How to Get a Mount in Guild Wars 2? Comprehensive Guide

How to get a mount in Guild Wars 2?

If an MMORPG has mounts, you can bet that a lot of the players will pay close attention to that feature. Whether it's about the movement speed, additional possibilities, or simply the looks – almost every player will have a favorite mount. Of course, acquiring it might be a tall task. Depending on the game, it might require completing specific quests, collecting large amounts of gold to buy it, or accomplishing special achievements, like the famous Sceptre of Shifting Sands in WoW.

In Guild Wars 2, players can unlock mounts through story progression, completing specific Renowned Hearts and achievements, as well as collecting special resources (and some gold). Currently, there are eight mounts: Raptor, Springer, Skimmer, Jackal, Griffon, Roller Beetle, Warclaw, and Skyscale. To get access to them, you will need the Path of Fire expansion. In this guide, we're going to talk about every one of them. We will discuss in detail about the unlocking process, as well as statistics and possibilities of each mount. Let's get right into it!

Why get a GW2 Mount?

Besides looking cool, GW2 mounts are handy during your adventures in Tyria. First of all, they provide a constant speed boost. It's the original reason to have mounts in any MMORPG – they let you move around the map faster, allowing to waste less time getting from point A to point B.

However, mounts in Guild Wars 2 can do much more than that! Each one has its own Health bar and a unique set of abilities. Most of them are used for mobility. Some mounts can perform high and long jumps, stick to walls and climb, accelerate to high speeds and even fly! They can be extremely helpful if you want to reach points of the map that are difficult to access. These locations include gathering nodes, jumping puzzles, and other useful spots.

Flying mounts are especially great if you want to work towards full map completion. Of course, you can also use gliding. This mechanic has been introduced to the game much earlier, but a flying mount like Griffon or Skyscale will most likely be more versatile and easier to navigate. In some situations, you will need as much sheer speed as possible. If that's the case, Roller Beetle is the way to go. It's the fastest mount in the game. However, it might be challenging to control if you have to make a lot of turns.

In general, mounts allow you to travel faster and beat obstacles that would otherwise stop you. It opens up new possibilities that you can use in many ways. Including, but not limited to, the ones that we listed. Some mounts can get extra abilities when you unlock the related masteries. Besides the abilities, mounts also are a part of the so-called Fashion Wars. Every one of them has multiple skins that you can unlock. Now, let's take a look at each mount individually.

Raptor

Raptor is the first mount that you'll be able to encounter as you progress through the Path of Fire storyline. It has a medium Health bar, and it can engage onto enemies with a tail attack that pulls enemies toward you (if you have the proper mastery). Its movement ability is called Leap, and it allows the Raptor to perform long-distance jumps. It's useful to cross over canyons and chasms.

It's one of the easiest mounts to unlock – you get it by completing the first chapter of the Path of Fire storyline – Sparking the Flame. This mission is only available for level 80 characters, but you can get the Raptor on a character that's below 80. You just have to enter the party with a player that's currently doing this quest and go with them to Crystal Oasis.

Springer

These rabbit-like mounts have even more HP than the Raptors. They can engage the fight with a Cannonball attack – the Springer jump in the air starts spinning rapidly and lands on the foes. With the right mastery, it will also knock down your targets. Furthermore, you can unlock the resistance to damage from falling. Their unique movement skill is called Rocket Jump, and it allows them to hop high and reach some remote locations.

To get a Springer, you're going to have to enter the Desert Highlands and go to the northern part of this map. There, in Stampede Uplands, you'll find the Highjump Ranch. You'll have to jump over some canyons to get there, so a Raptor will be necessary.

When you're there, you will have to complete the Renowned Heart called Help ours around the Highjump Ranch. It requires performing a few simple tasks: picking up and returning carrots, filling water troughs, destroying Harpy Eggs, and killing Harpies as well as Ground Hogs. After you're done, you will get the possibility of buying a Springer for one gold coin and 50 Trade Contracts. You will get the Trade Contracts for completing the Crystal Desert maps and opening chests that you find there.

Skimmer

While not exactly a flying mount, Skimmer is a desert manta-like mount that floats over the ground. It has slightly less Health than a Springer, but more than a Raptor. It can engage onto the enemies with a Barrel Roll that damages foes and heals allies when passing through them. Skimmers get a speed boost when traveling over water and quicksand, making reaching certain locations much more accessible. Instead of jumping, they have an ability called Hover High – it allows you to float higher over the ground. Moreover, Skimmer grants you full immunity to falling damage and many other environmental threats.

To unlock a Skimmer, you will need the Raptor's ability to jump over canyons once again. You will have to go to Elon Riverlands and visit the Skimmer Ranch on the west of this map. Then, you're going to have to complete a Renowned Heart – Use a skimmer to help with training around the ranch.

Once again, this quest consists of multiple smaller tasks. You can accumulate progress by returning rations, herding lost Skimmers, playing with baby Skimmers, healing injured NPCs with Barrel Roll, and killing Forged. After you finish, you'll be able to buy this mount from Skimmer Trainer Ardra for 4 gold coins and 50 Trade Contracts.

Jackal

Jackals are relatively low Health mounts. They can start the fight with an AoE Pounce on your targets. Moreover, they have a short-distance teleport ability called Blink. With the right masteries, it can be used to avoid all kinds of damage, including enemy attacks and falling. You can also unlock the ability to use Sand Portals – special teleport devices scattered over the Crystal Desert.

To get a Jackal, you have to visit the Djinn Enclave in the southwestern corner of the Desolation. A Skimmer will be needed to enter this area probably, because of the sulfurous around it. When you reach the enclave, you have to finish the Renowned Heart called Help Drojkor, The Spirit Squall control Jackals. You can do it by killing the nearby Tormented enemies, bringing Runestones and Unbound Energy as well as running over wisps. After completing this quest, you'll be able to buy a Jackal for 20 gold coins and 50 Trade Contracts. The gold portion of the price will be over 50% higher if you haven't done the Renowned Heart on the same day.

Griffon

Griffon is the first flying mount introduced to Guild Wars 2. It has a low Health pool, and it can start battles by diving onto the enemies with the Swoop ability. While flying, you can use two skills. Dive makes you gain speed and get closer to the ground. Climb allows you to regain altitude and fly higher. In many aspects, Griffon is the better and more effective alternative to the gliding mechanic introduced in previous expansion - Heart of Thorns. This mount has multiple useful masteries that let you fly faster and mount mid-air while gliding. As we mentioned, the ability to fly is beneficial for world completion and some other activities. Moreover, Griffon makes you entirely immune to falling damage.

Unlocking the Griffon is significantly more challenging in comparison to the previous mounts. First of all, you have to complete the Path of Fire storyline fully. After you do that, you will start finding items like Strange Feathers, Strange Pellet of Bones and Fur, et cetera. You have to take them to Beastmaster Ghazal in the north of Domain of Vabbi. He'll send you to Seeker Kandake in Yahnur Plateau in the south-eastern part of this map.

Reaching this area is quite tricky. It will require a Skimmer since this mount lets you avoid the lightning damage caused by Fury of the Brand. You will also need other mounts. You can use a Jackal to teleport through the Sand Portal or a Springer to jump your way onto the plateau. After reaching Kandake, continue upwards until you reach the Sunspear Sanctuary. Then interact with NPC Remains of the Last Spearmarshal to unlock the Open Skies collections.

There's a separate collection for each of the Crystal Desert maps. You will have to take part in dynamic events and find special Runestones as well as Griffon Eggs. You will also have to buy certain items from the Heart Vendors in each map. There are ten vendors, and each of them can sell you another necessary item. Every item costs 25 gold coins, so besides all the effort, you'll also have to pay 250 gold. When you finish all the collections and buy all ten required items, you will be able to claim your Griffon. It's not an easy process, but it's worth it if you can afford it.

Roller Beetle

As we mentioned earlier, Roller Beetle is the fastest mount in the game. It has a special ability called Boost that consumes Endurance to accelerate significantly. They can also Drift to turn at high speed, but it's a relatively difficult mechanic to use. Roller Beetles also have really low Health pools. They can engage fights by rolling over enemies. With the right masteries, it can bounce over water and break through certain types of walls. It's an incredibly useful type of mount, especially if you want to move extremely fast in a straight line. It can be necessary for certain farming strategies and other activities.

To get this mount, you first have to complete the Forearmed is Forewarned mission in the Living World Season 4 storyline. Then, you're going to have to talk to Gorrik to unlock the next stage. It's the completion of three collections: Beetle Juice, Beetle Saddle, and Beetle Feed. You will find most of the required items by partaking in dynamic events, killing monsters, and interacting with NPCs in Domain of Kourna, but some of them may require a trip to Central Tyria or the Crystal Desert. After completing the Beetle Feed collection, you'll receive your Roller Beetle.

Warclaw

Currently, Warclaw is the only PvP-focused mount in the entire game. Players can only ride it in the World versus World mode. It can pounce onto enemies with the Battle Maul skill. It can also Dash to move forward quickly and dodge attacks. It also helps with breaching the gates when trying to capture an enemy objective.

Unlocking Warclaw is relatively easy and cheap. You just have to spend 1 World Ability Point on the Warclaw Emblem and complete a quick WvW reward track. It requires capturing different types of objectives as well as spending WvW Skirmish Claim Tickets and Badges of Honor. You will also have to loot an item from Guards. After all that, you can simply buy this mount from Elvie the Warclaw Tender for eight gold coins.

Skyscale

As for now, Skyscale is the newest mount in the game (but we can probably expect some more in the teased, upcoming expansion). It's also the second one that can fly. Skyscale can enter combat by breathing fire onto your enemies. As a dragon, Skyscale flies slower than a Griffon but provides more control over the direction. Moreover, he can land on vertical walls and recover in that position. He can also climb them.

In order to get Skyscale, you have to complete War Eternal first – it's the final chapter of Living World Season 4. After that, you'll have to find Gorrik in the Dragonfall. Talk to him to start a series of five achievements. They will require some Karma, gold, rare materials, and even some time-gated crafts. Even if you buy all the needed items from the Trading Post, you will still need at least 3 days and 8 hours to complete the whole process.

The minimum costs amount to 41 gold coins, 12x Piece of Skyscale Food (crafted from time-gated materials), 250x Kralkatite Ore, 250 Difluorite Crystals, 250 Inscribed Shards, 250 Lumps of Mistonium, 250 Branded Masses, 260 Mistborn Motes, 520 Trade Contracts, 1700 Volatile Magic and 5390 Karma. Optionally, you can spend up to 80 gold on Smell-Enhancing Cultures – it makes the process faster but adds extra costs.

Getting Guild Wars 2 Mounts

As it's often the case in MMORPGs, some of the mounts are significantly easier to get than the others. The most prestigious and useful ones like Griffon, Skyscale, and Roller Beetle require a lot of time, effort, and even gold to collect. Remember, nobody forces you to get every single mount. You can get through Map Completion with a glider or even on foot – using the flying mounts just makes it faster and more convenient. Make sure that you have enough resources before committing for some of the more expensive mounts.

At the same time, we don't blame you if you want to rush for all the mounts and their skins as quickly as possible. They're fast, useful, and, most importantly – they're cool. You can always check out our shop and buy some gold – it can help you out with getting mounts and many other things in Guild Wars 2!

FAQ

How to get mounts in GW2?

Usually, it involves completing a quest. Then you can buy it.

What level do you get a mount in GW2?

It's available for level 80 characters, but if you team up with a lvl 80 friend, you can have the Raptor pre-80.

How do you unlock Skyscale mount?

You must complete the War Eternal chapter and finish five achievements that Gorrik orders you to.

How do you get a flying mount?

Currently, there are two flying mounts - Griffon and Skyscale. For the first one, you must finish the Parth of Fire storyline, and follow clues leading you to Yahnur Plateau. As for Skyscale - look above.

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