Dynamic Events
Dynamic Events
You do not need to collect quests from NPCs. Join dynamic events as they unfold around you.
How is this different from quests?
Many MMOs ask you to accept a quest from an NPC, complete it, and return to report. Guild Wars 2 uses a different approach.
Dynamic events begin at scheduled times, through NPC interactions, when players approach, or through other triggers. Once active, anyone nearby can help. Events may continue or fail without players. You do not need to accept or turn in a quest; completion rewards reflect your contribution.
Hearts and events are different
- Introduces local activities. Core hearts are mostly one-time objectives; some expansion and Living World hearts are repeatable daily.
- Fill a progress bar by defeating enemies, collecting items, and doing other local tasks
- Completion unlocks the NPC's shop so you can buy rewards
- Recurring live content and a source of rewards
- Repeatedly earn experience, karma, coin, and other rewards
- Success or failure can change which event happens next
No party required
Rewards depend on your own participation, so you can join without a party. Keep attacking enemies and completing the event’s objectives.
What is the orange circle? Finding and joining events
An orange circle on the map marks an active event area. Nearby event objectives appear on the right side of the screen.
Event types
Events have different objectives. Common examples include:
Other events include races and interactions. Read the objective on the right side of your screen first.
How to join
Contribute to the objective within the event area. Attack enemies, collect items, protect an NPC, or perform whatever the event asks for.
Participation medals and rewards
The table compares experience and coin rewards, with a successful gold medal set to 100%. Failure reduces these rewards and gives no karma. Separate chests and achievements have their own requirements.
| Participation medal | Success reward | Failure reward |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 100% | 50% |
| Silver | 85% | 42.5% |
| Bronze | 75% | 37.5% |
What happens next? Event chains and metas
Event chains
Events often lead to follow-ups. Defending a village may lead to attacking an enemy base and fighting a boss. If the defense fails, enemies may occupy the village and trigger an event to retake it.
Watch NPC dialogue and movement after an event ends. They may lead to another event, or offer an interaction that starts one.
Meta events
A meta event groups related events into a larger progression. It may cover part of a zone or, in expansions, involve the entire map working across several lanes or teams.
I found a group event alone: scaling and cooperation
An event marked [Group Event] is designed for several players. You still do not need a premade party; fight alongside whoever is nearby.
Event scaling
Event difficulty adjusts to the number of participants.
- More participants can mean more enemies
- Regular enemies may become veterans or elites
- Additional champion enemies may appear
- Enemies may gain new abilities
More participants can strengthen enemies and objectives, but scaling has an event-specific limit. Players can continue joining after the event reaches its scaling limit.
- Ask for help in map chat (/map). Give the event name or location so others can find you.
- High-level characters are adjusted down for lower-level areas. Low-level characters are not automatically strengthened for high-level zones, so begin in areas appropriate for your level.
- If a champion or group event is too difficult alone, wait for help or do another activity first.
Mentor tags: look for the apple
An apple-shaped icon above a player identifies a mentor tag. It signals a player others can approach. Joining events near a mentor can make it easier to find help.
/mentor in chat to toggle the tag. You do not need to be an expert to use it: at an event, it can simply tell nearby players "There is someone here." When the event ends or you leave to do something else, enter /mentor again to turn it off.