The third new Elite Specialization of the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons expansion has been revealed. The Willbender is a Guardian that uses martial arts. For the first time in the franchise, Guild Wars has introduced a new class that engages in hand-to-hand combat.
With the first three elite specializations announced and the first expansion beta right around the corner, Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons' marketing campaign is in full swing. While Arena Net slowly teased the first three elite specializations, the same cannot be said for the reveals. The Necromancer's Harbinger elite specialization was officially confirmed as an alchemy-based class and now the Guardian's new Willbender has also been revealed.
Of the three new elite specializations shown so far, the Willbender is arguably the most drastically changed from the base class. The Willbender still maintains the Guardian's theme of flaming justice, but it also adds martial combat to players' repertoire. With a new offhand sword, the Willbender brings in a set of hand-to-hand utility abilities alongside a wide array of gap closers designed for rapid movement between targets. This is yet another highly offensive elite specialization being introduced in End of Dragons that brings a new level of mobility to the Guardian. It's a very interesting approach to the Guardian that satisfies a longtime request from the game's community.
End of Dragons' Willbender Class Brings Hand-to-Hand To Guild Wars 2
One of the weapons long-requested by the Guild Wars 2 community has been some form of bare hands or brass knuckles, introducing martial arts to the game. While Guild Wars 2 has yet to add new weapons, the Guardian's new Willbender elite specialization has brought martial combat into the game through a new set of utility skills. Willbenders will be able to integrate hand-to-hand combat with their regular skills, which is a creative alternative to simply adding fists as a new weapon. And it may not be the last time this kind of mechanic is used, with the Warrior and Thief being two obvious candidates to make use of hand-to-hand combat.
With the reveal of the Willbender, the first trio of Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons' elite specializations has officially been unveiled. The Willbender, Harbinger, and Virtuoso will be available for all players to test out when the expansion's first beta begins on August 17, 2021. Players will be able to create special demo characters and take the new elite specializations to any area of the game they choose. It should prove to be a great way to test out the new elite specializations and get the community excited for a promising future when Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons releases next year. In the meantime, players will likely have to wait a few weeks before the next elite specialization is teased by Arena Net.
