Currently there are ten different professions in Guild Wars: Warrior, Ranger, Monk, Elementalist, Necromancer, Mesmer, Assassin, Ritualist, Paragon, and Dervish. The Assassin and Ritualist professions are only available in Guild Wars Factions. The Paragon and Dervish professions are only available in Guild Wars Nightfall. Every character is able to learn two professions.
Note: Click on the name of a profession, or attribute, to view those Skills.

Warriors rely on stout hearts, brute strength, and melee weapons to subdue their enemies and protect their allies. They generally disdain long-range warfare, preferring instead to charge directly into the fray swinging their weapon of choice. They can take a beating unlike anyone else.

Warriors are equally comfortable wielding axe, hammer, or sword, though many choose to master one weapon over all others. Many Warrior Skills require Adrenaline, which builds up during combat to enable those Skills, and usually results in major damage. Defensive Tactics help the Warrior to avoid damage and protect allies, but Strength is the Warrior’s biggest asset, allowing this hero to do more damage with every attack.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Rangers are unique in their ability to succeed with the help of, or even in spite of, their environment. Nature Rituals allow them to manipulate the environment to hinder their enemies, or borrow the very power of creation to heal and aid their allies. They favor long-range combat, the bow being their weapon of choice, and can be especially effective from elevated locations such as bridges and cliffs.

They are the only profession with the ability to charm animals, which then accompany them on their travels and assist them in battle, gaining experience and levels over time. Rangers are also blessed with Survival Skills that help keep them alive.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Monks employ a direct conduit to the gods, and the answers to their prayers come in the form of healing and protection for their allies and damage to their enemies. Combined with any other profession, Monks can alternate between supporting their party and dealing damage to opponents.

Monks enjoy Divine Favor, which provides extra healing power, while their Healing and Protection Prayers help to keep their allies strong and healthy. Smiting Prayers, on the other hand, call down divine anger on enemies, exacting holy damage that ignores armor, thought damage-dealing is not the Monk's specialty.

What Monks lack in firepower they make up for with their unparalleled gift for keeping their allies alive.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Elementalists summon the powers of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water and command them at will. They can inflict more damage in a single strike than any other profession.

Earth Magic summons quakes and eruptions, encases enemies in stone, or protects allies. Air Magic harnesses the power of tempests to strike foes down with lightning strikes or enables allies to run like the wind. Fire Magic manifests flames, fireballs, molten lava, and even meteors to burn enemies to a crisp. Water Magic conjures mist and ice to slow enemy movement and attacks, blur vision, protect allies against magic, and inflict cold damage on enemies. Elementalist have access to Energy regenerating Skills, and when chose as a primary character, can increase their maximum Energy over time.

The wise Elementalist avoids becoming surrounded, but keeps a local area-of-effect spell on hand just in case.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Necromancers are masters of the dark arts, calling on the spirits of the dead, and even death itself, to overpower enemies and assist allies. In sacrificing Health and taking Curses and diseases upon themselves, they can deal large amounts of damage to those foolish enough to oppose them. Dead and dying enemies become unwilling allies in their hands.

Necromancers have the singular ability to absorb Energy from an enemy’s death, and can raise a fighting force from the corpses of their foes. Curses, which often cost the Necromancer dearly, exact an even greater toll from enemies, who find that their Enchantment Spells and Healing Skills are rendered useless.

Due to the sacrificial nature of their methods, Necromancers practice patience and self-discipline to survive.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Mesmers are masters of Illusion and control, subverting the enemy's Energy for their own use, and that of their allies. On their own or combined with any other profession, their Skills provide excellent support, turning enemies' powers against them and changing the very fabric of reality to hinder foes and help allies.

Mesmers have the ability to cast spells quickly, which can make all the difference in the heat of battle. Their powers of Domination allow them to take control of enemy Skills and Energy. Their unique Illusionary talents can slow or even halt enemy movement and Skill casting, or cause imaginary illnesses that drain Health and Energy from foes while healing and energizing allies.

While Mesmers are not known for brute strength, their ability to confuse, distract, and drain the enemy's resources more than compensates.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

The Assassin walks the shadows, a deadly viper ready to strike at the heart when the enemy least expects it, nowhere and everywhere all at once. Assassins are masters of their chosen weapon, the dagger, and are expert at inflicting Critical Strikes that cause massive damage.

The Assassin is trained to efficiently link attacks together in a chain that does not give the enemy a chance to hit back. They have mastered the ability to move as shadows—Assassins wear only lightweight armor and prefer to avoid damage by not being there when the enemy’s strike lands. Their other magical Skills include Hexes that lower the target’s defenses and protect the Assassin from harm.

NOTE: Assassin characters can only be created on accounts that have access to Guild Wars Factions.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Where a Ranger lives as one with the spirit world, a Ritualist can and will be its master. Ritualists shield their eyes to better commune with spirits that grant great power and protection.

Ritualists channel other-worldly energies from the Mists and commune with spirits through mystic Binding Rituals, bending them to aid their allies or punish their foes. The Energy channeled from the Mists powers Ritualist Skills, enhancing the deadliness of an ally's weapon and wreaking havoc on an enemy's Health. The Ritualist can also use the remains of the dead to defend the living, not by reanimating corpses as a Necromancer would, but through the ritual use of urns and ashes.

By calling upon those who have left this world, the Ritualist is able to strengthen his allies, weaken his foes, call upon spirits, and mend the wounds of those who have been maimed.

NOTE: Ritualist characters can only be created on accounts that have access to Guild Wars Factions.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Paragons are the guardian angels of Elona, humanity’s champions against malefic threats. They rally the valiant with Shouts and Chants, aiding heroes, henchmen, and other adventurers through inspiration and Motivation.

A Paragon’s best weapons rely on an insightful mind, a courageous spirit, and a charismatic voice. Many Paragons also arm themselves with a spear and shield, striking from a distance as they shout their battle cries. Through insight, they help others resist Hexes and Conditions, echoing their commands across the field of battle (in fact, some “ Echo” abilities renew themselves each time a Chant or Shout ends).

When all hell breaks loose, a commanding Paragon shines as a beacon of light, driving back the forces of darkness.

NOTE: Paragon characters can only be created on accounts that have access to Guild Wars Nightfall.

~ Official Guild Wars Website

Serving the gods as holy warriors, dervishes stand confidently in the whirlwind of conflict. Martial techniques perfected in the deserts of Elona allow a Dervish’s scythe to lash out quickly at multiple opponents, surrounding the holy warrior with a swath of destruction.

Initiates often learn Spells of self-protection, prayers that rush a combatant into battle, and invocations that empower attacks with elemental fury. Masters of the profession can assume the form of a god, enacting divine will with holy blessings. Keenly aware of the conditions of a fight, a Dervish can reap great benefits by using multiple Enchantments.

Wandering the savannahs and deserts of Elona, the faithful Dervish chants prayers to the earth and wind... and the fury of the sandstorm answers in response.

NOTE: Dervish characters can only be created on accounts that have access to Guild Wars Nightfall.

~ Official Guild Wars Website