One of the standout strengths of Guild Wars 2 is its complete rejection of the typical MMO gear treadmill. Unlike other games where every expansion resets your progress, GW2 lets your gear remain top-tier forever. Gear from 2015? Still valid today. That’s not just convenient—it’s empowering. But that also makes gearing decisions more impactful, especially for new players. This guide is here to help you understand what gear you need, how to get it, and how to make smart decisions that won’t waste your time or gold.

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Gear Tiers: Exotic, Ascended, and Legendary

Once you hit level 80, you’ll deal with three gear tiers:

• Exotic Gear: The entry point. It’s good, easy to acquire, and affordable. Available on the Trading Post or through a few simple methods.
• Ascended Gear: Slightly better than Exotic but significantly more powerful in key content (especially Fractals). Has the best stats in the game and is required for high-end content.
• Legendary Gear: Same stats as Ascended but comes with unmatched quality-of-life perks: stat swapping, transmutation freedom, and account-wide usage.

For most players, the best gear progression is: Exotic Armor → Ascended Trinkets → Ascended Weapons → (Optional) Ascended Armor → Legendary Gear.

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Start Here: Which Stats Should You Choose?

Before you start collecting gear, decide what stat combo your build uses. If you’re following a guide from sites like Snowcrows or Hardstuck, they’ll list the exact stats you need.

Some common stat types include:

• Berserker (Power DPS) – Core stat, easy to obtain.
• Viper (Condition DPS) – Requires expansions, harder to get.
• Harrier (Healing Power + Concentration) – PoF only.
• Minstrel (Tanky support) – Rare but great for raid tanks.
• Celestial (All-around stats) – Excellent for open world.

Berserker gear is by far the easiest to obtain. Others require more effort but are absolutely possible with the right methods.

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Exotic Armor: Fast and Functional

For Berserker armor, just go to the Trading Post and search for:

• “Zhed’s for Life” (light)
• “Nika’s” (medium)
• “Defender’s” or “Devona’s” (heavy)

These stat combos are often cheaper than manually searching “Berserker’s Armor” and offer the same stats.

For other stat types like Viper’s, Harrier’s, Minstrel’s, or Celestial, you’ll want to head to Verdant Brink in Heart of Thorns. A vendor there sells stat-selectable Bladed Armor for map currency (Airship Parts) and gold. To get the chest piece, complete a successful Tier 4 meta event in Verdant Brink. Watch LFG or the in-game timer to catch a run.

Verdant Brink makes gearing cheaper and stat-flexible—but make your choice wisely, as stats cannot be changed later.

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Ascended Trinkets: High Value, Low Effort

Unlike armor, Trinkets offer a significant stat upgrade and are very easy to get. Go straight for Ascended Trinkets.

If you need Berserker or Celestial stats:

• Buy amulets, rings, and accessories with Laurels from the Laurel vendor.
• Alternatively, use Badges of Honor in WvW or Guild Commendations from Guild Missions.
• Fractals also offer core-stat rings via Pristine Fractal Relics.

Important: Trinkets are unique, so avoid buying the same item twice. Pick distinct names (e.g., Ring of Red Death + Crystalline Band).

If you’re aiming for non-core stats like Viper’s or Harrier’s:

• Use Living World Season 3 & 4 maps.
  • Bitterfrost Frontier (LWS3 Ep3) lets you buy trinkets using Winterberries and Unbound Magic.
  • Dragonfall (LWS4 Ep6) allows purchases with Mistborn Motes.
• These trinkets are also stat-selectable.

Bonus: Bitterfrost allows unlimited Winterberry farming by rotating characters, making it one of the fastest free sources of Ascended Trinkets in the game.

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Ascended Weapons: Big Impact, Manageable Effort

Crafting is the most accessible route for many:

• Level a crafting discipline to 500 (Weaponsmith, Huntsman, or Artificer).
• Use gw2crafts.net to follow a cheap, efficient leveling route.
• Once maxed, follow crafting guides on gw2efficiency.com to craft the weapon.

For Viper’s or other expansion stats:

• You’ll need to unlock the appropriate inscription recipe. These are sold by vendors tied to their expansions (e.g., Viper’s from Tangled Depths).

If you’d rather not craft:

• Do the Knight of the Thorn side story (HoT) for one stat-selectable Ascended weapon.
• Complete Elite Specialization Collections for a free weapon, though these often lock you into a specific stat.
• Use raid or strike currency to buy weapons. Easy strikes like the first three Icebrood Saga ones are perfect for beginners.

Want custom stats? Use the Mystic Forge to stat-swap. You’ll need the correct exotic inscription, the weapon, an Anthology of Heroes, and a Philosopher’s Stone. Be aware that some inscriptions are account-bound, so light crafting might still be needed.

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Ascended Armor: Optional but Rewarding

While Exotic armor is fine for almost all content, Ascended Armor becomes necessary for high-tier Fractals (due to Agony Resistance) and Legendary Armor crafting.

To get it:

• Craft it (requires level 500 crafting).
• Buy with raid or strike currency, though this takes longer than weapons.
• Do raid achievements:
  • Completing the Envoy Armor I collection grants a full stat-selectable Ascended set.
  • Envoy Armor II offers another full set but is your legendary precursor—don’t stat-swap this one or you’ll lose its status.

If you want to go legendary in the future, these collections are highly recommended.

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Final Thoughts: Long-Term Power with Short-Term Goals

Once you have Exotic armor, Ascended Trinkets, and a few Ascended weapons, you are truly ready for all content in Guild Wars 2—raids, strikes, high-level open world, even dungeons and meta events. And because the game doesn’t raise item level caps, your gear will never become obsolete.

Gearing in Guild Wars 2 is a meaningful investment that pays off permanently. It may take a little time and planning, but once you’re finished, you’re done for good. That leaves more time for what matters most: exploring Tyria, fighting world bosses, and playing the builds you love.

Happy gearing!