While we’ve already polished a shiny new mech and gone a bi feral with the Untamed, the last of our hands-on opinions is probably the most jaw-dropping of the three. Our introduction to the Specter ahead of the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons beta gave us a glimpse of a Theif that might become a mainstay in your raiding party one day.
It’s not unreasonable to say that my relationship with the Theif can be described as, meh. It’s surely skillful but doesn’t encompass the way I prefer to play. Specializations still haven’t really encouraged me to pick up a Theif and it generally always felt pretty ill-adjusted to play with others. That changed when gamespace got a hands-on look and tour of the Specter.
For those that haven’t heard the news, the Specter is one of the upcoming class specializations for the yet-to-release Guild Wars 2 expansion, End of Dragons. While I spent a good deal of time talking about subtle differences between the way pets and mech mechanics operate in our other hands-on impressions, The Specter is truly what a specialization should be. The Specter is designed to turn the traditional Thief into something of a group support character, adding in a new resource known as Shadow Magic. This new source of power is the core of Specters friendly face, but that isn’t all that’s new.
The Specter’s Scepter
Like all of the specializations so far, the Specter gains access to a brand new weapon with the scepter providing one of this Tyrian’s armaments. As a one-handed weapon, this doesn’t anchor the entire build in the same way that the Untamed’s hammer does, but it still provides a few clues about what’s to come. The Shadow Bolt auto attack and its follow ups speak to the duality of the Specter and the complexities of this class. The bolts fired from this weapon sear out and catch enemies with a dark shadow, tormenting enemies while aiding allies with Barrier. This proceeds through the remaining scepter skills, swapping between a variety of condition effects and pouring on more Barrier for allied targets. As if this isn’t enough options, players can still pick from whatever offhand or alternative weapons they like allowing a bewildering array of options, and a few very obvious ones.
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- Specter major traits
Without a pet to manage or a mech to control, there’s a lot more time for Specters to think about the newest part of their screen, Siphon. This ability, which can vary per game mode sits up beside Shadow Shroud and is intrinsically linked to this mainstay of the Theif. More than just a way to inflict damage and dizziness on an enemy, the Siphon ability can aid ailing allies, and a shiny mech too it seemed. It is also is an avenue for the Specter to generate Shadow Force. Like initiative, which is still in place but reduced by three due to this trait line, Shadow Magic is yet another resource to manage, giving great Specters plenty to keep an eye on. However, the benefits of this balancing act are remarkable. While I initially thought picking a time to unleash my Untamed pet might be tricky, the Specter took some definite time to sit down and configure. The addition of trait lines that diverge between tormenting enemies, for the more aggressive Specter, generating Shadow Force for in demand support, and some absolutely ridiculous barrier numbers mean there are plenty of decisions to be made.
Combining all these stats against a set of new wells that converge around adding alacrity, damaging conditions, and repeated benefits to allies means I focused heavily on synergizing Shadowstep and shroud to drop some big barrier numbers. Without even trying to game the system and scale up the returns via character stats, the newly minted Specter was pushing almost 10,000 Barrier back at itself and allies, further bolstered by pulsing heals and a bit of extra damage. Sure, the Shadowfall well does seem powerful, but the Specter is far far more than I expected. ArenaNet has somehow managed to take a class that never really engaged with me, moved it in an entirely new direction, and possibly put together one of the most interesting new additions to Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons. If you only get 15 minutes during the upcoming beta test, log in and run a few fractals or pick a fight with a Specter tomorrow.
