Guild Wars 2

So as stated in the title I was wondering how each profession came to use the two types of abilities they have access to.

Mesmer: Why do the Mesmers use Mantras? How did they come to the concept of creating them, and why are they called Mantras in Tyria? ( Mantras in RL are chants or phrases repeated to help one concentrate during meditation. Mantra is strongly affiliated with the Hindu religion. Here is a link that will go in depth on what Mantras are. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra)

Guardian: So why do Guardians have access to these ancient Tomes? Where did the tomes come from? Who were the original creators of these tomes? What knowledge is within the tomes…?
(Tomes to me are also called Grimoires. Which are books filled with magical knowledge and spells. Most grimoires in known history have ancient history to them. Here is a link that goes more in depth of what a Grimoire is. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimoire)

I don’t know when or how Mesmers picked up mantras but they have used them since Guild Wars 1: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mantra

As for Guardians using tomes, I think that has to do with the Guardian’s origin. The Guardian is a mix of Guild Wars 1’s Paragon, Monk and Ritualist professions (and possibly Dervish but that last one is unconfirmed). Many Ritualists and Monks dealt with the preservation of knowledge. For example, the Durmand Priory actually started as a monestary.

Mantras are a bit weird in that in GW1, they actually largely made sense (a mantra was a long-term enchantment with an instantaneous casting time that had an effect on the user, so you could imagine the mesmer reciting the mantra, if only in their head, to achieve the effect. You may even have been limited to one at a time – I can’t remember), but in GW2 they’ve just tacked the name onto a completely different mechanic. GW2 mantras are more of a pre-cast spell than any true mantra.

Regarding the tome… I think it’s essentially a nod to their quasireligious origin. They pull out a book relevant to whatever they have faith in, and reading out passages from that book helps focus their power. For a charr this might be a book of military regulations or something like that.

draxynnic.3719:

Regarding the tome… I think it’s essentially a nod to their quasireligious origin. They pull out a book relevant to whatever they have faith in, and reading out passages from that book helps focus their power. For a charr this might be a book of military regulations or something like that.

Just like we germans get inner strength from reading traffic regulations. sheds single tear sorry I was thinking about the highway code.