Revision as of 15:58, 28 August 2022

Last updated July 2020, No Quarter update

Introduction

This guide is an overview of the best ways to acquire gear for level 80 PvE and WvW content.

It's assumed that you already have a fully leveled character and know what PvE or WvW build you're aiming for. If you don't know what build to aim for, here are some useful resources:

Equipment can be acquired from many different sources in this game. Feel free to mix and match gearing methods in a way that works for you.

Exotic or Ascended?

In Guild Wars 2 there is no gear treadmill. The only two equipment tiers for endgame gear are Exotic and Ascended.

Exotic gear is the second best tier. It's relatively cheap and easy to obtain, as a full set of Berserker's exotic gear only costs ~35 gold on the Trading Post (~10 gold if you don't count trinkets). It's also good enough for everything other than high-level fractals.

Ascended gear is the best tier. It's significantly more expensive than exotic gear, as a full set is timegated and costs 200-400 gold to craft. However, it only offers a 12.5% damage increase over exotic gear. You don't need to get ascended gear unless you want to run high-level fractals (in which case you need the infusion slots). However, it's a good long-term goal, especially if you plan to play WvW or do raids.
- Ascended gear can be upgraded with agony infusions, which provide the agony resistance needed to survive high-level fractals. Alternatively, they can be upgraded with stat infusions, which provide a marginal amount of stats. Agony stat infusions provide the best of both worlds but are extremely expensive and most players don't bother with them.

Ascended trinkets (backpieces, amulets, accessories, rings) are relatively easy to get, so you can consider skipping exotic and going straight to ascended for these. They also offer the greatest increase in stats by far, making them the most efficient place to start.

When upgrading from exotic gear, you should upgrade your weapon first, followed by your trinkets, as most of your stats are in these items.

Table of Stats and Prefixes

For the vast majority of equipment, stat combinations are only accessible if they are part of the core set, or you own the expansion they are associated with. Stat selectable equipment will allow you to choose from any of the combinations you have access to, with a few exceptions (such as specialization collections).

Core/Release stats were included at release. These stats are generally the easiest to acquire.
Core/Extended stats were added during Living World Seasons 1 and 2.
Core/Hybrid stats are similar to Core/Extended stats but only available on certain ascended trinkets.
Heart of Thorns stats were added during Heart of Thorns and Living World Season 3. Other than Marauder and Crusader, these stats require the Heart of Thorns expansion.
Path of Fire stats were added during Path of Fire and Living World Season 4. These stats require the Path of Fire expansion.
- Diviner's gear is a weird edge case. This stat combination was retroactively added in Path of Fire to both Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire gear, so it requires either Heart of Thorns or Path of Fire.

Icon	Exotic prefix	Ascended prefix	Release	Stats	Jewel
	Apothecary's	Ebonmane's/Veldrunner's	Core/Extended	Healing Power++, Condition Damage+, Toughness+	Passiflora
	Assassin's	Soros's/Saphir's	Core/Release	Precision++, Power+, Ferocity+	Opal
	Berserker's	Zojja's	Core/Release	Power++, Precision+, Ferocity+	Ruby
	Berserker's and Valkyrie	-	Core/Hybrid	Power++, Ferocity++, Precision+, Vitality+	-
25px	Bringer's	Giftbringer's	Core/Extended	Expertise++, Precision+, Vitality+	-
	Captain's	-	Core/Release	Precision++, Power+, Toughness+	Emerald
	Carrion	Occam's	Core/Release	Condition Damage++, Power+, Vitality+	Chrysocola
	Cavalier's	Angchu	Core/Release	Toughness++, Power+, Ferocity+	-
	Celestial	Wupwup	Core/Extended	Power+, Precision+, Toughness+, Vitality+, Condition Damage+, Ferocity+, Healing Power+	Charged Quartz
	Cleric's	Theodosu's/Tateos's	Core/Release	Healing Power++, Power+, Toughness+	Sapphire
	Commander's	Tizlak's	Heart of Thorns	Power++, Precision++, Toughness+, Concentration+	Maguuma Burl
	Crusader's	Ossa's	Heart of Thorns	Power++, Toughness++, Ferocity+, Healing Power+	Agate
	Dire	Mathilde's/Morbach's	Core/Release	Condition Damage++, Toughness+, Vitality+	-
25px	Dire and Rabid	-	Core/Hybrid	Condition Damage++, Toughness++, Precision+, Vitality+	-
	Diviner's	Steelstar's	Heart of Thorns OR Path of Fire	Power++, Concentration++, Precision+, Ferocity+	-
	Giver's	Tixx's	Core/Extended	Toughness++, Healing Power+, Concentration+	Snowflake
	Grieving	The Twins'	Path of Fire	Power++, Condition Damage++, Precision+, Ferocity+	Mournstone
	Harrier's	Zehtuka's	Path of Fire	Power++, Healing Power+, Concentration+	Brandspark
	Knight's	Beigarth's	Core/Release	Toughness++, Power+, Precision+	-
	Magi's	Hronk's	Core/Release	Healing Power++, Precision+, Vitality+	-
	Marauder's	Svaard's	Heart of Thorns	Power++, Precision++, Vitality+, Ferocity+	Ebony
	Marshal's	Nadijeh's	Path of Fire	Power++, Healing Power++, Precision+, Condition Damage+	Sunset
	Minstrel's	Maklain's	Heart of Thorns	Toughness++, Healing Power++, Vitality+, Concentration+	Freshwater Pearl
	Nomad's	Ventari's	Core/Extended	Toughness++, Vitality+, Healing Power+	-
	Plaguedoctor's	Nerashi's	Path of Fire	Condition Damage++, Vitality++, Concentration+, Healing Power+	-
	Rabid	Grizzlemouth's/Ferratus's	Core/Release	Condition Damage++, Precision+, Toughness+	-
25px	Rabid and Apothecary's	-	Core/Hybrid	Condition Damage++, Toughness++, Precision+, Healing Power+	-
	Rampager's	Coalforge's/Forgemaster's	Core/Release	Precision++, Power+, Condition Damage+	Coral
	Sentinel's	Tonn's/Wei Qi's	Core/Extended	Vitality++, Power+, Toughness+	Azurite
	Seraph	Thackeray's	Heart of Thorns	Precision++, Condition Damage++, Concentration+, Healing Power+	-
25px	Settler's	Leftpaw's	Core/Extended	Toughness++, Condition Damage+, Healing Power+	-
	Shaman's	Zintl	Core/Release	Vitality++, Condition Damage+, Healing Power+	-
	Sinister	Verata's	Core/Extended	Condition Damage++, Power+, Precision+	Charged Ambrite
	Soldier's	Chorben's/Ahamid's	Core/Release	Power++, Toughness+, Vitality+	-
	Trailblazer's	Pahua's	Heart of Thorns	Condition Damage++, Toughness++, Vitality+, Expertise+	Maguuma Lily
	Valkyrie	Stonecleaver's/Gobrech's	Core/Release	Power++, Vitality+, Ferocity+	Beryl
	Vigilant	Laranthir's	Heart of Thorns	Power++, Toughness++, Concentration+, Expertise+	Flax Blossom
	Viper's	Yassith's	Heart of Thorns	Power++, Condition Damage++, Precision+, Expertise+	Black Diamond
	Wanderer's	Ruka's	Heart of Thorns	Power++, Vitality++, Toughness+, Concentration+	Moonstone
	Zealot's	Keeper's	Core/Extended	Power++, Precision+, Healing Power+	Watchwork

Exotic Equipment

Trading Post

For Core/Release stats, the simplest and fastest way to get exotic equipment is to buy it off the Trading Post.

Don't search directly for the prefix, as that will only show you crafted gear. Instead, use the filters to find the cheapest level 80 exotic gear with the stats you need.

This will set you back 10-35 gold. If you don't count trinkets it will cost less than 10 gold.

PvP/WvW

If you play PvP or WvW, reward tracks are the best way to obtain exotic armor and weapons with Core/Extended, Heart of Thorns, or Path of Fire stats.

These provide stat-selectable armor pieces:

Crystal Desert Reward Track
Glorious Reward Track (PvP only)
Legacy Armor Reward Track
Triumphant Armor Reward Track and Triumphant Hero's Armor (WvW only)

These provide stat-selectable weapons:

Mistforged Hero's weapons (WvW only)
Obsidian Weapon Box (doesn’t provide underwater weapons)

You can also get certain Core/Release stats very easily through the dungeon reward tracks, which provide 3 weapons and one piece of armor:

Ascalonian Catacombs Dungeon Track (Soldier's, Magi's, or Rampager's)
Caudecus's Manor Dungeon Track (Rabid, Rampager's, or Shaman's)
Twilight Arbor Dungeon Track (Magi's, Rabid, or Rampager's)
Sorrow's Embrace Dungeon Track (Carrion, Knight's, or Soldier's)
Citadel of Flame Dungeon Track (Berserker's, Carrion, or Rampager's)
Honor of the Waves Dungeon Track (Magi's, Rabid, or Soldier's)
Crucible of Eternity Dungeon Track (Berserker's, Dire, or Rampager's)
The Ruined City of Arah Dungeon Track (Berserker's, Knight's, or Rabid)

If you have any of the Living World Season 3-5 episodes, you can get stat-selectable gear from their corresponding reward tracks. See "Living World Achievements" below for the gear you can get (identical to the gear the reward track provides).

Story/Achievement Rewards

Some story steps and achievements provide exotic gear as a reward. This is the best method of getting exotic gear for new players, but is limited by the achievements available.

Story Rewards

Some story steps provide you with free exotic equipment:

Personal Story

Victory or Death: Provides a Berserker's, Knight's, or Rabid head.

Heart of Thorns

The Jungle Provides: Provides a Berserker's, Carrion, Cleric's, Dire, Rampager's, or Shaman's head.
Bitter Harvest: Provides a piece of Trailblazer's, Viper's, or Wanderer's armor.
Hearts and Minds: Provides a piece of Wanderer's armor.

Living World Season 3

Confessor's End: Provides a stat-selectable Core/Release, Core/Extended, or Heart of Thorns head.

Path of Fire

Blazing a Trail: Provides a Marshal's backpiece.

Elite Specialization Gear

You receive some gear for training an elite specialization. Note that the armor pieces are not salvageable, so you might not want to put expensive runes in them.

Heart of Thorns

Berserker: Sentinel's, Sinister, or Vigilant torch and head
Chronomancer: Berserker's, Minstrel's, or Soldier's shield and shoulders
Daredevil: Celestial, Marauder's, or Minstrel's staff and head
Dragonhunter: Berserker's, Commander's, or Rampager's longbow and hands
Druid: Cleric's, Minstrel's, or Nomad's staff and shoulders
Herald: Celestial, Crusader's, or Trailblazer's shield and shoulders
Reaper: Berserker's, Knight's, or Trailblazer's greatsword and head
Scrapper: Berserker's, Knight's, or Wanderer's hammer and head
Tempest: Assassin's, Celestial, or Minstrel's warhorn and shoulders

Path of Fire

Deadeye: Assassin's, Berserker's, or Valkyrie rifle and shoulders
Firebrand: Marshal's, Trailblazer's, or Viper's axe and head
Holosmith: Berserker's, Marauder's, or Marshal's sword and shoulders
Mirage: Carrion, Dire, or Rabid axe and head
Renegade: Celestial, Grieving, or Viper's shortbow and head
Scourge: Apothecary's, Carrion, or Viper's torch and shoulders
Soulbeast: Marauder's, Marshal's, or Viper's dagger and hands
Spellbreaker: Assassin's, Knight's, or Valkyrie dagger and shoulders
Weaver: Celestial, Grieving, or Viper's sword and hands

Mistward Collections

You receive a set of exotic Berserker's, Knight's, or Rabid heavy armor for unlocking all Revenant specializations and completing the Mistward collections.

Heart of Thorns Pact Backpieces

For playing through the Heart of Thorns story and completing the Agent's Pack, Crusader's Pack, or Scholar's Pack collection, you get a backpiece with certain Core/Release or Core/Extended stats.

Living World Achievements

Since Heart of Thorns, most Living World episodes have had at least one achievement that provides stat-selectable exotic armor:

Living World Season 3

Out of the Shadows: head
Rising Flames: shoulders + a head from Maintain Aurene's Shield
A Crack in the Ice: hands
The Head of the Snake: head
Flashpoint: shoulders
One Path Ends: feet

Living World Season 4

Daybreak: head
A Bug in the System: shoulders + 2 backpieces from Repairing/Rebooting IG-6417
Long Live the Lich: chest
All or Nothing: legs
War Eternal: boots

Icebrood Saga

Whisper in the Dark: head
No Quarter: multiple head and backpieces

Crafting

Crafting is an expensive but reliable way to get exotic equipment. You'll need the appropriate level 400 crafting profession and the recipe for the items you want to craft. You'll also need the right materials, either acquired through farming or the Trading Post.

Crafting can get complicated for Core/Extended, Heart of Thorns, and Path of Fire stats, as the appropriate recipes are often locked behind map-specific currencies, and the materials may be expensive or account bound. Use the wiki to find the appropriate crafting recipes and where they can be obtained from.

This will set you back 50-200 gold depending on the stat set; you might also have to spend more gold leveling your crafting or buying the recipes.

WvW Vendors

The Weapon Master and Armor Master at each WvW spawn point sell:

weapons and armor with Berserker's, Carrion, Cleric's, Knight's, Rabid, and Soldier's stats;
amulets, accessories, and rings with Soldier's stats.

Depending on the exact stats and how many Badges of Honor you have, this may or may not be a better deal than buying them off the Trading Post. A full set of weapons and armor will set you back 7-10 gold and 1200-1500 Badges of Honor.

Karma

Each of the six temples in Orr has a meta event chain that, when completed, allows you to buy exotic equipment for 42,000 karma apiece. Note that none of these are salvageable, so you might not want to put expensive runes in them.

Cathedral of Glorious Victory (Straits of Devastation): Rampager's armor, Cavalier trinkets
Cathedral of Eternal Radiance (Malchor's Leap): Rabid armor, Magi's trinkets
Cathedral of Zephyrs (Malchor's Leap): Cleric's armor, Rabid trinkets
Cathedral of Verdance (Cursed Shore): Magi's armor
Cathedral of Silence (Cursed Shore): Berserker's armor, Soldier's trinkets
The Narthex (Cursed Shore): Soldier's armor

Dungeon Tokens

If you have some experienced friends to run dungeons with, or you're willing to take your chances with LFG, you can get certain Core/Release stats by doing dungeons. Each explorable path has a daily reward of ~100 unique tokens which you can cash in for exotic armor and weapons at the Dungeon Armor and Weapons vendor.

Ascalonian Catacombs: Soldier's, Magi's, or Rampager's
Caudecus's Manor: Rabid, Rampager's, or Shaman's
Twilight Arbor: Magi's, Rabid, or Rampager's
Sorrow's Embrace: Carrion, Knight's, or Soldier's
Citadel of Flame: Berserker's, Carrion, or Rampager's
Honor of the Waves: Magi's, Rabid, or Soldier's
Crucible of Eternity: Berserker's, Dire, or Rampager's
The Ruined City of Arah: Berserker's, Knight's, or Rabid

Ascalonian Catacombs, Twilight Arbor (non-Aetherpath), and Crucible of Eternity are the easiest dungeons for inexperienced players to tackle. Arah is grueling and not recommended for the faint of heart. If you're new to dungeons, I recommend using a LFG description along the lines of "new player LF all paths, help appreciated".

Guild Backpacks

If you’re in an active guild that does guild missions, you can buy exotic backpieces with Berserker's, Magi's, or Soldier's stats from the Guild Commendation Trader for 5 gold and 5 guild commendations each.

You can also buy exotic weapons from this vendor, but this is not recommended as the Trading Post is cheaper.

Prototype Fractal Capacitor

You can buy an exotic Berserker's, Cavalier's, Knight's, or Rabid backpiece from BUY-4373 for 1,350 fractal relics. This backpiece can be upgraded fairly cheaply to an ascended version in the Mystic Forge, making it a good choice for fractal players. However, it does not have an upgrade slot and hence provides inferior stats compared to all other exotic backpieces.

Note that the upgraded ascended version will have the same stat combination as the exotic version.

Beetle Incubator

If you have Living World Season 4 Episode 3 ("Forearmed is Forewarned"), you can buy an exotic backpiece from Kadir in the Domain of Kourna for some karma and map currency. This stat-selectable backpiece provides all Core and Path of Fire stats.

Ascended Equipment

Differences from Exotic

Ascended equipment differs from exotic equipment in three crucial aspects:

1. Ascended equipment is Account Bound, not Soulbound.: This means you can freely move ascended weapons and trinkets between characters, and ascended armor between characters that wear the same weight of armor.

2. You can't equip multiple copies of Unique ascended trinkets.: For example, you can't equip two , even though you have two ring slots. The same applies to accessories. You can work around this in two ways:

Get two differently-named rings or accessories that have the same stats.
Use one ring that is infused or attuned (see "Infusing and Attuning Equipment" below) and one ring that isn't. This is useful if you aren't planning to slot infusions into your rings.

3. Ascended armor and weapons can be reforged in the Mystic Forge to change their stats.: To do this, combine the ascended piece with 5 Globs of Ectoplasm, an Anthology of Heroes (bought from Miyani), and an exotic inscription/insignia with the desired stats. This lets you stat swap any ascended weapon or armor piece, including named weapons and armor pieces you get from achievements.

Note that this is effectively destroying and recreating the ascended piece, so you'll lose any upgrades that were inside it. If you want to keep runes, sigils, or infusions, you'll have to extract them with an Upgrade Extractor or Infusion Extraction Device.
This process will also cease to count as the original item for some purposes such as forging legendary armor.

Living World

The single best way to get ascended trinkets is through the Living World maps. All Season 3 maps and some Season 4 maps have a unique farmable currency that can be used to buy stat-selectable ascended trinkets. If you play PvP or WvW, you can also get the map currencies from the appropriate reward tracks.

Note that all of these are Unique, so you can only get one ring and accessory from a single map.

Living World Season 3

Bloodstone Fen (Blood Rubies) - backpiece, amulet, ring
- Note: You can change the stats on Blood Ruby trinkets by spending unbound magic.
Ember Bay (Petrified Wood) - backpiece, accessory
Bitterfrost Frontier (Fresh Winterberries) - backpiece, accessory, ring, aquabreather
Lake Doric (Jade Shards) - backpiece, amulet
Draconis Mons (Fire Orchid Blossoms) - amulet, ring
Siren's Landing (Orrian Pearls) - backpiece, amulet

Living World Season 4

Sandswept Isles (Difluorite Crystals) - accessory, ring
Domain of Kourna (Laurels) - amulet, accessory, ring (Plaguedoctor's stats only)
Thunderhead Peaks (Laurels) - amulet, accessory, ring (Diviner's stats only)
Dragonfall (Mistborn Motes) - amulet, accessory, ring

Icebrood Saga

Bjora Marches (Eternal Ice) - amulet, accessory (require achievements to unlock purchase option)

Laurels

Another way to get ascended trinkets with Core/Release stats is to buy them from the Laurel Merchant. This vendor sells trinkets with Apothecary, Berserker's, Cavalier's, Celestial, Cleric's, Knight's, Rabid, Rampager's, and Soldier's stats. You can also buy Core/Hybrid stats, and duplicates of any Core/Extended trinket you received from Living World Season 2 story achievements.

Amulets only cost 30 laurels, making this the cheapest way to get an ascended amulet.
Rings cost 35 laurels, which is pretty cheap. However, getting them with laurels is not recommended as Pristine Fractal Relics are even cheaper.
Accessories cost 40 laurels and 50 Globs of Ectoplasm, which is only worth it if you have lots of laurels and ectoplasm to spare.

You can also buy from the WvW Laurel Merchant, which costs more Badges of Honor but fewer laurels.

Fractal Rings

If you don't mind doing fractals, you can use Pristine Fractal Relics to buy ascended rings from BUY-2046 PFR. These are the same rings sold by the Laurel Merchant, except they only cost 10 Pristine Fractal Relics each. That's a mere 3 days of T1 fractal dailies, or 1 day of T3/T4 fractal dailies if you already have a geared character.

Prototype Fractal Capacitor

As previously mentioned, BUY-4373 sells a Berserker's, Cavalier's, Knight's, or Rabid backpiece for 1,350 fractal relics, which can be upgraded to an ascended version in the Mystic Forge. If you do fractals regularly, this is one of the cheapest ascended backpacks available.

Note that the upgraded ascended version will have the same stat combination as the exotic version.

Guild Commendations

If you're in an active guild that does guild missions, the Guild Commendation Trader sells the same ascended accessories as the Laurel Merchant, but for 5 gold and 12 guild commendations each. This is more cost-effective than buying them with laurels, as guild commendations aren't really used for anything else.

Mist Trinkets

You can buy stat-selectable ascended trinkets from vendors in fractals, PvP, or WvW. This is a relatively expensive way to obtain ascended trinkets, but the trinkets you obtain can have any stats, and you can reselect stats using a Mist Capacitor. The trinkets are also not Unique, so you can equip multiple Mist Bands or Mist Talismans.

BUY-2046 PFR: Pristine Fractal Relics and Integrated Fractal Matrices
Ascended Armor League Vendor: Ascended Shards of Glory and Shards of Glory
Skirmish Supervisor: WvW Skirmish Claim Tickets and Memories of Battle

Achievements

Some story steps and achievements provide ascended gear as a reward. This is the best method of getting ascended gear for new players, but is limited by the achievements available.

Dungeon Collections

Unlocking all the skins for each of the dungeons will unlock an ascended accessory with Assassin's (Caudecus's Manor or The Ruined City of Arah), Carrion (Citadel of Flame or Sorrow's Embrace), Magi's (Honor of the Waves or Twilight Arbor), or Sentinel's (Ascalonian Catacombs or Crucible of Eternity) attribute combinations. These attribute combinations can be difficult to obtain if you only have access to core stats, but completing the collections from scratch involves running a lot of each dungeon, or its correspondind PvP/WvW reward track.

Style Guide

A stat-selectable accessory can be obtained by completing the Style Guide collection, though several items are very expensive to obtain.

Knight of the Thorn

If you complete the Heart of Thorns story and the Knight of the Thorn questline, you can get a stat-selectable ascended weapon with Core/Release, Core/Extended, or Heart of Thorns stats.

You can have the weapon be a dagger, greatsword, scepter, shield, or sword. While this weapon can't be stat swapped in the Mystic Forge, you can use unbound magic to reselect its stats or the type of weapon it is.

The first ascended weapon is free (only requiring some easy collection achievements). To make more, you'll need to complete the Heart of Thorns story on additional characters, and spend about 30 gold crafting the components for each new weapon.

Raise the Banners

You get a stat-selectable ascended backpiece for completing each Raise the Banners collection in Path of Fire. The stats available include all of the stats sold by the Laurel Merchant, as well as Path of Fire stats.

There are 3 collections you can finish, each one providing an ascended backpiece. You get a 4th backpiece for free after completing all the previous collections.

Specialization Collections

You get an ascended weapon for completing each Specialization Collection. The resulting ascended weapons have a limited selection of stats but can be stat swapped in the Mystic Forge.

Heart of Thorns

Berserker: Sentinel's, Sinister, or Vigilant torch
Chronomancer: Berserker's, Minstrel's, or Soldier's shield
Daredevil: Celestial, Marauder's, or Minstrel's staff
Dragonhunter: Berserker's, Commander's, or Rampager's longbow
Druid: Cleric's, Minstrel's, or Nomad's staff
Herald: Celestial, Crusader's, or Trailblazer's shield
Reaper: Berserker's, Knight's, or Trailblazer's greatsword
Scrapper: Berserker's, Knight's, or Wanderer's hammer
Tempest: Assassin's, Celestial, or Minstrel's warhorn

Path of Fire

Deadeye: Assassin's, Berserker's, or Valkyrie rifle
Firebrand: Marshal's, Trailblazer's, or Viper's axe
Holosmith: Berserker's, Knight's, or Wanderer's sword
Mirage: Carrion, Dire, or Rabid axe
Renegade: Celestial, Crusader's, or Trailblazer's shortbow
Scourge: Apothecary's, Carrion, or Viper's torch
Soulbeast: Marauder's, Marshal's, or Viper's dagger
Spellbreaker: Assassin's, Knight's, or Valkyrie dagger
Weaver: Celestial, Grieving, or Viper's sword

Each of these collections includes an expensive Mystic or Mordant weapon that will set you back about 30 gold. However, collecting a Mystic shield or staff, or a Mordant axe, dagger, or sword, will fulfill the requirement for two collections at once.

Story Mastery Achievements

Some story achievements provide an ascended trinket when complete:

Living World Season 2

Gates of Maguuma Mastery: Nomad's ring
Entanglement Mastery: Nomad's accessory
The Dragon's Reach, Part 1 Mastery: Nomad's ring
The Dragon's Reach, Part 2 Mastery: Nomad's accessory; Nomad's amulet purchasable with laurels/magnetite shards
Echoes of the Past Mastery: Sinister accessory
Tangled Paths Mastery: Sinister ring
Seeds of Truth Mastery: Sinister amulet; Sinister ring purchasable with bandit crests
Point of No Return Mastery: Sinister accessory; Sinister amulet purchasable with laurels/magnetite shards/bandit crests

Heart of Thorns

Heart of Thorns: Act IV Mastery: Commander's, Minstrel's, Trailblazer's, Vigilant, Viper's, or Wanderer's amulet
- Note that this requires the difficult achievement Migraine. Not recommended unless you're already an experienced PvE player or you can get some experienced friends to carry you.

Path of Fire

Path of Fire: Act 1 Mastery: Marshal's amulet
Path of Fire: Act 2 Mastery: Harrier's amulet
Path of Fire: Act 3 Mastery: Grieving amulet

Crafting

Crafting is an expensive but reliable way to get ascended armor and weapons. You'll need the appropriate level 500 crafting profession and the recipe for the items you want to craft. You'll also need the right materials, either acquired through farming or the Trading Post. Note that ascended trinkets cannot be crafted.

One important difference between exotic and ascended crafting is that ascended crafting requires several time-gated materials:

Lump of Mithrillum, Glob of Elder Spirit Residue, Spool of Thick Elonian Cord, and Spool of Silk Weaving Thread can only be crafted once a day. However, you can bypass the time gate by buying the finished ingots, planks, squares, or bolts off the Trading Post (although this will usually cost you more money than making the ingredients yourself).
Vision Crystals and Lesser Vision Crystals must be crafted with ascended materials or obtained through daily login rewards. You can farm Living World Season 3/4 maps if you need ascended materials.
To get Obsidian Shards to refine ascended materials, you can farm the Silverwastes, Heart of Thorns maps, Unbound Magic, or Volatile Magic. You can also buy them with karma from the Cathedral of Glorious Victory meta event chain.

Crafting can get complicated for Core/Extended, Heart of Thorns, and Path of Fire stats, as the appropriate recipes are often locked behind map-specific currencies, and the materials may be expensive or account bound. Use the wiki to find the appropriate crafting recipes and where they can be obtained from.

Crafting a full set of ascended armor and weapons will set you back 200-400 gold depending on the stat set; you might also have to spend more gold leveling your crafting or buying the recipes.

Grandmaster Marks

As an alternative to crafting ascended armor and weapons directly, you can craft Grandmaster Marks and use them to buy ascended gear. This is primarily useful for obtaining Core/Extended, Heart of Thorns, or Path of Fire stats without jumping through hoops to get the relevant crafting materials and crafting recipes.

One vendor in each game mode sells the recipes for Grandmaster Marks, and also accepts them as a currency:

Fractals: BLING-9009
PvP: Ascended Armor League Vendor or Ascended Weapon League Vendor
WvW: Skirmish Supervisor

This costs around the same as crafting the items normally, but is much more convenient than farming rare/account bound materials. If you play WvW or ranked PvP you can also get the occasional Box of Grandmaster Marks from reward chests.

Raids

If you do PvE raids, you can buy ascended equipment from the Basic Magnetite Exchange Operative for magnetite shards. This is by far the cheapest way to get ascended armor and weapons, but you have to invest time into learning to raid (or at least have friends that are willing to carry you through raids).

Vial of Salt

Although this stat-selectable item is PvP-related, no PvP is required as the items involved in forging it can simple be bought off the trading post.

Rurik's Engagement Ring

If you have Living World Season 3 Episode 2, Rurik's Engagement Ring is a stat-selectable ascended ring awarded from a questline in Ember Bay. The items for the questline can be bought off the Trading Post for about 50 gold, so it's an option if you have lots of gold to spare.

Path of Fire Vendors

As a last resort, you can use Trade Contracts and Pulsing Brandsparks to buy Path of Fire trinkets from various open world vendors. This is one of the worst and most expensive options available, but as there aren't that many ways to get Path of Fire trinkets as of this writing, it's included for the sake of completeness.

Runes & Sigils

Trading Post

The vast majority of upgrade components can be bought off the Trading Post. Some crafted runes and sigils like Sigil of Superior Sigil of Concentration can be expensive, but unfortunately there’s no better way to obtain them (other than obtaining the materials and crafting them yourself).

Runes and sigils introduced in Path of Fire, such as Rune of Superior Rune of the Renegade, can also be obtained for Proofs of Heroics from the Heroics Notary. If you play WvW, check the Heroics Notary before buying expensive upgrade components.

Crafting

Some runes and sigils are account bound and only available through crafting, such as Sigil of Superior Sigil of Cleansing. Neither the recipe nor the materials are particularly expensive, but you'll need to have the appropriate crafting profession leveled to craft it.

Dungeon-Exclusive Runes and Sigils

Some runes and sigils are exclusive to specific dungeons, including the following meta runes:

Rune of Superior Rune of the Monk: Ascalonian Catacombs
Rune of Superior Rune of the Nightmare: Twilight Arbor

The best way to get these is to farm the appropriate dungeon for a few days, then buy them with dungeon tokens from the Dungeon Armor and Weapons vendor. The only alternative is to obtain the tokens from the appropriate PvP/WvW reward track; this will take much longer and is only really worth it if you hate dungeons.

HoT-Exclusive Runes and Sigils

The remaining runes and sigils are account bound upgrades introduced in Heart of Thorns, and must either be bought with map-specific currency in PvE or with Proofs of Heroics from the Heroics Notary. In practice this boils down to one of these runes:

Rune of Superior Rune of Durability: Auric Basin
Rune of Superior Rune of Leadership: Dragon’s Stand

Decide whether you enjoy farming PvE or WvW more, then farm the appropriate currency and buy them from the vendor.

Infusions

Infusing and Attuning Equipment

To put infusions in your gear, you first need ascended equipment with infusion slots. Most ascended equipment comes with one or two preset infusion slots. You can increase the number of infusion slots in certain trinkets by infusing or attuning them:

Rings and backpieces can be infused to add one infusion slot, for a total of two infusion slots.
Rings can also be attuned to add a second infusion slot, for a total of three infusion slots.

The following Mystic Forge recipe is used to infuse rings:

The following Mystic Forge recipe is used to attune rings:

Backpieces have inconsistent Mystic Forge recipes and are also fairly expensive to infuse (about 30 gold + a Gift of Ascension). Check the wiki to see which recipe is required to infuse your ascended backpiece.

Note that these Mystic Forge recipes effectively destroy and recreate your ascended trinkets, so you'll lose any upgrades that were inside them. Be sure to remove any expensive infusions using an Infusion Extraction Device before reforging them.

Agony Infusions

Agony infusions are relatively straightforward to acquire. They drop from fractals, and can be combined by an Artificer or INFUZ-5959 into higher tiers of agony infusions. Agony infusions can also be bought and sold on the Trading Post.

New fractal players should aim for +9 Agony Infusions, as equipping 15 +9 infusions, 1 +8 infusion, and 1 +7 infusion is enough to reach 150 agony resistance. This means you don't need to spend gold infusing your backpiece.

Stat Infusions

+4 Stat Infusions

You can buy Mighty, Precise, Malign, Resilient, Vital, or Healing infusions from the Laurel Merchant for 5 laurels each. These are the cheapest stat infusions available, but only provide +4 to a stat rather than +5.

WvW Stat Infusions

WvW Laurel Merchants and Skirmish Supervisors sell stat infusions for WvW currency. These infusions provide +5 to a stat and make you more effective against Guards, Lords, and Supervisors. If you play WvW, these are the cheapest +5 stat infusions available.

Agony Stat Infusions

INFUZ-5959 sells +5, +7, or +9 Agony Infusions that also provide +5 to a stat. These cost agony infusions and integrated fractal matrices. The +5 Agony Infusions can also be bought for magnetite shards and gold from the Basic Magnetite Shard Exchange Operative.

PvE players who only plan to play raids can buy the relatively cheap +5 agony stat infusions. The +7 or +9 infusions are much more expensive and should only be considered by extremely dedicated fractal players.

Adapted from User:Tanetris/So You Want To Gear a Character

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |title=GW2 How to Gear a Character Guide - MetaBattle
 |description=Detailed Character Gearing Guide for Guild Wars 2.
-}}''Last updated August 2022''
+}}''Last updated July 2020, No Quarter update''
-=Introduction=
+==Introduction==
 This guide is an overview of the best ways to acquire gear for level 80 PvE and WvW content.
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 Equipment can be acquired from many different sources in this game. Feel free to mix and match gearing methods in a way that works for you.
@@ Line 28: / Line 27: @@
 * '''Ascended''' gear is the best tier. It's significantly more expensive than exotic gear, as a full set is timegated and costs 200-400 gold to craft. However, it only offers a 12.5% damage increase over exotic gear. You don't ''need'' to get ascended gear unless you want to run high-level fractals (in which case you need the infusion slots). However, it's a good long-term goal, especially if you plan to play WvW or do raids.
 ** Ascended gear can be upgraded with '''agony infusions,''' which provide the agony resistance needed to survive high-level fractals. Alternatively, they can be upgraded with '''stat infusions''', which provide a marginal amount of stats. '''Agony stat infusions''' provide the best of both worlds but are extremely expensive and most players don't bother with them.
-** '''Legendary''' gear has the same stats as ascended, but offers the ability to swap those stats any time outside of combat. It is extremely expensive to obtain but provides a further goal to aim for once you are fully kitted out in ascended. Legendary trinkets do have a particular use, as ascended trinkets with the End of Dragons stats (Dragon and Ritualist) are available only in extremely limited supply.
 Ascended trinkets (backpieces, amulets, accessories, rings) are relatively easy to get, so you can consider skipping exotic and going straight to ascended for these. They also offer the greatest increase in stats by far, making them the most efficient place to start.
-For every build other than power DPS, when upgrading from exotic gear you should upgrade your trinkets first, followed by your weapon, as most of your stats are in these items.
+When upgrading from exotic gear, you should upgrade your weapon first, followed by your trinkets, as most of your stats are in these items.
-Power DPS classes should prioritise getting at least an ascended mainhand weapon before trinkets, as the higher weapon strength translates to a significant damage boost even before the increased attributes are considered.
-==Stats and Prefixes==
+==Table of Stats and Prefixes==
 For the vast majority of equipment, stat combinations are only accessible if they are part of the core set, or you own the expansion they are associated with. Stat selectable equipment will allow you to choose from any of the combinations you have access to, with a few exceptions (such as specialization collections).
@@ Line 48: / Line 42: @@
 * '''Path of Fire''' stats were added during Path of Fire and Living World Season 4. These stats require the Path of Fire expansion.
 ** '''Diviner's''' gear is a weird edge case. This stat combination was retroactively added in Path of Fire to both Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire gear, so it requires ''either'' Heart of Thorns or Path of Fire.
-* '''End of Dragons''' offers '''Dragon''' and '''Ritualist''' stats. At the time of writing, these are not included in "all-stat" selectable equipment, with the exception of weapons from End of Dragon's Strikes. Trinkets in particular are very limited, requiring completion of achievements or collections.
-===Useful Attribute Combinations===
-In instanced PvE, a relatively small selection of attribute combinations are in common use:
-* Power DPS builds predominantly use {{tooltip|Berserker stats}}
-* Condi DPS builds predominantly use {{tooltip|Viper stats}}
-* Healers predominantly use {{tooltip|Harrier stats}}
-Optimised builds will often make use of other stat sets - see individual builds for details.
-In Open World PvE and WvW, the useful combinations are much more varied, as survivability is much more important and the balance between offense and defence will depend greatly upon the build and player.
-Below is a full list of the different attribute combination, and the prefixes used to refer to them.
 <div class="table-responsive">
@@ Line 100: / Line 77: @@
 |-
 | [[File:Diviner stats.webp|25px]] || Diviner's || Steelstar's || Heart of Thorns OR Path of Fire || Power++, Concentration++, Precision+, Ferocity+ || -
-|-
-| [[File:Dragon stats.webp|25px]] || Dragon's || Suun's || End of Dragons || Power++, Ferocity++, Precision+, Vitality+ || Jade
 |-
 | [[File:Giver stats.webp|25px]] || Giver's || Tixx's || Core/Extended || Toughness++, Healing Power+, Concentration+ || Snowflake
@@ Line 128: / Line 103: @@
 |-
 | [[File:Rampager stats.webp|25px]] || Rampager's || Coalforge's/Forgemaster's || Core/Release || Precision++, Power+, Condition Damage+ || Coral
-|-
-| [[File:Ritualist stats.webp|25px]] || Ritualist's || Togo's || End of Dragons || Vitality++, Condition Damage++, Concentration+, Expertise+ || Polished Resin
 |-
 | [[File:Sentinel stats.webp|25px]] || Sentinel's || Tonn's/Wei Qi's || Core/Extended || Vitality++, Power+, Toughness+ || Azurite
@@ Line 159: / Line 132: @@
 =Exotic Equipment=
 ==Trading Post==
-For Core/Release stats, the simplest and fastest way to get exotic equipment is to buy it off the Trading Post. This can, however, be rather costly for some stats and you may find that it is easier to go straight for ascended weapons and trinkets in particular. The majority of exotic equipment is also soulbound upon use, preventing you from giving it to another character later.
+For Core/Release stats, the simplest and fastest way to get exotic equipment is to buy it off the Trading Post.
-DO NOT SEARCH DIRECTLY FOR THE PREFIX, as that will only show you crafted gear. Instead, use the filters to find the cheapest level 80 exotic gear with the stats you need. You should be able to find armour pieces for less than 1 gold each.
+Don't search directly for the prefix, as that will only show you crafted gear. Instead, use the filters to find the cheapest level 80 exotic gear with the stats you need.
 This will set you back 10-35 gold. If you don't count trinkets it will cost less than 10 gold.
-There are two notable stat-selectable armour pieces you can obtain from the trading post: a [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ice_Golem%27s_Maw_Box helm] and [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Shoulders_of_the_Ebon_Vanguard_Choice_Chest shoulders]. These give you access to stats that are otherwise hard to come by.
@@ Line 177: / Line 146: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Crystal_Desert_Reward_Track Crystal Desert Reward Track]
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Glorious_Reward_Track Glorious Reward Track] (PvP only)
-* [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Heart_of_Maguuma_Reward_Track Heart of Maguuma Reward Track]
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Legacy_Armor_Reward_Track Legacy Armor Reward Track]
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Triumphant_Armor_Reward_Track Triumphant Armor Reward Track] and [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Triumphant_Hero%27s_armor Triumphant Hero's Armor] (WvW only)
@@ Line 196: / Line 164: @@
 If you have any of the Living World Season 3-5 episodes, you can get stat-selectable gear from their corresponding reward tracks. See "Living World Achievements" below for the gear you can get (identical to the gear the reward track provides).
-==Bladed Armor==
-Special mention must be given to the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bladed_armor Bladed Armor] set available from the first map of Heart of Thorns, Verdant Brink. This set is stat-selectable, which makes it an excellent way to obtain some of the more difficult attribute combinations. Each piece has a slightly different way of obtaining it:
-* The head can be found as a random reward from chests, purchased from a vendor or as a reward for completing the '''The Jungle Provides''' story step.
-* Shoulders, leggings and boots can be purchased from a vendor
-* The coat is a random drop from killing the Wyvern Matriarch at the end of the map's meta event
-* Gloves can be found as a random reward from chests in the map or killing the Wyvern Matriarch, and can also be purchased from a vendor
-The vendor in question is the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Itzel_Mastery_Vendor Itzel Mastery Vendor], which requires the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Itzel_Language Itzel Language] mastery to unlock.
-You can also get a chest that lets you choose one of these pieces each time you complete the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Heart_of_Maguuma_Reward_Track Heart of Maguuma Reward Track] in PvP or WvW.
 ==Story/Achievement Rewards==
-Some story steps and achievements provide exotic gear as a reward. If you're going to be playing through the story anyway it may be worth checking the list below see see what you'll get.
+Some story steps and achievements provide exotic gear as a reward. This is the best method of getting exotic gear for new players, but is limited by the achievements available.
@@ Line 222: / Line 177: @@
 '''Heart of Thorns'''
-* '''The Jungle Provides:''' Provides a stat-selectable head.
+* '''The Jungle Provides:''' Provides a Berserker's, Carrion, Cleric's, Dire, Rampager's, or Shaman's head.
 * '''Bitter Harvest:''' Provides a piece of Trailblazer's, Viper's, or Wanderer's armor.
 * '''Hearts and Minds:''' Provides a piece of Wanderer's armor.
@@ Line 237: / Line 192: @@
 '''Heart of Thorns'''
-* '''Berserker:''' Sentinel's, Sinister or Vigilant torch and head
+* '''Berserker:''' Sentinel's, Sinister, or Vigilant torch and head
-* '''Chronomancer:''' Berserker's, Minstrel's or Soldier's shield and shoulders
+* '''Chronomancer:''' Berserker's, Minstrel's, or Soldier's shield and shoulders
-* '''Daredevil:''' Celestial, Marauder's or Minstrel's staff and head
+* '''Daredevil:''' Celestial, Marauder's, or Minstrel's staff and head
-* '''Dragonhunter:''' Berserker's, Commander's or Rampager's longbow and gloves
+* '''Dragonhunter:''' Berserker's, Commander's, or Rampager's longbow and hands
-* '''Druid:''' Cleric's, Minstrel's or Nomad's staff and shoulders
+* '''Druid:''' Cleric's, Minstrel's, or Nomad's staff and shoulders
-* '''Herald:''' Celestial, Crusader's or Trailblazer's shield and shoulders
+* '''Herald:''' Celestial, Crusader's, or Trailblazer's shield and shoulders
-* '''Reaper:''' Berserker's, Knight's or Trailblazer's greatsword and head
+* '''Reaper:''' Berserker's, Knight's, or Trailblazer's greatsword and head
-* '''Scrapper:''' Berserker's, Knight's or Wanderer's hammer and head
+* '''Scrapper:''' Berserker's, Knight's, or Wanderer's hammer and head
-* '''Tempest:''' Assassin's, Celestial or Minstrel's warhorn and shoulders
+* '''Tempest:''' Assassin's, Celestial, or Minstrel's warhorn and shoulders
 '''Path of Fire'''
-* '''Deadeye:''' Assassin's, Berserker's or Valkyrie rifle and shoulders
+* '''Deadeye:''' Assassin's, Berserker's, or Valkyrie rifle and shoulders
-* '''Firebrand:''' Marshal's, Trailblazer's or Viper's axe and head
+* '''Firebrand:''' Marshal's, Trailblazer's, or Viper's axe and head
-* '''Holosmith:''' Berserker's, Marauder's or Marshal's sword and shoulders
+* '''Holosmith:''' Berserker's, Marauder's, or Marshal's sword and shoulders
-* '''Mirage:''' Carrion, Dire or Rabid axe and head
+* '''Mirage:''' Carrion, Dire, or Rabid axe and head
-* '''Renegade:''' Celestial, Grieving or Viper's shortbow and head
+* '''Renegade:''' Celestial, Grieving, or Viper's shortbow and head
-* '''Scourge:''' Apothecary's, Carrion or Viper's torch and shoulders
+* '''Scourge:''' Apothecary's, Carrion, or Viper's torch and shoulders
-* '''Soulbeast:''' Marauder's, Marshal's or Viper's dagger and gloves
+* '''Soulbeast:''' Marauder's, Marshal's, or Viper's dagger and hands
-* '''Spellbreaker:''' Assassin's, Knight's or Valkyrie dagger and shoulders
+* '''Spellbreaker:''' Assassin's, Knight's, or Valkyrie dagger and shoulders
-* '''Weaver:''' Celestial, Grieving or Viper's sword and gloves
+* '''Weaver:''' Celestial, Grieving, or Viper's sword and hands
-'''End of Dragons'''
-* '''Bladesworn:''' Berserker's, Dragon's or Knight's pistol and gloves
-* '''Catalyst:''' Celestial, Dire or Dragon's hammer and head
-* '''Harbinger:''' Ritualist's, Sentinel's or Shaman's pistol and gloves
-* '''Mechanist:''' Dragon's, Soldier's or Zealot's mace and gloves
-* '''Specter:''' Apothecary's, Ritualist's or Shaman's scepter and gloves
-* '''Untamed:''' Carrion, Dragon's or Rabid hammer and head
-* '''Virtuoso:''' Carrion, Dire or Ritualist's dagger and gloves
-* '''Vindicator:''' Dragon's, Nomad's or Zealot's greatsword and gloves
-* '''Willbender:''' Apothecary's, Ritualist's or Settler's sword and shoulders
@@ Line 283: / Line 224: @@
 ===Living World Achievements===
 Since Heart of Thorns, most Living World episodes have had at least one achievement that provides stat-selectable exotic armor:
 '''Living World Season 3'''
@@ Line 292: / Line 232: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Flashpoint_(achievements) Flashpoint]: shoulders
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/One_Path_Ends_(achievements) One Path Ends]: feet
 '''Living World Season 4'''
@@ Line 300: / Line 239: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/All_or_Nothing_(achievements) All or Nothing]: legs
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/War_Eternal_(achievements) War Eternal]: boots
 '''Icebrood Saga'''
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Master_of_the_Ancestral_Forge Whisper in the Dark]: head
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/No_Quarter_(achievements) No Quarter]: multiple head and backpieces
@@ Line 311: / Line 248: @@
 Crafting is an expensive but reliable way to get exotic equipment. You'll need the appropriate level 400 crafting profession and the recipe for the items you want to craft. You'll also need the right materials, either acquired through farming or the Trading Post.
-Crafting can get complicated for expansion stats, as the appropriate recipes are often locked behind map-specific currencies, and the materials may be expensive or account bound. Use the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Crafting wiki] to find the appropriate crafting recipes and where they can be obtained from.
+Crafting can get complicated for Core/Extended, Heart of Thorns, and Path of Fire stats, as the appropriate recipes are often locked behind map-specific currencies, and the materials may be expensive or account bound. Use the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Crafting wiki] to find the appropriate crafting recipes and where they can be obtained from.
-This will set you back 50-200 gold depending on the stat set; you might also have to spend more gold leveling your crafting or buying the recipes.
+This will set you back 50-200 gold depending on the stat set; you might also have to spend more gold leveling your crafting or buying the recipes.
@@ Line 322: / Line 258: @@
 * amulets, accessories, and rings with Soldier's stats.
 Depending on the exact stats and how many Badges of Honor you have, this may or may not be a better deal than buying them off the Trading Post. A full set of weapons and armor will set you back 7-10 gold and 1200-1500 Badges of Honor.
@@ Line 336: / Line 271: @@
 ==Dungeon Tokens==
-If you have some experienced friends to run dungeons with, or you're willing to take your chances with LFG, you can get certain Core/Release stats by doing dungeons. Each explorable path has a daily reward of 100 Tales of Dungeon Delving which you can cash in for exotic armor and weapons at the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dungeon_Armor_and_Weapons Dungeon Armor and Weapons vendor].
+If you have some experienced friends to run dungeons with, or you're willing to take your chances with LFG, you can get certain Core/Release stats by doing dungeons. Each explorable path has a daily reward of ~100 unique tokens which you can cash in for exotic armor and weapons at the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dungeon_Armor_and_Weapons Dungeon Armor and Weapons vendor].
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascalonian_Catacombs Ascalonian Catacombs]: Soldier's, Magi's, or Rampager's
@@ Line 348: / Line 283: @@
 Ascalonian Catacombs, Twilight Arbor (non-Aetherpath), and Crucible of Eternity are the easiest dungeons for inexperienced players to tackle. Arah is grueling and not recommended for the faint of heart. If you're new to dungeons, I recommend using a LFG description along the lines of "new player LF all paths, help appreciated".
@@ Line 355: / Line 289: @@
 You can also buy exotic weapons from this vendor, but this is not recommended as the Trading Post is cheaper.
@@ Line 362: / Line 295: @@
 Note that the upgraded ascended version will have the same stat combination as the exotic version.
 ==Beetle Incubator==
 If you have Living World Season 4 Episode 3 ("Forearmed is Forewarned"), you can buy an exotic backpiece from [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Kadir#vendor4 Kadir] in the Domain of Kourna for some karma and map currency. This stat-selectable backpiece provides all Core and Path of Fire stats.
 =Ascended Equipment=
 ==Differences from Exotic==
 Ascended equipment differs from exotic equipment in three crucial aspects:
@@ Line 391: / Line 320: @@
 ==Living World==
-The single best way to get ascended trinkets is through the Living World maps. All Season 3 maps and some Season 4 and 5 maps have a unique farmable currency that can be used to buy stat-selectable ascended trinkets. If you play PvP or WvW, you can also get the map currencies from the appropriate reward tracks.
+The single best way to get ascended trinkets is through the Living World maps. All Season 3 maps and some Season 4 maps have a unique farmable currency that can be used to buy stat-selectable ascended trinkets. If you play PvP or WvW, you can also get the map currencies from the appropriate reward tracks.
-Generally speaking, season 3 maps are more generous with their currencies than season 4 maps, and Bitterfrost Frontier in particular is notable for only limiting the amount of winterberries you can farm each day per-character (other maps limit you per-account). This means with enough characters, you can very quickly obtain all trinkets except for an amulet. The most convenient map to get an amulet (or another accessory) from is Bjora Marches. After these two maps, the easiest to farm is probably Dragonfall, which can get you the final ring.
-Note that all of these are Unique, so you can only get one ring and accessory from a single map, though you can double up on rings if you attune one of them (see above).
+Note that all of these are Unique, so you can only get one ring and accessory from a single map.
 '''Living World Season 3'''
@@ Line 406: / Line 332: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Draconis_Mons Draconis Mons (Fire Orchid Blossoms)] - amulet, ring
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Siren's_Landing Siren's Landing (Orrian Pearls)] - backpiece, amulet
 '''Living World Season 4'''
@@ Line 413: / Line 338: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Thunderhead_Peaks Thunderhead Peaks (Laurels)] - amulet, accessory, ring (Diviner's stats only)
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dragonfall Dragonfall (Mistborn Motes)] - amulet, accessory, ring
 '''Icebrood Saga'''
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bjora_Marches Bjora Marches (Eternal Ice)] - amulet, accessory (require achievements to unlock purchase option)
-** Eternal Ice drops very frequently from events and strikes related to Bjora Marches, and can be traded for season 4 currencies. This can work out faster than farming the relevant maps themselves.
@@ Line 428: / Line 350: @@
 You can also buy from the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Laurel_Merchant_(WvW) WvW Laurel Merchant], which costs more Badges of Honor but fewer laurels.
 ==Fractal Rings==
-If you don't mind doing fractals, you can use Pristine Fractal Relics to buy ascended rings from [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/BUY-2046_PFR BUY-2046 PFR]. These are the same rings sold by the Laurel Merchant, except they only cost 10 Pristine Fractal Relics each. That's a mere 3 days of T1 fractal dailies, or 1 day of T3/T4 fractal dailies if you already have a geared character. These are available with core stats.
+If you don't mind doing fractals, you can use Pristine Fractal Relics to buy ascended rings from [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/BUY-2046_PFR BUY-2046 PFR]. These are the same rings sold by the Laurel Merchant, except they only cost 10 Pristine Fractal Relics each. That's a mere 3 days of T1 fractal dailies, or 1 day of T3/T4 fractal dailies if you already have a geared character.
@@ Line 440: / Line 360: @@
 Note that the upgraded ascended version will have the same stat combination as the exotic version.
 ==Guild Commendations==
 If you're in an active guild that does guild missions, the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Guild_Commendation_Trader Guild Commendation Trader] sells the same ascended accessories as the Laurel Merchant, but for 5 gold and 12 guild commendations each. This is more cost-effective than buying them with laurels, as guild commendations aren't really used for anything else.
@@ Line 453: / Line 371: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_Armor_League_Vendor Ascended Armor League Vendor]: Ascended Shards of Glory and Shards of Glory
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Skirmish_Supervisor Skirmish Supervisor]: WvW Skirmish Claim Tickets and Memories of Battle
@@ Line 484: / Line 401: @@
 ===Specialization Collections===
 You get an ascended weapon for completing each [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Specialization_Collections Specialization Collection]. The resulting ascended weapons have a limited selection of stats but can be stat swapped in the Mystic Forge.
 '''Heart of Thorns'''
@@ Line 496: / Line 412: @@
 * '''Scrapper:''' Berserker's, Knight's, or Wanderer's hammer
 * '''Tempest:''' Assassin's, Celestial, or Minstrel's warhorn
 '''Path of Fire'''
@@ Line 508: / Line 423: @@
 * '''Spellbreaker:''' Assassin's, Knight's, or Valkyrie dagger
 * '''Weaver:''' Celestial, Grieving, or Viper's sword
 Each of these collections includes an expensive Mystic or Mordant weapon that will set you back about 30 gold. However, collecting a Mystic shield or staff, or a Mordant axe, dagger, or sword, will fulfill the requirement for two collections at once.
@@ Line 515: / Line 429: @@
 ===Story Mastery Achievements===
 Some story achievements provide an ascended trinket when complete:
 '''Living World Season 2'''
@@ Line 526: / Line 439: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Seeds_of_Truth_(achievements) Seeds of Truth Mastery]: Sinister amulet; Sinister ring purchasable with bandit crests
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Point_of_No_Return_(achievements) Point of No Return Mastery]: Sinister accessory; Sinister amulet purchasable with laurels/magnetite shards/bandit crests
 '''Heart of Thorns'''
-* [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Heart_of_Thorns:_Act_4 Heart of Thorns: Act IV Mastery]: Stat-selectable amulet
+* [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Heart_of_Thorns:_Act_4 Heart of Thorns: Act IV Mastery]: Commander's, Minstrel's, Trailblazer's, Vigilant, Viper's, or Wanderer's amulet
-** Note that this used to require the difficult achievement Migraine. However, in June 2022 a new achievement was added that allows you to skip this if you do all the others.
+** Note that this requires the difficult achievement Migraine. Not recommended unless you're already an experienced PvE player or you can get some experienced friends to carry you.
 '''Path of Fire'''
@@ Line 537: / Line 448: @@
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Path_of_Fire:_Act_2 Path of Fire: Act 2 Mastery]: Harrier's amulet
 * [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Path_of_Fire:_Act_3 Path of Fire: Act 3 Mastery]: Grieving amulet
-'''Icebrood Saga'''
-* Completing all episodes of the Icebrood Saga will award you an ascended [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Saga%27s_End_Draconic_Core accessory].
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 This costs around the same as crafting the items normally, but is much more convenient than farming rare/account bound materials. If you play WvW or ranked PvP you can also get the occasional [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Box_of_Grandmaster_Marks Box of Grandmaster Marks] from reward chests.
 ==Raids==
 If you do PvE raids, you can buy ascended equipment from the [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Basic_Magnetite_Exchange_Operative Basic Magnetite Exchange Operative] for magnetite shards. This is by far the cheapest way to get ascended armor and weapons, but you have to invest time into learning to raid (or at least have friends that are willing to carry you through raids).
 ==Vial of Salt==
 Although this stat-selectable item is PvP-related, no PvP is required as the items involved in forging it can simple be bought off the trading post.
 ==Rurik's Engagement Ring==
 If you have Living World Season 3 Episode 2, [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Rurik%27s_Engagement_Ring Rurik's Engagement Ring] is a stat-selectable ascended ring awarded from a questline in Ember Bay. The items for the questline can be bought off the Trading Post for about 50 gold, so it's an option if you have lots of gold to spare.
 ==Path of Fire Vendors==
-As a last resort, you can use Trade Contracts and Pulsing Brandsparks to buy Path of Fire trinkets from [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Pulsing_Brandspark#Vendors various open world vendors]. This is one of the worst and most expensive options available, but it's included for the sake of completeness.
+As a last resort, you can use Trade Contracts and Pulsing Brandsparks to buy Path of Fire trinkets from [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Pulsing_Brandspark#Vendors various open world vendors]. This is one of the worst and most expensive options available, but as there aren't that many ways to get Path of Fire trinkets as of this writing, it's included for the sake of completeness.

PROFESSION

GAME MODE

PvE GUIDES

PvP GUIDES

WvW GUIDES

Difference between revisions of "How to Gear a Character"

Revision as of 15:58, 28 August 2022

Introduction

Exotic or Ascended?

Table of Stats and Prefixes

Exotic Equipment

Trading Post

PvP/WvW

Story/Achievement Rewards

Story Rewards

Elite Specialization Gear

Mistward Collections

Heart of Thorns Pact Backpieces

Living World Achievements

Crafting

WvW Vendors

Karma

Dungeon Tokens

Guild Backpacks

Prototype Fractal Capacitor

Beetle Incubator

Ascended Equipment

Differences from Exotic

Living World

Laurels

Fractal Rings

Prototype Fractal Capacitor

Guild Commendations

Mist Trinkets

Achievements

Dungeon Collections

Style Guide

Knight of the Thorn

Raise the Banners

Specialization Collections

Story Mastery Achievements

Crafting

Grandmaster Marks

Raids

Vial of Salt

Rurik's Engagement Ring

Path of Fire Vendors

Runes & Sigils

Trading Post

Crafting

Dungeon-Exclusive Runes and Sigils

HoT-Exclusive Runes and Sigils

Infusions

Infusing and Attuning Equipment

Agony Infusions

Stat Infusions

+4 Stat Infusions

WvW Stat Infusions

Agony Stat Infusions

Comments