Guild Wars 2 developer ‘Skill-Combo’ favorites
Guild Wars 2 implementation of skill combos is nothing new to the gaming world, so the innovators at ArenaNet decided to go one step farther and introduce cross-profession combos. This game element was announced last year as a unique way in which skills could interact with each other.
A short re-cap on the way combos work: It requires two specific types of skills called initiators and finishers. The initiator creates an area effect, usually a recognizable and distinct effect and an indication of how that will influence the finisher. The finisher is an action, usually a movement through or within the imitator’s field; whether that movement be a projectile or player that will create some type of effect. Some of the developers were asked what some of their favorite combos were. Here are nine of their favorite:
Well of Darkness + Churning Earth
- Necromancer, Elementalist
“This is a brutal combo. A necro can use Well of Darkness to create a Dark Field, which blinds enemies in the area. Along comes an elementalist attuned to earth, who cast Churning Earth to cripple enemies inside the Well of Darkness. When Churning Earth ends, it combines with the Dark Field to deliver additional AoE damage. Guaranteed to rock your enemies world – in a bad way.”
-Ryan Diederich, Programmer
Contagion + Ricochet
- Ranger
“Rangers can choose some strange but useful pets, like the Murellow, which is kind of a diseased rat/bear that lives in the caves of Tyria. The unhygienic Murellow uses a skill called Contagion, which creates a Poison Field. An axe-wielding ranger can then use his basic attack, Richochet, to throw projectiles through the Poison Field. The axe ping pongs between enemies, applying Poison to a number of foes.”
-Eric Flannum, Lead Game Designer
Smoke Screen + Stomp
- Thief, Warrior
“This is one of my favorite combos. You take a thief, who uses his/her Smoke Screen skill to create a smoke field. Then a warrior comes along and blasts the smoke with a Stomp, adding Stealth to nearby allies by cloaking them in gloom. It’s a very cool effect, and it comes in handy in combat.”
-Ben Miller, Game Designer
Symbol of Swiftness + Big Ol’ Bomb
- Guardian, Engineer
“A guardian can lay down a Symbol of Swiftness, which creates a Light Field on top of an engineer’s Big Ol’ Bomb that is about to explode. This will add Blindness to the explosion, effectively turning two offensive skills into an AoE defense!”
-Andrew McLeod, Game Designer
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