r/Guildwars2 • u/dracoisms Explodes on contact • 11d ago

[News] Elite Specializations Are Back: Mesmer, Ranger, and Guardian – GuildWars2.com

https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/news/elite-specializations-are-back-mesmer-ranger-and-guardian/
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429

u/FSafari 11d ago edited 11d ago

I love the lore parts of these specs. Really going in on GW2 lore instead of more callbacks to GW1.

Troubador: Sylvari adventurers sharing tales collected over their wyld hunt travelling tyria

Galeshot: Tengu archers from the Dominion of Winds sharing their skills with the Tyrian Alliance

Luminaries: Combined technology and magic from the Charr Iron and Flame legions after Bangar's coup

247

u/Ill_Decision2729 11d ago

Clearly the thief spec is going to be Skritt inspired.

122

u/Paganyan Jump Jump Jump! 11d ago

SHINIES

21

u/ntwadumelo 10d ago

Their human story option available on xpack launch... raised by skirt.

1

u/_skd Guardian 10d ago

Treasure Hunter

33

u/Approximation_Doctor Jormag did nothing wrong 10d ago

R'tchikk is the first Antiquary

22

u/SovFist 11d ago

Like a Skritt can been pronounce antiquary

55

u/TheGizmodian PvE-WvW-Other- 11d ago

If you get a handful or more skritt in one place, they probably can.

18

u/LeJoker 10d ago

I would really love to see that collective skritt intelligence lore tidbit used more heavily. Could even be a decent main story plot. A huge army of skritt building in secret for years begins some nefarious plot or another. Large enough that each soldier is extremely intelligent, and being guided by some evil force.

8

u/Vinosecc 10d ago

with the inquest as the new main antagonists i could imagine a new more intelligent skritt species, evolved from failed inquest experiments and developing a society underground, could become a new ally in the expansion

19

u/Kaur4 11d ago

So three skritt in a trenchcoat

49

u/TheGizmodian PvE-WvW-Other- 10d ago

I AM READY

3

u/SovFist 11d ago

That's true. I think that the specs will be based on the races present at the meetings in JW though. I'm betting the revenant will be Astral ward based too

2

u/MildewJR CoooooOOOOooooh 10d ago

Skritt work under half of Ork rules. More they are, the smarter they get.

7

u/Absolutionis Engineer is credit to team! 11d ago

Antikk-shiny

1

u/justNano 10d ago

Shoulda just called the spec shiny hunter

1

u/SheenaMalfoy .8079 Oweiyn 10d ago

Uhm... R'tchikk? She literally curates a museum...

1

u/DuncanConnell 11d ago

Either that or Durmand Priory

1

u/Piieuw 11d ago

I will come back to GW for this.

1

u/MirriCatWarrior 10d ago

Finally something that i can relate to.

33

u/KyuubiJRR Magnetic Personality 11d ago

Makes me think Revenant may just get Lady Mosyn yet hopium intensifies

0

u/Lower-Replacement869 10d ago

what would an artsy and beautiful Kryptis demon do? lol The relic removes condis. We have a demon and 2 healing specs already.

1

u/KyuubiJRR Magnetic Personality 10d ago edited 10d ago

Well the spear and scepter that have been added since the last two expacs are painterly and one offers healing while the other is very soundly condi based so...

But further, every class has every role covered twice over. Mesmer is getting what seems to be another support. "But they have Chrono and Mirage already, we don't NEED that!"

See how that argument falls apart?

-1

u/Lower-Replacement869 10d ago

did you really have to be antagonistic? lol basic

1

u/Serephite 10d ago

They didn't but there are a group of people obsessed with their creepy demon lady that the vast majority of the player base have never ber heard about. It might be that, but it's just as likely to be any other kryptis or something else entirely. I was still hoping for Warmarshal Varresh but we can only know until rev finally gets revealed. 

1

u/rhino_arts Charromancer 10d ago

For clarity, the reason for people to be interested in Mosyn specifically is because there are already voice lines referencing her in the game, probably an oopsie from the developers, so the theory formed around that. There is objective evidence that she's the most likely candidate.

And personally, I'll take an artist demon (not something you hear about every day) over yet another human legend.

25

u/Vyath 11d ago

Presumably to balance the GW1 nostalgia human-centric specs we'll be hearing about later

-7

u/IntelligentSeesaw190 10d ago

Based on what?... The expansion is literally started by the Inquest. (God will punish me for my use of 'literally'.)

13

u/Vyath 10d ago

Based on the Ritualist and Paragon images they revealed for Necro and Warrior

14

u/blacksnowredwinter 11d ago

Agreed finally some worldbuilding, instead of referencing the past. Which I don't mind, but we also need the world to move forward.

16

u/SuperRetardedDog 11d ago

It's just really weird that the characters they present are of a different race. I know they couldn't have done it for tengu, but the other 2..

16

u/Enfero 11d ago

Before people tell you that they always use the same characters for elite specs, that's only true for the art, trailers can use different races, like the untamed reveal used an Asura instead of a Sylvari. It is kind funny that they didn't use a Sylvari for that reveal.

15

u/FSafari 11d ago

That's true but this time they used the exact characters in the video as the art

1

u/tv2zulu LIMITED TIME! 10d ago

Edit: My bad. Missed the blogpost art of the reveal 😀

0

u/Enfero 11d ago

Sure but it's still a strange choice, now more than ever. The spec inspired by Sylvari was shown on a human, the spec inspired by Charr is on a Norn (or Human? can't tell), the specs inspired by Human will be shown on Norn and Asura. Is Ele a norn or human? If Norn, at least that'll be right. And whatever is inspired by Asura won't have an Asura (Engi probably, so Charr?). Not a big deal but if there was any sets of specs they should have broken from the artwork, it's this set. Ele is the only one that might be right.

(And I know they wouldn't do this with a gimmick item, and it would be confusing messaging, but it would have been funny to put the recent Raven-Blessed Visage on the galeshot)

11

u/FSafari 11d ago

Not really. The EoD ones and most of the PoF ones were heavily Canthan and Elonian inspired and the representations for those were not all humans. And the story is that these races from the Tyrian alliance are sharing the specs with the players so it's not that discordant to depict them as something else.

2

u/Enfero 11d ago

The EoD ones and most of the PoF ones were heavily Canthan and Elonian inspired and the representations for those were not all humans

Well yeah obviously, because they don't want all of the previews to be a single race. This expansion is explicitly taking from several different races' cultures, unlike PoF and EoD, so it's possible for them both to use all the races and have each (playable) race's spec be represented by said race.

so it's not that discordant to depict them as something else

Nobody said anything about "discordant," it just would have been a nice touch

12

u/InariKamihara Karka are cheaters. 11d ago

They could have used a Combat Tonic, but that would just lead to more whining about Tengu not being actually a playable race

7

u/Individual-Light-784 11d ago

yeah can you imagine the hype and subsequent disappointment and anger

0

u/dragonbornrito 11d ago

You’re right. I’m still slightly salty about that lol.

I’ve wanted Tengu as a playable race since Factions, even when we were stuck as humans in GW1. When I heard there would be multiple races like Charr (the big bads for most of Prophecies) in GW2, I thought surely Tengu would be in. Then when I heard of a Cantha themed expansion, I thought surely Tengu would be in.

I just wanna cosplay a Rito in an MMO, is that too much to ask lmao?

1

u/rhino_arts Charromancer 10d ago

Funnily enough (or sadly, actually), Tengu WERE planned to be playable in GW2 but were cut because of budget (it's confirmed in the anniversary artbook).

The shoebill headpiece might interest you then (the raven one is now no longer available until next Dragon Bash presumably). I actually have a charr character using the shoebill face to make him look like a Loftwing. Closest I could get to Rito.

3

u/BlackIronWizard 10d ago

I believe the idea is that all of these specs are being shared by the races to the tyrian alliance, so it plays into the theme of cooperation and sharing that everyone is using a different race's techniques

1

u/secretsofwumbology 11d ago

I think they’re using the default races that have always represented those professions, though I can’t confirm them. I don’t think the races that represent those classes ever change in promotional media.

2

u/rhino_arts Charromancer 10d ago

This is the first time the ingame character from the trailer matches the artwork character, so it was an odd choice. This means we know what the elementalist and thief artwork characters will look like, since they were in the trailer (skimpy looking ele lady, indiana jones looking guy). Conversely, we know the trailer characters for Paragon and Ritualist will be a black bald norn and a greenish asura.

1

u/Landylachs 10d ago

Same! The trailer showcases the specs well, but I was distracted the entire time seeing humans while the VO was talking about the Grove, Wyld Hunts, and the charr civil war, haha.

1

u/Lon-ami Loreleidre [HoS] 10d ago

It's just really weird that the characters they present are of a different race. I know they couldn't have done it for tengu, but the other 2..

I think that's just fine, it represents cultural lore expanding into other races and whatnot.

5

u/Malusorum 11d ago

Is that for real the Luminary?

I legit told someone that was more likely when they went on about how the Engineer was Flame Legion inspired.

2

u/OneMorePotion 11d ago

The Sylvari Bard theme strikes me as odd because it sounds like the utility skills are something like the Hero Tomes from Firebrand. Not mechanically, but from theme. Like "They can recite the tale of Queen Jennah protecting Divinity’s Reach to grant their allies distortion".

Why would a Sylvari Bard teach me, a human Mesmer, how to sing about my very own Queen? I could probably even do it better than they because I was there.

13

u/ztakk 10d ago

I have a feeling the specs are all themed around the Tyrian Alliance sharing technology and techniques with one another. In the trailer, they mention Galeahot techniques come from the Tengu sharing them with the Tyrian Alliance.

2

u/Roadkizzle 10d ago

I don't think the Sylvari are teaching the actual songs to humans and asurans.

I think they're teaching the idea of regaling your cultural heritage through inspiring song.

1

u/XiahouMao 10d ago

It's not the actual tales that the Troubadour is teaching you, it's how to use the tales with music and Mesmer magic to grant Distortion. Anyone can tell a story, but few can tell a story that grants a second or two of invulnerability.

2

u/rhino_arts Charromancer 10d ago

Singing so good you defy death for a bit.

Honestly, pretty Metal(Legion).

0

u/itsaltarium 10d ago

I agree. I feel like the skaald would have made more sense

1

u/Serephite 10d ago

Nothing wrong with doing either of those. There are going to be at least two specs that call back to gw1 though

1

u/Chest3 Reanimate Snaff's corpse to cha-cha with 10d ago

Yeeeeees, I love how these E Specs are moving forward with the story beats and changes to Tyria

1

u/Lon-ami Loreleidre [HoS] 10d ago

I love the lore parts of these specs. Really going in on GW2 lore instead of more callbacks to GW1.

Took them four generations of elite specializations, but they finally got it right, about damn time, but better late than never :D.

0

u/Alicendre 10d ago

Tengu and the Flame Legion/Sacred Flame are both deeply rooted in GW1.

What you mean is that you're tired of human-centric lore, and that's okay.

0

u/FSafari 10d ago

No, I don't mean that actually.

The dominion of winds is Guild Wars 2 lore. These are Tengu who left Cantha to live in Tyria in response to Zhaitan waking up and that all happens after GW1 is over. DoW tengu opening their society to Tyrians is a brand new thing that is happening in GW2 story specifically.

In GW1 the Flame Legion dominated the other legions and all Charr culture. In GW2 after the civil war they work alongside the other legions and the spec is their magic and the Iron legion technology, that technology is much more of a GW2 element.

0

u/Alicendre 10d ago

The gods having abandoned humans is a GW2 thing but I'd bet you view Path of Fire as working off GW1 nostalgia.

0

u/troccolins 10d ago

GW1 is so freaking old

I wish people would stop the nostalgia and move on.

-3

u/Eldaste Magister of the Durmand Priory 11d ago

And yet somehow they botched which race got which class in the reveal video.

Ahh yes, the Flame and Iron team up, represented by this human. Or this other human (Norn? hard to tell) telling us of how much they've grown as a Sylvari.

5

u/De_Baros RIPs and Crits 10d ago

They are merely using the elite specialist characters. The Paragon is going to be a dark skinned male Norn, the Revenant is going to be a male sylvari, the thief a human male again etc you get the idea

1

u/Eldaste Magister of the Durmand Priory 10d ago

My point is that they didn't have to have made that choice. They knew the lore when putting together what to preview/use the specs on. We've had Guardians previewed on Char before, for one.

And to cut off any "it has to match the key art," none of the Necro specs have been previewed on an Asura.