Can any profession use any weapon?

Im hsvent got the game yet but i will soon and i have been trying to plan out what im going to be but can some one clarify some things for me?

1. the main one is can any profesion use any weapon like do i need to be a warrior to use a sword or can be a mesmer and still be able to use one

2. can some one explain atributes to me? i mean do you start off with them all,or do you pick and if im a mesmer/ranger dose that mean i get all of the mesmers atributes and only some of the rangers?

thanks very much and i cant wait to play the game

any profession any weapon but at the base stats if not something you specialize in

Yes..for example, a ranger/monk could use a sword, not effectively but they could.

However,later in the game, swords will begin to have requirements. Even if you do not meet these, you can wield it but the damage they deal will be lowered considerably until you do.

For every 250 experience you gain you will recieve a refund point. This can be used to remove a point from any attribute and add it to another.

Every class has a primary attribute and then a few secondary.

If you chose to play a monk/ranger you would have access to the monk primary attribute as well as the secondary of both classes.

But you would not be able to use the primary ranger skill unless you chose ranger/monk.

...If that makes sense.


I know my opinion will be a little biased, this being a fansite and all..but it is definitely worth buying.

The simple answer is yes, any weapon can be used by any character.

However, almost all weapons are intended for specific use.
Primary OR secondary warriors will want to use a sword, axe, or hammer (they have attributes making these weapon types more powerful)
Primary OR secondary rangers will want to use bows (many of their skills can't be used without a bow equipped).
If you are neither warrior nor ranger, you will be a caster and will use a wand and a focus item, or a staff (staves aren't very good though, but more customizable and useful for certain special situations)

In the case of a player being a warrior AND a ranger... they are likely to use the warriors weapon skills and only use ranger skills that are support-type skills and don't require a bow, or they will use bows for their ranger skills and use only the "Tactics" skills of warrior.

1) Yes. However, if, lets say, a Ranger/Mesmer tries to use a Sword with a Sword Mastery requirement of 9, and you have 0 (because Sword Mastery is a Warrior's attribute, neither Ranger nor Mesmer), then that swordw ill do aweful damage - worse than it's minimum stats, I believe. Always make sure you meet the requirement for a weapon, or it's not worth it to use it.
With a Ranger/Mesmer, you will want to specialize in Bows and only Bows.

2) You start out with no attribute points. For every level you gain between level 1 and level 9, you get +5 attribute points. For every level you gain between level 10 and level 20, you get 10 attribute points. In the end, you end up with a total of 200. (except that you have to do a couple quests to get your last 30)

Placing attribute points and "buying" levels in an attribute increases the effectiveness of every single skill tied to that attribute. For instance, increasing your Marksmanship attribute will make the skill Penetrating Attack add more damage.

Some attributes have passive effects. Like Strength, which adds armour penetration to every skill attack, Energy Storage, which increases your maximum energy, and Expertise, which reduces the cost for skills (note: not spells)

You can get your attribute points back to spend them elsewhere by using your Refund Points.

Each attribute level in any attribute costs more with each level you raise it. So going from 0 to 1 would cost 1, going from 1 to 2 would cost 2, and so on.