Game designer, Jonathan “Chaplan” Sharp, for ArenaNet today released some juicy information as to how swimming and diving would work in Guild Wars 2.
To start off, all players will automatically have a default underwater breathing apparatus to help them swim around while exploring the depths of lakes, rivers and other bodies of water. There are of course upgrades that can be obtained, which presume will help you breath for longer periods of time.
For players unfortunate enough to drown or are near drowning there are a few ways they can be revived.
- You kill an opponent, which will cause you to rally.
- An ally can revive you, just as they can above water.
- You reach the surface of the water, where you will stop drowning and regain health. When your health bar fills all the way you’ll be revived.
There is also a big difference between swimming and diving. Mainly you cannot attack while swimming, however creatures underwater will be able to attack you. Thankfully the switch from swimming to diving is quite easy, simply tilt your camera down and keep moving forward, which will make your character dive below the waves. When this happens, you will automagically switch to your underwater weapon set, your underwater skill setup, and your breathing device. Jumping off a cliff into water will also automatically put you in diving mode.
To make the underwater content not seem secondary to land, most of Guild Wars 2 dungeons have underwater content, and players personal stories will also occasionally take them under water.
Combat underwater has also been setup to take advantage of the 3D space; players will be able to force enemies up to the surface to drag them down to the sea floor. New underwater only weapons have also been introduced which are listed below.
Spear – Close quarters melee weapon
Used by:
- Warrior
- Necro
- Ranger
- Thief
- Guardian
Trident – Long range magical weapon
Used by:
- Necro
- Guardian
- Elementalist
Harpoon gun – Long range mechanical weapon
Used by:
- Engineer
- Warrior
- Ranger
- Thief
Underwater only skills have also been introduce, as many skills used above ground will not have any affect underwater. Skill slots 6-10 will automatically switch to underwater skills once the player dives in. Unfortunately no information as to what those skills will be has been released.