Special action skill

Special action skills are additional skills which can appear above the skill bar during certain encounters and events. By default, they are bound to the N key.

List of special action skills

Open world

Central Tyria

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Return to Sender	0.75¾	1		All Legendary Bandit Executioner locations, as well as White Mantle locations.	Gained after using Counter Magic before being struck by Sword of Vengeance, a skill used by Legendary Bandit Executioner and several White Mantle foes.
Sensor Tracking		10	Activate the guidance enchantment to indicate the direction and proximity of magical sensors.	Bloodtide Coast, Frostgorge Sound, Lornar's Pass, Snowden Drifts, Southsun Cove	Gained after talking to the Elemental Sprite.

Heart of Maguuma

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Return to Checkpoint				Abaddon's Ascent	Upon reaching a checkpoint in the jumping puzzle.
Return to Checkpoint		5	Teleport back to the last checkpoint you reached.	Searing Ascent	Upon reaching a checkpoint in the jumping puzzle.
Scan		6	Use the technomagic detector to locate nearby Zinn's stashes.	Draconis Mons	Using an Ancient Asuran Power Source.
Counter Magic		1	Counter certain magical attacks, and remove any lingering effects.	Bloodstone Fen	Gained during fights with some enemies in Bloodstone Fen after the Counter Magic mastery is trained.

Ruins of Orr

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Dirge of Balthazar	3	0	Applies Turning the Tide to all creatures in the area of effect. Enemies affected by the following:   Incoming damage increased,   Constant burning damage,   Burning damage increased while moving. Allies affected by the following:   Increased crit chance,   Increased endurance regeneration,   Incoming damage lowered.	Siren's Landing	Acquired randomly when interacting with a Chancel of Echoes.
Dirge of Dwayna	3	0	Applies Preservation of Life to all allies in the area of effect. Fallen allies are revived. All allies will auto-revive the next time they fall. There is a modest countdown before the auto-revive kicks in. If you are revived by other means before the countdown finishes, the effect is not expended.	Siren's Landing	Acquired randomly when interacting with a Chancel of Echoes.
Dirge of Grenth	3	0	Applies Breath of the Mist to all creatures in the area of effect. Enemies affected by the following:   Skills and actions take longer to complete   Movement is slowed,   Skills take longer to recharge. Allies affected by the following:   Skills and actions complete more quickly,   Movement speed is increased,   Incoming critical hits trigger protection.	Siren's Landing	Acquired randomly when interacting with a Chancel of Echoes.
Dirge of Lyssa	3	0	Applies Own Worst Enemy to all creatures in the area of effect. Enemies suffer from a 50% chance to fumble all attacks while under the effect. Affected allies split incoming damage 50/50 with whatever attacked them while under effects of Own Worst Enemy. If the attacker is also affected by Your Own Worst Enemy, 100% of the damage is reflected back to the attacker and the player takes no damage from that attack.	Siren's Landing	Acquired randomly when interacting with a Chancel of Echoes.
Dirge of Melandru	3	0	Applies Wild Growth to all creatures in the area of effect. Attacks made against enhanced allies trigger Retaliation and Bleeding. As the performer of this dirge, you also benefit from a summoned mushroom spike thrower that will fight for you.	Siren's Landing	Acquired randomly when interacting with a Chancel of Echoes.

Crystal Desert

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Threaten		10	Threaten the Zaishen zealot.	Crystal Oasis	Move within range of a Zaishen Zealot at the Give aid to the refugees at Marifa Camp heart.
Smell Danger		2	Use your mount's sense of smell to locate nearby hidden enemies.	Elon Riverlands	Available during Use your mount to sniff out and defeat burrowed devourers event.
Lasso		5	Lasso the target to bring it to a screeching stop (some enemies may require multiple lassos to bring down).	Elon Riverlands	Move within range of a Veteran Skritt Runner.
Tether		7	Tether the target, forcing them to move toward Agent Maziz for capture.	The Desolation	Weaken an Annealed Abomination during the Weaken Annealed Abominations, and use Tether to bring them to Maziz event.
Fan	10.5½		Fan the air in front of you to clear out the clouds of perfume.	Domain of Vabbi	Move within range of a Perfume cloud.
Warp		3	Warp back to the last grounded checkpoint you reached.	Domain of Vabbi	Move off the path of the race.
Equip Brandstone Multitool			Use to equip the Brandstone Multitool.	Domain of Istan	Using Brandstone Multitool while on foot.
Locate Impact Site	0.25¼	3	Points toward Brandstone impact sites in the Domain of Istan.	Domain of Istan	Using Brandstone Multitool while mounted.
Geyser Boost		3	Surge upward on a jet of water. Can only be used while hovering above water.	Sandswept Isles	Available during the race at Northern Complex Coves.
Gravimetric Tunneling Field Oscillator	1	60	Teleports you to the field tech turret that granted you this ability. Note: Passing by another gravimetric tunneling field oscillator will replace this skill with their own version.	Domain of Kourna	Getting close to a [FTT] Gravimetric Tunneling Field Oscillator.
Blazing Spear	0.5½	15	Throw a flaming spear at a foe, applying burning to foes near your target. Highly effective against Riftstalkers.	Jahai Bluffs	Walk over the griffon roost at Almorra's Stand during Destroy the Death-Branded Shatterer event while mounted.
Detect Corrupted Sand	1	5	Use the compass to find corrupted sand in the desert. A blue ping indicates a distant source. A yellow ping indicates a nearby source. A red ping indicates a source very close by.	Jahai Bluffs	Sand Compass.
Ping PJKT D33-J4Y			Use the device to establish a wireless connection with D33-J4Y and choose songs to play in Sun's Refuge.	Sun's Refuge	Talk to Pact Archaeologist Barapp.

Shiverpeak Mountains

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Oil Reclamation Pump	10.75¾	5	Vacuums oil. Empty at the station where the pump was found.	Thunderhead Peaks	Acquire a pump during Use oil reclamation pumps to clean up the spills! event.
Equip Priory Scan Gun		3	Equip your Priory scan gun to search local dig sites for sturdy and fragile artifacts.	Thunderhead Peaks	Interacting with Priory Scan Guns at Help the Priory with their excavations.
Place Dragonsblood Shrapnel Mine		0.5	Place one of Canach's new Dragonsblood shrapnel mines, which explode when hostiles approach.	Thunderhead Peaks	Interacting with Crate of Mines during Repair defenses and place mines! at Thunderhead Keep.
Can't Rally Group	2	3	Lacking the charisma needed to rally this many people.	Thunderhead Peaks	Granted when near a group of discouraged soldiers at The Grotto without a full bar of charisma.
Inspire	0.25¼	3	Hearten a discouraged soldier.	Thunderhead Peaks	Granted when near discouraged soldiers at The Grotto.
Rally Group	1	3	Use charisma to rally a group of soldiers.	Thunderhead Peaks	Granted when near a group of discouraged soldiers at The Grotto with a full bar of charisma.
Dragonsblood Spear	0.5½	0.5	Hurl the dragonsblood spear at your target, piercing all enemies along its path. Branded targets take increased damage and are aflicted with bleeding and vulnerability.	Thunderhead Peaks	Interacting with Dragonsblood Spear caches during Defeat the Wrathbringer at Thunderhead Keep.

Ascalon

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Hands in the Air	0.75¾		"Come on, get pumped!"	Grothmar Valley	Granted to players during Pump up the crowd!.

Far Shiverpeaks

Primary articles: Essence manipulation, United Legions Waystation Synchronization

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Spirit Nova	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and launches lesser creatures.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Resilience Tier 1 and are fighting powerful Aberrant creatures.
Spirit Nova	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and launches lesser creatures.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Resilience Tier 2 and are fighting powerful Aberrant creatures.
Spirit Nova	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and launches lesser creatures.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Resilience Tier 3 and are fighting powerful Aberrant creatures.
Spirit Nova	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and launches lesser creatures. If used on a creature with the Essence of Valor, the strike will bounce to nearby foes.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Resilience Tier 4 and are fighting powerful Aberrant creatures.
Night Terror	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and pulls lesser creatures into its destruction.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Valor Tier 1 and are fighting powerful Sons of Svanir enemies.
Night Terror	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and pulls lesser creatures into its destruction.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Valor Tier 2 and are fighting powerful Sons of Svanir enemies.
Night Terror	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and pulls lesser creatures into its destruction.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Valor Tier 3 and are fighting powerful Sons of Svanir enemies.
Night Terror	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and pulls lesser creatures into its destruction. If used on a creature with the Essence of Vigilance, the strike will bounce to nearby foes.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Valor Tier 4 and are fighting powerful Sons of Svanir enemies.
Shattered Psyche	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and floats lesser creatures in the air.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Vigilance Tier 1 and are fighting powerful Fallen enemies.
Shattered Psyche	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and floats lesser creatures in the air.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Vigilance Tier 2 and are fighting powerful Fallen enemies.
Shattered Psyche	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and floats lesser creatures in the air.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Vigilance Tier 3 and are fighting powerful Fallen enemies.
Shattered Psyche	1	1	A powerful blast that deals immense damage and floats lesser creatures in the air. If used on a creature with the Essence of Resilience, the strike will bounce to nearby foes.	Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast	Will only show up while you have Power of Vigilance Tier 4 and are fighting powerful Fallen enemies.
Electromagical Pulse	1	12	Stun and damage enemies within a medium radius. Slow enemies within a large radius. Deal bonus defiance bar damage.	Drizzlewood Coast	Granted after selecting the according dialog option from United Legions Waystation.
Remote Charge	0.5½	8	Throw a charge at your target area. The charge can be manually detonated remotely, or it will explode after duration ends.	Drizzlewood Coast	Granted after selecting the according dialog option from United Legions Waystation.
Rocket Jump/Parachute	0.5½	30	Fires a rocket at the ground that launches the player into the air. If you're already in the air, it'll activate the parachute instead.	Drizzlewood Coast	Granted after selecting the according dialog option from United Legions Waystation.
Electromagical Pulse 2.0	1	12	Stun and damage enemies within a medium radius. Slow enemies within a large radius. Deal bonus defiance bar damage.	Drizzlewood Coast	Granted after selecting the according dialog option from United Legions Waystation after unlocking the United Legions Waystation Mastery mastery.
Remote Charge 2.0	0.5½	5	Throw a charge at your target area. The charge can be manually detonated remotely, or it will explode after duration ends. When detonated, it will cause additional explosions in the area.	Drizzlewood Coast	Granted after selecting the according dialog option from United Legions Waystation after unlocking the United Legions Waystation Mastery mastery.
Rocket Jump/Parachute 2.0	0.5½	30	Fires a rocket at the ground that launches the player into the air. If you're already in the air, it'll activate the parachute instead.	Drizzlewood Coast	Granted after selecting the according dialog option from United Legions Waystation after unlocking the United Legions Waystation Mastery mastery.

Story

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Minor Breakthrough	10.25¼		Release your built-up guilt and damage the manifestation of self-doubt!	Shining Blade Secrets	Speak to one of the ghosts during the Manifestation of Self-Doubt encounter.
Communicator Ping	1	5	Use your communicator to detect the direction and proximity of other communication signals. A blue ping response indicates the signal is far away. A yellow ping response indicates the signal is nearby. A red ping response indicates the signal is very close.	A Meeting of Ministers	Gained after the fixing the gate golem and talking to Taimi.
Coordinated Attack		1.25	Successfully performing a coordinated, well-timed attack with Aurene will stun the creature and give Aurene an opening to break through the creature's defenses. This must be timed correctly with Aurene. Otherwise, you run the risk of Aurene missing her attack window.	Precocious Aurene	Gained when standing in the white circle during the battle against the Mordrem Leyleecher.
Triage	1		Help gravely wounded Shining Blade agents get back on their feet.	Shining Blade Secrets	Available during the Henge of Denravi re-enactment.
"Cheer!"	40.5½	30	Skills recharge faster.	Shining Blade Secrets	Available to spectators during the Manifestation of Self-Doubt fight.
Spectral Smite		0.75	While infused with Lazarus's power, harness it to smite your foes.	Dragon Vigil	Gained after throwing a destroyer's pustule bomb at the Veteran Destroyer of Hope.
Scan	0.5½	2	A portable scanner.	Heart of the Volcano (story)	Given by Taimi.
Release Energy	0.75¾	0.5	Release the volatile ley energy at the target, stripping away volatile plating. If the target does not have volatile plating, this skill will apply vulnerability and refund its cost.	A Kindness Repaid	Picking up Volatile Ley Energy.
Unsheathe Sohothin		1.5	Unsheathe the mighty Sohothin.	Beast of War	Granted upon trying to drop Sohothin.
Legendary Prisoner Stance			Invoke the power of the legendary prisoner Palawa Joko.	The Hero of Istan	Given to Revenants.
Unchained Desolation	2	5	Unleash enough raw fury to sunder steel.	The Hero of Istan	Gain by using the   Legendary Prisoner Stance action skill.
Touch of the Sun	0.5½		Hurl an energy ball to damage Lonai and destroy her shades.	The Charge	Gain by picking up a Solar Core.
Equip Tassi Box			Equip Marjory's Tassi box to investigate the crime scene.	Hard Boiled, No More Secrets	Unequip the Tassi box.

Fractals of the Mists

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Enhanced Reflexes		1	Blessed by the almighty Joko, you leap higher, take reduced fall damage, move quicker, break stuns, and evade attacks.	Twilight Oasis Fractal	Gained after getting awakened by Joko.
Equip Survey Gear		1	Equip your Survey Gear, granting access to a Parachute, Grappling Hook, and Black Powder Charges. These skills consume ammunition, which can be salvaged from abandoned supplies. The Survey Gear can also generate flares to illuminate dark areas, which does not consume ammunition. Dropping your Survey Gear re-enables this special action skill.	Silent Surf Fractal	Gained after interacting with Leftover Supplies.
Flickering Flame	0.5½		There is just enough heat to light a single fire with this torch.	Chaos Fractal	Gained at the start of the blizzard section.
Hex Shield		32	Protect a platform from disappearing.	Thaumanova Reactor Fractal	Gained during the fight against the Thaumanova Anomaly.
Hypernova Launch		8	Launch yourself to a point using cosmic energy. Shakes the earth when you land, and prevents damage from attacks.	Shattered Observatory Fractal	Gained after the encounter with Viirastra.
Ignite	0.5½		Use a torch to ignite your target.	Snowblind Fractal	Gained at the start.
Light of Deldrimor		7	Reveals hidden objects, protects tiles, slows, and applies Light Vulnerability to corrupted foes.	Deepstone Fractal	Gained by charging the Vibrant Crystal with orbs.
Nova Dash		0.5	Dash through the air.	Mistlock Sanctuary	Gained after successfully completing the bouncing marble minigame and then interacting with the marble.
Nova Launch		9	Launch yourself to a point using cosmic energy. Prevents damage from attacks.	Shattered Observatory Fractal	Gained after travelling through the first rift.
Nova Launch		0.5	Launch yourself to a point using cosmic energy. Prevents damage from attacks.	Mistlock Sanctuary	Enter the instance.

Raids

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Expel Energy			By focusing intently, unleash the build-up energy from Arcing Affliction.	Hall of Chains	Gained during the fight with Dhuum.
Issue Challenge		45	Challenge the Soulless Horror, causing her to focus her attacks on you.	Hall of Chains	Granted by interacting with one of two runes at the Besieged Ruins.
Reclaimed Energy	0.5½	1	Hurl harvested energy at a tile to empower it.	Hall of Chains	Gained during the fight with Eater of Souls.
Celestial Dash	10.25¼	5	Dash at the speed of a shooting star to your target location. Source: prison waters	Bastion of the Penitent	Gained after walking through the Mystic Waters.
Claim		8	Claim a tile for your team.	Bastion of the Penitent	During the fight against the Mursaat Overseer.
Dispel		18	Dispel the protective shield surrounding an enemy game piece.	Bastion of the Penitent	Gained during fight against Mursaat Overseer.
Over Here!		3	Call your ally to your location.	Stronghold of the Faithful	Gained during the Siege the Stronghold encounter.
Intervention		15	Harness the excess ambient magic to create a dome that protects against Xera's deadliest attack.	Stronghold of the Faithful	Gained during the fight with Xera.
Protect		180	Create a protective dome that nullifies all incoming damage for a short time.	Bastion of the Penitent	Gained during the fight with Mursaat Overseer.
Purge			Purge Slothasor's volatile poison, leaving a damaging pool behind.	Salvation Pass	Caused by Slothasor.
Purge			Fight against the corrupted blood magic and purge it from your soul.	Salvation Pass	Caused by Matthias Gabrel.
Sapper Bomb	0.5½		Throws the sapper bomb in your hand. Explosion damages allies and enemies.	Spirit Vale	Caused by Bandit Sappers while fighting Sabetha the Saboteur.
Conjured Protection	1	1	Invoke the power of Conjured Shield to protect yourself and your allies.	Mythwright Gambit	Gained by collecting shield orbs from Conjured Shields or Conjured Amalgamate.
Conjured Slash	0.75¾	3	Invoke the power of Conjured Greatsword and strike down the target. Deals increased damage and applies a stack of Fractured for each stack of Conjured Greatsword power. Destroys 1 stack of Conjured Barrier.	Mythwright Gambit	Gained by collecting greatsword orbs from Conjured Greatswords or Conjured Amalgamate.
Drop				Mythwright Gambit	Gained upon leaving Qadim's Menagerie.
Flash Discharge		3	To discharge the electrical buildup from violent currents, zip to a targeted location. Damage and stuns foes at the target point. Obtained by reaching 5 stacks of Violent Currents.	The Key of Ahdashim	Reaching 5 stacks of Violent Currents.
Flux Disruptor: Activate		1	Activate the flux disruptor near an energy source to harness its power. Use with caution.	The Key of Ahdashim	Gained during the fight against Qadim the Peerless.
Flux Disruptor: Deactivate		1	Deactivate the flux disruptor to detach from energy sources.	The Key of Ahdashim	Gained after activating the flux disruptor.

Strike Mission

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Artillery Strike			Call in volley from Smodur's guns, dealing damage and knocking down targets in a large area.	Strike Mission: Cold War	Gained after destroying enough Dominion Bombers.
Health Tonic	1	0.5	Toss one of Nicabar's health tonics, granting health, magic find, and increased outgoing damage to allies in the targeted area.	Forging Steel	Granted by picking up a Health Tonic (object) inside the strike mission.
Snowball		0.5	Throw a snowball to spread Wintersday cheer and heal snowmen.	Secret Lair of the Snowmen	Granted by interacting with Endless Snowpiles and Snowball Piles in the strike mission.

Player versus Player

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Rally the Crowd			Shout to the crowd to gain their favor and gain an effect that gives your team +50 to all stats.	Eternal Coliseum	Gained after reaching 7 stacks of Coliseum Prestige.
Giant Meteor	1	30	Summons a giant icy meteor at the target location.	Djinn's Dominion	Gained after capturing Yasmi's Favor.
Disenchantment Field	1	30	Drops a field that removes all boons and all conditions from anyone within the field.	Djinn's Dominion	Gained after capturing Yasmi's Favor.
Waxing Doom	10.25¼	30	Launches a missile at your target, applying Corrupted Essence.	Djinn's Dominion	Gained after capturing Yasmi's Favor.

Other

Skill			Description	Location	Requirement
Feline Communication		5	Communicate with this cat in a way you don't quite understand.	Anywhere with a Feline Familiar	Gained by walking up to a Feline Familiar.
Equip Mist-Step Travel Skills		0.5	Step through the Mists to travel quickly to merchants in Armistice Bastion, or teleport to major cities in Tyria.	Armistice Bastion	Access to Armistice Bastion via Armistice Bastion Pass or Armistice Bastion Pass (2 weeks).
Lasso		5	Throw out a lasso to stop the rampaging creature.	Crystal Oasis, Thunderhead Peaks	Move within range while the enemy is fleeing.
Mushroom King's Blessing		5	The power of adrenal mushrooms instantly refreshes your skills.	Special Forces Training Area	Entering the area.
Use Soul Binder		2	Attach a tether to floating Branded rocks or fast-moving creatures.	Dragonfall	Be within range.
Release		2	Release your chained rock.	Dragonfall	Be within range.
Mortar Shot		5	Command your turtle to fire a long-range mortar shot that removes shields from void creatures and Jade Brotherhood mechs.	Dragon's End	Have a borrowed Juvenile Siege Turtle (NPC).

Trivia

• The special action skill was released on November 17, 2015 alongside the Spirit Vale raid.
• The first special action skill was Sapper Bomb in the Sabetha raid encounter.
  • During development, sapper bombs replaced a player's 1-5 skill and were often accidentally thrown away during combat.
• Prior to the August 2, 2022 Game Update, the default key was -.

References

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Skill types and profession mechanics