Guild Wars/Professions

There are ten Professions, or classes, in Guild Wars. Each is suited to a different role, but in addition to your "major" class each player is allowed a secondary profession, which gives you access to all that profession's skills and most of their attributes.

Assassin
Assassins are melee combatants that employ a strict order of skills, often resulting in one skill needing to be done before another. The Assassin walks the shadows, a deadly viper ready to strike at the heart when an enemy least expects it. Assassins are masters of their chosen weapon, the dagger, and are experts at inflicting Critical Strikes that cause massive damage. The Assassin is trained to efficiently link attacks together in a chain without giving an enemy a chance to hit back. Wearing only lightweight armor, they have mastered the ability to move as shadows, avoiding damage by not being there when an enemy's strike lands. Their other magical skills include Hexes that lower a target's defenses and protect the Assassin from harm.

Attributes

 * Critical Strikes (primary): Additional 1% chance to score a critical hit per point spent. Assassins can also gain Energy whenever they score a critical hit in this way.
 * Dagger Mastery: Boosts damage inflicted by daggers and the chance to land a critical hit with a dagger. Many skills, especially dagger attack skills, become more effective with increased Dagger Mastery. This attribute also improves your chance of performing a Double Attack and striking with both daggers at once.
 * Deadly Arts: Improves the duration and effectiveness of Hexes and other skills that make a single enemy vulnerable to the Assassin's strikes.
 * Shadow Arts: Improves skills that boost the Assassin's defenses and allow instantaneous shadow movement.

Dervish
The Dervish, introduced in Nightfall, is a holy warrior. Dervishes use a large scythe with a good area of effect to destroy opponents quickly.

Attributes

 * Mysticism (primary): Each rank of Mysticism allows a Dervish to gain energy and health when an enchantment ends.
 * Scythe Mastery: Scythe Mastery improves the effectiveness and critical hit chance when attacking with the scythe and using scythe skills.
 * Earth prayers: Earth prayers improve the effectiveness of earth related skills.
 * Wind prayers: Wind prayers improve the effectiveness of wind related skills, which generally improve speed or inflict damage.

Elementalist
Elementalists wield the elements fire, water, earth and air. Although they do have a ranged attack, most of their effect and usefulness in combat comes from their skills which include stat reductions and damage. Often called an "Ellie", they are attack mages in Guild Wars.

Attributes

 * Energy Storage (primary): Energy Storage allows an Elementalist to store more energy and regenerate it faster than other professions.
 * Fire magic: Fire magic improves the amount or length of fire related spells, which typically deal lots of damage.
 * Earth magic: Earth magic improves the amount or length of earth related spells, which either defend allies or cause damage to enemies, disregarding armor.
 * Air magic: Air magic improves the amount or length of air related spells, which often knock enemies down and cause status effects like blindness.
 * Water magic: Water magic improves the amount or length of air related spells, which generally hinder the movement of enemies.

Mesmer
Mesmers use skills that hinder an enemy's ability to attack or move. They use spells that either steal energy, add domination penalties, or add status effects to enemies.

Attributes

 * Fast Casting (primary): Fast Casting allows Mesmers to use spells faster than any other profession.
 * Domination: Domination increases the amount or duration of spells that give domination penalties (e.g. take damage upon casting a spell).
 * Illusion: Illusion increases the amount or duration of spells that give status effects to enemies (e.g. hinder movement or drain health).
 * Inspiration: Inspiration increases the effectiveness of spells which steal energy from enemies.

Monk
Healer. Few offensive prayers, although Smiting skills can be powerful. The Monk is the main healing class of Guild Wars. A monk employs divine magic to either heal or protect allies, or to smite enemies. When a monk smites an enemy, it is considered "holy damage" and is therefore more powerful against the undead.

Attributes

 * Divine Favor (primary): Divine Favor increases the healing abilities of a monk by giving a small healing bonus for each level of all monk spells that target allies.
 * Healing prayers: Healing prayers increase the time or amount for which a healing spell is effective.
 * Smiting prayers: Smiting prayers increase the time or amount for which a smiting spell is effective.
 * Protection prayers: Protection prayers increase the time or amount for which a protection spell is effective.

Necromancer
Necromancers raise the dead and get health and energy from other dying creatures. Most skills require some health sacrifice. Necromancers are the death mages in Guild Wars. They steal health with spells or place curses on enemies, as well as raising minions from the dead.

Attributes

 * Soul reaping (primary): Soul reaping allows the necromancer to gain Energy when a creature nearby dies.
 * Curses: Curses improves the ability of a necromancer to cast curses, which have a negative effect on the enemy.
 * Blood Magic: Blood Magic improves the skills of necromancers that steal health from enemies.
 * Death Magic: Death Magic improves the skills that deal damage to enemies directly, or that raise minions from the dead.

Paragon
Paragons are "leaders" in Guild Wars. They emit shouts and chants which improve the fighting ability of a group, a boon for PvP combat.

Attributes

 * Leadership (primary): Leadership allows the Paragon to receive energy for every ally affected by shouts or chants.
 * Spear Mastery: Spear Mastery improves the effectiveness and critical hit chance when attacking with the spear and using spear skills.
 * Command: Command improves the effectiveness of skills that protect allies or better a tactical position.
 * Motivation: Motivation improves the effectiveness of motivation skills, as well as improving recovery.

Ranger
Ranged class. Uses bows, can tame wild animals for pets and can call Nature spirits to increase or decrease attributes of foes and allies in an area. The Ranger is a profession that employs long range bows, traps, and pets. They strike from afar and are known for their trap skills that place a trap on the ground which will trigger upon a certain condition.

Ritualist
The Ritualist, introduced in Factions, communes with spirits to command them in battle.

Attributes

 * Spawning (primary): Spawning increases the health of summoned creatures and makes spells related to them more effective.
 * Communal: Communal increases the ability of the Ritualist to summon "otherworldly" allies.
 * Restoration Magic: Restoration Magic improves the amount and length of skills that heal allies.
 * Channeling Magic: Channeling Magic improves the amount and length of skills that harm enemies.

Warrior
Powerful melee class. Warriors' skills are increased by adrenaline, gained during combat. The Warrior is the only core profession in the game that is melee. They use either axes, hammers or swords as their weapons. Axes and swords only require one hand, leaving room for a shield in the other hand. Warriors are effective at dealing damage and tanking. They have two pips of energy and a maximum of 20 energy.

Since warriors have lower energy and number of pips compared to casters, many of their skills cost adrenaline rather than energy to use. Adrenal skill costs are measured in strikes of adrenaline. Each successful attack provides one strike of adrenaline. Taking damage of 25% of your maximum health also adds one strike.

Attributes

 * Strength (primary): Adds 1% armor penetration per rank.
 * Axe Mastery: Increases damage dealt and chance to inflict critical hits with axes.
 * Hammer Mastery: Increases damage dealt and chance to inflict critical hits with hammers.
 * Swordsmanship: Increases damage dealt and chance to inflict critical hits with swords.
 * Tactics: No inherent effect.

Armor
Warrior armor has a maximum armor of 80 and an inherent +20 versus physical damage. Runes and insignias can be added to each piece providing additional bonuses.