GW:EN Sneak Peak: Skills Commentary

Behold. The GW:EN skills and my commentary on them. I've excluded the PVE only ones because I haven't found them all yet. I might get around to it later, but there's really not all that much to say about them anyway. Some are interesting, some are not, some are overpowered, some seem useless. Throw in some snarky comments about Izzy and incriminating photos with the occasional out-of-date pop culture reference and you can write my commentary for yourself. Oh, remember to be really wordy and take forever to get to the point, that usually helps.

The 100 normal skills added to the game, on the other hand, do bear some scrutiny. I spent a good part of the afternoon yesterday just looking them over. It's a pretty mixed bunch, as usual. There are some skills I can't wait to see in action and others that leave me scratching my head. And I am moderately insane, so I jotted them down and went through each of them to add some thoughts. I should note that I eschew the traditional attribute range format in favor of the more accurate, I feel, attempt to discern the formula behind a skills progression. I don't always get it right, especially with the durations and skills that don't scale evenly (It's easy to tell what you're dealing with when a variable goes from 0...60 from 0...12 but when it goes from 0...3? You have to figure out the breakpoints and the progression and fudge with the rounding and, ugh.) because I haven't really crunched the numbers. I just look at the skill and take a best guess. I don't know if anyone else can but I can read those and figure out how much I'm going to get out of them at a particular attribute point than I can with the more standard range. Just me being weird, I guess. The skill details are available elsewhere, especially at the wikis, of course, so I haven't exactly rushed. But, again, slightly insane and sleep deprived so here they are:

WARRIOR

Nothing really too thrilling here. The usual mix of attacks, stances, and quirky skills. Considering that Warriors are and always will be the battleships on the playing field, they don't really need a killer skill. Sure, you like it when you get a You're All Alone! And abusing a Steady Stance is fun. But you're going to do just fine smashing into people as it is. All you need is just some solid stuff that adds a few more wrinkles. And I think the skills here are doing that. Disarm kinda firms up the underused role of Swords as the line of interrupts, which I like. And Pulverizing Smash looks double plus good if I could but figure out the best combo for it. I'm less thrilled with the others but there's at least one skill in that bunch which is going to lead to interesting places.

I Meant to Do That! Shout. 5en, 8recharge. If you are knocked down, you gain 1+(.33xStr) strikes of adrenaline. Strength.

First, props for the Urkel reference. One of those interesting but probably useless skills. Adrenal engines are always nice and ripe for abuse but having to be knocked down first means this one is probably junk – you're costing yourself the time you're buying with the adrenal boost. Also, requires a lot of Strength to get good returns.

Body Blow. Melee Attack. 7adren. If this attack hits, target foe takes +10+(2xStr) damage. If target foe has Cracked Armor, that foe suffers from a Deep Wound for 5+(0.66xStr) seconds. Strength.

Looks nice. A Deep Wound that doesn't depend on a particular weapon type, which is nice. So, it's a weaker version of Eviscerate, it's a big blow with a DW chaser as long as you meet the precondition. Problem is, as far as I can tell, a Warrior doesn't have any way, in profession, of getting that cracked armor.

Disarm. Sword Attack. 5en, 1/2cast, 12recharge. If this attack hits an attacking foe, that foe is interrupted and all of that foe's attack skills are disabled for (0.33xStr) seconds. Strength.

A nightmare for adrenal Warriors, like Blackout. It's tied to Strength but it's a sword only attack, which is weird. Could pair nicely with Savage Slash, I guess.

Distracting Strike. Attack. 5en, 1/2cast, 15recharge. If Distracting Strike hits, it interrupts target foe's action. If target foe has Cracked Armor, that skill is disabled for 20 seconds.

I really only need one Distracting Blow on my Warrior's bar, thanks. And there's no Warrior skill which causes Cracked Armor meaning you have to rely on another profession or co-ordinating with a teammate.

Grapple. Skill. 5en, 3/4cast, 12recharge. You lose your current stance. You and target touched foe are knocked down.

My first instinct was Steady Stance but I guess somebody already came up with that during testing, hence the “your stance ends before you get the energy, chump” mechanic. Potential for abuse here but I'm not seeing it.

Keen Chop. Axe Attack. 3adren. This attack always results in a critical hit. Axe Mastery.

Axe crits are sexy. Could be useful in for pumping out the DPS as I could see following an Eviscerate with this.

Knee Cutter. Sword Attack. 5adren, 1recharge. If this attack hits a crippled foe, you gain 2+(0.33xSword) energy and (0.16xSword) strikes of adrenaline. Sword Mastery.

That's potentially a big boost to your pools. Could pair well with CripSlash, although I see that took a nerf.

Pulverizing Smash. Hammer Attack. 4adren. If you hit a knocked down foe, that foe suffers from Weakness and a Deep Wound for 5+(Hammer) seconds. Hammer Mastery.

Potentially very nasty assuming Weakness is applied as a cover for the Wound. The problem being that a lot of KD skills already cause Weakness or sap all your adren so you can't have a chain like Hammer Bash ->Pulverizing-> Heavy Blow and are either going to need an elite KD or an unreliable normal skill like Bull's Strike. But as powerful a mechanic as knockdowns are, that's probably a good thing. Hammer Mastery.

Soldier's Speed. Stance. 5en, 20recharge. For 5+(Tactics), you move 25% faster while under the effects of a Chant or a Shout. Tactics.

Well, it's a nice long speed boost under the right circumstances but, yeah, this feels like a skill that was reclaimed from the Nightfall rejects pile.

Symbolic Strike. Melee Attack. 4adren. If this attack hits, you deal +10 damage for each Signet you have equipped (maximum 70 damage).

Hahahahah! Ah, I needed a good laugh.

RANGER

Of all the new skill lists, the Ranger is probably the most disappointing for me. Maybe it's that I'm not a very good Ranger player but I'm not seeing much to like here. You get a mediocre interrupt that's no where near as good as the gold standards already crowding up bars, a few preparations that, again, don't crack the bar over the options already there, a few wimpy looking bow attacks and a trap, oh, and you get to play with the new Cracked Armor mechanic as well, which, yeah, less said about that the better. I really have no clue what Poison Tip Signet is even doing in the game. And the best skill is probably the new pet buff, Feral Attack, which is an IAS and additional damage rolled into one. The problem is that pet attacks are pretty lousy, when you get right down to it, and cranking up their DPS just means you go from yawning to being slightly puzzled that a furry thing is gnawing on your leg. It might open up a few wrinkles in Thumper design but it's not all that impressive.

Body Shot. Bow Attack. 5en, 8recharge. If this attack hits, you deal 5+(Marks) damage. If it hits a foe with Cracked Armor, you gain 5+(.36xMarks) energy. Marksmanship.

Wooo! Jello shooters, come on! This skill lives or dies on the strength of Cracked Armor. Looking at the Cracked Armor condition it looks to be useless. Only applied by a few undepowered caster skills and while the armor penalty effect is nice, it's capped at a minimum of 60. That's moderately useful if it affects shield bonuses, too, but nothing to get excited about.

Companionship. Skill. 5en, 2cast, 10recharge. If you have less health than your pet you are healed for 30+(6xBeast) health. If your pet has less health than you, it is healed for 30+(6xBeast) health. Beast Mastery.

Oh look, it's a pet heal. Don't we have Monks for that?

Disrupting Shot. Bow Attack. 10en, 1/2cast, 15recharge. If this attack hits, target foe's action is interrupted. If that action was a skill, you strike for +10+(2xMarks) damage.

Like Rangers needed another interrupt. Is it better than D or Savage Shot? No, because it recharges longer and isn't nearly as powerful? Okay, I can safely forget about this one.

Expert Focus. Preparation. 10en, 2cast, 12recharge. For 24 seconds, your bow attacks cost 1+((1/12)xExp) less energy and deal 1+(-.6xExp) extra damage. Expertise.

Somewhat interesting but it all depends on if that energy reduction applies before or after the Expertise discount.

Feral Aggression. Skill. 5en, 20recharge. For 5+(2xBeast) seconds, your pet attacks 33% faster and deals 5+(Beast) additional damage. Beast Mastery.

Angry puppy is sexy.

Piercing Trap. 10en, 2cast, 30recharge. When Piercing Trap is triggered, all nearby foes are struck for 5+(3xWild) piercing damage. Any foes with Cracked Armor are struck for an additional 15+(3xWild) damage. Piercing Trap ends after 90 seconds. While activating this skill, you are easily interrupted. Wilderness Survival.

More traps are always welcome. It's a bonus if they happen to be good ones. This trap? Not so good.

Poison Tip Signet. Signet. 1cast, 6recharge. For 60 seconds, your next attack also inflicts Poison for 8+(0.5xWild) seconds. Wilderness Survival.

There are roughly 8 dozen other ways to for Rangers to get poison on their arrows. All 8 of them are better than this. Might be useful if you want to use Incendiary Arrow plus a prep that's not Apply Poison for some odd reason or in flag runner/base invading situations but it's probably a waste of a slot even then.

Rapid Fire. Preparation. 5en, 2cast, 12recharge. For 5+(1.35xMarks) seconds, you attack 33% faster. Marksmanship.

That's a nice IAS. Should be able to keep it up forever even at low Marksmanship. Probably only works with bows, though.

Sloth Hunter's Shot. Bow Attack. 10en, 8recharge. If this attack hits, target foe takes +10+(Marks) damage. If that foe is not using a skill, Sloth Hunter's Shot does an additional +10+(1.66xMarks) damage. Marksmanship.

Wastrel's Worry for Rangers? It's a lot of damage but, meh.

Volley. Bow Attack. 5en, 2recharge. All your preparations are removed. Shoot arrows at up to 3 foes adjacent to your target. These arrows strike for +1+(0.6xMarks) damage if they hit. Marksmanship.

A non-elite version of Barrage? B/P Rangers, if they're still around, might like it.

MONK

There's definitely a focus on conditions here which fits the direction of the rest of the new skills but condition removal was already pretty robust and effective. The big change here is the widening of the Healing line. The five skills splashed into it help shift it from being a line soley devoted to making red bars go up and give it some much needed utility. Now you can fight hexes and conditions with it, too. Granted you can't do it very well but that can be fixed through updates and rebalancing, just getting the concept that Heal Monks can do more than spam Orison or LoD into the system is good enough for now. And beyond that, Monks have a few new interesting skills to play with. There's nothing here to really replace any of the staples on the backline - the closest is Healing Ribbon which might become the poor man's Heal Party - but I think the point was less to revolutionize the job of keeping people alive than to add some more options to support doing so.

Castigation Signet. Signet. 1cast, 15recharge. Target foe takes 26+(2.25xSmite) holy damage. If that foe was attacking you gain 1+(0.6xSmite) energy. Smiting Prayers.

Ho hum. Another nearly useless signet for smiting. The energy gain makes it interesting and one of these days they'll find a reason to make people use Keystone Signet and, lo, there shall be a reckoning but, yeah, it's an afterthought.

Cure Hex. Spell. 5en, 1cast, 12recharge. Remove one hex from target ally. If a hex was removed that ally is healed for 48+(6xHeal) health. Healing Prayers.

Not going to fight off a dedicated hexer by itself but this could be a pretty nice little skill for spot removal. Takes care of a hex and helps you do your main job of keeping the red bars up. I'd just like a quicker cast and a shorter recharge, please. Oh, and it should give your team +528armor and an ecto when you cast it.

Healing Ribbon. Spell. 10en, 1cast, 5recharge. Target other ally is healed for 38+(6xHeal) health. Up to 2 additional allies near target ally are healed for 28+(6xHeal) health. Healing Prayers.

I'm feeling this one, actually. It's potentially really efficient as a mini-Heal Party.

Patient Spirit. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 3recharge. For 3 seconds, target ally is enchanted with Patient Spirit. When this enchantment ends, that ally is healed for 28+(5xHeal). Healing Prayers.

Marginally trash. Could be salvaged with some bigger numbers. But I think Dervishers will love this one.

Purifying Veil. Enchantment Spell. 1pip, 5en, 1/4cast, 6recharge. While you maintain this enchantment, conditions expire 5+(3xSmite)% faster on target ally. When this enchantment ends, one condition is removed from that ally. Smiting Prayers.

How the hell did this wind up under Smiting? It's Holy Veil for condis, yo. Less useful primary effect, increasing casting time for hexers is more valuable than shortening condition length, and conditions are generally less lethal than hexes but being able to clean off the bottom of a condition stack can't be overlooked. Not going to be as nice as Holy Veil but worth playing around with.

Smite Condition. 5en, 1cast, 7recharge. Remove one condition from target ally. If a condition was removed, nearby foes take 10+(3.33xSmite) damage.

You ever get the feeling the designers look at the Monk skill list and then just jumble up the words and effects to make new skills? There's already lots of beefy condi removal so unlike Smite Hex - which was, at one point, the best way to spot remove hexes - this is pretty useless.

Smiter's Boon. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 10recharge. For 30 seconds, your Smiting Prayers have double the Divine Favor bonus. Divine Favor.

Wait, what, huh? Smiting is the Monk's offensive line why do you care about the healing at all? Oh, right, there are people who like to farm with that sort of stuff.

Spotless Mind. 5en, 1/4cast, 12recharge. For 1+(Heal) seconds, target other ally loses a hex every 5 seconds. Healing Prayers.

Wow. This is the sexiest awful skill I've ever seen. It's a real pinball skill. For everything I like, there's something I hate. For every reason to pass it over, there's a reason to cling to it. I love the mechanic, taking off part of your hex stack at random intervals would really help against hex pressure. But it's too slow – you're at best talking 3 hexes every 12 seconds (But for only 5 energy!) which against a real hex heavy team is nothing. And with too long a recharge, and you can't self-cast.

Spotless Soul. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 12recharge. For 1+(Heal) seconds, target other ally loses a condition every 3 seconds. Healing Prayers.

I just get this feeling that they're trying to broaden the Healing Prayers line. I wonder why? Interesting spell, I like it better than the previous hex version since there are fewer conditions floating around but most of my complaints and complements apply here as well. The problem is it's so scattershot. You cast this and you hope that ten seconds later it's still there to remove a critical condition. What it really wants to be doing is fighting off condition pressure and picking off random conditions while you work on the important stuff with something else but it's underpowered there – to fight off an Apply Poison spammer or a disease cloud you need to have it on nearly the whole party and you just can't do that. It either needs a lot more teeth (in which case it tramples over moderate condition use while providing a useful safety valve against condition pressure metagames.) or it's in the junk pile.

Steadfast Soul. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 12recharge. For 5+(Prot) seconds, target other ally cannot be knocked down. Protection Prayers.

Wow. Just...wow. Either everyone on your backline carries this or you stick it on a defensive midliner with good reflexes. Awesome name, too.

NECROMANCER

It's a bunch of hexes and stuff I don't care about. Really. Nothing stands out to me as a must have. The most interesting skill here is Withering Aura which could lead to some interesting builds. Stick that on a hammer Warrior who's carrying Heavy Blow and you don't need Dev Hammer, for one. It's part of a larger trend here towards skills that seem to be rewarding cross-build synergies and co-operations. I rag - correctly, I think - on the Cracked Armor mechanic but the fact is that you need one class to apply it before another can take advantage of it. It's that sort of interaction within the group that rewards skillful play and thoughtful planning. So it's good to see the developers are making an attempt to build it into the game even more.

Angorodon's Gaze. Spell. 15en, 1cast, 5recharge. Steal 15+(4xBlood) health from target foe. If you are suffering from a condition, you gain 15 energy. Blood Magic.

This has the potential to be nuts, like all the best Necromancer skills.

Atrophy. Hex Spell. 10en, 1cast, 20recharge. For 3+(0.25xCurses) seconds, target foe's priamry attribute is reduced to 0. Curses.

Now that's an interesting mechanic. Could be pretty devastating to the right character at the right moment. Very unwieldy though.

Cacophony. Hex Spell. 10en, 2cast, 15recharge. For 5+(Curses) seconds, whenever target foe uses a shout or chant, that foe takes 30+(7xCurses) damage. Curses.

It's Backfire for Paragons. I'm honestly surprised this wasn't in the game before.

Defile Defenses. Hex Spell. 5en, 1cast, 5recharge. For 10 seconds, the next time target foe blocks, that foe takes 30+(5xCurses) damage. Curses.

Hello. What's this? A way to create a devil's bargain? Block my warriors raging in your face and take damage or don't block and take more damage when they adren up? Really needs to work on every blocked attack not the first one, though.

Foul Feast. Spell. 5en, 1cast, 10recharge. Steal 5+(1.66xBlood) health from target foe for each condition you are suffering from (Maximum 80.). Blood Magic.

Meh.

Hexer's Vigor. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 2cast, 10recharge. For 10 seconds, you have 1+(0.5xSR) health regeneration. Hexer's Vigor ends if you cast a non-hex spell. Soul Reaping.

There is, out there, an alternate universe, somewhere, where I might consider using this skill. I believe it's also the same alternate universe where I've suffered irreversible brain damage.

Masochism. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1cast, 20recharge. For 30 seconds, you gain 1+(0.2xSR) energy whenever you sacrifice health. Soul Reaping.

With the Great SR Nerf of '07, I could see using this one, somehow. It's not terribly exciting, though.

Putrid Bile. Hex Spell. 10en, 1cast, 12recharge. For 5+(Death) seconds, target foe suffers 1+(0.2xDeath) health degeneration. If that foe dies while under the effects of this hex, all nearby foes take 25+(4xDeath) damage. Death Magic.

Somewhat useful degen pressure. The bonus damage will almost never happen and won't matter when it does unless it's against a pack of mobs.

Well of Ruin. Well Spell. 10en, 1cast, 20recharge. Exploit nearest corpse to create a Well of Ruin at its location. For 5+(1.66xCurses) seconds, whenever a foe in the well takes physical damage, that foe has Cracked Armor for 5+(Curses) seconds. Curses.

I, yeah, I'm not a big fan of wells. I'm not too thrilled by Cracked Armor, either. Could be useful in PvE tanking situations, though.

Withering Aura. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1cast, 3recharge. For 5+(Death) seconds, target ally's melee attacks cause Weakness for 5+(Death) seconds. Death Magic.

Weakness is a middle of the road condition. Letting your frontliners spam it isn't very useful, if you ask me. Although it does have some interesting synergies with knockdowns out there.

MESMER

seems to me like they're trying to buff up the underused Illusion line. There's not much in the way of Dom stuff, the kind of things that fit on a Surge/Burner or Shutdown Specialists bar naturally. There's Aneurysm which might be interesting but it seems underpowered and of not much use either to set up or follow-up a spike. And there are a few e-shunting skills but no utility that's not already available. Instead, the focus seems to be on adding more hexes to the Mesmer, solidifying their role in hex pressure schemes.

Aneurysm. Spell. 5en, 1cast, 5recharge. Target foe regains all energy. For each point of energy gained in this way, that foe takes 1+(0.16xDom) damage. Domination Magic.

Gah, I don't want to give energy back! And for only 3 or so damage a point, that's not really an equitable trade-off. Still, this skill will spawn a dozen annoying RA builds, I'm sure.

Calculated Risk. Hex Spell. 10en, 1cast, 10recharge. For 4+(0.4xIllu) seconds, target foe has a 50% chance to miss with attacks but does +25-(Illu) damage. Illusion Magic.

Yeah, I'm liking this one. Fits in nice with melee denial or hex pressure although, as with most hexes, it's not much by its own.

Confusing Images. Hex Spell. 5en, 1cast, 15recharge. For 6 seconds, the next spell cast by target and all adjacent foes takes 45+(6.33xIllu) longer to cast. Illusion Magic.

Interesting, but I don't see much use for it. Arcane Conundrum is for newbs, after all.

Power Lock. Spell. 10en, 1/4cast, 12recharge. If target foe is casting a spell or chant, that skill is interrupted and disabled for an additional 1+(Dom) seconds. Domination Magic.

They're affecting chants now? Go figure. It's a moderately useful interrupt. Nothing to get really excited about but I'd use it.

Shrinking Armor. Hex Spell. 5en, 1cast, 8recharge. For 10 seconds, target foe suffers from 1+(0.16xIllu) health degeneration. When this hex ends, that foe has Cracked Armor for 5+(Illu) seconds. Illusion Magic.

Is Cracked Armor good? If not, then this skill still sucks. Nice and cheap cover to add more degen pressure, though.

Signet of Distraction. Signet. 1/4cast, 20recharge. If target foe is casting a spell, that spell is interrupted and disabled for 1+(0.25xDom) seconds for each Signet you have equipped. Domination Magic.

That's....not bad, actually. You have Mantra of Inscriptions and you're carrying a rezsig and probably at least one other, if you're a good interrupter, that's a lot of skill locks to throw around.

Signet of Recall. Signet. 1cast, 20recharge. For 10 seconds, you have -4 energy regeneration. When this effect ends, you gain 13+(0.5xInsp) energy. Inspiration Magic.

Put it this way. At high levels of Inspiration you're getting 6 or 7 energy for screwing yourself over for 10 seconds (10 seconds of null caster regeneration works out to around 13 energy.). It's not bad in terms of non-elite e-management it's not bad and you can use it to shunt energy into the future with a little interest. Has some potential.

Sum of All Fears. Hex Spell. 10en, 2cast, 10recharge. For 5+(Illu) seconds, target foe moves, attacks, and casts spells 20% slower. Illusion Magic.

There are hexes so devastating that when they lands, you start screaming for removal immediately. Just as a reflex. This skill isn't quite as nasty as that but it's not exactly cover fodder either. Middle of the road, potentially nasty.

Wandering Eye. Hex Spell. 10en, 1cast, 8recharge. For 4+(0.42xIllu) seconds, the next time target foe attacks, that attack is interrupted and all nearby foes take 10+(3xIllu) damage. Illusion Magic.

I take it this is one of those PvE friendly Mesmer skills. I don't see a lot of use for it in PvP. It's moderately useful against Warrior chains although there's better but Mesmers can do so much else better that it doesn't matter.

Waste Not, Want Not. Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 15recharge. If target foe is not casting a spell or attacking you gain 8+(0.33xInsp) energy. Inspiration Magic.

It's energy gain not energy stealing so it's not all that sexy. Slightly useful if chancy e-management and it's not like Mesmers don't already have a half a dozen ways of doing that.

ELEMENTALIST

It's a familiar pattern for the Elementalist. A list of largely useless skills with one or two gems. There's some interesting stuff to be done with things like Earthen Shackles or Energy Blast, even Magnetic Surge might see play. I'm not so keen on the glyphs although they have promise, too. The fire glyph pales in comparison to the new Glyph of Elemental Power - I'd mostly use it on a non-fire Ele, maybe in the middle of an SF team - and the air one likewise seems interesting but non-crucial. Then you have a pair of Water skills that really make your eyes pop out. Glowing Ice is great, not just for the quick, cheap hit of damage, but it helps a water snarer out the way Glowing Gaze helps out an SF ele. And, whoo, Slippery Ground makes me happy.

Earthen Shackles. Hex Spell. 10en, 2cast, 15recharge. For 5+(Earth) seconds, target foe moves 90% slower while burning. Earth Magic.

Snares are the hott (The extra “t” stands for “hot”) so I really want to find a reason to like this skill. For the life of me, though, I'm not coming up with one, though.

Energy Blast. Spell. 10en, 2cast, 20recharge. Target foe takes 1...2 damage for each point of Energy you have (Maximum 130 damage.). Energy Storage.

The breakpoint on this is only 8. Hmm. That's actually not bad. But you need a huge energy pool for it to work making it useless in protracted spike volleys – you get weaker as the battle wears on when you want to be getting stronger. There's a way to make this work but it's going to be gimmicky.

Glowing Ice. Spell. 5en, 1cast, 8recharge. Target foe is struck for 5+(3xWater) cold damage. IF that foe is under the effects of a water hex, you gain 5+(0.25xWater) energy. Water Magic.

Water finally gets its own glowy spell. Solid, useful for pumping out those costly spells, not sure if it's really worth the slot, though, or if it keeps your from attuning.

Glyph of Immolation. Glyph. 5en, 1cast, 10recharge. For 15 seconds, your next 1...3 spells that target a foe also cause burning for 3 seconds. Fire Magic.

5 energy and a second of casting to add 42 damage to up to 4 spells? Sold.

Glyph of Swiftness. Glyph. 5en, 1cast, 10recharge. For 15 seconds, your next 1+(0.25?xAir) spells recharge 25% faster, and projectiles from those spells move 200% faster. Air Magic.

Okay, this could be slightly useful. I mean, the change to Water Trident's arc made that a sweet spell and for a pip you can constantly supercharge your projectile spells to make dodging nearly impossible. Wait. It's tied to Air Magic? What. The. Fuck?

Magnetic Surge. Spell. 10en, 2cast, 10recharge. Target foe takes 15+(4xEarth) damage. If target foe is under the effects of an enchantment, that foe takes 30+(6xEarth) damage instead. Earth Magic.

This one could be nice. Good way to pound prot heavy teams. I'd like it a lot more if it wasn't under Earth where you just don't have the secondary support for a spike.

Shell Shock. Spell. 5en, 1cast, 10recharge. Target foe takes 10+(2xAir) lightning damage and has Cracked Armor for 5+(Air) seconds. Air Magic.

This doesn't penetrate armor so the damage is crap. Cracked Armor, as I mentioned previously, is awful. Yep, another nearly useless Air Ele spell with a somewhat clever name.

Slippery Ground. Spell. 5en, 1cast, 20recharge. If target foe is Blind, that foe is knocked down. Water Magic.

You know of my love for Gale. You've heard me mention how much I like Water snarers. You've probably guessed that I'm fond of Blinding pesky Warriors. This skill can be Gale without the exhaustion. On a water Ele. I think I just had an iQgasm. The long recharge probably saves it from being too abusive, though.

Ward of Weakness. Ward Spell. 10en, 1cast, 20recharge. You create a Ward of Weakness at your current location. For 5+(Earth) seconds, foes in the area become weakened for 5+(Earth) seconds whenever they take elemental damage. Earth Magic.

My initial impulse is this is trash. PvE only. But then I remembered it's under Earth which has actually has a use for Weakness.

Winter's Embrace. Hex Spell. 5en, 3/4cast, 12recharge. For 2+(0.28xWater) seconds, you and target touched foe move 90% slower. Water Magic.

Shockingly useless for a mega-snare.

ASSASSIN

Okay, they want people to use Lead Attacks instead of things like Shadow Prison into Black Lotus kekeke duals. So, we get a bunch of...off-hand attacks? The ones that require leads? No, the reason people don't use leads is that they, as a general rule, blow and you want to get to the powerful duals in as few hits as possible before you're shutdown or healing arrives. It's like the developers know this but are afraid to fix the real problems so they're throwing good skills after bad. You want to fix it, you need to address the duals, you need to improve the leads, you need to look at the whole combo chain mechanism and how you've broken the rules for it a dozen times over with golden, black, and falling skills. A bunch of okay off-hands don't change that. The most notable skill otherwise, is probably Way of the Master which should fuel some non-traditional Sin builds using bows or axes or whatever.

Falling Lotus Strike. Off-Hand Attack. 5en, 12recharge. Must strike a knocked down foe. If it hits, you strike for +15+(1.33xDag) damage and gain 1+(0.75xDag) energy. Dagger Mastery.

It's the Sin skills that give you the energy back and avoid the normal Sin lead->off-hand->dual chain that are always the most abusable. This gets sick with Falling Spider and Horns of the Ox real quick.

Golden Fang Strike. Off-Hand Attack. 5en, 4recharge. Must follow a lead attack. If you are under the effects of an enchantment, target foe suffers from a Deep Wound for 5+(Dag) seconds. Dagger Mastery.

Quick Deep Wounds are always nice. Doesn't make me want to use a lead attack, though.

Lotus Strike. Off-Hand Attack. 10en, 12recharge. Must follow a lead attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +10+(Dag) damage and you gain 5+(Dag) energy. Dagger Mastery.

Cheers for the mediocre energy boost. Jeers for needing a lead to get it.

Sadist's Signet. Signet. 1cast, 8recharge. You gain 10+(2xDeadly) health for each condition on target foe. Deadly Arts.

Forgettable self-heal. Can potentially scale through the roof, though, which is always interesting, and it's in a good, ie non-Shadow, attribute.

Shadow Fang. Hex Spell. 10en, 1/4cast, 45recharge. Shadow Step to target foe. For 10 seconds, this hex does nothing. When this hex ends, you return to your original location and that foe suffers from a Deep Wound for 5+(Deadly) seconds. Deadly Arts.

Ugh. Yeah, see, the thing about a Deep Wound is you want to slap it down and then tee off on someone. Not the other way around. I can see some tag team combos working with this but too much work for too little benefit if you ask me.

Signet of Deadly Corruption. Signet. 1cast, 12recharge. Must follow a dual attack. This attack deals 5+(2xDeadly) damage for each condition on target foe (Maximum 130 damage.). Deadly Arts.

There's a gimmicky condition pressure spike just lying in the weeds here.

Smoke Powder Defense. Stance. 5en, 20recharge. For 8 seconds, the next time you are struck, you take half damage and all adjacent foes are blinding for 2+(0.25xShadow) seconds.

Interesting defensive skill. Isn't going to replace Feign Neutrality, though.

Trampling Ox. Dual Attack. 5en, 8recharge. Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, you deal +10+(2xDag) damage. If you hit a crippled foe, that foe is knocked down. Dagger Mastery.

File this one under “I Hate Kiters”. Look it up whenever you want to keep people from running around on you.

Vampiric Assault. Dual Attack. 5en, 8recharge. Must follow an off-hand attack. If this attack hits, you steal 10+(2xDeadly) health. Deadly Arts.

Nice little off-hand. Not exactly setting the world on fire.

Way of the Master. Enchantment Spell. 1/4cast, 30recharge. For 60 seconds, while holding a non-dagger weapon, you have an additional 3+(2xCrits)% chance to land a critical hit. Critical Strikes.

Pretty sexy for A/P or A/R or A/W. Could lead to some fun.

RITULIST

More weapon spells. Yum. The spirits are awful. The pots less so. But those suffer from the limitations of their respective mechanics. Holding items and summoning spirits just don't work very well. Spirits because you need a dedicated shitter before they start even impacting the battle, it's hard to swing things with just the one - and these two certainly aren't going to do it. And items are just to passive and limiting and you can only affect yourself with them, all the effect are centered on you and the character around you which doesn't work for where the rit stands on the battlefield. The real meat of the Ritualist, as I see, at the moment is in having those weapon spells to toss around and having some decent healing to go along with them. That's how rits really work their support role. And a few more options to mull over there is nice to have. Still haven't solved the problem that most Ritualist stuff is good for a primary rit but most other profs aren't going to touch it with a ten foot pole, though.

Agony. Binding Ritual. Create a level 1+(0.5xChan) spirit. This spirit causes 3+(0.5xChan) health loss each second to foes within earshot. This spirit loses 3+(0.5xChan) health for each foe hurt in this way. This spirit dies after 30+(4xChan) seconds. Channeling Magic.

Slightly interesting. It's degen without actually being degen. Could lead to all sorts of weird interactions which could lead to some wacky stuff – you can get past the -10 degen barrier with this, for example, but let's be honest, it's a wimpy offensive rit spirit. It's always going to suck.

Energetic Was Lee Sa. Item Spell. 10en, 2cast, 20recharge. Hold Lee Sa's ashes for 5+(0.66xSpawn) seconds. While you hold her ashes, you gain +2 energy regeneration. When you drop her ashes you gain 1+(0.58xSpawn) energy. Spawning Power.

I have Phillis Diller nightmares looking at that icon. But I know who Lisa is and how important she is to the ANet team so I'm not going to rip on the image too much. As for the skill, that's something like 4~5 pips worth of energy at high levels of Spawning. Not bad, really. But put it this way, you get to spend 10 en and 2 seconds casting and deprive yourself of your weapon bonuses to get 15 energy back? Sound like a bargain to you?

Ghostly Weapon. Weapon Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 1recharge. For 5+(Comu) seconds, target ally's next attack cannot be blocked. Communing.

Cheap. Spammable. Going to require some finesse and coordination for it to really work for you. I like it. I predict the recharge goes up soon.

Mending Grip. Spell. 5en, 1cast, 6recharge. Target ally is healed for 15+(4xResto) health. If that ally is under the effects of a weapon spell, that ally loses one condition. Restoration Magic.

More healing for weapon rits. Fairly solid if unspectacular.

Pure Was Li Ming. Item Spell. 10en, 1cast, 20recharge. Hold Li Ming's ashes for 5+(Resto) seconds. While you hold her ashes, conditions on you expire 10+(2.66xResto)% faster. When you drop her ashes, all allies within earshot lose 1+(0.2xResto) conditions. Restoration Magic.

Now that's a lot of condition hate in one convenient package. Too bad item spells suck a nut.

Rejuvenation. Binding Ritual. 10en, 3cast, 30recharge. Create a level 1+(0.5xResto) spirit. This spirit heals all party members within earshot for 3+(0.5xResto) health each second. This spirit loses 3+(0.5xResto) health for each party member healed in this way. This spirit dies after 30+(4xResto) seconds. Restoration Magic.

Fun fact. Healing Breeze used to work like this back in the day. Except for the costing you health bit, of course, but it would tick up your health every second. Then they put in stuff like Scourge Healing which made it a real nice way to commit suicide so it got changed to regeneration. I tell you this not because it's interesting but because there's almost nothing to say about another Spirit of Mending that's going to kill itself in, like, 5 seconds.

Spiritleech Aura. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 20recharge. For 5+(Resto) seconds, whenever you cast a spell you steal 5+(3xResto) health from one spirit within earshot. Restoration Magic.

Okay, this skill wants to be an anti-spirit measure. Forget using it to heal yourself, it's there so you can get in the middle of a pack of spirit shitters and make with the unhappy. But only stealing 40 some health it's going to take a good 4 or 5 spells to out most spirits. That's just too long.

Sundering Weapon. Weapon Spell. 5en, 1cast, 10recharge. For 4+(0.42xComu) seconds, target ally's next attack has 10% armor penetration and causes Cracked armor for 1+(0.58xCom) seconds. Communing.

Cracked Armor and negligible armor penetration. Yeah.

Weapon of Aggression. Weapon Spell. 10en, 1/4cast, 10recharge. For 5+(0.66xChan) seconds, you attack 25% faster. Channeling Magic.

Wooo, that could be very sexy indeed.

Weapon of Renewal. Weapon Spell. 5en, 1cast, 10recharge. For 4+(0.42xSpawn) seconds, the next time target ally hits with an attack skill, that ally gains 1+(0.42xSpawn) energy. Spawning Power.

Little battery for your frontliners. You can't spam it around and you need a primary Rit for it, so not as good as it could be but this is the kind of skill that gets crazy if it's too easy to use so I can see why it's set where it is.

DERVISH

I think the Dervs got the most love of all the classes. Some of the new Scythe attacks are just brutal. And the new buffs are looking pretty good, too. I'm even halfway sold on the signets. The only real misstep is Shield of Force which just isn't going to help much.

Aura Slicer. Scythe Attack. 5en, 10recharge. If this attack hits, you deal +10+(Scythe) damage. If this attack hits a foe with Cracked Armor, that foe loses one enchantment. Scythe Mastery.

Pretty good effect but, then, it requires Cracked Armor, so who knows.

Crippling Victory. Scythe Attack. 5en, 12recharge. If you have more health than target foe, that foe is crippled for 5+(0.66xScythe) seconds. This attack does +5+(0.33xScythe) damage. Scythe Mastery.

Fairly good snare.

Farmer's Scythe. Scythe Attack. 5en, 12recharge. If this attack hits, you deal +5+(Scythe) damage. If you hit more than one foe, this attack recharges instantly. Scythe Mastery.

Nice. Just...nice.

Grenth's Aura. Enchantment Spell. 10en, 3/4cast, 15recharge. All adjacent foes are struck for 15+(4xWind) cold damage. For 20 seconds, this enchantment does nothing. When this enchantment ends, all nearby foes lose 1 enchantment. Wind Prayers.

Combined with the Dervisher's ability to quickly strip off their own enchantments, this is potentially really nice. Oh, and it does damage, too. How nice for it.

Pious Fury. Stance. 5en, 10recharge. Lose one enchantment. For 2+(0.25xMyst) seconds, you attack 33% faster. Mysticism.

Nice IAS.

Radiant Scythe. Scythe Attack. 5en, 6recharge. This attack strikes for +2 damage for each point of energy you currently have (Maximum 5+(3xScythe) damage.). Scythe Mastery.

Weird. Based on your current energy. So, if you have full energy that'll deal up to...maximum scythe damage? A critical hit if you're sitting on all your energy? I'm just not getting this one.

Shield of Force. Enchantment Spell. 5en, 1/4cast, 12recharge. For 1+(EarthP) seconds, the next attack skill against you is blocked, and your attacker is weakened for 5+(EarthP) seconds. Earth Prayers.

Weakness really sucks in terms of melee hate. Nice and cheap, though.

Signet of Mystic Speed. Signet. 15recharge. For 5+(Wind) seconds, you move 15% faster for each enchantment on you (Maximum 33% faster.). Wind Prayers.

Now, I know Dervs already have a speed boost that works with your enchantments. I guess the draw here would be the null casting time and the potential to keep it up indefinitely. Of course, you need at least two enchantments to make it worth your while. And 3 is really overkill.

Signet of Pious Restraint. Signet. 1cast, 20recharge. Lose one enchantment. Target foe is crippled for 5+(0.66xWind) seconds. If an enchantment was removed, this signet recharges instantly. Wind Prayers.

Nasty on people trying to run away.

Zealous Sweep. Scythe Attack. 5en, 10recharge. If this attack hits, you deal +10+(Scythe) damage. You gain 3 energy for each foe you hit. Scythe Mastery.

Ah, a comely skill. Nothing too remarkable but a solid attack skill to help your energy pool.

PARAGON

Yeah. A few really cool spear attacks. Some interesting chants. And a bunch of crap to go along with it. Diamonds in here surrounded by a whole lot of coal. It's a lot like the *Nightfall list, really. I just get the feeling that the devs have no clue what to do with this profession (Interesting question: If you could take any one profession out of the game, which one would it be? I'd say the Rit - too static, too conditional, too boring. But I think the devs would say the Parapants.) they could take back any class. And that players don't either.

Anthem of Disruption. Chant. 10en, 2cast, 15recharge. For 1+(0.58xCom) seconds, the next attack skill used by each ally within earshot also interrupts an action. Command.

Interrupts give me a chub in general. So, you know, I'm going to need some time alone with this skill for a while. It's a little unwieldy and unfocused as giving your whole team an interrupt probably isn't going to be as useful as it might seem, you'll pick off some random crap but it's not really going to help you with a critical interrupt. Not with that casting time. But, still, that's okay. Come here, baby, I don't mind if everyone says you're ugly. I don't mind at all.

Anthem of Weariness. Chant. 5en, 1cast, 8recharge. For 10 seconds, the next attack skill used by each ally within earshot also causes Weakness for 1+(Com) seconds. Command.

Is there such a thing as a cover chant? If so, this would be it. I think I'd rather call it a wasted slot, though, doesn't even have the decency to be adrenal to help with your pool. Although, Weakness has some interesting synergies, so in the right build this might actually be worth it.

Burning Shield. Skill. 5en, 20recharge. For 3+(0.5xLead) seconds, while wearing a shield, the next attack skill used against you is blocked. If it was a melee attack, your attacker is set on fire for (0.33xLead) seconds. Leadership.

It's like a much, much crappier version of Shield Bash.

Chest Thumper. Attack. 5en, 5recharge. If this attack hits a foe with Cracked Armor, that foe suffers a Deep Wound for 5+(Spear) seconds. Spear Mastery.

Ranged DW are nice. Cracked Armor, not so much.

Hasty Refrain. Echo. 5en, 1cast, 10recharge. For 3+(0.5xLead) seconds, target ally moves 25% faster. This echo is reapplied every time a chant or shout ends on that ally. Leadership.

I could have sworn there was already a skill like this. Oh well, it's solid enough. Windborne for Paras.

Holy Spear. Attack. 4adren. If this attack hits, you deal +5+(Spear) damage. If it hits a summoned creature, all nearby foes take 17+(5xSpear) damage and are set on fire for 3 seconds. Spear Mastery.

Yowtch. That's pretty nasty for spirit shitters.

Inspirational Speech. Skill. 5en, 20recharge. You lose all adrenaline and target other ally gains 1+(0.2xMoti) strikes of adrenaline. Motivation.

An Adrenaline battery skill? Weird. Probably not going to net you anything unless you don't use adrenaline yourself in which case why the hell are you dabbling in the Motivation line to pick this crap up?

Nonsensical Spear. Spear Attack. 5en, 5recharge. If you attack hits a bleeding foe, that foe is crippled for 5+(Spear) seconds. Spear Mastery.

Yep. Love the apt name. They gave Paras a Crip Shot. Conditional, of course, but still. Crip Shot from someone with ranged Deep Wounds, Dazes, and a ton of armor. If there's a game design manual, I'm pretty sure that's in there under "What Not, Under Any Circumstances, To Do". Yep.

Spear Swipe. Spear Attack. 10en, 20recharge. If this attack hits, you deal +5+(Lead) damage and target foe is Dazed for 4+(0.42xLead) seconds. This attack has melee range. Leadership.

This was looking real sexy up until I saw the range restriction.

Spear of Redemption. Spear Attack. 3adren. If it hits, you deal +5+(Spear) damage, otherwise you lose 1 condition. Spear Mastery.

Um, this pretty much screws over blindbots. And it's decent pressure when you're unmolested. Me likey.