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Guild Wars 2: Mesmer's Elite Specialization Revealed - The Chronomancer
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
The Guild Wars 2 site has been update with a brand new blog post that is sure to set the community buzzing with the revelation of the Mesmer's Elite Specialization, the Chronomancer. As the name implies, Mesmers will gain some awesome new ways to manipulate time in both constructive and destructive ways.
Robert Gee begins by describing two main themes in the Chronomancer's arsenal: Past vs Future and Fast vs Slow. Each will have a place in Chronomancer abilities.
Through skillful application of skills and abilities, Mesmers specializing in Chronomancy will gain access to Alacrity. As defined, alacrity takes the opposite form by slowing enemies by chilling. In fact, alacrity speeds skill recharge. Being the only specialization that has such an ability makes Chronomancers a must-have in parties. In addition, Chronos can also boost their own speed every time one of their illusions shatters or, alternately, can speed up the attack of illusions.
As depicted in a recent picture, Chronomancers will use a special offhand shield that gives them access to a skill called Tides of Time, essentially a burst of energy emitted from the shield itself moving along a straight pathway ahead. The burst stops projectiles while it is active and, in a neat touch, if it passes across an enemy, they are "frozen in time" (stunned) for a few moments. After reaching the limit of its forward momentum, the energy burst travels back to the Chronomancer with the same effects applied on the way back.
Chronos also have access to a pair of wells. Cast on the ground, and as with other skills, the well can be constructive to allies nearby by making attacks unblockable, or destructive to enemies by blocking all of their projectiles.
But the Crown Jewel of the Chronomancer's new arsenal is the Continuum Split and Continuum Shift skills.
We'll let Robert Gee describe how these amazing, game-changing skills work:
When the chronomancer activates Continuum Split, they sacrifice all of their illusions to split themselves off from the normal flow of time for a duration that scales with the number of illusions shattered. When this duration is over, or when the mesmer activates the follow-up skill Continuum Shift, they revert back to the location where the skill was first activated.
Here’s where things get fun. Shifting back to the original timeline reverts the chronomancer’s health, endurance, and all cooldowns (yes, even the elite skill) back to the state they were in when the shatter was first activated. This skill essentially gives the chronomancer a reset button and allows for tricks such as casting any skill twice, avoiding a killing blow, or simply tactically repositioning yourself. Remember Tides of Time from earlier in this article? Skillful use of Continuum Split will allow you to catch two returning time waves, doubling the effectiveness of the recharge bonus while gaining twice the benefits. I’m personally excited to see what kinds of strategies will be coming from our players once this specialization is available.
Gee wraps up the article by telling players that this Friday's Talking Points (1:00 pm Pacific / 4:00 pm Eastern) will feature a special look at the Chronomancer. Be sure to tune into the Guild Wars 2 Twitch channel to check it out.
Read the full post on the Guild Wars 2 site.
Comments
very cool!
Joined - July 2004
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
They might be, but ANET have had a long time thinking about this one. Chronomancer was supposed to have been a new class for Guildwars: Utopia, the campaign for the original game that instead got turned into GW2.
So druid and Chronomancer so far. Lets hope they get us thieves a good specialization as well
I'm hoping with Thief they either go Gunslinger or Swashbuckler, but since they already have pistols, maybe they'll do axe and make them Mercenaries.
Joined - July 2004
Still waiting on explosives to have a wide an explosion arc as a two handed sword, for it to do as much damage as melee weapons, for weapons that use bullets to do decent damage and fire as quickly as bows. Call me when they fix Engineers.
Mesmers and Elementalists were both too squishy for my tastes. I tried many times to level both but could never commit. Too many deaths >.<
Now, which one of you will adorn me today?
"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
Nice, cant wait to do new tricks on my mesmer.
Nah, Sniper with a rifle. Mercs would be better for warrior, thieves should get something sneakier.
I could live with something allowing an off hand sword though.
Big critic of Guild Wars 2 here.
But I've once said that if a game ever put in a Chronomancer or Time Mage / warrior of sorts, that I'd play the heck out of it.
Going to make good on my word.
Now all they need for me to make it one of my permanent homes is:
- Extensive player housing
- Ability to sit in chairs / lay down in beds
- Idle animations / stances similar to FFXIV for immersion purposes.
The above are my requirements for a good Role Playing game, which ultimately keeps me as a player (in addition to walking / emotes, etc.)
Idle animations? Whats wrong with the ones already in the game?
The housing sucks now though, all I have in mine is an Xmas tree. The guildhouses will help somewhat.
Sitting/sleeping animatiions for furniture would be great as well, last time I tried to /sleep in the bed of an in I slept under it for some reason. But I guess it would make most sense to do this if and when you add real housing to the game.
Agreed. I actually got an elementalist to 80, but it was just too squishy to play for any extended period of time.
Is this the only spec for Mesmer with the Expansion?
Seeing a direct damage& utility spec, doesn't spike my interest in the slightest.
It would have been interesting to see something innovative, maybe a good-working condition spec, or even some new system.
You mean that even though engineers are one of the top pvp classes atm, you still don't think they're 'good enough'?!
They have crazy burst, the bombs actually do as much cleave as a 2hander (or more if you count the toolbelt skill). The only thing that's really been hurt by engineers are the grenades, which are still useful for general spammage, but not an iwin button like they once were. And if you go back and watch the specialization talk on engi, they are getting a lot of neat things w/ the expansion (and some probably before).
To have fun? If you don't have fun playing GW2 then don't sweat it. I'm sure there are GW2 players who probably would ask you the same thing about the games you like.
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor
I love this response.. It's the only reason to play a game. If you aren't having fun, stop right away and enjoy real life.
"You are all going to poop yourselves." BillMurphy
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone."
I would love if ANET do something with the current housing that is in the game and make it worthwhile. The current housing has something in common with WoW garrisons and that is that everyone (of the same race) has the same house at the same location, just like WoW garrisons. Maybe ANET could take note and make their own housing tweaks and new features along the lines of garrisons? I doubt we will get new housing where you can get your own plot elsewhere so it makes sense to work on the existing instanced house. I love my norn house, but a Krait Obelisk is not really what i call house customization....
Each class is getting only 1 spec. They'll be adding more as time goes on.
Essentially, it's tied into their rework for the trait system.
A Specialization is their new word for a trait line.
The Chronomancer is an "Elite Specialization." This is a Specialization (trait line) that you can equip instead of one of your regular specializations, and, despite not being designed to have innately stronger traits than your base specializations, it does improve your character with more options. It modifies or improves your F1-F5 skills, gives you an additional weapon option, and gives you a new healing skill, a new elite skill, and new utility skills.
In order to access the new weapon, heal, utilities, and elite, you must have that Elite Specialization equipped. As you can only equip three specializations at a time, this comes at the cost of not equipping a third regular specialization - potentially losing out on any synergies that third line might have had with your other two lines. This could change the way you build your character drastically.