Guide:Gearing on a Budget

Gearing a 7-hero team is an expensive task. However, the cost-to-effectiveness of different gear pieces are not all created equal. In other words, by properly prioritizing which gear pieces to buy first, and by making appropriate substitutions where applicable, gearing a team of 7 heroes can be far less intimidating. As a note: trader costs are in constant fluctuation, so all rune/insignia costs in this guide were current as of December 2020.

Example Bar

Consider with a typical hero Mesmer bar, pulled straight from 7 Hero Mercenary Mesmerway

Example Mesmer Hero

Mesmer / Any 12 + 1 + 3 Domination Magic 11 + 2 Fast Casting 6 + 1 Inspiration Magic You activate Spells and Signets 46% faster. (No effect for non-Mesmer skills with a cast time less than 2 seconds.) In PvE, the recharge time of your Mesmer Spells is reduced by 39%. Energy Surge CoreMesmer. Domination Magic 16Energy SurgeElite SpellTarget foe loses 11 Energy. For each point of Energy lost, that foe and all nearby foes take 9 damage.51.115 Cry of Frustration CoreMesmer. Domination Magic 16Cry of FrustrationSpellIf target foe is using a skill, that foe and all foes in the area are interrupted and suffer 79 damage.100.115 Mistrust NightfallMesmer. Domination Magic 16MistrustHex SpellFor 6 seconds, the next spell that target foe casts on one of your allies fails and deals 106 damage to that foe and all nearby foes.101.112 Unnatural Signet FactionsMesmer. Domination Magic 16Unnatural SignetSignetTarget foe takes 79 damage. If that foe is under the effects of a hex or enchantment, foes adjacent to your target take 53 damage.0.610 Shatter Hex CoreMesmer. Domination Magic 16Shatter HexSpellRemove a Hex from target ally. If a Hex is removed, foes near that ally take 126 damage.100.510 Spiritual Pain NightfallMesmer. Domination Magic 16Spiritual PainSpellTarget foe takes 79 damage. All hostile summoned creatures in the area of that foe take 132 damage.50.57 Power Drain CoreMesmer. Inspiration Magic 7Power DrainSpellIf target foe is casting a Spell or Chant, that Skill is interrupted and you gain 15 Energy.50.120 Drain Enchantment CoreMesmer. Inspiration Magic 7Drain EnchantmentSpellRemove an Enchantment from target foe. If an Enchantment is removed, you gain 12 Energy and 77 Health.51.120   Template code Equipment Rune of Superior Vigor Rune of Attunement 5 Prodigy's Insignias 40/40 Domination Magic Main article Domination Magic Hero

The cost of fully equipping this hero is pretty hefty:

Equipment Piece	Approximate Cost
Rune of Superior Domination Magic	8
Rune of Major Fast Casting	400
Rune of Minor Inspiration Magic	14
Rune of Superior Vigor	70
Rune of Attunement	1
5 Prodigy's Insignias	5x19 =95
40/40 Domination Magic	≈ 10
Total	≈ 198 400

Making Appropriate Substitutions

When on a budget, rather than purchase the listed equipment, it is recommended to first purchase similar and cheaper alternatives before eventually upgrading. The most obvious example is the Rune of Superior Vigor. Rather than pay for the premium superior rune, it can easily be replaced with a Rune of Major Vigor or a Rune of Minor Vigor, which provide nearly the same benefits at a fraction of the cost.

Some other common substitutions:

• Rune of Superior Domination Magic ⇒ Rune of Major Domination Magic
• 5 Prodigy's Insignias ⇒ 5 Radiant Insignias
• 40/40 Domination Magic ⇒ any green Domination Magic staff

While these examples are specific to a Mesmer, the same guidelines also apply to any profession with notably expensive profession-specific equipment (such as Shaman's Insignias).

Prioritizing Your Purchases

Not all equipment pieces are equally impactful. For example, attribute runes should be purchased first, whereas insignias can be saved for the end. The generally recommended order in which you should purchase your equipment is as follows:

1. Cheap Attribute Runes

2. A Rune of Minor Vigor

3. Weapon set

4. Cheap Insignias (radiant/survivor's)

5. Miscellaneous runes (attunement/vitae)

And once you are ready to upgrade to more expensive equipment:

6. Replace cheap Attribute Runes with the preferred (usually Superior) attribute rune

7. Replace the Rune of Minor Vigor with a Rune of Major/Superior Vigor

8. Replace cheap Insignias with preferred Insignias (such as Prodigy's/Shaman's)

9. (As a player) purchase additional weapon sets (shield set, high energy set, longbow/flatbow)

A useful note on weapon sets: most 40/40 weapon sets can be crafted by Gertrud in Vasburg Armory or Telamon in Leviathan Pits. Furthermore, most high energy weapon sets can be crafted by Honglei Sun in Maatu Keep.

Budget Breakdown

Returning to the example of a typical Mesmer hero, the following table shows the cost breakdown of gearing the hero on a budget:

Equipment Piece	Budget Setup	Improved Setup	Optimal Setup
Attribute Runes	Rune of Major Domination Magic = 100 Rune of Major Fast Casting = 400 Rune of Major Inspiration Magic = 100	Rune of Superior Domination Magic = 8 Rune of Major Fast Casting = 400 Rune of Major Inspiration Magic = 100	Rune of Superior Domination Magic = 8 Rune of Major Fast Casting = 400 Rune of Minor Inspiration Magic = 14
Vigor Rune	Rune of Minor Vigor = 4	Rune of Major Vigor = 9	Rune of Superior Vigor = 70
Miscellaneous Runes	Rune of Attunement = 1	Rune of Attunement = 1	Rune of Attunement = 1
Insignias	5 Radiant Insignias = 5x200 = 1	5 Radiant Insignias = 5x200 = 1	5 Prodigy's Insignias = 5x19 = 95
Weapon Set	Random Green Staff ≈1	40/40 Domination Magic = 10	40/40 Domination Magic = 10
Total	≈7 600	≈29 500	≈198 400

Clearly, it is possible to gear a hero with a completely adequate set of runes/insignias for only a fraction of the cost.

See also

• For a thorough overview of PvE equipment, see Guide:PvE Equipment