Guild Wars 2 Goes Commando! (AFD #2)

Y'know, every time I'm playing a fantasy-based MMO, I find myself saying to myself, "Self, you know what would make this game even better?"  To wit the voice in my head says "Dude, you're talking to yourself again." and I respond, "No, that's not it.  What this game needs is more military grade artillery!!"

Well, apparently the guys and gals over at ArenaNet and NCsoft have been reading my mind through the tinfoil hat I made and answered my request, as they've announced today that their hotly anticipated MMO, Guild Wars 2, has bolstered its ranks with the inclusion of a brand new profession ... the Commando!!

Read on and check out the highly classified (and totally true) intel for yourself, along with the announcement trailer of the new profession:

Reporting from the front lines of Tyria, NCsoft and ArenaNet are cleared to release top-secret intel on the latest Guild Wars 2 profession. Trained to be a hardened soldier that is no stranger to the fog of war, the Commando is the first and last line of defense both on and off the battlefield. With a gung-ho attitude tempered by nerves of steel, the Commando is certainly a delta force to be reckoned with. As war in Tyria evolves, its professions evolve along with it as the Commando brings a vast technological advantage to the battle.

The Commando has a full spectrum of elite skills to rely on:

• Grenades — Sometimes you need to kill a whole lot of tangos—fast. Grenades enable the commando to perform area-of-effect attacks with a variety of devastating results. From flashbangs that blind enemies to shrapnel bombs that apply bleeding, the commando has a grenade for every occasion.
• Vehicles — Vehicle skills act as the commando’s utility skills. A commando can opt for an armored personnel carrier (APC), a tank, jeep or motorcycle for land travel, a helicopter for air travel, or a submarine for undersea travel. Each vehicle gives the commando three utility skills, ranging from depth charges on the submarine to flamethrowers on the APC.
• Force Multipliers — Commandos are one-man armies, but they don’t have to fight alone. Force multiplier skills let the commando call in helicopter gunships to take out a boss, rain death from above with Predator air strikes, or even request a danger close offshore naval bombardment.

The Commando leaves no man behind, as the APC, tank, jeep and helicopter can also carry allied passengers. Not only will this increase the team’s firepower, but passengers will acquire new skills based on their profession and position in the vehicle.

More so than any profession, the Commando has a mastery of weapons to go along with a wide range of lethal skills. Whether up close and personal or sniping tangos from afar, the Commando lives by one motto, “If it bleeds, I can kill it.”

So ... what's a good announcement without some equally good announcement videos? Here's just a couple of 'em, courtesy of the Guild Wars 2 Commando page.

First up?  The Flashbang skill:


Next? Call in an Aerial Strike.:


[Ed. Note - Y'know something? Now I really DO want more military action in my fantasy games.]