Welcome to a comprehensive guide on Guild Wars 2 latest expansion, Secrets of the Obscure, where we delve into the exciting new feature of the game - the Weapon Mastery system. In this article, we'll explore how this system works, its impact on gameplay, and rank the different weapon options available to players. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newcomer, understanding Weapon Mastery will undoubtedly enhance your gaming experience.

 

• Overview of Weapon Mastery
• Unlocking Weapon Mastery
• Tier List and Ranking
• Weapons Tier List
• Weapon-Spec Synergy
• Anticipating Future Updates

 

↖ Overview of Weapon Mastery

Before we dive into the details, let's clarify what Weapon Mastery is all about. With Secrets of the Obscure, ArenaNet has introduced a groundbreaking update to the game: all weapons that were previously tied to specific Elite specializations will now be available to all professions globally. This means that no matter which Elite spec or core profession you choose, you'll have access to a broader range of weapon choices. However, some details remain uncertain, such as whether this feature will be included for all players, even without purchasing the expansion, or if certain limitations apply.

 

↖ Unlocking Weapon Mastery

While the exact mechanics of unlocking Weapon Mastery have not been explicitly revealed, it is speculated that players might have to interact with a weapon master to gain access to these newfound options. Whether it will be part of the core game or exclusive to expansion owners remains to be confirmed. Regardless, this system opens up exciting possibilities for more diverse and creative playstyles across all professions.

 

↖ Tier List and Ranking

In this guide, we've compiled a tier list that ranks the different weapon options based on their potential strengths and unique mechanics. It's important to note that personal preferences and playstyles may vary, and what suits one player might not be the best choice for another. The tier list aims to provide a general overview and should serve as a starting point for players to explore and experiment.

 

↖ Weapons Tier List

 

Tier	Weapons
S	Hammer Tempest Shield Virtuoso Hammer Soulbeast Dual Dagger Berserker
A	Warhorn Weaver Warhorn Catalyst Rifle Daredevil Hammer Weaver Shield Mirage Greatsword Harbinger Torch Harbinger Mace Sorapper Scepter Deadeye Axe Dragonhunter Shortbow Herald Greatsword Herald
B	Sword Tempest Axe Virtuoso Axe Chrono Dagger Chrono Pistol Reaper Hammer Druid Pistol Scourge Hammer Holo Hammer Mechanist Mace Holo Staff Untamed Dagger Untamed Staff Specter Staff Deadeye Longbow Firebrand Longbow  Willbender Axe Willbender Pistol Spellbreaker Shield Vindicator Shortbow Vindicato
C	Sword Catalyst Torch Reaper Staff Soulbeast Dagger Druid Rifle Specter Scepter Daredevil OH Sword Firebrad Oh Sword Dragonhunter Pistol Berserker Shield Renegade Greatsword Renegade
D	Torch Bladesworn Torch Spellbreaker Greatsword Scourge Sword Mechanist Sword Scrapper Dual Dagger Bladesworn

 

 

• Warhorn Weaver: Warhorn is a strong addition to Weaver, but maybe not S-tier. Good for both power and condi builds.
• Warhorn Catalyst: Another A-tier choice, enhancing the entire build with interesting boons and quickness.
• Sword Tempest: Strong, but lacks dual strikes like Weaver. Sword Catalyst has potential for combo play. Considering both PvE and PvP in the analysis. Sword is powerful with good damage and defense. Sword Catalyst offers combo potential. Support-heavy specs make us less excited about mixing weapons.
• Hammer Tempest: A great combo we are excited to try. Tempest enhances Hammer's fields, making them more impactful and sustainable.
• Hammer Weaver: Interesting with dual skills, but not a major gameplay change. Still strong with Weaver's offensive abilities.
• Shield Mirage: Overpowered and fantastic with Virtuoso. Blocks and stealth offer powerful defensive options.
• Shield Virtuoso + More on Mirage: Shield Virtuoso excels in competitive play, bombarding enemies with confusion and torment from shadows while relying on blocks and stealth for a repeated assault. Some players even debate replacing Torch with Shield, although it's a tough choice due to the visibility aspect. Shield Mirage combines defense and Mirage's offense, but its viability is uncertain due to past nerfs. Still, Shield Virtuoso shows promise, and Shield Mirage opens up new playstyle possibilities.
• Axe Chrono + Virtuoso: The combination of Axe on Chronomancer and Virtuoso is intriguing. We haven't been a big fan of the axe, but we see its potential as a condi weapon on Chrono. It might work well in PvE, offering decent damage. we rate it in the B tier, effective in specific scenarios. Regarding clone generation with the axe, skill two creates a pink clone generator when the target stays close. We curious if the axe's bleeding could benefit Virtuoso's clone generation more than the dagger's bleeding.
• Dagger Chrono + Mirage: Dagger Mirage is amazing with range and clone mechanics. Excited to try it. Chrono's focus is on ambushes, not Continuum Splitting.
• Greatsword Scourge + Harbinger: Scourge's Greatsword is in the "B" tier, decent in power builds for World versus World. Harbinger's Greatsword is more interesting, settling in "A" tier for power builds with good Shroud skills. Both are subjective choices based on personal preferences. Greatsword Scourge lands in "D" tier due to less popularity and effectiveness. Game mode and playstyle impact weapon choices.
• Torch Reaper: The Torch Reaper struggles due to its previous elite specialization design, but it's still a strong weapon. However, it can't match the power of the Scourge. It might replace the dagger for condition builds, but lacks excitement.
• Torch Harbinger: Torch Harbinger is potent and may be top-tier due to its synergy with condition damage.
• Pistol Reaper: Commonly used in various modes, Pistol Reaper offers good options for both power and condition builds, especially useful for break bars in PvE. Solidly in the B tier.
• Pistol Scourge: Similar to Torch Harbinger, Pistol Scourge belongs in the B tier for its strong condition damage and useful mechanics in competitive play.
• Hammer Holo: While not widely used in PvE, Hammer Holo provides enjoyable gameplay, especially with Scrapper and Gyro-based builds. Deserves a spot in the A tier due to the desire for more weapon options in the Engineer's arsenal.
• Hammer Mech: Offers unique gameplay with Photon Forge combos, but Mace is stronger. It's a cool theme, tanky with decent DPS for open-world. Paired with a toolkit for extra fun. Barrier and alacrity interactions need improvement. Solid B-tier choice.
• Mace Holo + Scrapper: Mace Hollow and Mace Scrapper interest us. Mace by itself is a great support weapon, and with a quickness Scrapper build, they work well together. Mace Scrapper could be a good choice for providing quickness. Mace Hollow might also work, but we prefer some range for PvE.
• Sword Scrapper + Mech: We find both Sword Scrapper and Sword Mech unappealing. The unique and enjoyable heat mechanics of Sword might not work as well with other elite specs like mace or hammer for Hollow. Without the heat aspect, these sword options feel weak and lack the cool factor, making them D-tier choices. The design of Hollow is excellent, but its mechanics may be hard to replicate on other classes, potentially leading to other elite specs being underpowered.
• Happy & Edgy Green Colors and Staff Soulbeast: The debate centers on green color palettes for various specs. For Soulbeast with a staff, its viability is questioned. While the staff offers support elements, Soulbeast typically doesn't require support. Skill 3's movement is handy, but overall, the staff lacks synergy with the Soulbeast's potent weapon choices. It's considered C-tier due to limited impact and less appeal compared to other weapons.
• Staff Unleashed: The Untamed staff will gain a new skill called "Staff Unleashed," enhancing support capabilities for healing and aiding allies. Arena's commitment to fresh content earns recognition.
• Dagger Druid: A DPS-focused Druid build introduced in the recent patch, offering unique advantages with traits like "Blood Moon" and "Eclipse" when using a dagger.
• Dagger Untamed: The new Dagger Unleashed adds potential for powerful and versatile builds, possibly emphasizing conditions on enemies, encouraging players' creativity.
• Hammer Druid + Soulbeast: Initially rated low due to Untamed's unleash mechanics absence, halving the weapon's kit. However, skill selection was discovered, making it potent on non-unleashed forms. Future potential: weapon training, skill skins monetization. Hammer Soulbeast deemed viable. 
• Deadeye Staff: We like the potential synergies with the malicious staff and quickness. It could be a solid B-tier, considering you want to stay away from enemies, but lose some quality of life.
• Staff Specter: We place this at B-tier too. The combination of wells and a tanker, grittier playstyle is interesting, though we haven't explored staff much myself.
• Rifle Daredevil + Specter: Rifle Daredevil in WvW can be incredibly annoying due to its long range and added mobility. However, it may lack the damage potential of a Dead Eye. Specter with a rifle can control the battlefield and escape using shrouds, but the well skills' teleportation might be slow.Rifle Daredevil: A, Specter with Rifle: C.
• Scepter Daredevil: This is a strong weapon for support. Scepter has undergone reworks and is overloaded with support capabilities, such as providing crazy barriers and permanent protection to allies. 
• Scepter Deadeye: Also shines with its quickness and might granting potential, but it overlaps with the quickness support from Deadeye's other skills. The tier list may not accurately capture the potential of different offhand combinations for sceptre builds.
• Longbow Firebrand: It is not considered very good due to its close-range AOE nature, while Longbow Power Firebrand is praised for its strong damage output and self-quickness. 
• Longbow Willbender: It offers kite potential and good damage, though it may not fully synergize with the virtues of Willbender like it does with Dragon Hunter.
• Axe Dragonhunter: S-tier. The combo potential with the test of faith trap is fantastic. Pulling people into traps with F1 and using Stars is so satisfying. We really love the versatility of the ax. Even without certain traits. This will likely be us go-to guardian PvP build for a long time.
• Axe Willbender: looks promising, and it improves the Candy Willbender build. Guardian benefits from this, especially with the offhand sword, which we personally like.
• Offhand Sword Ramblings + Firebrand: The offhand sword feels a bit weak in the current balance, but it's useful for mobility and power damage in open-world PvE. we would rank it at C-tier.
• Offhand Sword Dragonhunter: We see potential in the offhand sword with Dragonhunter. Both versions could be viable options for PvE, and the Dragonhunter version might work in PvP. Let's place them in B-tier.
• Torch Spellbreaker: Warrior, Torch Spellbreaker - D-tier. It lacks any synergy with Candy application, and it feels weak overall. The spec doesn't seem to care about Candy, and that could be a problem with the elite specialization. Maybe they should consider giving it some Candy-related abilities.
• Torch Bladesworn: Torch Bladesworn - D-tier. It also lacks fun interactions and doesn't offer anything exciting. It doesn't fit well into any game format, making it a less appealing choice.
• Dual Dagger Berserker: Dual Dagger Berserker - S-tier. This build looks promising, especially with the ability to equip two daggers and access to Primal bursts. The Dagger offhand on Warrior has always been enjoyable, and this build seems like a great fit. Exciting to play and possibly strong.
• Dual Dagger Bladesworn: Dual Dagger Bladesworn - D-tier. This build doesn't offer much improvement and lacks a clear theme. While you can use it with Dagger offhand, it's not very appealing, and the overall weapon synergy for Warriors seems limited.
• Pistol Zerker: B-tier. While it could be fun to knock opponents back with the pistol and follow up with headbutt, it lacks strong synergy with Berserker. The novelty factor of using both dagger and pistol in one build might make it enjoyable, but it doesn't offer significant advantages.
• Pistol Spellbreaker: Not too impressed with it, probably a B-tier due to some fun factor with Spellbreaker mechanics.
• Shield Renegade: It's strong but overshadowed by staff; C-tier for lack of one-handed synergy.
• Shield Vindicator: Tanky potential, decent for PVE; C-tier for some utility.
• Shortbow Herald: Great for its quickness and range, excited about it; A-tier for versatility.
• Shortbow Vindicator: Decent but not as strong as Herald; B-tier for ranged option.
• Greatsword Herald: We love the Greatsword on Herald. It's an awesome weapon that complements the Herald's playstyle well, especially with the added quickness. A-tier.
• Greatsword Renegade: The Greatsword on Renegade doesn't excite us much. While it could work with a Power Renegade build, I don't see any outstanding interactions. Let's put it at C-tier.

 

↖ Weapon-Spec Synergy

One essential aspect to consider when evaluating the Weapon Mastery system is the synergy between weapons and specific Elite specializations. Some weapons naturally fit certain specializations due to thematic connections and skill interactions. For instance, torches feel at home with the Scourge, and Chronomancers make the most of the Chrono Shield. On the other hand, certain weapon choices might feel out of place with particular specializations, and players should be mindful of these nuances when selecting their setups.

 

↖ Anticipating Future Updates

As the game evolves, ArenaNet might introduce mini-expansions or updates that add new weapons to specific professions. While this could lead to more exciting gameplay options, it may also require careful balance considerations to prevent overwhelming players with too many choices. We'll keep an eye out for any future announcements and provide updates on how Weapon Mastery evolves over time.

 

Conclusion:

Guild Wars 2's Weapon Mastery system in the Secrets of the Obscure expansion brings an innovative and refreshing change to the game's combat dynamics. With weapons now available globally, players can experiment with new combinations and embrace diverse playstyles. Whether you're a fan of spellcasting, martial combat, or supporting your allies, the expanded weapon choices are sure to offer exciting possibilities. So, gear up, unlock those weapons, and embark on an epic adventure in the ever-evolving world of Tyria. Happy gaming!