How do I get geared up for WvW? I’m a year behind everyone else, and I’m sure a lot of people out there are going to have some pretty amazing gear, and I’m just going to get rolled. Should I wait till I’m 80, and get some end game dungeon gear before I bother with WvW? What’s the best way to go about getting PvP gear for WvW?
The beauty of Guild Wars 2 is that, even if somebody has 4,000 hours into a character, getting full Level 80 Exotic gear isn’t hard. The “basic” set you should aim to start with will be Soldier items, i.e. main stat Power, minor stats Toughness and Vitality; alternatively there is also Dire items, i.e. main stat Condition Damage, minor stats Toughness and Vitality.
Soldier weapons and armour can be obtained with Dungeon tokens (Ascalonian Catacombs, Sorrow’s Embrace and Honour of the Wind dungeon tokens, to be specific), Karma (from the vendors at the various Orrian Temples) and Badges of Honour (vendors in WvW). You can also find Soldier-type weapons and trinkets in the Black Lion Trading Post. The reason these are the “basic” for WvW is due the survivability it provides, while still allowing you do deal decent damage. While it won’t allow you your 16k Kill Shot, it’ll allow you great survivability in team fights.
Dire armour is harder to come by since the only way to get them, as of this post, is with tokens from Crucible of Eternity; weapons can be found in the Trading Post, thanks to the new crafting recipes. If you still fancy playing a Condition Damage build, the alternative stat set is Rabid, i.e. main stat Condition Damage, minor stats Precision and Toughness. These can be obtained with Dungeon tokens (Caudecus’ Manor, Twilight Arbor and Ruined City of Arah) and Badges of Honour.
However, that’s not to say you can’t effectively participate in WvW before level 80! All it requires is that you follow the same gearing guidelines, i.e. prioritising survivability. A quick fix would be to look up the Black Lion Trading Post for some items with stats similar to Soldier’s and Dire, even if Blue or Green tier. Simply kitting your character out appropriately will make a world of difference (same logic applies for pre-80 dungeon runs).
Besides gear, you’ll typically need to gain access to your server’s voice communications, be it Teamspeak, Raidcall, Ventrillo or Mumble. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a microphone or simply don’t want to talk to people. What matters is that you listen in to team communications, especially the Commander you are following. Knowing where to go, when to charge, when to retreat, what to shoot, who to look out for is crucial if you don’t want to die alone amidst a sea of enemies. Even if you don’t want to speak up, alerting people through map (/m) or team (/t) chat to enemy movements, especially when they are besieging a keep or tower, is equally important.
Of course, this is all in the perspective of someone who enjoys team effort. If you think running around in a zerg while dominating PPT is for skilless leeches and prefer roaming duels, you can look up some videos and guides in your appropriate profession forum.
You can level to 80 inside WvW if you want to.