Meet the Elementalist:

With the Engineer finishing off the Adventurers, it’s time to start into the Scholars! Perhaps the quintessential example, this article is about the first profession revealed for GW2, the Elementalist. Like the Engineer, the Elementalist has a very limited weapon selection but also has a mechanic to greatly expand their first 5 skills. Also like the Engi, the Ele can only have one weapon set equipped at a time. Their weapons are:

• Main Hand: Scepter, Dagger
• Off Hand: Dagger, Focus
• Two-Handed: Staff

Meet the Engineer:

Land mines, grenades, flame throwers, air blasts, rocket jumping, mechanized turrets, magical healing mist… Team Fortress 2? No… well yes, but we’re also talking about the Engineer (or the Gunner- wink @Rubi)!  Guild Wars 2 takes place 250 years after the first game in the series, and no profession exemplifies and emphasizes this transition more than the Engineer. Brace yourselves for a long post because the Engineer is not only the latest profession revealed, it is the most controversial and the most complicated profession we have seen to date. The weapon list for the Engineer is the smallest to date… in a manner of speaking. However, the Engineer also possesses a large number of utility skills that also alter the first 5 skills in their skill bar, so I will list those as well:

Weapons

• Main Hand: Pistol
• Off Hand: Pistol, Shield
• Two-Handed: Rifle

Meet the Thief:

Look over there! Was that a Rogue? An Assassin? No, it’s a Thief! It’s time to talk about the sneak of the shadows, the second Adventurer profession, the Thief. Thieves have one of the smallest list of equip-able weapons to date:

• Main Hand: Sword, Dagger, and Pistol
• Off Hand: Dagger and Pistol
• Two-Handed: Shortbow

Meet the Ranger:

Now that the two Soldier-class armor professions have been covered, it is time to move onto the Adventurer-class armor, or medium armored professions. The first profession on the docket is the warrior of the wild, the Ranger! The Ranger can wield a combination of melee, thrown and ranged weapons, and lacking guns or magical implements. Their usable weapons are:

• Main Hand: Sword, Axe
• Off Hand: Axe, Dagger, Torch, Warhorn
• Two-Handed: Greatsword, Longbow, Shortbow

Meet the Guardian:

The second and final Soldier-class profession is the mystical Guardian. The Guardian is a master of both melee attacks and magical implements. They can wield the following weapons:

• Main Hand: Mace, Scepter, Sword
• Off Hand: Focus, Shield, Torch
• Two-Handed: Greatsword, Hammer, Staff

Meet the Warrior:

This is the first of a series of posts I will be making about each profession in Guild Wars 2. I plan to discuss the weapon options for the classes, where I see them fitting into team compositions, what their playstyles seem to cater to, and any concerns I may have about them. So without further adieu:

Meet the Warrior!

The Warrior is one of the two Soldier-class professions in Guild Wars 2. The Warrior and the Guardian are the only two professions that can wear heavy armor, and the Warrior is reported to be one of the most durable professions in the game. As a master of weapons, the Warrior has the widest selection of weapons to date:

• Main Hand: Sword, Axe, Mace
• Offhand: Shield, Warhorn, Sword, Axe, Mace
• Two-Handed: Greatsword, Hammer, Longbow, Rifle

Excommunicating the Holy Trinity

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

No, not that trinity. The (MMO) Holy Trinity- Tank, Healer, DPS (Damage Per Second). The trinity is a common staple among MMOs these days, and it has been for quite awhile. One guy sits there and soaks up the damage so the squishies don’t die (Tank), one guy does all the damage (DPS), and one guy sits there spamming heals to keep the tank alive (Healer). It is a tried and true formula. The problem is, not only is it unoriginal and illogical, it gets boring and causes gridlock in questing and dungeons.

So just what is Guild Wars 2 all about?

The short story-

Guild Wars 2 is an up-and-coming Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG, or MMO for short) that is currently being developed by ArenaNet. It has no announced release date at this time, but it has been confirmed that the company plans to undergo closed beta testing some time this year. Guild Wars 2 will not have a subscription fee to play; you buy the box, and can play for free from then on.  ArenaNet has confirmed that there will be microtransactions in the game, but they have assured the public that it will be similar to those found in Guild Wars- cosmetic items that do not affect gameplay.

The long story-

First- I need to get a few answers to common questions out of the way. Yes, there is jumping in Guild Wars 2. Unlike its predecessor (Guild Wars or GW), Guild Wars 2 will feature a fully persistent world for everyone to explore together.  There will be no subscription fee for GW2.  I know I just said that last one last paragraph, but it seems that people have a hard time getting that message. Perhaps the third time will be the charm: There will be no subscription fee for GW2.