User:Fam/80

Intro

• You're about to hit level 80 or you just hit level 80 for the first time.
• You want to make sure your character is set up for level 80 content but you don't know the steps to get to having decent end-game gear.
• You're planning on doing primarily PvE content (map exploration, dynamic events, dungeons and Fractals)
• You're probably wearing some mixed combination of gear you acquired while levelling.

This guide will aim to take you through the following steps, with options at each point:

• Finding your end-game build
• Getting ERare gear
• Running dungeons using the LFG system
• Equipping your character with FExotic gear
• Running the Fractals dungeon
• Getting your final GAscended gear

This guide assumes you are gearing for PvE (open world PvE, dungeons and Fractals). If you are planning on gearing for World vs. World you should find a World vs World guild on your server or a good trusted player on your server who plays your character profession and ask them for advice on your build.

Free Accounts have some restrictions which make some choices more optimal than others. Notes have been added to each section for players with free accounts to show these differences.

Before you start, optionally reading the Metabattle guide on how to configure your control settings and Beginner & Intermediate Player’s Guide to Movement and Combat in Guild Wars 2 are both super-useful.

Finding a build

Before you can start selecting gear you need to know what kind of build you will be gearing towards; A pure power build will need armor that gives bonuses to power and precision, a build that relies heavily on conditions will need a set of armor that has high condition damage stat.

It is entirely your choice on how to build. You can pick whichever gear you want, you can use whatever skills and traits you want. It is important to be aware that the groups you can join for dungeons will depend on your build — dungeon groups that are looking to go fast and advertise as such (see the section on dungeons later) will drop you from the dungeon if you're running a healing build — so you may wish to pick a build depending on your play-style and how your friends and guild normally play. Wherever you land on the Casual↔Hardcore spectrum, you will be able to find dungeon parties.

Understanding gear stats

Gear at level 80 in Guild Wars 2 will normally give you 3 different stats: 1 main stats and 2 minor stats. Most discussion around gear in Guild Wars 2 will not reference the specific attributes but instead refer to the stats by their name (e.g. Berserker's Pearl Broadsword is an exotic greatsword that has Berserker stats (Power main stat, Precision and Ferocity as minor stats), whereas Soldier's Pearl Broadsword is an exotic greatsword that has Soldier stats (Power main stat, but Vitality and Toughness as minor stats instead). Some gear, such as Ebonblade or Nika's Mask, have names which don't indicate what their stats are, but because they are both Power main stat, Precision and Ferocity as minor stats we would refer to these as Berserker gear also.

When this guide talks about a particular stat name such as Berserker or Soldier, it means any piece of gear that has the equivalent set of stats rather than just those that have it in their name.

Using a 'meta' build

Meta is a term commonly used in MMO's to describe the current best builds and strategies, short for metagame.

If you're looking for a recommended build or do not feel strongly about your build then it is advised to use a good 'meta' build. The best place for finding this build is MetaBattle wiki, which is a community curated list of builds which work well in different situations.

1. Go to MetaBattle then click on Dungeon, then click one of the builds for your profession listed as either Meta, Great or Good.
2. Read the guide (bookmark it in your browser)
3. Set your traits to the traits that the build suggests
4. Make a note of what the stat of the gear is (most guides will suggest that your armor and your weapons be Berserker stat. Check to see if the stat is one of the stats listed in the list of stats that are harder to obtain.
5. Make a note of which upgrades (runes for armor, sigils for weapons) the build recommends. The build will also recommend infusions for when you have , but you can ignore these for now.
6. Make a note of which upgrades the build recommends as cheap alternatives, you'll use these until you are equipped in exotic gear.
7. Make a note of which food is recommended for your build.

Free Accounts cannot buy a lot of upgrades from the Trading Post — including a lot of the runes and sigils that are recommended by the metabattle guides — so do not have easy access to some of the armor and weapon upgrades unless you are lucky enough to loot them or you have a friend who can buy them for you and then send them to you in a mail. For example, Superior Runes of the Scholar are recommended for many professions but require the Tailor crafting discipline to be trained to 400 before you can craft them (which is a discipline a heavy/medium armor character normally wouldn't need to level) and Superior Runes of Strength runes are often recommended for Warriors but can only be obtained by salvaging loot drops. Use the Metabattle recommendations and the wiki's Rune overview to find more easily obtained runes until you have a way of reliably obtaining the runes/sigils you need.

The rest of this build will assume that the guide has suggested using Berserker stat gear (the recommendation for most current builds). If the guide suggested a different stat, then

Using a custom build

The rest of this guide will assume that your build will be a build aiming to do high damage at the expense of health and armor; because you have chosen a different build you will need to make sure that any gear you buy or pick works well with your intended role.

If you have a different casual role you're looking to fill then you can substitute any suggestion for Berserker (Power/Precision/Ferocity stat) gear in this guide with the equivalent.

Check to see if the stat is one of the stats listed in the list of stats that are harder to obtain.

Stats that are harder to get

Not all stats can be easily crafted or bought cheaply from the Trading Post. If you plan to use any of the following stat combinations you should first check that you will have access to the required content and recipes to make it:

• Celestial -- All-stat gear, requires recipes purchased from the Trading Post (at FExotic level), and Charged Quartz Crystals which are time-gated at all rarity levels.
• Sinister -- often recommended for Hybrid power and condition builds. Recipes obtained in the Silverwastes.
• Sentinel -- sometimes used in World vs World instead of Soldier's gear, needs Guild Commendations to craft at FExotic level.
• Zealot -- Requires recipes from the Trading Post.
• Nomad -- Requires recipes obtained in Dry Top.
• Giver -- Not available at GAscended level.

If your required stat is one of these, it is best to ask someone knowledgeable in your guild, friends list or map chat for help with aquiring that stat or suggesting alternatives. It may be a good idea to pick a similar but more easily obtained stat for your rare and exotic gear as you work your way towards ascended gear.

Rare Gear

Using the LFG tool to find a Dungeon Run

Dungeon List

Inventory Bags

Your next step should probably to get 20-slot bags, although this could wait until after you've got your exotic gear, as long as you have 15-slot bags or better.

Acquisition method
Gold	Halloween Pail 3  (each cob costs …b) by trading in Fractal Relics, or by trading in Candy Corn Cobs (from the Trading Post or Halloween events) for a Halloween Pail Free Accounts: You are unable to buy Candy Corn or Candy Corn Cobs so you cannot get cheap bags using this method (without farming all the candy-corn yourself). Additionally, you are restricted from directly buying other 20-slot bags from the trading post.
Dungeons	You can get 20 slot bags by trading Fractal Relics (from running the Fractals of the Mists dungeon). If you decide to run Fractals read the later section on Fractals of the Mists; The rewards you get in Fractals can buy you bags and also help you get end-game rings. 20 Slot Fractal Uncommon Equipment Box for 150  from BUY-4373 (inside the Fractals of the Mists lobby accessible from the portal in Lion's Arch).
Crafting	If you cannot make Candy Corn Cobs, you should Armorsmith 20 Slot Equipment Box Leatherworker 20 Slot Hardened Leather Pack Tailor 20 Slot Gossamer Bag

Exotic Gear

23 runs per set

Berserker's Exalted Coat …

Armor, Weapons & Trinkets

Dungeons

http://gw2dungeons.net/

Runes & Sigils

Free Accounts:

Ascended

Shopping List

Accessories	GAscended	Magister's Field Journal Rune	1  23  6  or 6	Laurel Merchant (WvW)
Accessories	GAscended	Althea's Ashes	1  23  + 6	Laurel Merchant (WvW) (Not the one in PvE)

Accessories

Amulet

Utility Ascended Amulet purchased from the Laurel Vendor in WvW (not the one in PvE). Unless you have some good reason for not running Berserker, you probably want Distinguished Circle of Logic. This is the only ascended trinket you should be buying with Laurels unless you hate Fractals.

Accessories

Do weekly guild missions. If you are not in a guild, or your guild does not do Guild Missions, ask in Lion's Arch about 30 minutes before Saturday's reset if there are any guilds you can join just for Guild Missions. Once you have 24 Guild Commendations, you should get one Althea's Ashes and one Magister's Field Journal from the Guild Commendations Trader in LA.

Rings

Rings have a random chance at dropping from the daily bonus chest (once per Fractal tier) during Fractals at reward level 11+. At reward level 21+ the rings have a chance of being infused. You should work towards getting yourself one Ring of Red Death (Infused) and one Crystalline Band (Infused) either through drops or from saving up 10 Pristine Fractal Relics and buying from the Fractal merchant and infusing them yourself. It may be beneficial to just use whatever ring drop first while you're levelling Fractals in order to get some temporary agony resistance until you're at Fractal level 21+ so you have a chance to get the infused drops. If you hate Fractals you can buy rings for Laurels (but use the WvW laurel vendor)

Backpiece

• PvE method: (recommended) If you do PvE and have 400 Artificer, 400 Chef, 400 Huntsman, 400 Jeweler and one of 500 Tailor, 500 Armorsmith or 500 Leatherwork, then craft Mawdrey using Dulfy's Guide. After you've crafted Mawdrey, run Fractals until you have the 500 tokens needed to upgrade it to Mawdrey (Infused)). To make Mawdrey you need Mysterious Seed which can be purchased for 1 Laurel in Dry Top.
• 'Fractals method: If you run lots of Fractals, save up 1350 Fractal Relics and buy Prototype Fractal Capacitor, then save up another 500 relics and a Glob of Coagulated Mists Essence and make a Prototype Fractal Capacitor), then save up _another_ 500 relics, a stack of ecto and a Glob of Coagulated Mists Essence, and make a Beta Fractal Capacitor).
• Gold method: If you have extra money and want to avoid the hassle of the Mawdrey scavanger hunt, go and craft Quiver of a Thousand Arrows or There with Yakkington: A Traveler's Tale, pick Berserker stats and ascend it as soon as you have a Glob of Coagulated Mists Essence drop at Fractal 10+.

Free Accounts: Because Laurels are hard to obtain on free accounts, it is recommended to obtain a backpiece either by using the Fractals method (running lots of the Fractals dungeon) or the Gold method (farming gold to buy the materials required to make a backpiece using the Mystic Forge instead of starting to craft Hawdrey.

Infusions

Go into Fractals and buy 6 Versatile Simple Infusions for 75 Fractal Relics each. Put one in each ascended trinket as soon as you get the trinket. You will need to reinfuse them if you upgrade a ring or a backpiece to Infused status through the Mystic Forge.

When you upgrade your rings and backpiece to Infused status, buy a +5 Agony Infusion from the Trading Post and slot it.