Wondering what to do with all those Spirit Shards you have accumulated in Guild Wars 2? This guide explains the best uses for GW2 Spirit Shards, and how to trade Spirit Shards for gold.
Update: As of August 2019, we DO NOT recommend trying to turn Spirit Shards into gold. Material prices have dropped significantly. Profit margins on material promotion are slim to none. You will probably lose money trying to convert Spirit Shards into gold.
What Are Spirit Shards?
Spirit Shards are a form of currency which are stored in your account wallet. After your character reaches level 80, they will start earning Spirit Shards as a drop from many different types of loot boxes.
You can also earn Spirit Shards as a log-in reward, and every time your character “levels up” past level 80.
You may have noticed that your XP progress bar continues to fill up after you hit level 80. When the XP progress bar is all filled up, instead of gaining a new level, you earn Spirit Shards. Then the progress bar resets, and the process repeats.
How to Exchange Spirit Shards For Gold
Material promotion is the best way to turn Spirit Shards into gold. This is the process of changing one tier of materials into a higher tier in the Mystic Forge.
For example, you can use this method to turn Vials of Potent Blood (tier 5) into Vials of Powerful Blood (tier 6). Put the following into the Mystic Forge:
- 50 Vials of Potent Blood
- 1 Vial of Powerful Blood
- 5 Piles of Crystalline Dust
- 5 Philsopher’s Stones (purchased with Spirit Shards)
This will give you between 5 and 12 Vials of Powerful Blood, which are currently worth over 24 silver on the Trading Post.
If you do this promotion correctly, you work out with a profit on your end. There are several spreadsheets and resources out there which purport to identify the best material promotions. However, all the ones I have found are out of date or broken. (If you have a current, up-to-date spreadsheet, drop us a link in the comments!)
Also please note that this process involves A LOT of clicking. It can be tiresome, and in the end, the profit margins are slim at best.
What Can I Buy With Spirit Shards?
Several vendors will accept Spirit Shards. Some of the more useful purchases are:
- Ability Reset Guide from the World Ability Master in WVW will reset all of your WVW ability points so that you can respec your character.
- Anthology of Heroes lets you reset the stats on ascended weapons and armor.
- Crafting Legendary weapons requires Spirit Shards for the crafting tomes.
- Mystic Crystals and Philosopher’s Stones, which are used in various crafting and material promotion recipes.