Range

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Range is a property of many skills that defines the distance at which a skill can successfully connect to its target. It can be either distance between the user of a targeted skill or auto attack and the target; or size of an area of effect: the distance between the center and the border of the area.

Range is used by most skills. Targeted skills require your target to be within a certain range of your character to be initiated. Skills without a specified targeting range are assumed to be projectile range for ranged attacks, melee range for melee attacks, or take effect at the user's position for spells.

The Churrhir Fields training area illustrates the size of the adjacent, nearby, and in the area ranges.
The Isle of the Nameless training area illustrates different bow ranges.

Gwinches[edit]

In-game units of distance are internally measured in inches [citation needed], known to some players as "gwinches" (short for "Guild Wars inches") [citation needed]. The only skill that makes direct reference to a system of measurement is Scorpion Wire.

Touch range and melee range [edit]

  • At 144 gwinches, this is the shortest unit of distance used in the game.
    • It includes the smallest possible distance between any two creatures or objects up to the farthest distance at which a touch or melee attack can be successfully initiated.
    • Both melee attacks and touch skills require the user to be right next to their target.
  • This is the targeting distance for touch and melee skills; it is the AoE range called adjacent to target.

Earshot range [edit]

Casting range [edit]

  • Casting range for most targeted skills is 1248 gwinches, just over 1.2 times the size of the Danger Zone.
  • It is the default range for most skills, including generic skills, spells, signets, echoes, and targeted shouts.
  • It is also the range of all caster weapons (i.e. staffs and wands).
  • Some skills used outside this range will not activate (and show a warning message instead):
    • Characters attempting to use shouts outside the range will not attempt to close the distance (as they might with other skills).
    • Corpse-exploitation skills will not activate unless there is an exploitable corpse within spell range.

Projectile range [edit]

  • Projectile range is a targeting range that depends on the weapon used and is affected by height: the range increases when the target is below the attacker and decreases when it is above. This allows elevated targets to attack without retaliation.
  • Staffs, Wands, and projectile spells use spell range instead; they are not affected by height.
  • Certain creatures have weapons that have a larger-than-normal range, e.g. Siege Turtles and Urgoz.

Half range[edit]

  • Half-ranged skills (e.g. Caltrops) require being 50% closer to the target compared to similar skills; any AoE effects operate at the indicated distance.
    • For skills, signets and spells, this means half of spell range, i.e. 0.6 times the radius of the danger zone.
    • For ranged attack skills, this means half projectile range, which still depends on the range of the weapon used, and is still affected by height.

Spirit range [edit]

  • Spirit range commonly refers to the size of the area of effect covered by passive spirit effects.
    • At 2512 gwinches, it is roughly 2.5 times the size of the Danger Zone, about twice casting range.
    • Binding Ritual descriptions usually refer to this distance as "within range" or "in range".
  • A few monster skills such as the Siege Turtle Attack or the Kournan Siege have spirit range.
  • Soul Reaping gathers energy from deaths within slightly less than spirit range, 2508 gwinches.
  • Spirit monster skills do not use spirit range - instead, they have the same range as flat- or longbows, 1.5 times the radius of the Danger Zone on flat ground. Like other projectile attacks, they are affected by height.

Compass and party range [edit]

These also usually refer to areas of effect instead targeting ranges, their size is 5020 gwinches, slightly larger than the area shown on the compass.

  • This distance is also the visual range for creatures, bundles and objects; outside this range, they fade from sight and cannot be selected.
  • Party range applies to players within compass range. It is used by skills that affect the whole party without specifying a range (e.g.: Heal Party).
  • Maintained enchantments will be automatically dropped if the target ends up beyond this range. There is a grace period of 5 seconds - if the target is back in range after 5 seconds, the enchantment will not be dropped.
    • Recall is an exception: although the enchantment appears on the caster rather than the target, it still ends when going out of range, and the grace period is only 1 second.
  • Reclaim Essence and Summon Spirits affect all spirits within this distance; Comfort Animal and Heal as One heal/resurrect your pet if it is in this range; they are the only player skills that use this range without affecting party members.

Skills without a range [edit]

Untargeted skills can be activated without selecting (or auto-selecting) a target; in effect, they have no targeting range. Examples of this include most chants/shouts, all ward spells, and all flash enchantments.

Notes[edit]

  • If the target is out of range when activating a skill, your character will path toward the target (rather than the closest location where the target would be in range), stopping to activate it shortly after entering range. Manually moving in range will give better results when trying to pull enemies and avoid over-aggro or aggroing before using your first skill.
  • Skills with the same mentioned range may vary minutely in the actual activation distance.

See also[edit]