Guild Wars 2 Shows Off All Expanded Weapon Options
Nov. 22, 2023Guild Wars 2 Shows Off All Expanded Weapon Options
Guild Wars 2 unveils all of the new weapon options players can make use of in an upcoming update.
Weapons in Guild Wars 2 determine the first 5 skills players have in their character’s loadout. The first three of which are always determined by your main hand weapon, while the last two are from your offhand (except in the case of the thief). If the weapon type is two-handed like a greatsword or staff, then all five weapons will be fixed. Having one additional weapon opens up tons of build possibilities, especially for the more interesting options below!
First is the Thief class, who will be getting the option to make use of Axes in combat. Instead of focusing on melee, these are throwing axes that can be lobbed at hapless foes. One skill, in particular, is called Venomous Volley, which throws out three poisonous spinning axes that stay in place for a set time, emitting condition damage to anything that walks into the area. Their fault for walking into spinning axes, if you ask me.
Rangers and their Elite specializations get Maces that they can dual-wield. This makes it so that the class can bludgeon foes into submission while their pets can gnaw and claw with ease. Equipping a mace in your main hand will give access to powerful support and healing skills, which you wouldn’t expect from hitting your foes head-on. Constant attacks against a singular target will grant you Nature’s Strength, a temporary buff that will increase your character’s size (and outgoing damage).
Continuing the support stories is the Staff weapon becoming available for Warriors. The class already has a lot of boon support in the form of their portable banners, but Arena Net decided that this was not enough. Now Staff Warriors can use the weapon to cast Valiant Leap which will heal and buff allies wherever he lands.
Elementalists are your traditional magic class in Guild Wars 2. However, they are now moving a bit more into the material plane with the introduction of the Pistol weapon, which uses elemental ammunition. Using skills will create a floating bullet of the same element whenever cast. These floating bullets can then be used to augment other abilities, giving you even more crazy effects. Simple Boulder Bullets can become bigger, or inflict status ailments, depending on the element you cast previously.
The magical Mesmers of Guild Wars 2 will also get their own firearms as well. Mesmers will be able to use Rifles now, which they can use to provide long-range support for allies. Instead of simply casting their support abilities on the floor with a staff of scepter like a boring regular caster, Rifles can let you shoot the ground to create areas that provide boons and healing to allies while also damaging enemies.
Guardians, who are usually more focused on support, can also equip and dual-wield Pistols soon. Instead of leaning heavier into the buffing role, Pistols allow Guardians to deal tons of status ailment damage, most notably bleeding. Projectiles of their pistols will pierce through targets, allowing you to hit up to five foes at a time.
We move on to the Revenant class, which was added in Guild Wars 2’s first expansion, Heart of Thorns. Revenants will be able to use Scepters to act as a conduit for their great channeling power. They can use this as a melee weapon, as their Scepters will emit a stream of pure energy instead, which can chain through targets. Eventually, the stream gains so much momentum that some of your strikes can even hit everything around you in a 360-degree area.
Engineers will seem like they’re becoming a little less techy by letting go of rifles and pistols and instead taking up the bow and arrow. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth as the Shortbow will let them use canisters of distilled magic in place of arrows. These canisters can be detonated for powerful effects that they can use to support their allies. If you choose to let the containers linger, you can detonate multiple at the same time and create various chain reactions.
Last, but not least, is the Necromancer with their grisly new Sword option. The insatiable appetites for life force will not leave the Necromancer in wanting with the life-leeching skills that the Sword brings. What’s unique about this is that certain abilities from swords can be flipped and enhanced with the Necromancer’s own health pool. If you find yourself with too much health, just use an enhanced version of a Sword hit, at the cost of your own life! Perfect for those who love to live life on the edge.
Players will have the opportunity to test all the new weapon and profession combinations that are coming soon in the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event for Guild Wars 2. This will start at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on November 28 and ends at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on December 3. Keep in mind that this is a beta test, so some of the weapon skills will have temporary UI, art, and audio assets. An Expanded Weapon Proficiency preview livestream on November 27 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8) will also be held to show off some more details about all the new weapons.
Auberon
Writer at Fextralife. I really like vanilla ice cream.
