In Guild Wars 2, there’s a distinct difference in the amount you can contribute to fights based on your gear. This is because the amount of equipment needed in Guild Wars 2 is relatively high, and players need to invest a lot of time, effort, and gold into acquiring the best gear. This is because whatever cannot be bought needs to be farmed or crafted.
Once you’ve gathered your equipment, you’ll need to ensure that you’ve equipped the correct Sigils on your weapons and Runes on your armor. Based on the build that you’re running, you’re going to need to make sure you have the right kind of Rune.
The best Runes for Power DPS characters
Power DPS are straight-up damage dealers that will be able to output tons of damage in any setting. Your character will probably need to run either a complete Berserker set of gear or a combination Berserker set to do this. You’ll also need Superior Runes of the Scholar, which can be acquired in the following ways:
| Acquisition | Method |
| Purchased from the Black Lion Trading Post. | Paying a current price of 5 Gold and change. |
| Crafting. | Using a level 400 Tailor and the following materials: 8x Pile of Lucent Crystal, 5x Glob of Ectoplasm, 5x Elaborate Totem, and 2x Charm of Brilliance. |
| Mystic Forge. | Low chance of obtaining one from combining 4 Major Runes in the Mystic Forge. |
The best Runes for Condi DPS characters
Condition DPS is designed to place a lot of damage over time abilities on their foes. They have much lower burst damage, but their condition-based abilities are effective and necessary in many cases. Your character needs to equip one of the following Runes:
Rune of the Nightmare
| Acquisition | Method |
| Purchased from a Dungeon Armor and Weapons vendor. | Trading 120 Deadly Blooms earned from the Twilight Arbor dungeon for one Rune. |
| A random chance drop from Twilight Arbor. | Running the explorable mode of Twilight Arbor can drop a Rune. |
| Salvaging. | Salvaging any existing exotic armor piece from Twilight Arbor. |
| Mystic Forge. | Low chance of obtaining one from combining 4 Major Runes in the Mystic Forge. |
Rune of the Renegade
| Acquisition | Method |
| Purchased from the Black Lion Trading Post. | Purchased for a current price of 1 Gold and change. |
| Purchased from a Heroics Notary. | Purchasable in the WvW maps for 20 Silver and 75x Testimonies of Desert Heroics. |
| Crafting. | Crafted by a level 400 Leatherworker, Armorsmith, or Tailor with the following materials: 1x Superior Rune of the Revenant, 1x Evergreen Lodestone, 50x Eye of Kormir. |
Superior Rune of the Krait
| Acquisition | Method |
| Purchased from the Black Lion Trading Post. | Purchased for a current price of 2 Gold and change. |
| As a Drop. | Dropped from Demo Consumable Loot Boxes and Rune Bags. |
| Crafting. | Crafted by a level 400 Armorsmith with the following materials: 12x Pile of Lucent Crystal, 1x Pile of Putrid Essence, 1x Charm of Brilliance, 5x Glob of Ectoplasm. |
About the author
KJ Schaller
More Stories by KJ Schaller
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qK3Mnqeuql6YvK57xq6gnZ2jZMGpsYybnKysXafCr7HSZp2oql2ZvbR5wqGYq5mTqbKzv4yipWafpZ65pXnWmqmsZWI%3D