Skills

If attributes and the distribution of attribute points sketches out your character in broad strokes, skills are where you apply the finely painted detail to your heroic creation. You can check out all of the skills your character currently knows by hitting the K key or going to the main menu and selecting Skills. You can equip up to 8 skills at once, creating a unique character "build" ready to handle most any situation. Most skills are linked to a particular attribute, and also carry a subtype such as Stance, Spell, Hex, or Shout.

Your hero can only equip skills or move those skills around on the tool bar when in a town. But when you're in town, your entire array of skills is available to choose from. The skill list is organized by the attribute the skills are attached to, so you can be sure to select skills that fit the hero's key abilities. If your Necromancer has all of his attribute points in Blood Magic and none in Curses, selecting a Curse skill is probably not the way to go (unless you use attribute refund points to adjust your attributes while you're at it).

Builds

You will hear the term "build" a great deal in relation to character building in Guild Wars, especially in relation to PvP play. Your character "build" refers to the specific assortment of skills and attributes that you have selected to take on a particular mission or quest. Many players tend to settle into a preferred build that they fall back on, while others like to adjust skills for every new enemy. The skills in a solid character build should work well together, and work well against the foes you expect to encounter. You should also take into account the other members of your group—it's a good idea to confer with the other players in your party so that there's a minimum of skill overlap. For example, if there are two Monks in the party, one may choose to set up as the healer for the group with skills linked to the Healing Prayers attribute, while the second acts as the party's protector, choosing a selection of skills tied to Protection Prayers.


Core Skills

Core Skills:  These Skills are available in all chapters of Guild Wars to the 6 core professions. The Core proffesions are the Elementalist, the Mesmer, the Monk, the Necromancer, the Ranger & the Warrior.

Elementalist Skills-Core	Mesmer Skills-Core	Monk Skills-Core	Necromancer Skills-Core
Ranger Skills-Core	Warrior Skills-Core	Common Skills

Prophecies Skills

Prophecies Skills:  These skills are only available in Guild Wars Prophecies.

Elementalist Skills-Prophecies	Mesmer Skills-Prophecies	Monk Skills-Prophecies
Necromancer Skills-Prophecies	Ranger Skills-Prophecies	Warrior Skills-Prophecies

Factions Skills

Factions Skills:  These Skills are only available in Guild Wars Factions.

Assassin Skills-Factions	Elementalist Skills-Factions	Mesmer Skills-Factions	Monk Skills-Factions
Necromancer Skills-Factions	Ranger Skills-Factions	Ritualist Skills-Factions	Warrior Skills-Factions

Nightfall Skills

Nightfall Skills:  These Skills are only available in Guild Wars Nightfall.

Assassin Skills-Nightfall	Dervish Skills-Nightfall	Nightfall Elementalist Skills	Mesmer Skills-Nightfall	Monk Skills-Nightfall
Necromancer Skills-Nightfall	Paragon Skills-Nightfall	Ranger Skills-Nightfall	Ritualist Skills-Nightfall	Warrior Skills-Nightfall