Best Gathering Tool Glyphs, Ranked

Infinite gathering tools are a convenient way to farm for resources in Guild Wars 2. In addition to perfect durability, these items can be fitted with gathering glyphs, each with its own utility. It can be hard to tell which glyphs are the best to go for, if at all. Some offer convenience, while others can help maximize gold production.

Glyphs can be attached and detached from gathering tools at will via the Hero Window and are account-bound items. It is worth buying gathering glyphs by exchanging gold for gems on Guild Wars 2‘s in-game store rather than on the trading post, as their listed prices are usually inflated. Some infinite gathering tools come with specific glyphs. Others allow the player to choose the glyph they want from a list. These are the ones to look for.

7 Glyph Of The Unbound

The Lesser Passive Magic Currency Producer

• Grants unbound magic along with the gathering result

Although the Living World Season 3 magic currency gathering glyph does not ultimately yield the same amount of profit as its Season 4 counterpart, unbound magic can still command a respectable return in gold. Unbound magic, in combination with gold or Living World Season 3 map gathering currency, can be used to buy a variety of useful items, such as ascended amulets, rings, and accessories.

Gathering from any node (ore, sapling, or plant) grants around six or seven amounts of unbound magic with the Glyph of the Unbound, but gathering from plants produces them the fastest, as it is done in one strike. Turning unbound magic into gold is best done by purchasing magic-warped bundles. Scholar Surra, found in Ember Bay next to the Asura gate, is the best unbound magic vendor to do this with, as she offers the bundles with a hike in the unbound magic price but a sizable discount in the gold cost.

6 Glyph Of The Crucible

The Counterintuitive Downgrade Glyph

• Converts the gathering result to a lower-tier material

Although it may seem like a downgrade to attach a glyph that transmutes gathering materials to a lower quality than the node it was gathered from, the Glyph of the Crucible has some benefits in certain situations. For example, with the abundance of mithril out in Guild Wars 2‘s high-level zones, its price on the trading post is much lower than its name might suggest.

By transmuting each yield to platinum, players can make a much higher profit from their mining activities. This goes for the higher tiers of wood that sell for less than the lower tiers. Certain plant yields, such as lettuce, only appear in low-level zones, and so the Glyph of the Crucible is one way to farm them without having to stick to these places. For those rare resource nodes, it is advisable to remove the glyph, but doing it frequently with different nodes can be fiddly.

5 Glyph Of Industry

Gathering In Shorter Order

• Reduces gathering time by 50%

For those who dislike gathering and find watching the loading bar for each activity tedious, the Glyph of Industry is one way to elevate the pain. With the glyph attached, mining, logging, or harvesting is done 50% faster. This can be a big help when on a rich orichalcum node run, for example, when a bountiful area happens to be guarded by bothersome enemies.

While this glyph offers great utility in terms of speed, some may consider its use a waste of potential when other glyphs offer a higher return per strike. It is worth considering that some gathering skins actually harvest faster than others, and Quickness, a combat boon, actually decreases gathering speed in addition to combat actions.

4 Glyph Of Reaping

Snapping Up Materials All In One Go

• Extracts resources from all similar nearby nodes (i.e., all other saplings)

There are a number of glyphs that help speed up the gathering process, but there is no other glyph that confers convenience in Guild Wars 2 quite like the Glyph of Reaping, which instantly gathers from nodes of the same kind being interacted with as the one the player initially gathers from. If a player gathers from a wood node, all other wood nodes within 900 units are also gathered.

It is especially useful when running a flax seed farm, for example, as it can turn eight button presses into one. While it is a powerful time-saver, it does mean potentially exchanging other useful bonuses afforded by other glyphs (for example, those that produce extra items per strike).

3 Glyph Of Alchemy

Transmutation To A Higher Tier

• Converts the gathering result to a higher-tier material

The Glyph of Alchemy grants players a higher tier result from the gathering node they are working. The benefits here, besides being able to roleplay as an alchemist of old, go without saying, as it effectively turns elder wood saplings and mithril ore into ancient saplings and orichalcum ore, respectively.

There may be instances, especially in low to mid-level zones, where gathering the resource as-is is preferable (such as when it turns platinum to mithril or a hard wood log to an elder log), but this is largely negligible. There is also a limit as to how much mithril ore the glyph can convert per day, totaling 150 ore pieces a day.

2 Glyph Of Bounty

• Grants a 33% chance of giving the player an extra gathering result

The Glyph of Bounty gives its user a 33% chance for an additional “strike” when gathering. These extra strikes also have a chance (albeit a diminishing one) to trigger an additional strike. Using this glyph on plants confers around a 50% increase in productivity. Chopping axes and mining picks gain a 17% increase.

This glyph is extremely helpful for gathering Guild Wars 2‘s rarest resources, such as flax or winterberry bushes, but there are restrictions on some nodes. For example, the fixed-location rich orichalcum nodes do not yield extra strikes with the Glyph of Bounty. For those MMO players who love cooking, this may be a wise investment.

1 Glyph Of Volatility

A Passive Way To Build Up Volatile Magic Reserves

• Grants volatile magic while gathering

Perhaps because of its capacity to make large returns of gold when used properly, the Glyph of Volatility is currently the most expensive gathering glyph on the trading post. That being said, it is worth remembering that it may be far cheaper to convert gold to gems via the Gem Store than to buy it from another player.

This glyph produces three to nine volatile magic bubbles from resource nodes while gathering, which can be exchanged for highly useful items in Living World Season 4’s maps, including trophy shipments that can be sold for a huge profit. Because plant nodes produce more volatile magic per strike (they only have one), it is slightly more efficient to put this glyph on harvesting sickles than logging axes or mining picks.