Weapon

Weapon set concept from GDC 2010 slideshow.

Weapons are a type of equipment that characters wield in combat. When equipped, they also determine the first five skills in a player's skill bar.

Excluding environmental weapons, there are a total of 19 different types of weapons - each profession having access to a specific selection of them. Furthermore, each profession utilizes weapons differently from one another, giving a wider scope in play style. A warrior's use of the axe, for example, focuses on building adrenaline quickly and spiking for high amounts of damage, while the ranger uses axes as throwing hatchets for ranged attacks.

Basic attributes

Character weapons are split into four primary categories based on how they are held:

• One-handed — can be wielded in either the main hand, the off hand, or one in each hand, depending on the profession.
• Two-handed — requires both hands to wield it.
• Off-hand — can only be used in the off hand.
• Aquatic — can only be used in underwater mode.

Every character has at minimum (depending on profession) a set of 3 different weapon slots:

The main hand slot can hold one one-handed weapon or a two-handed weapon.

The off hand slot can hold one off-hand weapon or, depending on the profession, a one-handed weapon, but can not be used when a two-handed weapon is equipped.

The aquatic weapon slot can hold one aquatic weapon.

All professions excluding the elementalist and the engineer have a second set of weapon slots and the ability to switch between two weapon sets while in combat. However, the elementalist's attunements give it the equivalent of four weapon sets to choose from, and the engineer has device and weapon kit skills which can be used to change weapon skills.

When combined with profession, equipped weapons (and shields) determine the first five skills on the character's skill bar.

All weapons have a range of Weapon Strength which, in combination with Power and the opponent's Armour, affects the direct damage dealt with that weapon's skills. Weapon Strength also affects the Attack attribute. In addition, a weapon can provide up to 3 attribute bonuses based on its prefix, and often includes a slot for an upgrade component. The amount of weapon strength and attribute bonuses depend on the weapon's required level and quality. Weapon strength is always the same for a given weapon type at a particular level and quality (for example, all masterwork shields with a level requirement of 35 have 279-314 weapon strength), but damage might still vary depending on which attributes the weapon improves (e.g. a weapon that improves power will end up dealing more damage than a weapon that improves toughness).

A weapon can be wielded or stowed, where it is visible on the back or hip of the character. Stowing away a weapon can be used to cancel the current action, e.g. auto attacking or a utility skill. (The in-game options panel allows you to bind a key to the "Stow/Draw Weapons" command).

Acquisition

A weapon can be acquired in several different ways:

• Starting equipment.
• Purchased from a weaponsmith or a cultural weaponsmith.
• Crafted through the disciplines of weaponsmith, huntsman, and artificer.
• A loot drop from a monster or a chest after killing a boss.
• A reward from completing parts of your personal story.
• A reward from completing a dungeon's story mode.
• Traded with other players.
• As a PvP reward from a glory vendor.
• Crafting at the Mystic Forge.

See also: Equipment acquisition by stats

Customization

Color

Weapons cannot be dyed.

Upgrades

Sigils are upgrade components for weapons. Some upgrades will add a visual effect to the weapon.

Environmental Weapons

When available, an environmental weapon (such as a Jar of bees) can be picked up and dropped while adventuring. While equipped they suppress the normal weapon sets of the character in favor of their own special skills. Some can be destroyed by using their skills and most are destroyed when dropped.

Weapon usability by professions

Weapon		Guardian	Warrior	Engineer	Ranger	Thief	Elementalist	Mesmer	Necromancer
One-handed	Axe	00	11	00	11	00	00	00	10
	Dagger	00	00	00	01	11	11	00	11
	Mace	10	11	00	00	00	00	00	00
	Pistol	00	00	11	00	11	00	01	00
	Scepter	10	00	00	00	00	10	10	10
	Sword	10	11	00	10	10	00	11	00
Off-hand only	Focus	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
	Shield	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
	Torch	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
	Warhorn	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
Two-handed	Greatsword	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	0
	Hammer	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Longbow	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
	Rifle	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
	Shortbow	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
	Staff	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
Aquatic	Harpoon gun	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0
	Spear	1	1	0	1	1	0	1	1
	Trident	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
Available sets		2	2	1	2	2	1	2	2
Number of usable weapons		11	11	4	10	6	5	9	8
Possible combinations		14	21	4	13	9	6	12	12

• 11 indicates a one-handed weapon that can be wielded in either hand or both hands simultaneously.
• 10 indicates a one-handed weapon that can be used in the main hand, but not in the off hand.
• 01 indicates a one-handed weapon that can be used in the off hand, but not in the main hand.
• 1 indicates an off-hand only, two-handed or aquatic weapon that can be wielded.
• 0 and 00 indicate weapons that are not usable by a profession.

Notes

• Weapons will scale based on the size of the character wielding them, so the same weapon will be smaller for an asura compared to a norn. The scaling is proportional, so a large weapon will still seem large when wielded by an asura.

See also

• Environmental weapon
• List of weapon sets
• Starting equipment
• Skills
• Skill bar
• Guild Wars 2 Quick Reference Card contains a weapons usability table
• Category:Item galleries by type

References

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Weapon.

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Weapons

One-handed

Axe • Dagger • Mace • Pistol • Scepter • Sword

Two-handed

Greatsword • Hammer • Longbow • Rifle • Short bow • Staff

Off-hand only

Focus • Shield • Torch • Warhorn

Aquatic

Harpoon gun • Spear • Trident

Other

Environmental weapons