Raid Guides - Hardstuck (2024)

Raids are 10 player instanced content where squads must progress sequentially through bosses and encounters. These fights are designed to have challenging mechanics, often requiring specialized roles. While Raids are considered to be the hardest PvE content in Guild Wars 2, each boss varies in difficulty.

W1: Spirit Vale

Vale Guardian Select difficulty This encounter requires a well-balanced squad composition to succeed: condition damage, boon strips, and good squad healing are all prerequisites. The main fight mechanics are showcased in a pre-event before the boss itself. Spirit Woods Select difficulty In this non-boss encounter, players will have to complete three events with an emphasis on mobility and platforming: the Spectral Rifts, the Spirit Race, and the Cemetery. Gorseval the Multifarious Select difficulty Gorseval is a relatively straightforward boss encounter. Any squad taking on this amalgamation of spirits will benefit from sources of stability, immobilize, and pulls. Sabetha the Saboteur Select difficulty The battle against Sabetha requires solid awareness as multiple players will have personal mechanics to contend with; failing these will compound the difficulty of the encounter as sources of incoming damage pile up.

W2: Salvation Pass

Slothasor Select difficulty While a straightforward boss, most of Slothasor’s mechanics are assigned randomly, so the entire squad must be prepared for each mechanic. This encounter requires stability and crowd control, and benefits from condition cleanse and cleave damage. Bandit Trio Select difficulty Non-boss encounter where players protect prisoners against bandits, including fighting three mini-bosses. Bandit Trio benefits from pulls, cleave damage, and players with crowd control. Matthias Gabrel Select difficulty This encounter only requires one special role but players must bring a lot of crowd control and be prepared to handle randomly-assigned mechanics.

W3: Stronghold of the Faithful

Escort Select difficulty An event where players escort NPC Glenna, capturing towers and avoiding one-shot mechanics. This encounter only requires Forsaken Thicket Waters and Ley-Line Gliding, but benefits from Mesmer Portal and group stability and immobs. Keep Construct Select difficulty Keep Construct is the first boss of Wing 3. This encounter strongly favors power builds, requires a toughness tank, and also has an additional fixate mechanic on two players. Twisted Castle Select difficulty In this encounter, players must traverse a labyrinth, hitting buttons to open doors blocking their path. This encounter has no requirements, but benefits from stability, stunbreaks, and the Forsaken Thicket Waters mastery. Xera Select difficulty The battle against Xera is the final and most challenging encounter in Wing 3. This fight features a more rigid tanking pattern than most other bosses and forces players to glide between floating platforms; falling means instant death!

W4: Bastion of the Penitent

Cairn the Indomitable Select difficulty Cairn is the first boss of Wing 4 and is widely considered to be the easiest raid boss. This encounter only requires a glider to engage the boss, but access to stability is recommended in order to more easily handle most of the boss's mechanics. Mursaat Overseer Select difficulty Mursaat Overseer is the second boss of Wing 4. This encounter has 3 special roles that can be handled by any player in the squad. Samarog Select difficulty Players must avoid knockbacks, break their teammates out of attacks, and control two adds. Samarog has no hard requirements but benefits from power damage, heavy crowd control, and a player with pushes and immobs. Deimos Select difficulty The last and hardest boss in Wing 4, Deimos requires a toughness tank and one special role, the Handkite.

W5: Hall of Chains

Soulless Horror Select difficulty Soulless Horror is the first boss of Wing 5. This encounter features a number of special roles: namely two tanks, who need to be prepared to take a lot of damage, and a dedicated pusher to handle an regularly-spawning add. River of Souls Select difficulty In this non-boss encounter, players must escort Desmina along a long, winding path, protecting her from enemies and environmental hazards. Statues of Grenth Select difficulty Players face three minibosses: the Statue of Ice, the Statue of Death, and the Statue of Darkness. This encounter requires Gliding and a Springer, Griffon, or Skyscale Mount. Dhuum Select difficulty Dhuum is the final boss of Wing 5. Commonly regarded as one of the most difficult bosses in Guild Wars 2, Dhuum requires a few special roles as well as requires for the stack to adapt to certain mechanics.

W6: Mythwright Gambit

Conjured Amalgamate Select difficulty The first boss of Wing 6. In this encounter, players must kill a monster made of items thrown into the Mystic Forge. This encounter does not require a tank but does require a few special roles and benefits vastly from power damage. Twin Largos Select difficulty In the Fountain Room, squads will face Qadim's Twin Largos assassins, Nikare and Kenut. This encounter's challenge comes from its fast pace and relatively punishing mechanics. Qadim Select difficulty One of the hardest encounters to learn due to a multitude of potentially confusing elements, most importantly platform itself that will transform multiple times during the fight. Qadim requires a few special roles, namely a Kiter, Tank, Off Tank, and Lamp. Additionally, this encounter requires large amounts of crowd control and benefits from portals usage.

W7: Key of Ahdashim

Gate of Ahdashim Select difficulty The Gate of Ahdashim escort, often shortened to "Gate", is a short non-boss encounter at the opening of Wing 7. Players must help Scholar Glenna restore the Key of Ahdashim to gain access to central hub of the Djinn city and clear out waves of Branded mobs in the process. Cardinal Adina Select difficulty Adina, the Cardinal of Earth, tests players' mechanical execution and positioning over all else. Squads taking her on will benefit from projectile mitigation and stability, but otherwise the encounter requires no special roles besides a toughness tank. Cardinal Sabir Select difficulty One of two Cardinals players must defeat in Wing 7 to progress to the final boss. Relatively easy encounter with repeatable mechanics taking place on floating platforms. This requires good crowd control and benefits from projectile destruction. Qadim the Peerless Select difficulty Qadim is a complex boss with many mechanics. It is considered one of the most difficult encounters to tank and requires specific roles, called "pylon kiters".

Guild Wars 2 Guides

GeneralStrike missionsFractalsRaidsPvPWvW