures both by having "juvenile" in
their name, and their nameplate will also be green.
116
Once you've found a juvenile animal you would like to tame, simply walk up to it and interact
with it by pressing the [F] key. This will bring up a window that tells you a little bit about that
particular pet, and also gives you the option to equip your new pet at that point as shown above.
Once equipped, you can also give your pet a new name by opening the Pet Management [K]
window, and clicking on the small quill icon located at the top of the window.
Main Hand
Off-Hand
Two-Handed
Aquatic
Axe
Axe
Greatsword
Harpoon Gun
Sword
Dagger
Longbow
Spear
Torch
Shortbow
Warhorn
117
Marksmanship
Skirmishing
Wilderness Survival
Nature Magic
Beastmastery
118
Visit GuildWars2 Ranger for the latest up to date builds, skills, traits and news.
119
Engineer Guide
Overview
The engineer uses various tools and elixirs to overcome their enemies.
They can take control of entire areas with their use of turrets while providing direct support
through their use of various kits. Combined with their use of mines, bombs and grenades they
can be formidable in the right hands. As an adventurer profession, similarly to a ranger,
engineers wear medium amour and because of that can withstand reasonable amounts of damage.
Their ability to use a shield however, the only adventurer profession able to, significantly
improves their survivability. Engineers are considered a relatively complex and challenging
profession, yet once mastered, can be incredibly powerful.
120
Turrets are stationary objects that the Engineer can place down with all of them serving different
functions. There are 5 turrets in total, ranging from a Flame Turret (that sets players on fire) a
Net Turret (which immobilizes them) to a Thumper Turret that damages all enemies in an area.
Turrets can also be overcharged which allows for additional effects. For example, if you
overcharge a Net Turret it will fire an electrified net at your foe, or if you overcharge a Flame
Turret it will blind all those nearby in a cloud of smoke. Carefully using your overcharge
abilities, while placing turrets in the right positions, can make all the difference in Capture Point
defence.
If the Engineer has any downsides it is in its limited weapon sets (if you dont like Kits or
Turrets) while Elixirs random effects are not for everyone, especially if you want guarantees
from your skills. Engineers also have a high skill ceiling as they are often managing multiple kits
or tool belt skills.
121
Main Hand
Off-Hand
Two-Handed
Aquatic
Pistol
Pistol
Rifle
Harpoon Gun
Shield
Rifle
Benefiting primarily from pure power, the rifle doesnt by default offer as longer
range as the Warriors and tends to be more akin to a shotgun in play style than
offering sniping opportunities. Many of the rifles skills benefit from you being
up close and personal to your foe with most of the skills such as Blunderbuss,
Overcharged Shot and Jump Shot requiring you to be right next to your foe to
really cause serious damage.
The primary problem with the rifle is because of its short range play style you are forced to fight
close to your foes, which can leave you vulnerable. The weapon set also requires heavy
investment in power and precision attributes to really get the most out of it.
122
Pistol
Available as a main hand and offhand weapon, the pistol is all about condition
damage. The main hand pistol is incredibly popular as with the right setup it
allows you to stack bleeding incredibly quickly from its Explosive Shot, while
it also allows you to poison foes to seriously reduce their healing capabilities.
Its third skill, Static Shot, also allows you to blind and confuse enemies. The
offhand pistol has two skills available: Blowtorch and Glue Shot.
The former applies burning to your foe and deals more damage to them the closer you are, while
Glue Shot immobilizes and cripples foes in the target area. Using both pistols at the same time
will allow you to apply a huge amount of conditions to the enemy while dealing a great deal of
damage because of it. The offhand pistol can take some practice as Glue Shot has to be
manually targeted and is quite a slow projectile while Blowtorch is a cone effect, so you'll need
to be careful with your aiming.
Shield
A favorite weapon amongst many Engineers, the off-hand shield plays for a
more defensive setup, however, because of its skills it can cause some serious
damage back at your foes. Magnetic Shield allows you to create a bubble
around yourself that reflects all incoming projectiles back at the attacker.
You can also release it to knock back foes who are next to you. Its second skill, Static Shield,
comes across all Captain America and allows you to electrify your shield to stun your foe if you
are struck or throw it at your target to daze all foes hit on the way out and back. I absolutely love
the shield based on the fact it really can be used offensively as well as defensively. Theres
nothing more satisfying than reflecting your enemies spells back at them using Static Shield,
before throwing your shield at their face.
123
Bomb Kit
The Bomb Kit will grant you access to various types of stationary bombs that
you can place on the ground. You can place bombs while moving which are
great to use while running away from someone or at the feet of players
standing on a Capture Point to really cause them problems. With the right
setup the Bomb Kit can deal massive damage and with its combination of
knockbacks, immobilize and burning it can be formidable in the right hands.
A common skill combination when using the Bomb Kit is to use Slick Shoes to knock players
down, use Glue Bomb to immobilize them followed by Big Old Bomb (the Bomb Kits tool belt
skill- see below). Do be aware however, that when you plant a bomb, your enemy will see a red
ring on the floor showing its blast radius. Many experienced players can easily see this and will
often leap away to avoid the damage unless immobilized.
Elixir Gun
Arguably the most supportive of all the Engineers kits, the Elixir Gun
provides various skills to debilitate opponents and heal allies. Its primary
attack bleeds and weakens your foes while its secondary skill, Elixir F,
cripples foes and grants swiftness to you and allies. It also has a brilliant leapback for when you are in trouble and can apply poison and vulnerability to a
large group of enemies with Fumigate, while also removing conditions from allies.
Finally, its fifth weapon skill, Super Elixir, fires an orb at the ground that heals all allies on
impact and continues to heal in the area for several seconds afterwards. Personally the Elixir
Gun is one of my favorite weapon sets in the game based on its leap back, its ability to cripple
and its tool belt skill (see below) which also heals you. For anyone that specializes in condition
damage it really is a great second weapon set, alongside dual pistols or pistol and shield.
124
Flamethrower
The more offensive variant of the Elixir Gun, the Flamethrower does exactly
what it says on the tin. It causes burning to your opponents through its weapon
skill 1 but can also be used as a powerful control tool. Using Napalm, which
places a wall of fire on the floor, and Air Blast to knock opponents back, it can
be a real nuisance to fight against Engineers using it skillfully.
The latest addition to the Flamethrower has seen its fifth skill blind nearby foes which can be
incredibly useful if you find someone too close for comfort and have your knock-back on
cooldown. The Flame Thrower, like the Elixir Gun, also benefits from you specializing in
Condition Damage. A great trick is to lay Napalm just in front of you, quickly change back to
Pistol and then fire through the flames at your opponent, causing your bullets to burn them as
they pass through the wall.
Grenade Kit
When traited the Grenade Kit has a huge range and is exceptional when used
in World versus World during keep defense. It can be a little tricky to use,
based on the fact you need to manually target each skill, however, Shrapnel
and Poison Grenades are excellent against large groups of players. Freeze
Grenade and the fact it reduces player speed and cool downs by 66% also make it invaluable.
In encounters where you need to remain mobile however, the weapon set can be difficult based
on the fact you can only throw grenades if you are holding the right mouse button down and
press the skill twice (once to get the reticule, once to activate). Practice makes perfect with
this
one.
Med Kit
The Med Kit (unlike the Elixir Gun) is the Engineers only pure healing kit
(which fills slot 6 on your skill bar). The kit grants you access to an array of
healing tools and stimulants to aid you and others. When you equip it, you
can drop bandages for others to pick up as well as antidotes that remove
conditions or stimulants to grant fury and swiftness.
In combat situations it is great for supporting others, the fact its main healing skill is linked to
your Tool belt (see below) also makes for some interesting possibilities, as you can significantly
reduce its cooldown with traits.
125
Tool Kit
Last but not least is the Tool Kit. In principal the kit is all about control with
a knockback, a pull, and a block. It can also cripple and bleed enemies with
Box of Nails. Most of its skills benefit from specializing your attributes in
power meaning that it compliments the rifle really well.
The fact you can use its block (Gear Shield) while moving also makes it an excellent tool when
running away. Pry Bar also knocks your enemy back a considerable distance while Magnet pulls
players to you can be incredibly valuable when attacking a Capture Point, giving you the ability
to remove players from the point for quite some time. It should also be noted that the Tool kit
repairs turrets for any defensive engineers out there.
Tool belt
The Tool belt is a little hard to describe on paper, but in simple terms it is four utility slots above
your skill bar for keys F1 to F4. Each of the Engineers skills that you use on slots 6 to 9 has a
corresponding Tool belt skill. For example, if you equip Elixir H (one of the Engineers heals)
your Tool belt skill will be Toss Elixir H. If you select F1 you can then throw Elixir H to
cause an effect. It must be noted however that all Tool Belt skills are completely independent
from your main skills, meaning if you did Toss Elixir H, you could still use your main heal.
Another example would be if you equipped the Flamethrower, you would gain the Tool belt skill
Incendiary Ammo which when used causes your next three attacks to cause burning.
126
Including weapon kits there are a total of 20 Tool belt skills, linked to 20 Engineer skills. Every
Tool belt skill is vastly different and offer a tactical approach to many of the choices you might
make. For example, many people equip the Bomb Kit because its Tool belt skill, Big old Bomb,
launches foes back large distances. Even if that individual never equips the Bomb Kit, they can
still use its Tool belt skill (though that might be considered a waste). Or you could equip the
Elixir Gun because you know its Tool belt skill provides regeneration to yourself and allies.
Factoring in the Tool belt skill available is a key part of putting together an effective Engineer
build.
Firearms
Inventions
Alchemy
Tools
127
Visit GuildWars2 Engineer for the latest up to date builds, skills, traits and news.
128
Warrior Guide
Warriors are an incredibly versatile profession that benefits from the ability to wield a wide
variety of weapons. While some weapon sets may give a polite nod to the more traditional
warrior archetype of a sword-n-board melee combatant, the warrior in Guild Wars 2 can be a
major damage dealer in both melee and ranged combat. They also have excellent survivability,
can grant positive benefits to allies, and really ruin their enemies day through a variety of
negative conditions and crowd control abilities.
129
130
The warrior is a solid option for solo gamers thanks to a combination of being able to equip
heavy armor, remain highly mobile both in and out of combat, and deal heavy damage through
normal attacks and their unique Adrenaline mechanic. The learning curve does tend to be a bit
steeper than other professions, however, because you will have a lot more weapons to learn and
eventually master.
In group settings you can approach the warrior in a number of different ways. While you could
certainly fulfill a more traditional tanking role, you will also be equally capable of providing
strong melee or ranged DPS. This versatility also tends to make the warrior a strong choice for
any game type, be it general PvE, dungeons, structured PvP, or World vs. World.
Main Hand
Off-Hand
Two-Handed
Aquatic
Axe
Mace
Sword
Axe
Mace
Shield
Sword
Warhorn
Hammer
Greatsword
Longbow
Rifle
Harpoon Gun
Spear
As you can see, the warrior has a sizable list of options for weapon sets, so you will want to
acquire plenty of weapons early on to begin the process of unlocking all available weapon skills.
While doing so, be sure to pay particular attention to any weapon sets you naturally gravitate
towards, and don't be afraid to "think outside the box" when it comes to your overall build
concept.
For example, just because you notice that many warriors are using sword / sword and greatsword
for their weapon sets in sPvP, don't feel as though you need to follow suit. Remember, the
warrior can be just as viable when played as a ranged character, and it can always be a good
thing to keep your enemies guessing as to your personal combat style.
131
Given the overall depth to the weapon set options (the warrior has a total of 19 possible
combinations - more than any other profession in GW2) and the thematic nature of many sets,
there is simply too much to cover for a basic guide.
Adrenaline
The unique profession mechanic for warriors is called Adrenaline. As you attack foes with your
weapon skills, you will begin building up adrenaline which can then be used to unleash a more
powerful attack based on your current weapon set by pressing the [F1] key. You should consider
this skill an extension of your normal weapon skills, and will want to get into the habit of
utilizing it in combat early on.
You will start out with 1 level of adrenaline, which will be displayed directly above your weapon
skills as shown below:
Within the first few levels you will unlock a total of three levels of adrenaline. You must fill at
least one of these to use your [F1] skill, but the more levels you fill, the more powerful your [F1]
skill will be. The results for having 1, 2, or 3 levels of adrenaline will be shown in the tooltip for
each of these skills.
132
A complete list of adrenaline skills and their associated weapon sets can be seen below:
Weapon
F1 Skill
Description
Axe
Eviscerate
Greatsword
Arcing Slice
Hammer
Earthshaker
Harpoon Gun
Forceful Shot
Longbow
Combustive Shot
Mace
Skull Crack
Rifle
Kill Shot
Spear
Whirling Strike
Sword
Flurry
133
Strength
Arms
Defense
Tactics
Discipline
134
Visit GuildWars2 Warrior for the latest up to date builds, skills, traits and news.
135
Elementalist Guide
The elementalist is skilled at mid and long ranged combat, using the elements to their advantage
to decimate their foes and help their allies. While having no true role, the majority of
elementalist skills focus on raw damage (fire), burst/spike (air), control and conditions (earth),
defense / support (water), and utility (arcana). Those are generalizations, of course, but
ultimately the elementalist can carry on many different roles and switch between them fluidly,
thanks to the unique elemental attunement ability.
136
137
There are only four weapons in the elementalist arsenal, one two-handed weapon (staff), dualwield (dagger/dagger), main-hand (dagger, scepter), and off-hand (focus). There is no in-combat
weapon set switching either, like every other profession. Instead, each weapon has four sets of
skills that are attuned to a specific element. The elementalist can switch between the different
elements at will, giving them a total of four weapon sets they can switch between. The tradeoff is
that each set of skills, while having a different purpose, still follows the general weapon theme
(AoE/ranged/close combat).
Like other professions, the elementalist comes with its own set of unique skills. Glyphs mostly
give passive bonuses for the element that an elementalist is attuned to. Conjure skills can
summon weapons for both the elementalist and its allies, these weapons have their own unique
skill bars. Cantrips give the elementalist additional survival. Auras provide a positive passive
benefit to your character. Arcane skills are non-element magic based skills.
The elementalist is a direct damage support profession, half of the skills focus on dealing direct
damage; while a fourth focus on healing, and another fourth focus on control. This makes them a
jack of all trades and a master of most, but its important to know that while capable of a lot,
knowing what to be capable of when is the primary finesse of the profession.
Another big theme with the elementalist is combo fields. Many of the abilities an elementalist
have create combo fields, which synergize with other professions abilities. For instance, a
Ranger who shoots an arrow through a Fire Wall will gain burning on their attacks. This gives
their attacks additional utility when combined with others.
Elementalist Weapons
As mentioned previously, the elementalist only has access to four
different weapons, although daggers double as a main-hand and
off-hand. The strongest weapon is the staff, which while focused
primarily on AoE abilities, has the most complete set of tools
available. Scepters serve as a primary single target build, while
daggers focus more on close range combat. You can read more
about forming builds in our Intro Guide to Builds.
The weapons that elementalist can equip along with their associated skills can be seen in-game
by opening the Hero window [H] and selecting the Skills and Traits tab on the left. You can see a
list of available weapons for the elementalist below.
138
Main Hand
Off-Hand
Two-Handed
Aquatic
Scepter
Dagger
Staff
Trident
Dagger
Focus
Fire Magic
Earth Magic
Air Magic
Water Magic
Arcana
139
Attunement
The unique mechanic for the elementalist is attunement, which allows you to have four different
weapon skill sets per weapon, at the cost of not being able to switch weapons in combat. You can
change attunements freely, although the attunement youre changing from will have a 15 second
cooldown and a two second cooldown for the remaining available attunements.
The biggest thing about attunements is knowing what element serves what role and when that
role is needed. For instance, if its about constant damage, odds are youll want to be in fire,
while burst / spike damage will want you to be in air, support will be water, and control is earth.
For instance, if you need to heal yourself or others, then you can switch to water will provides
various support abilities. If you need to apply conditions, earth is the go to element.
It works pretty much like traditional weapon switching, you switch to the skill set that you need,
except you have two additional skill sets to pick from. Since you cant switch weapons, you will
be at a disadvantage if you need to switch from say a super defensive build to a super offensive
build, like a warrior going from a two-handed weapon to a sword and shield.
Understanding that, its important to pick the right weapon type before battle and the
accompanying skills to form your build. Thankfully, skills like glyphs will apply themselves
depending on the active element, making it easier to build out an elementalist.
140
Visit GuildWars2 Elementalist for the latest up to date builds, skills, traits and news.
141
Thief Guide
The thief is a deadly profession, proficient at stealth and surprise. Using a variety of weapons,
they can strike from up close or far away. While not heavily armored, they do have good
survivability through their agile fighting style and can use traps, tricks, and venom to ensure their
victory.
142
The thief is a great solo profession in that you can dish out a lot of damage and have a lot of
mobility to dance around your foes or to put some distance between you. Having the ability to
choose between melee or ranged attacks is a luxury that similar professions in other MMOs do
not have.
When grouping with other players, the thief is best used as an opportunistic combatant, or
support specialist. Let warriors and other meat shields be the focus of attacks. Use stealth to
move from the flank or rear to unleash a devastating assault. Keep mobile and attack where
you're needed. Get into position, attack, and then move on.
143
Main Hand
Off-Hand
Two-Handed
Aquatic
Sword
Dagger
Shortbow
Harpoon Gun
Dagger
Pistol
Spear
Pistol
While thieves don't have a huge variety of weapons, they have a good mix for both melee and
ranged. In addition, special attacks become available for different weapons when the thief is in
stealth. Other special attacks are also available through dual-wielding. These dual-wield skills
vary by combination of main and off-hand weapons. When dual-wielding, these special skills
will appear in slot 3 of your hotbar.
The thief uses initiative to make most of their attacks. While none of your attacks have a
cooldown, most of your weapon abilities require a specific amount of initiative to use. If you run
out of initiative, there is always an attack available that does not require any to use. A thief starts
out with a total of 12 initiative, but this number can be bumped up to 15 through the Trickery
trait line. Initiative is shown by the diamonds on top of the left side of the hotbar. Initiative
replenishes at the rate of 1 per every 1.67 seconds.
144
Stealing
One of the unique profession mechanics for the thief is their ability to steal from an opponent, be
they wandering creature of other player in PvP. Stealing allows the thief to shadow step up to the
foe and steal something off them. Normally, this item is a weapon, but can take the form of a
boon. You activate the steal mechanic by pressing F1 to steal from a targeted foe and then
pressing F1 to use the item stolen.
Stealth
Another profession mechanic for the thief is the ability to go into stealth. When in stealth, the
thief is invisible to their opponents (players and in PvE) and are seen as an outline by allies. The
thief has a number of special weapon attacks that can be used in stealth and there are a number of
skills and traits that allow the player to go into stealth, gain additional benefits while in stealth,
or increase stealth duration.
Once you attack, the thief will lose stealth and be unable to return to stealth for a few seconds.
Afterwards, there are a number of skills and traits that allow the thief to return to stealth. While
in stealth, you cannot be targeted, but you can be hit by AoE attacks.
145
Deadly Arts
Critical Strikes
Shadow Arts
Acrobatics
Trickery
146
147
148
With consideration to the above, the default scoreboard view can be seen below:
1 - Quick travel
2 - Scores
3 Server bonus
4 Points for next bonus
5 Territory control chart
6 Type of building controlled
Let's take a more detailed look at each of these sections.
149
PvE Zones - The default display from PvE zones (shown below) is a clickable area that
will allow you to fast travel to any of the four individual WvW maps (Eternal
Battlegrounds + the Borderlands for each of the three participating worlds)
Please note: It is entirely possible that one or more of the WvW maps will be at maximum
player capacity for your world when you attempt to quick travel from the PvE zones via the Stats
and Bonuses window. A small window will appear on screen to inform you if this is the case as
shown below:
WvW Zones - Once you've traveled to one of the four WvW maps, this bar will present
you with a new display as shown below. This countdown monitor will inform you how
much time is remaining until the next point tally which is impacted by, and can impact
most other parts of the Stats and Bonuses window display as described in the following
sections for each.
150
As seen here, the three competing worlds are represented by a specific color, each with a
corresponding Borderland zone. Your own home world will be distinguished by a small building
icon, as shown next to Sorrow's Furnace in the example image used above.
Knowing which world is represented by which color can be critical, as it will let you know
exactly which world is in control of various structures when viewing the map. Enemy players
from each world will also have a generic nameplate based on their home world color. In our
example here as a player on Sorrow's Furnace, Jade Quarry players would appear in-game as
"Green Defender" while players from the Maguuma home world would appear as "Blue
Defender".
3. World Bonuses
As each WvW match or tournament period progresses, your home world will be able to unlock a
number of temporary bonuses for all players on your world as shown below:
151
Artisan
Energetic
1% Endurance bonus
Scavenger
Robust
Gatherer
Defender
Wisdom
Medic
Please note that each of the percentages listed above are per tier unlocked for a given bonus. For
example, in the World Bonuses image above, the second tier of Artisan had already been earned,
giving PvE and WvW players on that world a +4% increase to crafting critical success.
In this example, you can see that the Next Bonus that can be unlocked for PvE and WvW players
is +2% Energetic which is the second tier for that particular bonus. Please note that this bonus is
not additive, but rather the cumulative percent bonus you stand to gain by completing the current
progress goal.
152
The point values listed provide a good indication of the relative difficulty (or number of players
needed) to successfully capture and control each type. For example, resource camps are worth
the least points, but also take far fewer players to successfully capture than a tower or keep. At
the end of the point tally countdown, the points your world will earn will be based directly on
your areas controlled.
153
Supply serves three major purposes in WvW. The first is a means of construction, as previously
mentioned, and the second as a way to give smaller groups a way to break away from larger
forces and contribute to the battle. Towers and Keeps that are under siege require supplies in
order to keep the walls and doors from falling while attackers need supplies to build rams and
other siege weaponry to break into the keep. The third is as a way to break a Keep or Towers
defense, if said Keep or Tower is heavily defended. Supply starvation is a viable tactic whenever
a stalemate arrives.
154
Supply Basics
Each player initially spawns with 10 supplies (located in the top / middle section of the
U.I.) which is also the maximum amount any player can hold. Supply is replenished at Supply
Depots located in Resource Camps, Towers, and Keeps.
Supply is generated at Resource Camps and transported by Pack Dolyak Caravans, which spawn
from Resource Camps and move on designated routes to allied Keeps and Towers, where they
replenish the supply. The amount each caravan carries depends on the upgrades of the Resource
Camp.
Supply Depots
Supply Depots reside within Resource Camps, Towers, and Keeps. They each can hold up to 100
supply before upgrades (Resource Camps receive a 25 supply limit increase with each personnel
upgrade). Friendly players can receive up to 10 Supply by interacting with the Supply Depot.
However, its important to note that only Resource Camps automatically resupply themselves.
Towers and Keeps rely on caravans to replenish their stock. NPCs and Quartermasters utilize
supplies for repairs and upgrades, meaning that sometimes its better to leave a depot alone than
to restock there. On the other hand, if a keep is about to fall, getting as much supply out of the
depot is crucial as the supply trades hands when the keep is taken.
155
Utilizing Supply
With all of this talk about supply, we havent talked about the fun ways to use it. You cant
really judge the importance of a resource until you understand how it is utilized in the field of
war. There are only three uses for supply repairs (walls and doors), upgrades for Resource
Camps, Towers, and Keeps (via Quartermasters), and siege weaponry (both defensive (noblueprint) and offensive (blueprint required).
Players can only use their Supply to build siege weapons and repair structures while the Supply
in the Supply Depots are used for upgrades.
Repairing Structures
You can use supply to repair walls and doors within Towers and Keeps. You can repair even if a
structure is under attack, negating ongoing damage. However, you may not be able to out repair
multiple Golems/Rams in these instances its much better to fall back to the inner keep (within
Keeps) or try to focus the siege weapons down.
Structure Upgrades
Supplies are used for various upgrades at Resource Camps, Towers, and Keeps. The supply used
for upgrades comes directly from the Supply Depot, meaning that the Supply must first exist in
the depot for the upgrades to be purchased. Players cannot refill supply depots, as previously
mentioned, so making sure not to take from a keep where players are going to purchase the
upgrades is important.
156
Siege Weaponry
There are multiple types of siege weapons that you can build. They come in two forms, offensive
(weapons that players can build within the world) and defensive (stationary weapons usually
bound to a structure).
Its extremely important to understand that only Siege Golems can be moved. Any other siege
weapon will be affixed to the location. Whenever you utilize a blueprint, a build site will appear
that allows anyone to use supply in order to build the siege weapon. Its another important note
that the last person to supply a build site will get the first chance to use a siege weapon.
Offensive Weapons
Arrow Cart (30 Supply): Anti-player weapon, fires arrows at the target on the ground, but
does not damage structures.
Ballista (20 Supply): It fires a large bolt that does damage to structures and players, but is
difficult to aim.
Catapult (50 Supply): Does ground targeted damage to walls, gates, and enemies, but
only does moderate damage.
Flame Ram (40 Supply): Deals heavy damage to gates, but is very weak to oil and
attacks.
Alpha Siege Golem (100 Supply): Essentially a portable ram, a player can load
themselves into it and move it / assault structures.
Trebuchet (100 Supply): Long range siege weapon, great for taking the walls down on
heavily fortified Towers / Keeps.
157
Defensive Weapons
Boiling Pot of Oil: Does massive damage below the pot of oil and inflicts Burning. It
must be focused before players can begin building rams / assaulting the door.
Cannon: It can fire three types of ammo (normal, Bleed condition, and Freeze condition)
and works similarly to the Arrow cart.
Running Supply
As mentioned above, its a really bad idea to take supply out of Stonemist or any Tower/Keep
that needs to be upgraded. Its also tough sometimes to get enough supply to keep a sieged keep
standing or to get the siege weapons up to knock the door down. Thats why youll need people
running supply. The best way to go about it is to focus on a swiftness build that can maintain
swiftness and have enough defensive abilities (like Mist Form) to get you through the attackers
and in through the gate.
Its best to take supply from the following locations first: upgraded Resource Camp > upgraded
Keeps & Towers > Resource Camp > Towers > Keeps. Its best to let Keeps upgrade the most,
as Towers are fairly disposable (there are twice as many and they count for less).
There is a lot to such a small mechanic and many players overlook the importance of Supply, but
hopefully you understand how viably important those 10 Supply points you have are.
158
159
Siege Weapons
There are currently six siege weapons in the game, each with a specific role and purpose. Its
important to learn what each siege weapon specializes in before heading out into WvW, because
some of them can absolutely ruin your day if youre not looking out for them.
Alpha Siege Golem (1 Gold or 40 Badges of Honor, 100 Supply)
The Siege Golem is the most expensive weapon available and the only one that can relocate
itself. You may think its designed to topple towers quickly, but its designed more to be used in
situations where building a build site on top of the door isnt possible. Of course, its still very
powerful and capable of toppling gates very quickly.
Unlike other siege weapons, you mount the golem and can walk while inside of it. The only
problem, of course, is that if the siege weapon is destroyed, then you will be downed. On top of
that, it moves slower than the average player and cannot be healed. It can Punch (the default
attack), Whirling Assault (an AoE knockback, used to push enemies away from gates), Shield
Bubble (to protect it from damage, or oil attacks), and Pull which drags an enemy to the golem.
The 100 supply is a substantial amount and you should only place the blueprint down at the
behest of your world.
160
This is an anti-personnel weapon, best used to defend choke points and push enemies away from
gates. It has three abilities: arrow cart, crippling arrows (that apply crippling), and barbed arrows
(that apply bleeding). It does most of its damage against enemy players. The most effective way
to use an arrow cart is to set it up to target a bridge, gate, or choke point and use it to keep
players from moving through (forcing them to take an alternate route and/or split up). You can
also use it to keep enemies from the gates.
Ballista (6 Silver or 3 Badges of Honor, 20 Supply)
The Ballista is another anti-personnel weapon with anti-siege capabilities. Its best used to take
out enemy siege tanks, since it requires a target to attack (unlike the rest which usually have AoE
targeting reticules).
161
162
163
164
The same works in reverse. Defending siege camps can be the difference from a keep falling and
a keep standing, especially Stonemist. PvE objectives can be the difference between a strong
push and a stalemate.
There are a lot of mechanics at work out in the Eternal Battlegrounds and borderlands in WvW.
Many of these only require a few people to take care of, but have a big impact on the larger
battles. Lets go over the different objectives and a rough count of people needed to handle each
type.
165
On the flip side, the NPCs found in resource camps are tougher than standard mobs, and will be
either Veterans or Champions. If a camp is under attack, joining the battle may flip the tides. If a
small group is attempting to take a camp, a few defenders is all that is needed to repel them and
keep the supply held firmly given the relative strength of the NPC defenders
166
Other Events
There are a lot of other things a solo player or small team can do. The mini-dungeon under the
battlegrounds is something that you can explore and running supply around and repairing walls is
another task that only a few players are required to do. Scouting enemy movements and reporting
them is another important task, although one without an immediate tangible reward.
To serve as a scout for your world, consider bringing a character thats a high enough level to
have access to numerous sources of the Swiftness boon. While high mobility builds wont be
optimal for combat, they can allow you to traverse the map quickly, and avoid combat when
necessary.
WvW isnt just about large scale siege battles. As a matter of a fact, if teams of players dont
split off and take supply camps and hold towers, then the defenders will always have a
substantial advantage.
Regale us in tales of heroism in the battlefield or share your own neat tips and tricks for
involving yourself in small scale battles in the comments section below.
See you in Tyria!
167