Guides/Starting out
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.
On this page
Levels stop at 80 and go no further (what that means). Progression carries on regardless, because the mastery system takes over from there.
This is the answer to “so what do I do now”.
What masteries are
A mastery is an ability that belongs to your account rather than a character. Unlock gliding once and everyone glides, including the character you roll a year from now.
Most masteries also work on characters below 80. Only an 80 can train them; anyone can use them.
How training works
After 80, all your experience feeds the mastery track you selected. It is the same experience that used to give you levels.
The order goes:
- Pick a track in the mastery panel
- Play, and experience fills it
- When it is full, spend mastery points to unlock it permanently
So two things are required at once: experience, which arrives on its own, and points, which you have to go and find.
Colour-coded points
🔴 The trap everybody hits: points are tied to their region.
A Heart of Thorns point will not unlock an End of Dragons mastery. That is what the colours in the interface are telling you.
The regional split:
| Region | Points |
|---|---|
| Central Tyria (base game) | 49 |
| Heart of Thorns | 144 |
| Path of Fire | 110 |
| Icebrood Saga | 63 |
| End of Dragons | 89 |
| Secrets of the Obscure | 88 |
| Janthir Wilds | 90 |
| Visions of Eternity | 53 |
That comes to 884. You will never spend all of them, and you do not need to: there are fewer tracks than points.
Where points come from
- Achievements, the largest source
- Mastery Insights, glowing points in the open world that you have to reach
- Story chapters
- Adventures, the mini-games on expansion maps
Insights are a game of their own. Half of them sit somewhere you cannot reach without a glider or a mount.
What masteries give you
The ones that matter most:
Gliding (Heart of Thorns). The glider changes how you move through the whole game, not only the jungle.
Mounts (Path of Fire): raptor, springer, skimmer, jackal, then the griffon, the roller beetle and the skyscale. The full overview.
Fishing, Skiff, Jade Bot, Siege Turtle (End of Dragons): fishing, a boat, a drone helper and the two-seat turtle.
Flight Training (Secrets of the Obscure): free flight.
Warclaw (Janthir Wilds): the mount that used to live only in WvW.
Where surplus experience goes
Once every track in a region is finished, experience converts into Spirit Shards, a currency for crafting and conversion (about currencies).
Experience in this game is never wasted, even on a fully finished account.
Advice for a newcomer
Do not chase points before 80. Reach 80 first, unlock the basic mounts, then the glider, then follow your own taste.
The most useful first track is the raptor. It makes every hour you play after it faster.