Should I Tip a Mesmer for Ports?

Mesmer standing in a portal in Guild Wars 2

Ever since Guild Wars 2 introduced the new Daily system, our mesmer friends have really stepped up their game. Any time a jumping puzzle is up for the daily, you can be guaranteed to find GW2 mesmers porting people to the end of the puzzle.

Taking a mesmer’s port to the end of a daily jumping puzzle raises a tricky etiquette question: Should you tip a mesmer for a port? If so, how much?

Getting a Mesmer Port

When you arrive on the map, look for one or more tags in the general vicinity of the jumping puzzle. If you don’t see any tags or Boxes ‘O Fun, feel free to ask in map chat, “Is anyone porting for the daily?”

Often, the mesmer(s) put a Box ‘O Fun at the place they want you to wait. The Box O’ Fun is visible on the map with a crossed pair of flags. Go to the spot and wait. It can take up to 72 seconds for a mesmer’s port to recharge, so be patient.

Eventually, a mesmer arrives on the spot and drops a portal. Click F to interact with the portal. The portal teleports you to the other side, which is at or very near the end of the jumping puzzle. Portals have a maximum range, and although mesmers always try to port you as close to the end as possible, sometimes you may need to move a little bit to get to the end of the jumping puzzle and trigger the achievement.

To Tip or Not To Tip?

First and foremost, mesmers do not expect or require a tip for porting to the end of a jumping puzzle. Most of them do it for the sake of helping out other players. (Guild Wars 2 really does have the best player community!)

In fact, some mesmers politely return any tip you might send. However, most are thankful for the extra coin.

How to Tip

When the mesmer arrives to drop the port, make a note of their character name. You can also right-click on the player’s nametag and choose “Send Mail.”

Add a kind note (a simple “Thanks!” will suffice). Enter the amount you want to send at the bottom of the mail, and click Send.

How Much to Tip

There is no hard-and-fast rule about tip amounts. No one expects new (broke) players to tip a sizeable amount. However, keep in mind that the mesmer just helped you earn 2 gold for the daily!

The consensus is that you should tip between 10 and 50 silver. The amount can vary based on the difficulty of the jumping puzzle, and how much money you have on hand at the time.

Note: For particularly difficult jumping puzzles, some players tip up to 1 gold. I have tipped mesmers this amount for porting to the end of the notoriously hard Not-So-Secret (a.k.a. “Aetherblade”) and Skipping Stones jumping puzzles.

2 Replies to “Should I Tip a Mesmer for Ports?”

  1. Thank you! You’re the only one who has told HOW to tip and not just how much. I saw people talking about tipping mesmers for jp portals and I didnt know how. I searched the forums but only got discussions on if you should tip or not. But never how. I guess it’s just assumed that we know stuff.

    1. You’re welcome! I have a lot of social anxiety issues, so I’m happy to help other people resolve that particular kind of uncomfortable confusion.

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