Just like in real life, you can't do much without money in Guild Wars 2. That currency would be gold and is by far the most versatile out of all the currencies in the MMORPG. Gold allows you to craft or purchase that coveted legendary gear or, in some cases, even provide some of the Living World content that you missed. Most often though, it's used for purchasing those sweet cosmetic upgrades.
In that regard, Guild Wars 2 is one of the most generous MMORPGs in existence even compared to other popular titles in the genre. It lets you avoid spending real money by letting you spend gold. However, the catch is that accumulating gold isn't that easy. Running around blindly and doing random stuff isn't going to cut it if you plan on amassing wealth. Certain activities yield more gold than others so don't miss this Tyria gold rush.
Updated August 18, 2023, by Alfredo Robelo: Guild Wars 2 is continuing to evolve, making changes that have improved some gold making methods while removing others. This article has been updated with info about the latest ways that you can earn piles of gold.
10 Ride The Silverwastes Gold Train
One of the most foolproof and free-to-play friendly gold-making methods, the Silverwastes map event train has made many players rich. It consists of running in a Silverwastes-focused group and then completing the event up until The Breach meta event.
After that, tons of chests will be available all over the map. These will be opened by the commander and will contain crafting materials and items. They can be sold for plenty of gold. The event can also be repeated as many times as long as there's a group present in the LFG menu.
This map is even foolproof for beginners, since there are usually so many other people on the map. It'll take some time to learn, and you should put in the effort to do so, but there are lots of players who are willing to guide you along and explain the rules of the map to you.
9 Turn Crafting Into Profit
For those of you who have a little more patience and business acumen with your crafting materials, making something out of them can yield better gold. Certain qualities or tiers of crafting materials are more in-demand than others, especially those that aren't found in high-level areas.
If you want to go the extra mile, then there are a few things you can do. First, shooting for ascended crafting materials is a lucrative way to go as it sells for the most gold and probably won't cost much if you already have the materials. If not, then crafting some rares or exotics then selling them also yields well. Second, you can find clusters of material nodes that you can farm each day and use those materials to craft the most valuable items.
8 Keep A Side Character
While it can be lots of fun to have multiple characters in Guild Wars 2, when it comes to making gold, they don’t seem to have much use. Story quests don’t give much in the form of rewards, and if you’re doing difficult content, it’s always best to do it with your main, since performance matters.
However, you can be smart about your side characters, since while you’re not using them you can park them in different, lucrative locations across the game. The end of different jumping puzzles is an ideal place to leave them; the harder, the better. You can even find friendly players through LFG that can teleport you to the end of said puzzles, so you don’t have to do them yourself.
While this method may not seem like the best way of gold making, it’s a perfect companion for however you farm your gold normally. The effort is minimal and with time the rewards can get quite large. An ideal spot is New Kaineng City, since its jumping puzzle awards a Jade Runestone necessary for crafting Legendary gear.
7 Complete Those Dailies Regularly
Like other MMORPGs, Guild Wars 2 gives out daily events so that there won't be a shortage of activities for players. They can get monotonous though, but they're easy to do and still reward gold for minimal effort.
You only need to complete three achievements of any kind for a couple of gold coins. If you happen to have the Living World content or the new expansions, many of those new maps come with map-specific daily tasks. Depending on the map, the completion rewards might be gold, map-specific loot, or a combination.
6 Sell Crafting Materials
If you have been religiously playing the game for several months or weeks, you might want to take a look at your materials deposits. Because, if you're like us and often just hit the "deposit materials" button and then forget they exist, there's a big chance you have something worth several gold in your bank.
These can be anything from leather, ores, or even timber. Those who want to earn some quick numbers can go straight to the Black Lion Trading Company merchant and sell these materials at the auction house. The rarer the material, the more in-demand it is and thus has a higher bidding price.
This method is for getting between five and 100 gold quickly, not for earning sustained gold over time. However, if you investigate which crafting materials you should sell as soon as you see them in your inventory, and which you should keep for crafting something that's worth a lot more, you'll be able to keep an eye out for it as you play.
5 Get On The World Bosses/Champions Train
Farming World Bosses and even Champions around the map have existed long before Silverwastes events. These days, it's slower compared to the more updated META methods, but it's nevertheless reliable and active.
Most players simply need to find a dedicated group in the LFG running World Boss trains and then join the fray. Each boss gives out substantial rewards that can be traded or sold at merchants. It's also a good alternative for when you get tired of running meta events.
4 Brave The Fractals
For those of you who are tired of the decrepit dungeons, then something more updated, such as Fractals, should provide more fun at the cost of a higher skill requirement. It has its advantages and disadvantages compared to the traditional Guild Wars 2 dungeons but needs an experienced team for consistent gold rates.
The best fractal to run will change with time, as updates and new content come, so ask around and keep up with the community to discover what the best use of time will be. You can then use your Encryption Keys and Fractal Encryptions to purchase boxes from the merchants in the Fractal Lobby. This can yield around ten gold or so per hour. Almost all Fractal runs are good enough provided you get steady Encryption Keys.
3 Convert Currency (Not Just Gems)
Unbeknownst to many players is how you might actually be sitting on a treasure horde that is yet to be liquidated. Currencies like Karma, Spirit Shards, and even Badges of Honor can be transformed into gold.
These currencies can be used to buy crafting materials and then combined into in-demand items to be sold at a higher price compared to what you spent in making them. Or sometimes, just the crafting materials themselves will be valuable on the Trading Post. Refer to a website like gw2efficiency to know which currencies are worth liquidating.
2 Get Trade Post Flipping
This is a standard method for any MMORPG with a player-controlled trading post or auction house. Though, as always, it's a tricky method that requires a considerable amount of luck and foresight.
Flipping is basically buying low and then selling high. If you are aware of the materials' supply and demand curve, you can purchase those materials when you're cheaper in the trading post and then sell them once the stocks are rare and their values are inflated. Websites like gw2effiency can help you track these trading post trends and fluctuations.
1 META Map Event Farming
By far one of the most popular go-to gold farming spots for most players these days are the maps introduced in the Living World updates and the expansions. Each of these maps has its own meta events that reward tons of loot bags.
These loot bags have items that can be dismantled and then sold at the trading post. It can be anything from Istan Great Hall to Dragonfall events. Just be sure to join a group or squad for maximum fun and efficiency.
Exceedingly wealthy players are usually the ones who know which meta events are the most lucrative and run them repeatedly throughout the day. At the time of this writing, Auric Basin (a map in the Heart of Thorns expansion) is known for having a particularly lucrative meta event, with tons of chests to open on top of the rewards earned as you go.