Soulbeast
“"Two hearts fighting as one."
Soulbeasts gain the ability to merge with their pet, channeling their power and the ability to use their beast skills. One with your pet, you are fierce in melee-focused combat.
— In-game description
Soulbeast is an elite specialization for the ranger unlocked with the Path of Fire expansion. Soulbeasts share a bond so strong with their pets that they can become one in body and spirit by entering Beastmode. In this state, their pets do not have a physical form, and instead aid the soulbeast by improving their attributes and giving them access to three new skills similar to their own pet skills.
Soulbeasts have learned to adopt animal stances to gain positive effects for their duration. They can wield daggers in their main hand, light, agile weapons to bite and tear at their foes. Soulbeasts focus on damage dealing but can opt to provide some support by sharing their stances with their allies.
List of soulbeast skills[edit]
- See also: List of ranger skills
Profession mechanic[edit]
“Grant me your strength, my friend.
— Soulbeast
The soulbeast's profession mechanic is Beastmode, which replaces their pet control skills with new ones based on the pet they merge with. While in Beastmode the F1 and F2 skills are determined by the pet family and the F3 skill is determined by the pet's Archetype.
# | Skill | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
F5 | Beastmode | 10 | Meld with your pet. | |
F5 | Leave Beastmode | Separate from your pet. |
# | Skill | Pet | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
F1 | Lunge | Aether Hunter | ¾ | 8 | Lunge forward, crippling opponents in the path. |
F2 | Ley-Line Vortex | Aether Hunter | 3 | ½20 | Spin around, creating a vortex of ley-line energy around you that strikes and inflicts conditions on enemies. |
F1 | Protection | Armored Fish | 30 | Apply protection to yourself. | |
F2 | Chomp | Armored Fish | ½ | 12 | Chomp your foe to deal damage and heal yourself. |
F1 | Bite | Bear | ½ | 10 | Bite your foe to recover health. |
F2 | Defy Pain | Bear | ¼ | 40 | You receive no damage from incoming attacks. You remain susceptible to conditions and controlling effects. |
F1 | Swoop | Bird | ½ | 10 | Swoop at your foe, making them vulnerable. |
F2 | Quickening Screech | Bird | 15 | Grant swiftness to nearby allies and remove movement-impairing conditions from them. | |
F1 | Rain of Spikes | Bristleback | ¾ | 18 | Launch spikes at all nearby foes. |
F2 | Sharpen Spines | Bristleback | 30 | The next several hits apply extra bleeding stacks. | |
F1 | Crippling Leap | Canine | ¾ | 10 | Leap at your foe and cripple them. |
F2 | Brutal Charge | Canine | ¾ | 20 | Leap at your foe and knock them down. |
F1 | Electrocute | Sky-Chak Striker | ½ | 10 | Zap enemies in the target area with electric beams. |
F2 | Spit Goop | Sky-Chak Striker | ¾ | 15 | Spit goop toward your target, crippling enemies. |
F1 | Tail Lash | Devourer | ½ | 20 | Push back a foe with your tail. |
F2 | Devourer Retreat | Devourer | ¾ | 15 | Retreat by tunneling through the ground. |
F1 | Chomp | Drake | ½ | 10 | Bite a foe and gain health. |
F2 | Tail Swipe | Drake | ½ | 15 | Attack all surrounding foes with a tail swipe. |
F1 | Crippling Anguish | Fanged Iboga | ½ | 10 | Launch a projectile that inflicts conditions. |
F2 | Narcotic Spores | Fanged Iboga | ¾ | 15 | Spit a glob of confusing spores at a foe, inflicting confusion for a while at that location. |
F1 | Bite | Feline | ½ | 8 | Bite your foe for severe damage. |
F2 | Maul | Feline | 16 | Slash a foe multiple times and make them bleed. | |
F2 | Phase Pounce | White Tiger | ¾ | 15 | Leap through a rift in the Mists, shadowstepping briefly to the target's location and inflicting damage and conditions. |
F1 | Call Lightning | Jacaranda | ¾ | 15 | Calls lightning to a small area. |
F2 | Photosynthesize | Jacaranda | 1 | 20 | Restore health, gain regeneration, and remove conditions. |
F1 | Healing Cloud | Jellyfish | ¼ | 25 | Release a cloud of mist to regenerate you and your allies. |
F2 | Dark Water | Jellyfish | 1 | 40 | Blind foes near your target with a dark cloud. |
F1 | Harmonic Cry | Moa | ½ | 25 | Heal yourself and nearby allies. |
F2 | Frenzied Attack | Moa | 1 | 20 | Attack with a pecking frenzy and make your foe vulnerable. |
F1 | Dash | Juvenile Phoenix | ½ | 15 | Charge forward, leaving behind a trail of wind energy that detonates shortly afterward. |
F2 | Wing Buffet | Phoenix | ½ | 25 | Launch your foe backward with mighty wing beats. |
F1 | Maul | Porcine, Wallow | ½ | 12 | Maul your foes and make them bleed. |
F2 | Brutal Charge | Porcine | ¾ | 30 | Charge your foes and knock them down. |
F1 | Kick | Rock Gazelle | ½ | 8 | Kick your enemy. |
F2 | Charge | Rock Gazelle | 1 | 12 | Charge at your target. |
F1 | Charging Bite | Shark | 1 | ¾20 | Charge your foe, striking multiple times and inflicting bleeding. |
F2 | Fear | Shark | ½ | 40 | Make your foe flee in fear. |
F1 | Takedown | Smokescale | ¾ | 10 | Cripple your target with a powerful strike. |
F2 | Smoke Assault | Smokescale | 20 | Conceal yourself and lash out at nearby foes. Gain might each time you damage a foe. | |
F1 | Staring Void | Spinegazer | ¾ | 12 | Blast demonic energy in front of you, inflicting conditions on enemies it hits. |
F2 | Tormenting Visions | Spinegazer | 2 | ¼15 | Send distressing thoughts to your enemy to torment them. |
F1 | Entangling Web | Spider | ½ | 20 | Shoot a web, immobilizing your foe. |
F2 | Poison Gas | Spider | ½ | 15 | Spit a ball of venom that covers an area with a poisonous cloud. |
F1 | Slam | Turtle | ¾ | 25 | Leap and knock nearby foes back. |
F2 | Heavy Shot | Turtle | 1 | 20 | Shoot a jade missile at your target that dazes nearby enemies on impact. |
F1 | Vampiric Bite | Wallow | ½ | 5 | Bite your foe, siphoning health. |
F2 | Undead Plague | Wallow | 1 | 20 | Covers the area around you in noxious fumes that poisons foes. Poison duration is increased on disabled foes. |
F1 | Battle Maul | Warclaw | 1 | 10 | Pounce on foes. |
F2 | Bop | Warclaw | ½ | 14 | Smack your foes to knock them down. |
F1 | Tail Lash | Wyvern | ½ | 12 | Sweep your foes along the ground, crippling them. |
F2 | Wing Buffet | Phoenix | ½ | 25 | Launch your foe backward with mighty wing beats. |
# | Skill | Archetype | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
F3 | Unflinching Fortitude | Stout | ¼ | 35 | Beast. Shrug off all movement-impairing conditions and become unflinching in the face of normal attacks. |
F3 | Primal Cry | Deadly | 1 | ¼20 | Beast. Tap into your primal essence and unleash a debilitating roar. |
F3 | Prelude Lash | Versatile | ¼ | 25 | Beast. Pull foes toward you and bind them briefly. |
F3 | Worldly Impact | Ferocious | ¾ | 25 | Beast. Jump up and slam the ground beneath you, severely damaging nearby foes. |
F3 | Spiritual Reprieve | Supportive | 1 | 35 | Beast. Restore health to your allies and grant them a reprieve from conditions. |
Weapon skills[edit]
# | Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dagger[edit] | |||||
1 | Groundwork Gouge | ¼ | Swipe past your foe's defenses, exposing their vulnerability. | ||
1 | Leading Swipe | ¼ | Rake your dagger across your foe, leaving them bleeding. | ||
1 | Serpent Stab | ¼ | Slash across your foe, poisoning them. | ||
1 | Deadly Delivery | ¼ | Strike deeply into your foe, inflicting multiple conditions. | ||
2 | Double Arc | ¾ | 7 | Rip your blade through your foe twice, inflicting heavy bleeding. Your pet's next two strikes inflict poison. | |
3 | Instinctive Engage | ¾ | 12 | Leap forward and slash at your foe. Gain quickness if you successfully strike. |
Slot skills[edit]
Healing[edit]
Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Bear Stance | ¾ | 25 | Stance. Heal yourself and your pet. Lose conditions while in this stance, healing for each condition lost. |
Utility[edit]
Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Dolyak Stance | 25 | Stance. Enter a defensive stance and remove conditions that impede movement. Prevent application of such conditions while in this stance. | ||
Griffon Stance | 1 | 25 | Stance. Evade and gain endurance. Your endurance recovery is greatly improved. You gain might and superspeed when you evade attacks. | |
Moa Stance | 25 | Stance. Gain boons. Increase the duration of boons you grant while in this stance. | ||
Vulture Stance | 30 | Stance. While in this stance, striking a foe inflicts poison and grants you might. This effect can occur once per interval. |
Elite[edit]
Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
One Wolf Pack | ¼ | 60 | Stance. Your successful attacks will trigger a second strike while in this stance. This effect can occur once per interval. |
List of soulbeast traits[edit]
- See also: List of ranger traits
Tier | Trait | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Minor Proficiency | Dagger Proficiency | You can wield a dagger in your main hand. | |
Minor Adept | Elevated Bond | Gain access to Stances. Survival in the desert has enhanced your connection to your pet, granting you the ability to meld with them by entering beastmode. Traits that affect your pet may affect you differently while in beastmode. | |
Major Adept | Fresh Reinforcement | Entering beastmode grants you the boons affecting your pet. | |
Major Adept | Live Fast | Using a Beast ability grants you offensive boons. | |
Major Adept | Unstoppable Union | Entering beastmode grants boons and removes movement-impairing conditions. | |
Minor Master | Furious Strength | You deal increased strike damage while you have fury. | |
Major Master | Second Skin | Conditions inflict less damage to you while you have protection. | |
Major Master | Essence of Speed | 5 | Gaining quickness increases the duration of other boons affecting you. |
Major Master | Predator's Cunning | When you apply poison to a foe, steal some health from them. | |
Minor Grandmaster | Twice as Vicious | Disabling a foe increases your damage and condition damage for a short duration. | |
Major Grandmaster | Eternal Bond | Heal when you use a merged skill. You can swap pets while merged. | |
Major Grandmaster | Leader of the Pack | Stance skills gain increased duration on you and grant their effects to nearby allies for a reduced duration. | |
Major Grandmaster | Oppressive Superiority | Deal increased damage to foes at a lower health percentage than you. Conditions you apply to foes at a lower health percentage than you last longer. |
Pet Family[edit]
Each pet is categorized by family, defining the F1 and F2 Skills while in Beastmode.
Pet Archetypes[edit]
Soulbeasts categorize pets by archetypes. The pet archetype defines the bonuses a Soulbeast will get when using Beast Mode, as well as the Soulbeast Beast skill, which defaults to F3.
Lore[edit]
“The bond between a soulbeast and their pet is so strong that they can become one in spirit. By channeling their pet, they become a single entity, attacking with fanglike dagger strikes and using the abilities of their companion and its archetype.
— Official site
Associated items[edit]
- Superior Rune of the Soulbeast
- Soulbeast Pads
- Soulbeast's Dagger
- Fang of Mokèlé
- Mini Soulbeast Ebeleke Eze
Related achievements[edit]
- Specializations: Adept Soulbeast — Begin training the ranger's soulbeast elite specialization. (5)
- Specializations: Master Soulbeast — Completely train the ranger's soulbeast elite specialization. (10)
- Specialization Collections: Fang of Mokèlé — Collect these 14 items and skins to receive the soulbeast's dagger, Fang of Mokèlé. (3)
Gallery[edit]
- Promotional material
- Icons
Notes[edit]
- Soulbeast's Dagger auto-chain is the only auto-chain in the game currently with more than three skills.
- Using pet abilities while in Beastmode will not affect the pet's own ability cool-downs.
- The Soulbeast NPC Ebelek Eze can be found near the Lair of the Forgotten Waypoint in The Desolation.
- Skills that affect your pet will instead be applied to you if merged.
Trivia[edit]
- The Soulbeast required substantial new technical development, which made it difficult to implement. Specific challenges included the visuals of the pet disappearing and flowing into the Soulbeast, and the translation of pet skills onto the player character's animations and scaling.[1]
- The Soulbeast's utility skills are stances based on animals, much like some real life martial arts stances and forms.[2]
- The double striking mechanic of One Wolf Pack was originally designed for the Spellbreaker. The developers instead gave it to the Soulbeast as it seemed conceptually appropriate to strike twice while merged with a pet.[3]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ https://youtu.be/ZhBf1Q6gTnY?t=3963 Guild Chat Episode 51, Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire™ Elite Specializations (1:06:03)
- ^ https://youtu.be/ZhBf1Q6gTnY?t=4327 Guild Chat Episode 51, Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire™ Elite Specializations (1:12:08)
- ^ https://youtu.be/ZhBf1Q6gTnY?t=4428 Guild Chat Episode 51, Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire™ Elite Specializations (1:13:48)