Skill bar

Skill bar of an elementalist character wielding a Scepter and off-hand Dagger.

The skill bar is the customized set of ten skills available to each character. There are two main sections of five skills each: weapon skills on the left and slot skills on the right.

In PvE, characters start out with only two skills: the first weapon skill and a healing skill (in slot #6). Slot skills are unlocked by gaining levels. Weapon skills can be changed by equipping a different weapon and slot skills can be changed any time outside of combat. After reaching Level 7, characters can equip an off-hand weapon and use weapon skill 4. In most forms of PvP, characters will start with all slots unlocked.

Layout

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
Weapon Skills Automatically slotted					Slot Skills Player's choice (racial and profession skills)
Main hand			Off hand		Healing	Utility skills			Elite
Two-handed weapon

• The default keyboard shortcut is shown underneath each skill slot above (if you remap the shortcut using the options panel, the new key will be shown below).
• A red bar underneath a skill indicates that the current target is out of range (otherwise, no red bar is displayed).
• Crosshairs are used for skills that must be aimed manually.
• Blue flames surrounding the left side of the skill bar indicates that the player is under the effect of the guardian skill Virtue of Justice.

Weapon skills

Short bow skills of a thief, with the first skill toggled for auto-activation.

The first five slots (left of the health globe) are weapon skills. These skills are predetermined by the character's profession and the weapon(s) equipped: for each weapon, there are a different set of skills for each profession; for a given profession, changing the weapon changes the skill set. For example, a ranger wielding two axes will have a different set of weapon skills than a warrior with two axes; a mesmer with a staff will have different skills than one wielding a greatsword.

The skills are arranged as follow:

• The main-hand weapon determines the first three weapon skills.
• The off-hand weapon determines the last two weapon skills.
• Two-handed weapons determine all weapon skills.
• Bundles determine up to five weapon skills, and temporarily replace all weapon skills originally equipped.
• The thief's third weapon skill is determined by the combination of main-hand and off-hand weapons equipped (see dual wield skill), with the exception of two-handed weapons.
• The engineer's engineering kits change weapon skills according to the kit equipped.
• Transforms change the first five skills while disabling the slot skills.

Weapon skills are acquired through levelling, slot 1 is always available, slot 2 unlocks at level 2, slot 3 at level 4, slot 4 at level 6, 5 at level 8. Once a specific level is reached, its corresponding weapon slot unlocks for all weapons available to the profession upon equipping them for the first time.

Slot skills

Slot skills of an engineer who has activated an engineering kit on their second utility slot.

The last five skills (to the right of the health globe) are slot skills. These are chosen by the player from a pool of skills determined by their character's profession and race. The first of these skills is a dedicated healing skill, the middle three are utility skills, and the last one is an elite skill.

Unlike weapon skills, which can only be switched by equipping different type of weapons, slot skills can be switched to any available skills of their type as long as the player is not in combat by clicking the small arrow icon pointing upwards, right-clicking the slot or by accessing the skills dialogue of the hero panel.

If a skill being recharged is switched out, then the new skill will inherit the remainder of the cooldown. In PvE, the utility and elite skill slots are initially locked and unlock as the character progresses through the game. The utility slots unlock at levels 11, 15, and 19. The elite slot unlocks at level 31. New slot skills can be learned by spending hero points which are acquired by succeeding in challenges, or by leveling up.

Mechanic bar

Mechanic bar of a mesmer which contains the active illusions indicators and the four shatter skills.

The mechanic bar refers to any profession mechanic controls above the weapon skills section of the skill bar, this bar unlocks at level 5. Depending on the profession, this contains from one to five profession mechanic skills (such as the shatter skills), a gauge to measure the amount of resource unique to the profession (such as adrenaline or life force) or another indicators such as the thief's initiative. The profession mechanic skills are activated by the use of F1–F5 keys by default.

For some elite specializations, additional elements of the mechanic bar are above the health globe and endurance gauge.

Visual effects

• 

  All characters gain a yellow outline on their skill bar after entering combat.

• 

  Guardian gains pale blue fire while all Virtues are active.

• 

  Willbender gains red flames while under the effects of Rushing Justice, aqua flames while affected by Flowing Resolve, and deep blue-purple flames while under the effects of Crashing Courage.

• 

  The Revenant's Core legends.

• 

  Elite specialization legends Herald, Renegade and Vindicator

• 

  Berserker

• 

  Bladesworn

• 

  Holosmith gains alternating vertical lines while under the effects of Photon Forge with high (red), medium (orange), and low (blue) Heat .

• 

  Druid

• 

  Soulbeast

• 

  Untamed

• 

  Catalyst

• 

  Mirage causes a whispy purple and gold flame with occasional sparkles. When gaining Mirage Cloak, a sparkly circle encases the user's health, and glass-like butterflies fly outwards from the shatter skills.

• 

  Necromancer

• 

  Reaper

• 

  Harbinger

See also

• User interface
• Profession

References

---

Skill types and profession mechanics