Getting Started in PvP

Introduction

This new player guide aims to explain how GW2's PvP gamemode works on a fundamental level, from requirements to equipment.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Requirements

GW2's PvP is made to be accessible. Players can compete from level 1 against anyone! That said there are a few small barriers of entry:

• You must complete the PvE tutorial instance on your character, this should only take a few minutes.
• Your account's PvP rank needs to be 20 or higher in order to compete in ranked PvP.

Ranks and progression

PvP rank is the core progression system of the gamemode. Not to be confused with rating and ladder placement, rank's similar to levels in PvE. You earn glory at the end of every match based on whether you win or lose, and the more you play the faster you rank up.

Every 10 rank up to 80 you unlock:

• A new cosmetic finisher starting with rabbit and going all the way up to dragon at rank 80.
• A new /rank emote to match the finisher.
• If you own Heart of Thorns, a new one-time reward track.

On top of that every time you rank up you'll be awarded some bags of loot.

Necessary Equipment

Before we get into the verious gamemodes let's talk about setting up your character and how PvP gear works.

Slots to fill

While it's true that gear doesn't matter in PvP, you do need to fill a couple of slots otherwise you'll get an armor penalty.

Luckily any level 1 starter character already has these filled:

• Chest
• Leg
• Foot

The quality of the gear doesn't matter - a level 1 white piece with no stats will have the same effect as a legendary. The rest of the slots are optional and only cosmetic.

If you lose some of the starting pieces don't worry, the PvP lobby has armor and weapon vendors who sell them for a few coppers.

Weapons are also important to have because they determine the left side of your skill bar, just like in PvE.

Vendors

The PvP vendors are located at the Market waypoint: [&BNgJAAA=]

Basic weapons and armor are sold at the southern edge of the platform, ascended components in the eastern part but that isn't relevant for new players just yet.

The armor vendor sells items based on your PvE level. If you want to purchase shoulder or head slot items for fashion purposes you'll need to be at least level 15, but all the essential pieces are available from level 1.

Look for Evan Fleshgore (weapons) and Melina (armor).

PvP Gear

In the Hero panel there's a small toggle at the top left corner. This is where we can switch between viewing PvP and PvE gear. Upon entering Heart of the Mists or any PvP map your PvE gear's stats, sigils, runes and infusions are automatically deactivated and the PvP gear becomes active.

The PvP equipment consists of 3 part:

• Amulet - this determines most of our stats.
• Rune - provides a smaller stat boost than the amulet but offers unique bonuses such as procs. In the PvP panel there's only 1 rune slot, this fucntions like a complete set of 6 PvE runes.
• Sigils - every weapon set has 2 sigil slots, offering further customization and minor synergies.

Clicking on any of the PvP equipment slots brings up a selection menu on the left side of the Hero panel.

Builds

Now that you understand how PvP gear works, the next final step before jumping into combat is getting a build. Here you can browse from a wide variety of viable builds for all professions. Considering how easy and cheap it is to set up a PvP build, feel free to try as many as you'd like in the lobby until you find one that fits you the most.

Simply copy the template code from a page and paste it into the Build section of your Hero panel.

Unranked

This is where you should start your journey. Unranked is where you get to practice builds and learn the basics of the gamemode while gathering rank points:

• A victory awards 1500 rank points.
• Defeat awards 500 rank points.

Achieving top stats or using the ready up button at the start grant a small rank point bonus at the end of the game. While you're in the PvP lobby (Heart of the Mists) or a PvP game you can track your progress at the bottom of your screen where the XP bar would be in PvE.

Available Gamemodes

In unranked you have two options, Conquest and Stronghold.

Conquest is the main competitive PvP gamemode of GW2 so we recommend playing this, as learning the maps will come in handy once you're ready to progress to ranked. This is a gamemode centered around taking capture points for your team which generate score, once your team has a score of 500 you win. Alternatively whichever team has the highest score after 15 minutes wins, which is the maximum game length.

Stronghold is a MOBA inspired casual gamemode where your goal is to break down the gates of the enemy base and kill their lord before they kill yours.

Ranked

At rank 20 you unlock ranked PvP where you get to compete on the ladder for unique rewards.

Seasons

An average Conquest season lasts 8-9 weeks and each week the requirement to appear on the ladder goes up by 15 games played.

You start off with 10 placement games during which your MMR is hidden. Once you've finished placements you'll be assigned a division based on your rating. From this point on you'll get to track how much rating you've gained or lost after each game.

At the end of the season the top 250 players on the ladder are awarded titles based on their standing, assuming that they meet the minimum game requirement (usually 135 ranked games played during the season).

Titles however are not the only reason to compete or play ranked for. Even if you don't see yourself finishing in the top 250 there are incentives to rank up as higher division players earn rewards quicker!

such as Ascended Shards of Glory, which can be used for crafting Ascended and even Legendary gear.