Guild Wars 2 enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the arrival of new weapon proficiencies, with ANet closely examining feedback from the beta version and gearing up for a special stream this week to delve into the intricacies.
Combat designer Taylor Brooks elucidates on the beta phase, which kicked off in November, and how each profession's new weapon proficiencies have evolved on the path to their debut in the Secrets of the Obscure update.
For Rangers, the mace emerged as a popular and potent kit, yet a crucial element was missing: interaction with a pet. They've introduced a new healing-over-time effect for pets. Additionally, extra support elements have been added, and tweaks to the Nature's Force mechanics have been made.
Thief's Axe showcased diversity in builds but lacked consistency. ANet will offer updated mechanics to ensure axe projectiles behave similarly to standard projectiles, with increased speed. Moreover, the axe's stepping and shadow-pulling mechanics fell short, being repetitive and unsmooth.
Warriors wielding a staff are on the horizon, opening up new support opportunities. While much of it went smoothly, some adjustments are in the pipeline. The team pledges to further build support characteristics to foster the development of the Support Warrior.
Revenant with a scepter needed immediate improvements. Charging skills with an automatic attack chain proved too easy in PvE and ineffective in PvP, leading to their removal. They've also added the ability to target allies and sacrifice damage for guaranteed support.
Mesmer with a rifle has also expanded build opportunities, but usability needed enhancement. Various skills are being refined, and a flash effect will be added when opening a portal for easy recognition by other players.
Elementalist with a pistol performed well, but an enhancement now includes an icon on the active effects bar to indicate which elemental bullets are equipped.
Guardian's dual pistols seemed to be one of the most successful combos, with minor adjustments but nothing major.
The engineer with a short bow proved slow and awkward, proving to be unpopular. Besides speeding things up across the board and making them easier to use, they've overhauled how marks are used and introduced new gadgets.
Finally, the swords for Necromancer were deemed slow, thematically intriguing yet awkward and unpopular. Significant improvements are in the works to enhance consistency and offer more flashy elements and damage.
The Guild Wars 2 team will host a special broadcast to discuss all these classes and weapons in depth on February 16th at 12 PM Pacific Time / 3 PM Eastern Time.
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