Guild Wars 2 News

Hello, Tyrians! My name is Chun-Hong Fung, and I'm a game designer on the Systems Team here at ArenaNet.

Expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™, bringing a new weapon and skills for each profession. Today, we'll be looking at the new scepter weapon for the revenant profession, which you'll be able to test during our Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event, starting on November 28 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).

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Revenants wield scepters in an unorthodox way that is unique to their profession. Having observed the Kryptis in battle, they draw upon their ability to connect individuals together using the scepter as a conduit. They use this conduit to channel energies between targets, strengthening allies and debilitating enemies.

The revenant's autoattack chain projects a concentrated stream of energy from the tip of the scepter, which they wield like a blade to swing in a wide arc, damaging multiple enemies. The first attack, Serene Strike, is a simple melee slice, while the follow-up attack, Acerbic Cut, will grant might to allies. Motivating Whirl is the third strike of the autoattack chain, which cleaves enemies in a 360-degree radius around the revenant and applies barrier to allies on impact.

The second skill, Blossoming Aura, infuses an enemy target with energy from the Mists, dealing damage over time. After a delay, this energy explodes outward, damaging the enemy and granting barrier to allies. This effect can be strengthened by repeatedly striking the enemy with autoattacks, causing the final explosion to deal more damage and grant additional barrier to allies. While this skill can be cast at range, if you want to maximize the second effect you'll need to get in your enemies' faces.





Finally, Otherworldly Bond is an upkeep skill that creates a spiritual tether between you and your target. The tether has differing effects based on whether the target is an ally or an enemy. When used on an ally, the tether continually grants might to the target and allies around you. When an enemy is being tethered, the target will instead be inflicted with vulnerability and take additional strike damage from the revenant. The tether can be manually broken with the accompanying follow-up skill Deactivate, and it will automatically break if the revenant moves too far away from the target. And like Blossoming Aura, attacking enemies will cause the effects of the tether to strengthen!

But that's not all! When the tether reaches maximum strength, the revenant gains a new follow-up skill called Otherworldly Attraction. The allied version allows the revenant to shadowstep to the tethered target, granting barrier to allies around them. When an enemy is targeted, it instead pulls the tethered target toward the revenant while applying additional vulnerability to them.



That about wraps it up for today's preview. As mentioned above, you'll be able to try out all of the upcoming new weapon and profession combos during the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event starting at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on November 28 and ending at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on December 3. Please note that since this is a beta test, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio assets for some of the weapon skills. Be sure to tune in to the Expanded Weapon Proficiency preview livestream on November 27 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8) to get a more in-depth look at all the new weapons.

Hi, folks. My name is Cal Cohen, and I'm the lead skills and balance designer at ArenaNet.

Expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™, bringing a new weapon and skills for each profession. Today we're taking a look at warrior's new weapon proficiency: the staff. Warrior has been lacking a strong weapon to use in its support builds, and staff serves to fill out some of the tools that warriors need to support their allies. Staff will be playable alongside the new weapons for every profession as part of the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event starting on November 28 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).

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One of the key goals for staff skills was granting warriors the ability to charge to the front lines of battle to empower and support their allies, and for that we have the slot 2 skill, Valiant Leap. Valiant Leap causes the warrior to leap to the target location, healing and granting offensive boons to nearby allies upon arrival.

As a frontline support, we also wanted staff warriors to bring some personal survivability to the table, which is found in slot 5 with Bullet Catcher. Bullet Catcher starts off as a channeled block skill but also grants access to a secondary skill, Defiant Roar. Defiant Roar heals nearby allies, with the amount increasing for each attack blocked by Bullet Catcher (up to a reasonable amount, of course).



We're excited to see how warrior support builds come together with the introduction of staff. There are obviously a few more skills to cover, but we'll hold on to those until our new Expanded Weapon Proficiency preview livestream on November 27 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8), where we'll give an in-depth introduction to each profession's weapon.

The day after that, the new weapons will be usable during the beta event that runs from November 28 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) through 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on December 3. Keep in mind that during this beta test there will be temporary UI, art, and audio assets for some of the weapon skills.

We'll see you in the Mists!

Hi, folks. My name is Cal Cohen, and I'm the lead skills and balance designer at ArenaNet.

Expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™. When that feature arrives, each profession will have access to a new weapon, and today's topic is the thief's axe.

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The axe is a ranged damage-dealing weapon that can be utilized by both power and condition builds, depending on the off-hand weapon. The core gameplay revolves around throwing axes that linger for a period of time, during which they can be redirected by the dual-wield skill to strike enemies again. Let's take a look at a few skills to demonstrate this.

Skill 2 is Venomous Volley, which throws out a fan of three poisonous axes. Once these axes reach their final destination, they'll remain spinning at that location but won't deal additional damage while stationary. Up to six spinning axes can be active at once.

The dual-wield skill with an off-hand dagger is Harrowing Storm. The thief teleports to a targeted enemy and recalls all spinning axes back to themselves, augmenting the axes to also inflict torment. The returning axes maintain their original properties, so in this example the returning axes that were created by Venomous Volley will inflict both torment and poison. For maximum value, build up more axes before recalling them, as an enemy struck by five returning axes will also be immobilized for a short duration.



We'll be back to show off the rest of the thief axe skills along with the full set of new weapons during the Expanded Weapon Preview livestream on November 27 at 12 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8), which will be followed by the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Time on November 28 and ending at 10 p.m. Pacific Time on December 3. Please note that since this is a beta event, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio for some of the weapon skills.

We'll see you in the Mists!

Good hunting! My name is Taylor Brooks, and I'm a designer on the skills and balance team here at ArenaNet.

Expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™. Each profession will have access to a new weapon and skills to utilize against the evils of Tyria! Today I'll be introducing the ranger's new weapon set—dual maces. Wielding maces will allow you to become a warden of nature, tapping into the power of the land to support your allies while pummeling your enemies. You'll be able to try out all these new skills along with the new weapons for other professions during our Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event, starting on November 28 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).

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Main-hand mace and off-hand mace are sibling weapons that cover different roles while also synergizing very well together. Main-hand mace has strong supportive capabilities through healing and boons. As you strike enemies with mace skills, you'll bolster your bond with the land, gaining a new, unique effect called Nature's Strength.

Once you reach six stacks of Nature's Strength, the land will grant you its favor, and you'll gain another effect called Force of Nature. Force of Nature will reset your mace cooldowns as you grow large—increasing outgoing damage, healing, and stability!

Here's a look at a couple of the ranger's mace skills:

Mace skill 2 is called Flourish, which damages enemies and heals allies simultaneously. Your strike causes the ground beneath you to swell with energy, and after a delay, the ground will burst. The burst deals heavier damage and heals more than the initial strike. If you hit an enemy with the initial strike, you'll gain Nature's Strength.

The off-hand mace is a more defensive weapon that enhances survivability while also providing some crowd control. Thistleguard (mace skill 4) is a defensive skill that rewards careful timing in the thick of combat. You cover yourself in bramble armor, gaining barrier and stability for a moment as thorns strike outward. Hitting an enemy with these thorns will increase the defensive components of this skill while also granting you Nature's Strength.



Maces have a fun, versatile kit that can be used with many different playstyles. I'm excited to see how they can be used with existing builds, such as a support druid, or how they can lead to entirely new archetypes, like a bruiser that defeats their enemies in a moment of power!

As mentioned above, you'll be able to try out all of the upcoming new weapon and profession combos during the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Time on November 28 and ending at 10 p.m. Pacific Time on December 3. Please note that since this is a beta test, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio for some of the weapon skills. Be sure to tune in to the Expanded Weapon Preview livestream on November 27 at 12 p.m. Pacific Time to get a more in-depth look at all the new weapons.

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Today we're excited to lift the curtain and launch the first major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™—"Through the Veil"! This update contains three new story chapters and will send the wayfinder to a strange new place outside of Tyria proper—Nayos, the realm of dreams and home to the Kryptis.

As a reminder, this update—and the other two major updates to follow in 2024—are part of the Secrets of the Obscure content cycle and therefore free for anyone who owns the expansion!

To begin this content, navigate to the story journal in your Hero panel, select "Through the Veil," then click "Play This Episode."





Many of the details for "Through the Veil" were discussed in our recent studio update blog. As a quick recap, you can experience the following when you jump into the game today:

• Three new story chapters
  
• The third expansion map, Inner Nayos
• Convergences, public and squad-based rift hunting challenges against legendary Kryptis
• A new Mastery track associated with Convergences
  
• Wizard's Vault Seasonal Refresh (Remember, cosmetic items you missed are now in the legacy tab and don't expire!)
  
• New Oneiros-Spun Armor, a Kryptis-themed armor set
  
• Additional expansion relics
• Cosmic Observatory Challenge Mode
• Many new rewards: minis, guild decorations, armor, weapons, infusions, and more!
  

We have a skills and balance update planned for November 28 and that same day, we're opening up the Expanded Weapons Proficiencies beta, in which you can test new skills and a new weapon for every profession. This feature is coming in our second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure early in 2024, but we'd love to hear what you think after you've tried it out.

This week's Gem Store blog showcases fifteen new mounts available in the Arcane Delights Mount Adoption set. If riding around in style is your thing, be sure to check that out! We also have some incredible Black Friday sales coming later this month, so stay tuned.

Happy adventuring, and check out the full patch notes for "Through the Veil" on the official Guild Wars 2 forums.