Guides
Every guide answers three questions: how to get the thing you are after, what it costs at this hour’s prices, and which steps a wiki skips as obvious.
Starting out
Boons and conditions: all 12 and all 14, in two tables
What every boon and condition does, which ones stack in intensity and which in duration, and why Might is chased in 25 stacks while Quickness only needs to be present.
Build templates: three free slots, no more rebuilding
What a build template stores versus an equipment template, how many you get for nothing, what extra ones cost, and why the game remembers a different one per game mode.
All 36 elite specialisations, and how to pick one
Four per class, one per expansion, 250 hero points each. The full table, what an elite spec changes, and why the question "which is best" has a different answer every patch.
Which expansion to buy first
Each expansion adds its own way of moving through the world, its own elite specialisations and its own masteries. What is in each, and why the answer for a newcomer is almost always the same one.
Coming from WoW: what to unlearn in the first week
Habits that served you well for years and will actively hurt you here. Levelling, gear, roles, dailies, competition for mobs, and the part where nobody tells you what to do.
You hit 80. Now what?
Level 80 in Guild Wars 2 is not the finish line, it is where everything else starts. Where your experience goes now, what gear you need, and how to avoid drowning in the list of things to do.
Levelling to 80: what gives experience, what wastes it
Guild Wars 2 hands out experience for almost everything, so there is no separate grind to do. What works, why killing mobs is the worst option, and whether to spend your Level-80 Boost.
Mesmer: why it is hard and why people stay on it anyway
Clones, phantasms and shatters look like clutter on screen for the first few hours. How the two illusion types differ, what each shatter does, and why mesmers get invited for portals rather than damage.
Guild Wars 2 has no quests. What it has instead
No exclamation marks over NPCs, no journal filling with checkboxes. How the map works, where the story hides, and what to do in your first evenings if you came from another MMO.
Nine professions: which one to roll first
Armour weight, core mechanic and elite specialisations for all nine classes in one table. Plus a straight answer to "what should a new player pick", which depends on how you like to play rather than on which class is strongest.
Coming back after a break: what changed while you were away
A checklist for a returning account. The systems that were replaced, the ones that were rewritten, what your old gear is worth now, and what to do in the first hour back.
Playing Guild Wars 2 alone: what is open to you
The honest map of solo play. Which content needs nobody, which needs strangers who will not talk to you, which needs a real group, and how far a solo player can get.
Attributes and prefixes: how to read Berserker on a helmet
The nine attributes, what each does in numbers, and how to read names like Viper’s or Trailblazer’s. The minimum you need before your first gear purchase.
Is Guild Wars 2 worth starting in 2026: an honest answer
Fourteen years old, no subscription, no gear treadmill. What this game does better than anyone, where it falls short, and who will be bored by it.
Achievement points: what they are for
A chest every 500 AP, a title every 5,000, and mastery points hiding inside collections. What AP unlocks account-wide, where the daily cap sits, and why the number itself is the least interesting part.
Elementalist: 20 weapon skills, the lowest health
Four attunements swapped mid-fight, the smallest health pool of the nine classes, and what Tempest, Weaver, Catalyst and Evoker add.
Engineer: fewest weapons, most buttons in the game
The tool belt as a second row of skills, seven kits, turrets and elixirs. Why the engineer has the smallest weapon choice and the largest choice of everything else.
Guardian: heavy armour, thin health, three virtues
Why a guardian has less health than a warrior in the same armour class, how Virtues work, and what Dragonhunter, Firebrand, Willbender and Luminary do to them.
Guilds: how to join when the game has no finder
Guild Wars 2 has no guild finder, so you join by invitation from map chat. Where to look, what to ask a recruiter, why six slots, and what representing does.
Hero points: 250 per elite spec, gathered in an evening
How many points levelling gives, why expansion challenges are worth 10 and core Tyria ones only 1, and why the points cannot be shared between characters.
Mastery: the progression that starts after 80
Why levelling stops at 80 in Guild Wars 2 and progression does not. How mastery points work, why they are colour-coded, and where your experience goes once the levels run out.
Necromancer: the most forgiving class in the game
A second health bar instead of a shield, skeletons instead of careful positioning, and life stealing instead of healing. Why newcomers get pointed here, and what the elite specialisations do to it.
Ranger: the class that always has a partner
The pet as the class mechanic, four animal slots and swapping mid-fight. Why a ranger is the easiest class to play alone, and what Druid, Soulbeast, Untamed and Galeshot add.
Revenant: the one class you cannot roll for free
Legends from the Mists instead of a free choice of skills, energy instead of recharges, and fixed sets built around two buttons. What upkeep means and why the revenant is the strangest class in the game.
Thief: no cooldowns, a resource instead of timers
Initiative in place of recharges, stealth, Steal and dual-wield skills. Why the thief is the hardest class for a newcomer, and what Daredevil, Deadeye, Specter and Antiquary add.
Warrior: 19 weapon sets and no complicated mechanic
Adrenaline, burst skills and the largest health pool in the game. Why the warrior is the simplest way into Guild Wars 2, and what Berserker, Spellbreaker, Bladesworn and Paragon add.
Wizard’s Vault: which dailies and weeklies are worth doing
The system that replaced daily achievements and login rewards. What each objective pays, where the Astral Acclaim cap sits, and what a new player should spend it on.
Trading Post
Infusions: agony resistance and the auras that cost thousands
Infusions do two unrelated jobs in Guild Wars 2: they carry agony resistance for fractals, and they carry the glowing auras that are some of the most expensive cosmetics in the game. What they are, where they come from, and what the expensive ones cost.
What the gem store costs, in gold
Every corner of the gem store measured: 564 items on sale, what each section charges, which bundles carry a real discount, and the gold price of all of it at this hour rate.
Bank and material storage: the real fight in this game
Bank tabs, 250 to a material stack, deposit-all in one click, and the order crafting pulls resources in. The small system that decides whether playing feels comfortable.
Salvage or sell: how to stop losing gold on every drop
Every salvage kit with its exact percentages, what one use costs, and the short rule that decides the fate of each item in your bags.
What the Trading Post takes from you
Two fees, charged at different moments, adding up to 15%. Why the gap between buy and sell price is not profit, and where the break-even line sits.
The gem store: what is worth buying and what is not
Gems are bought with money and exchanged for gold. What in the store changes how the game feels, the order to buy it in, and why no purchase makes you stronger in combat.
Mystic Forge: four slots and the costliest mistakes
How the Mystic Forge works, what material promotion is good for, where Mystic Clovers come from, and which recipes destroy an item permanently.
Runes, sigils and relics: upgrades that outweigh gear
Six runes per armour set, two sigils per weapon and a separate relic slot. How the tiered bonuses work, what shares cooldowns with what, and why runes are wasted before 80.
Making gold
Crafting: what to level, what it costs, who needs it
Nine disciplines, a cap of 500, two active per character. When crafting saves you money, when it eats money, and why you should price the finished item before you make it.
Guild Wars 2 currencies: what all of that in your wallet is
Gold, karma, Astral Acclaim, Trade Contracts, Badges of Honor, Fractal Relics. A dozen currencies, and almost none of them convert into each other. Where each comes from and what it buys.
Twenty minutes in Guild Wars 2: what fits into them
The short routine long-term players run without thinking. What resets daily, what resets weekly, what does not reset at all, and what is safe to skip forever.
Your first gold: where it goes and where it comes from
Half of what you pick up in the low levels is worth more on the Trading Post than the vendor pays. The other half is not. How not to waste your first coins, and where it comes from instead.
Where gold comes from at 80, and where it does not
Not from killing things. The five real sources of income, what each asks of you, and why any guide quoting gold per hour is out of date before you read it.
Home instance: your own room that drops materials every day
Where it sits for each race, which nodes go in it, what they cost, and why a fully furnished home instance pays for itself in years rather than months.
Map currencies: twenty wallet lines, and what to spend
Unbound and Volatile Magic, Trade Contracts, airship parts and the rest of the strange currencies. Where each is earned, where each is spent, and why hoarding them is a mistake.
Mounts
Every mount, what it costs, and the order that makes sense
Nine mounts, from the free raptor to a griffon at 250 gold. A table of the real price tags and requirements, plus the order to chase them in when your wallet holds five gold.
Skyscale: two routes, and one costs a third as much
Through Secrets of the Obscure the dragon costs 15 gold and one evening. Through Living World Season 4 it costs 41 gold, six currencies you cannot buy, and a minimum of three days of waiting. And when the long way is still worth it.
Griffon: 250 gold and no waiting
The biggest direct price tag of any mount, and the most honest one: you pay once and fly the same evening. What you have to finish first, where the collections start, and why 250 gold is not the hard part.
The four Path of Fire mounts: trainers and prices
The raptor arrives with the story, the rest have to be bought. Exact prices, vendor names and the maps they stand on. Plus the jackal trick that saves 10 gold 40 silver.
Roller Beetle: the fastest mount, and it costs no gold
The beetle costs nothing at all, only three collections back to back. Which episode you need, who to talk to in the Domain of Kourna, and why it outruns everything on flat ground.
Siege Turtle: two seats and a pair of cannons
The End of Dragons turtle carries a passenger and shoots. The hard part is the egg: either beat the toughest meta in the game, or pay 200 Writs of Dragon's End and skip it.
Warclaw: it used to cost 8 gold, now it is free
The easiest mount to obtain in the game, which half the playerbase still does not know. Two routes: one World Ability Point in WvW, or the Janthir Wilds story. Neither costs anything.
Endgame
Code of Creation: the finale of Visions of Eternity
The last chapter of the newest expansion landed on 15 September 2026. Six story chapters, a new map, a ten-player raid, a fractal, and a paid supply drop: what is in it and what is worth your time.
Fractals from zero: scales, agony and ascended gear
Five-player dungeons with a hundred difficulty scales. What the tiers mean, from which scale agony starts hurting, how much Agony Resistance you need, and what all of it is for.
Festival of the Four Winds: two maps, no expansion
Late July to late August. How to get in, what Labyrinthine Cliffs and the Crown Pavilion each hold, what the Queen’s Gauntlet asks of you, and where the easy rewards are.
World bosses and metas: the softest way into group content
Fourteen bosses on a global two-hour rotation. Nothing to organise: turn up, fight, take the chest. Which ones to start with on a fresh level 80.
Ascended gear: 5% better than exotic, and when it matters
What ascended adds over exotic, why the number is smaller than people think, what infusion slots are for, and the one place in the game that demands it.
Squads and the commander tag: 300 gold for a triangle
What the Commander’s Compendium costs, how big a squad gets, what the tag does for everybody else, and why the people who buy one are mostly doing it for free.
Dragon Bash: holograms, moa betting and a piñata
The norn festival of hitting things. Hologram Stampede, Dragon Arena, Moa Racing and the piñatas, what Zhaitaffy buys, and when it runs.
Fashion Wars: the wardrobe, and why it is the endgame
Skins unlock once and stay unlocked for the whole account. How the wardrobe works, what transmutation charges cost, where armour skins beat outfits, and the rules that stop a transmutation.
The six festivals: what runs when, and which to keep
Guild Wars 2 runs six recurring festivals a year, each with its own maps, currencies and skins. The calendar, what each contains, and why festival skins behave oddly on the market.
Shadow of the Mad King: what to do in three weeks
The Halloween festival in full. The Labyrinth, the Clock Tower, Ascent to Madness, Mad King Says, candy corn, and what a newcomer should do first with limited evenings.
Jumping puzzles: the content with no combat and no group
How the daily chest works, which puzzles to start with, why mounts do not help, and the one rule about Wizard’s Vault credit that catches everybody.
Lunar New Year: envelopes, Dragon Ball, a daily cap
The festival in the Crown Pavilion. How Lucky Envelopes work and how many you can buy a day, what Dragon Ball is, and why this one is more about a shop than an activity.
PvP: the one place in the game where gear does not matter
Stats are normalised and every skill and trait is unlocked regardless of level. The fastest way to learn your class, and the only content you can enter at level 20 having spent nothing.
Strikes and raids: where ten-player content begins
A strike is one boss for ten people, half an hour from forming up to loot. A raid is a wing of bosses on a weekly reset. How they differ and which one to walk into first.
Super Adventure Box: an 8-bit platformer inside an MMO
Two worlds, three difficulty modes, baubles, and a Tribulation Mode built to hurt you. What SAB is, why it started as an April Fools joke, and how to approach it as a newcomer.
Wintersday: presents, snowballs, one impossible jump
Winter Wonderland, Snowball Mayhem, Toypocalypse and the Bell Choir. Where the festival lives, what the currency buys, and what to do first if you have three weeks.
WvW for newcomers: three teams, five maps, one mistake
Mass warfare you can join at any level. What gets captured, where the rewards come from, and why "you get scaled to 80" does not mean starter rags will do.
Dungeons: the eight the game quietly left behind
Development stopped in favour of fractals, but the dungeons never went anywhere. How many there are, how story mode differs from explorable, and why anyone still runs them.
Fishing: the mini-game that plays like nothing else
Over two hundred species, bait, lures, fishing power and time of day. How the minigame works, why fishing holes beat open water, and where the skiff comes in.
Jade Bot: the quality-of-life system to upgrade early
Ten core tiers, three module slots and a rescue that picks you up off the floor. What each slot does, why tier 6 is the number that matters, and which modules earn their place.
Legendaries
Legendary armour: four sets, one shared reward
Open world, raids, PvP or WvW. Each mode has its own legendary armour with its own currency and its own timeline. What each path costs and which one suits how you already play.
Legendary weapons: what they are for and where to start
The stats match ascended exactly. The point is elsewhere: free stat swapping, one copy shared across every character, and skins that cost nothing to change. Plus what the materials cost at this hour.
Legendary trinkets: nine of them, and where to start
Aurora, Vision, Coalescence, Conflux, Transcendence and the rest. Where each one comes from, which game mode it locks you into, and which is realistic first.
Map completion: a gold star and two Gifts of Exploration
What counts toward completing a map, why only core Tyria feeds world completion, and how one completion turns into one legendary weapon.
Story and translations
Character creation: which answers the story remembers
The questions look like a mood survey and instead they branch the first thirty levels of your story. What each race is asked, what it changes, and which answers you can pick at random.
The Icebrood Saga: the season that added strikes
Grothmar, Bjora Marches, Drizzlewood Coast and the Champions chapters. What the saga added to the game, how it ends, and why it sits apart from the other seasons.
Living World Season 1: gone for eight years, now back
Scarlet’s War, the season that burned Lion’s Arch live in 2014, disappeared, and was rebuilt in 2022. What is in it, what is missing, and why it is free.
Living World Season 2: the run-up to Heart of Thorns
The short season between Scarlet’s War and the first expansion. Dry Top, the Silverwastes, Glint’s egg, and the revelation about the sylvari that changes everything after it.
Living World Season 3: six maps toward Path of Fire
Every episode, the map it adds and the currency that map runs on. Why this season is the one you should not skip, and what its maps are still worth farming.
Living World Season 4: six maps and two mounts
Every episode and its map, why Volatile Magic works differently to Season 3, and which episodes unlock the roller beetle and open the road to the skyscale.
The three orders: which one to join at level 30
The choice happens in the last mission of the level 30 story and cannot be undone. Durmand Priory, Order of Whispers or Vigil: how they differ, and what the decision changes later.
The personal story: how it works and why it is missed
Eight chapters, three acts, level 10 through 80. Where to find it in the journal, which points branch permanently, and where every race converges into one line.
The five races: what the choice changes and what it does not
Race has no effect on power at all. It shapes the first thirty levels of story, your starting zone and your capital. How asura, charr, humans, norn and sylvari differ.
What order to play the story in, across expansions
Release order, chronological order and the practical order. Where Living World seasons slot in, what you can skip, and why the game will not stop you doing it wrong.
Living World: why the game has a story you do not own
Five seasons between the expansions, each unlocked separately. What is free, what costs gems, and why episodes stopped appearing after End of Dragons.