Guild Wars 2 news » Meet the Druid: Ranger’s Elite Specialization

Welcome, friends, to the reveal of the ranger elite specialization, the druid! As a longtime ally of nature, the ranger can now channel the strength of Tyria itself after tapping into the primal forces of the Maguuma jungle.

Speak Softly

Carrying their staff into battle, the druid bears the duty of sustaining their allies through overwhelming danger. To achieve this aim, each staff skill can be beneficially used to bolster the druid’s allies.

Solar Beam: Fire a concentrated beam of light, damaging the targeted foe and healing allies inside of the beam.

Astral Wisp: Send a wisp to attach to your foe. While attached it will circle the foe, healing allies it passes through.

Ancestral Grace: Become a wisp of natural energy, traversing to the target location. When you reach the target, heal nearby allies.

Vine Surge: Send forth vines that immobilize enemies and cleanse conditions from allies.

Sublime Conversion: Summon an energy barrier that causes enemy projectiles to heal upon impact.

The druid’s staff offers solid support through smart positioning and grants the tools to be in the right place at the right time.

Closer to the Stars

The druid elite specialization grants a ranger the capacity to draw astral force to themselves. Once it’s fully charged, they can release that force and become a celestial avatar. While in this empowered form, the avatar gains access to a new set of weapon skills while retaining access to their heal skill, utilities, and elite skill. Avatar skills are on very short cooldowns and transform the ranger into a healing powerhouse, pushing the upper bounds of sustainability and recovery; in celestial avatar form, a druid becomes capable of bringing a party on the brink of death back to pristine condition.

Cosmic Ray: Call down energy onto the target area to heal allies.

Seed of Life: Summon a seed that heals and cleanses nearby allies of conditions when it blossoms.

Lunar Impact: Call down a massive lunar beam to heal allies and daze foes.

Rejuvenating Tides: Gather tidal force to rapidly heal nearby allies.

Natural Convergence: Channel your celestial powers, pulsing cripple and slow. Once the channel ends, any foes still within its radius will be trapped by a black hole, immobilizing them.

Signs of Ancient Times

Those following the path of the druid will uncover ancient glyphs. These utility skills have different effects based on whether you are in celestial avatar form.

Glyph of Rejuvenation: Apply significant healing to yourself and minor healing to your allies.
• In Celestial Avatar: Apply significant healing to your allies and minor healing to yourself.

Glyph of Alignment: Damage and apply conditions to nearby foes.
• In Celestial Avatar: Heal and remove conditions from nearby allies.

Glyph of Equality: Daze nearby foes.
• In Celestial Avatar: Break stun for nearby allies.

Glyph of Empowerment: Increase outgoing damage of nearby allies.
• In Celestial Avatar: Increase outgoing healing of nearby allies.

Glyph of the Tides: Push nearby enemies away from you.
• In Celestial Avatar: Pulls enemies toward you.

Glyph of Unity: Tether yourself to nearby foes. Whenever you receive damage, deal damage to the foes tethered to you.
• In Celestial Avatar: Tether yourself to nearby allies. Whenever you’re healed, heal the tethered allies as well.

Attune to the Land

Trudging with heroic determination into the wild lands of the Maguuma jungle, the druid comprehends that the beauty of the wilderness conceals great danger. As they gain greater experience in Mordremoth’s domain, from the sprawling depths to the soaring canopy, they’ll be able to enhance their celestial form, glyphs, and staff skills to better take the battle to the heart of the jungle.

(Minor) Celestial Being: You can equip staves and gain access to glyphs. You can become a celestial avatar once you gain enough astral force. Generate astral force by healing allies and damaging foes.

(Minor) Live Vicariously: When you heal an ally, you are also healed.

(Minor) Natural Mender: Increase your outgoing healing whenever you heal another ally.

Druidic Clarity: Becoming a celestial avatar removes conditions from you.

Cultivated Synergy: Using a healing skill heals around you and your pet.

Primal Echoes: Reduces recharge of staff skills. Daze nearby foes when you swap to staff.

Celestial Shadow: Grant superspeed and stealth to nearby allies when leaving celestial avatar form.

Verdant Etching: Reduces recharge of glyphs. Activating a glyph skill plants a seed.
• Seed of Life: Summon a seed that heals and cleanses nearby allies of conditions when it blossoms.

Natural Stride: Reduce duration of movement-impairing conditions. Your movement speed is increased as long as you have none of these conditions.

Grace of the Land: While you are a celestial avatar, your allies gain reduced incoming condition damage.

Lingering Light: Healing an ally creates a wisp that orbits you and heals allies it touches.

Ancient Seeds: Striking a stunned, dazed, knocked down, or launched foe summons roots to entangle them.

Dinosaurs, Tigers, and Wyverns, Oh My!

Upon entering the lush Maguuma jungle, you’ll encounter many new creatures. Some are fierce, some are friendly, a few are both…and among them are new potential pets for all rangers! If you find them, these are a few possible allies you may befriend:

Smokescale: This feral saurian can create a field of smoke to hide in to evade enemies.

Bristleback: This spine-covered beast has grown talented at rending foes in the brutal jungle.

Tiger: This former ruler of the wilds inspires allies with its graceful pounce.

Electric Wyvern: This deadly beast knows how to use its head, charging headlong into the fray.

Fire Wyvern: This fiery winged ally enjoys its meat well charred.

I will be eagerly listening for your constructive feedback regarding the druid and its role in challenging group content and beyond. See you in the jungle!