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Strike Mission

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Disambig icon.png "SM" redirects here. For the WvW objective, see Stonemist Castle.

Tackle these challenging boss encounters in a group of up to ten players, either as a pre-formed squad or in a public mode anyone can join.

— Official description

Strike Missions are 10 player squad-based PvE instances, usually consisting of a single boss encounter, that alongside Raids serve as a one of the core pillars of Guild Wars 2's PvE endgame designed for level 80 characters.

Normal difficulty Strike Missions are intended to be an entry point into the world of 10-player content in Guild Wars 2. These instances are designed to be something you can tackle alongside both close friends and new allies, pitting you and nine others against jazzed-up, remixed versions of epic, exciting bosses from the Living World and expansions.[1] A Challenge Mode and/or Legendary Challenge Mode difficulty setting is also avaliable on some Strike Missions for players wanting a further challenge more akin to, or even greater than raid difficulty.

Accessing strike missions[edit]

Available to all players
Expansions required
  • EoD Texture Trans.png End of Dragons strike missions are accessible by interacting with their respective scrying stones in the open world or Arborstone (also accessible by talking to Lyra nearby).
    • The End of Dragons expansion is required.
    • They are unlocked account-wide by completing the respective story mission listed below. Otherwise, players must join a strike mission instance created by someone else who has unlocked the encounter.
  • Secrets of the Obscure logo.png Secrets of the Obscure strike missions are accessible by interacting with the scrying stone in the Wizard's Tower (also accessible by talking to Halbera nearby).
    • The Secrets of the Obscure expansion is required.
    • They are unlocked account-wide by completing the respective story mission listed below. Otherwise, players must join a strike mission instance created by someone else who has unlocked the encounter.

Difficulty tiers[edit]

Challenge mode activates a more difficult version of the encounter

All squad-based strike missions (except for the festival events) are reworked versions of the encounters initially found in story episodes.

  • Story version: initially fought as a part of a story, intended for solo play.
  • Normal mode: 10-player squad.
  • Challenge mode: 10-player squad, additional mechanics, only found in End of Dragons-era and later strikes.
  • Legendary Challenge Mode: 10-player squad, additional mechanics, additional boss health, currently only found in Temple of Febe strike.

List of strike missions[edit]

(CM) = Optional Challenge mode available
(LCM) = Optional Legendary Challenge mode available

# Name Encounters Currency Unique rewards Notes

GW2Logo new.png Guild Wars 2
Accessed from: Divinity's Reach (during Wintersday)

* Secret Lair of the Snowmen
  • Only playable during Wintersday.[2]
  • Doesn't require any expansion to enter.
  • Does not count towards the Wizard's Vault objective Complete any Strike Mission. [3]
  • Release date: December 11, 2018 (original release)
    December 17, 2019 (first labeled as a strike mission)
Living World logo.png Living World Season 1
Accessed from: Lion's Arch
* Old Lion's Court (CM) Blue Prophet Shard.pngBlue Prophet Shard
  • Doesn't require any expansion to enter.
  • Release date: November 8, 2022
    November 29, 2022 (challenge mode release)[4]
Living World Season 5 logo.png The Icebrood Saga (Requires Path of Fire)
Accessed from: Eye of the North
1 Shiverpeaks Pass Blue Prophet Shard.pngBlue Prophet Shard

Blue Prophet Crystal.pngBlue Prophet Crystal

  • Release date: September 17, 2019
2 Voice of the Fallen and Claw of the Fallen
3 Fraenir of Jormag
  • Tier 2 of the Valor Essence Manipulation mastery is required to open all reward chests.
  • Release date: November 19, 2019 (Sanctum Arena instance release)
    November 26, 2019 (first time active in rotation)
4 Boneskinner
  • Tier 2 of the Resilience Essence Manipulation mastery is required to open all reward chests.
  • Release date:
    November 19, 2019 (Sanctum Arena instance release)
    December 3, 2019 (first time active in rotation)
5 Whisper of Jormag
  • Release date: January 28, 2020
6 Forging Steel
(Unlocked by: Forging Steel (story))
7 Cold War
  • Release date: May 26, 2020
EoD Texture Trans.png End of Dragons
Accessed from: Arborstone
1 Aetherblade Hideout (CM)
(Unlocked by: Can't Trust a Pirate)
Blue Prophet Shard.pngBlue Prophet Shard
  • Release date: February 28, 2022
    April 19, 2022 (challenge mode release)[5]
2 Xunlai Jade Junkyard (CM)
(Unlocked by: Empty)
  • Release date: February 28, 2022
    May 10, 2022 (challenge mode release)[5]
3 Kaineng Overlook (CM)
(Unlocked by: In the Name of the Law)
  • Release date: February 28, 2022
    May 24, 2022 (challenge mode release)[5]
4 Harvest Temple (CM)
(Unlocked by: The Only One)
  • Release date: February 28, 2022
    June 28, 2022 (challenge mode release)[5][6]
Secrets of the Obscure logo.png Secrets of the Obscure
Accessed from: The Wizard's Tower
1 Cosmic Observatory (CM)
(Unlocked by: Mother of Stars)
Blue Prophet Shard.pngBlue Prophet Shard
  • Release date: August 22, 2023
    November 7, 2023 (challenge mode release)
2 Temple of Febe (CM) (LCM)
(Unlocked by: Treachery)
  • Release date: August 22, 2023
    February 27, 2024 (challenge mode release)

Today's Priority strike mission[edit]

Every day, three strike missions are featured as part of a priority daily achievement.

The Icebrood Saga
1 Cold War (achievement)
2 Fraenir of Jormag (achievement)
3 Shiverpeaks Pass (achievement)
4 Voice of the Fallen and Claw of the Fallen (achievement)
5 Whisper of Jormag (achievement)
6 Boneskinner (achievement)
End of Dragons
1 Aetherblade Hideout (achievement)
2 Xunlai Jade Junkyard (achievement)
3 Kaineng Overlook (achievement)
4 Harvest Temple (achievement)
5 Old Lion's Court (achievement)
Secrets of the Obscure
1 Cosmic Observatory (achievement)
2 Temple of Febe (achievement)

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Currency and rewards[edit]

For more details about rewards see the individual Strike Mission pages.

The Icebrood Saga[edit]

Every strike mission will award you with Blue Prophet Shard.pngBlue Prophet Shards. These shards can be then used to buy ascended items from Crystallographer Smoxxi as well as exchange for crystals. Prophet Crystals can be also gained from completing Daily Strikes, and then can be used to open the weekly Vigil Emissary Chest. Max of 3 Blue Prophet Crystal.pngBlue Prophet Crystals can be used for maximum loot each week.

If you missed looting any chest in any strike that awards Essence chests (Sanctum Arena and Whisper of Jormag encounters), the loot will be sent to you by mail via in-game inbox. This, however, does not work for the Shiverpeaks Pass, Forging Steel and Cold War missions, and the chests and the loot will be lost upon leaving the instance.

End of Dragons[edit]

Normal mode

Each strike mission rewards the following:

Challenge mode

Completing a mission with challenge mode activated gives additional rewards:

Extra attempts and completions in either normal or challenge mode keep giving additional Blue Prophet Shard.pngBlue Prophet Shards until the weekly cap of 100 is reached.

Secrets of the Obscure[edit]

Normal mode

Each strike mission rewards the following:

Challenge mode

Completing a mission with challenge mode activated gives additional rewards:

Extra attempts and completions in either normal or challenge mode keep giving additional Blue Prophet Shard.pngBlue Prophet Shards until the weekly cap of 100 is reached. Shards obtained through daily and weekly achievements don't count towards that cap. [verification requested]

Lore[edit]

Many strike missions are relived past events. The mind and memories can be unreliable and thus can show unreliable depictions of the true events.[7] They are accessed via scrying stones that mysteriously appeared around the world. They have a similar function and magical composition to the Scrying Pool[8] which is a large pool of mystical water in the Eye of the North's Hall of Monuments. It is a confluence point of energies, connecting many threads throughout time in the Mists,[9] which is known to grant visions and access to past events.

Related achievements[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • Players can enter a strike mission portal as a squad.
    • You can use a raid squad or regular squad but only 10 players will be able to enter the instance.
    • When entering as a squad, you can enter the mission before all have arrived in the instance or even in the squad itself. Starting the encounter, however, will cause players entering the instance later to join defeated.
  • Players in a party can also enter a strike mission portal, however the strike mission will only allow up to the maximum in a party to join.
    • As of at least the April 3, 2024 update, or as early as the March 19, 2024 update, it appears that Players entering as a party may not be granted credit, only the party leader that opened the instance may be granted credit.
  • For The Icebrood Saga Strike Missions, the latest mission will additionally have a public instance, which places the player in a new instance with up to 9 other players.
    • If a public mission starts with fewer than 10 players, it will be locked down and no more players will be able to join.
    • If you exit and attempt to enter a new public mission you will be placed in the previous instance while it is still open.
  • In Bjora Marches, the three weekly strike missions rotate each week. Since the release of Visions of the Past: Steel and Fire these strike missions can also be opened at anytime via the portal in the Eye of the North.
Mission Start
Fraenir of Jormag Currently active
Boneskinner 11 November 2024
Voice and Claw of the Fallen 18 November 2024
Fraenir of Jormag 25 November 2024

The active strike mission changes every Monday 23:30 just before the daily reset.
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Trivia[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons Strike Missions, GuildWars2.com
  2. ^ a b A Very Merry Wintersday 2019, GuildWars2.com
  3. ^ a b Weekly Wizard's vault objectives
  4. ^ Guild Wars 2 Fall and Winter 2022 Roadmap, GuildWars2.com
  5. ^ a b c d ArenaNet Studio Update: The Future of Guild Wars 2, GuildWars2.com
  6. ^ Update on the Harvest Temple Strike Mission Challenge Mode
  7. ^ Lyra
    Lyra: Do you resonate with the stone, traveler? Images of your past, memories... They all float through your thoughts. Some of them may be warm, some of them are bitter... Do you dare relive those moments?
    Lyra: The scrying stone can allow you to relive past events...but the mind can be unreliable. Who knows what may change and shift as you dive into those memories.
  8. ^ Strike Mission (object)
    They have a similar magical composition to the Scrying Pool in the Eye of the North
  9. ^ Voice in the Deep
    Aurene: So you're drawn to the Scrying Pool as well? Its waters connect many threads in the Mists. Threads throughout time.
    Aurene: I believe that power drew me to this place. But I'll need more time to understand it.
  10. ^ A Very Merry Wintersday 2018, GuildWars2.com