Wayfarers – Bringing Ritualists and Dervishes to GW2 in a unique way
Their motto:
“This land, this history, has a right to fight too!”
Wayfarers are defenders of the homestead and emissaries of the land. They wield hand-worn weapons from the fields and workshops to repel their foes. In strife they use their folkways to call on the spirits of ancestors to protect the land and people that they love. As vicious blade wielders or wrathful spirit channelers Wayfarers bring hurt and utility in plenty. In large battles they can cover large areas with devestation and enhance the automatic strikes of allies with weapon rites. Toe-to-toe they can sacrifice their own boons to get bursts of furious combat speed.
Background
The Wayfarer is a grass roots champion. Living in Tyria in wartime is hard for the people, and Wayfarers know this more than most. They cherish the beauty of Tyria, and value the quiet dignity of it’s people when faced with adversity. As Wayfarers come from lives of toil on farms and dirt they also believe in their right to defend what they love. When beaten down by the hardships of war and conflict, Wayfarers become empassioned by hearing and telling the deeds of great warriors gone by. They feel a great debt of gratitude to those who have fought and perished in the pursuit of peace. After sundown when the fields have had their due, they gather with their families and friends and gladly share the stories of the magnificent and empowered heroes of Tyria. They have collected all the bits of wisdom they can, and espouse these at every opportune time. Such is the way to honour the sacrifices of our ancestors.
If it weren’t for the threats to their loved ones and the land they nourish the Wayfarer would never think to take up the farming scythe or sickle to do harm. But the familiar feel of these homely tools coos the Wayfarer to take vengeance on the Dragons and their twisted ilk. Standing in the face of impending loss gives the Wayfarer the courage to place themselves between foe and friend, and their desire to keep the world safe makes them headstrong and heartdriven adventurers.
Abilities
The Wayfarer’s profession mechanic is the Urn of Remnants. The Urn of Remnants is an equippable weapon that can be crafted by artificers and slotted with special upgrade items called a Hero’s Remnant. The Wayfarer finds remanants of unique heroes across the land of Tyria, particularly in special lore locations such as statues to fallen heroes and grave sites. The Remnant within the Urn can be swapped out from the inventory screen, but not while in combat.
When an Urn with a slotted Remnant is equipped, the Weapon Swap button becomes the “Enshrine” button. When the Wayfarer activates the “Enshrine” skill, they form a small shrine on the ground to the hero whose remnant they carry. At the completion of this ritual a shrine object is created and the spirit of the Hero is summoned into battle.
The Hero Spirit is an uncontrolled NPC ally that represents a profession of Tyria and has a unique combination of profession skills available to them. Think of the ghosts of Ascalon: a blue, ephemeral person of times long past. While the Spirit is a wild and powerful companion, they a completely bound to the vicinity of the shrine (usually a range of 600 or so). The Spirit has no health and is not affected by any attacks on it or it’s location. Instead, the Shrine acts as a world object that can have health reduced to 0, at which point the Spirit is exorcised and disappears.
There are many Heroes of Tyria that can be found and honoured, and all professions are represented.
In addition to summoning a spirit, the Shrine also acts as an environmental weapon station usable by any ally. When engaged at the Shrine the player has access to new combat skills in their 1-3 slots, 4-5 only available to Wayfarers. These skills draw on the deadly and ethereal powers of channelling with the spirit world, directing powerful snaps of energy at foes and soothing resonances of the mists at allies. Some skills create rifts of power between the shrine and the spirit, affecting all who cross the line. Some strikes come in pairs from two directions, once from the Wayfarer and again from the Hero Spirit. These dual-projectiles can make the spiritual wrath of the Wayfarer hard to avoid.
All Shrines have a Weapon Rite in the fourth or fifth slot accessible only by an Wayfarer. These rites enchant the weapons of all nearby allies by either adding extra effects to their #1 skill or by adding a new skill to the #1 skill chain. For example, Brutal Rite adds damage to hits of the first weapon skill; Wailing Rite causes damage to all nearby foes on hit; Vengeful Rite causes 2s of Weakness and life steal on all nearby foes on hit; Ghostly Rite creates a new 3s chill chain and then a 2s fear chain skill. Some weapons spells also affect the weapons of enemies to debilitate them and reduce their impact.
