Guild Wars 2: A Guide to Professions

By | May 15th, 2014 | Categories: Others

Guild Wars 2 exploded onto the MMO scene back in 2012 like a force of nature. It quickly became the fastest selling MMO of all time.

The game offers a truly unique experience as no two players will have the exact same experience; each game choice made helps evolve a personal story with thousands of possible variations.

Content updates happen on average every two/three weeks meaning that despite being two years old the game still maintains a great sense of freshness whenever you play.

Set in Tyria, a fantasy land left corrupted and devastated b y the rise of the elder dragons.  The people of Tyria belong to 5 great races and are each faced with a simple choice; set aside ancient rivalries and unite to defeat the elder dragons or fight alone and die.

A key part of the game is professions. Professions determine skills, traits and equipment and is commonly referred to as character class in many other games. Picking the right profession can be pretty daunting for players who are new to Guild Wars 2. Truth is there are way too many players out there who picked the wrong profession which once selected cannot be changed. So here is a little run down of the who, what, where and when of the professions.

[ezcol_3fifth]

There are 8 different types of professions in Guild Wars 2.

  • Mesmer– Magical duelists who use deception as a weapon.
  • Guardian – Devoted and brilliant fighters.
  • Necromancer – Practitioners of the dark arts.
  • Rangers – Unparalleled archers and trap experts
  • Elementalists – Spellcasters using fire, air, earth and water with deadly force
  • Warrior – Master of weaponry.
  • Thief – Experts in stealth and surprise; they move in the shadows.
  • Engineers – Master of mechanical mayhem.

[/ezcol_3fifth]

[ezcol_2fifth_end]

Professions determine skills, traits and equipment and is commonly referred to as character class in many other games

[/ezcol_2fifth_end][ezcol_1third]Soldier Professions

Armour: Heavy
Professions:

  • Warrior
  • Guardian

[/ezcol_1third][ezcol_1third]Adventurer Professions

Armour: Heavy.
Professions:

  • Ranger
  • Engineer
  • Thief

[/ezcol_1third][ezcol_1third_end]Scholar Professions

Armour: Light
Professions:

  • Elementalist
  • Mesmer
  • Necromancer

[/ezcol_1third_end]

The professions are very different.

[tab: Mesmer][ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Mesmer

Powerful, mysterious and magical. Mesmers use magic to confuse, distract and deceive their opponents.[/ezcol_1half_end]

Illusions:

Creating illusions or replicas of themselves is a key weapon when attacking their enemies. Mesmers can hold up to three illusions at a time and have a choice of up to two different illusions: clones and phantasms.

Clones are an exact replica of the caster.

Phantasms are transparent versions of the caster.

Shattering is the unique effect of shattering their own illusions. This allows Mesmers to create a powerful secondary effect, creating further confusion and helping to evade incoming attacks.

Mantras:

Mantras include activation and instant cast. Summoning a specific power can be done in two ways. Activation stage takes a relatively long time to cast whilst an instant cast is…well instant.

Glamour

These are enchantments that manipulate the surrounding environment such as Veil, a wall which grants invisibility to any ally who walks through it.

[tab: Guardian][ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Guardian.

Guardians are devoted fighters, brilliant tacticians who fight to protect their allies and defeat their enemies. Guardians have skills and virtues which they drawn upon to help their allies to victory.

[/ezcol_1half_end]

Virtues:

Justice – The fire of justice allows Guardians to burns their enemies.

Courage –  Courage allows Guardians to shrug off a mighty blow or block the next incoming attack.

Resolve – Buy passively regenerating their  health, Guardians are able to fight against the odds and still emerge victorious.

Special Skills:

Spirit Weapons – Summoning a spirit to inflict a blow before vanishing.

Shouts – Use Shouts like “Hold the line!” can aid your allies whilst hindering your enemies within earshot.

[tab: Necromancer][ezcol_1half]

[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Necromancer

Practitioners of the dark arts; summoning lost souls and feeding on their life force.[/ezcol_1half_end]

Life force:

Unique to necromancers who have reached a certain life threshold, the Life force allows Necromancers to activate Death Shroud transforming into a spirit form and leaving their body behind.

Death shroud uses a Necromancers life force as a secondary health bar allowing the Necromancer to take the form of a spectral force.

Special Skills

Minions – Necromancers can summon the undead minion to attack their foes. Or Necromancers can sacrifice minions in return for a skill or strength.

Wells – Wells allow Necromancers to control the surrounding environment helping, for example, all allies to regenerate.

[tab: Ranger][ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Ranger

Elite archers with a steady hand and eagle eye. They can fight from distance and are ably supported by a group of loyal, yet fierce pets

[/ezcol_1half_end]

Pets:

The power and strength of a Ranger is supported by a cast of fierce, loyal and brave pets. Dogs, wolves, birds, monsters and even sharks  can be trained to respond to the Ranger’s command. Rangers can have two animals by their side at any one time during combat.

Special Skills

Traps -Plan traps and damage your enemies from afar.

Spirits -Rangers can summon spirits to join them in the heat of the battle

[tab: Elementalist][ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Elementalist

These are spell casters who channel the elements and forces of nature to deadly effect.

[/ezcol_1half_end]

Attunement:

Elementalists are uniquely placed to adapt to any environment and can do so quickly. They channel the four forces of nature.

  • Fire
  • Air
  • Water
  • Earth

In addition to the power of the 4 elements, Elementalists have additional skills such as Glyphs and Spells

Glyphs

Arcane spells enhance still further the attunements, helping to increase the power and devastation of the force in use.

Spells:

Spells can be conjured to create potent weapons or items from thin air.

[tab: Warrior][ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Warrior

Warriors are fuelled by adrenalin, armoured heavily but with impressive speed and agility

[/ezcol_1half_end]

With each successful hit a Warrior is powered by adrenalin. The more adrenalin they have the more powerful their attacks. Adrenalin can be stored and unleashed in one, single but devastating attack.

Warrior Skills

Warriors are able to use the most amount of weapons of any profession.

Stances – Temporary but effective skills to boost the combat abilities.

Banners – Banners are carried and planted in the ground. Once planted allies nearby benefit from, amongst other things, improved strength

[tab: Thief][ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Thief

Experts in deception, stealth, and surprise; thieves think on their feet and live in the shadows.

[/ezcol_1half_end]

Initiative:

Thinking on their feet, staying agile, flexible and responsive.

Steal: Used sparingly yet effectively; thieves can steal from their opponents, and create unique weapons based on the opponents they are fighting.

Dual skills: Combining main hand and off hand weapon combinations to maximum effect.

Special skills

Stealth Skills. Within Stealth mode thieves with a weapon become equipped with a superior stealth skill such as strike strength or improved ability to evade the enemy.

Shadow Step:

Thieves teleport away from one place to another. Used to escape from danger or jump right into the heat of the battle.

[tab: Engineer][ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

Engineer

A walking arsenal of weapons that help dominate the battlefield.

[/ezcol_1half_end]

Weapons:

You name it, they have it. Guns, mines, grenades and bombs…

Kits

A Warrior has access to three types of kits to best equip themselves to battle.

Weapon kits support specialized weapons

Backup kits support act as utility kits which replace weapons with a range of different skills

Turrets are deployed by engineers to help control and defend an area.

[tab:END]

Latest posts

Latest Wiki

Featured Posts

what game should i play next