The warrior in Guild Wars 2 "is a master of weapons who relies on speed, strength, toughness, and heavy armor to survive in battle. A warrior can shrug off blow after blow to stay in the fight, all the while building up adrenaline to fuel his offense." This role is a familiar one to Guild Wars fans, but the skills, battle, and combat animations have received a heavy upgrade, just as with the elementalist.

The description of the warrior as a master of weapons is accurate, as the warrior has an extensive list of weapons to choose from. Nine different weapons and offhands are available from the standard swords, axes, and hammers to newer items such as rifles and warhorns. The available items give 19 different combinations, making for an extremely versatile frontliner. Each weapon, as we already know, comes with its own special set of skills, attributes, and traits. We''ll look more at traits in a moment, but the skill sets for the warrior are composed of some familiar elements that have been made even bigger and better, per the usual for ArenaNet.

Banners, for example, are reminiscent of the current set of Ebon Battle Standards. They''re even handier to have than the Ebon skills, as they can be picked up and moved around as needed -- which should prove very helpful as the battle moves around. The use of adrenaline skills will remain, but they are a bit more versatile. You''ll still gain a strike of adrenaline with every hit you deliver, but rather than waiting to gain "x" amount of adrenaline to unlock a skill on your bar, you''ll have a choice. There are three different levels of adrenaline that make your attacks increasingly powerful as well as a "burst skill" that uses all adrenaline in a similar fashion as current skills such as Wild Blow. Burst skills are more powerful with more adrenaline as well.

Shouts, stances, and skill-chaining are all well-known battle concepts that will carry over into Guild Wars 2, along with interesting new charge skills: "Some skills can be held down to power them up for more impressive attacks. A warrior with a mace can wind up the powerful skill Obliterate and release it at four different power levels to do increasing amounts of damage."