PvP Gear Explained
- Last updated: September 25, 2020
sPvP is best described as a game within a game, in many ways it exists in a bubble outside the regular ruleset of GW2. Perhaps what sets it apart from PvE the most is how gear and levels work, which is what we’re going to dive into here.
PvE Doesn’t Matter
First of all you can play sPvP from level 1 in all white gear and missing pieces, it doesn’t make a difference. Once you enter the PvP lobby your character is scaled up to level 80 and its PvE stat template is replaced by the PvP stat system.
Every skill and trait is temporarily unlocked for your character while it’s participating in PvP, everyone is on even footing.
PvP Toggle
You can set your PvP gear in the same UI where you find your PvE gear. There is a toggle next to the head slot which switches the view from PvE to PvP.
Slots To Fill
While the quality of your gear and the stats on it don’t matter, you MUST fill the following slots in the PvE panel in order to gain maximum armor value in PvP :
- Chest
- Leg
- Boots
This is to prevent people from playing PvP naked. A level 1 character already has these slots filled so you don’t have to do anything.
How It Works
The PvP gear system has 4 components:
- Amulet
- Rune
- Sigils
- Weapons
Amulet
The amulet holds 90%+ of your stats in PvP and you get to select one based on a stat combination like Marauder or Celestial. Unlike in PvE, you don’t get to mix different stats together.
Rune
In a similar fashion to amulets and stats, you can’t mix runes in PvP. You select a rune and get its entire 6 piece bonus. Runes have their own stats, providing you with some customization on top of your amulet.
Weapons
Just like the armor, you’ll have to fill these slots with PvE items. Again, stats don’t matter, these are merely weapon skill sticks you have to equip in order to fill the left side of the skill bar.
Sigils
These work very much like their PvE counterparts. They have various categories (on-swap, passive, proc, etc.) and each weapon set has exactly 2 sigil slots. Sigils aren’t stackable, you can’t have 2 of the exact same sigils (no double energy or double purging).
Merchants
If you’re in need of armor or weapons to fill your slots, you can buy them from merchants in the PvP lobby for a couple of coppers per piece.
Here’s the waypoint chatcode for the merchants: [&BNgJAAA=]
Insert it into your chat and click it to automatically be directed there.
