Guild Wars 2 Combat

Eric Flannum, the Lead Designer for Guild Wars 2, has let loose some inside information on the Combat system being fine-tuned for GW2.

One priority has been making the simple act of moving around and interacting with the world an enjoyable experience for players, who will now enjoy being able to run, jump and swim freely. From a combat perspective, your character's position in Guild Wars 2 battles will actually matter, with lots of attacks that encourage and reward tactical player positioning and movement.

Important in GW2 was for combat to be visually appealing with lots of distinct and impressive visual skill effects such as players shape-shifting into massive tornadoes, giant crushing stone hands, or flocks of vicious birds being summoned.

The centerpiece of the Guild Wars 2 combat system will be a TEN-SLOT SKILL BAR and a choice of TWO weapon sets, both noticeably different from the original GW configuration. Depending on the player's profession and weapon choices, the first five skills on the skill bar are automatically chosen to ensure that each weapon is balanced with a fun combination of skills. The remaining five skills are free to be chosen by the player from a pool of skills determined by both profession and race. One of these slots is dedicated to elite skills that trigger visually spectacular and powerful effects. Another slot is dedicated to healing skills which will replenish the health of the player's character and that of his allies.

Overall though, Guild Wars 2 will have a less complex combat system, with fewer overall skills, leaving the screen as clean and unintimidating as possible.