Guild Wars 2 Highlights Expanded Weapon Proficiencies With First New Weapon, The Thief’s Axe

ArenaNet is introducing a new system to Guild Wars 2 in 2024 as part of the second major update for Secrets of the Obscure. The new expanded weapon proficiencies system will grant each profession a new weapon. To give players an idea of what that will be like in the MMORPG, the devs shared a video highlighting one of those weapons, the thief’s axe.

While “axe” by itself may not imply it, the thief’s axe is a ranged weapon. This is because we’re talking about throwing axes. Specifically, we’re discussing throwing axes that linger in the air allowing players to use a special skill that results in them hitting the enemy twice.

The axes can be used in a few ways, depending on the thief’s offhand weapon. For example, if a thief has a dagger in their offhand, they can use Harrowing Storm to teleport to a targeted enemy and recall all spinning axes to themselves, causing them to inflict torment. If the axes that are being recalled have a special property due to a previously used skill, they will inflict damage based on that as well.

As mentioned, the axe is the first weapon ArenaNet decided to share with players. That said, they’re apparently not planning on introducing them one by one. Instead, a livestream is set to take place on November 27 at 12 pm Pacific Time. They’ll follow this by kicking off beta testing for Expanded Weapon Proficiency at 9 am Pacific Time on November 28. That will last until December 3.