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The End of Dragons expansion for Guild Wars 2 has been a huge success. Beyond returning to the continent of Cantha for the first time since Guild Wars 1, End of Dragons also added a new Elite specialization to each of the nine professions. In Guild Wars 2, Elite specializations add a unique spin to the class with a new core mechanic, as well as new skills and an exclusive weapon proficiency.
The Bladesworn is the new Warrior Elite specialization in End of Dragons. Though it gains the ability to use pistols as offhand weapons, the core mechanic of the Bladesworn is the Gunsaber–a cross between a greatsword and a pistol. These gunblades samurai slash and shoot across the battlefield, causing deadly Explosions to defeat foes at close- and mid-range. Its ultimate ability is the Dragon Slash–powerful iaijutsu-style attacks that demolish enemies in a single blow.
Best Specialization Builds For The Bladesworn
The Bladesworn trades the Adrenaline of the Warrior profession for Flow and Charges. Flow is gained gradually over time in combat, and from anything that would normally grant Adrenaline.
Instead of normal Burst skills, Bladesworn enter Dragon Trigger mode and begin converting Flow to Charges, to a maximum of 10, as long as they don’t move. At any point, the Bladesworn can execute one of three Dragon Slash abilities to end the Dragon Trigger state, dealing more damage with more charges.
The three Dragon Slash techniques are Force, Boost, and Reach. Force deals the most damage, but only strikes nearby enemies. Boost causes the Bladesworn to rush forward before slashing, while Reach launches a lower-damage piercing projectile without moving.
While in Dragon Trigger state, the Bladesworn can use Triggerguard or Flicker Step to block the next attack or teleport around without ending Dragon Trigger. Mastering Flow and Dragon Trigger is a difficult-but-rewarding mechanic for the otherwise-straightforward Warrior profession.
This build focuses on maximizing the damage potential of Dragon Slash. The minor traits of the Bladesworn support this, with Dragonscale Defense granting Stability when entering Dragon Trigger, and Guns and Glory giving a large Ferocity buff when hitting with Explosions.
For major traits for the End of Dragons Elite specialization, Bladesworn should choose Unseen Sword, which deals damage to nearby foes and gains increased Flow when swapping between their weapon set and the Gunsaber.
Fierce as Fire gives a 1% damage buff each time ammunition is spent from a stacking Ammo skill. Lastly, the Unyielding Dragon trait grants Might when converting Flow to Charges, and makes Dragon Slash unblockable, ignore Blind, and stun targets.
The Arms specialization complements the Bladesworn well with its improvements to criticals and Burst skills. The minor traits grant Fury for a short time after using a Dragon Slash, adds a Condition Damage buff to the Fury buff, and gives a chance to bleed on critical hits.
For major traits, Signet Mastery is a powerful pick, as it gives Signet skills a reduced cooldown and a stacking Ferocity when using a Signet skill. Sundering Burst causes Dragon Slash to inflict Vulnerability, with even more stacks on a critical hit, and with the Burst Precision trait, Dragon Slash has a 100% critical hit rate.
Meanwhile, the Strength specialization gives multiple ways to stack Might and give additional damage buffs. The minor traits cause dodge rolls to deal damage and grant Might, cause Might stacks to grant additional power, and restores Endurance when hitting with Dragon Slash.
For major traits, Restorative Strength gives Might stacks when using a Healing skill. Great Fortitude converts 10% of the Bladesworn’s Power into Vitality and Ferocity.
Lastly, Berserker’s Power gives a damage buff when using Dragon Slash–the more charges spent, the larger the buff.
Best Equipment And Stats For The Bladesworn
Weapon selection is easier for Bladesworn than other Warriors since the Gunsaber replaces their second weapon set. Gunsaber weapon skills all cause Explosions, have Ammo, or both, allowing them to trigger Fierce as Fire and Guns and Glory for more damage and Ferocity buffs.
The Bladesworn will use these abilities on cooldown while swapping to their secondary weapon set, using a buffed-up Dragon Trigger whenever possible.
For their weapon set, the axe and pistol combo is a solid choice. Mainhand axes inflict Vulnerability and grant Fury, and have the highest damage of all one-handed weapons.
The offhand pistol has the Dragon’s Roar ability; a powerful close-range AoE Explosion, as well as Gunstinger, an engagement skill that blocks an attack, deals damage, inflicts vulnerability, and reloads ammo for Dragon’s Roar.
A Bladesworn’s equipment should stack as much Power as possible to maximize the benefit of Great Fortitude. Ferocity is a close second in importance, with a healthy amount of Precision to help non-Dragon Slash attacks critically hit.
Because of this, a Bladesworn should equip the aptly-named Dragon gear, which also comes with some Vitality for survivability. While fully buffed up, a Bladesworn’s critical damage can reach near 300% and can deliver Dragon Slashes that exceed six figures of damage.
Unfortunately, not having a second weapon set means Bladesworn only get two Sigils. Luckily, the Gunsaber also benefits from the Sigils on their weapon set. For this reason, the Superior Sigil of Force and Superior Sigil of Might are solid picks, as it increases strike damage by 5% grant Might on critical hits respectively.
For the Bladesworn’s armor Rune set, the Superior Rune of Strength is a perfect choice. Not only does it give a hefty dose of Power, but it also increases Might duration by 50% and strike damage by 5% while benefiting from Might–a near-constant thanks to the many ways this build generates Might.
Best Skills for the Bladesworn
The new Bladesworn Elite specialization gains access to a new type of skill: Armaments. These skills are similar to gadgets, and allow them to generate barriers and traps, reload ammunition to Ammo skills, or grant buffs.
Many of them are also Ammo skills themselves, granting synergy with Fierce as Fire. However, the Gunsaber, Dragon Trigger, and pistol skills grant enough other ways to trigger this, meaning skill selection can focus on maximizing the benefit of Signet Mastery.
For Utility skills, the Signet of Fury is a must-pick, as it grants additional Precision, Ferocity, and Flow generation on use. Signet of Might gives a massive stack of Might and makes attacks unblockable for a time.
Lastly, the Signet of Stamina rounds out the Utility skills with a burst of Endurance and condition removal. Though not in the main bar, the Dolyak Signet provides Stability against Control effects and gives a small heal, making it useful against certain foes or in PvP, so players can swap it in for one of the other Signets in those cases.
The Signet of Rage is a perfect choice to round out the Bladesworn’s kit with its passive Flow generation and its active, long-duration Fury, Might, and Swiftness buffs. With its reduced cooldown and increased Might duration, the buffs from the Signet can stay up much longer than most Warriors.
Combat Stimulant is the Bladesworn-exclusive Armament Healing skill, and is powerful enough to choose over Healing Signet. It is an Ammo skill with 2 charges that give a small initial heal and a larger heal after a 5-second delay.
If used during this time, the Bladesworn gets Quickness, Fury, and Vigor for 10 seconds at the cost of losing one delayed heal. Each of these charges also triggers Fierce as Fire and grants 5 stacks of Might thanks to Restorative Strength.
The Bladesworn is a devastating combatant in close- and mid-range. Though it may not provide as much support or survivability as other Soldier professions, the Bladesworn has high burst damage with Dragon Slash while boasting a high Health pool.
Though lining up these devastating attacks can take some practice, the Bladesworn can make short work of any foe once they master the art of the Gunsaber.
Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons is available now on PC.