Greetings, Tyrians!

For the past few weeks, we’ve been teasing information about our expanded weapon proficiency feature, which will be arriving early next year for everyone who owns Guild Wars 2™ : Secrets of the Obscure™. Each of our nine professions will have access to at least one new weapon and a smattering of new skills, which you can preview today!

The Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event begins today and runs until 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on December 3. Please keep in mind that since this is a beta test, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio for some of the weapon skills.

Today we have also introduced a host of balance updates for all of the professions, which you can read all about in our update notes.

Every Guild Wars 2 account in good standing, including Play-for-Free accounts, will automatically get character slots marked “Beta” when the beta event begins. Clicking on one of these slots will allow you to create a character using any of the nine Guild Wars 2 professions.

From there, explore the open world or try a game mode dedicated to group play. You’ll find options to join World vs. World and structured Player vs. Player in the bar located at the top-left corner of your UI. To tackle the Fractals of the Mists instanced group content, visit Fort Marriner in Lion’s Arch and enter the portal.

Please note that the beta characters will disappear on December 3 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) at the end of the event, and any gameplay progress earned while playing on them—including rewards and currency—will not be saved.

We’ve created a thread in each profession’s subforum for feedback from this beta. After you’ve had a chance to play, we’d like to hear what you think—what you enjoyed, what you think could be improved, and what you liked or disliked about the beta. Please visit the threads for elementalist, engineer, guardian, mesmer, necromancer, ranger, thief, revenant, and warrior to share your feedback.

Here is a handy list of the new weapons you can try out in the beta event. These will be fully released when the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure goes live early next year. Click the links below if you missed any of our recent expanded weapon proficiency preview blogs:

• Guardian: Pistol (main and off hand)
• Revenant: Scepter (main hand)
• Warrior: Staff
• Engineer: Short bow
• Ranger: Mace (main and off hand)
• Thief: Axe (main hand)
• Elementalist: Pistol (main hand)
• Mesmer: Rifle
• Necromancer: Sword (main and off hand)

Until next time: be safe, have fun, and game on!

<p>Greetings, gamers! My name is Taylor Brooks, and I am a designer on the Skills and Balance Team here at ArenaNet. I hope you are all hungry for another look at a new weapon, because today I’ll be giving you a taste of necromancer swords!</p>
<p>Expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Secrets&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Obscure&trade;</em>, bringing a new weapon and skills for each profession. Don’t forget that 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 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).</p>
<p><iframe width="590" height="332" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/rhQXEJaWR0s?rel=0&modestbranding=1&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h3>Insatiable Appetites</h3>
<p>Necromancer sword skills focus on dealing powerful strike damage in an area while consuming enemies’ vital energy to sustain the wielder. The main-hand sword skill 3, Path of Gluttony, will allow the necromancer to leap to their enemy, healing themselves for each enemy struck. Hungering Maelstrom, off-hand sword skill 4, will damage and steal health from enemies in a targeted area.</p>
<p>With so much healing, a necromancer might find themselves with a surplus of health! Luckily, their swords always hunger. Each sword skill has a secondary ability that can be activated by sacrificing health to sate your swords. Path of Gluttony can be reactivated to cast Gorge. You leap again, repeating the effects of the first leap while also corrupting boons on enemies struck. Hungering Maelstrom’s reactivation is Gormandize. Gormandize will damage and chill enemies struck by Hungering Maelstrom. </p>
<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/03b79NecroSwords-Blog.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/03b79NecroSwords-Blog.jpg" alt="A necromancer wielding two swords" width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<p>Necromancer swords will allow you to sustain yourself through fights while also increasing your offensive capabilities at the price of your own health. Will the risk be worth the reward, or will you find yourself eaten alive?</p>
<p>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. <strong>Please note that since this is a beta test, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio assets for some of the weapon skills.</strong> Be sure to tune in to the Expanded Weapon Proficiency preview <a target="_blank" href="http://www.twitch.tv...>livestream</a>on November 27 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8) to get a more in-depth look at all the new weapons.</p>

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<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/f2410AlchemicPowerSkiffSkin-Blog-1920X1080.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/f2410AlchemicPowerSkiffSkin-Blog-1920X1080.jpg" alt="A wooden boat with metal trim emits magical blue and purple smoke from many pipes. The skiff is decorated with many colorful glass bottles, flasks, and vials." width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<h3>Alchemic Power Skiff Skin</h3>
<p>Float along the rivers and lakes of Tyria in your own mobile potion-brewing lab with the Alchemic Power Skiff Skin! Take your cauldron on the go so your tinctures and tonics can be concocted with the freshest ingredients.</p>
<h3>What’s in Stock</h3>
<p>We’re refreshing our seasonal selection of mount and skiff skins with a 20% discount starting this Friday. Save on many of your favorites, including the Grand Lion Griffon Skin, Shimmerwing Skyscale Skin, Shell Surfer Skimmer Skin, Mordrem Alpha Jackal Skin, Crescent Canoe Skiff Skin, Jade Tech Skiff Skin, and many more.</p>
<p><strong>Returning This Week</strong></p>
<p>Want the convenience of having items available to all of the characters on your account? Shared Inventory Slots are 20% off until December 4. They are also part of our Black Friday sale and will be 30% off on November 26 and 27!</p>
<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/3adb2AlchemicPowerSkiffSkin-Alt-1920X1080.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/3adb2AlchemicPowerSkiffSkin-Alt-1920X1080.jpg" alt="A wooden boat with metal trim emits magical blue and purple smoke from many pipes. The skiff is decorated with many colorful glass bottles, flasks, and vials." width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<h3>Evon Gnashblade’s Birthday Sales</h3>
<p>In addition to our first three expansions having the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.guildwar...-today">deepestdiscounts</a> ever, we have a selection of in-game sales happening this weekend!</p>
<p>Enjoy 30% off all outfits, armor sets, individual armor and weapon skins, gliders, backpacks, and glider combos from Friday, November 24 until Monday, November 27.</p>
<p>Black Lion Chest Keys will be available for 40% off on Friday, November 24 and Saturday, November 25. There’s no better time to stock up!</p>
<p>On Sunday, November 26 and Monday, November 27, the following items will be 30% off:</p>
<ul>
<li>Equipment Template Expansions</li>
<li>Build Storage Expansions</li>
<li>Bag Slot Expansions</li>
<li>Black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets</li>
<li>Storage Expanders</li>
<li>All Living World Episodes and Seasons</li>
<li>Bank Tab Expansions</li>
<li>Shared Inventory Slots</li>
</ul>

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<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/09c32EN-gw2-black-friday-sale-2023-full-sizerun-social-1920x1080.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/09c32EN-gw2-black-friday-sale-2023-full-sizerun-social-1920x1080.jpg" alt="Guild Wars 2 Expansion Sales" width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<p>Greetings, gamers. We’re excited to announce our Black Friday sales for this year, including some of our deepest <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2&reg;</em> expansion discounts ever! It’s not Friday yet, but our sales begin today, and you’ll have until next Tuesday, November 28 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) to take advantage of these discounts.</p>
<p>We’ll also be offering deep discounts on many popular in-game items starting on Black Friday itself&mdash;November 24 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8). Check out our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.guildwar...skiff-skin">GemStore blog</a> or the Gem Store in the game for more information on these discounts, but as a teaser: Black Lion Chest Keys will be a whopping 40% off!</p>
<h3>Guild Wars 2 Expansion Sales</h3>
<p>The following discounted items are available now on the <a target="_blank" href="https://buy.guildwar....com/">official<em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2</em> website</a>, with similar deals on <a target="_blank" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1284210/Guild_Wars_2/">Steam</a>!</p>
<p><strong>Guild Wars 2&mdash;The Elder Dragon Saga Complete Collection</strong></p>
<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/14665GW2-webshop-sub-product-thumbnail-complete-collection-1.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/14665GW2-webshop-sub-product-thumbnail-complete-collection-1.jpg" alt="" width=590/></a></p>
<p>Experience the entire dragon cycle saga from beginning to end with <em>Guild Wars 2</em>&mdash;The Complete Collection. This bundle contains an entire decade’s worth of content! Included are <em>Guild Wars 2 Living World&reg;</em> Seasons 2&ndash;5 and the first three expansions: <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Heart&nbsp;of&nbsp;Thorns&reg;</em>, <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Path&nbsp;of&nbsp;Fire&reg;</em>, and <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;End&nbsp;of&nbsp;Dragons&reg;</em>.</p>
<p>You’ll also get two Level-80 Boosts, allowing you instantly level up two characters and jump straight into our latest content, with two Shared Inventory Slots to easily share items with every character on your account.</p>
<p>This collection is <a target="_blank" href="https://buy.guildwar...tion">availablenow</a> at a 50% discount until November 28. For players only interested in the expansions, the Standard and Deluxe editions of the Elder Dragon Saga Collection are discounted by 60%.</p>
<p><strong>Expansions 1 and 2&mdash;Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns and Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire</strong></p>
<p class=screenshot><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/397bcCompleteCollect-HoT-PoF.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/397bcCompleteCollect-HoT-PoF-590x331.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="331" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-52612" srcset="https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...ect-HoT-PoF.jpg 590w, https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...-PoF-130x73.jpg 130w, https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...-PoF-139x79.jpg 139w, https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...PoF-290x164.jpg 290w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px" /></a></p>
<p>Unlock mounts, gliding, and more with the first two expansions for Guild Wars 2. This package grants you access to a new profession, the revenant, as well as eighteen elite specializations to change the way you play. Experience the joy of movement with the best mounts in MMOs.</p>
<p>This expansion bundle is <a target="_blank" href="https://buy.guildwar...fire">availablenow</a> at a 75% discount!</p>
<p><strong>Expansion 3: Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons</strong></p>
<p class=screenshot><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/df864CompleteCollect-EoD.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/df864CompleteCollect-EoD-590x331.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="331" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-52611" srcset="https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...Collect-EoD.jpg 590w, https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...-EoD-130x73.jpg 130w, https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...-EoD-139x79.jpg 139w, https://d3b4yo2b5lbf...EoD-290x164.jpg 290w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px" /></a></p>
<p>The future of Cantha is now. The dragon cycle that has sustained and blighted Tyria for ages is collapsing. Mortal hearts and choices will define this moment in history&mdash;and echo in the future forever. Unlock new elite specializations, Masteries, and more, including access to fishing and skiffs.</p>
<p>The <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;End&nbsp;of&nbsp;Dragons</em> expansion is <a target="_blank" href="https://buy.guildwar...gons">availablenow</a> at a 50% discount!</p>
<h3>New Hero Jump Start Bonus Event</h3>
<p>To celebrate our sales, today we’re also launching the New Hero Jump Start bonus event! From November 21 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) until the same time on December 5, all players will enjoy the following bonuses:</p>
<ul>
<li>+50% Experience (All Sources)</li>
<li>+30% Magic Find</li>
<li>+30% PvP Reward Track Progress</li>
<li>+30% WvW Reward Track Progress</li>
</ul>
<p>In addition, every player who completes five events in any starting zone can claim a Dreambound weapon from the Mist Stranger! These weapons level up with you, but are only available once per account, so choose wisely!</p>
<h3>Third-Party Retailers</h3>
<p>Our expansion sales are also available from the following third-party retailers:</p>
<p><strong>Americas:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Amazon: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.c...bsp;Thorns</em>& <em>Path&nbsp;of&nbsp;Fire</em> Standard</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Guild-Wars-Dragons-Standard-Online/dp/B08W7XB2C4"><em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;End&nbsp;of&nbsp;Dragons</em> Standard</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Guild-Wars-Dragons-Deluxe-Online/dp/B08W7S2D3L"><em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;End&nbsp;of&nbsp;Dragons</em> Deluxe</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Guild-Wars-Complete-Collection-Online/dp/B0BMR6QLLV"><em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Elder&nbsp;Dragon&nbsp;Saga&nbsp;Complete&nbsp;Collection</em></a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://store.steamp...>Steam</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://hype.games/a...ck-friday">HypeGames (Argentina)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://hype.games/c...ck-friday">HypeGames (Colombia)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://hype.games/p...ck-friday">HypeGames (Peru)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://hype.games/m...ck-friday">HypeGames (Mexico)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://hype.games/c...ck-friday">HypeGames (Chile)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://hype.games/b...ck-friday">HypeGames (Brazil)</a></li>
<li>Nuuvem: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nuuvem.c...;Fire</em></a>,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nuuvem.com/br-pt/item/guild-wars-2-end-of-dragons-expansion"><em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;End&nbsp;of&nbsp;Dragons</em></a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nuuvem.com/br-pt/item/guild-wars-2-complete-collection"><em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Elder&nbsp;Dragon&nbsp;Saga&nbsp;Complete&nbsp;Collection</em></a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Europe:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://cdgalaxis.hu...rs 2">CDgalaxis(Hungary)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.gamelieb...html">Gameliebe(Germany)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://gamecardsdir...Gamecardsdirect(EUROPE)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://gamecardsdir...Gamecardsdirect(France)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://gamecardsdir...Gamecardsdirect(Netherlands)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.key4you....-wars/">Key4you(Czech)</a></li>
</ul>

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Greetings, Mist warriors!

We’re here to go into a little more detail about some of the upcoming World vs. World (and WvW-adjacent) changes. These are part of the overall schedule of content coming to the game over the next couple of months, which you can learn more about in our recent studio update.

Guild halls have long been a space where players can gather together and craft their own unique gameplay experiences—roller beetle racecourses, jumping puzzles, asura football, and more! We are always thrilled to see the creativity of our community at work, and we want to give creators a few new tools for their toolbox.

Currently, guild halls are limited to using PvE game balance rules, creating a very different combat experience than what’s found in WvW or PvP. In January, we’ll be adding a new option that allows you to choose whether your guild hall arena uses PvE, WvW, or PvP game-mode balance for play. Additionally, we’ll be introducing options to allow you to extend PvP combat outside the confines of the guild arena, meaning you can battle your friends across the entire map. Skyscale aerial duels, anyone? We look forward to seeing what you do with your new battlefields when this feature goes live in late January!

As a refresher, we’re in the process of making some big changes to how teams are structured in the World vs. World game mode. Currently, players choose a world (e.g., Blackgate and Desolation) to play on, and each week they are matched up against other worlds based on their performance in the previous match. This system has one critical flaw: seasonal player population fluctuations and world transfers can result in some teams feeling very empty and others feeling unbearably full. To address this, we sometimes link worlds together as a single team, but the relatively small pool of worlds makes it difficult to create balanced matches from a player population standpoint.

World Restructuring is a feature that aims to address player population imbalances and create great matches. It achieves this by deprecating the current concept of shards (a.k.a. worlds or servers) and introducing a team-building system to the game mode in which players and guilds are programmatically redistributed to new teams (previously known as shards) on a set schedule. This gives us more flexibility and granularity when creating new teams and helps address natural fluctuations in population over time. It’ll also give players more agency in choosing who they want to play with on an ongoing basis and allows long-standing communities to continue playing together.

In a previous studio update, we talked about adjusting our priorities to focus on releasing a live, always-on version of World Restructuring as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the complete version of World Restructuring. This moved up our timeline for releasing the first version of the World Restructuring system, and we’re now approaching what we hope is the final beta test before we enable the system 24/7. That beta will include bug fixes for WvW guild-selection visual issues, several queue failure bugs, incorrect map names being shown in the contact list and guild panel, players being redirected to the wrong map, and various UI issues at reset. We’ve also added some new metrics to our team-building algorithm to help create more balanced matches, taking into account commanders, time zones, and more.

To achieve our goal of getting World Restructuring into a 24/7 beta state, we’re postponing development on the following features for the initial release of World Restructuring, although they’re on our list for possible future improvements.

Alliances: Alliances refers to an additional group-management system on top of World Restructuring that would allow multiple smaller WvW guilds to band together as a single entity for team creation. For now, we are focused on developing the best version of the team-building algorithm and maximizing the player experience at the WvW guild level. It’s worth noting that the current planned player cap for an alliance is 500, which is identical to the current max roster size for a single guild. In other words, guilds as they currently exist can be used as a proxy for alliances.

Team Transfers: Once a match has started, there will not be a way for a player to initiate a transfer between teams. Players will need to wait until the next team-creation event or season to be placed with a different guild. To help mitigate this in the short term, we’ll be reducing the duration of a season from eight weeks to four weeks.

This is just the beginning of the World Restructuring system. We have several features that we are discussing for future implementation, depending on what player feedback looks like after the first version of the system is live. Some examples include:

• Additional WvW guild information and management in the guild panel
• Team-building algorithm adjustments and improvements
• Scoring adjustments

To recap: In Q1 2024, we’ll be running a World Restructuring beta. This beta helps us approach our goal of releasing a live version of the guild-based World Restructuring system by testing our new team builder, UI updates, and bug fixes. If the beta goes well, we’ll be able to move forward with turning the system on full time, which will allow us to get consistent live data and community feedback to inform future development.

We’ll continue to share development information for World vs. World and other game systems here, although we won’t have much in the way of news until after the start of the new year.

We’ll see you in the game!

Hello, Tyrians! My name is Chun-Hong Fung, and I’m a game designer on the Systems Team here at ArenaNet. The expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™. Today, we’ll be taking a look at yet another new set of weapons that will be first playable during the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event, starting on November 28 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).

It’s the guardian’s turn to step into the limelight, wielding not one, but two pistols as their new weapons to combat the growing threat of the hostile Kryptis. The pistols are a pair of ranged weapons that specialize in dealing condition damage, allowing the guardian to inflict bleeding and burning on their enemies from a distance with ease.

First let’s look at the cornerstone of any weapon, the autoattack. The pistol’s basic attack, Through the Heart, fires a single, fast projectile that damages and inflicts bleeding on those struck. Notably, this projectile pierces through enemies, allowing it to hit up to five targets. Many of the other skills on this weapon set act in a similar way, allowing users to attack multiple enemies with the correct positioning.

Now, let’s check out one of the more vital skills on the main-hand pistol, Symbol of Ignition. Positioned in the third slot, this skill plants a symbol on the ground below you that damages enemies. Striking an enemy within the symbol or firing a projectile through it causes the symbol to also inflict burning when it pulses. In addition, firing projectiles through the symbol causes them to ignite, allowing them to inflict extra burning on the targets they hit in addition to their original effects.

As an example of how you might possibly use Symbol of Ignition, let’s look at another skill on the off-hand pistol, Hail of Justice. As you may have surmised from the name, this skill fires a volley of piercing projectiles at your targeted foe, each one inflicting bleeding and cripple on up to five enemies. Combining Hall of Justice and Symbol of Ignition allows you to apply a plethora of damaging conditions to your enemy in a short period of time!

There are some other surprises in store for you, and I’m particularly excited about the fifth and final skill…but you’ll have to join us for the Expanded Weapon Preview livestream on November 27 at 12 p.m. Pacific Time to find out what it does!

Finally, as mentioned above, you’ll be able to try out all 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 event, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio for some of the weapon skills.

Until next time!

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 taking a look at how the short bow stacks up for the engineer, which will be available to all players during our Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event, starting on November 28 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).

The engineer has been experimenting with isolating and storing the magic used by others and infusing them into their own contraptions. This has led to the creation of essence-infused arrows, devices equipped with canisters of distilled magic that can be fired at a distant location. These arrows can then be detonated, releasing the essence within and covering the surrounding area with a magic field that affects both allies and enemies. The magic from these canisters may even combine in certain circumstances, causing their effects to be even more potent than when used by themselves!

By wielding the short bow, the engineer exchanges attack power for team support, gaining a total of four types of essence-infused arrows that can be fired into the ground. Despite them being arrows, the actual act of placing these on the ground is unblockable, so don’t worry about those pesky projectile blockers getting in your way. These devices vary in effect, from debilitating your enemies to strengthening or protecting your allies. Once planted, the arrows can be triggered in several ways. They will detonate by themselves after a set amount of time (if the engineer is close enough), or the engineer can choose to detonate them manually with the follow-up skill. Finally, all arrows (except the autoattack) have a special property called Chain Reaction; when an arrow is active, it will also cause your other arrows in range to detonate. If this happens, those arrows gain bonus effects depending on the initial arrow that caused the detonation.

As an example of how this works, let’s look at the second skill in the set, Essence of Animated Sand. When it detonates, enchanted sand is spread over an area, immediately granting barrier to allies in the vicinity and crippling enemies. When detonating other arrows, it causes them to grant a small amount of barrier on initial detonation as well, regardless of their original effect. You could either layer all the arrows in a single spot to give out large amounts of barrier in a small area or spread them out for maximum coverage, depending on the situation.

Chain reaction effects are not limited to the initial detonation, either. The fourth skill, Essence of Liquid Wrath, grants might to allies and vulnerability to enemies on detonation, then continues to pulse might to allies afterward. Its bonus effect allows other arrows to also pulse might to allies in their effective radius, making stacking multiple arrows in the same spot an effective way to strengthen allies in a short period of time.

As mentioned above, you’ll be able to try out all 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 on December 3. Please note that since this is a beta event, 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 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™, in which each profession will have access to a new weapon. We’re back today to take a look at the pistol weapon for the elementalist.

The pistol is a condition-focused weapon that brings some mobility, crowd control, and a large amount of damage. The pistol will also provide some interesting gameplay decisions with its elemental bullet mechanic that grants players a selection of bonus effects.

Every time you use a pistol skill (except for autoattacks) one of two things will happen. If no bullet of the same element exists, the skill will perform its base behavior and create a bullet of its element. A bullet will then hover near the player character to signify it has been created. However, if the elemental bullet already exists, the skill will consume that bullet to gain a bonus effect. For example, let’s check out two skills from the earth attunement: Shattering Stone (slot 2) and Boulder Blast (slot 3).

Shattering Stone fires a shot that inflicts bleeding and cripple, shattering into multiple fragments that also strike nearby enemies. If an earth bullet is available, it will be consumed to grant the user an enhancement that makes their next few attacks also inflict bleeding.

Boulder Blast shoots a larger projectile that strikes a single enemy, immobilizing them and inflicting a larger amount of bleeding. If an earth bullet is available, it’s consumed to grant the user barrier if the projectile successfully strikes an enemy. In this case, depending on the sequencing of skills, players can opt for either more damage or more defense depending on the situation at hand.

Weaver makes things a bit more complicated, as they can attune to multiple elements at once and have access to the multielement dual attacks. So how does this interact with elemental bullets? Dual attacks can consume bullets of both elements, granting a unique bonus for each bullet. If any matching bullet is available when using a dual attack, all matching bullets will be consumed to grant their bonuses. In the event there isn’t a matching bullet, the dual attack will create a single bullet that matches the primary attunement.

We’re definitely excited to see how players utilize the elemental bullet mechanic to maximize their effectiveness in various situations. We’ll do a fuller deep dive into the elementalist pistol as well as other new weapons during the new weapon preview livestream on November 27 at 12 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8), and these weapons will all be available during the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event that runs from 9 a.m. Pacific Time on November 28 until 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.

We’ll see you in the Mists!

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).

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.