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Icebrood Saga Masteries

Icebrood Saga Mastery Tracks

At a glance

These six tracks support exploration in Bjora Marches and combat in IBS. Portable Waystations and mount stealth are useful elsewhere in PvE too.

What are IBS masteries?

The Icebrood Saga (IBS) has six tracks for Bjora Marches exploration, Essence chests, Drizzlewood Coast combat, and Dragon Response Missions. Train them to suit the content you play. Portable Waystations also work in other open-world maps, while mount stealth is available in PvE.

  • Tracks: 6
  • Total MP required: 63
  • Tracks: Raven Attunement, three Essence Manipulation tracks (Resilience / Valor / Vigilance), United Legions Waystation, and Dragon Slayer
You need Path of Fire and the relevant IBS episode.
To play IBS, you need Path of Fire and the relevant episode. Each track opens through the map or story requirement listed below.

Raven Attunement

4 tiers Total 6 MP Main use: Bjora Marches exploration puzzles

Unlock Raven locks, barriers, gates, and shrines in Bjora Marches. This track focuses on exploration and puzzles. Train tier 2, Raven's Light, first to unlock the three Essence Manipulation tracks.

1
Raven Bond1 MP
Open Raven locks in Bjora Marches.
2
Raven's Light1 MP
Activate Raven barriers and use Raven light shrines. Required to unlock the three Essence Manipulation tracks.
3
Raven's Flight2 MP
Travel through Raven gates.
4
Raven Bright2 MP
Improve Raven gates and barrier shrines.
Start with tier 2, Raven's Light.
Spending 2 MP unlocks the three Essence tracks. Train tiers 3–4 when you want to explore more of Bjora Marches.

Essence Manipulation (3 tracks)

Each: 4 tiers Each: 7 MP (21 MP combined) Main use: Combat bonuses in Bjora Marches

Resilience, Valor, and Vigilance share the same structure: four tiers and 7 MP per track. Higher tiers improve that essence's effects. The three essences counter one another in a cycle.

Resilience
Valor is vulnerable to this essence
Valor
Vigilance is vulnerable to this essence
Vigilance
Resilience is vulnerable to this essence

Tier structure shared by all three tracks

1
Small chests and combat skills1 MP
Open small chests of the essence your track counters. Collect 30 essence orbs in combat to access the corresponding special action skill.
2
Medium and large chests1 MP
Open medium and large chests of the essence your track counters. Opening a chest does not require any combat essence stacks.
3
Kiss of Essence2 MP
Defeat enemies your essence counters while its power effect is active to gain Kiss of Essence stacks.
4
More special action targets3 MP
Use the corresponding special action skill against creatures of any essence.
Prerequisite: Raven Attunement tier 2, Raven's Light.
Train Raven's Light to open all three tracks.
Train the relevant track to open Essence chests in Bjora Marches or IBS raid encounters (formerly strikes). Small chests need tier 1; medium and large chests need tier 2.

United Legions Waystation

6 tiers Total 16 MP Main use: EMP, portable Waystations, and mount stealth

At a Waystation, pay 10 War Supplies each for EMP, Remote Charge, or a Medizooka. Tier 3 lets you buy a portable Waystation for 25 War Supplies and deploy it in other open-world maps. Tier 5 mount stealth costs no War Supplies.

1
Electromagical Pulse1 MP
Obtain the Ash Legion EMP special action skill.
2
Remote Charge2 MP
Add the Iron Legion Remote Charge special action skill.
3
Portable Waystation3 MP
Buy a consumable portable Waystation for 25 War Supplies and deploy it in the open world.
4
Iron Legion Medizooka3 MP
Add the Medizooka healing bundle.
5
Ash Legion Mount Stealth3 MP
Use mount stealth to hide briefly while mounted.Works in PvE beyond Drizzlewood Coast. It does not work in WvW.
6
United Legions Waystation Mastery4 MP
Upgrade the Waystation abilities to their 2.0 versions.
Unlock: enter Drizzlewood Coast through the relevant episode's story.
Own No Quarter or Jormag Rising and enter Drizzlewood Coast through that story. Using Teleport to Friend or leaving the Cold War encounter through its exit portal does not unlock the track by itself.
Train this for Drizzlewood Coast or open-world EMP access.
Tier 1 lets you get EMP from another player's Waystation. Tier 3 lets you place your own, tier 5 grants mount stealth, and tier 6 upgrades the skills, including EMP 2.0.

Dragon Slayer

7 tiers Total 20 MP Main use: Dragon Essence bonuses

Use Dragon Essence and Dragon Boons to improve your stats and rewards in Dragon Response Missions. The final tier doubles the duration of the related boons and makes you eligible for rare Dragon Eye drops in Dragonstorm.

1
Dragon's Boon1 MP
Gain temporary stats from Dragon Essence. Defeat a mission boss to obtain a Dragon Boon and carry the bonus into another Dragon Response Mission.
2
Crystal Forger2 MP
Earn extra materials while under a Dragon Boon, gain might, and unlock weapon recipes.
3
Great Champion2 MP
Gain extra stats when an allied faction assists you. Critical hits inflict the corresponding condition while you have Dragon Essence, and faction vendors offer more items.
4
Blade of Prophecy3 MP
Defeat a mission boss while carrying the opposing dragon's Dragon Boon for extra materials. With Dragon Essence, using your healing skill grants a boon. You can also buy improved Dragon Slayer weapon recipes.
5
Shining Champion3 MP
Improve allied faction assistance. Dodging with Dragon Essence removes the corresponding condition, and faction vendors offer more items.
6
Reins of Power4 MP
Defeat a mission boss with both dragons' Dragon Boons for extra materials. With multiple Dragon Essences, using your elite skill grants might, fury, and stability. You can also buy superior Dragon Slayer weapon recipes.
7
Dragon Slayer5 MP
Double the duration of boons granted by Dragon Essence.Become eligible for rare Pristine Dragon's Left Eye and Right Eye drops in Dragonstorm.
Unlock: complete Tidings and Misgivings.
Complete that story and obtain the Dragon Mastery Crystal to open the track.
Treat this as a longer project.
All seven tiers cost 20 MP in total. Check the tier you need for Dragon Response Mission rewards or weapon crafting. The final tier opens through the Dragonstorm story.

Suggested priorities and tips

Start with the features you need now: Bjora Marches exploration, Essence chests, or open-world EMP. Later tiers need more experience, so you do not need to finish every track immediately.

  1. Raven Attunement through tier 3 (4 MP): Train Raven's Light at tier 2 to open the Essence tracks, then Raven's Flight at tier 3 for easier Bjora Marches exploration.
  2. Tier 1 in all three Essence tracks (3 MP total): Open all three types of small Essence chest. For medium and large chests, train each track to tier 2, costing 6 MP combined.
  3. United Legions Waystation: Start with tier 1 EMP. Reach tier 3 to place your own Waystation (6 MP cumulative), or tier 5 for mount stealth (12 MP cumulative). All six tiers cost 16 MP.
  4. Dragon Slayer (20 MP total): Train the reward or weapon recipe tiers you need as you play Dragon Response Missions. The earlier tiers have useful benefits too.
Choose according to the content you play now.
For a new account, we recommend gliding and the movement abilities of your usual mounts first. When you start IBS, work on Raven and Essence tracks. For open-world EMP or mount stealth, work on Waystation.