'Guild Wars 2: End Of Dragons' Necromancer Elite Specialization Revealed

The previously teased elite specialization for “Guild Wars 2’s” Necromancer class has been revealed, featuring a completely different look and feel compared to the lightly armored caster’s traditional style.

“End Of Dragons” will add the Harbinger specialization for the Necromancer, arming them with a pistol as their main-hand weapon along with a host of unique elixirs and the new Harbinger shroud, which will replace the classic Death Shroud ability with a high-speed, melee-oriented variant that’s laced with Canthan flair.

This new specialization was revealed in a trailer released by ArenaNet, showcasing some of the new moves that players can expect from their Necromancers and a few new pieces of equipment that they can use.

Unlike the hard-hitting, melee-focused Reaper or the sand-shifting support Scourge from the two previous expansion packs, the Harbinger will feature a mixture of multiple playstyles. A new mechanic called Blight will be added to the class and it will presumably have a big role in how the Harbinger plays, similar to how the Heat mechanic for the Holosmith was implemented.

It’s not yet clear as to how Blight will affect Necromancers, but the trailer did mention that it works in tandem with the new Harbinger Shroud. Players will gain access to powerful new abilities while they are suffering from Blight, which implies that the Harbinger’s playstyle may be high-risk but high-reward like the Engineer’s Holosmith specialization.

The Harbinger’s pistol abilities allow Necromancers to use corrosive bullets to devastate enemies. The trailer showed a clip of a Harbinger stunning an enemy with pistol bullet hits and the use of corrosive ammunition may mean that the weapon’s skills might apply Vulnerability or Poison damage.

Thief-like agility combined with the Holosmith’s risk-reward playstyle and the Necromancer’s condition-centric gameplay makes the Harbinger an interesting specialization. If properly designed, the Harbinger can make for a great jack-of-all-trades DPS pick, but its lack of a central focus on one area may also be its downfall.

ArenaNet is yet to reveal the full list of abilities and traits for the Harbinger, but they should be available soon. The elite specialization will be a part of the first character beta period that’s scheduled to run from Aug. 17 to 21.