Everything we know so far about the new Guild Wars 2 Elite Specializations coming in Visions of Eternity — now available to test in beta!

Visions of Eternity, the new Guild Wars 2 expansion arriving on October 28 has been announced and not only do we know all of the Elite Specializations for the next week you’ll be able to test them in an open beta. You don’t even need to pre-order Visions of Eternity; just boot up your client and you’ll have new beta character slots on your character selector screen. There you can create a character already set to maximum level with the Elite Specialization configured to give them a test. The beta lasts until August 29 at which point any new characters created in the special beta slots will be removed.

One of the key components of the new Elite Specs is that they are being “taught” by members of the Tyrian Alliance. This gives them a little extra flavor as it allows the lore behind the Elite Specs to tie into the recent events of GW2 rather than just being a gameplay feature. With races such as the Tengu and Skritt lending their expertise to the player character it helps to further incorporate these minor (for lack of a better term) races into the story.

Another aspect of the new Elite Specializations is that they are not directly tied into weapons as previous versions were; instead they will use existing available weapons for the professions and focus on new traits, skills, and gameplay options. That’s not to say that weapons won’t come into play as there are already existing game mechanics that replace a character’s weapon choice with preset options, but players hoping to finally be able to use a rifle or pistol as a Ranger or to wield a greatsword as an Engineer will be disappointed.

Elementalists can summon a spirit companion to aid them in battle as an Evoker

While one of the first elite specializations known due to its inclusion in the announcement trailer, the Evoker was part of the final triad of reveals. Taught by the Norn turning to old practices that bound them to the Spirits of the Wild, the Evoker focuses on one element while receiving a familiar to assist them. There are four companions:

• Fox for those who choose to focus on Fire
• Otter for those who emphasize Water
• Hare for those who specialize in Air
• Toad for those who channel Earth

The companions have two abilities: a basic skill and an empowered skill. The basic skill can only be used after six weapon ability uses — although abilities of the same attunement as your familiar count twice — and then after using the basic skill three times the companion will be able to launch the empowered attack. The example provided in the reveal blog is the Fox; their basic skill is Ignite which inflicts burning on the enemy when used, and their empowered skill is Conflagration which will spread the burning to nearby enemies.

Besides the companion abilities the Evoker will see a reduced cooldown in attuning to their chosen element, and some of the new traits and skills for the Evoker will be influenced by the elemental choice.

The Amalgam strengthens the Engineer with the power of Ooze!

If you’re tired of a 100% fleshy existence the scientists of the Asura have an elite spec just for you: the Amalgam. By forming a symbiotic bond with a special species of ooze known as the mercurial mold the Engineer can adapt for any situation.

The Amalgam eschews the traditional utility belt of the Engineer for a set of morph abilities. Like the utility belt there will be several morphs to choose from so you’ll be able to tailor your oozing to your playstyle — choices include shields, defensive spikes, or a massive sword. Your elite skill becomes Evolve, where the Engineer and mold combine into one form. What happens when you Evolve is determined by the morphs that have been selected so players will want to experiment with what strain (as it’s known) to Evolve into.

The new utility skills for the Amalgam are stances that subtly shift your form. There is even a skill called Liquid State where you melt down into a mercurial puddle!

Revenants can channel the power of Razah as the Conduit

Razah was a hero that could join your party in the original Guild Wars and returns to Guild Wars 2 as a new legend for Revenants to channel. Razah is a creature born of the Mists, making him the first living legend to assist the Revenant, and the Conduit is built around Razah’s power to replicate all the professions by augmenting the existing Revenant legends.

The first way this is done is with Cosmic Wisdom which further channels the power of your equipped legend. For example if you are in Legendary Assassin Stance using Cosmic Wisdom will give access to the Form of the Assassin that increases power, movement speed, and the number of conditions applied to your adversary. Cosmic Wisdom only lasts for a limited amount of time, but a new resource called Affinity can extend it. Affinity is built up by using legendary skills; however swapping legends will reset it to zero so players will need to time Cosmic Wisdom appropriately.

There is also a new Legendary Entity Stance that represents Razah. Each skill in this stance has Resonance with another legend; if that legend is equipped in the second slot the skill will gain a greater or even additional effects. Beguiling Haze is normally a shadowstep attack, but if the Legendary Assassin is equipped it becomes a targeted skill that strikes all enemies in range.

Pilfer artifacts alongside Skritt assistants with the new Antiquary Elite Spec for Thieves

Probably the most innovative of the new Elite Specializations the Antiquary trades the stealth and pickpocketry of the core Thief profession for an Indiana Jones playstyle. Except the artifacts you recover aren’t going into a museum — they’re items you’ll be able to use in combat to defeat your enemies. Most importantly there’s an electric guitar you can get, but there are also dancers and hammers and shields that can be used.

The artifacts are acquired via the Pilfer mechanic which replaces the Steal skill and summons a Skritt — that I’m calling Skritt Round after Indy’s diminutive assistant in Temple of Doom — to grab artifacts from your opponent. Unlike Steal, Pilfer gives you a choice of random artifacts rather than a predetermined item so you can choose what is best suited for the fight you’re in. New traits for the Antiquary allows you to tip the odds in a certain way with Pilfer; ones described include always getting a choice between an offensive and a defensive artifact, or the ability to reroll for another choice.

Relying on artifact RNG isn’t the only way the Antiquary is living on the edge. Their new skills which are appropriately called “Double Edge” have a unique mechanic: you can use them even while they’re on cooldown! Doing so, however, has a chance of (literally) blowing up in your face, although the longer you wait to do so the less likely that is to happen.

The Ritualist returns as Necromancers can now summon Canthan spirits for their new Elite Spec

The first expansion for the original Guild Wars was called Factions and it introduced a new profession called Ritualist. An ancient profession, Ritualists summon spirits from the Mists and bind them to their will for both offensive and support purposes. Now they appear for the first time in Guild Wars 2, albeit as an Elite Spec for Necromancers. The goal is to recreate the Ritualist experience as much as possible although of course suited to GW2‘s and the Necromancer’s gameplay.

Necromancers will continue to use the Shroud mechanic as a Ritualist, and it still uses life force as fuel. When Shrouded the Ritualist will have access to three spirits: Anguish, Wanderlust, and Preservation. Summoning immediately results in an effect from the caster, followed by an active ability by the summoned Spirit who then enter a passive state for as long as the Necromancer stays in the Shroud — and potentially even afterwards if traited to do so — while occasionally attacking nearby opponents.  It’s important to note that the Ritualist still retains the existing minions of a Necromancer and there is some synergy with their uses.

With the Ritualist there is also the return of weapon spells although modified for GW2. Instead of being ally-targeted as in the original game they apply to the Ritualist first and then a diminished version is applied to up to four nearby allies. This allows Ritualists to have a support-style build and may make them extremely popular in 5-man Fractals.

Warriors can now support their Allies with the reintroduction of the Paragon Elite Spec

Ritualist isn’t the only returning profession from the original Guild Wars as the Paragon — first available in the Nightfall expansion — is the new Elite Specialization for Warriors. Originally a spear-and-shield commander on the field of battle, the Paragon is slightly reimagined for GW2. While the Paragon will still be found fighting on the front lines of battle their main role is that of a support specialization.

The new resource for Paragons is called motivation which does not replace the standard adrenaline resource of Warriors. Motivation is built up via bursts from either their equipped weapon or from new chant skills. These skills have two effects: one which occurs immediately, and then a pulsing beneficial effect that lingers afterwards that is called the refrain. The refrain is what drains the motivation but at the same time is empowered by it, so Paragons will want to keep building up their motivation via the spending of adrenaline into bursts and the casting of chants.

The other new type of skill that Paragons receive is called command which are similar to shouts and can effect either allies or enemies — the most powerful of which is “We Will Never Yield!” which prevents death for a short period of time! Unlike shouts however commands have a secondary “echo” effect that grants additional bonuses. These echoes will happen automatically after a short interval however they can be triggered early by the Paragon allowing for strategic uses.

Troubadour is the new musical specialization for Mesmers

From the moment the lute icon was revealed in the leadup to the expansion announcement players were sure that Mesmers were getting a new bard-style class — and they were correct! The biggest surprise is the name of the Spec itself; many thought it would be Bard or Minstrel but Troubadour was chosen instead. It is possible this was done because there is already a legendary weapon in the game called Minstrel (and which has a precursor item named Bard) or Arena Net may have just been going for a less common name.

Regardless of why it’s called the Troubadour, its new mechanics are very musical. The illusions normally generated by the Mesmer profession have been replaced by musical notes and the shatter skills normally used with the illusions are now instruments — the Lute will damage enemies while the Harp will heal allies.  They can even grant boons or inflict conditions through the telling of stories.

While on the surface this seems like a radical reimagining of the profession existing players should find it to be familiar as the musical talents aren’t upending the standard playstyle but instead flavoring it. The information revealed so far seems to indicate that the Troubadour is designed to be a support spec but the absence of the classic MMO trinity of tank-support-dps in GW2 likely means that solo players should still be able to embrace their inner songster as a Mesmer.

Galeshot, an archery-infused specialization for Rangers

While the traditional weapon of Rangers or Hunters in fantasy gaming is predominantly the bow and arrow, Guild Wars 2 has never pigeonholed the profession that way. Instead builds with axes and greatswords are not only viable, they are sometimes the top of the meta. Those who prefer Legolas over Aragorn will be happy to hear about the Galeshot which elevates the longbow to the premier weapon style of the Ranger.

Of course the new Elite Specializations do not come with a new weapon so it is expected that the class mechanics will be similar to the Bladesworn Warrior, replacing the weapon skills with their own preset skills when activated. The Cyclone Bow (as it’s called) will generate arrows over time and those are a resource used to fuel its abilities such as Supersonic Arrow and Hawkeye. Additional flavor comes from new skills that are heavily wind-based including freezing winds to inflict chill or a tornado to damage opponents. Bird lovers will appreciate the avian tie-ins for the Elite Spec courtesy of the Tengu that are teaching it to us including enhancements for bird pets.

Players that don’t like being stuck with a single weapon probably won’t have to eschew the Galeshot as it’s probable that the arrow resource mechanic is not sufficient for maximal cooldown usage. Instead they should be able to soften up opponents with traditional weapons and then call upon the Cyclone Bow to blow them away.

Luminary, an illuminated weapon-based Guardian specialization that uses the shroud game mechanic

In the aftermath of the Icebrood Saga and the Charr civil war two of their Legions — the Iron Legion and the returning Flame Legion — worked on a joint project to commemorate the reunion. The result was the Luminary a new Elite Specialization for Guardian that utilizes an enchanted iron brazier that holds a powerful sacred flame that the Guardian can wreathe themselves with, granting them access to an arsenal of blazing weapons.

The gameplay for the Luminary is borrowed from the shroud mechanic for Necromancers, with the main difference being that there is no limiting resource — Necromancers traditionally tap into their life force to maintain their shroud. When the Radiant Shroud is activated the weapon skills are replaced with new abilities each tied into a radiant weapon with different attacks or benefits. The shroud can’t be maintained indefinitely though, and the more weapons used while under its effects will increase the recharge time before it can be summoned again. In addition effects can linger after the shroud is gone, so there is strategy as to which radiant weapons are used and when.

Besides the Radiant Shroud the Luminary now provides stances for the Guardian to use. These typically provide short-term utility such as mobility (including stun breaks) or crowd control but can also be big boosts to offense or defense when used.

Next up: Visions of Eternity releases on October 28!

With the Elite Specialization open beta live until August 29 and no other betas announced the next big event to look forward to is the release of Visions of Eternity on October 28!

Originally published July 24, 2025. Updated August 23, 2025.