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The Guild Wars 2 Effects
OldManFunk
Member Posts: 894
This is not a guide. This is just a collection of links and a bit of information to help pass the time.
Guild Wars 2 combat can seem a bit chaotic and can be a little bit hard to grasp when you're new to the game. You're faced with learning what your skills do, when to use them, how to move during combat, when to dodge, and which effects to watch for. Here are a few details about Guild Wars 2 combat that may give you an edge when the game releases.
Your character's skills are based on the weapons you have equipped. Changing weapons changes the play style of the class.
Each race has its own unique racial abilities. Guild Wars 2 races are more than cosmetic.
You (hopefully) don't get a great deal of time to view or practice your Downed State abilities in game. Knowing what they are and how to use them before you need to use them is important.
Taking a few minutes to click on the links and read over the skills listed on the Guild Wars 2 wiki will give you a head start on both selecting and understanding your character's weapon, racial and downed skills.
| Soldiers |  Guardian |  Warrior | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adventurers |  Engineer |  Ranger |  Thief |
| Scholars |  Elementalist |  Mesmer |  Necromancer |
|
|  Asura |  Charr |  Human |
 Norn |  Sylvari | ||
|
Other |
|
|
|
In addition to everything else that is happening during combat, Guild Wars 2 has effects that can be triggered by using Combo Finishers on Combo Fields. In the following table you can see that using a Projectile Finisher (such as the Ranger 
Crossfire) on a Fire Field (such as the Elementalist 
Flamewall) produces a Burning effect in addition to the normal effect.
| Field | Blast Finisher | Leap Finisher | Projectile Finisher | Whirl Finisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Area Blindness | Blindness | Lifesteal | Leeching Bolts |
| Ethereal | Area Chaos Armor | Chaos Armor | Confusion | Confusing Bolts |
| Fire | Area Might (x3) | Fire Armor | Burning | Burning Bolts |
| Ice | Area Frost Armor | Frost Armor | Chilled | Chilling Bolts |
| Light | Area Retaliation | Retaliation | Remove Condition | Cleansing Bolts |
| Lightning | Area Swiftness | Dazing Strike | Vulnerability | Brutal Bolts |
| Poison | Area Weakness | Weakness | Poison | Poison Bolts |
| Smoke | Area Stealth | Stealth | Blindness | Blinding Bolts |
| Water | Area Healing | Healing | Regeneration | Healing Bolts |
Taking the time to learn what each combination produces and which skills will produce them will help you make the most of your combat situations.
Guild Wars 2 Effects
Guild Wars 2 has a variety of effects that are extremely important to learn and monitor during combat. Knowing when an enemy has 
Invulnerability or you have 
Confusion and what that means can be the difference between success or failure.
