Finally, there are more details about the Druid, the new elite specialization of the Ranger in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns – and he seems to be a genuine healer…
The Power of Nature
Yesterday, ArenaNet published a blog entry about the new Ranger specialization that all players can look forward to with the Guild Wars 2 expansion Heart of Thorns. Contrary to what many expected, the Druid will be a true healer and can support his allies in various ways. The “ceiling for survivability and healing power” is expected to be noticeably raised. This allows teammates to opt for more aggressive builds, while others can focus entirely on support.
The Staff – the Connection to the Forest
As already mentioned in the teaser image, the Druid will also wield a staff as a weapon. He draws from the primal forces of the Maguuma jungle, which grant him not only powerful healing abilities but also allow him to perform quick positional changes. Here are a few examples of his abilities:
- The Arcane Wisp is spoken on an enemy. It circles the opponent and heals allies every time it touches them on its way around.
- The Solar Beam is channeled on an enemy and damages them. However: Allies within the beam will be healed for its duration.
- The Grace of the Ancestors transforms the Druid into a wisp that quickly moves towards a chosen target location. Upon arrival, all nearby allies are healed.
The Celestial Avatar – The Savior of Every Raid Group?
While the Druid uses abilities and casts spells, he continuously accumulates Astral Power – a new resource for the Ranger. Once it reaches its maximum, the Druid can transform into a Celestial Avatar, granting him access to new weapon abilities. The healing, support, and elite abilities of the Ranger can still be used during Avatar form. In this form, the Ranger can even bring extremely weakened groups back into combat readiness – this sounds like a typical “Oh shit button”. Here are a few more examples:
- For the Cosmic Ray, a target area is selected. All allies in that area will be healed.
- The Moon Strike fulfills two tasks at once: A gigantic beam is summoned that damages enemies while simultaneously healing allies – so the Druid can also provide the necessary DPS.
- Particularly exciting is the Natural Convergence. The Druid channels a spell and inflicts crippling and slowing effects on enemies within range. Those who are still within its effect radius at the end of the spell will be pulled into a black hole and immobilized.
New Animal Companions in the Maguuma Jungle
A handful of new animal companions are a must, so Rangers should keep their eyes particularly open in the Maguuma jungle.
Along with various Wyvern species that each dominate an element (such as fire or electricity), there are also more traditional animals like the Tiger, which impress with their quick leap attacks. Those who prefer something larger can tame a Smoke Scale – a dinosaur variant that can create a large cloud of smoke to hide in.
With his massive healing power, the Ranger is sure to secure a place in many raid groups, which also appear new with Heart of Thorns.
For more on the upcoming expansion and other elite specializations, check out our Guild Wars 2 theme page.
