GW2 Leveling stuffs

[buhwhyen]

There will be general information about features of the game (in this post) as well as a long and short version of some suggestions on how and where to level (in the following posts).

Quest based leveling and Renown Hearts
Guild Wars 2 utilizes a quest based leveling system. This is an important point to take notice of because this means that you should not be killing 500 wolves to reach your next level. Your main/primary source of experience gain is through the completion of tasks (quests, dungeon completions, etc) and not from the experience rewarded by killing monsters. The names of things are different than used in more conventional (I suppose WoW is “the” convention) MMOs. The equivalent of a quest is a renown heart (RH). Each RH task shows up in the top right portion of your screen and tasks vary from kill centaurs till the bar is filled, all the way to stealth through this area without being caught by a patrolling sentry. Doing RH is each zone is your most consistent means of gaining experience. However, it is not the sole means for getting experience that you should take advantage of.

Dynamic Events
Each zone has a variety of dynamic events (DEs) that allow you to break up the grind of clearing RH tasks. They usually trigger automatically based on time elapsed since the event was last completed. However, sometimes there are npcs that you need to talk to in order to start the events (they have an orange circle above their head).

These events also give considerable amounts of experience for the time required to complete them. Some you can do by yourself (solo) and some require a much larger group of people, these typically labeled as group events to help you distinguish the general level of difficulty. Large groups can vary depending mostly on the event itself. Some group events only take 2-3 people, but others might require as many as 20 people to complete. You also get karma and a small amount of cash for completing events. In the event that you fail one of these DEs, you are still rewarded partial credit and receive less experience, karma, and money than you would if you had successfully completed the event.
Tldr;
If you see a dynamic event, they're worth doing.

Personal story
Doing your personal story is a very quick way to get a lot of experience. I'm not sure on the exact amounts, but I think you get roughly 50% experience required to reach your next level (it does scale with your level). You don't have to keep up with your personal story, but it is recommended because it gives you a free set of gear early on (pre-level 20) and is easy/fast experience.

Dungeons
Running dungeons is very good experience. For first clears of the day, you should receive 70% of the experience required to reach the next level. Dungeons are more difficult than regular content, but also give better rewards. The first dungeon is Ascalon Catacombs - level 30 for story mode, level 35 for explorable mode. Typically you run story once for (obviously) to see the story. After that first run, you run explorable mode because it gives better rewards. Each dungeon will have 3 paths (Arah is an exception and has 4). A list of dungeons and their level requirements and locations can be found in the Q&A thread.

Gathering crafting materials
Using the World of Warcraft example, you had to be a certain profession in order to gather crafting materials. That is, if you wanted to mine iron or some other ore, you not only had to take up the “gathering” professions and then be sufficiently high level to gather various materials. In GW2, neither of these are required. Anyone can gather a crafting material, and they are uniquely spawned for each player. What this means is that everyone can see the same copper vein to mine. But I don't have to complete with another player over who gets to mine it. We see the resource in the same location, but we can both mine it.

The only restriction on gathering is based on what level gathering item you are using (picks for mining ore, sickles for gathering herbs, and axes for chopping trees). They have tiers or levels (copper, iron, steel, darksteel, mithril, and orichalcum). The only restrictions put on what you can use is what level your character is (orichalcum requires level 80 characters, iron requires level 10 characters). You also gain a moderate amount of experience for gathering, so I would suggest doing it even if you do not intend to use it yourself (craft). Gathering materials is a good way to make money and gain xp at the same time.

Crafting
You may have up to 2 crafting professions at a time (on a single character). You are able to "drop" and take up other crafts. Switching back to a profession you have previously dropped costs money. I forget the exact formula, but its based on the skill level of the profession you want to relearn. Crafting also gives a large amount of experience in GW2. A single craft maxes at 400 skill, if you max one craft it will reward you with 10 levels worth of experience. And since there are 8 crafts, it is possible to level to 80 without ever leaving your starting city and also without ever killing a monster.

Guild Wars 2 Leveling Philosophy
Guild Wars 2 is very different than other MMOs in terms of not forcing you to level in specific areas based on your level. For example, in World of Warcraft, you had to level where the monsters were close to your level otherwise you would get no experience for killing them. Likewise low level quests (relative to your level) gave diminished rewards compared to if you did them underleveled. This idea of not going to places much lower leveled than your character is different than the system used in GW2.

So following an example of someone that is used to this kind of system, they might for example force themselves to stay within a single zone till they can progress to the next level zone – Kessex Hills for instance. Say I am leveling a character, in Kessex Hills (a level 15-25 zone). But part way through clearing the zone I am only level 18, but the remainder of the content is level 22+ and I feel this is too difficult for me to complete. Normally you would be forced to do one of the following things: find another zone of similar level and go there to find quests or mobs to kill that are the same level you are, fight something lower level to do (but is slower/inefficient), or mindlessly grind out mobs till you are high enough level to go elsewhere. However, with GW2 you can go to any zone lower level than your own and get full experience/loot.

This means if I am still level 18, but I go to Caledon forest (Sylvari starting area. Lvl 1-15) and kill stuff there. The RH (quest) rewards will still give me low level stuff (level 1-15), but the drops from the mobs themselves will be scaled up to level 18 (my current level). Experience is scaled to your level regardless if its from a RH or killing random mobs. This means it is just as efficient to level in a lower level zone as it is in an equal level zone, and probably more efficient than trying to level in a much higher level zone because you ran out of equal level content. This holds true even if you are level 80 (level cap) killing stuff in a starter zone (level 1-15), you will receive level 80 drops from killing monsters. You should never be killing mobs mindlessly for experience. There should always be other areas with RHs you have not completed yet that is a better use of your time.

Misc info about zones
You might notice in your loading screen (when entering a zone) or when you open your world map that you see a number of icons with some numbers 1/25, 0/30, 10/15, etc.



This represents your completion progress for that map, and for the entire world of Tyria (the entirety of the current game world). The individual symbols are as follows:

The diamond shape is a waypoint symbol. Waypoints are used for instant travel for a small fee (fee is based on your character level). You can use these anytime you are not in combat.

Orange squares with white borders are Points of Interest (POI), these represent important points or structures in the zone. They have no actual impact on gameplay and only reward small amounts of experience the first time you visit them.

The blue army stripe represent skill points challenges. At these skill challenges you are typically require to kill a veteran level monster (more difficult than normal monsters) or channel the point for ~5 seconds without getting interrupted (hit). Usually channeling skill points are placed in hostile areas where you are likely to be attacked by aggressive monsters. Completion of a skill challenge will reward your character will 1 skill point (used to buy utility and elite skills for the most part. Later in the game these become a form of currency for mostly vanity items.

Double red triangles represent vistas. Vistas are the GW version of a mini puzzle. Essentially these points typically require some creativity or imagination in order to reach (they are usually located on top of structures, hills, etc). Once you reach it, it will show you a cinematic view of the landscape in the area.

Discovering (completing a skill challenge, traveling to waypoints/POI/vistas) will reward you experience. This is referred to as completion experience. You also get discovery experience when you first step into new areas (previously shaded on your map) and discovering general areas of a zone.

Map completion
This leads to map completion. Each zone will have a certain number of each category listed above (shown in picture above). Once you complete all RH, skill point challenges, and discover all the waypoints, POIs, and vistas, you will be rewarded for “completing” that specific zone. And you will receive a zone-level appropriate reward (not scaled to your character level). The reward is typically some experience + some money + 2 pieces of gear + some crafting materials + random item. The random item can be transmute stones (swap look/stats of a piece of gear to another piece of gear of the same type), or a black lion key (used to open black lion chests – which give black lion stuff, boosters, transmute stones, and transmutation potions).

[buhwhyen]

Lion's Arch and other Capital Cities
Each race has their own capital city:
Humans - Divinity's Reach
Charr - The Black Citadel
Sylvari - The Grove
Asura - Rata Sum
Norn - Hoelbrak

Lion's arch is the hub for everything. It's the central capital city that literally connects all other capital cities (via asura gates - big purple portals). Everyone at some point should make their way over to Lion's Arch, you will need to do it eventually.

How do I get to Lion's Arch? Each capital city has an asura gate that leads to Lion's Arch. Look for the purple swirly circle on your minimap. Otherwise you can get there from sPvP and WvWvW areas (explanations on these 2 things are listed in the next post).

Where should I be leveling?
As mentioned in the previous post. You can level anywhere that is at or lower than your level. It is suggested to go somewhere that is close to your level so that you can benefit from the Renown Heart rewards. But if you run out of content that is at your level, you can go to any zone lower level than you and still get full experience and the monsters themselves will drop items according to your level and not based on what level the zone is. For newer characters you can go to any of the other race's starting zones (level 1-15 zones). These would be:
Human - Queensdale
Charr - Plains of Ashford
Sylvari - Caledon Forest
Norn - Wayfarer's Foothills
Asura - Metrica Province

There should also be one 15-25 zone connected to each of the race's starter zones. These would include:
Human - Kessex Hills
Charr - Diessa Plateau
Norn - Snowden Drifts
Asura/Sylvari - Brisban Wildlands

There should be at least 2 zones for each general level range, so you should be able to level at roughly your level most of the time. But don't feel like you always have to fight equal level monsters, there isn't any harm in going back to areas you skipped over and clearing those instead.

What should I do to level?
Renown hearts are the most consistent form of experience. These are denoted by gold heart outlines (when you have not completed them) and by solid yellow hearts (when you have completed them). Personal quests should be done whenever you are high enough level to complete them (they are very good experience for less effort). Completing the daily quest (shown by a purple star/circle in the top right of your screen - click on it to show the list of what needs to be done). Gathering crafting materials is another good source of experience (and also money - you can sell a lot of stuff on the trading post since you probably won't use most of it). To do this you need to have a appropriate level mining pick/harvesting sickle/logging axe.

If you are not sure whether or not your current harvesting item can gather <X> resource, you can hover over the harvesting item itself, and it will list the things it can harvest that the previous level could not. So, a copper harvesting sickle can gather: onions, carrots, and blueberries (it can gather more stuff). And an iron sickle says it can gather strawberries, spinach, herb sprouts and lesser herbs. That means it can gather everything a copper sickle can plus the new herbs listed. If you are not sure throw away old gathering items and buy the highest level ones your character can equip.

Should I do map completions?
It depends on what you want to focus on achieving first. If you want to level as quickly as possible, you probably should avoid going out of your way to do map completions. The rewards are not hugely significant, and it does take considerably longer to finish a map than it is to just pick out what is convenient (or what you want) to do and then move on to the next zone.

[buhwhyen]

Misc tips - conveniences
You can deposit collectible items at anytime to your bank. Collectible items include: crafting materials, rare materials, miniatures, and gems/jewels. These are put into the collectables tab of your bank. If you visit a bank there will be a tab on the left side to choose which tab you want to view. The collectibles tab will store up to 1 stack (250) of most of the crafting materials in the game and miniatures.

Deposit collectibles button - in your inventory window, click the cog icon.


The collectibles tab in your bank - blue circle is general storage, red circle is the collectibles tab


Crafting stations also allow you access to your bank/collectibles tab




Free teleports back to Lions Arch. You can either enter WvWvW or the sPvP area and walk through a portal to Lion's Arch. Neither of these options cost you any money (just take longer due to load times). For WvWvW, click the WvWvW icon, then select the "go to World vs World" bar. Then choose any battleground, they all have portals that lead to Lion's Arch. For sPvP click the icon and click the "Go to the Heart of the Mists" button.

Blue circle Spvp icon, Red WvWvW icon


For WvW there are other ways the portals are arranged around where you arrive, but one example is...
Red circle is where you arrive initially. Blue circle is the portal to Lion's arch - notice the portals are purple circles on the minimap. If you walk close enough to a purple portal, it will show you where it leads. The other portals are to other WvWvW areas.


For sPvP. The portal in front of where you arrive takes you to Lion's Arch.



Run out of harvesting tools? Need to sell? Hop in WvWvW and use the merchants there. No waypoint costs and you can "quit" in WvWvW instead of using one of the portals to leave. So if you say, hit f12, choose character select, then log back into the same character you just logged off from. You will no longer be in WvWvW, but rather the point in the regular world map where you entered WvWvW from in the beginning. Free access to a merchant, and armor repair vendor (assuming there's no WvWvW queue).



Easy Trading Post searching for items you have in your inventory
Right click on any item in your inventory. Buy more at trading post can also be used to make sure you are not selling at too low of a price (shows the prices of other items currently listed on the TP). The buy more option also works for items you do not have in the collectibles tab of your bank.

[buhwhyen]

Salvage or Sell?
This is a common question even for people who have hit 80 and are fully geared. In general the answer to this question is sell. There are very few materials in the game really worth salvaging for. These include:

-Jute scraps. Jute is almost always (95% of the time) worth more than the item you salvage it from at low levels. Jute is the first tier cloth. Items level 20 or less will salvage into jute. Somewhere at the low 20s range you get the next tier of cloth sometimes (wool).
-Gossamer scraps. Highest tier cloth in the game. It's expensive and can only be obtained via salvage or high level loot bags.
-Globs of ectoplasms (ectos). The endgame crafting material You will need absurd amounts of these to craft a full set of gear. Even once you finish that, any sort of vanity armor/weapon skins require a large number of these. You also need them for ascended gear.
-Orichalcum ore. This is the highest tier metal. Realistically, the only reason you might want to salvage for this is because it's pretty expensive. Though you can mine it yourself (you can get ~40 ore per day if you mine all the spawns).
-Runes on armor. Some exotic armor pieces have runes already in them. Most of the time the "good" runes will be worth a lot (higher ones are ~5g each).
-Sigils on weapons. Most exotic weapon drops will come with one. Some are worth a lot, similarly to runes from armor.

So what will salvage into one of the above items? Gossamer scraps is cloth, so you would need to salvage a piece of cloth armor (level 70+) to get one. There are also items which are called "salvage items," these are made to salvage into a specific material type. The high level cloth salvage items are called "discarded garments."

Ectos come from rare or exotic quality gear. Depending on the salvage kit you use, you can have up to a 50% chance to get 1-3 ectos from a rare, and supposedly up to 5 from an exotic (though I never have). The piece of gear also has to be high level, I have heard you can get them from as low level as 65.

Orichalcum is similar to gossamer. You need to salvage high level (70+). The items can be metal (heavy) armor, or weapons. Note: weapons usually have 2 material types they can salvage into (because they are made from 2 material types). However, swords, daggers, and greatswords are made from only metal, so they will only salvage into metal.

Does rarity matter?
Rarity only matters to tell whether or not you can get ectos or not. So if you're salvaging for gossamer for instance. The chance you get gossamer or silk (the tier below gossamer) is based on the salvage kit you used and not the rarity. This means that you should be salvaging basic (white) items the majority of the time. Typically speaking fine (blue) and masterwork (green) rarity items are worth more than the components you can get from salvaging in the long run.

Tldr;
Sell blue/green rarity items. Salvage from white items. Salvage rares/exotics level 65+.

What salvage kit should I use?
If you are not salvaging level 70+ items, you should be using the cheapest salvage kit. I believe they're called crude salvage kits (should have 15 charges each and cost less than 50 copper each). If you're salvaging 70+ items for gossamer/orichalcum, use basic salvage kits (the 2nd tier salvage kit - 25 charges, costs ~88 copper or so). You do have an increased chance, and if you do the math, you come out slightly ahead if you use basic over crude salvage kits.

When salvaging for ectos, use black lion salvage kits whenever possible. They have 50% chance for ectos. You get them from the daily quest, and black lion chests. You can also purchase them from the gemstore, I think. If you don't have black lion salvage kits available, use the master salvage kits (rare quality, costs ~25s at any merchant vendor). Master salvage kits have 25% chance for ectos. If you have 3 mystic forge stones, you can create a mystic salvage kit (250 charges, and same chance for ectos as a master salvage kit). They're more economical for the money, but only if you have mystic forge stone (and don't have to buy them with gems). The recipe is: 3 mystic forge stones, 1 master salvage kit (yellow), 1 journeyman's salvage kit (green), 1 fine salvage kit (blue).

[Pikachu]

Somehow, I missed out on the Deposit All Collectibles for a LONG time.

I wanted to add on later areas for people that are beyond level 25, but aren't 80. I'll also mention where to approach the map if you're in the lower end/middle of the level range for the area. This way you don't go to the higher end and get walled off (You can run past stuff, but I assume not everyone wants to). Links are included to the official wiki if you need to see the map and exits.

A tip for less frequent players: If you come across an exit to your zone, take the exit, even if it's to a much higher area. You'll be safe on the other end, but you'll hit a waypoint at the portal as a foothold in the new area. It will be a clear handy reminder for where you can go later, if not a way to save running time.

25-35: Gendarran Fields wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gendarran_Fields

This area is accessible from Lion's Arch, Queensdale, Kessex Hills, and Snowden Drifts.

Entering from the low end of level range: Kessex Hills is a logical entry into this area since it ends at 15-25, bridging up to 25-35. Kessex Hills' NE corner of the map connects to Gendarran Fields' SW corner. You arrive in the zone for level-matching Renowned Hearts (RH). Snowden Drifts is the other 15-25 zone you can come in from, with proper level RH's too. Snowden Drifts' SW exit leads into Gendarran Fields' NE area.

Entering from the middle of level range: The northern waypoint by Canal Ward in Lion's Arch connects to the Southern part of Gendarran Fields, where the level 30-ish RH's are. Work your way into the middle and the eastern part of the map from here if you want to skip the lower level stuff.

Can’t quite finish the area: Lornar’s Pass will help you bridge the level gap. Otherwise, Fields of Ruin is a good choice.

When you’re done here: Go to Harathi Hinterlands or Fields of Ruin (Lion’s Arch -> Divinity’s Reach ->
Fields of Ruin). Both are easy to access, though Fields of Ruin opens up more areas due to Harathi Hinterlands being isolated.

25-40: Lornar's Pass
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Lornar%27s_Pass

Lornar's Pass can be entered from Bloodtide Coast, Dredgehaunt Cliffs, Gendarran Fields, snowden Drifts, Timberline Falls, and Straits of Devastation. This area starts with the lower level RH's in the North, progressing Southward in increasing level. Lornar's Pass is a place you may want to visit from time-to-time to bridge a few levels if you have a gap. You are not likely to finish the area in one go if you enter from 25.

Entering from the low end of level range: Snowden Drifts' Southern exit leads to the Northern area of Lornar's Pass. Again, this is a sensible entry point because the lower level RH's are in the northern area. You can come in from Gendarran Fields as well, but if you take this entrance, it's likely you're not at this level range (if I remember correctly).

Entering from the middle of level range: Do the same areas as above. If you're coming in from the other areas, you've most likely outleveled this zone. Just run toward the middle of the map if you're looking for the right RH's.

Can’t quite finish the area: The large level range of this area results in a lot of choices. If you are close to 30, Fields of Ruin or the higher level RH’s in Gendarran Fields are your choices. If you’re stuck at 35, try Harathi Hinterlands.

When you’re done here: Dredgehaunt Cliffs is the logical choice based on proximity, with Blazeridge being an alternative, especially if you have Fields of Ruin explored.

30-40: Fields of Ruin
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Fields_of_ruin

This is a great area because the low range RH's are very easy to complete. Ebonhawke also has some easy skill points for you to grab. Lastly, the easy entry point from Divinity's Reach means you can come here as early as Level 2, for free. If you're a Sylvari or Asura, it's a nice way to get to the Eastern part of Kryta without running through n00b zones. Work your way northward to the 40-50 area, Blazeridge Steppes.

There are two exits, one to Divinity's Reach, the other to Blazeridge Steppes.

Entering from the low end of level range: As mentioned, you come in from Divinity's Reach, from the portal in Rurikton. It puts you in the SW area of the map, where the proper level RH's are.

Entering from the middle of level range: Not very applicable. If for some reason you arrive here from Blazeridge Steppes, you've outleveled the area and took an unreasonable detour. (At least for leveling purposes.)

Can’t quite finish the area: Harathi Hinterlands or Southern area of Lornar’s Pass.

When you’re done here: Head North to Blazeridge Steppes.

35-45: Harathi Hinterlands
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Harathi_Hinterlands

This area is only accessible from the northern area of Gendarran Fields. There are two separate entrances for this from Gendarran Fields.

Harathi Hinterlands has a series of events in the NE for the 40-ish range which is fantastic XP if you happen to catch it. You complete relevant RH's simultaneously with the events, which is nice. On the whole, the area is a bit out of the way, but if you think Centaurs are assholes, you get to massacre them here.

Entering from the low end of level range: Gendarran Fields is the only choice.
Entering from the middle of level range: N/A

Can’t quite finish the area: Dredgehaunt Cliffs is likely your lowest effort choice, since you can get there from Hoelbrak. Otherwise, if you have Fields of Ruin explored, finish up that area and head into Blazeridge Steppes.

When you’re done here: Did you go to Fields of Ruin? Might be a good time to go through the eastern area of the map. Otherwise, go to Bloodtide Coast via Lion’s Arch.

[Pikachu]

40-50: Blazeridge Steppes
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blazeridge_Steppes

This area is accessible from Fields of Ruin, Iron Marches, and Plains of Ashford.

Entering from the low end of level range: Fields of Ruin (from Halkor Meadows) is the logical choice as you are leveling. This lands you in the Southern area of Blazeridge Steppes.

Entering from the middle of level range: Plains of Ashford has an exit on the Eastern area that connects to the Western part of Blazeridge Steppes. This is an example of the occasional usefulness of exiting a low level area into a higher level area just to grab the waypoint.

Can’t quite finish the area: You can head over to Dredgehaunt Cliffs, which has an identical level range, or go to Bloodtide Coast, conveniently accessible from Lion’s Arch’s Southern exit.

When you’re done here: Go to Iron Marches as your closest choice, or Timberline Falls as an alternative.

40-50: Dredgehaunt Cliffswiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dredgehaunt_Cliffs

This area is immensely Communist due to the Dredge that socialize the area. If you're a completionist who loves to 100% areas, this is one of the maps that will give you a very tedious middle finger. That said, the RH's tend to involve butchering a bunch of Reds, and I like that.

Dredgehaunt Cliffs connects to Hoelbrak, Lornar's Pass, and Timberline Falls.

Entering from the low end of level range: The Southern exit of Hoelbrak (Norn capital city) is the best way in. Hooray free entry point.

Entering from the middle of level range: Lornar's Pass' Eastern exit leads you to the Western part of Dredgehaunt Cliffs. Work your way South for higher level RH's.

Can’t quite finish the area: You can head over to Blazeridge Steppes, which has an identical level range, or go to Bloodtide Coast, conveniently accessible from Lion’s Arch’s Southern exit.

When you’re done here: Go to Timberline Falls, or Iron Marches as an alternative.

45-55: Bloodtide Coast
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bloodtide_Coast

You have to come here a little underleveled as a member of the Order of Whispers. Oh noes, spoilers. The good news is that the Southern exit of Lion's Arch leads to the North of Bloodtide Coast. There's no reason not to hit this area up.

Bloodtide Coast connects to Lion's Arch, Lornar's Pass, Sparkfly Fen, and the Chantry of Secrets.

Entering from the low end of level range: Lion's Arch

Entering from the middle of level range: Likely Lion's Arch as well, since you're underleveled if coming in from Lornar's Pass on the first go. If you tagged the waypoint while leveling, though, it might be more convenient.

Can’t quite finish the area: Timberline Falls or Iron Marches, depending on how you’ve been doing your exploration.

When you’re done here: Head South into Sparkfly Fen.

50-60: Iron Marches
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Iron_Marches

Iron Marches connects to Blazeridge Stepps, Fireheart Rise, and Plains of Ashford. The RH's increase in level Northward towards Fireheart Rise (which is accessed from the NW portal from this area).

Entering from the low end of level range: Blazeridge Steppes (NW exit), which connects to the SE area of this map. Otherwise, if you tagged this area from Plains of Ashford, you can use that waypoint.

Entering from the middle of level range: Same as above. Doesn't hurt to clear RH's as you move Northward.

Can’t quite finish the area: Try Timberline Falls or Sparkfly Fen.

When you’re done here: Fireheart Rise is the closest area to progress in, or you can head to Mount Maelstrom if you’re tired of Charr and want to stomp on Asura.

50-60: Timberline Falls
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Timberline_Falls

Timberline Falls connects to Dredgehaunt Cliffs, Lornar’s Pass, and Mount Maelstrom.

Entering from the low end of level range: Use the Southern exit of Dredgehaunt Cliffs, which leads into the Northern area of Timberline Falls.

Entering from the middle of level range: N/A

Can’t quite finish the area: Try Iron Marches or Sparkfly Fen.

When you’re done here: Mount Maelstrom is your best bet. There’s good farming there. Otherwise, it’s off to Fireheart Rise you go.

55-65: Sparkfly Fen
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sparkfly_Fen

Sparkfly Fen connects to Bloodtide Coast, Mount Maelstrom, and Straits of Devastation. It might help to visit Straits of Devastation while you are here because it is the gateway to the level 80 areas.

Entering from the low end of level range: You’ll be coming in from Bloodtide Coast’s Southern exit, connecting to the Northern area of Sparkfly Fen.

Entering from the middle of level range: The SE area of Sparkfly Fen connects to Mount Maelstrom’s NW area.

Can’t quite finish the area: Head to Mount Maelstrom in the SE for a 60-70 zone. Otherwise, go to Fireheart Rise.

When you’re done here: You should likely head to Mount Maelstrom to hit 70, but Fireheart Rise is an alternative. It doesn’t hurt to make the trek to Fireheart Rise there because it also connects to Frostgorge Sound, the only 70-80 area with RH’s.

60-70: Fireheart Rise
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Fireheart_Rise

Fireheart Rise is home to the Citadel of Flame dungeon and connects to Frostgorge Sound, the only 70-70 area with RH’s, making this area a worthwhile exploration site. Citadel of Flame contains a quick and easy dungeon path which we run from time to time.

Entering from the low end of level range: You’ll be heading in from the West exit of Iron Marches.

Entering from the middle of level range: Same as above.

Can’t quite finish the area: Head to Mount Maelstrom.

When you’re done here: Frostgorge Sound has some RH’s, but otherwise, it’s off to the Straits of Devastation.

60-70: Mount Maelstrom
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mount_Maelstrom

Mount Maelstrom connects to SparkflyFen, Straits of Devastation, and Timberline Falls. It is also home to the Crucible of Eternity, which is a dungeon that feeds you poo in Explorable Mode.

Entering from the low end of level range: Sparkfly Fen or Timberline Falls are your likely entrances. You generally work Eastward as levels increase.

Entering from the middle of level range: N/A

Can’t quite finish the area: Go to Iron Marches.

When you’re done here: Go to Frostgorge Sound or the Straits of Devastation.

70-80: Frostgorge Sound
wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Frostgorge_Sound

This is the only place where you’ll find RH’s after 70. It’s a handy place to visit because the Claw of Jormag swoops down every few hours – you can join in the zerg and kill it for some loot and Event rewards.

Entering from the low end of level range: the entrance from Wayfarer Foothills is the most fitting entrance level-wise. Fireheart Rise’s entrance to Frostgorge Sound actually puts you near areas which are well above 70.

Entering from the middle of level range: The Fireheart Rise entrance is more fitting for this. That said, even if you go here at 70, you can feasibly trek Southwards for your RH’s.

Can’t quite finish the area: Do some personal quests, Craft, or spend time in Straits of Devastation (and beyond).

When you’re done here: You’re 80! Visit Malchor’s Leap and Cursed Shore to gather high end materials to craft something sexy for yourself. You could also aim for 100% Completion here, as it’s surprisingly easy to do. You may get relevant Exotic gear for your efforts, good materials, and a decent chunk of change.

[Pikachu]

Non RH areas (Orr)

When you’re in your 70’s, Renowned Hearts are no longer the primary source of experience gain. Straits of Devastation, and all subsequent areas, contain events you can simply join and complete to get XP and level. Personally, I tend to craft these levels away because I’ve been collecting materials. The downside to doing this is that you’re not getting level-appropriate loot, as you do not kill anything. Just make sure you spend some time crafting appropriate gear, or get some drops in the higher areas (and start bridging the process to attaining an Exotic set). Your later personal quests are also a source of Greens that will be a decent placeholder.

70-75: Straits of Devastation

Malchor’s Leap, the 75-80 area, is toward the West. There is a set of events where you can follow Pact troops as they advance towards that direction to capture the Temple of Balthazar and open a gate which leads to Malchor’s.

The aforementioned gate can only be taken down via the event, AFAIK. If it’s closed, you’ll need to detour around it and kill a Veteran Gatekeeper, which will open another door for you to pass through towards the next area. (I’ll Skitch out a map later for this).

75-80: Malchor's Leap

Malchor’s Leap is home to some Temples to the Human gods, which host Group events that are fun to participate in if people aren’t busy being morons. If these Temples are pacified, you’ll find a Karma Merchant there that allows you to get Exotic Gear in return for 42,000 Karma per piece. If you’re not aiming for a Legendary, you could consider blowing your Karma on a piece of gear, so you need less material and cash to complete your Exotics.

Orrmaps is a resource where you can pinpoint where Orichalcum and Ancient Wood nodes are. You’ll want to harvest these whenever you can (they have a 24 hour reset timer, per character). www.orrmaps.com/server/sanctum_of_rall

Note: If you aren't on Sanctum of Rall, you can switch servers via the server list. I would also advise you click on the map list for your server and see if someone has a personal map that is updated.

This is where having multiple 80s begins to pay off in material reward (aside from the fun of having more classes to play, of course!).

Lastly, Karst Plains is often under siege with lots of dead NPC’s everywhere for you to revive for a Daily, should that be one of the tasks. It’s right next to the Cursed Shore entrance, so after completing that Event, you can head to Cursed Shore to fulfill Daily Event requirements.

Can’t quite finish the area: Do more events here and in Straits, Craft, or finish some Personal Quests.

When you’re done here: You’re never done here. There’s always materials to gather for your gear or $$$. 100% Completion here is a minor chore – however, the rewards are justifiable, and if you’re aiming for a Legendary weapon, you have to do this anyway.

80: Cursed Shore

Cursed Shore is home to Arah, the final dungeon. It’s also contains frequent Events which involve hordes of Risen… this is a good thing because you’ll get a lot of drops to sell (or even some level 80 blues/greens to wear to replace that gnarly level 50-60 white gear you have on). You can also get some pieces of Tier 5 or 6 fine materials from these Events.

Can’t quite finish the area: I know.

When you’re done here: You has a Legendary. Get another.

80: Southsun Cove

You get to Southsun Cove via a ship in Lion’s Arch (refer to the Wiki to see where). It’s a somewhat annoying layout, but does have Orichalcum nodes to mine from. It also is where you fight Karka to get Karka shells, as well as harvest Passiflora to get Passion Fruits/Flowers.

Karka are not friendly fights, so when you’re here, avoid fights you don’t need to engage in (though this should be true in general, as a matter of efficiency).