Unofficial Game Manual

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Introduction



This unofficial manual lovingly compiled by Mystra. Keep in mind that the game is not final yet, and everything in this manual is subject to change. Note the manual has is dated to the last known game configuration. Please check back for updates as the game evolves constantly. NOTHING in this guide should be taken as written in stone.

Guild Wars aims to reinvent the online role playing genre. Often dubbed as a MMORPG (massive multi-player online role playing game) it is more accurately described as a CORPG (competitive online role playing game). Gone are hours of treadmill leveling, tedious traveling, camping, kill-stealing, separation of servers (and thus potential party members) and waiting in line to play.



Play is meant to be interesting and fun from the beginning. Character experimentation is easy, so you don’t have to lock yourself into character builds that you don’t want. Skill is emphasized over time playing. You can play solo or in groups, in large missions or small, against beasts or other players.



With streaming technology, any patches or additions to the game are immediately available just by loading the game. The world can change continuously!





Lore



Only bits and pieces of lore are coming to the surface via the official site, but here’s our best summary as to what is going on. Yes, we could be completely off our rockers. =)



The guilds have been fighting for years over control of key areas for power and financial gain. Ascalon is one of these areas.



As the story unfolds, we learn that Ascalon has a guild, known as Ascalon's Chosen, who protect her territories against other warring guilds and beasts.



A great invasion of Charr from the north caused the Searing, which devastated their lands and caused magical upheaval. With the Searing beasts arose from the elements, and the inhabitants of Ascalon where forced to take refuge behind the Northern Wall and live in last city still standing, Kyhlo.



But the Charr were not satisfied, and made a great invasion upon the Wall, attacking the Wall with such great force the defenders who were forced to retreat. Many great men and women were lost, and some were taken as hostages.



Prince Rurik gathered his armies together and took back the wall and rescued the prisoners. Using ancient weapons and the bravery of those who would help him he pushed back the invasion once more, but for how long?



Deciding it was best for his people to find new lands to inhabit until they grew strong and one day could return to Ascalon, Prince Rurik lead his people north to the Shiverpeak Mountains. Alas his hope to find help with his former allies the dwarves was dashed as they, too, became hostile towards his people.



Moving on to the Wilds they found a beautiful, lush land that showed signs of once being inhabited by the Druid people, but strangely the people seem to have vanished. Soon discovering why, they found the land to be full of magical beasts and plants. The Ascalon people once again found themselves not welcome and under attack.

There is hope still, perhaps. The Tombs of Drascir, ancient resting place of the kings of Ascalon, is home to the Hall of Heros. Legend has it that there you can find the Rift that allow you to enter and claim the Hall of Heros. The group that controls the Hall of Heros will have great power. Many have tried, and taking the Hall of Heros will not be easy as it is inhabited by many spirits both hostile and allied. And there is always another group there who want to claim the throne as well…



Interface



The interface is your control center of play. Your key components are:





1.

In town or an outpost, you will see your DISTRICT information in the top left corner. Each district is an exact copy of the location, limited to 150 players each. You can easily travel between districts by choosing from the drop down menu.







2.

Also in the top left is a tab to open your character menus. Included are HERO, ITEMS, SKILLS and LOG tabs, which are explained in more detail below.







3.

In the middle left you will find your CHAT area where live messages can be sent to all, party or guild members as well as whispers to individuals.







4.

In the lower left you will find your WEAPON area where your equipped weapons will show.







5.

Across the bottom you will find an interface that will show your HEALTH, ENERGY, and 8 SKILL slots. A 9th skill slot can also be equipped temporarily during mission play.







6.

On the lower right you will find your MINI-MAP showing your current location at all times and the surrounding areas with a compass for guidance. Also included is a full MAP button for travel between towns and outposts available.







7.

In the middle right in some areas you will find an interface to joining a PARTY, and in mission the same spot will include a list of party members with a bar to keep track of their health.







8.

On the upper right you will find another tab to open an interface that includes tabs for FRIENDS list, GUILD, OPTIONS and MESSAGES.







9.

In the far upper right you will find common window buttons to adjust the window by minimizing, toggle between windowed and full mode, and to exit the game.











Maps & Traveling







Mini-Map







Your mini-map will show your immediate surrounding area during play. You may see paths on the map but keep in mind many short cuts may not appear on this map. There is a compass that will turn as you change direction to help you navigate. You are always shown dead center on this map, and the map will show new areas as you move to them.



On the map are color-coded dots. Party members are shown in green. Friendly NPCs are shown in yellow. And finally, enemies are shown in red.



Large Map



You can launch the large map for travel by hitting the map button with your mouse or pressing “M”. On this map you will see the locations to which you can travel. Some locations require you to “unlock” them by doing a previous mission and will not show until they are available to you for play.



To travel to your destination, you click once on the location icon. Then you will see a brief description of the location. To choose another location, simply close the window and click on another area. To travel to that location, you click on the travel button in the description window.



While you are in a location you will note that this map has a global positioning system. Just open the large map and an icon will show where you are at any given moment!

For those who like to sight see a bit, it is technically possible to travel by foot from location to many of these locations via the solo play areas.



The towns, outposts and persistent areas are separated into districts of a maximum of 150 players each. Each district is an exact replica of the other. To travel between districts you use the drop down interface located in the upper left hand corner of your screen. This way, you can find your friends easily no matter where they are by agreeing to meet in a particular district.





Character Information







In your HERO tab you will find all the basic information about your character’s current statistics.





*

You will find your character name and primary profession/secondary profession listed.







*

Your character level (1-20 at this time).







*

Skill points earned and used.







*

Your experience earned, and a note of how much you need to earn to gain your next level and/or skill point.







*

Your rank and fame (determined in tournament areas).







*

Attribute points available to spend and refund points earned (in order to re-arrange your attribute points).







*

And finally, your attributes listed for your profession(s) and how many points you put in each. The up arrows next to each attribute tell you how many points you need to spend to gain the next attribute level. Clicking on the arrow will spend the points and increase that particular level up by one. The down arrows tell you how many points you can make available by reducing that attribute one level. Clicking on the down arrow will decrease the level by one and add to your spendable attribute points. You can only decrease levels to gain available attribute points if you have refund points available.







Items & Weapons









In your ITEMS tab you will find your armor, weapons, gold, skill gems and other items you find in play.





*

To equip or unequip a piece of armor or clothing you click the item to highlight it and then click the equip button or simply double click on the item.







*

To equip weapons you hit the tab key to open the weapon slot below you’d like the weapon to be in, then click the weapon in your inventory and hit the equip button (or double click) to put in that slot. You have 3 available slots for quick access to weapon changes during game play. At this time, only a sword can be equipped in the same slot with a shield and only for warriors.







*

To pick up an item found in play, simply click on that item with your mouse or use the keyboard shortcut (“\” then spacebar), and it will be added to your inventory in your items tab.







*

To drop an item, simply drag it from your inventory to the ground at your character’s feet. (Note: this can only be done in a mission.) If there are multiple items you will automatically be prompted for the number of items you wish to drop.







*

You will see a gold piece icon and the amount of gold you have in the lower right corner of your items tab, you can drag and drop it like any other item in your inventory.







*

The inventory has a set number of slots, once it is full you will have to make room by crafting, selling, or dropping unwanted items.







Skills









The next tab is your SKILLS tab. Here you will see each skill you have available for use during play. The icons, name, attribute if any it is associated with, description, and energy cost are all listed. You can only bring 8 sills with you at any time into a mission. To equip a skill, you drag and drop the icon for that skill from your skills tab down into a numbered slot across the bottom of your screen. You can also re-arrange the order of your skills by dragging and dropping in the skill slots themselves. You can only re-arrange your skills in towns and mission outposts. Once you are in a mission, you are frozen to your chosen skills and their assigned slots.





Mission Log









Finally, on your LOG tab you will see any uncompleted agendas or quests. Look here when you accept a quest from an NPC or when you are in a mission to find out what you need to accomplish. Just click on a listed quest and the description of that quest will appear below the list.







Friends List









On your FRIENDS tab you can add, delete, and message your friends. Included is also an ignore list (which currently only blocks whispers from those you choose to ignore). Note that you need only put your friend’s main character name in the list, if they are logged into a different character they will show up on your list as Main Name (Alternate Name).









Chat & Messaging











The Guild Wars game will have many different ways of communicating, not all of which have been fully realized at the time of this publication. Here are the basics of what is currently available.



Chat



On the middle left of your screen you will see conversation of your current location. Color-coded names helps you see of the conversation is public (yellow), for party members only (blue), or for your eyes only (whispers - green). In the future, there will also be guild-only conversation.



To activate your chat bar to type a message, you press the enter key, you will see a chat bar appear on your screen. Type your message and press enter again to send it.



To not clutter the screen, conversation fades away after so many seconds. You can activate the chat log to keep the conversation on screen and use a scroll bar to look through for any messages you may have missed.





When chatting, the default in towns and mission outposts is to “all” or public conversation. In missions, the default is to party members only. There is an interface and keyboard shortcuts to change who you want to be able to read your message.



In addition, you can “whisper” to a person several different ways – double click on a name listed in conversation on the screen, use your friends’ list interface, or keyboard shortcuts.





Messaging



In addition to live chat, there is an interface similar to email. In the “Messages” tab you can message a particular individual and it will go to their “inbox” for reading and replying at their leisure.





Options











In the options tab you will find:





* Language: Currently there are three options, English, Korean and yes, it’s not a joke, Sweedish Chef (of “Muppets” fame).

* You can choose between windowed mode (resizable by dragging the sides of the window) that defaults to your windows resolution, or full screen mode where you can choose the resolution you’d like.

* Refresh rate – currently you can only use windows default but we expect this to change – otherwise why would they even list the option?

* Visual quality – a slider bar to toggle between higher quality picture or faster game play (for lower end video cards) or something in between.

* Sound options to adjust the level of music, background audio, and special effects separately.

* You can also enable or disable 3D audio.



Guilds





There is a guild tab in the interface that promises many exciting features yet to come, stay tuned!







Keyboard & Mouse Controls



The following is a list of known keyboard & mouse controls at the time of this publication.

Movement & Camera



Move & Turn Character Click and hold down left mouse button and move mouse in direction you wish to move,

Or use the keyboard arrow keys for forward, backward, right or left,

Or use “W” for forward, “S” for backward, “A” for left and “D” for right. Strafe (slide) sideways Use “Q” to strafe left and “E” for strafe right. Autorun Double click the “Up” arrow or the “W” key. Quickly turn opposite direction Double click the “Down” arrow or “S” key. Quickly move to a specific location Click that location on your screen with your mouse. Zoom camera in or out Use the mouse center wheel button. Switch to first person view Zoom all the way in using the mouse center wheel button. Quickly look at the front of your character Hold down the “Z” key. Move camera when still Click and hold down the right mouse button and move mouse. Move camera while running Hold the “shift” key and the right mouse button simultaneously and move mouse.



Targeting & Interaction



Select Self Hit apostrophe “ ‘ “ or “shift” + “ ‘ “,

Or click your character with mouse,

Or click your name in the party list. Select Party member Press “\” for nearest party member,

Or press “]” or “[“ to rotate through party members,

Or click the party member’s character,

Or click the party member’s name in the party list,

Or select F1-F8 counting down the party list (F1 being the first party member on the list, and so on). Select friendly NPC* Press “\” for nearest friendly NPC or party member,

Or press “]” or “[“ to rotate through NPC’s and party members,

Or click the NPC’s character. Auto follow party member or friendly NPC After selecting the character, hit the space bar,

Or click on character with your mouse. Target item Hold “alt” key down and press “\” for nearest item,

Or hold “alt” key down and press “]” or “[“ to rotate through items. Interact with (pick up) item After selecting item, hit the space bar,

Or click on item with mouse. Target enemy Hold “shift” key down and press “\” for nearest enemy,

Or hold “shift” key down and press “]” and “[“ to rotate through nearby enemies. Interact with (physically attack) enemy After selecting enemy, hit “spacebar”,

Or click on enemy with your mouse. Target a corpse Press “shift” key plus the semi-colon key “ ; ” for the nearest enemy corpse *Note that for the purposes of selection, friendly NPCs are selected like party members.







Using Skills & Weapons



Equip skills Drag and drop from your skills list to your skill slots (only in towns or outposts, not in missions). Use a skill Click the skill icon in your bar with your mouse,

Or hit the keyboard number key that corresponds with the number slot of your skill.** Equip a 9th skill slot Double click a charged skill gem in your inventory (note it’s a temporary 3 minute usage and it can be any skill of any profession). Equip weapons Hit tab key to find the weapon slot you want and double click the weapon in your inventory to equip that slot with the weapon. Toggle weapons Hit the tab key to toggle through 3 weapon sets. **Only numbers across the top of the letters on your keyboard will work, not the numbered 10-key pad to your right of the letters.







Communication



Chat in game Hit “enter” once, type your message, then hit “enter” to send. Whisper to friend Type: “/whisper {name}, {message}” ,

Or double-click on name in chat interface,

Or use friends’ list interface. Message your party Type: “/p {message}” (only necessary in outposts). Message all Type “/a {message}” (only necessary in pvp missions). Announce your target to party members Hold down “control” key while hitting “spacebar” (to attack),

Or hold down “control” key while clicking target with mouse (to attack),

Or hold down “control” key and “shift” key while clicking with mouse (to announce target without attacking). Announce your target is dead to party members Hold down “control” key while clicking on dead target. Announce the skill you are using to party members Hold down “control” key while hitting number of skill,

Or hold down “control” key while clicking skill icon with mouse. Announce your health status to party members Hold down “control” key while clicking your health bar with mouse. Announce your energy status to party members Hold down “control” key while clicking your energy bar with mouse. Announce blessings or curses on you to party members Hold down “control” key while clicking blessing or curse icon. Announce the weapon you are using to party members Hold down “control” key while clicking on your weapon icon.



Emotes



All emotes are used by typing “/{emote}” in the chat window. beckon help roar beg jump shoo bored laugh salute bow moan sigh cheer no sorry clap pickme wave congrats point yawn doh ponder yes fistshake pout



Misc Commands



Roll Dice Type “/roll {number}”. Log out of current character Hit “control” key + the letter “L”. Exit the game Hit “control” key + the letter “Q”,

Or click the “x” in the upper right hand corner of your window. Close GUI window Hit “escape” key to close any interactive window you may have open at the moment. Open & close HERO window Hit the letter “H”. Open & close ITEMS window Hit the letter “I”. Open & close SKILLS window Hit the letter “K”. Open & close LOG window Hit the letter “L”. Open & close FRIENDS window Hit “F11” key. See the names of players nearby Hold down the “control” key (in towns and outposts). See the names of friendly NPCs nearby Hold down the “shift” key. See the names of locations nearby Hold down the “alt” key. See the names of enemies nearby Hold down the “control” key (in missions). See how long your character has played Type “/age” in the chat window. See how many times your character has died Type “/deaths” in the chat window. See current health and energy status of your character Type “/health” in the chat window.





Character Building



Alas, we get to the part everyone wants to know about – What about my character??!!



It seems that in the final release you will be able to create four characters per account. This enables you to try out different professions and character builds.



Please note: once you have chosen your character’s primary profession and physical features, you cannot change this. So choose carefully. If you change your mind, you can always delete that character and start a new one, however, all levels and skills earned will be lost.



Character Creation







We’re not going to go into exact detail on character creation here because we believe the interface now in the game is not going to be the same interface used upon release, or even in open beta testing. Suffice to say the following is what you will be asked for during creation:





* Choose World – At this time, the choices are the English World or Korean World.



* Choose Name – Guild Wars requires that names be at least two words separated by a space, and only alphabet characters can be used, no numbers or symbols.





* Choose Gender – Self-explanatory.



* Choose Primary Profession – Now, there is a possibility in the future that professions will not be chosen at character creation, since ArenaNet has put great emphasis on testing a few professions before making a binding choice. We are also almost certain that when the game goes live that a secondary profession will not be able to chosen until the character levels up to a certain point.





* Choose Appearance – Right now, you can customize the hair, hair color, face, skin tone and body scale.



You will note that the only race at this time is humans, who knows what will happen in the future!









Professions





As of right now, there are 6 professions from which to choose. They are Warrior, Ranger, Monk, Necromancer, Mesmer and Elementalist. The following is a brief description of each class, the attributes associated with them, and the starting skills that comes with the profession. Please note anything marked with an asterisk (*) means that you only get that attribute or starting skill with the primary, not secondary, profession.



In general, Warriors start with less energy than Rangers, who start with less energy than casters. Energy and health are also affected by leveling and customizing armor. All professions can increase their energy by equipping a wand. In addition, Elementalists are the only profession that can increase their energy storage with attribute points.



Note: Descriptions of skills and to what attributes they are associated with are in the Skills section.





Warrior







Tough and hard with armor to match, the Warrior specializes in melee attacks and tanking. The Warrior is an essential part of a party, drawing the enemy’s attention away from ranged attackers, casters and healers.



Attributes:



* Melee Defense

* Toughness*

* Axe Mastery

* Hammer Mastery

* Swordsmanship



Starting Skills:



* For Great Justice!*

* Frenzy

* Hammer Bash*

* Power Attack







Ranger







The Ranger is one with nature. He or she specializes in archery, stealth and scouting. The Ranger shoots arrows with deadly accuracy and specializes in ranged attacks.



Attributes:



* Evasion

* Marksmanship

* Nature Rituals



Starting Skills:



* Dodge

* Pin Down

* Called Shot*

* Dual Shot*







Monk







Calling upon the divine spirits, the Monk is the party’s protector and healer. Although his or her primary focus is the well being of the party members, the Monk can also cast holy damage upon foes.



Attributes:



* Healing Prayers

* Smiting Prayers

* Protection Prayers

* Elemental Protection*

* Divine Favor*



Starting Skills:



* Banish*

* Heal Area

* Healing Breeze

* Infuse Health*

* Resurrect



Necromancer







The Necromancer calls upon black magic to aid his or her cause. Specializing in blood sacrifice and death rituals, the Necromancer’s touch is deadly to all who cross his or her path.



Attributes:



* Blood Magic

* Death Magic

* Curses

* Soul Reaping*



Starting Skills:



* Faintheartedness

* Life Siphon

* Putrid Explosion*

* Vampiric Touch*



Mesmer







With magical abilities to overcome the enemy’s mind and will, the Mesmer subverts their attacks and casts damaging enchantments.



Attributes:



* Illusion Magic

* Domination Magic



Starting Skills:



* Backfire*

* Conjure Phantasm*

* Empathy

* Imagined Burden



Elementalist







As the name suggests, the Elementalist calls upon the forces of nature (earth, air, fire and water) to cast massive damage upon his or her enemies.



Attributes:



* Fire Magic

* Air Magic

* Earth Magic

* Energy Storage*

* Water Magic



Starting Skills:



* Flare*

* Fire Storm

* Inferno

* Gale*







Skills



Acquiring skills is part of the adventure, as each skill adds a new and exciting element to your character’s play. There are three parts to gaining a new skill, the skill gem, a skill point, and good old fashioned gold! When you have the three parts of your skill learning recipe, you visit your profession’s trainer/crafter and gain your highly earned skill!







Skill Gems



Skill gems can be found during play. When you kill a high level “Boss” he will drop the gems of the actual skills he was using in battle. Another way to get skill gems is to purchase them from vendors, or trade with other players.



When you first get a gem it is “charged” for only a few hours. After that, it becomes discharged.



Although you can only “learn” or acquire a skill from your primary or secondary profession, one fantastic feature of the game is being able to try out skills on a temporary basis of any profession. While in a mission, you can double-click a “charged” gem in your inventory to temporarily equip yourself with a 9th skill slot. (If the gem is discharged, you can charge the gem first by using a purchased gem charger.) You have 3 minutes to use the skill. After that, the gem will be discharged.



A gem does not have to be charged when you take it to your trainer/crafter for permanent skill acquisition.



Skill Points



Skill points are earned with experience gained while playing.

Gold



Gold is acquired in play as well, frequently dropped by enemies you kill or found in a treasure stashes!





On the following pages are a complete list (as of the date of this publication) of all skills available to all professions in Guild Wars. Check back for updates, as we expect these to change constantly.



Some things to consider when reading this list:





*

Attributes: skills that have corresponding attributes have a higher effectiveness level based on points pumped into that character’s attribute. Skills that list no attribute have a standard effectiveness rate for all.







*

Signets: are skills that require no energy cost to use.







*

AL = Armor Level







*

Adrenaline: Some warrior skills need to be “charged” with adrenaline by attacking with the weapon before they can be used. They require no energy cost to use.







*

All skills have some “cool down” where they can’t be used, some are longer than others.







*

Nature Rituals can only be used once per mission.



Common Skills for All Profession



Skill Attribute Energy Description Healing Signet Toughness Signet Heal yourself for 50+ health. You will be very venerable while healing. (Note: Warriors are the only profession that can increase the amount of healing with attributes.) Resurrection Signet Signet Resurrect target party member. You can only use this skill ring once per mission.



Warrior



Skill Attribute Energy Description 100 Blades 5 This sword attack strikes your target and foes adjacent to your target. “For great justice!” 5 SHOUT. For the next 15 seconds, your adrenal skills charge faster. “I will avenge you!” 5 SHOUT. For every nearby dead friend, you gain bonus melee defense and attack skill. “Watch yourself!” 5 SHOUT. Party members near you gain 20+ AL for 5 seconds. Belly Smash 5 Smash a knocked down opponent with a hammer. If the blow hits, the resulting dust cloud will blind nearby enemies. Charge Signet Run faster than normal for 15 seconds. Cyclone Axe 5 Performs a spinning axe attack against all foes standing around you. Defensive Stance 5 For the next 10 seconds, you have a better chance of evading melee attacks and take less damage. Defy Pain Toughness Adrenaline For the next 20 seconds, you have an additional 90+ health and an additional 20 AL. Desperation Blow 5 Attack. You deal massive damage, but fall down. Dismember Adrenaline If this hits, this axe blow will inflict a deep wound on the enemy, lowering his maximum health. Distracting Blow 5 Swipe your weapon at the target, doing no damage but disrupting the target’s current action. Dolyak Signet Toughness Signet For the next 8+ seconds, you have 10+ AL, but your movement is slowed dramatically. Earth Shaker Adrenaline Hammer attack. All adjacent foes are knocked down. Endure Pain Toughness 10 For the next 7+ seconds, you have an additional 90+ health. Executioner’s Strike Adrenaline This axe attack deals massive damage. Flourish 5 You must use a sword to use this skill. All your attack skills are instantly recharged. Flurry 5 For the next 5 seconds, your attack rate is increased but you deal less damage. Frenzy 5 For the next few seconds, you melee attack rate is increased, but you defense is lowered. Galrath Slash Adrenaline This sword blow does triple damage if it hits. Hammer Bash Adrenaline Knock your opponent to the ground. Hamstring 10 Cut your opponent’s leg with a sword, crippling his movement. Intimidate 5 If this blow lands, the enemy’s melee defense is temporarily decreased. Jawbreaker Adrenaline If this attack hits while target foe is casting a spell, that foe is silenced. Mighty Blow Adrenaline This hammer attack deals extra damage. Penetrating Blow Adrenaline This axe attack ignores armor. Power Attack 5 This attack does double damage if it hits. Sever Artery Adrenaline If this sword blow hits, the opponent will start to bleed, losing health over time. Sprint 5 Run faster than normal for a few seconds. Staggering Blow 10 If this hammer attack hits, the target will become weak. Thrill of Victory 5 If this blow kills the enemy, you gain 100 health. Wild Blow 5 This blow is less accurate, but if it lands, it will be a critical hit.



Ranger



Skill Attribute Energy Description Animal Aggression 5 For the next 5 seconds, your pet attacks faster than normal. Antidote Signet Cleanse yourself of poison, disease and blindness. Apply Poison 10 PREPARATION. Use this skill before an attack. If you next attack hits, it will poison the enemy. Called Shot Marksmanship 10 This arrow shot deals 8+ more damage. Charm Lynx 10 Attempt to charm a lynx into submission. You must have this skill equipped to bring your charmed lynx with you into another map. Comfort Animal 10 You heal your pet. Conflagration Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, all arrows catch fire in flight and do fire damage if they hit. Debilitating Shot 5 If this ranged attack hits, it reduces target foe’s energy by 10 or one quarter of his maximum, which ever is greater. Distracting Shot 5 If this ranged attack hits, it interrupts target foe’s action. Dodge 5 For the next few seconds, you are more difficult to hit. This ends if you attack. Dual Shot 10 Shoot two arrows simultaneously at the opponent. These arrows deal 25% less damage than normal. Edge of Extinction Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, whenever any creature dies, this spell does 10 damage to any nearby creatures of the same type. Favorable Winds Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, arrows move twice as fast as normal and deal 3+ more damage. Feeding 5 SHOUT. For the next 5 seconds, your pet games health for dealing damage. Fertile Season Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, every creature’s maximum health is increased by 50. Frozen Soil Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, dead creatures cannot be resurrected. Ignite Arrow 10 PREPARATION. Use this skill before a bow attack. On your next bow attack, you’ll shoot an arrow that explodes on contact. Kindle Arrow 5 PREPARATION. Use this skill before a bow attack. On your next bow attack, you’ll shoot an arrow that deals fire damage on contact. Nature’s Renewal Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, all hexes and enchantments are removed, and no new ones can be cast. Penetrating Attack 10 This attack ignores armor. Pin Down 10 Shoot an arrow, if it hits, it will cripple the enemy, slowing his movement rate. Quick Shot 5 This bow attack is unusually fast. Quickening Zephyr Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, all skill recharge twice as fast. Seeking Shot 10 This bow attack cannot be evaded, blocked, parried or dodged. Symbiosis Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, for each blessing on a creature, that creature’s maximum health is increased. Throw Dirt 10 Use this skill within melee range of an enemy. Target becomes blind. Tongue Biter 10 If this attack hits a foe while casting a spell, the spell is interrupted and your target is silenced. Energizing Wind Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, all skills cost up to 5 less energy to use. Winnowing Nature Ritual 15 For the next 30-300 seconds, creatures take an additional 5 additional damage whenever they take damage.



Monk



Skill Attribute Energy Description Amenity Protection 5 HEX. All adjacent enemies cannot attack for 8+ seconds. For each enemy, amenity ends if that enemy takes damage. Balthazar’s Spirit 10 BLESSING. Target ally gains adrenaline and energy after taking damage. This blessing drains one point of energy recovery. Bane Signet Smiting Target attacking foe takes 10+ holy damage and is stunned for 1 second. Banish Smiting 5 PRAYER. Target foe takes holy damage. Banish deals extra damage to summoned creatures. Convert Curses Protection 15 BLESSING. Remove all curses from target other ally. For the next 8-20 seconds, that ally gains +10 AL for each curse removed. Divine Healing Divine Favor 10 SPELL. Heal yourself and nearby party members for 10-130 health. Divine Boon Divine Favor 5 BLESSING. Whenever you cast monk skills on an ally, that ally gains 1-13 health. Divine Spirit Divine Favor 10 BLESSING. For the next 7-55 seconds, monk spells cost you 5 less energy to cast. Divine Intervention Divine Favor 10 BLESSING. If target ally takes a mortal blow within the next 10 seconds, that ally avoids death and gains health instead. Essence Bond 10 BLESSING. Whenever target takes non-magical damage, you can 1 energy. This blessing drains one point of energy recovery. Heal Area Healing 10 SPELL. Heal yourself and all nearby creatures for 30+ health. Heal Other Healing 10 PRAYER. Heal target other ally for 25+ health. Heal Party Healing 25 PRAYER. Heal entire party for 16+ health. Healing Hands Healing 15 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 2 seconds, Healing Hands heals target ally for 1+ health each time he is struck in melee. Healing Breeze Healing 10 ENCHANTMENT. You heal target ally for 30+ health over the next 5+ seconds. Holy Strike Smiting 10 Touched target enemy takes holy damage. Holy Veil 10 BLESSING. Target creature cannot be the target of any additional blessings or curses. Holy Wrath Smiting 10 PRAYER. Whenever target ally takes melee damage, this spell does 25% damage back to the source, and you loose 4 energy. Infuse Health 10 PRAYER. Transfer half your current health to target other ally. Life Attunement 10 BLESSING. Target ally deals less damage in combat, but gains 50% more health from healing prayers. This blessing drains one point of energy recovery. Life Bond Protection 10 BLESSING. Whenever a target other ally receives physical damage, half that damage is redirected to you. The damage you receive this way is reduced by 3+ points. This blessing drains one point of energy recovery. Live Vicariously Healing 10 BLESSING. Whenever a target ally hits an opponent, you gain 1+ health. This blessing drains one point of your energy recovery. Martyr 5 PRAYER. All negative conditions on nearby allies are transferred to you. Mend Ailment Protection 5 PRAYER. Remove poison, disease and blindness from target ally. That ally is healed for 10+ for each ailment removed. Mend Condition Protection 5 PRAYER. Remove poison, disease, blindness, silence, bleed, crippled or deep wound from target other ally. That ally is healed for 10+ health. Mend Injury Protection 5 PRAYER. Remove bleed, crippled and deep would from target ally. That ally is healed for 10+ for each injury removed. Mending 10 BLESSING. Target ally regains health faster while this spell remains in effect. This spell drains one point of energy recovery. Pacifism Protection 10 HEX. Target enemy cannot use physical attacks for the next 8+ seconds. This effect ends if the target takes damage. Protective Spirit Protection 10 BLESSING. For the next 5+ seconds, target ally cannot loose more than 10% health due to damage from a single attack or spell. Rebirth Protection 10 PRAYER. Resurrect target party member, teleporting him to your current location. All the target’s skills are disabled for 30 seconds. This spell consumes all your remaining energy. Restore Life 10 PRAYER. Touch the body of a fallen party member. Target party member is returned to life at half health and full energy. Restore Condition Protection 10 PRAYER. Remove poison, disease, blindness, silence, bleed, crippled, and deep wound from target other ally. That ally is healed for 12+ for each condition removed. Resurrect 10 PRAYER. Resurrect target party member. Retribution Smiting 10 BLESSING. Whenever a target ally takes melee damage, this spell does 12%+ of the damage back to the source. This blessing drains one point of energy recovery. Reversal of Fortune Protection 5 ENCHANTMENT. The next time a target ally would take damage, he gains that amount of health instead. (Maximum 15+.) Scourge Healing Smiting 10 HEX. For the next 30 seconds, every time target enemy is healed, the healer takes 15-40 damage. Shatter Curse Smiting 5 SPELL. Remove a curse from target ally. The caster of the curse suffers 20-60 damage. Smite Smiting 5 ATTACK. This staff/wand attack deals holy damage. Strength of Honor Smiting 10 BLESSING. Target ally does additional damage in melee. This blessing drains one point of energy recovery. Symbol of Wrath Smiting 15 PRAYER. For a short time, foes in the area take holy damage. Holy Symbol deals extra damage to summoned creatures. Vengeance 15 BLESSING. Bring a dead friend back to life at full health and full power. This “resurrection” ends after 30 seconds. Vital Blessing Protection 15 BLESSING. Target ally gains 25+ health while this spell remains in effect. This blessing drains one point of energy recovery.



Necromancer



Skill Attribute Energy Description Animate Bone Horror 25 SPELL. Animate Bone Horror from target corpse. Animate Bone Fiend 25 SPELL. Animate a Bone Fiend from target corpse. Animate Bone Minions 25 SPELL. Animate two Bone Minions from target corpse. Barbs Curse 10 Target enemy suffers 3+ damage whenever hit by a physical attack. Blood is Power Blood 5 ENCHANTMENT. Sacrifice 40 health and give target ally a massive 10 second energy boost. Chiron’s Balance 15 SPELL. Health is equalized between you and target enemy. Consume Corpse Death 5 SPELL. Teleport to target corpse, destroying the corpse in the process. You gain health. Dark Fury 10 SPELL. Sacrifice 40 health. Your party members gain adrenaline. Dark Pact 10 SPELL. Sacrifice up to 20 heath and do that amount of damage to target enemy. Death Nova Death 5 ENCHANTMENT. If target ally dies while this spell is in effect, this spell sends out a shockwave that does 50+ damage to each nearby creature. Demonic Flesh Blood 5 ENCHANTMENT. Sacrifice 30 health. For the next 30+ seconds, your maximum health is increased by 50. Enfeeble 10 SPELL. Target suffers from “weakness.” Enfeebling Blood Blood 10 SPELL. Sacrifice 40 health. Target foe and all nearby foes suffer from “weakness.” Faintheartedness Curse 10 For the next 20+ seconds, target enemy’s attack speed is reduced. Life Siphon Blood 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 12+ seconds, target enemy gradually looses health, and you gradually gain health. Lingering Curse Curse 25 Sacrifice 25 health. Target enemy looses all blessings. For the next 8+ seconds, target enemy gains only half health from healing prayers. Malaise 10 HEX. Target enemy’s energy regeneration is temporarily reduced, and your health regeneration is temporarily reduced. Necrotic Transversal 10 SPELL. Teleport to target corpse, destroying the corpse in the process. Order of Pain Blood 10 SPELL. Sacrifice 20 health. For the next 5 seconds, whenever a party member hits an enemy, that party member does an additional 3+ damage. Plague Touch 15 Transfer a negative condition from yourself to touched enemy. Price of Failure Curse 10 For the next 30 seconds, if target enemy misses while in combat, that enemy takes 6+ damage. Putrid Explosion Death 5 SPELL. Target corpse explodes, sending out a shockwave that does 25+ damage to each nearby creature. Rend Blessings 10 Target enemy looses all blessings. Mending 10 BLESSING. Target ally regains health faster while this spell remains in effect. This spell drains one point of energy recovery. Rigor Mortis Curse 10 For the next 8+ seconds, target enemy suffers -5 evasion. Signet of Agony Curse Sacrifice 25 health and suffer a deep wound. All nearby foes suffer 10+ damage. Rotting Flesh 25 Target fleshy creature becomes diseased and slowly looses health. Soul Barbs Curse 10 For the next 60 seconds, target enemy suffers 3+ damage whenever successfully targeted by a spell. Soul Feast Death 10 SPELL. Exploit target corpse to heal yourself for 50+ health, destroying the corpse in the process. Vampiric Touch Blood 15 SPELL. Touch target enemy to steal up to 15+ health. Vile Swarm Death 10 SPELL. You send out a slow moving projectile that hits up to three targets. Vile Touch Death 10 SPELL. Touch target enemy to deal 15+ damage. Weaken Armor Smiting 10 For the next 30+ seconds, target enemy’s effective armor level is decreased by 10+.



Mesmer



Skill Attribute Energy Description Arcane Conundrum Illusion 10 HEX. For the next 6-30 seconds, spells cast by target foe take twice as long to cast. Backfire Domination 15 HEX. For the next 10 seconds, whenever a target enemy casts a spell, that enemy takes 22+ damage. Blackout 15 SPELL. All of target’s skills are disabled for 10 seconds. All of your skills are disabled for 10 seconds. Conjure Phantasm Illusion 5 HEX. For the next 10 seconds, a conjured phantasm damages target foe. Diversion Domination 15 HEX. The next time target enemy uses a skill, that skill will take an additional 30+ seconds to recharge. Drain Enchantment Domination 15 Remove enchantment from target foe. You gain 15+ energy. Empathy Domination 10 SPELL. For the next 10+ seconds, whenever a target enemy attacks, that enemy takes 3+ damage. Energy Tap Domination 10 SPELL. Target enemy looses 8+ energy and takes 8+ damage. Energy Drain Domination 5 SPELL. Target enemy looses 8+ energy, which you gain. Epidemic 15 SPELL. Negative conditions spread from target foe to others nearby. Ignorance Domination 10 HEX. For the next 8+ seconds, target foe cannot use signet rings. Imagined Burden Domination 15 ENCHANTMENT. Target enemy’s movement is slowed for the next 8+ seconds. Power Spike Domination 10 SPELL. If target foe is casting a spell, that spell is interrupted and your target takes looses 10-70 energy. Power Drain 5 SPELL. If target foe is casting a spell, that spell is interrupted and you gain 20 energy. Shatter Hex Domination 15 SPELL. Remove hex from target enemy. Shatter Enchantment 10 SPELL. Remove an enchantment from a target foe. That target suffers 22+ damage. Soothing Images Illusion 10 HEX. Target enemy cannot gain adrenaline. Spirit Shackles 15 INSPIRATION HEX. For the next 20 seconds, target looses 5 energy for attacking. Unnatural Signet Dispel the effects of all nature rituals. All your skills are disabled for 60-30 seconds. This signet takes 15 seconds to activate.





Elementalist



Skill Attribute Energy Description Air Attunement Air 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 36+ seconds, you are attuned to Air. You gain 5 energy each time you cast an air spell. Armor of Earth Earth 10 ENCHANTMENT. You take reduced damage from physical attacks, but move more slowly. Flare Fire 5 SPELL. Projectile deals fire damage to target enemy. Blinding Flash Air 5 SPELL. Target is blinded. Conjure Lightening Air 15 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 11-35 seconds, your attacks gain a bonus to hit and deal additional lightening damage. Conjure Frost Water 5 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 11-35 seconds, your attacks deal additional ice damage. Conjure Flame Fire 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 11-35 seconds, your weapon deals additional fire damage. Crystal Wave Earth 10 SPELL. Enemies near you are struck for 24-60 damage, but are cured of any negative conditions. This spell ignores armor or magic resistance. Earth Attunement Earth 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 36+ seconds, you are attuned to Earth. You gain 5 energy each time you cast an earth spell. Elemental Attunement 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 36+ seconds, you are attuned to Air, Fire, Water and Earth. You gain 5 energy each time you cast a spell associated with any of these elements. Fiery Bonds Fire 10 HEX. Target foe and nearby characters periodically take fire damage. Fire Attunement Fire 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 36+ seconds, you are attuned to Fire. You gain 5 energy each time you cast a Fire spell. Fire Storm Fire 15 SPELL. The area around target enemy is bombarded with a rain of fire. Fireball Fire 15 SPELL. Projectile deals area fire damage at target enemy’s location. Flame Burst 15 SPELL. All nearby enemies are struck by jets of flame that issue forth from the ground. This spell causes exhaustion. Gale 15 SPELL. Knock down target enemy. Glyph of Gesture 5 GLYPH. Your next spell may be cast even if you are suffering from silence. Glyph of Elemental Power 5 GLYPH. Your elemental attributes are boosted by 2 for your next spell. Glyph of Sacrifice 5 GLYPH. Your next spell may be cast instantly, but will take an additional 120 seconds to recharge. Glyph of Energy 5 GLYPH. Your next spell costs 20 less energy to cast. Glyph of Renewal 5 GLYPH. Your next spell recharges twice as fast as normal. Grasping Earth Earth 10 HEX. Target foe is slowed dramatically for a few seconds but gains a bonus to armor. Ice Prison Water 10 HEX. Target foe’s legs are encased in ice, dramatically decreasing their movement rate. This effect ends if the target takes damage. Ice Spikes Water 10 SPELL. Target and nearby foes suffer cold damage and are slowed for 2+ seconds. Immolate 10 SPELL. Set target enemy on fire. Inferno Fire 10 PRAYER. Touch the body of a fallen party member. Target party member is returned to life at half health and full energy. Lava Font Fire 10 SPELL. The area around you is repeatedly struck by fire damage. Lightening Orb Air 15 SPELL. Deal lightening damage to target enemy. Lightening Air 10 SPELL. Deal lightening damage to target enemy. Meteor Fire 25 SPELL. Call down a fiery meteor on your target foe. The meteor explodes, doing 40 damage and knocking down anyone it hits. Meteor Shower Fire 25 SPELL. Exploding meteors strike the area near your target. Each deals 40 damage and knocks down anyone it hits. Obsidian Flesh Earth 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 8-20 seconds, you take reduced damage from physical attacks and cannot be the target of spells, but move more slowly. Obsidian Flame Smiting 10 SPELL. Deal 20-56 damage to target foe. This spell ignores armor and magic resistance. Phoenix Fire 15 SPELL. A fiery phoenix rises at your location, burning nearby foes, and flies out to your target, exploding on contact. Shard Storm Water 15 SPELL. This projectile deals 20+ damage and slows target’s movements for 2 seconds. Shock Air 15 SPELL. Stun and deal lightening damage to touched target enemy. Stoning Earth 15 SPELL. You send a flurry of stones at target foe. Tremors Earth 10 SPELL. Enemies around you take damage. Knocked down characters take extra damage. Water Attunement Water 10 ENCHANTMENT. For the next 36+ seconds, you are attuned to Water. You gain 5 energy each time you cast a Water spell.





Leveling







Oh no, not leveling! Doesn’t Guild Wars take away the treadmill? But of course. However, there is still a system in place to evolve your character. Basically, you do this by earning experience.



Experience is gained by killing enemies and completing quests. The higher the enemy level, the more experience in general you will gain by defeating it. Often solo quests will give you a reward in a jump of experience. When in a group mission, experience earned is divvied up in the party and those who put themselves in more peril and do more damage will get a greater share of the experience earned. And finally, completing the objective of a given mission will give you a boost to your experience earned.



Just a note, we are not going to go into mathematical calculations here. The game is too much in a state of flux for that. And personally, I don’t think it’s necessary. Suffice to say that you must earn a certain amount of experience to gain your next level and/or earn a skill point for acquiring new skills.



In addition to earning your skill points for gaining new skills, evolving to the next level will generally give you more health, to enable you to fight harder and longer. It’s possible that this will also affect your energy storage. We also know that leveling will increase your attribute points that you can spend.



Unfortunately, right now ArenaNet is keeping test characters at a set level, and we don’t have much detail on how leveling will affect play and your character. We will update this section when the time comes. But isn’t it good to know that the players have much to do and achieve even if they are not evolving levels?





Competition



In addition to achieving levels and earning skill points, you can gain Fame and Rank and possibly much more by engaging in player versus player (PVP) competition!



As you compete in tournament areas and win, you will earn Fame. After you earn a certain amount of Fame, you will gain a Rank. As you win, it will get increasingly harder and harder to keep your position and earn Fame. Only the best will keep the crown!



What is Fame and Rank good for? Well, in addition to earning skill points, bragging rights. But I am sure ArenaNet has much in store for those who love PVP. There is talk about Guild tournaments and ladders, too! Already some top level competitions are including some goodies earned, so stay tuned.





Crafting







If the E3 for Everyone event showed us one thing, it’s that people love crafting! You couldn’t be in town for 2 minutes without hearing the call for trades so people could get enough material to craft new weapons or armor.



When you are on solo or group missions, in addition to the gold and gem drops, there are drops for items meant for crafting, and weapons and shields that your character may not need. What to do with these items cluttering your inventory? Why, salvage them for crafting material of course!



When you salvage an item, it is turned into raw material. For instance, a bow would give you wooden planks. Charr armor would give you cloth, iron or steel. Some items don’t need to be salvaged first, they are already crafting material, such as devourer carapaces.



Visit your local crafter and see what he is offering. An uber hammer? Some awesome fire-resistant armor? There he will tell you exactly what materials you need and how much gold it will cost you for him to make it for you. Then, you are off to play and gather the materials.



Just think of the jealousy of the locals as you strut in town in your nifty new armor or sport that awesome ice axe!





Customizing & Upgrading



Nobody is satisfied with what we are given. We all want to be special, stand out from the crowd! Yes, we all want to be unique, just like everybody else. =)







Guild Wars gives us a bit of room to customize our look with dyes. Dyes can be found in missions, dropped from the enemies we kill. Some colors are common and easy to come by, some are rarer. All can be used to dye your clothing, armor or weapons.



Dying can be tricky. All items have their own base color and you never truly know how the color will look until you apply it. Luckily, if the result is not satisfactory, you can purchase dye remover. You can also try mixing dyes to achieve a custom look.



Dying can be practical, too. For instance, my ranger uses three primary bows depending on the speed, damage and distance I want to cover. However, when doing a quick change of weapons, the bows can easily all look the same to me down in that tiny corner. I created a color-coded system, so I know my red bow is my long bow, my purple is my recurve bow, and my green is my short bow. Viola!



When you get a new weapon that you are sure is a keeper, you are going to want to customize it to increase the effectiveness of your attacks. Take it to a weaponsmith or crafter and they will perform the custom job for a fee. At the time of this writing, you gain a 40% damage level with customization!



Another way to gain special features with weapons and armor is to upgrade them. In play, you can find upgrade components, such as an icy axe hilt, or a fire sword hilt. Take your current weapon to the crafter and he can upgrade your weapon to include the new attributes.







Runes can be a surprise reward on a quest or come from salvaging rare drops from beasts. The runes are can be specific to a profession, or available to anyone. A rune can upgrade your armor to improve maximum health or gain resistance to certain things like fire.



All in all, customizing and upgrading can add to the uniqueness of your character and effectiveness in play. We are positive that that as the game progresses, there will be more ways to customize and upgrade.



One caveat – when you upgrade or customize anything, it is no longer playable by any other character except the character for which it was made. So, if you are not sure you will keep it, or there is a possibility that you will give it to another character, do not customize it or upgrade it in any way. Once you no longer have a need for the customized item, your only choice is to salvage it for raw crafting material.



Part 4 - The World of Guild Wars





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Towns







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Outposts







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Missions







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Persistent Areas







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Geographic Areas







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Enemies & Beasts







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Guilds







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Weapons







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Rewards