Today, we're unveiling the final three elite specializations coming to Guild Wars 2®: Visions of Eternity™! If you missed our previous reveals, make sure you check out the elite specs blogs for the mesmer, ranger, and guardian and the thief, necromancer, and warrior!
Before we dive into the details for the revenant, elementalist, and engineer, make sure you tune into our Twitch channel this Friday, August 8, at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) for a live preview of the three elite specializations we're talking about today. You'll also be able to play all of the elite specializations yourself during our beta event from August 20 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) until August 27 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7).
The Evoker: Spiritual Summoners
Having toppled the powerful jotun civilization in the previous dragonrise, Jormag was poised to claim the Shiverpeaks and beyond when they awoke once again. However, as the dragon's influence crept south of the mountainous crown, displacing the various kodan sanctuaries, it collided with the stalwart and courageous resolve of the norn and their ever-watching guides, the Spirits of Wild.
Despite their resistance, Jormag's campaign left lasting scars on many of the spirits, consuming or corrupting those that held the line. In the years since Jormag's defeat, the norn have made strides to reconnect and commune with the spirits. Many now turn to old practices that harken to a time when the first pacts that entwined both groups in spiritual harmony were spoken—the centuries-old tradition of the evoker.
Drawing upon the forces of the natural world, these norn elementalists call upon spiritual companions and empower them with elemental energies. At the spirits' behest, the norn have been encouraged to share this practice beyond their own to help restore and heal Tyria's nature spirits.
Familiar Friends
Every evoker starts with a choice: Which element do you want to specialize in? Selecting an elemental skill on the F5 slot will specialize in that element, granting a few bonuses. First, the attunement skill for that element will have a significantly reduced recharge time. In addition, some of the evoker's traits and utility skills will be affected by your chosen element. And most importantly, a familiar of that element will join you on your adventures.
Fire specialists will be accompanied by the cunning fox, water joined by the mischievous otter, air by the agile hare, while earth gets the stalwart toad. The familiar has two different skills that are available in the F5 slot once they are fully charged: a basic skill and an empowered skill. The basic skill is charged as the evoker uses their own weapon skills, requiring a total of six to fully charge. Weapon skills that match the familiar's element will count for double, meaning that only three fire attunement skills would be required to fully charge the fox's skill. The familiar's empowered skill will unlock after using its basic skill three times, and that's when the evoker (and their familiar) unleash their full potential.
The evoker is a flexible specialization, capable of filling a number of roles depending on which element you specialize in. Those leaning toward fire may choose to focus on condition damage, as the fox will complement those builds well.
Fiery Foxes
The fox's basic skill is called Ignite. When activated, the fox will launch a fiery missile at your target, dealing some damage and inflicting burning, and enemies struck by this skill in quick succession will receive additional stacks of burning.
After using Ignite three times, and hopefully inflicting a good chunk of burning, evokers will gain access to the fox's empowered skill: Conflagration. Using this skill will summon the fox near your target, after which it will perform a leaping strike that inflicts burning and also spreads any burning from that target to nearby enemies (up to a limit—we thought that spreading 1,500 burning stacks might be a bit too powerful).
Tune in to our stream this Friday for a full reveal of the other spirit companions and their abilities!
The Amalgam: Oozing with Power
Asuran scientists have studied, manipulated, transformed, and occasionally displaced oozes at every level of scientific research. Endlessly adaptable, oozes can absorb the properties of substances and living creatures they come into contact with—and a recent breakthrough has allowed them to be used as a powerful tool for both defense and offense.
The mercurial mold is a special species of ooze that can form a symbiotic bond with its owner and interpret their needs in battle. It's lightweight, responds instantly, requires no special feeding, and—best of all—no fatalities have been reported as a result of the bonding process. Why not give it a try?
Slime Time
Bonded with their mercurial mold, amalgams are engineers with unparalleled adaptive capabilities. By being able to freely customize which morph skills they select, you can arrive to any fight with the right tools to survive and dish out damage. Amalgams can temporarily meld with their slime, resulting in an altered or even mutated form. An amalgam's experimentation results in a malleable fighter that can always find the edge in combat.
Amalgams replace the engineer's utility toolbelt abilities with morph abilities. There are several morph skills, and you can select which ones to fight with in the same manner you select your utility skills. The morph skills command the mercurial mold to shapeshift into different forms, such as a shield, defensive spikes, or even a massive sword.
Become One with the Mold
Your elite toolbelt skill is replaced by Evolve. Evolve briefly combines the engineer and mercurial mold into one being, granting a host of benefits. These benefits, however, are unique to each slime. As you select your morph skills, your mercurial mold's composition is altered to also change what happens when you evolve. These compositional shifts, called strains, can vary from granting superspeed and quickness to stunning nearby enemies when you evolve.
Amalgam's utility skills are stances. The mercurial mold can assist you to shift your form, making you as dense as steel or as light as a feather. With the skill Liquid State, you can even melt down into a puddle!
The Conduit: Channeling the Past
Centuries ago, the hero who defeated the fallen god Abaddon met a strange entity imprisoned deep within the Realm of Torment: Razah, a being born of the Mists. Freed by Abaddon's death to seek their own purpose in life, Razah chose to accompany the hero across Tyria, and their boundless curiosity led them to study and master any number of martial and magical disciplines.
But Razah's story seemed to have ended with their companion's; no one has seen or heard from them since. They may have returned to the Mists to wander or fallen to the corruption they once feared. They might have learned to mimic human behavior precisely enough to live a hundred lives in obscurity. Or they could have been watching our world, still learning—and waiting for someone like you.
Harness the Mists
After the complexity of having two different legends in the form of Saint Victor and Archemorus in Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons®, we wanted to focus on a single legend that offered an equally unique experience. As a denizen born of the Mists, Razah is the first living legend to assist the revenant in their adventures.
With the conduit, we wanted to portray the multifaceted nature of Razah's unique link to the Mists. Thus, the elite specialization was designed to have a malleability and flexibility that reflects Razah's ability to transform into any profession. By amplifying the revenant's connection to the Mists, the conduit can tap into a deeper well of power through the legends they choose to channel, further augmenting their existing strengths.
Legendary Affinity
As the conduit, you gain the ability to use Cosmic Wisdom, allowing you to further channel the powers of your equipped legend, giving rise to different forms. As an example, using Cosmic Wisdom with Legendary Assassin Stance equipped gives access to Form of the Assassin, granting the conduit bonus power and movement speed, as well as inflicting debilitating conditions on foes you strike. Cosmic Wisdom only lasts for a limited amount of time, but it can be extended through the use of affinity.
Affinity is a new resource that represents the strength of your connection to your legend. Affinity can be gained through using any legendary skills that cost energy. Each point of affinity you gain increases the duration of Cosmic Wisdom by a set amount; however, you lose all affinity as you swap legends.
Thanks to the power of Razah, conduits gain access to Legendary Entity Stance, bringing with them various skills that harken back to when they wandered Tyria as a hero. Each skill in Legendary Entity Stance has an effect called Resonance, a bonus effect that comes into play if the corresponding legend is equipped in the other slot. For example, Beguiling Haze normally shadowsteps you to your target while performing a quick attack on them. However, when Legendary Assassin Stance is equipped as your second legend, the skill becomes an area-of-effect targeted skill, allowing conduits to shadowstep even without a target, and strikes all enemies in the vicinity.
Livestream This Friday
We hope you enjoyed our elite specialization previews! Let us know on our socials and forums which one you're most excited to play in the upcoming beta on August 20.
Tune in to our Twitch channel this Friday, August 8, at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) for more details on the conduit, evoker, and amalgam!
For more information about Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity, head over to our official site.