KEY POINTS

  • The Willbender is a mobility-focused specialization for the Guardian 
  • The new specialization combines the Thief's mobility with the offensive prowess of the Guardian
  • Traits and abilities will be revealed in a devstream scheduled for later this week

The Elite Specialization for the Guardian class in “Guild Wars 2: End Of Dragons” has been revealed, rounding off the first batch of three specs for the first upcoming character beta alongside the Necromancer and the Mesmer.

The Willbender is the newest specialization for the Guardian, succeeding the Dragonhunter and Firebrand and offering a completely new way to play the class. Based on the reveal trailer, the Willbender appears to be another high-mobility specialization with access to extra movement abilities and what appear to be Physical skills, similar to the Thief’s Daredevil spec.

Willbenders gain access to an off-hand sword as their new weapon, granting them two new abilities to work with on top of the Guardian’s existing sword skills. As of late, it’s unclear as to what type of mechanics or abilities will replace the Guardian’s Virtues, but it appears that Willbenders favor offense over defense, trading survivability for additional gap closers and rapid attacks.

It’s worth noting that most of the abilities showcased in the Willbender preview retains much of the Guardian’s affinity for fire. One of the Willbender’s new lunging blink abilities creates a fire field upon landing that also grants Protection to allies inside the radius. They also have a dash move that creates a trail of flames in its wake and an uppercut move that covers an area in fire before attacking enemies with a barrage of hits.

The Willbender is the upcoming elite specialization for the Guardian class in Guild Wars 2
The Willbender is the upcoming elite specialization for the Guardian class in Guild Wars 2 ArenaNet

Much like the Harbinger specialization for the Necromancer, the Willbender gives the Guardian class enhanced mobility similar to that of a Thief’s. Whether or not this will create a new mobility-centric meta in WvW or PvP game modes is up for debate, but these new specializations will at least give more options for players who want to get up close and personal as fast as possible.

Details regarding the Willbender’s abilities, traits and class mechanics are not yet available as of press time, but ArenaNet will be hosting a devstream on their Twitch channel soon where they will cover both the Willbender and Harbinger’s abilities in greater detail.

The Virtuoso, Harbinger and Willbender will be available to all “Guild Wars 2” players during a free character beta test from Aug. 17 to 21.

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