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{{otheruses|the character role of supporting other characters|official ArenaNet support|Support panel|Guild Wars 2 Support Team}}
{{Quotation|[https://web.archive.org/web/20120112042616/https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/combat/healing-death// GuildWars2.com, Healing and Death (archived)]|
Don't belittle the SUPPORT role by calling it heal. Healing is the least dynamic kind of support there is. It is reactive instead of proactive. Healing is for when you are already losing. In Guild Wars 2 we prefer that you support your allies before they take a beating.}}

[[Support]] is one of the three main elements of the combat system, the others being [[damage]] and [[control]]. It consists of providing increased effectiveness and survivability in combat via additional [[healing]], [[boon]]s, defensive actions like [[block]]ing or [[stealth|cloaking]] as well as [[combo]]s. Supporting is a way for players to work together to accomplish a shared goal.

Support varies from proactive to reactive – granting a boon proactively will greatly help you and your allies prevail in combat by reducing damage received or increasing damage done to the enemy, while recovering health via healing or [[regeneration]] is mostly reactive. Support also includes [[revival|reviving]] of [[downed]] or [[defeated]] allies.

== Types of support ==
===Healing===
:''Main article: [[Healing]]''
The simplest form of support. Unlike other forms of support it is reactive, a power used to restore health after it has been lost. Skills which provide healing to allies make up a small portion of the support skills in the game, and a character's self-[[healing skill]] is usually more effective. However, support healing is very valuable to counter pressure damage from [[condition]]s and similar damage-over-time effects. Many support healing skills serve multiple purposes; for example, the [[elementalist]] skill [[Cone of Cold]] not only heals allies, but also damages enemies. Many staple forms of support healing are those provided by [[trait]]s, such as the [[warrior]] trait [[Vigorous Shouts]] which heals allies affected by their [[shout]]s, and the [[guardian]] trait [[Battle Presence]] which grants passive healing from the guardian's [[Virtue of Resolve]] to nearby allies.

[[Revival]] is also a manner of healing, and can be enhanced by the use of specific [[trait]]s to make your character more effective at reviving. Some skills also revive [[downed]] allies or [[NPC]]s (but not [[defeated]] players).

===Conditions===
:''Main article: [[Condition]]''
The removal of conditions from self and allies is an extremely valuable form of support, as many conditions can severely hinder combat effectiveness. This is especially true in high end [[PvE]], [[dungeon]]s, [[PvP]], and anywhere else where use of conditions is frequent, focused or particularly harmful to your playstyle. All professions can remove conditions in different ways. For example: [[elementalist]]s can remove conditions from a large number of allies at once, while [[necromancer]]s can allow allies to transfer their conditions back to enemies.

Managing and using different conditions ties support close together with the other aspect of combat, [[control]]. Since most conditions act as counterparts to boons, applying a condition on an enemy can have the same result as providing a boon to an ally. For example, [[crippled]] and [[swiftness]] directly oppose each other, and while the method and purpose of applying them differ greatly, either can be used to allow an ally to escape damage dealt by an enemy.

=== Boons ===
:''Main article: [[Boon]]''
Boons (also referred to as buffs) are positive effects that can be applied to allies. They can be used to improve damage, armor, speed and other abilities, acting as a positive counterpart to [[condition]]s. Boons are one of the most proactive form of support available. There are eleven different boons in total, ranging from offensive to defensive or serving multiple purposes; examples of different boons include [[vigor]] to allow more frequent [[dodge|dodging]], [[might]] to increase damage dealt by attacks and conditions, and [[swiftness]] to either catch up or escape enemies.

Like with removing conditions from allies, boon removal is also an important task in areas where enemies make frequent use of boons, particularly in [[PvP]], to reduce their effectiveness in combat. Necromancers and [[mesmer]]s excel in removal of boons from the enemy while warriors and elementalists have virtually no means to do so.

=== Traits ===
:''Main article: [[Trait]]''
Some traits can be considered to especially benefit support roles. Good examples of these include traits which grant boons to many allies or traits which grant benefits when reviving. However, playing support role does not mean one must carry a trait with direct or indirect effects on allies; making use of traits which will hinder enemies in any way will aid your allies all the same.

=== Skill combinations ===
:''Main article: [[Combo]]''
Skill combinations are often likened to be part of support role. They can range from simple augmentation of attacks like causing [[burning]] by launching a [[projectile]] attack through [[Fire Field]] to more specific tactics like granting [[Area of effect|area]] [[stealth]] to allies or mass removal of conditions with [[Light Field|Light]] [[Whirl Finisher|Whirl]].

[[Category:Game mechanics]]

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Support - Revision history

imported>Sunlion at 05:56, 26 July 2025