Archive for the Skills Category

10 Tips to playing Guild Wars 2 better

Posted 25/04/13 by

Thief is a good profession to learn to play.

Thief is a good profession to learn to play.

I create the opportunity for learning, so that I can keep improving. I do that by seeking ways to challenge myself on specific gameplay skills. Here’s 10 ways you can use to keep learning too.

10 Trigger combos

You can trigger combos by yourself on many professions by using a skill that creates a combo field, then using a skill that triggers it. Self-triggered combos is a good way to learn and practice which of your own skills are what part of a combo. Sometimes, you can combo skills differently to trigger different effects like defensive or offensive effects. Once you learn that, expand your combo knowledge by triggering combos with other players either by triggering their fields, or by setting up fields where they will naturally trigger them.

You can likewise take some time to learn how to combine skill effects. Breaking armors is good just before doing high dps. Or snaring is good before hitting those large AoE’s.

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13 skills unlocked, so many to go!

Posted 25/11/12 by

13skills

After a few months of beta testing and three months after the release in August, the GWO Elementalist forum has “unlocked” thirteen skills of Guild Wars 2′s attunement swapping profession.

What are those “Skills of Interest”, you might ask?

On a regular basis, Gorani – the forum’s moderator – takes an in-depth look at a skill, its current use and stats, its history since the early betas and how well it does compared to other skills. Does is have synergies with traits, is it more useful in PvP or PvE? This and more, you can find on the “Skills of Interest” threads.
You are invited to leave a comment and join the discussion. Share your expertise with the community and perhaps learn something new, too.

Swap to the Elementalist forum now and check out the latest addition to the series:
Signet of Air.

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Some facts about GW2 skills you might have missed…

Posted 12/10/12 by

A few tips everyone can use...

A few tips everyone can use…

So you think you are a Guild Wars 2 pro by now, right? You have your favourite skill rotations programmed into muscle memory, efficiently dispatching foe after foe? But don’t be fooled. The true martial artist doesn’t stop at being an efficient killer… the true martial artist seeks true mastery of his weapons.

Here’s a few advice for those grasshoppers who really want to become pros at the game. Here’s a few ways to really take advantage of your weapons’ strength.

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PvE Levels 1-50, What Changes?

Posted 05/09/12 by

Yeah, I fought that thing

Yeah, I fought that thing

I have often played games, only to find out that the more I played it, the more things changed. In MMORPGs, I find that generally, as you level up, you start having to manage your energy more and more, and you are also pushed into specializing into a role. I also find that leveling slows to a crawl. Meanwhile, I find that the increase in power due to experience and gear is mostly negated by increased monster level, thus making the whole leveling experience moot.

What of Guild Wars 2?

Well, I have not gotten to level 80 yeeeeeet, something I plan to remedy promptly if my daughter and my boss will let me. (Changes of that happening are slim to none)

However, here’s how I think the game changes in the first 50-ish levels…

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7 Unique Skill Types in Guild Wars 2

Posted 17/08/12 by

Maybe I should have made a charr mesmer instead!

Maybe I should have made a charr mesmer instead!

Every new MMORPG claims to re-invent the wheel to get new customers. But many have failed to live up to their own generated hype. Here I discuss 7 skill types that, while not entirely new to the MMORPG genre, have been considerably re-worked and re-tooled, making them feel fresh, fresh, exciting!

Although I think the addition of dodging was also a big change, I will dodge that discussion for now. But keep in mind that in Guild Wars 2, you can dodge.

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Conditions against Power & Criticals

Posted 09/08/12 by

This new [Guide] thread in the Elementalist forum was made to help you balance your capabilities at dealing condition based damage, “raw” damage fuelled by your Power attribute, or going for critical strikes against your opponents. It also covers some damage formulas, which at the current state of the game are not all officially confirmed by Arena.Net.
If you are not an Elementalist, you will find ideas how to transfer those numbers to your profession’s trait line.

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A Scholar Eye on Minionmancy

Posted 29/05/12 by
Bone Minions

Bone Minions

If you like a small army of minions, look no further. This primer will give you all that you need to know to get started.

I will focus on necromancer summoning skills as well as traits that directly modify minions.

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Look no further, Elementalists!

Posted 10/05/12 by

Curious about the Elementalist in Guild Wars 2? Have you been a fan of this profession since the release of Guild Wars seven years ago, or have you been falling in love with the ability to swap attunements since the Beta Weekend in April? Look no further for information about this class on our profession forums here at GWOnline.net. We have been following the development of the profession since it was first announced and compiled a lot of things that will be of use to you now or at the next BWE.

Join us at the forum and don’t just lurk around any more! We are a friendly place for both veterans and newcomers.

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Top 10 Guild Wars 2 Skills with a Guild Wars Predecessor

Posted 30/03/12 by

Guild Wars 2 is still in beta, so skills are constantly changing. But, just for fun, I took a look through the skill list as it stands after the March beta weekend and pulled out some skills that were in Guild Wars. (Sorry, engineer – womp womp.) This list is based entirely on my on whimsy (What I think looks cool – though, spoiler alert, I resisted putting Shield of Absorption on the list), especially since I have yet to play the game. Let’s get into it:


  10 – Shield of Judgment

This is one of the spells you know because monsters in Guild Wars used it, not because you would have ever equipped an elite smiting prayer that was not Ray of Judgment. For 15 energy, this would give an ally an enchantment that caused damage and knocked down foes who attacked that ally. Now part of the Guardian shield line, Shield of Judgment sends out a wave that damages foes and reduces damage by 33% for up to five allies. Not too shabby!

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The Guardian: First Impression

Posted 29/03/12 by

I had a chance to play the guardian during the recent Guild Wars 2 beta event. It was my first taste of Guild Wars 2, so not only I had to learn about the profession, but also the game itself.
I played the guardian up to level 15 in PvE and WvW, so my impressions are of the early game. I also unlocked all of the weapons and off-hand skills (except aquatic skills) so I could try them out.

Some of you who’ve played with me in Guild Wars probably wonder why I chose to play a guardian, since I usually prefer a caster or some other ranged profession. I admit initially I was sceptical about the guardian, but after playing it for a while, I enjoyed it enough to include it on my list of characters to create with my first five character slots.

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Random Comments that Didn’t Fit in the Other Articles

Posted 29/03/12 by

I do love quick notes.

I do love quick notes.

In this article, I’ll be making random comments on quest types, professions, maps and traveling, grouping quick, and UI.

Enjoy!

Quest types – Made for Diversity

Yes, it’s an MMO, so you will have to kill stuff, help people, collect junk. It’s unavoidable. However, ArenaNet has improved the formula quite a bit by:

(1) Making it feel alive. Stuff happens whether you are there or not, whether you participate or not. This may not seem important, but it makes the world feel alive, and makes the whole combat very fresh and dynamic.

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Rofltations, Spam on Recharge, and Other Terrible Ideas

Posted 26/03/12 by

Rotation guide for noobs.

Rotation guide for noobs (edited from the official GW2 Wiki).


If someone tells you that Guild Wars 2 gameplay is all rotation or spam-on-recharge, then they are playing like scrubs. It’s that simple. I played Mesmer and Engineer mostly but also other professions, and I can think of many times when I used a skill at the wrong time and regretted it.

In fact, it’s harder to come up with weapon skill examples that should be spammed on recharge.

The following is based on my PvE experience, but of course applies even more to PvP. I’ll talk mostly about Mesmers and Engineers because I played those two professions the most, but I have found the same general principles to apply across all professions with very rare exceptions.

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