Guild Wars 2 Team Dives into the Basics of Janthir Wilds' New Spear and Training Mastery

mmorpg.com:

Yesterday, Janthir Wilds,the next Guild Wars 2 expansion, was announced, and one of the new features tucked into the big announcement was the game’s new spear and Mastery system. The GW2 team is answering questions and giving details about the new weapon and its accompanying new training system.

This announcement isn’t just the addition of the spear, a two-handed weapon usable by all professions in their own ways, but the additional Kodan Spear Training Mastery feature. In the expansion, out August 20th,  you’ll meet with the Lowland Kodan, and as part of your adventures, get to learn how to use this new territorial spear. This latest devblog goes into all of the basic info to know about the spear, and the team promises to follow with new deep dives into how each of the professions can train and use it. (This devblog even features a series of teasers to get everyone ready for all of the profession info)

The new spear is a two-handed terrestrial weapon, and ANet’s combat designer Taylor Brooks clarifies that any spear on land or sea will always be a two-handed weapon. If your profession currently cannot use one underwater, you won't be able to use this one underwater either. When you unlock the Mastery system in Janthir Wilds,  every character, regardless of profession, will get their own set of skills to train up when using the spear on land. In a later update, they will also introduce a legendary spear.

What this means is that each profession will use the spear differently. Some might use it as a melee weapon in a more straightforward fashion, others will use it as a ranged projectile, and for the more magical focus professions, it might serve as a form of magical focus.  to go along with all of these different ways to use the spear, all of them will get brand new skill effects and animations. 

Curious to try it out? Guild Wars 2 will get a spear beta. That event will happen from June 27th at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time, through June 30th at 10:00 p.m. Pacific time.