Combat | Basics Guild Wars 2 Guide

Combat in Guild Wars 2 is partially similar to those from other MMOs: you aim an enemy, active skills and your character prepare spell/pistol/sword and attack. Although every player should get to know few details.

Every skill has its own range, out if which isn't effective. This distance is shown by the red underline under every available attack. It's presence mean that the enemy is impossible to hit. When there is no underline, the skill will be working.

Besides that, if you want to make a efficient attack, you have to have a clear vision: if any obstacle is on your way, it will be hit instead of the enemy. It works both ways, so you can hide behind columns for example.

Another method to avoid attacks is evading. You can use them in two ways: clicking two times on the movement key or pressing the V key. Mastering it let you avoid the most powerful attacks or escape during the PvP duels. Unfortunately, using it consumes your endurance: if the bar is full, you can avoid two attacks in a row.

If nor hiding either evading isn't working and your health is decreased to zero, your adventure isn't over. Your character will lay on the ground bit still fighting to survive. In this state you have four abilities: three depending on your class and healing. If you are able to defeat enemy, or heal yourself completely, your hero will stand up and continue the game. Otherwise you'll die. In this case you can wait for anyone help's or respawn at waypoint.

Skill bar of warrior fighting to survive.

There are few options which may make your game and control over combat easier. One of them is activating the autoattack on some skills. It the enemy gets into the range of your skill, hero will be repeating the skill until enemy gets out of the range or dies. Hold CTRL and press RMB on the skill's icon to activate it.

Second, very useful option, is a Show Skill Recharge. It's in the game's option. From now on you see how many seconds is needed to use the skill again.

Last two useful options are autotarget and promote skill target. First one let you cast spell without aiming an enemy, it'll hit the closest one. The second one is an expansion of the first: after hitting an enemy, it'll be automatically targeted and all skills from this moment will be aimed at him. Those options are very helpful in PvP, WvW or quickly clearing the area from monsters. The only one place where using them may be risky are the locations with huge density of enemies. In such case you should choose targets manually.