What is Player vs Player (PvP)?
Player vs Player (PvP) is a competitive game mode where two teams of five players face off on a semi‑randomly selected map. A match ends when one team reaches 500 points, which are earned by capturing nodes or defeating enemy players.
Player vs Player (PvP) features a different Experience System, granting rewards and unlocking exclusive Finish animations as you level up. Unlike World vs World (WvW), this experience system is primarily designed to unlock ranked matches at level 20 and provide cosmetic and progression rewards.
Player vs Player Panel
- Three main options:
- Enter Heart of the Mists, the PvP lobby.
- Queue for an unranked game.
- Queue for a ranked game.
- View your PvP Rank
- View different unranked game mode options
- Check personal match statistics
The PvP panel does not have a default keybind. To open it, click the PvP icon located in the top‑left corner of your screen.
Queue up for a game!Why Play Player vs Player?
You can jump into PvP at any time. Your character’s armor and level do not matter, as long as you have any chest, legs, and boots equipped, you’re ready to play!
Unlike World vs World (WvW), PvP emphasizes individual performance, focusing on small-scale fights, duels, and rotations. You can specialize in a specific playstyle or become a versatile jack-of-all-trades.
Each map offers a unique layout and mechanic, ensuring every match feels different and engaging.
If you enjoy competitive play, PvP has a strong scene. It features a dynamic leaderboard that resets every three months, along with daily, weekly, and monthly tournaments. Rewards range from Gold to legendary titles and exclusive cosmetics.
Rewards !
PvP rewards primarily come from Reward Tracks, allowing you to choose which items you earn by playing matches.
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Winning a game will award you 30 Silver while losing still gives 15 Silver.
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Legendary Trinkets
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Legendary Armors
How Gear and Stats Work in PvP
In PvP, your character’s level and gear stats do not matter. All characters are automatically adjusted to level 80 with primary attributes set to 1000, and every specialization, including elite specs for expansions you own, is unlocked. Skills and traits are fully available for your profession, but racial skills and certain common skills (like Mistfire Wolf) cannot be used.
Equipment in PvP works very differently from PvE and World vs World (WvW). You keep your armor and weapons, but they provide no attributes, only chest, legs, and boots contribute to Armor. All gear is treated as level 80 exotic-quality.
Instead of upgrading your equipment, you customize your stats through the build panel (look for the icon in your equipment tab). Here, you select PvP amulets, runes, relics, and sigils from a predefined list, giving you full control over your build without relying on PvE gear.
Amulets replace traditional armor stats and define your attribute bonuses. Most amulets are unlocked by default, while others can be purchased for 10 Gold, such as the .
If you need weapons, you can buy any from vendors in Heart of the Mists for just a few Copper. Armor purchases are unnecessary since your character starts with everything required for PvP.
Ranked vs Unranked: What’s the Difference?
Let's look at the real differences between those two ways to queue up.
Ranked Matches
- Locked to the Conquest game mode.
- Offers extra rewards increasing with the amount of games you play in a season. It's the only gamemode to give PvP League Tickets and Ascended Shard of Glory, which are necessary to make the PvP legendaries.
- Each season lasts 3 months and requires 10 placement matches to determine your starting rating and league.
- Leagues progress from Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Legendary, with Silver and Gold being the most common.
- Queue restrictions: solo or duo only.
- Competitive leaderboard: players must meet a minimum match count (increasing weekly by 15). Top players earn exclusive titles:
- Top 250, 100, 25, 3, 2, and 1 at season end.
Unranked Matches
- Includes Conquest, plus Stronghold and Push modes.
- Allows any party size, making it ideal for playing with friends.
- More relaxed environment: players often experiment with builds, so you’ll encounter fewer strict meta setups.
Whether you prefer the competitive edge of Ranked or the relaxed flexibility of Unranked, both modes offer unique experiences. Choose the one that fits your playstyle!
How to Score Points in PvP
To win a match, your team needs 500 points.
Capturing Nodes
- Each map has three nodes that can be captured by standing on them for a few seconds.
- Captured nodes award 1 point per second, making this the main source of points.
- Enemies can decap nodes by contesting them and recapture if left unattended.
Secured Kills
- Each kill grants 5 points. Helpful, but node control remains the most important factor.
Map Mechanics
- Revenge of the Capricorn: A fourth node spawns every 3 minutes, worth 25 points per capture.
- Forest of Niflhel: Two beasts spawn every 3 minutes, each granting 25 points when killed.
Additional PvP Game Modes Explained
The main game mode is Conquest, which we explained above. Guild Wars 2 also offers two additional modes in Unranked and two special modes available during mini-seasons (short ranked seasons between Conquest seasons) or monthly tournaments.
Unranked Modes
- Push: The newest addition to Unranked. It has a unique map and works like a cart-push mechanic seen in other games. A node spawns in the middle of the map, and standing on it moves the cart toward the enemy base. The match ends when the cart reaches either team’s spawn.
- Stronghold: The oldest alternative mode. It focuses on attacking and defending a Lord, with doors, guards, and supply mechanics similar to World vs World (WvW). It also introduces Mist Champions as strong allies you can capture to boost your team and damage enemy doors.
Mini-Season and Tournament Modes
- 2v2 and 3v3: These modes reduce team sizes to two or three players. They share a pool of three maps with very different layouts but no unique mechanics. To prevent bunker-style stalemates, matches include a timer that disables healing and shrinks the arena with a poisonous cloud dealing massive Damage.
Jump Into PvP Anytime
Player vs Player (PvP) is an exciting and unique game mode. Whether you want to queue solo or form a team of five to compete in tournaments, it’s accessible to every skill level.
Monthly tournaments remain one of the most prestigious achievements in Player vs Player (PvP), offering recognition through exclusive titles and unique cosmetic rewards for those who rise to the top.