The best way to get Research Notes

Best way to get GW2 research notes

If you want to craft Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons expansion items, you need the new Research Notes currency. Lots and lots of Research Notes.

Some popular uses for GW2 Research Notes are for crafting:

  • Jade Bot Cores and Modules to upgrade your Jade Bot.
  • Armor and weapons with the Harrier’s, Dragon’s, or Ritualist’s stats.
  • Shadow Serpent weapon skins.

How to get Research Notes

Research Notes come from salvaging craftable items.

  1. Get a Research Kit.
    • Each kit has 250 charges.
    • You get one free when you unlock Jade Bots.
    • You can buy them from an assortment of vendors for 2 Silver.
  2. Craft or buy qualifying items:
    • Crafted armor.
    • Crafted weapons.
    • Crafted tonics.
    • Crafted jewelry.
    • Crafted potions, Tier 2 crafting level (Initiate) and above.
    • Utility items, Tier 2 crafting level (Initiate) and above.
    • Some food items, Tier 2 crafting level (Initiate) and above. Crafted food that can’t be salvaged for Research Notes includes:
      • Loaf of Walnut Sticky Bread.
      • Omnomberry Compote.
      • Raspberry Peach Compote.
      • Bowl of Blackberry Pie Filling.
      • Bowl of Cherry Pie Filling.
      • Loaf of Tarragon Bread.
      • Probably a bunch of others people haven’t added to the Wiki yet.
  3. Salvage these items with the Research Kit.
    • The Research Kit works like a salvage kit.
    • Double-click the Research Kit, then click the item to salvage it.
    • Research Notes are deposited directly into your account wallet.
    • The higher the item’s value, the more Research Notes it drops.
    • Sigils and Runes are destroyed by the Research Kit.

The fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to get Research Notes

With all that in mind, what are the best ways to get GW2 Research Notes?

Our pick: Craft Silver and Gold jewelry

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Jeweler items are virtually worthless on the Trading Post. The materials to make them (Silver Ore, Gold Ore, Lumps, and Shards) can’t be used to make anything else.

Best of all, if you’re crafting the items yourself, you can skip the salvage step. If you have a Research Kit in your inventory, tick the box on the crafting UI to automatically salvage the items you craft. They are transformed directly into Research Notes and deposited into your account wallet.

Read more about Jeweler in our Jeweler crafting guide.

If you have leftovers: Halloween foods and some potions

All the Halloween foods and some of the Halloween potions are salvageable for 1 Research Note apiece. This is an excellent way to free up space on your holiday alt!

If you have too much of a good thing: Ascended Items

Don’t buy or craft Ascended items just to salvage them for Research Notes. However, if you have unused Ascended items cluttering up your storage, each one gives 500 Research Notes.

If your Ascended item can’t be salvaged for Research Notes because it’s not craftable, the wiki says you can stat-change the item to normal Ascended gear in the Mystic Forge.

Crafted armor sets

If you plan to buy armor pieces to salvage for Research Notes, the following armor sets are craftable and yield Research Notes:

Fine and Masterwork

  • Acolyte
  • Barbaric
  • Bloodsaw Leather
  • Chain
  • Devout
  • Dry Bones
  • Embroidered
  • Feathered
  • Iron Legion
  • Leather
  • Outlaw
  • Prowler
  • Rascal
  • Seeker
  • Splint
  • Student
  • Tempered Scale
  • Winged

Rare

  • Gladiator
  • Masquerade
  • Noble

Exotic

  • Draconic
  • Emblazoned
  • Exalted

Ascended

  • Light Illustrious
  • Medium Illustrious
  • Heavy Illustrious

Crafted weapon sets

If you plan to buy weapons to salvage for Research Notes, the following weapon sets are craftable and yield Research Notes:

Fine and Masterwork

  • Bandit
  • Bronze
  • Charr
  • Darksteel
  • Iron
  • Mithril
  • Steel

Rare

  • Beaded
  • Dredge
  • Godskull
  • Krait
  • Ogre

Exotic

  • Ambrite
  • Astral
  • Auric
  • Charged Stormcaller
  • Corrupted
  • Destroyer
  • Dragonsblood
  • Dragon Slayer
  • Jade Tech
  • Illuminated Boreal
  • Mordant
  • Mystic
  • Pearl
  • Restored Boreal
  • Shadow Serpent
  • Shimmering
  • Stormcaller
  • Sunspear
  • Tenebrous
  • Tengu Echo

Ascended

  • Fiery Dragon Slayer
  • Heroic Dragonsblood
  • Icy Dragon Slayer
  • Jade Punk
  • Stellar

Photo by David Travis on Unsplash

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