Guild Wars 2 Racial Abilities – What Powers Will You Possess? | GW2PC
We’ll be covering Guild Wars 2 Racial Abilities. Of the five playable races in Guild Wars 2, did you know each will have unique racial abilities? I know, I was a little bit shocked to read about this because it would present multiple issues such as bias and balancing. As competitive gamers, we don’t want any particular type of criteria, such as race, to have an advantage because it would break the game. Also, we don’t want a certain race to be overpopulated just because of some “cool ability”. Players won’t need to worry about these issues, because racial abilities are essentially enhancements to the Guild Wars 2 experience, giving each race presence and their identity.
Here I will explain racial abilities and go over some of the issues discussed across the web. Before we continue, let me give you some background information about each race, as it will help you understand the type of abilities each race possesses.
The Asura are known for their intelligence, being alchemical inventors, they pride themselves in their mystic technology. The Charr stand as the race forged in war, it’s what defines them, they have cast aside all types of religion and see life only in the form of battle. The Human receive their strength and blessing from the Six Gods, fighting to keep the human race alive. The Sylvari are botanical humanoids, spawned from the Pale Tree, their Mother Tree, exploring a world they have recently appeared on. Lastly, the Norn are valiant barbarians of the Shiverpeak Mountains, living for the hunt and attuned with the wild.
Now that is out of the way, let’s get down to what really matters, the details, and how it will affect your gameplay and experience.
Q: What are racial abilities?
These are race specific abilities for each of the 5 races in Guild Wars 2: Norn, Sylvari, Asura, Human, and Charr.
Q: What kind of racial abilities does each race have?
Below is a list of currently known abilities, each race will have at least 6 racial abilities ranging from elites, utility, and heal skills:
| Charr | Battle Roar | |
| Hidden Pistol | Fires a single pistol shot while wielding any weapon. | |
| Shrapnel Mine | Scatter up to 3 mines that cripple and bleed enemies. | |
| Warband Support (Elite) | Temporarily summons allies from your warband to fight alongside you. | |
| Artillery Barrage (Elite) | Calls in an artillery barrage that deals AoE damage. | |
| Human | Avatar of Melandru | |
| Prayer of Dwayna | Self-heal. | |
| Prayer of Kormir | Removes a condition. | |
| Hounds of Balthazar (Elite) | Summons 2 fiery dogs. | |
| Sylvari | Blessing of the Pale Tree | Protects the user. |
| Grasping Roots | Immobilizes a foe. |
| Norn | Bear Form (Elite) | |
| Raven Form (Elite) | ||
| Snow Leopard Form (Elite) | ||
| Wolf Form (Elite) |
| Asura | Arcane Blast | |
| Radiation | ||
| Golem Battlesuit (Elite) | Creates a battlesuit that can be entered and operated by yourself or another party member. |
Q: Do racial abilities affect stats?
No.
Q: How are these racial abilities compared to normal profession skills?
They are not as strong as profession skills. Targeting and hit boxes are exactly the same.
Q: How are racial abilities obtained?
Some racial abilities are available immediately after character creation, others will need to be unlocked.
Q: How do you use the racial abilities?
Racial abilities are considered utility skills and are equipped in slots 6-10 on the skill bar.
Q: Are racial abilities allowed in structured PvP?
No. It’s purely for PvE, but it is allowed in non-competitive PvP.
Q: Are racial skills dependant on character story options at creation?
No.
Those are some of the details we know about racial powers. It does not sound like something game-breaking right? You should be excited that the developers have even decided to give us unique abilities for choosing the race we play, rather than just reading about why the races are different. Now we can instantly understand each race and why they possess these special abilities. If you play a shape-shifting Norn, transforming into half-man and half-animal, it is tied to their survival skills in the wild as Nordic warriors of Shiverpeaks. If you play as an Asura, a Golem Battlesuit would be something in their nature to create because of their intelligence and mystic technology.
Personally, the more interesting Guild Wars 2 racial skills are of the Asura and Norn. I mean who wouldn’t want to control a mech or play as an animal? Of course, these just sound cool and shouldn’t justify what race you want to play with, or should it? That is one of the concerns about introducing racial abilities, it presents bias to certain races. Players need to understand that these skills won’t give an advantage in the game. It’s like a special feature or customization, giving each race their identity. That said, racial abilities give something to think about when creating our characters, and adds a bit more fun to our gameplay in my opinion.
02/05/12
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