When Should I Start Crafting?

The ten crafting disciplines

Guild Wars 2 has ten crafting disciplines, each with its own products and maximum level.

Is crafting required?

You can buy a full set of exotic weapons and armor with gold on the Trading Post.

Crafting is optional for ascended weapons and armor too. Other sources include the Wizard's Vault, achievements, content rewards, and vendors. Compare routes and costs for the item you want, then level a discipline if you choose to craft it. Ascended equipment itself generally cannot be bought on the Trading Post.

Trinkets use other routes. Get ascended rings, accessories, and amulets from laurel vendors, fractal vendors, Living World map currencies, and similar sources.

When should you begin?

Start after level 80. For a first character, we recommend waiting instead of leveling a crafting discipline alongside your character.

Why it can wait

• Save gold for equipment and content first. Raising a discipline costs materials, so prioritize your first character's basic equipment.
• You may not have enough materials. Gathering everything needed for each crafting tier can take time.
• Your character can progress without crafting. Explore, complete events, and play the story. Start crafting when you have a goal for it.

Which discipline should you level first?

Start with one discipline for the equipment you want to make now. Add an armor or weapon discipline later as needed.

Armor disciplines: match your profession's armor weight

Weapon disciplines: match the weapon you need

Two active disciplines per character

A character starts with two active discipline slots.

Key rules

• A deactivated discipline keeps its level. Reactivate it later to continue training.
• Reactivation costs 10 copper per existing discipline level: 50 silver for a level-500 discipline.
• Gem Store Additional Crafting Licenses can raise the active limit to four.
• Handiworker does not count toward this limit.

Example: spread disciplines across characters

How much does it cost?

Leveling a discipline can cost a substantial amount of gold. Costs vary with the discipline and current Trading Post prices.

How to use it

1. Open gw2crafts.net
2. Choose the discipline
3. Read its generated shopping list
4. Buy the required materials and follow the crafting steps

Daily crafting limits

Ascended crafting uses some materials with daily limits. Certain intermediate materials can only be crafted once per day per account.

Common daily-limited materials

• Lump of Mithrillium: level 450 in one of the six standard equipment disciplines, or Jeweler 400
• Glob of Elder Spirit Residue: Artificer·Huntsman·Weaponsmith 450
• Spool of Silk Weaving Thread: Armorsmith·Leatherworker·Tailor 450
• Spool of Thick Elonian Cord: level 450 in one of the six standard equipment disciplines

Each intermediate material can be crafted once per account per day; switching characters does not bypass the limit. You can reduce the wait by buying completed refined materials on the Trading Post, such as Deldrimor Steel Ingots, Spiritwood Planks, Bolts of Damask, and Elonian Leather Squares.

Can crafting make gold?

Profit depends on the item and current prices.

Begin with items you will use. Before crafting for sale, subtract fees and material costs from the expected sale price. Materials you gathered yourself still have a resale value.

Why check the costs?

• Other players already list mass-produced items at competitive prices.
• The Trading Post charges 5% to list and 10% on a completed sale. Include both fees.
• Prices and demand change. Try a small sale before mass-producing an item just because a calculation shows a profit.

Where are crafting stations?

Major cities have most standard stations. Lion's Arch is a convenient place to start.