Guild Wars 2 Full AR Guide Without Armor

Guild Wars 2 Full AR Guide Without Armor (Trinkets and Weapons Only) by FelixCarter

NOTE: This guide focuses on using three +10 Agony Infusions and could be more expensive than the alternative (Investing in Ascended Armor). However, this allows for you to run any level Fractal on any character on the same account simply by swapping these six trinkets. The drawback to this is ALL weapons on each character must also be ascended. This includes aquatic weapons.

The benefit to using this method is ascended trinkets and weapons are not bound to any weight class in particular. They can be used on any character located on your account. So if you decide to run Fractals on your Ranger instead of your Mesmer, a simple swap of all six trinkets and two-to-six weapons will allow for the run of any Fractal level without having to craft a completely new armor set. Really this comes down to a personal decision. If you feel like you’ll only be running Fractals on one character or a group of characters that all share the same armor class, this guide is probably not for you.

This guide focuses on obtaining full Berserker trinkets and gaining maximum AR with no ascended armor, but feel free to choose trinkets that best match the build you run.

You have 0 AR. (Fractals 1-9)

You’re first goal is to purchase an Amulet. You’ll want either Mark of the Tethyos Houses, Call of the Wild (The Amulet. Not the skill lol.), or Distinguished Circle of Logic. It comes down to preference with which one you’ll want. Purchase this in WvW from a Laurel Vendor if possible. It’ll cost severalBadges of Honor, but it’ll also save you precious Laurels you’ll need later on. Badges of Honor can be easily obtained by running Edge of the Mist for a little while.

The Accessories are a little more trouble to get. Hopefully you’re in a guild that has run at least 4 weeks of full Guild Missions, as this will once again save you precious Laurels. Use 24 Guild Commendations to get Althea’s Ashes and Magister’s Field Journal. If you be trippin’ Globs of Ectoplasm and Laurels and don’t mind losing ~100 of them, just WvW them like you did with the Amulet. But try to avoid this method at all costs.

Now it’s time to Fractualize yourself. Begin running Fractals 1-9 until you obtain 225 Fractal Relics. Refrain from trading Pristine Fractal Relics for regular Fractal Relics, as you’ll need 20 of them later on. But if you manage to gather 20, feel free to trade them in for more Fractal Relics.

NOTE: As you run Fractals 1-9, ensure that you’re holding onto your Vials of Condensed Mists Essence. You’ll need eleven of them in the long run. But don’t worry too much about trying to farm them. You’ll also need a lot of Globs of Ectoplasm later on. So make sure you salvage any rares you get using a Master’s Salvage Kit. If a rare sells on the Black Lion Trading Post for more than 35 silver, sell it instead of salvaging it. Lastly, keep all the +1 Agony Infusions you pick up, as well.

Purchase three Versatile Simple Infusions from BUY-4373 in Fractals of the Mist.

APPLY: Put 1 Versatile Simple Infusion to your Amulet and both Accessories.

You now have 15 AR. (Fractals 10-19)

You’re next goal is a Backpiece. You’ll want either There with Yakkington: A Traveler’s Tale or Quiver of a Thousand Arrows. There’s also the option of building up from the Prototype Fractal Capacitor, but I’ll be focusing on There with Yakkington: A Traveler’s Tale since it also advances a collection. Either way, this will cost a bit. But if you’ve held onto those precious Laurels, Globs of Ectoplasm, and +1 Agony Infusions, the hit to your wallet should be minimal.

Fractualize yourself again by running Fractals 10–19 until you obtain a large amount of Fractal Relics. You’ll need 575 this time. You’ll want to buy one Gift of Ascension and one Versatile Simple Infusion.

NOTE: Hold onto any Globs of Coagulated Mists Essence you pick up. You’ll need seven in total, but only one for the Backpiece. Keep in mind that Globs of Coagulated Mists Essence and Vials of Condensed Mists Essence can be promoted or demoted at the Mystic Forge if you have a surplus of one or the other. Keep picking up and holding onto ALL those +1 Agony Infusions!

You’ll also need 300 Globs of Ectoplasm. If you didn’t acquire enough already, run the daily World Boss Train or hit the Silverwastes on a level 80 character and then salvage all rares using a Master’s Salvage Kit. Keep selling all rares over 35 silver on the Black Lion Trading Post instead of salvaging them.

Head on over to a Laurel Vendor and exchange AS MANY Laurels as you can for Heavy Crafting Bags. You’re looking to get 250 Vicious Claws. Sell as many of the other Tier 6 Materials as you need on the Trading Post in order to buy the rest of the Vicious Claws you don’t have.

Buy 40 Mystic Crystals from Miyani.

FORGE: Toss 1 Vial of Condensed Mists Essence, 40 Mystic Crystals, 50 Globs of Ectoplasm, and 250Vicious Claws into the Mystic Forge.

FORGE: Immediately infuse it by tossing There with Yakkington: A Traveler’s Tale, 1 Gift of Ascension, 1 Glob of Coagulated Mists Essence, and 250 Globs of Ectoplasm into the Mystic Forge.

The next part can get a little more expensive. If you managed to gather 512 +1 Agony Infusionsthus far, get on your Artificer and combine them with 511 Thermocatalytic Reagents until you make yourself a +10 Agony Infusion. If you don’t have enough +1 Agony Infusions to craft one, purchase a +10 Agony Infusion from the Trading Post. If you didn’t use the +1 Agony Infusions this time, keep holding onto them.

APPLY: Put 1 Versatile Simple Infusion and 1 +10 Agony Infusion onto the Backpiece.

You now have 30 AR. (Fractals 20-29)

The next step is to get your hands on Rings. Or get Rings on your hands. Whatever the case is, you want Ring of Red Death and Crystalline Band. If they’ve already dropped for you in Fractals of the Mist, congratulations! You can skip ahead and infuse them, assuming you got your hands on the proper amount of Mists Essences.

Keep the Fractualizations going by running Fractals 20-29 until you get 150 Fractal Relics and twoShards of Crystallized Mists Essence. Keep holding onto those +1 Agony Infusions!!! By now you should have 20 Pristine Fractal Relics. Purchase 2 Versatile Simple Infusions and both of the Rings you need from BUY-4373 in Fractals of the Mist.

FORGE: Infuse one by tossing the Ring of Red Death, 1 Shards of Crystallized Mists Essence, 3Globs of Coagulated Mists Essence, and 5 Vials of Condensed Mists Essence into the Mystic Forge.

FORGE: Infuse the other by tossing the Crystalline Band, 1 Shards of Crystallized Mists Essence, 3Globs of Coagulated Mists Essence, and 5 Vials of Condensed Mists Essence into the Mystic Forge.

NOTE: Remember that Shards of Crystallized Mists Essence, Globs of Coagulated Mists Essence, and Vials of Condensed Mists Essence can be promoted or demoted at the Mystic Forge if you need one and have too many of another.

Time to empty that wallet. Make sure to swat that moth that comes out of it when you open it up. Chances are slim that you’ve gathered 1024 +1 Agony Infusions. But if you have close to 512, get on your Artificer again and combine them with 511 Thermocatalytic Reagents until you make yourself a +10 Agony Infusion. You’ll need 2 +10 Agony Infusions, so either farm or buy them both.

APPLY: Put 1 Versatile Simple Infusion and 1 +10 Agony Infusion onto each Ring.

You now have 60 AR. (Fractals 30-49)

Begin running Fractals 30-49 until you get the Ascended Weapon Chests you need. The alternative is the craft them, but during your Fractal runs, these Ascended Chests might have dropped, saving you a lot of money. If you’re an Engineer or Elementalist, you’ll only need to gather 300 Fractal Relics to purchase 4 Versatile Simple Infusions. But if you’re any other profession, you’ll need 600Fractal Relics to purchase 8 Versatile Simple Infusions.

Once you have obtained both terrestrial and aquatic ascended weaponry, you’re ready to max out your Agony Resistance.

APPLY: Put 2 Versatile Simple Infusions on each two-handed weapon and 1 Versatile Simple Infusions on each one-handed weapon.

NOTE: All weapons must be ascended and Versatile Simple Infusions must be applied to all slots available to sustain maximum AR at all times without locking you into a specific weapon. Once again, this also includes each of your aquatic weapons.

You now have 70 AR. (Fractals 50)

TL;DR: If you have just one character that you run through FotM, craft the armor and ignore this guide. But if you have any number of light, medium, and/or heavy classes that you’re wanting to send through FotM anytime you want, and you want to (possibly) save a little money in the long run, this guide might help.