In order for the majority of Guild Wars 2 players to make some decent amounts of gold in the game, they opt to farm the resources located around the maps. With their trusty pickaxes, logging axes, and sickles in hand, they go to multiple maps and chop down trees, break ores, and collect herbs, hoping that those resources will bring them closer to their wealth goals. Those farmers who want to bring in more riches, however, have an ace up their sleeves that gives them even more resources, and that, my friends, brings us to the humble Glyph.

What exactly are Glyphs?

Glyphs are upgrades you can put on your gathering tools that give additional benefits while you are collecting resources across the many maps of Guild Wars 2. Some bring you more ores while others allow you to gather resources faster without the need for speed buffs. They are usually extracted from Infinite Gathering Tools, earned as rare drops from Black Lion Chests, or parts of a bundle from the Gem Store, making them highly valued items. There are Glyphs that you can purchase from the trading post which will provide great bonuses for your farming needs.

10. Glyph of the Prospector

Ores are plentiful and abundant in Guild Wars 2, but in the event that you still somehow need just a bit more, the Glyph of the Prospector has you covered. Everybody loves ores and with this handy glyph, with each striike of your tool, you will gain said ore depending on your level as well as the current map you are on.  If you still somehow have difficulty getting enough ore for your needs, it may be time to break the bank and purchase them from the Trading Post en masse.

How to attain the Glyph of the Prospector

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Choya Logging Tool - extracted
• Herald of Aurene Logging Tool - extracted 
• Prospector’s Tools - built into the tools

Glyph of the Prospector is useful for:

• The Glyph of the Prospector allows players to get a 33% chance to get ore while using the gathering tool it is equipped onto.
• It is very useful for those who are looking to top up on their ores, whether they are in need of tons of materials for an ascended or legendary weapon, are doing it for a collection, or anything else that needs ores.
• The Glyph is also very useful when the guild hall is in need of upgrades and you can gather more of the ores that are needed, as well as for crafting specific decorations.

9. Glyph of Alchemy

Do you find it hard to gather a specific tier of resource for whatever reason in-game? Do you have far better luck gathering an abundant amount of the same resource but in a lower tier level? The Glyph of Alchemy may be able to help you and your farming needs with its handy-dandy magical powers of alchemical proportions, thus easing your worries of having crafting materials.

How to attain the Glyph of Alchemy

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Skyscale Hatchling Mining Tool - extracted
• Alchemist’s Tools - built into the tools

Glyph of Alchemy is useful for:

• The Glyph of Alchemy replaces the gathering resources you get with materials that are one tier above it. For example, it replaces copper with iron, mithril into orichalcum, etc.
• The Glyph is beneficial for players who have difficulty in getting specific types of wood or ores that are highly valued, or for farming more Orichalcum and Ancient Wood.

8. Glyph of the Watchknight

The Watchknights are the proud creation of the Royal Engineer, Soira, who frequently stays within the Crown Pavilion during the Festival of the Four Winds. They represent the ingenuity of humanity, their triumphs over all obstacles, and the resilience to weather the storm. When the technology was stolen by Scarlet Briar, she molded them into the dreaded Twisted Watchworks and unleashed them onto the world. 

How to attain the Glyph of the Watchknight

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Watchwork Mining Pick - extracted
• Watchwork Tools - built into the tools

Glyph of the Watchknight is useful for:

• The Glyph of the Watchknight grants a 33% chance to get Watchwork Sprockets per strike on a resource node with the tool it is equipped on.
• Watchwork Sprockets tend to be very rare outside of doing Fractals because you have to defeat Twisted Watchwork enemies
• If you will be going for the achievements in the Living Story, A Star to Guide Us, you will be needing a lot of Watchwork Sprockets for the Demystifying Device to finish the collection.

7. Glyph of Virtue

Karma is a unique currency in Guild Wars 2 that is like the amount of good will people have for the player for all of their good deeds in-game. It is harder to farm for than gold because it is tied to doing various quests rather than just simply defeating enemies. Along with the many tools players have at their disposal of boosting their chances of getting more Karma, the Glyph of Virtue can be an additional asset for players farming for this unique currency.

How to attain the Glyph of Virtue

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Glacial Harvesting Tool - extracted

Glyph of Virtue is useful for:

• The Glyph of Virtue rewards bonus Karma while using the tool it is currently equipped to while also giving the resource from the node.
• The Glyph becomes extra valuable for Karma farmers and their never ending quest to either get Obsidian Shards for legendaries, or as a means to attain more gold.
• Karma is needed by players for a wide variety of uses and is something that will always be profitable, therefore the Glyph is one of the items you can’t live without if you are serious in your Karma-farming efforts.

6. Glyph of the Leatherworker

Leather is one of the harder resources to come by in Guild Wars 2, not because it is difficult to farm for them, but because some of the resources are from lower level maps where players are over-levelled to gather them. This is the reason some have alt characters that stay within levels 49-55 and open champion bags specifically for leveled loot and salvage the leather found within them. With the Glyph of the Leatherworker, players can simply pop this upgrade into their tools and get a chance to get leather scraps that they can use.

How to attain the Glyph of the Leatherworker

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Spirit of Wolf Logging Tool - extracted
• Thunderstrike Harvesting Tool - extracted 
• Leatherworker’s Tools - built into the tools

Glyph of the Leatherworker is useful for:

• The Glyph of the Leatherworker gives a 33% bonus chance to gain leather scraps per swing of a gathering tool it is equipped on.
• The Glyph is excellent for players that are lacking leather resources or are having difficulty getting said item.
• Players that don’t want to buy leather from the Trading Post can choose to use this Glyph while they are roaming around Tyria collecting resources and earn their leather passively.

5. Glyph of Reaping

There are times where you are just too lazy to gather resources, even if they are so near to one another. If only there was a way to just click one button and you can gather from all the similar adjacent nodes instead of running to them. The Glyph of Reaping answers your needs and will gather all of the nearby resources so you can have more time to get to the random event that just popped up.

How to attain the Glyph of Reaping

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Skyscale Hatchling Harvesting Tool - extracted
• Reapers Tools - built into the tools

Glyph of Reaping is useful for:

• The Glyph of Reaping gathers resources from all nearby nodes within 900 units, saving you time and energy from the busy work and having more time getting to other nodes faster.
• Some maps have similar gathering nodes that are closely bound together where this Glyph shines brightly, like the strawberry garden in Diessa Plateau, the tree formation at Malchor’s Leap, and several others.
• The Glyph is also a great upgrade to use inside guild halls where the gathering nodes are found in one location.

4. Glyph of Bounty

Sometimes, all a farming player truly wants is to have more resources to get per swing of the pick, chop of the axe, and snip of the sickle. The Glyph of Bounty does just that with its ability to grant an additional swing, giving you a chance to get even more of the precious daily resources. Paired with an Infinite Gathering Tool, this becomes one of the must-have upgrades if you are looking to earn more gold and aren’t too fussed about doing it in normal speed

How to attain the Glyph of Bounty

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Herald of Aurene Mining Tool - extracted
• Shifting Sands Mining Pick - extracted
• Harvesting Sickle, Logging Axe, and Mining Pick of Bounty - built into the tools

Glyph of Bounty is useful for:

• Whenever a player interacts with a gathering node, players can usually get 8-9 resources from them, no matter the resource type. The Glyph of Bounty provides a 33% chance to give an extra strike, giving you at least one more resource from the ore, tree, or herb node.
• The Glyph is useful for players who are more keen on getting more resources than speed and are looking for more of the same type of resources. This is useful for certain resources like silver, iron, seasoned wood, etc.

3. Glyph of the Unbound

After the defeat of Mordremoth fresh in the minds of the Pact and its members, an old foe of Krytan emerges from the shadows in the form of the Mursaat, Lazarus. New Living Story maps with a new form of currency called Unbound Magic can be collected to collect warp tomes to visit LS3 maps, ascended trinkets for all the would-be raiders, and other nifty items that players want to farm for.

How to attain the Glyph of the Unbound

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Unbound Magic Tools - extracted
• Unbound Tools - built into the tools

Glyph of the Unbound is useful for:

• The Glyph of the Unbound increases the amount of Unbound Magic players receive whenever they gather resources from nodes in the Living Story Season 3 maps.
• Players can trade the Unbound Magic they gathered in various NPCs in the LS3 maps for some decent goodies like guild hall decorations, home instance nodes, map portal tomes, and the all-important ascended gear.

2. Glyph of Volatility

Ever since the rogue human god, Balthazar, met his demise by the player’s hands, magic from the aftermath dispersed onto the various maps near Elona where the Living Story Season 4. Volatile Magic is the unique currency found in said maps and is used in a wide variety of items that can be traded and becomes key to helping players equip themselves for challenging quests down the line. 

How to attain the Glyph of Volatility

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Volatile Magic Tools - extracted
• Volatile Tools - built into the tools

Glyph of Volatility is useful for:

• The Glyph of Volatility is similar to the Glyph of the Unbound, where it gives players some additional Volatile Magic when they gather resources other than the usual Living Story Season 4 maps.
• Because it provides Volatile Magic, it becomes all the more useful for Karma Farmers looking to increase their Karmic Retribution in all the LS4 Maps.
• Players can also attain valuable ascended gear from the many NPCs that trade Volatile Magic plus other resources which help them get into raids.

1. Glyph of Industry

Time is a very limited resource that players often have and is something that we don’t always get in large bundles of, especially for more casual players. If there was a way that will let players farm gathering nodes even quicker than by simply using various buffs, it will make farming them very convenient. Enter the Glyph of Industry: the most sought after Glyph for its amazing ability to farm resources faster and the best friend of farmers everywhere!

How to attain the Glyph of Industry

• Black Lion Glyph Selection Container - choice
• Firestorm Logging Tool - extracted
• Spirit of Bear Mining Tool - extracted

Glyph of Industry is useful for:

• The Glyph of Industry makes players complete gathering resources 50% faster, allowing them to go from one node to the other in record time. 
• Glyph of Industry is extremely beneficial for players that want to get their farming routes finished quickly and efficiently. These types of players usually have a set route and want to hop in maps with their Infinite Gathering Tools with these upgrades, pop some speed and quickness buffs, and run across the map from one resource node to another.
• The Glyph becomes increasingly important for those who follow other players along while learning the many farming locations, as they will already be having this item and zooming across the maps.
• Glyph of Industry is also one of the most profitable Glyphs you can sell on the trading post as long as you have not used it yet.

Closing Thoughts

Glyphs provide tons of benefits for your tools and will get your resource hunting done faster so that you have more time for more fun activities. They aren’t cheap but are worth your investment and go hand-in-hand with the unlimited gathering tools from the Gem Store. While there are many other Glyphs on the list, there certainly is no bad pick as they all do something awesome; it all comes down to what you currently need.

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