Elite skill

This article is about the skill type. For the specific NPC/enemy rank, see NPC rank. For elite specializations, see specialization.

Elite skills are especially powerful skills designed to be used infrequently and have a dramatic effect on the tide of a battle. The last slot on the skill bar is reserved for elite skills. Elite skills typically have much longer recharge times compared to normal utility skills — very few recharge in less than 60 seconds, and some can take up to 4 minutes.

Acquisition

Elite skills become available when a character reaches level 31. Elite skills associated with an elite specialization become available when a character reaches level 80 and has access to Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire, or End of Dragons content. Most characters will have access to seven or more elite skills, three of them determined by profession, three determined by race and the remaining one by elite specialization. Some races (e.g. norn) have more elite skills than others, balanced by a smaller pool of racial utility skills. Racial elite skills are only usable in PvE and World versus World, and not in Structured PvP.

Characters must unlock Healing skills and Utility skills of a determined skill type before unlocking elite skills. Racial elite skills and Mistfire Wolf unlock automatically at level 31.

While in Heart of the Mists, all characters have access to all skills excluding racial elite skills and Mistfire Wolf. This allows lower level characters to experiment with different skills and see which elite skills they want to unlock first. Some professions only have one elite skill which can be used while in underwater mode. None of the racial elite skills can be used underwater. While it is possible to equip two different elite skills, one during underwater mode and one on the ground, using an elite skill will still cause the slot to be in recharge for the elite skill used, even if using a different elite skill underwater or while on land.

Profession elite skills

Skill				Description
Guardian
Renewed Focus		2	90	Meditation. Focus, making yourself invulnerable and recharging your virtues.
"Feel My Wrath!"		0.25¼	30	Shout. Grant fury and quickness to nearby allies. The duration of the quickness you grant yourself is doubled.
Signet of Courage		20.5½	60	Signet Passive: Periodically heal allies in an area around you while in combat. Signet Active: Channel healing and boons in a large area around you, concluding with a large heal if this skill is not interrupted.
Dragonhunter
Dragon's Maw		0.5½	40	Trap. Lay a trap that pulls enemies and creates a barrier that holds them in.
Firebrand
Mantra of Liberation		20.25¼	40	Mantra. Echo remnants of an ancient pamphlet from Vabbi that urged Elonians to freedom. Grant stability and resolution to allies while breaking stun. The final charge of this ability is more powerful.
Portent of Freedom			1	Hints of freedom echo around, stabilizing and breaking stuns on you and your allies.
Unhindered Delivery			1	Final Charge. Your whispers guard your allies, stabilizing and breaking stuns on them while weakening enemies.
Willbender
Heaven's Palm		10.25¼	20	Physical. Evade attacks, then shadowstep and slam the ground, knocking down your targeted foe, finishing them if there are no other enemy players nearby. Foes that aren't targeted are knocked back instead.
Revenant
Jade Winds		1	5	Legendary Assassin. Call upon the Jade Wind to turn nearby enemies into jade, stunning them for a short duration.
Energy Expulsion			2	Legendary Centaur. Force energy to erupt from the tablet, knocking down nearby foes and healing nearby allies. If this skill is empowered, grant stability to allies near the tablet.
Embrace the Darkness		0.5½	3	Legendary Demon. Summon the power of the legendary demon to transform into a powerful avatar. Pulse torment to nearby foes. Using skills that cost energy increases the torment applied on the next pulse.
Resist the Darkness				Legendary Demon. End Embrace the Darkness early.
Rite of the Great Dwarf		10.25¼		Legendary Dwarf. Channel the power of the Rite of the Great Dwarf to turn yourself and nearby allies to stone to reduce incoming damage.
Herald
Facet of Chaos				Legendary Dragon. Facet. Place the Facet of Chaos on yourself to grant nearby allies protection every few seconds.
Chaotic Release		0.75¾	20	Legendary Dragon. Consume. Consume Facet of Chaos, releasing chaotic winds damaging and knocking back foes while granting superspeed to allies. Facet of Chaos will be disabled while this skill is recharging.
Renegade
Soulcleave's Summit		0.5½	3	Legendary Renegade. Summon Lieutenant Ofela Soulcleave to grant your allies' strikes incredible bloodthirst, inflicting damage and restoring health. Soulcleave will also strike enemies and heal allies in the area when you use a Legendary Renegade skill. Lieutenant Soulcleave can only empower players to siphon life once per interval, and does not benefit nonplayers.
Dismiss Lieutenant Soulcleave				Order Ofela Soulcleave to leave the field.
Vindicator
Urn of Saint Viktor			2	Legendary Alliance. Become the Urn of Saint Viktor, taking continuous damage while healing nearby allies. You take reduced damage while in this state, but you cannot be healed.
Drop Urn of Saint Viktor		1	1	Legendary Alliance. Slam your Urn into the ground, ending the ability. Grant boons and heals[sic] allies based on your health threshold.
Spear of Archemorus		0.5½	12	Legendary Alliance. Call upon the spirit of Archemorus to hurl his spear at your foe, dealing significant damage.
Warrior
Battle Standard		2	90	Banner. Place a battle standard that revives fallen allies and finishes downed foes. Once placed, the banner periodically grants boons to allies.
Rampage		1	60	Physical. Take the form of a massive juggernaut, reducing the damage you take and the duration of incoming movement-impeding conditions.
Signet of Rage		0.25¼	40	Signet Passive: Grants adrenaline while in combat. Signet Active: Gain fury, might, and swiftness.
Berserker
Head Butt		0.75¾	20	Rage. Stun your target and stun yourself. Gain adrenaline and extend berserk duration if you hit.
Spellbreaker
Winds of Disenchantment		10.5½	90	Meditation. Create an area of calm in which foes have reduced incoming boon duration and lose boons every interval. Enemy missiles entering this area are blocked.
Bladesworn
Tactical Reload		0.5½	30	Armament. Reload ammo on all of your bladesworn skills. Your next Dragon Trigger generates more charges per interval.
Engineer
Plague			105	Become a virulent cloud and inflict multiple conditions on foes you touch. Entering this form destroys all minions and removes spectral effects.
Elixir X		1	75	Elixir. Drink Elixir X to become a rampaging brute, whirling tornado, or powerful lich. Underwater, become either a withering plague or a whirlpool.
Elixir X		1	75	Elixir. Drink Elixir X to become a rampaging brute or whirling tornado. Underwater, become either a withering plague or a whirlpool.
Elite Mortar Kit				Engineering Kit. Equip the mortar kit.
Overcharge Supply Crate				Overcharge supply crate's turrets.
Supply Crate		1	75	Turret. Request a supply drop of turrets. Turrets overcharge when they are first dropped.
Detonate Supply Crate Turrets				Detonate your supply crate turrets.
Overcharge Supply Crate				Overcharge supply crate's turrets.
Supply Crate		1	75	Turret. Request a supply drop of turrets. Turrets overcharge when they are first dropped.
Detonate Supply Crate Turrets				Detonate your supply crate turrets.
Scrapper
Sneak Gyro		0.75¾	45	Well. Deploy a sneak gyro to provide stealth to nearby allies.
Holosmith
Prime Light Beam		10.25¼	60	Exceed. Charge up and fire an explosive beam of light in front of you. When activated above the heat threshold, this attack leaves behind a burning holographic field.
Mechanist
Overclock Signet			90	Signet Passive: Reduces recharge of other signets. Signet Active: Order your mech to fire its ultimate weapon, the jade buster cannon. If your mech is not present, instead your mech is summoned, even if Crash Down is on cooldown.
Ranger
"Strength of the Pack!"		1	60	Command. Rampage with your pet, gaining stability, fury, and swiftness. You and your pet also grant might to each other when you attack.
Spirit of Nature		10.5½	90	Spirit. Summon a spirit at a target point and convert conditions on allies into boons. The spirit will slam the ground and then shake, granting boons to nearby allies.
Nature's Renewal		0.75¾		Your spirit of nature slams the ground and creates a blast of vital energy that revives nearby downed allies.
Entangle		0.75¾	60	Survival. Entangle foes around you with vines. Entangled foes bleed and are immobilized until the vines are destroyed.
Druid
Glyph of the Stars		1	48	Glyph. Channel the power of the stars to prevent harm to your allies.
Glyph of the Stars		1	48	Glyph. Prevent health drain while downed and revive downed allies in the targeted area. Heal and grant boons to allies in that area.
Glyph of the Stars		1	48	Glyph. Heal allies, cleanse conditions, and grant stability to allies in the area.
Soulbeast
One Wolf Pack		0.25¼	60	Stance. Your successful attacks will trigger a second strike while in this stance. This effect can occur once per interval.
Untamed
Forest's Fortification		1	90	Cantrip. Surround yourself with elements of nature, gaining defensive boons and damage reduction. Striking an enemy while this fortification is active reduces the cooldown of this ability.
Thief
Thieves Guild		10.5½	120	Deception. Call more thieves to support you in combat.
Dagger Storm		20.75¾	60	Trick. Spin around, reflecting projectiles and throwing daggers that cripple and bleed nearby foes. You can move while spinning.
Basilisk Venom		1	40	Venom. Your attacks are unblockable and turn foes to stone.
Daredevil
Impact Strike		0.5½	25	Physical. Strike your enemy and stun[sic] them.
Uppercut		0.75¾		Deal a heavy blow with your fist, sending enemies flying.
Finishing Blow		10.5½		Deal a downward strike on your foe. Downed enemies struck with this ability are finished.
Deadeye
Shadow Meld		0.5½	5	Cantrip. Vanish into stealth.
Specter
Shadowfall		0.5½	75	Well. Shadowstep to the target location and drop a well that continuously pulls foes to its center, increasing intensity with each hit.
Elementalist
Tornado		1	60	Cantrip. Gain stability and shape-shift into a tornado that damages and launches foes.
Whirlpool		10.25¼	60	Cantrip. Shape-shift into a swirling maelstrom that pulls foes into its destructive vortex.
Conjure Fiery Greatsword		1	180	Conjure. Manifest a fiery greatsword in your hands and at the target location. When it lands, it damages and burns foes. Wielders of this weapon gain increased power and condition damage and cast Lesser Fiery Eruption at regular intervals on random enemies.
Glyph of Elementals		10.25¼	40	Glyph. Summon an elemental based on your attunement.
Shocking Bolt			15	Command your air elemental to fire a stunning bolt at its target.
Stomp			18	Command your earth elemental to stomp the ground, granting protection to allies and crippling foes.
Flame Barrage			15	Command your fire elemental to bombard its target and surrounding foes with burning bolts and then release a burst of fire around itself.
Crashing Waves			15	Command your ice elemental to knock back its target and then release a wave of water that heals allies and removes a condition.
Glyph of Elementals		10.25¼	40	Glyph. Summon an elemental based on your attunement.
Glyph of Elementals		10.25¼	40	Glyph. Summon an elemental based on your attunement.
Glyph of Elementals		10.25¼	40	Glyph. Summon an elemental based on your attunement.
Glyph of Elementals		10.25¼	40	Glyph. Summon an elemental based on your attunement.
Tempest
"Rebound!"		0.25¼	75	Shout. Shout and infuse your allies with arcane energy. Allies who would take lethal damage while this is active ignore the deathblow and are healed instead. If the effect expires naturally, grant an aura based on your current attunement.
Weaver
Weave Self		0.75¾	90	Stance. Temporarily reduce the recharge time of attunements while gaining bonuses for attuning to new elements. Successfully attuning to all elements ends this stance and grants Perfect Weave.
Tailored Victory		0.75¾		Release all of your woven elements and end your Weave Self stance, causing gravity itself to unravel around you.
Catalyst
Elemental Celerity		0.25¼	90	Augment. Reduce the recharge of weapon skills of your current attunement. If this is activated in range of your sphere, gain a boon based on its element.
Mesmer
Time Warp		0.25¼	120	Glamour. Create an area that warps time, granting you and your allies quickness while slowing enemies.
Mass Invisibility		10.25¼	35	Manipulation. You and all your allies gain stealth for a short time.
Signet of Humility		1	60	Signet Passive: Reduces duration of incoming stuns, dazes, fears, and taunts. Signet Active: Transform your foe into a moa bird. (Defiant foes will have their defiant bar reduced instead.)
Chronomancer
Gravity Well		1	60	Well. Create a powerful well that warps space in an area, knocking down, floating, and pulling foes caught in its event horizon. When it expires, foes still inside the well take heavy damage.
Mirage
Jaunt			0.5½	Deception. Shadowstep to a target location and confuse nearby foes.
Virtuoso
Thousand Cuts			60	Psionic. Open a portal that devastates targets in a line in front of you with a flurry of blades.
Necromancer
Plaguelands		1	90	Corruption. Create a virulent cloud that inflicts conditions on foes in its area. This plague inflicts additional conditions every second it persists. Inflict bleeding on yourself.
Summon Flesh Golem		10.5½	48	Minion. Summon a flesh golem to attack foes with crippling claws.
Charge		0.75¾	40	Command your flesh golem to gain stability and charge a foe, knocking down or launching enemies in its path.
Lich Form		1	150	Spectral. Assume the form of a lich for a brief time, improving your precision and vitality. Gain life force when this skill ends. Entering this form removes other spectral effects.
Reaper
"Chilled to the Bone!"		10.25¼	30	Shout. Freeze all enemies around you, inflicting conditions on them. Gain boons for each foe you freeze. Deal additional damage and increased stun duration and gain additional boons when striking foes in melee range.
Scourge
Ghastly Breach		0.75¾	60	Punishment. Breach into the realm of torment for a brief time, granting might to allies and slowing enemies. Convert a boon on enemies into torment each pulse.
Harbinger
Elixir of Ambition		0.5½	60	Elixir. Infuse your boundless ambition into an elixir, gaining every possible boon, and then toss the elixir at the targeted area, inflicting all damaging conditions on foes. If you are in the splash area of the elixir, gain Blight. If you are at or above the Blight threshold when you activate this skill, consume that amount of Blight to double the damage and condition duration.

Racial elite skills

Skill				Description
Asura
Summon 7-Series Golem		2	180	Summon a 7-Series attacking golem to fight for you.
Summon D-Series Golem		2	180	Summon a D-Series defensive golem.
Summon Power Suit		2	240	Summon a Power Suit which you or your allies can enter and use to combat foes.
Charr
Artillery Barrage		2	240	Call down an artillery barrage at target location, damaging foes.
Charrzooka		0.5½	180	Pull out a powerful charrzooka that shoots rockets.
Warband Support		10.5½	240	Call in members of your warband to assist you.
Human
Avatar of Melandru			180	Transform into an Avatar of Melandru.
Remove Avatar of Melandru				Remove the Avatar of Melandru, returning to your normal form.
Hounds of Balthazar		1	240	Summon two Hounds of Balthazar to fight at your side.
Reaper of Grenth		1	180	Become a Reaper of Grenth, chilling and poisoning nearby foes.
Norn
Become the Bear		0.25¼	240	Shape-shift into norn bear form.
Become the Raven		0.5½	240	Shape-shift into norn raven form.
Become the Snow Leopard		0.5½	240	Shape-shift into norn snow leopard form.
Become the Wolf		0.5½	240	Shape-shift into norn wolf form.
Sylvari
Summon Druid Spirit		20.75¾	240	Summon a Druid Spirit to fight at your side.
Summon Sylvan Hound		2	180	Summon a sylvan hound to fight at your side.
Take Root		3	150	Take root at your current location, becoming immobile, but causing several turrets to grow nearby.

Common elite skills

Skill				Description
Mistfire Wolf		1	150	Summon a Mistfire Wolf to fight at your side.

Mistfire Wolf is available to any character on any pre-purchased Digital Deluxe or Collector's Edition account.

Related traits

• Hunter's Determination (Dragonhunter) — Activating your elite skill breaks stuns.
• Expose Defenses (Devastation) — Your first attack when entering combat applies vulnerability. This ability is refreshed when you use an elite skill.
• Notoriety (Devastation) — Might grants you more power and less condition damage. Gain might when using a legendary stance skill.
• Defy Pain (Defense) — Cast Lesser Endure Pain when you use an elite skill.
• Power Wrench (Tools) — Reduce the recharge of your elite skill when you dodge.
• Instant Reflexes (Acrobatics) — Gain evasion when you use an elite skill.
• Payback (Deadeye) — When Renewing Gaze triggers, this trait restores a portion of the recharge time needed by your healing, utility, and elite skills. Excludes racial skills.
• Final Shielding (Arcane) — Cast Lesser Arcane Shield when you use an elite skill.
• Bolstered Elements (Weaver) — Gain protection when activating a Stance. Activate Lesser Stone Resonance when using an elite skill.

Related equipment

• Relic of Cerus — Upon using an elite skill, summon an Eye of Cerus that emits a rotating line attack, dealing damage and converting boons into conditions.
• Relic of the Citadel — After using an elite skill, call down an artillery strike on the skill target or nearest enemy that inflicts stun.
• Relic of Dagda — After using an elite skill, fire a projectile at the target or nearest enemy that damages and inflicts conditions. Damage scales with the recharge of the elite skill.
• Relic of the Ice — After using an elite skill, launch icicles that inflict chilled at nearby enemies.
• Relic of the Krait — After using an elite skill, emit a wave of corruption that inflicts damaging conditions.
• Relic of Leadership — Convert conditions into boons on nearby allies after using an elite skill.
• Relic of the Nightmare — After using an elite skill, send forth a nightmare pulse that inflicts fear and poison on nearby enemies.
• Relic of the Pack — Grant superspeed, might, and fury to nearby allies after using an elite skill.
• Relic of the Sunless — Using an elite skill summons a pool on the target enemy that inflicts poison and cripple. Pool duration scales with the recharge of the elite skill.
• Relic of the Wizard's Tower — After using an elite skill, shield yourself with a projectile-reflecting barrier while summoning a wave that pulls enemies toward you.
• Relic of the Zephyrite — Summon crystals that apply protection and resolution to allies after using an elite skill. Crystal duration scales with the recharge of the used skill.

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Skill types and profession mechanics