Movement Masteries in Guild Wars 2

by The Guild Wars 2 Team on July 21, 2022

Once you have a solid collection of mounts, you’ll be ready to explore every inch of Tyria—but there are even more ways to travel! In this blog, we’ll look at some of the other movement-focused Mastery tracks and how to use them.

If you’re just getting started, check out the first and second posts in this series for an overview of the available mounts and what you’ll need to start collecting them.

Gliding

  • Required Content: Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™ (unlock and Mastery track) or Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons™ (unlock only)
  • Heart of Thorns Mastery Points to Fully Unlock: 31

Gliding is a versatile, easy-to-use method of getting down from high places without plummeting to your doom. It’s one of the first Masteries you’ll unlock after beginning the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns story, and if you own Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, you’ll unlock it right away when you enter Cantha.

Deploy your glider in mid-air by pressing the key you use to jump and put it away by pressing that key again. Gliding consumes endurance until the fifth Mastery tier is unlocked, and your glider will automatically deactivate when it’s depleted.

With Glider Basics alone, your glider endurance is limited&and depending on the height you’re falling from it may not be enough to get you safely to the ground. Endurance refills when your glider isn’t active, so if you time your glider activations carefully you can slow your descent enough to avoid fall damage.

As you level up your gliding Mastery, you’ll learn how to use the environment to your advantage. Flying into updrafts will give you a boost and restore your endurance. In some areas—especially Heart of Maguuma and Living World Season 3 explorable zones—you’ll find clustered updrafts you can use to chain-boost to new heights.

After you unlock Advanced Gliding, you’ll only need endurance to control your glider using the Lean Techniques Mastery. The final Mastery tier, Ley Line Gliding, allows you to ride exposed ley line energy currents. Long ley lines can even take you on a relaxing tour around large areas of a zone!

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns and Living World Season 3 content is difficult to explore fully without unlocking your glider and its Mastery track, and most of Bloodstone Fen must be navigated with a glider, griffon, or skyscale.

Even with flying mounts at your disposal, gliders are handy for making precision jumps and quick descents. But keep an eye out for warning messages when you enter an area with a jumping puzzle—if you don’t leave the area or land quickly, your glider will automatically deactivate to prevent cheating.

Bouncing Mushrooms

  • Required Content: Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns (unlock)
  • Heart of Thorns Mastery Points to Unlock: 1

These humble fungi are common in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns and Living World Season 3 areas. Like the springer mount, you can use them to bounce up cliffsides and other vertical barriers, but mushroom bouncing has a set trajectory. In Heart of Maguuma and Living World Season 3 explorable zones, some hidden areas and tricky environments are easier to navigate by hopping on a mushroom and landing in a predictable spot.

The Bouncing Mushrooms Mastery is the first tier of the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Itzel Lore Mastery track, and it doesn’t require any further upgrades. If you enjoy mushrooms for their variety and charm, the Itzel will also teach you to use Blazing Speed Mushrooms and Adrenal Mushrooms— and the Itzel Poison Lore Mastery is needed to survive some deadly Heart of Maguuma environments.

Skiff

  • Required Content: Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons (unlock and Mastery track)
  • Cost: 700 karma and either 2 Writs of Seitung Province or 20 Imperial Favor
  • End of Dragons Mastery Points to Fully Unlock: 14

After completing Hall Director Soohee’s renown heart in Seitung Province, she’ll sell you a personal skiff. Like the skimmer mount, skiffs will carry you across Tyria’s oceans and lakes—but they’re the best option for relaxing out on the water.

Up to four people in your party or squad can join you on your skiff, and after you drop anchor, you can even get up and walk around. Casting your line from a skiff is the only way to gather from offshore fishing holes.

Unlocking your skiff’s Mastery tiers will give you boosts to travel speed, hit points, and fishing power. After unlocking the Depth Charges skill, you can sink any enemies that dare to disturb your quiet time.

Jade Bot

  • Required Content: Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons (unlock and Mastery track)
  • End of Dragons Mastery Points to Fully Unlock: 15

Jade bots are helpful friends powered by Canthan jade tech. You can unlock yours after completing The Scenic Route, a chapter of the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons story.

These little bots will let you access zip lines for fast travel in Canthan explorable zones. As you unlock its Masteries, your jade bot can give you a boost in the air while gliding and even set up a personal waypoint for you.

You can customize your jade bot using modules. Service chip modules include the Skiff Supercharger, which increases your skiff speed, and Jade Assistant: Gliding Booster to help you reach new heights with the Gliding Booster Mastery.

Siege Turtle

  • Required Content: Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons (unlock and Mastery track)
  • Cost: 200 Writs of Dragon’s End (optional)
  • End of Dragons Mastery Points to Fully Unlock: 20

The siege turtle is a new two-player mount available in Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons. It’s the only mount you can use in combat, so invite your favorite adventuring partner to your party and let them handle the big turtle artillery!

Before you unlock the siege turtle, you’ll need to reach the expansion’s final explorable zone. There, you can either complete the zone’s meta-event to obtain a turtle egg or purchase it from a peddler for 200 Writs of Dragon’s End (rewarded for completing events).

Rota, the character who will guide you through the collection achievements to unlock your turtle, is found in Arborstone. You’ll gain access to this area and the Arborstone Revitalization Mastery track after completing the chapter Fallout in the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons story.

Now that you’ve gotten a head start in your Guild Wars 2 travels, we’re wishing you safe journeys—unless you’re looking for danger. We won’t judge.

Don’t forget to check out our official wiki! The wiki is edited by players like you, so you can help out by adding more information as you play.