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Guild Wars 2: The Guardian's Elite Specialization: Dragonhunter
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
The latest Guild Wars 2 profession to have its elite specialization revealed is the Guardian. Called the Dragonhunter, Guardians will be able to become big-game hunters taking part in the fight from the back-line with ranged combat.
Taking the Guardian's light and virtue power, the Dragonhunter can make objects physically appear in the world including the Spear of Justice. Using this virtue will see Dragonhunters hurling a spear at enemies and holding them in place while the light burns them.
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Dragonhunters will also be able to create Wings of Resolve that will allow them to fly into the midst of allies to heal them.
Shield of Courage will allow Dragonhunters to create a shield in front of them that blocks attacks within a radius. All standing within that radius are likewise protected.
Of particular note is the fact that Guardians will be able to access longbows, though rather than shooting lots of arrows, the Dragonhunter will fire a single massive arrow at a blinding rate of speed.
An example of this is that your Symbol of Energy can be launched to an area to grant allies vigor. If your enemy is using a projectile attack and is attacking your allies, you can fire your Deflecting Shot in its path and, with the right timing, destroy all of your enemy’s projectiles along the way.
Elite Guardians will also be able to set traps that are magical and light-based that can have several effects along with a healing trap. When enemies trigger the latter, Guardian/Dragonhunters will be able to blind foes and heal for a great deal.
Lastly, Dragonhunters will be able to take a more physical role in combat, have more mobility and be able to bleed enemies with Rending Light.
Find out more about the Guardian - Dragonhunter on the Guild Wars 2 site.
Be sure to check in to the Guild Wars 2 Twitch.tv channel on Friday, May 8th at 12:00 pm Pacific / 3:00 pm Eastern to see the Guardian / Dragonhunter in action.
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I had fun once, it was terrible.
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
Please, there is more than dragons and zombies!
You do realize that Guild Wars 2's lore is mostly based on dragons right?
Yes...which was extremely disappointing considering the original lore of the games predecessor. in GW2 I recall riveting moments of fighting the dragons mouth, eye and other assorted body parts.
My point was not specifically a slight against GW2, just the OVER USE of common lore. Dragons are now relegated to nothing more than a tired fantasy gimmick. Where are the nightmare lords of the underworld/fissure of woe? Why can't Tyria be ravaged by foes from another world or dimension? The Tyrian gods were really just an advanced race of beings who brought humanity to Tryia. Where is their home, are there only 6 of them. Perhaps other that exist would not be so benevolent towards Tyria and would prey upon her inhabitants in revenge against those that would defend. What began as something that could be greatly expanded was abandoned for contrived generic fantasy.
I would agree but for two things. Most MMOs each dragon fight had its own raid mechanics but in the end your tanking, healing or DPSing. GW2 Dragon fights each feel very different and require everyone there to do different actions to take down the dragon. So they feel much more Epic IMO. Second, most MMOs Dragon fights are only seen by the top 10% of the players. GW2 anyone can go do a Dragon fight. In this way, everyone feels epic. IMO, GW2 does dragons better then most MMOs. So it can seem like oh no not Dragons again but when you play it, you quickly lose that feeling.
Yes, GW2 does dragons very well. Not sure about epic though. One of my major issues with GW2 is that it is designed to make EVERYONE feel epic, even when they aren't. Those massive fights don't require everyone to perform different task, just apply different forms of DPS. In time the player begins to realize that those EPIC fights are akin to how a Tee ball team of pre-schoolers never lose a game.
You win just by showing up and mashing buttons. I'm not hardcore, anything but. Still...my lasting MMO moments have always involved overcoming impossible odds through learning to play my class and coordinating with others. GW1 never had a trinity, not in the traditional sense anyway. However it did require players to be skilled.
GW2 has so much going for it, but there is a reason player turnover is so high. Maybe that will change with the expansion.
Lower end dragon fights you can just show up and mash your skills. I have been to some of the harder fights where people were not working together and failed. Anyone can show up and feel epic, if they work together, not just a gear hoop.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I've been reserving any excitement until I get to hear all of the specializations. I was not really impressed with the mesmer getting a shield... but then when they told me about the specialization, I felt they did some interesting things, though I don't see how the new "mesmer only buff" is any different than quickness right now -- but I'll reserve judgement on that.
This update to the guardian may seem a little underwhelming but it isn't. I'm not sure exactly how far this specialization goes, but guardians in general are one of the better PvP classes for team fights. Their burst is much higher than warriors, and they have a lot of inherent blocks and heals, so if this longbow gives them additional crowd control at an extended range I can see it being a powerful build and tactic.
Also from a PvE perspective, a good high sustainable damage build is necessary. The scepter is good, but its range isn't that long and its high damage ability is ground targeted so its easy to miss or dodge.
the name Dragonhunter is the most dissapointing thing about it. just sounds stupid and does not really fit with the Guardian.
also i'd much rather prefer a Lancer type specialization but i guess range is more what the profession needs atm.
I had fun once, it was terrible.
I only recently discovered the hammer and using a good healing build, not bad.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
My main is a guardian, and for the time being I'm still not 100% on board with the guardian elite. I like that we're getting bows (doubly that it's longbow since I have the wings of dwayna skin unlocked from when you could do it with PvP). I really like the change to the virtues, but not entirely convinced about the traps. Maybe it's just that it feels a bit underwhelming so far when compared to the chronomancer.
That said, I'm really looking forward to the new trait system, mainly because it seems like it'll be a bit of a buff (from what I can tell) for hammer wielding guardians, which is my favorite guardian weapon.
What can men do against such reckless hate?
I have to agree. GW1s lore was much more interesting and mysterious than its sequel. I really didn't like the idea about dragons destrying the world but it seems they are slowly trying to tie in more old lore with the dragons so who knows how it will end.
Still I don;t really care about the name. We have to wait 'till tomorrow for the stream to see whether this specialization is disappointing or not.
Lol. That name is terrible for Guardian.
When i think of Guardians, i don't think of dragon hunters. I think of protectors with shields and divine skills. We're all pretty much dragon hunters anyway, since the story is about fighting dragons. This is just more of a bastardization of the original GW lore.
I understand they want to give Guardians more ranged options, but come on, that spec is basically a Ranger. They might as well homogenize all the classes into a meta-spec and be done with it.
The current main enemies of Tyria are dragons, thats why they feel "overused" to you, because they are several. After we defeat all of them, in the future, then those things you speak of could happen. Who knows.
I personally dont see them overused, they are many, but they are different.
As for the Dragonhunter subclass, i do find it a bit lackluster but we just saw that short video. Ill wait for all the sub classes to be completed and see how they make synergy with utilities and traits before making up my mind.
SInce guardians are clearly inspired by the Sunspear Paragons they really should have gotten a lance instead of a bow. Killing two birds in one shot, the guardian ranged subclass and a new weapon for the game.
EDIT: and call the specialization Sunspears while at it lol
Kormir is a goddess in GW2 so it makes absolute sense to incorporate Elonian features without an Elonian expansion in the game.
Since my main is a guardian, I'll say in my opinion that this is a great addition to the profession as an elite spec. I like many others don't like the name, I mean 10 years ago at age 11 maybe I would think it's cool and that's a maybe.
Anyway I don't see elite specs as a "Oh this is suppose to replace my current profession." I look at them as a different way to play my profession, and that is what I get out of it, because in the future the more specs the more options you have to play a class that you love thematically and/or lore wise. Example being, I like the addition because now I can use my sword and torch then switch to longbow, I also am a fan of wings, so aesthetically the skills already sound and look cool. I can mix some of the new utilities and the more physical f1-3 skills like the wing jump, spear, and shield which really fit how I'd like to use my guardian.
So yea that's my opinion on this, very excited and can't wait to see the other professions, I already know that my new main will be Revenant and the new elite spec for that followed by Guardian/Dragonhunter(That's currently until I see the other elite specs).
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