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Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 Gear Progression: What to Upgrade While Leveling and at 80

Guild Wars 2 gear progression: learn the level 80 gear path, how to buy cheap exotics, and which Wizard's Vault rewards to prioritize.

The MMO Codex editorial deskEditorial desk
4 min read

Guild Wars 2 gear progression overview

Gear progression moves through rarity colors, then settles into three practical level 80 stages: orange exotic gear, pink ascended gear, and purple legendary gear. Once you reach level 80, a full orange exotic set is the simple target to buy, with the Trading Post as the easy route. Ascended gear can replace exotic gear when you want the best stats. Legendary gear keeps the same stats as ascended gear, then adds accountwide convenience and free stat swapping.

The Wizard's Vault becomes available at level 80 and gives you another upgrade path through Astral Acclaim rewards, including ascended gear, weapon pieces, Mystic Coins, pouches of gold, and legendary starter kits.

Gear rarity colors

comparison

Mid-tier colors

  • Masterwork gear is green.
  • Rare gear is yellow.

Level 80 exotic target

  • Exotic gear is orange.

Endgame colors

  • Ascended gear is pink.
  • Legendary gear is purple.

Level 80 exotic gear

Choose your first level 80 gear target

Choose orange exotic gear at level 80 when you want a clear gear goal before working on ascended or legendary items. A good orange exotic set is the first concrete upgrade target once your character reaches level 80.

Use the Trading Post when you want the straightforward way to get that exotic set. The Trading Post lets you buy items, sell items for gold, and spend that gold on specific upgrades you need.

Move past exotic gear later when you decide to put more effort into strengthening the character. Ascended gear can replace exotic gear because ascended gear has the best stats.

Buy a level 80 Berserker greatsword on the Trading Post

A game screen showing the Trading Post interface listing various greatswords available for purchase.

Screenshot: Athis

steps

  1. Open the Trading Post.
  2. Click the gear categories to narrow the search to equipment.
  3. Open the Weapons tab.
  4. Open the Greatswords tab.
  5. Search for a level 80 item or exotic rarity.
  6. For the Berserker greatsword example, use Power, Precision, and Ferocity as the attributes.
  7. Sort the search results by price to find the cheapest item to buy.
  8. Type I am Evon Gnashblade into the Trading Post search bar if you want to unlock the special Trading Post UI.
  9. Type I am Evon Gnashblade again to revert the Trading Post to the original UI.

Ascended stats and legendary item benefits

comparison

Ascended gear

Ascended gear has the best stats and can replace exotic gear when you want a stronger level 80 setup.

Legendary gear

Legendary gear has the same stats as ascended gear. Its benefits are convenience: it is accountwide, any character on the account can access it, and it can swap stat combos and upgrades whenever you want for free.

Unlocking a legendary armor piece also removes the need to get that same armor piece again for the account.

What is the best gear in GW2?

FAQ

FAQ

Ascended gear has the best stats. Legendary gear has the same stats as ascended gear, plus accountwide access and free stat swapping.

Wizard's Vault rewards after level 80

Spend Astral Acclaim on upgrade rewards

Use the Wizard's Vault after level 80 because you do not have access to it before then. Once you start unlocking Astral Acclaim, the vault includes several gear and account-progression rewards.

Choose ascended gear rewards if you want direct equipment upgrades from the vault. You can get two weapon pieces and five pieces of ascended gear.

Choose currency rewards if your next upgrade needs gold or Mystic Coins. The vault includes Mystic Coins and pouches of gold.

Choose legendary starter kits if you want help starting legendary weapons. These kits do a lot of the work for legendary weapons and make those weapons easier to begin.

First-generation legendary weapon requirements

prerequisites

  • First-generation legendary weapons require the Gift of Exploration.
  • The Gift of Exploration comes from 100% map completion in core Tyria.
  • Legendary items can require achievements, collections, and other requirements.
  • Many legendary items send you into specific content throughout the game.
  • Legendary progress can be worked on passively while you play through the game.

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