Primary attribute

The primary attribute is determined by the primary profession of a character. Each profession has several attributes associated with it, but the primary attribute is available only to characters that have this as their primary profession. The primary attribute line enhances a profession's "natural abilities".

It is important to note that although a character may lack the primary attribute of its secondary profession, skills from that attribute line may still be used, though their effectiveness will be reduced in most cases. For example, an Elementalist will not be able to increase the duration of Sprint, a Warrior skill from the Strength attribute line. In PvE, the Warrior of Balthazar, Ranger of Melandru, Monk of Dwayna, Necromancer of Grenth, Mesmer of Lyssa, Disciple of Energy, Assassin of Lyssa, Ritualist of Grenth, Paragon of Leadership, and Dervish of the Mystic blessings can increase a certain primary attribute by 1, even if your character's primary profession does not correspond to that blessing's profession.

The following table shows the primary attribute given for each profession.

Profession	Primary	Inherent effect
Warrior	Strength	Attack skills that don't already have armor penetration will gain 1% armor penetration per rank.
Ranger	Expertise	Reduces energy cost of attack skills, rituals, touch skills and all Ranger skills by 4% per rank.
Monk	Divine Favor	Monk spells that target an ally heal the primary target for an additional 3.2 health per rank, rounded down.
Necromancer	Soul Reaping	Gain 1 energy per rank whenever a non-spirit creature dies within range (2.5~3 Danger Zone radii) triggering up to 3 times per 15 seconds.
Mesmer	Fast Casting	Divides casting time of spells by 2(Fast Casting/15) (or multiplies casting time by roughly 0.955(Fast Casting)), and decreases the activation time of signets by 3% per rank (except non-Mesmer spells/signets with an activation time less than two seconds). In PvE, decreases the recharge time of Mesmer spells by 3% per rank.
Elementalist	Energy Storage	Increases maximum energy by 3 per rank.
Assassin	Critical Strikes	Increases critical hit rate by 1% per rank. For each critical hit inflicted, 1 Energy is gained at ranks 3-7, 2 energy is gained at ranks 8-12, 3 energy is gained at ranks 13-17 and 4 energy is gained at ranks 18 and above.
Ritualist	Spawning Power	Increases the health of creatures you create (spirits and minions) by 4% per rank. Increases the duration of weapon spells by 4% per rank.
Paragon	Leadership	Gain 2 energy for each ally affected by your shouts and chants, up to a maximum of 1 energy per 2 ranks.
Dervish	Mysticism	Reduces the cost of your dervish enchantments by 4% per rank. Gain +1 armor rating per rank while enchanted in PvE.