Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns introduces Chromancer specialization

One of the features set to come alongside the upcoming Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns expansion is some cool new abilities for the game's existing classes. These elite abilities are called specializations and ArenaNet is debuting the first one today for the game's mesmer. With the aid of time magic, the mesmer will now become the mighty chromancer.

"One of the core themes of the chronomancer is duality," ArenaNet's Robert Gee explains on the Guild Wars 2 blog. "Past versus future and fast versus slow are key themes you’ll see throughout the chronomancer’s skill set. Many skills affect both enemies and allies, reflecting the chronomancer’s ability to steal a chunk of time and use it for their own purposes."

The chroamancer mesmer will have abilities that include alacrity, which speeds up skill recharges. This will work in conjunction with the mesmer's illusions and can even be shared with them. As for weaponry, the chromancer will receive the off-hand shield, which allows use of skills like Tides of Time. This attack can absorb projectiles and freeze enemies in time, offering a boomerang effect that can dish out damage twice. That's not the only skill that can be applied to illusions, though.

When the chronomancer activates Continuum Split, they sacrifice all of their illusions to split themselves off from the normal flow of time for a duration that scales with the number of illusions shattered," Gee explains. "When this duration is over, or when the mesmer activates the follow-up skill Continuum Shift, they revert back to the location where the skill was first activated. Here's where things get fun. Shifting back to the original timeline reverts the chronomancer's health, endurance, and all cooldowns (yes, even the elite skill) back to the state they were in when the shatter was first activated. This skill essentially gives the chronomancer a reset button and allows for tricks such as casting any skill twice, avoiding a killing blow, or simply tactically repositioning yourself."

For more on the chromancer abilities, check out the video below.

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns introduces Chromancer specialization