Guild Wars 2: Surviving the Fall
Avoid Becoming the Next Casualty of Floor
I must admit, following Foghladha around in his events, more than once I have fallen to my death. As I strive to catch up with him, I now know to look before I leap. Learning different approaches to jumping off cliffs in Guild Wars 2 is very important for survival. Some of the common and fun places to jump will be mentioned in my explanations. My goal in this article is to share how and where to jump with survival in mind. This is what happens when you don’t watch where you glide:
The things to keep in mind are: where gliders and mounts work; what fall damage traits you can use; where the best ledges and haystacks can be found; and what are the techniques of jumping. At the moment, in WvW, mounts do not deploy and gliders only deploy on your captured soil. So you can potentially die in some areas if you are not watching. In PVE, gliders have no fly zones in jumping puzzles, fractals, dungeons, home instances, and personal storylines.
Traits
You might ask, “Are there any traits I can use to help this issue?” Yes! Each profession has a fall damage trait of some sort. Press ‘H’ and click on the Build tab to the left. The specialization listed for each class must be equipped to activate the trait. The pictures and explanations below will verify where you can find Fall damage traits:
- Elementalist: In Arcane, look for Arcane Abatement on the first column at the bottom.
- Engineer: Under Explosives, the top skill in the first column is Grenadier.
- Guardian: Under Honor, Protector’s Impact is on the first column, at the bottom.
- Mesmer: In Chaos, First column, the top skill is Descent into Madness.
- Necromancer: In Curses, Terrifying Descent is on the first column, top skill.
- Ranger: Under Wilderness Survival, Soften the Fall is in the first column, top skill.
- Revenant: In Retribution, first column, top skill is where you will find Planar Protection
- Thief: In Shadow Arts, Last Refuge is in the first column, top skill.
- Warrior: Under Strength, you will find Peak Performance first column, bottom skill.
The Fun Begins
Once you have your traits chosen, you should survive most jumps as long as you watch where you are. To land safely seek out haystacks (Red borderland and Drytop) or a bucket (Edge of the Mist); find ledges if it is a long drop; plunge into the deep water; walk off don’t leap off; know how far you can fall; and know when wings won’t deploy. Here are some places you can experiment with your techniques.
Most are places Gma Fog learned with her travels in WvW and exploring Tyria with different events. There are a couple of tidbits of information you might want to know before experimenting with these jumps. If you leap, your glider can deploy in some of these jumps. There are 2 ways to disengage your glider. To help with these ventures, find places with diving goggles or walk off instead of leaping off cliffs.
Haystacks
Jumping into a haystack does take a lot of practice. There are many places haystacks are seen in Red Borderland. A favorite one is at Osprey’s Palace. You can find a tiny bird on top of the cliff right above the hay bales. GmaFog has only landed correctly once following commanders in WvW. But there always seems to be a group to revive you at the bottom.
Another haystack is in Drytop. Go to prosperity waypoint. Run up and around to the jumping puzzle - The haystack is to the left of the start of the puzzle. Do the jumping puzzle as far as the set of sails near the top. Go onto the first sail to the front edge. Walk off and steer down. It is best to drop when there is no dust storm.
The Bucket
I only know of one achievement where you jump off a tall, tall, tower into a little bucket. This one is sometimes very hard to get to as you die when attacked by enemies. There is no gliding in Edge of the Mist. Go to Stonegaze Spire, jump into the bucket and flush. Once you are at the top, look north toward the bridge. Two streamer flags will be just below you, one on each side. Run and leap between the flags and steer your way down. This one takes lots of skill but it really feels like an awesome achievement when you land it.
Ledges
Looking before you leap is a very good idea. There are a few good calculations to make at this point: know how far you can fall without dying and look for ledges. I experimented with this in Lornar’s Pass at Mistriven Gorge. I found a mountain with ledges and moved up to the top onto the wooden deck and found a place to jump. Looking down, I could see a few stops to drop to. I walked off the edges and tried sliding down in another area. Trying to slide down, I received more fall damage than jumping ledges. If you can, wait for your health to recharge before trying another jump.
Another good ledge to practice on is off a Vista in Wayfarer Foothills to the northwest. Great ledge jumping if you don’t have a glider.
In WvW go to Green Borderland, Citadel Waypoint. Go out around the back of the merchant’s hut, toward the house to the southeast. Look down and you have step ledges to jump.
Leaping into Deep Water
Three of my favorite places to dive in game are the backside of Garrison in Blue borderlands; in our guild hall, Lost Precipice, off the waterfall; and the Lighthouse in Lion’s Arch.
Borderland Garrison
Press B and go to Blue Borderland - Head to Garrison waypoint and move south to the ledge where you find the vista. When leaping off the ledge, be cautious to steer around the rocks as you jump.
Lost Precipice Guild Hall
In the Lost Precipice guild hall, this jump was off the waterfalls in the northeastern corner. Go to Upper Plaza Waypoint and run east as far as you can to the bridge - you will see the waterfall below you. Jump onto the rope and glide down to the top of the waterfall and walk off. If you leap off your glider will engage. There is a big boulder at the bottom that can kill you, so get centered up on the waterfall edge. The third rock in the water from the left will be center. Enjoy the fall!
Lighthouse Dive in Lion’s Arch
This is at a diving goggles place on top of the Lighthouse. When you are using the diving goggles, make sure to leap off, so you can steer and miss the rocks on the way down. If you already have the diving achievement and are glider equipped, it is a beautiful fly. Just make sure you are over water when you glider runs out.
The final way to practice, is to join any of the Gaiscioch Events. Whether GmaFog, Smitty, Terafer, Old Goat, Namrie, Kitty, or Foghladha are leading, you will have a great time jumping (and falling) off cliffs.
Bounce well my friends.
Foghladha is such an experienced survivor. I added, with his permission, a video of his antics in jumping entertainment:
About the Author
GmaFog
Senior Editor
As GmaFog loves to adventure in life, she gets excited about everything surrounding her. In addition to working as a Web Production Assistant for Franchise Update Media, she voluntarily writes and edits for Gaiscioch Magazine. She attends Westside Christian Church and loves going on missions trips to Rwanda with Africa New Life Ministries. In her spare time, Gma plays games with The Gaiscioch [GSCH] Family and grandsons; dabbles in photography; and explores crafting ideas. You can always ask her questions, as she enjoys helping others, in-game and out.
About Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 is an online role-playing game with fast-paced action combat, a rich and detailed universe of stories, awe-inspiring landscapes to explore, two challenging player vs. player modes—and no subscription fees!