Meta Events
Meta Events
A meta event connects several events into a larger progression. Large expansion metas are a major open-world activity, with many players sharing different tasks.
What makes an event a meta?
How they differ
- Complete an objective to finish the event
- Takes place in a local area
- May need a few players or a group, depending on the event
The event display on the right may show the area's meta progress. Check its objectives and remaining time. Each map has its own number, scope, and sequence of metas.
Where do rewards come from?
Individual events award experience and other rewards as you progress. Large metas may also offer final boss rewards, participation rewards, or locked chests. Check the requirements and keys for the meta you want to do.
World bosses and meta events
Many world bosses appear at the end of a series of pre-events. Metas can also involve capturing or defending objectives.
When does it start? Timers and arrival
Two ways events begin
- Begin at a set time
- Heart of Thorns metas: roughly a two-hour cycle
- World bosses: individual schedules
Arrive 10–20 minutes early
Popular metas fill map instances quickly. Arriving late may leave you unable to enter an active map. Try arriving 10–20 minutes before the start and joining preparation events.
Finding a squad and using a taxi
Players commonly organize large metas in squads. Here is how to join one.
What should I do on arrival? Participation
Some metas award additional rewards based on participation. Moving to another instance of the same zone does not carry your participation over. Check your progress and remaining time before taking a Volunteer transfer or taxi during a meta.
Examples of content with participation systems
Activities that increase participation (HoT)
| Activity | Participation and conditions (HoT) |
|---|---|
| Complete dynamic events | Varies by event |
| Complete event-related challenges | Check the event's requirements |
| Combat hero challenge (once daily) | 3~5% |
| Adventure: gold medal | 8% |
| Adventure: silver medal | 3% |
- HoT participation can reach 200%. Later content may use different rules.
- Rewards are the same at 100% and 200%. Participation above 100% gives you a buffer against decay.
- In HoT, after more than 30 minutes without participating, participation decays by 1% every 10 seconds.
Which metas should I try? Choose by the content you own
Try the Silverwastes if you own no expansions, or Dragonfall for repeatable gold farming. Dragonstorm and Drakkar offer scheduled boss encounters, while the Soo-Won meta focuses on a coordinated map-wide battle.
Begin with bosses in starter areas. The following three are level 15 events, so check your character level and the location.
- Shadow Behemoth (Queensdale)
- Fire Elemental (Metrica Province)
- Great Jungle Wurm (Caledon Forest)
Enter /wiki et in chat and arrive in the area about 10 minutes before the listed time.
- Ground chest: once per character per boss each day; includes Dragonite Ore and other loot
- Bonus chest: once per account per boss each day; guarantees rare or better gear at character level 40 or higher
A recommended level 80 farming map for players without expansions. Complete outpost events and boss encounters, then open reward chests for equipment and materials.
- Four phases: Foothold → Breach → Vinewrath → chest farming
- RIBA means rotating between the Red, Indigo, Blue, and Amber forts
- You need Bandit Skeleton Keys to open the locked reward chests
HoT's metas are among Guild Wars 2's best-known large-scale activities.
- Auric Basin (Octovine): four teams handle their own mechanics. After the first Octovine dies, kill the other three within two minutes, following your team's timing. Earn Exalted Keys from map rewards or buy them with Aurillium to open the reward chests.
- Verdant Brink: outpost events run during the day; at night, defend rally points and fight canopy bosses. Night defenses and boss kills increase the map's reward tier.
- Dragon's Stand: three lanes advance together toward the final boss. New map cycles begin every two hours, so look for a group at the start. A reward phase follows success; stay to open chests.
- Tangled Depths: four lanes face the Chak Gerent. The map can be hard to navigate at first, so arrive early and find your assigned lane and commander.
Access: Path of Fire and Living World Season 4, Episode 6: War Eternal.
Recommended for repeatable gold farming. Event chains supply keys and reward chests. Mistborn Coffers contain unidentified gear and materials, and the map also provides Mistborn Motes and Volatile Magic.
- Join the camp events to collect Mistborn Keys. Each coffer uses one key.
- After the meta, follow the commander through the champion train and collect the chests.
- Income comes from selling or salvaging the loot. Its value depends on prices and how quickly the group farms.
Access: Path of Fire. Speak to Brek Harrowflight in the Eye of the North.
The public instance opens at every odd hour in UTC: 01:00, 03:00, 05:00, and so on through 23:00.
Wait by the NPC a few minutes early and enter as soon as admission opens. As instances fill, later arrivals are placed in separate instances. Joining late can leave you with a much smaller group, so prompt entry gives you a better chance of joining the main crowd.
- Enter
/wiki etin game chat and use the timer to check the next start in your local time. - The daily account reward includes 2 gold plus equipment and materials, making this a useful daily stop.
Access: Path of Fire and either Whisper in the Dark or Shadow in the Ice from The Icebrood Saga. The encounter takes place in western Bjora Marches.
Check /wiki et, then follow Jhavi and the commander into the cavern. Move with the group as the fight shifts between locations.
- Earn Eternal Ice Shards from the event, then collect Drakkar’s Hoard and nearby reward chests.
- Opening the Essence chests requires the corresponding Essence Manipulation masteries.
Access: End of Dragons. The Battle for the Jade Sea takes place in Dragon’s End and ends with Soo-Won.
Join an organized squad early for preparation events and the three-lane advance.
- Build Dragon’s End Contributor stacks for combat benefits and extra chests after a successful battle.
- Follow the commander’s CC, positioning, and split calls. This encounter asks for more coordination and damage than most open-world metas.
- The first daily success awards a Dragon’s End: Hero’s Choice Chest. Choose an Antique Summoning Stone for legendary crafting or sale on the Trading Post.
Tips for your first meta
Keys for reward chests
| Meta event | Required key |
|---|---|
| The Silverwastes | Bandit Skeleton Key |
| Auric Basin | Exalted Key |